When Hong Zhendong was drinking tea with a teacup in the general manager's office, he had already decided to leave after talking to Xia Minglan, and he didn't want to stay in the machine tool company for a moment. The association in the paint packaging workshop and the short conversation with Bao Xiaomiao and Xu Hui made him realize that he was already an outsider, and everything about the machine tool company, prosperity or depression and decay had nothing to do with him, he and the people here no longer had a common language, if it weren't for the little old relationship with Xia Minglan, he would have been drinking with Dong Yuejin and Xiaosun at this moment.

After Xia Minglan talked with the staff of the branch, she went directly to the design institute to find Xin Renjie to discuss the development of new products, met Hong Zhendong at the door of the metalworking workshop, and after a few words, Xia Minglan asked him to sit in the office for a while, and she then arrived.

Hong Zhendong sat on the sofa directly opposite Xia Minglan's desk, he put down the teacup, and was about to take out a cigarette from his pocket, when he caught a glimpse of the reminder posted on the wall: "Do not smoke", he shook his head and smiled bitterly. I also saw that the desk used by Xia Minglan was still the same old style table from three years ago, and the interior could only be described as "simple and old" except for the word neatness. I thought that my cousin's mind was still not open, the office of the general manager of a large company, there was no gorgeous decoration, and I was reluctant to buy even a bold boss desk, which was not as good as my small Jingcheng Machine Tool Factory, and a set of mahogany tables, chairs, and screens in the office was worth hundreds of thousands! Hong Zhendong faintly felt that the distance between him and Xia Minglan was getting farther and farther away, and now she was no longer the one he was more than ten years ago when he was the "commander-in-chief", everything was centered on him and he acted according to his opinions. Hong Zhendong sighed: Time has passed, the years are ruthless, not to mention Xia Minglan, who has a good life. Even Dong Yuejin, who had achieved nothing, when did he sincerely bow down to him after returning to the city?

When Hong Zhendong sighed, Xia Minglan pushed the door and came in. She said with a smile on her face: "My cousin has had a smooth ride in the past few years and has a successful career. It's rare to have time to come back to the company. I remember the last time we saw each other a year ago, right? I heard that you made a full moon wine for your son, why didn't you give me a chance to give a gift to my nephew? ”

Hong Zhendong didn't expect her to mention the mess as soon as they met, when she gave her son a full moon wine, Hong Zhendong originally wanted to invite Xia Minglan to participate, but his father Hong Zhongda resolutely refused to let him invite people from the Xia family to participate. Hong Zhongda said angrily, when you got married, you invited someone surnamed Xia to come. The result is a hot face with a cold ass, and you haven't learned your lesson yet? Hong Zhendong thought about it, and his father agreed to send the wedding invitation to the Xia family. It has the meaning of rebuilding the old good. Unexpectedly, Xia Minglan couldn't come to the provincial capital for a meeting that day, and neither of Xia's father and Xia mother attended, Hong Zhongda felt that he had hurt his face.

Hong Zhendong couldn't say his father's words, so he had to laugh and say, "It's my mistake." Thought you were out for a meeting. I humbly pay tribute to you. ”

Xia Minglan waved her hand and said with a smile: "It's been a year, what else do you want to apologize for?" Tell me what you have to teach you today, and I'll have something to discuss with you after we finish talking. ”

Hong Zhendong said: "I can't talk about advice, I originally wanted to remind you of one thing, just now I saw that you have leveled the employees of the branch, it doesn't matter if I say it or not!" ”

Xia Minglan said: "Are you talking about the employees of the branch factory coming to the company to petition?" What did you hear from the insider? ”

Hong Zhendong said: "I heard that the petition of the branch factory in recent years has a lot to do with Cheng Liren's brothers. It can almost be said that they planned and provoked it behind the scenes! Their finger couldn't be clearer! ”

Xia Minglan pondered: "I have also heard from the Ministry of Political Affairs about this, and Cheng Ligang blamed me for my lack of mercy for his imprisonment. Pursue the problem of false assets of the branch; Cheng Liren was severely criticized by Zheng Haotian of the Municipal Bureau for this matter, and he was demoted from the director of the sub-bureau to the deputy director, and he has always been angry, and it is conceivable that they instigated behind their backs. I'm afraid that they will use more tricks, Cheng Liren can do any bad thing! ”

Hong Zhendong said: "Cousin needs to have one more eye, especially to prevent them from jumping off the wall in a hurry, I heard that Cheng Liren and Section Chief Zhao are hooking up even tighter!" ”

Xia Minglan said: "He is in the dark, I am in the light, where can I take care of a lot?" Do whatever you have to do, let it be! There's something I'd like to hear from you, and if we agree, let's do it! ”

Hong Zhendong was stunned, what does my cousin want to discuss? My cousin is still single all these years, and I haven't heard anyone talk about her having a boyfriend, so could it be that she still has thoughts about me? But I already have a small family, and it is absolutely impossible for me to start anew, can't she even see this?

