Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 2998 Project Management of Department Nine
When Yang Xiaotao helped Li Tiejun back to the rest area and then came out, Secretary Guo was smoking a cigarette to the side.

Liu Lixue was sitting on a bench, holding a folder in her hands.

Seeing Yang Xiaotao come out, Liu Lixue hurried forward, but Yang Xiaotao waved his hand, then went to the window and opened it.

"Secretary Guo, have the foreign trade arrangements been made?"

Secretary Guo stubbed out his cigarette and then said, "We've already made contact. The foreign trade staff will bring the person to Penglai the day after tomorrow at noon."

"We will complete the transaction there."

"Okay, let's get this done as soon as possible, then we can finally put our minds at ease!"

As Yang Xiaotao was speaking, a cold wind blew in from outside the window, carrying snowflakes that instantly dispelled the smell of alcohol on his body.

At this moment, Xiao Wei was fast asleep.

The reason...

This kid's gone astray; he's been drinking!
"Minister Yang, I will speak to the commander about this!"

Secretary Guo thought for a moment and then spoke his mind.

He could report Yang Xiaotao for "slacking off" because he knew those were trivial matters, and could actually help him get closer to Yang Xiaotao.

But for something this important, I had to tell Yang Xiaotao.

"Well, go ahead and say it. Anyway, I didn't do anything, did I?"

Yang Xiaotao said with a smile, his young face bearing a warm smile, but the wind and snow outside made him feel a bone-chilling cold.

Secretary Guo shook his head inwardly; he couldn't be bothered with such a trivial matter.

After they finished talking, Yang Xiaotao walked towards his residence, and Secretary Guo also went back to his room to rest. Liu Lixue, however, followed Yang Xiaotao into the room.

"Minister Yang, this is the schedule for the next two days."

Yang Xiaotao took off his coat and sat on the bed, ready to go to sleep.

Liu Lixue quickly stepped forward and said, "It's best to confirm this and make a decision as soon as possible."

Yang Xiaotao closed his eyes and said, "I've canceled all my schedules because I have a cold and I'm not feeling well, so I need to sleep!"

Liu Lixue was stunned on the spot.

Many of the people listed on these itineraries are local government officials.

Some of them I've already contacted several times.

Yang Xiaotao's main purpose for this trip was to inspect the nuclear power plant, and secondly, to inspect the power grid.

Of course, it's inevitable to interact with locals along the way, especially on the return trip, where you'll need to participate in some activities.

This was planned when we set off.

But now...

Liu Lixue sensed that the other person's temper was flaring up, and they were acting like a child.

Besides, with so many people around, how can she explain to each and every one of them?
This is a real headache!

Liu Lixue wanted to offer a few more words of advice, after all, that's how the adult world is.

Yang Xiaotao, lying in bed, didn't hear any movement. He looked up and saw Liu Lixue struggling with her thoughts, so he quickly pulled the blanket tighter around her. "I said, don't make a mistake!"

"Although I know I'm excellent, you can't have those kinds of thoughts!"

Liu Lixue suddenly realized, "Pah, shameless! I don't like men at all!"

After saying that, he realized it wasn't right, stomped his foot, cursed "bastard," turned around, slammed the door, and left.

Yang Xiaotao scoffed and went back to sleep.

The electric current in Xiao Wei's chest slowly disappeared, and then she left the house.

As Liu Lixue left the house, her face flushed, and then she was awakened by the cold wind.

"Hmph. I knew men were all the same!"

He muttered a curse under his breath and then strode quickly toward the communications room.

A moment later, Liu Lixue picked up the phone and made a call.

After the call connected, there was only one sentence: "Minister Yang is not feeling well, so the meeting is canceled!"
After repeating this several times, Liu Lixue understood Yang Xiaotao's intention and then felt a sense of anticipation, like watching a movie where the protagonist is initially bullied and suppressed, but in the end there is always a reversal and a scene of revenge.

That feeling, I always feel great when watching a movie.

"I'm really looking forward to it!"

He then went into his resting place, washed up, and lay down on the bed to rest.

While Liu Lixue was asleep, a silver flash streaked past the window.

The next day, I got up early in the morning.

Yang Xiaotao got dressed, walked out of the room, stretched his body, and then went to Li Tiejun's place.

"Uncle Li, did you sleep well last night?"

Li Tiejun smiled and said, "Okay, I haven't had a good night's sleep lately, but I slept the best last night."

"However, I have to go back today. I'm worried about leaving the front unattended."

Yang Xiaotao nodded, "Okay, after you've eaten, I'll have someone take you there."

"By the way, during this period, tell your comrades not to worry about anything else, just focus on doing their work well."

Li Tiejun's expression remained unchanged when he heard Yang Xiaotao say this, but his heart skipped a beat.

As he said yesterday, his wife's relationship with Yang Xiaotao's family allows him to know a lot of things.

