The funeral parlor had already arranged the mourning halls, and the leading comrades who came to say goodbye and the deceased's former friends were already waiting in each mourning hall. Mayor Pi and Secretary-General Liu attended the memorial service for the mayor, and other leaders and secretary-general of the city attended the memorial service for the other deceased. Zhu Huaijing and Fang Mingyuan followed Mayor Pi. Nowadays there are many more, and they are long, which is very irritating, except that the memorial service is often brief. Eleven memorial services were held at the same time, and it ended in less than forty minutes. Because of the proper preparation in advance, there will not be too many tidbits at the meeting. It's just that Zhu Huaijing heard that there was a small episode in the layout of the mourning hall. Originally, there were about 30 mourning halls in the funeral parlor, but there were only four halls, eight in the middle hall, and the rest were small halls. According to the long-established practice, only the memorial service of the city-level leaders can be placed in the hall, the memorial service of the cadres at the department and bureau level and the cadres at the department level can only be placed in the middle hall, and the memorial service of the ordinary people can of course be placed in the small hall. Such a high-level cadre who died at once like this time has never been done in the history of Jingdu, and the mourning hall in the middle hall cannot be arranged. But you can't arrange anyone to go to the small hall, so that the family members will have opinions. After repeated study, it was decided to arrange for two department-level cadres to go to the hall. This is also like the practice of using cadres today, which can only go up but not down. But you can't just arrange who to go to the hall, and you have to talk about seniority. As a result, the memorial service of Secretary-General Gu and the Director of Finance was arranged in the hall, which comforted their families.

When everyone left the mourning hall, someone received black yarn. Zhu Huaijing still took the mayor's car back to the office. He learned his lesson and calmly walked around the back of the car and got into the car. Mayor Pi still didn't speak. Several people sat in the car without saying a word for a while, and Mayor Pi suddenly asked, "Xiao Zhu, what did your friend surnamed Yuan say to you?" ”

Zhu Huaijing knew that Fang Mingyuan must have passed that word to Mayor Pi, but he didn't know if Mayor Pi and the driver were very casual, so he didn't repeat Yuan Xiaoqi's words, but said vaguely: "Yes, as soon as you left Jingyuan that day, Yuan Xiaoqi said that sentence to me." He said it very mysteriously, I felt strange, so I immediately called Fang Mingyuan and said it. ”

Mayor Pi raised his hand and touched his shiny hair, and said thoughtfully: "Yes, mysterious......" The tone was very light, as if talking to himself, and the falling voice almost became a sigh. Perhaps the conversation just now was too vague, and the atmosphere was infectious, and no one could say anything. Zhu Huaijing felt that the air in the car seemed to be thin, and he couldn't help but take a few deep breaths. But his deep breathing was done quietly, lest others think that he was nervous and looked petty. He didn't like the warmth of the car's air conditioner, just as he didn't like the enthusiasm that the waitresses squeezed out with their professional smiles.

Fang Mingyuan was very good at coming to things, and when he saw that everyone was silent, he said, "Put on some music, it's easy and relaxed." ”

"Oh, yes, put on some music." Mayor Pi agreed.

Fang Mingyuan casually took a cassette tape and put on music. Coincidentally, it was the episode of the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions" "Vain Eyebrows". This song has a special meaning in Zhu Huaijing's heart. He squinted his eyes slightly, as if he felt the sound of a fairy. At this moment, the posture of Yuqin in his mind is particularly graceful.

The car stopped in front of the office building, and Fang Mingyuan quickly got out of the car and opened the door for Mayor Pi. When Mayor Pi got up and got out of the car, he said, "Xiao Zhu, go play with Xiao Fang!" Mayor Pi said casually, as if he suddenly remembered. Zhu Huaijing hurriedly said: "Okay, thank you mayor." But Mayor Pi may not have heard his words clearly, because the leader got out of the car as he spoke.

Fang Mingyuan sent Mayor Pi upstairs, and Zhu Huaijing entered his office. When I looked at my watch, it was almost time to get off work. He didn't know how to go to Mayor Pi's house, Fang Mingyuan came down, came in and asked Zhu Huaijing: "What do you say is going to the law?" ”

Zhu Huaijing said, "What do you see? I'm not afraid of your jokes, I've never participated in an event of this specification, and I don't understand the market. ”

Fang Mingyuan said: "I know that there are still a few people who participate, but they are all big bosses, and we can't compare with them." But at least that's the number. And when he had said that, he stretched out his right hand, drawing five fingers.