Xia Minglan said worriedly: "I met Principal Liang on the street last month, and I felt very uncomfortable when I saw him walking falteringly and looking old. I couldn't sleep well in those days, and as soon as I closed my eyes, I remembered that when I criticized him, I made him miserable! My mind was full of Principal Liang 'taking a plane' on the stage, being grabbed by the hair and bowing his head to confess, and I was awakened by bursts of heart-wrenching pain every day, covered in cold sweat. ”

Hong Zhendong thought, why did my cousin suddenly mention old accounts? Recently, I heard that an old Red Guard apologized to someone who had been hurt by him, could it be that she also wanted to follow suit?

Hong Zhendong asked indifferently: "What does that cousin mean-"

Xia Minglan said: "I was thinking that I ran rampant in society with enthusiasm back then, did some wrong things, and hurt some people. Should we apologize to Principal Liang Zeyun, Teacher Peng Jianyuan and others in person? ”

Hong Zhendong stared at her coldly for a while. "You said we should apologize to Principal Liang and them, for what? We did hurt them back then, but was that our fault? We respond to the great call to build a beautiful society, throwing our heads and spilling blood, and we are not even afraid of death. How many of our comrades-in-arms in the trenches did not give their lives for their lofty ideals? It's a pity that they have not been recognized so far, let alone enjoyed the treatment of martyrs! ”

Xia Minglan was surprised: "My cousin's way of thinking is still stuck in the so-called vigorous and fiery era, which is far from the current social development trend. My cousin is a smart man and should understand the truth of keeping up with the times! ”

Hong Zhendong disagreed. "I'm not unreasonable, the social trend is unstoppable, I won't be stupid enough to move against the tide and use my mantis arm as a car! You said that you want to apologize to President Peng, I won't stop you, you can go if you want, after all, we hurt him. I'm not convinced that we should feel guilty for doing something wrong because of ignorance, but who will apologize to us? Could it be that I have paid my precious youth, given up my beautiful ideals, read a few years less, and worked hard for several years, in exchange for only childish impulsiveness and negative evaluations? ”

Xia Minglan sighed and said: "I see you at a different point, it's not that you don't know the current affairs, and you don't know how to advance or retreat." You are stubborn, still obsessed with the spiritual enjoyment of the banner and the heroes of the world. Perhaps in your bones, you still hope that history repeats itself and once again provides you with a stage to display your great ambitions!

But unlike you, I often reflect on why the classmates who were scoffed at and regarded as a dismissive school did not have any ideological burden, and they faced life calmly and calmly with their teachers and classmates. Because they still retain the moral bottom line of being a human being in that turbulent era, that is, never hurt others, and do not build their happiness on the pain of others! They know that they are weak, low-class people who are regarded as lowly, and the only thing they can do is how to protect themselves and behave with their tails between their legs. Now that they have returned to a normal society, they do not have to feel guilty and blame themselves, as long as they do their duty with all their hearts, they will be at ease. But what about me? I lack an explanation to the society, so I must redouble my efforts to make up for my past mistakes, so that I can face Principal Liang and Teacher Peng without shame, and face the people we hurt back then! Maybe my cousin won't agree with me, it doesn't matter anymore. Everyone has their own ambitions, and they can't be forced. ”

Hong Zhendong nodded. "Cousin is right, I really can't agree with you. Although you and I used to be so compatible in terms of feelings, political views, etc., they were inseparable from each other. It's a pity that all this is over, from the moment my adoptive father Hong Zhongda declared that we are cousins and cannot be united, it is destined to be the result of our two Lao Yan flying their own things.

In this world, in addition to marrying a chicken and a dog, it is possible to maintain a high degree of unity in the relationship between husband and wife, and how many people really achieve love and life and death? Looking at ancient and modern times, no matter who is fighting for their own survival, no matter when and where, it is full of you fighting for me, and fighting is the eternal theme. Some people say that human history is a history of love between the sexes, and I say that it is a bloody history of struggle!

That being the case, doing things that hurt each other in a particular historical scene is, at best, a historical misunderstanding, and not worth the effort. In a word, there is nothing wrong with everything we did back then that followed the trend of history, there is no need to feel guilty and blame, and there is no need to apologize! ”

Hong Zhendong felt that this was all he said, and the superfluous words were meaningless. He wanted to have fewer opportunities to meet Xia Minglan in the future, not because he couldn't, but because he didn't want to, this was the sad place for him Hong Zhendong. But he had a few more words to remind him of as he was leaving. "I think your biggest threat at the moment comes from the two brothers Cheng Liren, don't take it lightly, tens of millions!"

Xia Minglan smiled bitterly. The cousin sees her ex-husband as her biggest threat, is it a bystander or an alarmist? In Xia Minglan's view, Cheng Liren is indeed a scoundrel who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goal. Otherwise, how could he have ascended to the throne of the sub-chief? Listening to Hong Zhendong's meaning, Cheng Liren may take risks, will he really come to this point? Cheng Ligang was imprisoned because he took the blame, how could the greedy not miss it? Cheng Liren made the mistake of covering up, and the demotion was still light! What if they put their resentment on her? Do they really dare to know the law and break the law and do something out of character?

Xia Minglan wanted to ask for an understanding, but Hong Zhendong had already turned around and left the office. Xia Minglan sighed, this cousin, alas, let's take one step at a time! (To be continued......)