Naturally, he understood Yang Xiaotao's personality even better; he was definitely the kind of guy who would respond better to gentle persuasion than force.

And even if someone is compliant, it depends on whether it involves their principles.

In short, this guy is definitely not one to suffer a loss.

But what does this have to do with him?
He believed that completing the project in three months was simply impossible at the current pace.

Perhaps, letting this guy cause some trouble and then getting things sorted out might actually work!
"Row!"

Li Tiejun agreed without much hesitation.

Yang Xiaotao nodded with a smile.

This is how it should be.

"Let's go eat!"

As they walked into the restaurant, Secretary Guo was setting out the food.

"Hey, where's Secretary Liu?"

Yang Xiaotao looked around but couldn't see Liu Lixue.

It's worth noting that Liu Lixue is extremely dedicated to her work.

Then Yang Xiaotao remembered what he had said yesterday and felt a pang of panic. Could it be his fault?

"I don't know, they're probably still resting."

Secretary Guo was also somewhat surprised.

Although Liu Lixue's identity is somewhat special, she is not at all hesitant when it comes to work, and is even more capable than the average person.

"I'll go call her for dinner!"

Yang Xiaotao thought about it and decided to go and see, just in case there was any misunderstanding.

At worst...

Why not take a loss and treat the other person to a meal?

Upon arriving at Liu Lixue's resting place, Yang Xiaotao began knocking on the door.

"Secretary Liu, are you up yet? Lunch is ready!"

Yang Xiaotao's voice wasn't loud, but it had a strong penetrating power.

Inside the room, Liu Lixue, her face flushed, covered her chest with both hands, looking at the soaked sheets, blankets, and clothes, feeling utterly ashamed.

If people find out, how will I ever be able to face them again!
Hearing Yang Xiaotao's voice again, he panicked once more, and his face showed even more anxiety.

"Secretary Liu?"

Yang Xiaotao's voice came again. Liu Lixue tried to calm herself down and then said, "Director Yang, I'm not feeling well. I won't have breakfast."

"Okay, take care of yourself."

After hearing Yang Xiaotao finish speaking and hearing footsteps leaving, Liu Lixue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at the cup and clothes in front of her, Liu Lixue was once again caught in a dilemma.

A moment later, Liu Lixue turned her attention to the radiator in the room.

After hearing Liu Lixue's voice and confirming that everything was alright, Yang Xiaotao returned to the restaurant. After the group finished eating, Yang Xiaotao had someone send Li Hongfeng away.

They then returned together with Secretary Guo, preparing to take a car to Penglai in the afternoon.

As for the lunch arrangements, Yang Xiaotao had originally planned to have lunch with local people from Dengzhou, but he declined.

When Yang Xiaotao returned to his residence, he saw Liu Lixue carrying a folder.

Yang Xiaotao glanced at the other person, feeling that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

I decided not to think too much about it and focused on my work.

Only after Yang Xiaotao's gaze shifted away did Liu Lixue resume normal breathing.

Then I tried to suppress the things that happened in my dream last night and keep a normal expression.

"Xiaoxue, call Guan Zhiyong at the steel plant later and ask him to organize a group of quality inspection workers. I need their help."

As soon as Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, Liu Lixue knew what to do.

As expected, this is the start of trouble.

"Ok."

Liu Lixue wrote it down. Of course, she also needed to explain the situation to Guan Zhiyong, so that he wouldn't just send some useless people.

"The second thing is for you to have Lao Yang investigate who is in charge of power resources now, and we need the results today."

"Ok."

Liu Lixue put the notebook away and left quickly.

Yang Xiaotao leaned against the window, staring at the snow on the windowsill, as if he were in a daze or deep in thought.

Half an hour later, Liu Lixue knocked on the door and came in. Yang Xiaotao put down the book he was holding.

"Director Yang, Factory Director Guan said they can set up a quality inspection team of twenty people today, ready to follow your instructions at any time."

Yang Xiaotao nodded, "Okay."

Liu Lixue continued, "After Director Yang learned about this, he immediately inquired about it and investigated the matter."

"Currently, the electricity sector is basically managed locally, giving local governments autonomy and flexibility in its use."

"As for the nuclear power plant, in theory it is located in Dengzhou, which is in Shandong Province, so the local authorities should have jurisdiction over it. However, this is the first time a nuclear power plant has appeared, so they may not be able to manage it well."

"Moreover, this is a project of our Ninth Department, so we need to give our opinions on how to manage it."

Yang Xiaotao nodded; this was something he had already known.

The reason for conducting this investigation is to confirm it once again.

Now that things are as I expected, it doesn't matter.

Walking to the side, Yang Xiaotao picked up the satellite phone and dialed Li Hongfeng.

"Old Li, it's me."

There's something that needs to be done as soon as possible.

"Yes, we will set up nine power management factories."

"Yes, it's about managing electricity."

