"Everything has its rules. If you find the right method, challenges will be overcome effortlessly." He Ziyu said, taking the nine-section linked rings from him. His fingers danced, and in a moment, all the rings were unknotted.
"Uncle He, you're amazing."
Gazing at him with admiration, Rui Rui's words instantly invigorated He Ziyu. "Have you played the Tower of Hanoi? And the Rubik's Cube? While they aren't particularly difficult, I think it's good to appropriately exercise a child's concentration and hand-eye coordination."
"My mom bought me the Tower of Hanoi, but I don't have a Rubik's Cube yet. I haven't even solved my nine-section linked rings."
"I have a Rubik's Cube at home. I'll give it to you next time you visit."
Rui Rui tilted his head up. "Thank you, Uncle He."
He Ziyu's gaze softened as he looked at Rui Rui's smiling face. If his nephew were still alive, he might have looked like this.
Hesitantly, he reached out and stroked Rui Rui's little head. "You're welcome."
...
"I owe you a lot for your help with this matter. Li Shu couldn't come to thank you herself, so she asked me to convey her gratitude."
The Zhu Changgui incident was finally over. The total liquidated damages amounted to 660,000 yuan. Besides the 260,000 yuan in cash in the account, the remaining factory and vehicles were all taken over by Gu Xingdong.
"Take this money."
Gu Xingdong handed over a bag containing 150,000 yuan in cash.
"Alright, if you don't stand on ceremony with me, then don't expect me to. No need for thanks. I'll take this." Li Yuanchao took the money. "It's been a while since I left home. I'll head back now. If you need anything in the future, just ask. Feel free to visit me sometime. The south is developing well now; let's cooperate on any profitable projects."
Although they hadn't interacted much, Li Yuanchao felt Gu Xingdong was a man capable of great things.
Gu Xingdong nodded with a smile. "Be careful on your way."
Only after watching Li Yuanchao leave did he and Wang Kuo turn back and head to the processing plant.
Since Zhu Changgui and Er Lai were arrested, apart from a gatekeeper, there were hardly any people left in the factory.
The two walked around the plant and got a rough idea of its condition.
Zhu Changgui's factory was a small steel processing plant. Its footprint wasn't large, about three to four mu, but it was fully equipped. Especially the machinery, almost all of it was eighty to ninety percent new, with foreign language markings, indicating it was imported.
What Gu Xingdong didn't know was that these machines were imported from overseas by Zhu Shasha through intermediaries. However, as it was inconvenient for her to appear in person, Zhu Changgui handled everything. Little did she know it would end up like this, a case of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.
Seeing a telephone in the office, Gu Xingdong immediately picked it up and called home first.
At that moment, Chen Li Shu had just seen off He Ziyu. She turned to see an auntie from the street calling her, knowing it was Gu Xingdong, and happily went to answer.
"Hello?"
Hearing her voice, Gu Xingdong couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile. "Why did you come so quickly?"
Chen Li Shu smiled. "I invited Dr. He over for dinner today and happened to be seeing him out. How did things go on your end?"
"It's mostly finished. By the way, I've also taken over a steel processing plant."
"That's amazing?" Hearing that he had acquired a factory in just over ten days, Chen Li Shu's eyes widened in surprise.
Gu Xingdong: "This time, it was thanks to Li Yuanchao's help. Otherwise, Zhu Changgui might not have taken the bait so easily." After all, the identity of a boss from Pengcheng made it easier to lower one's guard.
"How are Mom and the kids? I'll accompany Wang Kuo back to our hometown to see them, and then I'll return."
"Mmm." Chen Li Shu glanced at the auntie chatting nearby, cupped her hand around the microphone, and said softly, "Come back soon. I miss you."
With those whispered words, Gu Xingdong's heart felt as if it were being tickled by a kitten's padded paws, and his dark eyes deepened.
After hanging up, he called the company. Lin Qi happened to be there.
"How are the steel bars? Any leads? I've just taken over a processing plant, and the machinery can produce steel bars. So, construction materials shouldn't be a problem in the future."
"Brother-in-law, I was just about to tell you about this. A top-tier steel plant supplied us with ten truckloads of steel bars these past few days. The leader only said they were following orders. Isn't this steel produced by our newly acquired factory? Steel bars are hard to come by, so this is truly timely. I've already arranged for everyone to resume work."
Upon hearing the name, Gu Xingdong knew it was Xu Zhisheng who provided it, but he didn't explain further. "We'll discuss this matter when I get back. Arrange your current work. Xingye should also be able to help keep an eye on things. I'll give you the address later. If Liu Yang has time, bring him along. This factory can't be left idle. Since the machines are ready, let's put them into production."
"Okay, I'll arrange it now."
The two provinces were adjacent and not far apart. By car, it wouldn't take a day. Lin Qi and Liu Yang took the train and arrived the next afternoon.
After showing them the situation, Gu Xingdong confidently handed over the factory to Lin Qi and Liu Yang and drove with Wang Kuo back to their hometown, Fengshou Town.
"Although it's only been over a month since I left, it feels like a long time. I wonder if my son has gotten fatter." Wang Kuo looked at the receding withered trees outside the window, a rare hint of warmth appearing on his face.
His parents had passed away early. He only had an elder brother. After he was injured and returned home, his sister-in-law also looked down on him. With a lame leg, it was a blessing to have a woman willing to marry him. Although there was no affection between them, she gave him a son, and Wang Kuo was grateful to her.
As dusk fell quickly in late autumn, it was still daytime moments ago, but it seemed as if the sun had set in the blink of an eye.
When the two arrived at the village, it was already past seven in the evening. Villagers were accustomed to sleeping early, and the entire village was quiet.
The car slowly stopped at the entrance of a courtyard with a two-room adobe house. After Gu Xingdong turned off the engine, they both got out.
"You go in first. I'll smoke a cigarette here." Gu Xingdong said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.
Wang Kuo nodded. When he reached the courtyard gate, he found the main door locked. He went to the wall, braced himself with his arm, and jumped over.
The lights were already out inside, and the door was likely bolted from the inside. Wang Kuo went to the window and was about to raise his hand to knock on the window frame when he suddenly heard laughter from within.
"Naughty, don't you know everyone in the village is gossiping about us? How dare you come here?"
"That cripple isn't here. Wasn't I afraid you'd be lonely? I say, why are you staying with that useless man? Leave him and come to me. You've already had a son with me. I bet that cripple still doesn't know he's been wearing horns for a long time, does he?"
"He received quite a bit of compensation when he was discharged from the army due to injury, and the bride price was also high, so my family naturally agreed. Actually, I don't like him at all. He always has a gloomy face. It's better that he's gone now. You and I can do whatever we want."
Soon, hurried gasps came from inside.
Wang Kuo clenched his fists tightly, the veins on his forehead bulging with anger.