Chapter 225: A Copper Pea
Chapter 225: A Copper Pea
"It's not a post-mortem execution, it's more like a post-mortem reckoning. How it will be settled depends on the investigation results."
Wang Zixu said: "So, you called me here today to investigate me."
Lin Feng nodded: "That's what I mean."
Wang Zixu said: "If I behave well and cooperate, the punishment will be lighter. If I behave poorly, the punishment may be heavier."
Lin Feng hesitated, then gritted his teeth:
"No matter how you are dealt with in the end, at least you will not lose your position as vice president of the Xihe Literary Association. I can guarantee you that."
"I understand."
There was a knock on the door.
Wang Zixu turned around and said, "Lin Feng, do you think I am too impulsive?"
Lin Feng shook his head: "It's already been done. I didn't come here to say that bullshit."
As the knock on the door sounded again, it was pushed open. A man with a flat head stood outside the door and said to the inside with a fake smile:
"Teacher Lin, Director Fang is here."
Lin Feng walked over, turned back and nodded to Wang Zixu, then walked out sideways.
The flat-headed man walked in leading a short and fat man.
His short and fat body was bulging in the middle and pointed at both ends, like a rugby ball. He put his hands behind his back and walked in square steps. He was short but looked very imposing.
He walked in and sat down on the sofa in front of Wang Zixu. The belt under his stomach and the leather sofa groaned at the same time.
Pingtou poured tea for the two and introduced Director Fang. Wang Zixu didn't listen carefully, he just heard that he was the director of something, anyway, at the deputy department level.
Director Fang clasped his hands together, bent his waist, and said in a loud voice:
“Wang Zixu, President Tolin called you here today to talk about something very simple, and you should know what it is.
"But you may not know that yesterday, our literary association held a general meeting, and after the general meeting, we held a team meeting to discuss what to do. Director Lu did not sleep all night, just because of you."
Wang Zixu said, Oh.
Director Fang added: "Some of our comrades are very excited. They recorded the video without authorization and aggravated the conflict. Do you know what some comrades think of it? -
"I won't tell you the name of that comrade, but I can tell you that he is also an important figure in the literary world. You may even admire his works. His evaluation is that you are behaving like a mean person."
Wang Zixu nodded and said, Oh.
Director Fang added: "So when it comes to talking to you today, many comrades shirk responsibility and don't want to come. They said, what if they talk to someone who secretly records the conversation and is recorded again?
"But I volunteered. I said, I'll come and talk to him. Do you know why I dare to come here?"
Wang Zixu asked why.
Director Fang said, "I have read your file. So I know that you are also a cultural backbone who grew up in the system. You joined the system in the 2010s, right? You were a civil servant at that time."
Wang Zixu said, yes.
Director Fang said that you later went to work in a public institution. It was good to work in a public institution, it was easy, and you had a lot of spare time. I guess it was during that period that your writing skills were gradually honed.
Wang Zixu said, no.
Director Fang said, whether you admit it or not, whether you are grateful or not, the organization has cultivated you. Even if you don’t consider your own reputation, you have to consider the impact on the organization, right?
Wang Zixu said, what impact will it have on the organization?
Director Fang seemed not to hear his question and said, "To be honest, although you resigned later, I don't think a cadre like you would spontaneously launch a surprise attack and damage the credibility of the Writers Association. Tell me, did anyone teach you to do this?"
Wang Zixu said, no.
Director Fang asked, was it your former president Li Tingfang who told you this?
Wang Zixu said, no, you think too much.
Director Fang said, don't be nervous, I just want to talk to you and make things clear, and the consequences won't be that serious.
Wang Zixu said, I'm not nervous.
Director Fang said, Oh, if it wasn’t Li Tingfang who said it, then it was she who asked her disciple Lin Feng to tell you?
Wang Zixu said that this matter had nothing to do with others.
Director Fang frowned and said, "You don't think that as long as you resign, you will have no weaknesses, right? Let me tell you, if we find out that it was you who did it, the punishment for you will be quite severe!"
Wang Zixu said, then punish him.
Seeing that he was not going to take it, Director Fang softened his tone and said: I am not threatening you. In other words, if it is found out that there are other people involved in this matter, or even that there is someone else who is the mastermind, then the punishment for you will be minimal.
Wang Zixu said, there is no one else. It's just me.
Director Fang tilted his head and asked, "How dare you do such a thing?"
Wang Zixu said, why can't I do this kind of thing myself?
Director Fang said, aren’t you afraid of the consequences?
