Chapter 109: Trouble at Mount 5
Chapter 109: Trouble at Mount Wutai (Thanks to the book friend 2021022718194211)
Diao Yiwen was wearing a light blue dress, swaying as she walked over. Her long black hair was straightened and spread out behind her, shining like she had just stepped out of the bath. She had never worn high heels before, and this time she wore a pair of thick silver Mary Janes. Her whole temperament seemed to have changed greatly, and Song Yinglian was stunned.
Guo Ranran smiled and said, "Xiao Diao looks so beautiful today. With this outfit, people might think she is the hostess, presenting awards to the contestants!"
Song Yinglian glanced at the outspoken Guo Ranran and said calmly: "Xiao Diao is not here to present the award, she is here to receive the award."
Diao Yiwen smiled and said, "I can't say for sure that I will get the prize yet."
Because of her elegant attire, even her temperament seemed different from before, as if she was particularly cool and aloof.
Song Yinglian said: "We have entered the final round, right? As long as we can enter the final round, we can win the prize."
Guo Ranran asked: "How are the awards distributed? Is there a bonus?"
Diao Yiwen nodded: "Yes, but not much."
Song Yinglian raised his eyebrows: "As expected of Miss Diao, the prize money is 20 yuan!"
Guo Ranran didn't expect there would be so many, and she became envious: "So many? How much will the first prize be?"
"First place gets 10, second place gets 5, third place gets 3, fourth and fifth place get 1, and the rest get nothing. A total of 20."
Guo Ranran pounded his hands and looked dazed: "Ah, so there are so many. If I had known earlier, I would have gone to participate."
Song Yinglian said with a smile: "If you participate, you won't get any bonus, and you will have to pay for electricity and printing."
"Tsk, you look down on me!"
Diao Yiwen smiled gently as she watched her two friends bickering, just like watching two innocent children.
She is determined to get into the top 5 in this essay contest, and it is not for the prize money.
If we talk about money, she still remembers her father's reception for Yan Zishan. Although her father did not disclose the exact amount, she was there to accompany him for every meal. Yan Zishan likes seafood, so lobster, shark fin, abalone... these expensive ingredients were brought to him at great prices, fearing that he would not be happy with the meal. The wines he drank were also varied, from XO to Bordeaux, and at least a box of wines that could be named or not were used. The cost of the meals in the past few days alone was equal to the prize money for the second place in the essay contest.
Not to mention that they also have entertainment activities after dinner, such as bathing, foot massage, and sightseeing. Diao Yiwen did not accompany him on the way, but it is expected that he would not spend less money. But every time he came home, his father was still in high spirits. Doing these things regardless of the cost, as long as it can achieve the goal, the money spent is not in vain.
Diao Yiwen had no doubt that she could win a place in the essay contest. Of course, she had never thought about winning first place. Yan Zishan had emphasized this to her - he only modified Diao Yiwen's original framework, but did not change the entire framework, so he could only win second place at most, not first place.
What this means is that no matter how Diao Yiwen's manuscript is revised, it can only get second place. If she wants to get first place, she has to throw it away and rewrite it.
Yan Zishan was so confident in his prediction of the results that it seemed as if the literary meeting was his own. However, Diao Yiwen had been convinced by the experience and skills of this literary giant through her contact over the past few days. He had his own system of value judgment. He said that he could only get second place at best, so it was probably impossible for him to get first place.
Although she was not convinced that her article was criticized, it didn't matter. Besides, she was already very satisfied to get second place.
Zhang Cangnian came over with a smile, looked Diao Yiwen up and down, and said, "Xiao Diao, are you ready to win the award? You dressed up so beautifully in advance, you will definitely look great in the news when you are on the news."
Diao Yiwen moved her hair and said calmly, "I didn't dress up just to receive the award. After all, I'm already firmly in the top ten. My father told me to dress formally because I might have to meet a leader."
Song Yinglian helped her speak up: "It's a pity that Xiao Diao's daily lifestyle is too frugal. It would be great if she could wear something this nice every day."
A strong wind blew, and everyone looked back, only to see that a high-power electric fan had been set up at the reception point of the government office next door, and the tail of the strong wind swept towards them.
Guo Ranran said enviously: "It would be great if our company also had such an electric fan."
Zhang Cangnian smiled and said, "Only powerful units can get such treatment. Our unit is not good enough."
Xu Shichao's voice came from behind the crowd: "If Xiao Diao makes it into the top five this time, our unit will also have face. After all..."
At this point, he lowered his voice and said, "...I heard that none of the government offices made it into the top ten this time."
Everyone gathered around and whispered, "How come there isn't one in the top ten?"
Xu Shichao said: "In order to avoid suspicion, none of the people in Director Mei's office participated in the competition. As a result, the results of the few people who participated were not very ideal."
Zhang Cangnian waved his hand to signal him to speak softly, and said in a low voice: "Keep your voice down, don't let others hear it. Our unit can't afford to offend the government office!"
Xu Shichao smiled and put his index finger on his lips, making a "whisper" gesture, and whispered: "Believe it or not, they are also talking about us now, maybe they are talking about Xiao Diao."