Zhu Huaijing asked, "Five hundred?" ”

Fang Mingyuan smiled dumbly and said, "Five hundred? You're a little bit of knowledge. I'm talking about at least five strokes! ”

Zhu Huaijing was startled and said, "Five thousand yuan? ”

Fang Mingyuan said: "You don't want to think about what grade this is? They didn't invite anyone else, but only called a few people who were usually very casual with him. ”

Of course, Zhu Huaijing understood what Fang Mingyuan meant: It is your honor that you can be invited by Mayor Pi. But he had already sent 20,000 yuan, and if he sent 5,000 yuan this time, he would be sending unjust money. But he didn't know what to say, so he had to laugh and say, "Okay, just according to what you said, let's each have 5,000 yuan." ”

Fang Mingyuan said: "Let's just make a red envelope together." I've got 10,000 yuan ready, and if you don't have any money on hand right now, I'll put it on first. ”

Fang Mingyuan is such a friend, Zhu Huaijing is very grateful, and hurriedly said, "Thank you." I happen to have 5,000 yuan on hand, so I won't bother you to pay for it. ”

Zhu Huaijing found a piece of red paper, wrote "Fang Mingyuan, Zhu Huaijing congratulate", and then took out 5,000 yuan and handed it to Fang Mingyuan. Fang Mingyuan also counted out five thousand yuan and put it together. Fang Mingyuan put the red envelope into his arms, and Zhu Huaijing felt that something was pulling on his chest, and he felt pain. He originally planned to take the 5,000 yuan to visit Secretary General Liu's wife, but then he finally didn't take it out. saved this money, and he only thought he had earned 5,000 yuan! Who knows that what is destined not to belong to him does not belong to him after all. Although he was reluctant in his heart, his face was full of smiles, as if he was immersed in great happiness. He looked at Fang Mingyuan, and his eyes seemed to be full of gratitude. Indeed, with the care of this benevolent brother, he was so quickly admired by Mayor Pi.

The two talked for a while, and when the colleagues were almost gone after work, they went to Mayor Pi's house together. As soon as she entered the door, Aunt Wang greeted her warmly and said, "Welcome, welcome." Pi Yong poured tea and handed over cigarettes. Aunt Wang asked Pi Yong to greet the guests, and went into the kitchen to get busy. She said the pony couldn't do it alone.

A few guests have arrived. There are three people who have seen it, Wu Yunhong, the boss of Huafeng Group, Gou Minggao, the boss of Jingda Securities Company, and Shu Jie, the boss of Kangcheng Group. Everyone shook hands one by one. There are also two Zhu Huaijing who don't know each other, but they are acquaintances with Fang Mingyuan. Fang Mingyuan introduced Zhu Huaijing: "This is Director Yan of the Public Security Bureau. He also introduced Zhu Huaijing: "This is Comrade Zhu Huaijing, Director of the Finance and Trade Department of the ** General Office." ”

Zhu Huaijing hurriedly stretched out his hands and shook hands with Director Yan, and said for a long time. He can indeed be said to have admired Director Yan for a long time. The director's name, Yan Shangming, often shows his face on TV, but he didn't wear a police uniform today, and he lost some of the murderous aura in his impression, so he didn't recognize it for a while.

Fang Mingyuan introduced another person: "This is the owner of the Flying Man Garment Company......"

Without waiting for Fang Mingyuan to finish his introduction, the boss hurriedly said: "The surname is Bei, Bei Danian." Please take care of Director Zhu. With that, he handed over his business card. Zhu Huaijing took it and took a look, but saw that it was: Pei Danian. This garment company is a well-known private enterprise in Jingdu, and Pei Danian is also a well-known figure in Jingdu. Zhu Huaijing had long heard about the story of this Boss Pei, and as soon as they met today, he guessed that those interesting things must be true. It turns out that "Pei" has the same sound as "compensation", and people call him Boss Pei, and he always feels that he is a boss who pays off and specializes in losing money. He was very taboo about others calling him that, and he often deliberately mispronounced the word. There are a lot of jokes about his surname, saying that a college student went to him to apply for a job, and when he entered the door, he said, "Hello Boss Pei." His face immediately darkened, and he corrected: "My surname is Bei." This word reads the baby's shell. The college student wondered, thinking to himself, how could anyone not even read his last name accurately? He was puzzled: "I'm sorry, maybe Mr. Pei's hometown dialect Pei is pronounced as Bei, and the standard reading should be Pei, which is the same as the "compensation" of "compensation". Mr. Pei was even more unhappy, waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, you are willing to compensate you to go home and compensate, our company is a very rich company, and what we need is someone who can make money for the company." The college student suddenly realized that he said stupidly: "Okay, your surname is Bei, and the "back" of "back when you are unlucky" also reads "back"!" The college student said and threw the door away. Zhu Huaijing feels that this story is obviously romantic and not entirely credible. But Mr. Pei doesn't like people to pronounce his surname very standardly, but I'm afraid it's true. Zhu Huaijing saw that Fang Mingyuan was smiling mysteriously at him, and he was even more convinced that his guess was right.

