Simao left, and Xiangmei pursed her mouth and laughed when she closed the door. Kiki was doing his homework in his room, and the two of them hugged Wen Cun. Zhu Huaijing gasped when he saw the woman kissing, so he hugged her and went to the room.

The two finished making out and lay on the bed and talked. Zhu Huaijing said that Mayor Pi and Secretary General Liu have been good to him recently, and it seems that he may have a bright future. Xiangmei lay on his shoulders and didn't say anything for a long time, just listened to him alone. Ren Zhu Huaijing said for a while, and then Xiangmei said: "You have been here for more than three years, and no one has ever cared about you, so I asked you to be a deputy director who has no power to die." Why did they suddenly become kind this time? ”

"Maybe it's luck. As the saying goes, Lord Yama sent you a bag of chaff, and he was not afraid that you would shout at the dawn of the night. On the contrary, when people's luck comes, the door panel can't stop it. Zhu Huaijing became a little proud as he spoke. He thinks that his pride can only be revealed in front of his wife, but in front of outsiders, he must not be like this. Especially in officialdom, it is even more important to show that you are not happy, that you are not worried, and that you are not frightened. As soon as you are proud, you can't help but be happy, and people will look down on you at once. However, Zhu Huaijing also knew that his feeling of being appreciated by the leader really magnified himself. But no matter what, he decided that this was an opportunity, and he should strike while the iron was hot, so that the leader could understand himself better, or in other words, he would be closer to the leader. With such a big organization, it is very good that you can get the eyes of senior leaders to turn their eyes on you and pay more attention to you for a moment.

Xiangmei said that it is better to get up, and Qiqi will ask about homework later. The two of them got dressed and got up. Xiangmei asked, "You're not going tonight, aren't you?" ”

Zhu Huaijing hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm not going." ”

The two still went to the living room and sat on the sofa to talk. Xiangmei's face is still flushed, which is very moving. Zhu Huaijing couldn't help pinching her face. Xiangmei smiled coquettishly and said, "Of course I wish you could come out a day earlier." Don't say anything else, when you go back to Wuxian, your face will look better, and the adults in your family will also feel brighter. ”

Zhu Huaijing sighed and said: "Yes, we seem to live for others and live for others." Hey, I'd like to discuss something with you. ”

Zhu Huaijing said this, but he didn't immediately say what was going on, just looked at Xiangmei. Xiangmei looked at him with round eyes and asked, "What is such a solemn matter?" ”

"Of course it's a big deal, and you have to agree to it." Zhu Huaijing still didn't say what was going on.

"You say! What do I usually do not depend on you? You're the head of the family. Xiangmei said.

Zhu Huaijing got up and poured a cup of tea, and drank it slowly for a long time before saying, "Mayor Pi's second son, Pi Yong, is about to study in the United States, and I want to give him a gift." ”

Xiangmei said: "If you want to send it, what do you say?" ”

Zhu Huaijing sighed and said, "According to the theory, we can't afford to give gifts to characters of this level." But I think I have to spend a lot of money and send him an impression, otherwise, the money will be lost in the water. ”

Xiangmei looked at him and said, "We only have such a thick foundation, what do you think this ceremony should be heavy?" ”

Zhu Huaijing lowered his head, avoided Xiangmei's gaze, and said, "I've thought about it, it's not suitable for any gift, so I'll give 20,000 yuan." ”

Xiangmei's mouth was wide open, and she couldn't close it for a long time, so she only shook her head. She shook her head for a while before she said, "No, no, absolutely not!" How many twenty thousand do we have? No, no, absolutely not. ”

Zhu Huaijing stood up and walked back and forth in the living room. He walked for a while, stood in the middle of the living room, and began to talk like a speech: "Whether you agree or not, you listen to me first." You know who I am. For so many years, I have always relied on my own ability to eat, and I have never bowed down in front of anyone, and I have never slapped anyone's sycophants. I became the deputy county magistrate when I was just 30 years old, one is luck, and the other is my own ability. It was different at that time, it was in that small place in Wuxian, as the saying goes, there are no tigers in the mountains, and monkeys are overlords. Besides, that was in the past few years, but now the world is changing too fast, and you can no longer rely on your ability to eat in officialdom. is the current Wuxian, and it is no longer the Wuxian at that time. I've been here for more than three years, I've endured for three years, waited for three years, observed for three years, and been bitter and conflicted for three years. Three years, how many three years does a person have in a lifetime? In the past three years, the more I have seen it, the more clearly I can no longer hold on to the set of ways I used to behave in the past, which can only ruin my life. I've also thought about it, it's not that you don't have the ability, but that no one cares about your ability. I don't go to get close to the leader, it's not that I don't have an official, but the commander has no eyes. In the past three years, I have always felt injustice and even indignation, that is, I think that the chief has no eyes, and I always fantasize that a leader with vision will one day recognize talents, appreciate me, and reuse me. The more I thought about it, the more reluctant I was to take the initiative to get close to the leader, and I felt a sense of anger in my heart. It's almost a pathological mentality. You are betting your fate on their personal moral level, which is a very dangerous thing. You fantasize that they are morally perfect, their conscience is discovered, it's ridiculous. I can tell you, don't look at me smiling all the time in the past three years, I have a hard time in my heart. The more I was in a lively place, the more lonely I felt; When I fell asleep, I seemed to be awake in my dreams, but when I woke up, I was confused and confused. ”