Zhang Cangnian said, "Xiao Diao, you are now the signboard of our unit. You should sit at our service point for a while longer today so that everyone who comes and goes can see you and give our unit some face."
Guo Ranran felt proud and puffed out his chest: "It's a beautiful sign."
At this moment, Xu Shichao suddenly stood up straight, strode through the crowd and greeted a black car parked on the side of the road. Everyone soon understood why he was so active - the car door opened and Director Gou got out of the car.
Everyone hurriedly pretended to be serious and neat, standing straight under the awning. Director Gou walked over with his hands behind his back, glanced at everyone and said:
"Comrades, you have all worked hard. The weather is too hot and the conditions are limited. Please overcome it."
Xu Shichao said hurriedly: "The comrades have no complaints and stick to their posts."
"Comrade Shichao can go buy some iced watermelon, drinks, etc. and come over to treat the comrades. Our funds are there and we have to spend them. We can't fill the square with air conditioners, but we can still help the comrades cool down."
The comrades all praised the leader's wisdom, and some were amused by the leader, and the atmosphere was particularly relaxed and lively.
Gou Yingbiao looked at the well-dressed Diao Yiwen with some approval in his eyes, and said, "Xiao Diao is really good. You are in the top ten. I have mentioned you to the leaders of other units. It turns out that I was right in my judgment. You are young, promising, talented, and humble."
After that, he put his hands behind his back and sighed, saying: "Luckily you came to our unit this year. If you young comrades hadn't come, we would only have one Wang Zixu participating in the competition this year, and he was eliminated from the finals. Don't you think it's shameful?"
Regarding the leaders' frequent suppression, Zhang Cangnian and Xu Shichao kept their mouths shut and did not respond. Guo Ranran was very excited to hear this, but she did not know how to respond.
Director Gou turned around and asked, "Where's Wang Zixu? Hasn't he come yet?"
Xu Shichao whispered: "Maybe he won't come today."
"Humph, this prince is empty."
Gou Yingbiao looked unhappy, and said with his hands behind his back, "Where is his leave note? Go back and check. As far as I remember, he only applied for leave until yesterday, so today should be counted as his absence."
Xu Shichao murmured and nodded. Gou Yingbiao walked to the chair in the middle of the awning and sat down, then picked up the folding fan on the table and began to fan himself.
With the leader in charge, everyone felt a little awkward, just like students in a study session with their homeroom teacher.
But soon, everyone understood why Director Gou was willing to stand firm in the heat, because not far away, a group of oppressive suited leaders came from the other end of the square and soon arrived in front of their awning. The leader was Mei Rucheng.
This group of people is composed of leaders from multiple units, who are responsible for supervising the volunteer services of each unit during the literary meeting to prevent passive slacking and neglect of the masses. Director Gou obviously received a tip-off that they were coming to inspect the site, so he drove here in advance to take charge to show his hard work.
Mei Rucheng walked to the front of the pavilion and asked loudly, "What's up, Director Gou, are you personally in charge of the command?"
"Director Mei!" Gou Yingbiao stood up happily, put his hands in front of him, and looked like he was listening attentively to the teachings of the Lord.
Director Mei pointed at Diao Yiwen and said to the people from other units behind him, "This little Diao has made it into the top ten this time."
There was a burst of praise from the crowd, and someone said, "Throughout the journey, the top ten were basically from the Literary Association, or there were submissions from the public, and there were very few from our administrative unit."
"Yes, you are a good candidate. You are so talented at such a young age. It would be even better if you can get into the top five. I'm afraid the Literature Association will come running to invite you to join."
Diao Yiwen quickly modestly said: "I don't have any talent. It's all because of Director Gou's training."
Someone said, "Director Gou must have a good eye for talent. Hmm, he's a very good young man. Director Gou should train him well. He might be able to take over your job in the future."
Director Gou was overjoyed by the praise. After a brief round of flattery, he sent the leaders away.
Mei Rucheng had a cold face the whole time, showing neither happiness nor unhappiness. But Gou Yingbiao was secretly proud because Director Mei did not even mention Wang Zixu.
In his opinion, the relationship between the two was so harmonious, and Director Mei seemed to be Wang Zixu's backer, so he couldn't help but mention it. Since he didn't mention it, it was obvious that Wang Zixu, who was useless, had disappointed him so much that he was embarrassed to mention it.
After Director Mei's team had completely walked away, Gou Yingbiao turned around and said, "Several young comrades have performed well. They can go to the literary conference and have some fun. We'll let several comrades from the unit take turns guarding here. Xiao Diao, you can go to the bookstores and bookstores more often. There are many people from the Literary Association there."
Diao Yiwen originally wanted to emphasize her determination to hold her ground, but then she changed her mind and thought that it would be more beneficial for her to go to other places and expand her popularity, so she nodded slightly.
Just as Director Gou was about to leave, a red Audi made a sharp turn and stopped on the side of the road right next to his black sedan.