Everyone was greeting, and Gou Minggao said: "I remember the last time we met, Director Zhu seemed to be the director of the General Division?" ”

Fang Mingyuan continued: "The famous boss has a good memory. This time, he was high again and went to the Finance and Trade Department as the director. ”

Zhu Huaijing was humble. Gou Minggao said: "That's good, I want you to take more care of Director Zhu in the future!" Our securities company is under your control. ”

Everyone came to flatter Zhu Huaijing and asked him to take more care. He shook his head again and again, and said with a smile: "I won't talk about any place for flattery." Where is this? This is in Mayor Pi's Mansion, and everyone is under the leadership of Mayor Pi! Everything has to be paid attention to, cared for and supported by Mayor Pi! ”

Everyone is very correct in saying this, and Mayor Pi has always been very concerned about us. Just as Mayor Pi was good, Aunt Wang came out of it, looking helpless, and said, "Why hasn't Lao Pi come back yet?" ”

Fang Mingyuan said: "Mayor Pi is too busy. In the past few days, as soon as that thing happened, many documents didn't have time to read, and he said to look at the documents and come back, asking us not to wait for him. "A few people said, how can you not wait for Mayor Pi? Of course, we have to wait for him to come back and eat together. It's too busy, the leadership is too busy. The president of the United States is still on vacation, and our mayor is so busy. Our leaders are servants of the people, but they are different! How can you be as leisurely as an official in a Western country?

The topic went farther and farther, from Chinese leaders to Western officials. Yan Shangming didn't speak much, but just smiled with everyone. Fang Mingyuan glanced at Zhu Huaijing and said, "Huaijing, let's go inside to see if we want to help." ”

Zhu Huaijing understood and stood up. The two went to the kitchen, and Aunt Wang looked back and said, "You two are sitting!" ”

Fang Mingyuan asked, "Do you want us to help?" ”

Aunt Wang came over and stood at the door of the kitchen with Fang Zhu and the others politely. Fang Mingyuan immediately took out the red envelope and said, "Aunt Wang, this is a little bit of meaning that I made up with Huaijing, just to express ......"

Aunt Wang looked very angry, and waved her hand again and again: "You two children, you are so ignorant. Yongyong went too far to the United States, so he invited a few random people to sit at home. You two are still so polite, Lao Pi doesn't scold you to death. ”

Fang Mingyuan forced the red envelope into Aunt Wang's hand and said, "Aunt Wang, you are embarrassed for the two of us." Pi Yong went to study abroad, such a big thing, of course we have to show something! ”

Aunt Wang had no choice but to take the red envelope and said, "You two children, it's true." Especially Xiao Zhu, you are really not like words. Don't learn from Xiao Fang, he always sees outsiders like this. ”

Zhu Huaijing smiled stupidly. He knew that Aunt Wang was saying that he was too polite, and he expressed his intentions twice. Aunt Wang Fang Mingyuan heard this, and he didn't feel outside. On the contrary, he thought that he was close to Mayor Pi, and he should express his meaning. And Zhu Huaijing has not dealt much with Mayor Pi, and he is not so close to himself, so it seems inappropriate to talk about these courtesies.

Aunt Wang said that there was nothing to help and asked them to go back for tea. The two happily returned to the living room. The two of them understood Aunt Wang's meaning according to their own ideas, and they were in a good mood.

At this time, there was a knock on the door, and everyone knew that it was Mayor Pi who had returned, and they all got up and prepared to greet him. Pi Yong went to open the door, but saw that it was his brother Pi Jie who came in. Pijie is a burly man, taller than Pi Yong. As soon as he entered the door, he took the leather gloves and laughed: "Welcome friends, brothers." "I shook hands with everyone, very hard. When he held Zhu Huaijing's hand, he asked Fang Mingyuan: "Brother Fang, this must be Director Zhu." Zhu Huaijing hurriedly smiled: "The surname is Zhu and the surname is Zhu." Fang Mingyuan was obviously used to Pi Jie, so he said: "Call him Director Zhu, just call him Brother Zhu." Pigger said, "Yes, I think so too, but I'm afraid that people won't recognize me as a little brother!" I want everyone to be my brothers, but I don't have the blessing to do so. ”

Aunt Wang came out and blamed Pi Jie: "As soon as I heard the commotion, I knew that you were back." There is no rule, who is your brother? Director Yan, you have to call Uncle Mi. ”

Pi Jie arched his mother and Director Yan with both hands, and said, "Uncle Yan testifies, I never dared to mess around in front of you, to be honest, I am not so afraid of my old son, I am afraid of Uncle Yan." ”

