Old Man Zhou frowned, "That won't do. We must call things as they should be. You're the leader, you can't break the rules."
Gu Xingdong was eager to leave, so he let him have his way.
"Section Chief Xiao, hello. I'm Gu Xingdong from Hongyuan Construction Company."
Gu Xingdong extended his hand first as he looked at the man in front of him.
Section Chief Xiao shook his hand perfunctorily, "Gu Xingdong? Are you related to Gu Xingye?"
"He's my brother."
Section Chief Xiao nodded and gestured to the seat opposite him, "Please sit."
Life in the army had accustomed him to directness, and he acted without hesitation. After sitting down, Gu Xingdong got straight to the point:
"I've taken a look, and our company has bought cement from your unit for the past six months. After cooperating for so long, we must be familiar with each other and have a certain degree of trust. I've come today to ask if we could pay a portion of the cement advance payment and then settle the remaining balance in full once the project is completed. Or, if you find that too long, we can also make monthly payments."
Section Chief Xiao's smile was a little forced, "Our factory has never set such a precedent, I'm truly sorry."
Gu Xingdong negotiated, "There's always a first time for everything. I can guarantee with my own character that you will never be shorted a single cent by our unit."
A disdainful smile curved Section Chief Xiao's lips. "Little Gu, I hope you don't mind me calling you that. You've just taken over and you want to buy on credit from me? That doesn't seem quite right. Your company buys at least two to three thousand yuan of materials each time. If you were to default on payments, I couldn't afford such a huge hole. To put it bluntly, how much is your character worth, really?"
Gu Xingdong's pupils contracted sharply at his words, and the muscles on his jaw tightened.
"My words might not be pleasant, but it's alright. If you're really in difficulty, you can come to pick up the goods a couple of days later. After all, we've been cooperating for so long. Although our factory's cement is always in short supply, we can still reserve a few tons for you."
Gu Xingdong had never encountered such a situation before, but he knew he would have to continue cooperating in the future, so he stood up with a smile, "Section Chief Xiao, thank you for your time today. I'll be going now."
As he walked out of the cement factory, the smile on Gu Xingdong's face turned cold.
He took out the record slip, stood there, and with the address written on it, went to the next unit, the Materials Bureau.
Steel production was limited, and most of it could only be purchased through the Materials Bureau. Moreover, Gu Xingdong noted from the invoices that the price had been rising steadily over the past few months.
Unlike Section Chief Xiao, Director Liang of the Materials Bureau was even more arrogant. After listening to Gu Xingdong, he even sneered,
"If you don't have money, don't take on jobs. The materials from our Materials Bureau aren't blown in by the wind. Do you know how tight the steel supply is now? There are plenty of people lining up with cash. If it weren't for Zhou Bin's sake, your company wouldn't get a spot."
Gu Xingdong's hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into fists, then loosened.
It was only at this moment that he deeply understood Chen Lishu's hardships, how many smiles she had to force and how much grievance she had to endure to make the business reach its current state.
After leaving the Materials Bureau, Gu Xingdong raised his wrist to check the time and realized it was already noon. He didn't feel hungry and drove directly to the construction site.
He didn't return home until it was nearly evening.
As he approached the doorstep of his home, he rubbed his stiffened face vigorously with his hands before pushing the door open with a smile.
"Third son is back! We just need one more dish, and we can eat," Li Xiulan said with a smile as she saw him enter.
"Mom, I'm going upstairs to change my clothes first." Gu Xingdong said, then quickly went upstairs.
"How do you feel? Are you tired?" Chen Lishu asked with a smile, seeing him come over after changing his clothes, while feeding the baby.
"It's alright. Nothing much, much easier than leading training." Gu Xingdong said lightly.
Chen Lishu looked at the shadows under his eyes and the faint stubble on his chin, then hesitated before changing the subject, "Your son actually made a happy sound while sleeping today. I wonder what sweet dream he was having."
"Is that so?" Gu Xingdong raised an eyebrow and his gaze fell on the child in Chen Lishu's arms.
The one she was holding now was Xiao Chengzi. This little fellow was very strong when he nursed, his little face turning red with effort.
He then looked at Xiaobai lying quietly in the crib, her head tilted to the side, her large, dark eyes staring blankly into the distance.
Gu Xingdong couldn't help but pick up the small bell toy nearby and tease his daughter.
Hearing the sound, the little one slowly turned her head. It was said that infants' visual range was very small, but their hearing was still sensitive.
Soon, Chen Lishu finished feeding her son and put him in the crib. Just as she was about to pick up her daughter, Xiao Chengzi, separated from his mother's embrace, immediately flushed and began to cry with a pouting mouth.
Seeing his reaction, Chen Lishu felt like spanking him twice on his bottom.
Gu Xingdong saw this and went to pick him up, but Chen Lishu stopped him, "He can't wait every time after being fed. He's fine when held, but cries when put down. If this child weren't so young, I'd have spanked him a couple of times. Don't pick him up, I want to break this habit of his."
"He's only a few days old, let's not be on his level," Gu Xingdong patted her back to appease her and bent down to pick up Xiao Chengzi.
"If he's still like this when he grows up, you won't have to do anything, I'll help you deal with him."
Hearing his words, Chen Lishu couldn't help but burst into laughter, "If children could understand, do you think he'd suspect he wasn't their biological child, and that their parents were conspiring to deal with him?"
As they were talking, Li Xiulan and Wu Chunmei came upstairs. "Lishu, Xingdong, you go down to eat. We'll watch the children."
"Mom, it's okay. You guys eat first. I'll come down after I finish feeding Xiaobai."
Elderly people are like this; they would rather eat a little later themselves to let their children eat first.
Wu Chunmei said, "Um, mother-in-law, you and son-in-law go down first. I'll help Lishu watch them here."
Gu Xingdong, holding Xiao Chengzi, said with a smile, "Mom, it's alright. You guys go ahead and eat. I'll switch with you later, and we can eat together."
Hearing his words, Wu Chunmei and Li Xiulan looked at each other and smiled, then turned and went downstairs without saying anything further.
They were delighted to see the young couple getting along so well.
...
"Brother-in-law, I inquired about the recent situation of Longteng Company yesterday. Since Jiang Chengyi was sentenced, the company has been basically stagnant without a leader. Workers can't get paid, and there are always crowds blocking the entrance."
Gu Xingdong nodded, "Since that's the case, we don't need to recruit from other places. You can just go and ask at their company entrance."
Lin Qi said, "That's a good idea, but their company has a bad reputation for owing wages. They are all private enterprises. I'm afraid they might not be willing."