The car door opened, and a figure wearing sunglasses and a white T-shirt got out of the car, put his hands in his pockets, closed the door, looked around, and then walked towards their shed.
When he saw this person, Gou Yingbiao's face immediately darkened and looked very ugly.
When Diao Yiwen, Song Yinglian and others saw this person, they all raised their eyebrows slightly, as if they did not believe that he would appear here.
Guo Ranran's eyes immediately widened and stared at him.
Zhang Cangnian closed his eyes with regret, secretly sighing that he still came.
And it came at the worst possible time.
Even if it was a little later, after Director Gou left, it would be fine. But he came now.
The person striding towards this side was Wang Zixu, whom everyone had not seen for a long time.
Contrary to everyone's impression, there was no trace of disappointment or shame on his face after being shortlisted. Even his previous side of being a good guy who was easily bullied in the workplace seemed to have changed.
At this moment, he was chewing gum and walked over with an indifferent and even defiant look on his face.
When he came closer, everyone could see his outfit clearly. There was no logo on his T-shirt, and he wore a pair of gray overalls. When he walked under the awning, he pushed his sunglasses up and hung them on his hair. His outfit was too out of place compared to Diao Yiwen, and even compared to other people. If you didn't know him, you would definitely think he was a tourist.
Gou Yingbiao immediately wrinkled his nose and said in the coldest tone: "Wang Zixu, why are you here just now? Although today is the opening of the literary conference, we still have to come according to the working hours."
Wang Zixu said: "I was at work just now, dealing with some leftover matters."
There was a hint of ambiguity in his words, but Gou Yingbiao didn't notice it. He just thought he was talking about something left over from his long vacation, and continued to criticize:
"What else is there? What is more important than the literary conference? Today's literary conference is the most important thing. Don't take today lightly just because your manuscript was shortlisted but failed."
After saying that, Guo Ranran laughed silently and covered her mouth. However, Wang Zixu's expression did not change at all, and he was still chewing gum.
Gou Yingbiao turned his head and looked at the Audi that was driving over. He held back and didn't ask, but he was actually very curious.
In fact, when Wang Zixu arrived, many people noticed his car. People who knew the market knew that the car cost at least 30 yuan; people who didn't know the market could also see that, judging from the appearance alone, it was not a car that the working class like them could afford.
Gou Yingbiao really wanted to ask Wang Zixu whether he had become rich or something, how he could suddenly afford a car of this grade, but because it was too far off the topic, he didn't ask, but continued to pursue the question:
"Wang Zixu, do you know that during the time you were away, we held a special study meeting and criticized you by name. Don't be unconvinced. Look at our Xiao Diao, do you know? Her manuscript entered the top ten of the essay contest this time. Director Mei came to praise her just now, and many leaders praised her highly, but she did not get cocky at all and was always very humble. You need to learn this mentality..."
Wang Zixu naturally would not listen to his teachings, but quickly entered a trance state. Although he could pour the opened bottle of mineral water on the table next to him on Gou Yingbiao's face, he didn't need to do so. He put his hands in his pockets and looked at the arrangement of the literary gathering in the distance. He saw a verse written on a banner, which was quite intriguing:
"I have never done good deeds in my life, I only love to kill and set fires. Suddenly, the golden rope was loosened, and the jade lock was broken. Hey! The tide is coming on the Qiantang River, today I know who I am."
He was very curious about the mentality of the leaders of the literary society to arrange this verse on such an occasion. He didn't know that Li Tingfang liked Lu Zhishen. If he knew, he would naturally guess that this was the work of Lin Feng's teacher. But anyway, he found it very interesting. Murder and arson, good.
However, compared to real life, once the golden rope is loosened, the silver rope comes next, and after the jade lock is broken, the copper lock comes next, and there is never an end.
However, this time, whether he wants to or not, he will probably make a big fuss like Lu Zhishen.
As he was thinking, Wang Zixu smiled. This smile made Gou Yingbiao think that he was provoking him, and he angrily asked: "Are you listening to me?"
"Brother Wang."
A familiar voice sounded from behind him. Wang Zixu turned around and saw Lin Feng, who was wearing a suit and sweating profusely, walking towards him step by step.
Seeing Lin Feng, Gou Yingbiao stood up quickly, his expression changed for a moment, and then he returned to his cold and hard style. Before the inspection, he was very flattering to Lin Feng, but now that he had established a connection with a more powerful person, his relationship with Lin Feng turned cold.
"Why is General Lin here?" Gou Yingbiao asked.
Lin Feng came over breathlessly, walked into the shed, patted Wang Zixu's shoulder, and said after taking a deep breath:
"I rushed here as soon as I received the news. Brother Wang, you are now qualified to apply for membership in the Literature Association. You must let me be your recommender."
Everyone was stunned. The words of a leader from another unit, "I'll come running to invite you to join the club," were still ringing in their ears, but the target was slightly different.
Wang Zixu asked, "Have I published an article in the magazine? Which one is it?"
Lin Feng said: "'Wild Grass' is on 'Yangtze River'!"
(End of this chapter)