Wang Zixu said, let me ask you a question.
Director Fang said, you ask.
Wang Zixu said, why isn't Shi Tonghe afraid of the impact later?
Director Fang was speechless for a moment.
Wang Zixu said, this was done by Shi Tonghe, why didn't he consider the impact on the literary world and literature?
Director Fang was anxious, his face turned red, and he waved his hand: "Don't talk to me in an official tone, don't make a fuss!"
Wang Zixu sat up straight, showing a puzzled expression, and pointed at his nose: "Am I exaggerating?"
“You are the Writers Association, you should serve writers, serve the people, and take it as your responsibility to produce excellent works.
"You didn't investigate whether Shi Tonghe bribed the authors privately, and you also considered whether Shi Tonghe took the opportunity to retaliate against me at the seminar. Instead, you blame me for making a big deal out of it?
"You are the leader of the Cultural Association. Isn't it your job to make a big deal out of it? You are still asking bullshit questions like who ordered me to do this... Shi Tonghe wants to deal with me, and I can't fight back. Does it make sense for me to be a dog?"
Director Fang's face turned blue and red, and finally white. He stood up, took out a recorder from his pocket, pressed the end button, and said to Wang Zixu:
"Wait here for a while. I'll go discuss it and come back later."
After saying that, he turned away and closed the door.
Wang Zixu put his hands behind his head, leaned on the sofa, and lay there for a while.
The tea on the coffee table no longer emitted steam. I looked at the watch and realized 20 minutes had passed.
Wang Zixu stood up and pushed open the door, only to see a man standing at the door with his hands on his chest. He seemed in a daze, but when he saw Wang Zixu, he suddenly perked up.
Before he could say anything, Wang Zixu closed the door.
It looked like they wouldn't let him go.
After waiting in the reception room for another 20 minutes, a new face came in. He introduced himself as Commissioner Gao.
Commissioner Gao's tone was much kinder than Director Fang's, but the condescending tone remained unchanged.
He said, Wang Zixu, I know you have some opinions in your mind.
Wang Zixu said nothing. He then said, “You should have a problem with Shi Tonghe, but you shouldn’t have a problem with the Cultural Association.”
His reason was: After Shi Tonghe talked to you, you had a problem with him, so why didn't you go to the Cultural Association? You felt it was unfair, so why didn't you go to the Cultural Association to seek redress?
Wang Zixu still didn't speak.
He also said, if you had come to talk to the Cultural Association at that time, the Cultural Association would have handled the matter properly and minimized the impact. But you were too radical and brought the matter to the public's attention. What should we do?
Wang Zixu spoke: So what do you plan to do with Shi Tonghe?
Commissioner Gao was stunned. This was not the time to deal with the problem...
Wang Zixu said, "I have shown all the evidence. Is there any problem with what Shi Tonghe did? If there is a problem, how will you deal with it?" Commissioner Gao said, "After you exposed the problem to the public, the nature of the matter has changed. Now the problem is no longer at this level."
Wang Zixu said, so there is no problem with Shi Tonghe?
Commissioner Gao said, "Aren't we investigating now? It's not up to me to decide whether there is a problem or not."
Wang Zixu said, why don’t you investigate Shi Tonghe, but you investigate me?
Commissioner Gao said with a stern face, Wang Zixu, how do you know that we didn’t investigate Shi Tonghe?
Wang Zixu said, if you investigate, you will know that Shi Tonghe has been targeting me from the beginning to the end. Instead of catching the culprit, you ask me. Do you expect me to take the blame for Shi Tonghe?
Commissioner Gao said that your behavior was too radical.
Wang Zixu said, you only talk about my radical behavior but not what forced me to become radical. Is this your working method?
Commissioner Gao's forehead began to sweat. "Wang Zixu, you are eloquent and I don't agree with you. I can only tell you that if you are willing to stand up and put an end to this farce, this matter can be over. Do you understand what I mean?"
Wang Zixu said, I don’t understand what you mean.
Commissioner Gao said, it's in the past. We can just pretend it never happened and not get involved in your personal grudges with others. There are so many conflicts in the Cultural Association. If we manage them one by one, how can we manage them all? But you have to be responsible for eliminating the impact you have caused.
Wang Zixu said, why don’t you let Shi Tonghe eliminate it?
Commissioner Gao showed a disappointed expression on his face. Why are you so funny?
Wang Zixu said, I don't understand what you mean. Shi Tonghe was at fault first, why do you want me to eliminate the impact? In terms of fairness and influence, he should have stood up, why did it become my fault?
