At Li Xuewu's house, the group ate and drank, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
“Da Mao, you know a lot of young people. Why don’t you introduce one to my Li Tong sometime? Your Min Zhi is about to become a mother, but my Tong Tong is still like a child who hasn’t grown up. Forget about getting married, she doesn’t even have a boyfriend yet.”
As they chatted, the conversation turned to Minzhi's pregnancy, and then naturally shifted to Li Tong. Li Tong was quite an oddball; her family was well-off, and she had a long line of potential suitors, but she couldn't find anyone she liked, much to her family's distress.
Long ago, her parents set the standard for her future partner as someone from an official family who was young and promising. A boy from a commoner family like Xu Damao was not even within their consideration. So, it was a wise decision for Xu Damao not to pursue Li Tong.
But as their child grew older than 21, and all the other kids her age had found partners, some even had children, Li Tong's parents started to worry. With each failed blind date, their standards lowered, and now they're asking Xu Damao to introduce them to potential partners.
"Mom, what nonsense are you talking about? I look down on those ugly people, not that they look down on me. Besides, how many outstanding people can someone like Xu Damao know?"
Li Tong was used to joking around with Xu Damao and Wang Minzhi, so she naturally spoke without restraint. Born into an official family, she disliked their constant scheming and believed it was all just flattery. Little did she know that she herself was simultaneously enjoying the lucrative rewards her parents had gained from flattery while simultaneously cursing those who did it.
Xu Damao had no desire to get involved in the young lady's personal affairs. If he did, she might have a happy marriage and even remember his kindness; if not, every little thing after the wedding, or even a quarrel, would drag him, Xu Damao, out and scold him, leaving him in a bad situation.
"Uncle and Aunt, don't worry about Li Tong. Not to mention other places, there are many outstanding young men in our steel rolling mill who hang around Li Tong every day, just waiting to see if Li Tong will give them a chance."
"Besides, Li Tong is still young, she can have more choices and find a suitable husband." Xu Damao echoed Li Tong.
“Yes, you guys don’t know, now our office is always full of snacks, all given to Li Tong by the boys. We all benefit from it,” Wang Minzhi added from the side.
"I'll show you what nonsense you're talking about. Before, Xu Damao would send things over every day, but now that he's married and tricked our Minzhi into his life, he's stopped sending anything. Humph, it's all because of you that Xu Damao is doing this." Li Tong argued illogically.
"You child, are you trying to dangle those boys in your arms just because of a few snacks?" Li Tong's mother said with dissatisfaction, and patted Li Tong on the shoulder.
Believe it or not, there aren't any formalities when eating at Old Li's house; everyone speaks quite casually. The two Li brothers have a very good relationship and look after each other in official circles; it would be difficult for them not to succeed.
After dinner, Li Xuewu had a private chat with Xu Damao for a while.
"Da Mao, you had the opportunity to go to the General Affairs Section before, do you want to go now?" Li Xuewu asked.
Xu Damao is doing well in the transportation department, but while logistics may seem like a lucrative field, it will never put him in the core of power at the steel rolling mill. Only the office and the political department are the core departments.
Now that he is in charge of the office, he still has a lot of advisory power over the appointment of a section chief, and Xu Damao is someone Yang Zhenhua thinks highly of, which is why he asked such a question.
"Boss, you know me. I like to be out and about and don't like office work. Since I joined the transportation department, I've found that I can occasionally ride around with the vehicles and see the beautiful landscapes of our country. I actually quite like this department." Xu Damao politely declined.
The real reason was that departments like the office and political department wielded considerable power and were key areas of contention among leaders. If Xu Damao were to join them, he would inevitably be forced into the struggle. Unfortunately, Xu Damao currently had no other means of self-protection besides blindly following Li Xuewu, so he was better off continuing to strengthen his position in the transportation department.
When Xu Damao feels that he is capable enough, he wouldn't mind going in to take a look.
"Okay, it's good that you have your own considerations. You can build a foundation in the transportation department for now, and I'll consider you when the time is right."
"By the way, when you come to work next week, fill out a salary grade promotion application and submit it to the Political Department. I'll approve it," Li Xuewu said.
"That's great. Minzhi is pregnant now, and I was worried that our salaries wouldn't be enough, but the boss has already thought of everything for me," Xu Damao said gratefully.
Xu Damao had only recently been promoted to section-level cadre. Since his administrative rank couldn't be raised further, there was still room for maneuver in his salary grade, especially given Li Xuewu's special approval. This might be Li Xuewu's way of compensating Xu Damao.
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After returning from Li Xuewu's house, Xu Damao felt confident and began preliminary preparations for the reform in the vehicle repair group of the transportation department.
Initially, it's necessary to calculate which service recipients can be served, and what additional personnel and equipment are needed. While ensuring service quality, it's also crucial to determine whether the existing auto repair workshop can meet the demands.
Believe it or not, these things may seem trivial, but they really take up a lot of time and energy, and before you know it, several days have passed.
On Thursday evening, Xu Damao had just finished dinner when Yan Jiecheng called him to the front yard to discuss the wedding arrangements for Sunday. This was a common practice in the compound; for such joyous occasions, everyone would discuss things in advance to check if there were any oversights in the previous arrangements, and neighbors would also consider whether they could help.
When Xu Damao arrived, the front yard was already crowded with people, some standing and some sitting, and quite a few children were crawling around on the ground, clearly there to join in the fun. Among the group of children, the three children from the Jia family stood out, two on the ground and one in Qin Huairu's hands.
To be honest, given Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu's genes, the Jia family's children are a bit more handsome than the other children in the compound. Plus, with Sha Zhu feeding them, they are all a bit fatter than the other children, making them stand out from the crowd.
"Everyone, please be quiet. Sunday is Yan Jiecheng's wedding day, a joyous occasion for our compound. Everyone in the compound will contribute their time and effort. Let's divide the tasks here today to avoid chaos later."
The meeting was chaired by Yi Zhonghai, who quickly explained the purpose of the meeting.
“Grandpa, whatever you say, we’ll do it. We’ll follow your instructions,” said a nearby resident.
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