224: Behind Chapter 224 lies the everyday life of ordinary people.

The snow in Beining City began to fall just as Lu Li walked out of the municipal government building.

At first, it was just a few scattered flakes, as if someone standing high above had casually tossed a handful of salt. But as the wind whipped up, the snow flurries drifted sideways, landing on the steps, the black roof of the car, and the flagstone path by the entrance that had been worn shiny by footsteps.

It was very cold.

So cold that even one's breath seemed to carry a visible puff of white.

The Guard had already opened the car door, standing straight as a nail in the wind and snow.

Lu Li stood on the steps, first looking up at the sky.

Snowflakes brushed past his eyes and brows, not stopping before being swept away by the wind the next second.

He didn't rush to get into the car, seemingly lost in thought for a couple of seconds before bending down to step inside.

The car door shut, cutting off the sound of the wind and snow outside.

The Guard was driving, while Number 18 sat quietly in the passenger seat.

She wore a black overcoat today, her short hair tucked behind her ears, her profile as cold and sharp as if carved by a knife. If not for her excessively quiet eyes, her entire being would have seemed almost like this first snow, exuding a cold, inhuman paleness.

The car started moving slowly.

The tires rolled over the freshly fallen thin layer of snow, making a soft rustling sound.

Lu Li leaned back in the rear seat, gazing at the retreating gray-white sky outside the window, his mind still replaying the words spoken in the conference room just now.

The mayor's hesitation, Elder Wu's skepticism, and the proposal on the table that still carried the warmth of hands—they were like layers of paper pressing down on a path that should have been laid out clearly long ago.

In fact, he wasn't surprised that the higher-ups would agree.

In fact, it could even be said that this was entirely within his expectations.

Because, ultimately, this matter was not absurd.

On the contrary, it was something that, once technology reached this stage, would inevitably be seriously brought to the table sooner or later.

The faster technology developed and the higher productivity rose, the easier it became to tear open an increasingly unbridgeable gap with the lives of ordinary people at the bottom.

The more jobs were replaced, the harder it would be for those who lost their livelihoods to transition.

It wasn't something that could be solved by a simple 'go learn something new'.

You can't expect someone who has driven for half their life to suddenly learn system scheduling.

You can't expect someone who has worked on an assembly line for twenty years to suddenly do intelligent operations and maintenance.

It wasn't that they were unwilling to learn.

It was that many people at that age no longer had the capacity to be reshaped all over again.

They could certainly grit their teeth and pivot.

But pivoting takes time.

And what an ordinary person lacked most was often precisely this time.

There are elderly parents at home needing medical care, children's tuition to pay, mortgages, car loans, and expenses that start adding up the moment they open their eyes.

At a time like this, telling them 'the future will be better' is meaningless.

Therefore, the dividends of technology must be fed back to ordinary people.

Fed back to those who are being gradually squeezed out of their original places by the new era.

Not out of pity.

And certainly not out of charity.

But because it was a portion of what originally belonged in their hands, and someone finally had to reclaim it on their behalf.

The car interior remained quiet for a long time.

Only the heater hummed softly, causing a very thin layer of mist to form on the edges of the car windows.

The Guard driving up front focused intently on the road conditions the entire way. Perhaps because of his special role, he hadn't said a single word since getting into the car.

However, Number 18 in the passenger seat suddenly tilted her head slightly.

"Do you need me to do anything?"

Her voice was very soft and flat, as if she were merely asking if the weather was a bit colder today.

Lu Li looked up at her.

"Do what?"

Number 18 stared ahead, her tone still devoid of any ups and downs.

"You have touched other people's interests."

"There will be people trying to obstruct you."

"Should I go eliminate them?"

Inside the car, the air fell silent for a brief moment.

The Guard driving in front shuddered, nearly losing his grip on the steering wheel.

Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead, and his back went stiff.

What did she mean... 'eliminate them'?

What was the deal with this person?

Right in front of him, she said something like that as naturally as asking 'should I get out and buy a bottle of water'?

His throat bobbed, but he simply didn't dare make a sound.

Lu Li looked at Number 18 and actually let out a small laugh.

"That won't be necessary."

Number 18's profile remained motionless.

"They will waste your time."

"Even so, it's not your turn to take action just yet." Lu Li leaned back, his voice lazy, but his mood clearly wasn't bad. "Besides, taking physical action isn't the only way to solve this."

"A gentler way?"

Number 18 finally turned her head to glance at him.

Lu Li raised a hand to rub his brow, a faint curve playing on his lips.

"The wheel of history is not something that a few people blocking the path can stop."

"They can jump around, they can yell, and they can try every possible way to drag things out."

"But once certain things are set in motion, they cannot be rolled back."

As he spoke, his gaze drifted out the window.

The snow outside had grown a bit heavier. Pedestrians holding umbrellas hurried past along the streets, a small cart selling roasted sweet potatoes was parked at a street corner, emitting plumes of steam, and two students in school uniforms ran into a bus shelter with their necks tucked in, leaving behind two rows of crooked footprints in the thin snow.

It was very ordinary.

Very commonplace.

Yet, it was precisely this kind of commonplaceness that carried the most weight.

"They can't stop it," Lu Li said softly. "Because in the end, what stands on my side is not a few corporations, nor is it one or two cities."

"It's the people."

"It's those who are truly living their lives."

As these words fell, Number 18 fell silent.

The Guard in the front seat kept his back tense, inexplicably feeling his heart beating even faster than the car's engine.

He didn't understand all of it.

But just these few sentences were enough to make his back feel warm with excitement.

The car drove all the way out of the district where the municipal government was located.

As if remembering something, Lu Li suddenly looked back again.

Through the snow-covered window, the municipal government building was gradually left behind, its outline turning somewhat blurry.

Yet in his mind, the look Han Shaoting had given him before leaving flashed with absolute clarity.

Gentle, restrained, and even carrying a touch of perfectly measured bureaucratic propriety.

But beneath that propriety, something felt slightly off.

Like a neatly laid cloth with a jarring stone pressed underneath.

Lu Li kept that fleeting moment of anomaly in mind, not speaking it aloud.

Only a quiet thought crossed his mind—

I hope you are only hesitating.

The car drove further away.

The snow continued to fall.

Meanwhile, in the conference room on the top floor of the municipal government building, the atmosphere had become completely different from before.

After Elder Wu left, Han Shaoting stood by the window, the smile on his face fading away bit by bit until nothing remained.

When no one was watching, his entire expression darkened, as if he finally didn't have to maintain that facade of steady amiability anymore.

He stared at the car gradually disappearing into the distance outside the window, standing there for a long time.

Until his secretary knocked and entered, softly reminding him that there was another meeting next.

Only then did Han Shaoting snap out of it, waving his hand.

"Postpone it."

The secretary was startled.

"But—"

"I said, postpone it."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was much colder than usual.

The secretary didn't dare ask further and immediately withdrew.

After the door closed, Han Shaoting walked back to the desk, pulled open a drawer, and took out a very old feature phone from inside.

It had a black casing, and the keys were somewhat worn shiny.

He dialed a number.

After a few rings, the call went through, and an aged yet still steady voice came from the other end.

"Shaoting?"

Han Shaoting held the phone, staring at the proposal on the desk that hadn't been cleared away yet, his face turning somewhat pale with gloom.

"Old Zhou."

"Something has happened."

Outside the window, the snow fell silently.

Yet the air in the room seemed to gradually grow cold.