Commissioner Gao said, "But you were the one who exposed this matter, and now the public is watching you. If you just issue a statement saying that it was your own misunderstanding, this matter won't become such a big deal. How good is that?"
Wang Zixu said, you can't deal with Shi Tonghe, but you can deal with me, so you only work on me. Can I understand it this way?
Commissioner Gao was very disappointed and stamped his feet, saying, "Wang Zixu, you have also worked in the system, why are you so funny?"
Wang Zixu said, if you want to have credibility, you should not pick on the weak ones, but should push forward in the direction of greater resistance. It is useless for you to pick on me.
Wang Zixu stood up, held his head high and chest out, and said, "Because I am a copper pea that can't be steamed, cooked, pounded or fried. It just makes a ringing sound."
Commissioner Gao walked away and closed the door.
Wang Zixu felt a little disappointed. He still had a lot to say, but Commissioner Gao didn't give him a chance to show off. No one even refilled his tea.
He had no choice but to boil a pot of water, pour himself some tea, and watch the watch to see who would be the next lobbyist.
As noon approached, his stomach began to growl with hunger, so he grabbed the fried rice snacks from the small bamboo basket on the table in the living room and tore them open to treat himself.
He was ready to spend a day here. He had nothing else to do anyway, so he could just stay with him.
He raised his legs high and placed them on the coffee table, intending to use this relaxed and leisurely posture to intimidate the next person who pushed the door open.
The door opened and a gust of cold wind rushed in from outside. Wang Zixu looked sideways and saw Chen Qingluo walking in from outside.
He nearly fell to the ground.
Chen Qingluo's dress was lifted up to a sharp curve. She stood at the doorway against the light, her black hair cascading down her narrow waistline, her calves wrapped in flesh-colored stockings stretched out in a straight line like a blade.
The sunlight passed through the irregular window frame, cutting out alternating patterns of light and dark on her face. Her dark eyes were like deep pools quenched by ice. Her eyelashes were still as long, but her face was thinner, and her lines were like a jade paperweight that had been shaved thin.
After seeing clearly that it was Chen Qingluo, he really fell off the sofa to the ground.
"Let's go." Chen Qingluo said.
"Ah?" Wang Zixu said a little dazedly.
Chen Qingluo walked over - the sound of her snow boots tapping the ground was gentle and hearty - she stretched out her toes and touched Wang Zixu's knee.
"Walk."
Prince Xu pointed outside: "Are they willing to let me go?"
Chen Qingluo shook her head: "They don't want to."
Wang Zixu said, "Then I can't just leave casually, right?"
Chen Qingluo said: "So I convinced them."
Wang Zixu stood up as if waking up from a dream. Chen Qingluo slowly turned around and led him out the door like an RPG hero who had completed a mission.
"How did you convince them?"
“I convinced them sincerely.”
Wang Zixu asked again: "When did you come?"
"It's been a while."
"Have you finished your book?"
"It's finished."
"This retreat is going to be very long."
"Yes, 30 words."
As the two walked out of the door of the Literary Association, Wang Zixu suddenly felt that the sun was shining brightly and the whole world became clear.
How could there be such a beautiful day in the world?
Wang Zixu asked her again: "Where is Lin Feng?"
Chen Qingluo shook her head, she didn’t know.
She looked up and stared at Wang Zixu with her dark eyes, as if blaming him for talking nonsense.
Yes, how did she know where Raymond Lam was? Why ask her this question?
Wang Zixu swallowed and said, "I don't know what they are going to do with me."
Chen Qingluo said: "They won't deal with you for the time being."
The two walked to the zebra crossing in front of the Cultural Association and waited for the traffic light. Prince leaned over and his little finger touched her hand, which was icy cold, frozen in the wind, and a little red.
He immediately withdrew his hand.
Wang Zixu said: "Where are we going next?"
Chen Qingluo said, "Let's have lunch."
"Together we will?"
"can."
Wang Zixu felt the sunshine was bright again.
How could there be such a beautiful day in the world?
If Chen Qingluo hadn't been next to him, he would have immediately started humming the Beatles' "A Day in the Life".
At this moment, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "They were just wondering who ordered me to do this. If you come to pick me up now, they won't suspect you, right?"
Chen Qingluo shook her head: "No."
After saying that, she stretched out her hand: "My hands are cold."
Wang Zixu held her hands with both hands, but she immediately broke free.
(End of this chapter)