Xiangmei listened to him very carefully, but at this time she smiled and said, "The more I listened at first, the more I felt that you were like a thinker. But just now I heard you say that you are lonely in a lively place, and when you wake up you fall asleep, I think you are about to become a philosopher again. ”

Zhu Huaijing smiled bitterly and said, "I don't have the heart to joke with you, I am serious about discussing this issue with you." ”

Hearing Zhu Huaijing say this, Xiangmei also became serious and said, "Didn't you say that Mayor Pi and Secretary General Liu began to value you?" That's it! ”

Zhu Huaijing said: "You are not in officialdom, you can't understand the subtleties of officialdom!" At best, it means that they're starting to pay attention to you, which is not enough! To put it bluntly, you still have to invest. Now it is those who have the power to dispose of the country's money. They use the state's money to make private connections; Rely on personal fate to earn the power in your hands; and then use the power in his hands to make money for the state. In this way, power and money are abundant. But I was in this position, so I had to give up my money and invest my own money. ”

When Xiangmei heard this, she became frightened and said, "You said so thrillingly, I don't dare to let you send it." If you do this, I'd rather not let you be an official. Too bold, something will happen one day. Don't blame me for saying bad things, if you are such an official and have such a mentality, if you capsize the boat, you will be unlucky. ”

Zhu Huaijing hurriedly said: "I am open to you about this today, but don't think too badly of me." I just became an official, and I wouldn't be as carried away and angry as some people now. No matter what I do, I will still grasp a bottom line as a man. But you mentioned that some people caught too much and got caught, and they were unlucky. You're making a logical mistake in that. They were not unlucky when they were caught, but they were caught when they were unlucky. People are not unlucky, no matter what, they are all safe. But when people are unlucky, no matter how cautious you are, something will happen. As the saying goes, salt grows maggots when people don't work. ”

The two argued like this for a long time, but there was no result. At this time, Qiqi came out to ask about homework, and Zhu Huaijing patiently taught him. Qiqi asked and went in after finishing her homework, and Xiangmei said, "I can't imagine how to get in with 20,000 yuan to send to others?" How to speak? If you run into someone who refuses to accept the gift, won't you end up shameless? ”

Zhu Huaijing smiled and said, "What you are worried about is also something that I have not been able to figure out for a long time in the past. I used to think that even if it is a gift, it should be in line with the traditional habits of the Chinese, first to find a reason, such as what people have a happy event, or what people have helped you, and then you have to consider what suitable gift to buy, and then since it is a gift, there should be a gift exchange! You shouldn't always give it to others! But now that you're still guarding this set, it's going to make people laugh. If you give gifts according to this rule, you may be criticized by the family. 'What are you doing here?' The above orders have repeatedly stated that you want to build a clean government, what are you doing here? You're giving people the opportunity to be models of integrity." After all, there is no need for a reason to give a gift now. Thousands of rules, sending is the last word. Second, don't send goods. This kind of goods, that kind of goods, money is hard currency. When you go to some departments above, it is common for you to send money. The drawer of their desk is usually half-open, and you just throw the ticket in, say nothing, put the report on the table, and leave. ”

Xiangmei said: "Are you so mysterious? According to your meaning, the world is as dark as a crow? ”

Zhu Huaijing said: "That can't be said either, as I just said, there must be good people, and there are more good people than bad people." But I don't know who the bad guys are, and I can't count on who the good guys are. I just want you to agree and give me 20,000 dollars. ”

Xiangmei thought about it, looked helpless, and sighed: "Okay." I know your personality, and I won't be able to pass without you. Anyway, this money is also taken from the people, so let's use it for the officials. No, it is said that this is a deception to the country and used by officials. ”

Zhu Huaijing looked at the door, as if someone was eavesdropping outside, he glanced at Xiangmei and said, "Don't say so many useless words, it sounds so uncomfortable." Fetch it for me tomorrow morning." ”

Zhu Huaijing had breakfast and went out to the hotel. And he saw a great crowd gathered at the gate. He guessed that it must be the petitioners again. When I got closer, I saw the armed police fighting with a middle-aged man, grabbing the man's camera. Zhu Huaijing saw a lot of this kind of scene when he came, and besides, it was inconvenient for him to watch, so he turned around and walked out after a glance. But as soon as he turned around, he felt that this person was familiar. looked back again, and found that the person who was twisted by the armed police was actually Zeng Yan. He was dumbfounded. These armed policemen didn't know him, and he couldn't step forward to help Zeng Yi break the siege. He was so anxious that he couldn't do it, but he really couldn't think of a way, so it was better to leave quickly while Zeng Yan didn't see him. At this time, he saw Director Wei of the Security Department being there to persuade the crowd, and hurriedly stepped forward to pull Director Wei aside and said, "That person is my classmate, a reporter from the Jingdu Minsheng Daily. Please do me a favor and leave him to me. ”