"This should be established as soon as possible. I plan to appoint Comrade Li Tiejun as the factory director. We can recruit people with electrical work experience to be formal workers in our Ninth Department."

"Yes, yes, yes, the trainees are now placed in factory management. Once they pass the training, they become electricians. That's the idea."

"Yes, good, good, get it set up as soon as possible, that's it."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Xiaotao called Boss Chen again.

The specifics were not disclosed, but I believe Secretary Guo has already spoken about them.

That means a department or unit specifically for managing electricity and energy needs to be established. Old Chen understood what it meant as soon as he heard it, but at the moment Old Chen's attention was focused on the West-East Gas Pipeline project, and he didn't care about these things.

As for what the Nine Departments are going to do, as long as they don't cause any major scandals, he can keep them under control.

After hanging up the phone, Yang Xiaotao prepared to go to Penglai.

There's someone else I need to meet there.

When Yang Xiaotao arrived in Penglai, Li Rong from the foreign trade department personally greeted him, which made Yang Xiaotao feel flattered.

Afterwards, the group arrived at a nice inn led by Li Rong.

Yang Xiaotao and Li Rong chatted for half an afternoon here.

The two sides discussed the issue of the "supply falling short of demand" for the products of the Ninth Department.

According to Li Rong, production should be expanded, especially for pharmaceuticals. Nowadays, not only are health products often sold out, but anti-inflammatory drugs and disinfectants are in short supply in the market all year round, and the prices on the black market have been inflated several times over.

Yang Xiaotao naturally knew that production expansion was necessary, but it wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Besides people and machines, another important element is electricity.

But unfortunately, there isn't enough electricity.

Yang Xiaotao then explained the situation in Dengzhou. After listening, Li Rong understood the current situation and also expressed hope for the Dengzhou nuclear power plant.

Then, when the conversation turned to the United States, Yang Xiaotao heard many things from Li Rong.

First, the Pharaoh's Kingdom reclaimed the territory it had lost in the previous battle.

Moreover, the battle proceeded surprisingly smoothly, which made the Pharaoh's country very favorable towards Persia, which provided the aircraft.

Of course, in the end, the aircraft order placed by the Pharaoh's country was delivered to the domestic country.

In addition, what Yang Xiaotao was most concerned about was the United States' preparation to establish a strategic oil reserve relationship with the desert.

Moreover, if Yang Xiaotao remembered correctly, the United States was planning to price desert oil exports in US dollars. In other words, if someone wanted oil, they first needed to have US dollars.

“Aunt Rong, you must keep a close eye on the situation between the United States and the desert. I suspect that the two sides may have reached a secret agreement.”

"They might collude to maintain the dollar's status as a currency."

Li Rong nodded. Her assessment of Yang Xiaotao had evolved from initial disdain to growing interest, then surprise, and finally admiration.

Since Yang Xiaotao has said this, there must be a problem.

The two chatted for the afternoon, and in the evening Yang Xiaotao saw Li Rong off before preparing for tomorrow's work.

The following day, Yang Xiaotao led Secretary Guo Liu Lixue to the place Li Rong had mentioned, and there they ran into Dawson.

Dawson didn't look well at the moment; his hair was a mess, and he looked haggard.

"Mr. Dawson!"

Yang Xiaotao took the initiative to greet them, after all, they were lending him money. Without this two billion, he would probably be out of resources, let alone have so much money.

"Yang, it's been so hard waiting for you."

Dawson spoke in broken English, his face showing a hint of resentment, which gave Yang Xiaotao goosebumps.

"Mr. Dawson, I'm sorry, I've just been too busy with work."

"As you know, we are currently busy with the West-East Gas Pipeline project. I dare not be careless or negligent in such a huge project."

Dawson felt even more distressed after hearing Yang Xiaotao's words.

He had heard about the West-East Gas Pipeline project, and in his opinion, it was just a waste of money.

Nothing to do after eating!

Then I realized that all that money was funded by him.

"Yes, you are indeed undertaking a great project."

"May you succeed soon."

"We will."

As he spoke, Yang Xiaotao reached out his hand, and Dawson followed him inside.

As for repaying the money, that will be handled by the accompanying finance staff.

However, Yang Xiaotao still asked Secretary Guo to calculate it carefully, and not to forget the loan period, even if it was calculated in days.

The handover went smoothly, and the transaction was completed in just one hour.

Meanwhile, Yang Xiaotao and Dawson were having a lively conversation on the side.

"Dawson, to thank you for your help, I'll give you a way to make money."

"I wouldn't dare say more, but I can definitely earn tens of millions."

Dawson nodded hurriedly, "Tell me quickly?"

Yang Xiaotao leaned close to the other person's ear and said, "There's a metal in a steel mill in West Germany that can be used to make natural gas pipelines."

"Now that the little girl knows, she'll definitely try to stop it, and then you'll make a fortune."

Dawson's eyes lit up upon hearing this, his gaze filled with Dao Le's symbolism.