Director Yan smiled kindly: "Sister Wang, don't look at Pi Jie as a person who breaks into the world by himself outside, he knows all the rules, and he has always respected me." ”

Aunt Wang was very serious and said to Pijie, "There is a problem with what you just said. You are well-behaved, why are you afraid of Uncle Yan? Uncle Yan can eat people? She turned her face to Yan Shangming again and said, "Old Yan, this kid Jiejie is not as obedient as his younger brother, and he is very wild. I told you a long time ago that you should be strict with him. If you find out that he has done something unseemly outside, you can treat him well. ”

Piggie smiled and joked, "Mom, please spare me." All of you here are leaders, and I am the only one who is a common man, so don't hold my criticism meeting. I'm a law-abiding citizen, and we're ordinary people who don't have a good time, so I'm afraid that you officials will be unhappy and take out anger on us. Everyone laughed.

Pei Danian immediately raised his hand and said, "Brother, the real common people are me!" The director of the bureau here, the director of the director, and Mr. Wu are also the CEOs of state-owned enterprises. What about you, brother? At worst, the cadres are still on leave without pay. I'm not a person at work. The least important people are people like me. ”

Zhu Huaijing stopped Pei Danian's words and said, "Boss Bei, don't underestimate yourself. In fact, you are the highest level here. Don't you remember that there was a skit at CCTV's Spring Festival Gala last year? Above the village head is the township head, above the township head is the county head, above the county head is the provincial governor, and above the provincial governor is the prime minister. So the prime minister is only four levels older than the village chief. You are the owner of a private business, and you can say that you can be as big as you want. In terms of the whole city, your immediate boss is Mayor Pi, so the mayor is only one level older than you. If you put it nationally, you are directly under the Prime Minister, so you are only one level shorter than the Prime Minister. ”

There was a burst of laughter. Pei Danian scratched his head and scratched his ears, his face was slightly red, but he laughed at himself as if he was fine: "Director Zhu is laughing at me." ”

Fang Mingyuan felt that Pei Danian was a little embarrassed, so he said seriously: "Although Huaijing is a joke, it contains a deep truth. The orientation of the reform of our state-owned enterprises is to establish a modern enterprise system, and to separate government administration from enterprise management. An enterprise is an enterprise, and it should not pay attention to what level, nor should there be any competent department. Bill Gates, what level do you say he's at? But the G-7 summit of the West had to invite him to participate as a delegate! If you want to talk about level, isn't this equivalent to **** level? ”

Everyone said that it was reasonable, and they all said that the level of cadres in the ** General Office was high. Fang Mingyuan said modestly: "Where, where." To say that the theoretical level in this area is still high in Huaijing. He has been engaged in economic research for many years, and he has one set of things in his stomach. A casual joke just now reveals a profound theoretical problem. It's really funny and scolding, all of them are articles, and they are almost worth Mr. Lu Xun. ”

Zhu Huaijing pointed at Fang Mingyuan with a smile and said, "Mingyuan, I didn't offend you just now, you stink me so much!" ”

Aunt Wang persuaded: "Okay, it's all good, and now the young people are good." ”

Pei Danian was already embarrassed, took over Aunt Wang's words, and said, "Yes, yes, it's all good." Mayor Pi appreciates, and what is useless? They are all pillars of the woods, and the future is immeasurable. He flattered Zhu Fang and the others, but his eyes were on Aunt Wang. Others echoed Pei Danian, saying that Mayor Pi cares about people the most and values talented people the most. The topic naturally turned to Mayor Pi's discerning eyes and talents, and knowing people and being good at his job.

Everyone is the mayor of the left and the mayor of the right, and the mayor of the skin knocks on the door and comes back. Hula all got up and said to Mayor Pi with a smile. Mayor Pi shook hands with everyone and said welcome.

Aunt Wang pretended to be angry and said, "You said it nicely, and you are welcome!" I said you're a fake welcome! Otherwise, why don't you wait until this time to come back? You're trying to get away from your comrades, right? ”

Everyone was amused. Mayor Pi also joked: "You've all seen it, right?" You all listen to me when I'm away, and I'll have to listen to her when I get home. My status is very low! Why can't the World Organization of Women come to my house for a live meeting? ”

The phone rang, Pei Danian happened to be sitting next to the phone, so he picked up the phone and said who to find. But after listening to it for a while, he frowned, turned his face and said suspiciously: "It's not like the telecommunications bureau is urging the phone bill, it's a man's voice that speaks a foreign language, and there is not a word of Chinese." He said that he was ready to put the phone down.

Pi Yong hurriedly said: "Don't put the phone, I'll answer it." ”

Pi Yong ran to pick it up, turned back to his dad and said, "It's Mr. Brown, Daddy." ”

"You ask him hello."