Director Wei made this matter very anxious, and his face was naturally not very good, and said, "You classmate is really good, what kind of photos do you take?" Well, your classmate, don't embarrass him, you take him away. But he had to leave the film. ”

As soon as Director Wei said this, the armed policeman released Zeng Yan and returned his camera. Zhu Huaijing hurriedly stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. Zeng Yan turned around, a little surprised. Zhu Huaijing pulled him into the compound. Director Wei came over, took Zeng Slang's camera, took off the film, and left without saying a word. Zeng Yan opened his eyes again and wanted to shout. Zhu Huaijing pulled him and said, "Forget it, go to my office to dissipate your anger." ”

The two entered the office and sat down opposite each other. Only then did Zhu Huaijing pay attention to this old classmate. Zeng Yi was wearing a suit that didn't fit well, without a tie, and his face was a little dark, looking haggard. He smiled bitterly at Zhu Huaijing and said, "Alas, I didn't expect that the two of us hadn't seen each other for so many years, but today we met like this." It's like acting. ”

Zhu Huaijing said: "You, you are still old-tempered. What are you making a fuss about today's event? You just took a photo, which newspaper in China dares to publish such news? ”

Zeng Slang's expression became solemn and said, "What news is published?" Who still has this desire to publish? Isn't it just one or twenty yuan for posting a tofu block news? I pity these petitioners, who just want to take a picture, and I don't think about what to do with this photo. It's ridiculous, which royal law prohibits taking such photos? ”

Zhu Huaijing pointed at Zeng Yan and shook his head, saying, "You! That's it, what law is illegal? Your fault is that it's unrealistic. Reality is reality, and you should have understood that, my old classmate! ”

Zeng Yan looked at Zhu Huaijing and smiled strangely, and said, "You guys, you know how to talk about reality." That's what makes me angry. ”

Hearing Zeng Slang talk about "you", Zhu Huaijing felt very tasteless, as if there was something between the two. After all, it's a classmate, so you don't have to worry about it. He wanted to say something light, so that Zeng Yan was no longer angry, so he said in a reminiscent tone: "Old classmates haven't been to Jingdu for a long time, right?" How does it feel? ”

"It feels terrible." Zeng Yan said coldly.

Zhu Huaijing said: "What do you mean by feeling? I think that in the last ten years, Jingdu has changed a lot, and it has become more and more like a modern city with taste. ”

Zeng Yan said: "That's right, there are more high-rise buildings, and the modern atmosphere is stronger." I don't deny the material progress, but I feel that the spirit of the city is shrinking. Every corner of the city is full of corruption, vanity, ugliness. ”

Zhu Huaijing smiled: "Zeng Slang, you are too extreme. ”

Zeng Yi said: "Give me an example. I remember the first time I came to Jingdu when I was 20 years old, and on the buses of several tourist routes, I could still hear the attendants announcing the names of the stations in foreign languages, and we didn't dare to spit everywhere we went. What now? On the bus, you can only hear the Jingdu dialect like the language of birds, and you are afraid that no one will care about you when you urinate on the street. ”

Zhu Huaijing said: "Zeng Slang, don't you think you are secretly changing concepts? ”

Zeng Yi replied: "No, I didn't change the concept. The degree of civilization of a city is a reflection of its inner spirit. A city full of bad spirits, and you can't expect people there to follow the rules. ”

Zhu Huaijing thought that Zeng Yan might have been stimulated just now to be so extreme, and he had to rush to the hotel, so he had to part ways with Zeng Yan and say that he would make an appointment to talk about it next time. He saw that Zeng Yan didn't seem to want to go through the door, so he went out through the side door with him. Zhu Huaijing asked him why he was here so early today. Zeng Slang said that he came back from an interview outside, just got off the train, and happened to pass by.

When the two broke up outside, they said they would get together again in a few days. A taxi came, and Zhu Huaijing insisted on letting Zeng Yan go first. Zeng Yan was not polite, raised his hand and got into the car first. Zhu Huaijing waited for a while, and then stopped a taxi.

Back at the hotel, everyone has been collectively discussing the "** Work Report". Zhu Huaijing listened to this dry text and felt very boring. He is not very calm in his heart, and he always has that face in his mind, sincere and stubborn, vicissitudes and downfall. But at that time, seeing such an old classmate in trouble, he wanted to leave! He thought that although there were more than 500 billion people on this earth, not a single person would know that such selfish thoughts had come to his heart. But he knew it was torturous enough. There are more similar secrets in his heart, and he is no longer him, just a stinky skin.

Zhu Huaijing leaned back on the sofa and suddenly noticed these colleagues. Colleagues are naturally very friendly when they are together. Everyone is highly educated, full of learning, and generally mild-mannered, despite the occasional vulgar joke. He remembers a colleague who had the idea of inventing a technique that could penetrate people's minds. He thought that if one day, such a technology really appeared, the world would be boundless darkness, and the end of the world would really come.