Chapter 4 Chapter 4: Encountering an old acquaintance in a foreign land

The next morning, Chang Youlian left Xiyu to attend a five-month study at the Central Party School.Jia Shizhen's mood became complicated when she thought that she would report to the provincial capital tomorrow.Neither Ling Yun's lofty ambition nor special excitement, but a bit lonely and gloomy.When I was about to go back to the office, my cell phone rang, and when I answered the call, it turned out to be Director Wang.Director Wang said that he wanted to have a private chat with Minister Jia before he left. Jia Shizhen said that he would wait for Director Wang's arrangement, and the time would be around three o'clock in the afternoon, in Director Wang's room.

In the blink of an eye, there was no one in the municipal committee compound. Jia Shizhen walked towards the organization department of the municipal committee at a leisurely pace. Unexpectedly, a person came out from the side and followed Jia Shizhen.When Jia Shizhen turned his face, it turned out to be Zhang Jingyuan. Where did Zhang Jingyuan come from?Jia Shizhen was so strange.I saw Zhang Jingyuan's expression was depressed and a little pitiful. Jia Shizhen slowed down, looked at Zhang Jingyuan, and whispered, "Comrade Jingyuan, what's the matter?" "Minister Jia, although you have treated us... anyway, I am very grateful to you..." Zhang Jingyuan hesitated to speak, and after a while he continued, "If you want to blame, blame my bad life... the fate of people what……"

Jia Shizhen was distracted for a moment. He didn't understand that the conversation between the leaders of the municipal party committee should be quite secret, but how did it reach the ears of the parties so quickly?According to his past temper, Jia Shizhen would probably give him a severe lesson, but now, Jia Shizhen feels that he cannot be blamed for this.So he smiled slightly and said, "You really believe in fate!" "Who Chinese doesn't believe in fate?" Zhang Jingyuan smiled awkwardly, "A person's life and death, wealth, and even disasters and fortunes are all predestined. What am I?"

"Then you think that all this is because of your bad luck?" "..." Zhang Jingyuan hesitated to speak, and then seemed to have made up his mind suddenly, changing his usual restraint, "People are always like this, who would think of what their future will be like? If I could think of..." "Comrade Jingyuan, you may have opinions and views on me, and I can understand you." Jia Shizhen wanted to say something, but he didn't go on. He knew that Zhang Jingyuan must be in a very complicated mood at the moment. "Minister Jia, in all fairness, if your reform does not violate my personal interests, I also think your reform is very correct, but now I..."

Although Zhang Jingyuan didn't go on, it left Jia Shizhen with a lot of thought.Jia Shizhen suddenly had a feeling of empathy.From the standpoint of those people, if it weren't for the arrival of Director Wang of the Central Research Group, the Standing Committee was held as scheduled, and Zhang Jingyuan's problem was solved, wouldn't everyone be happy!However, it was too late.At this moment, Jia Shizhen even began to believe that a person's life is really determined by fate.And almost everyone in this world will talk about the unavoidable topic of fate.After Jia Shizhen went to the Organization Department of the Xiyu Municipal Party Committee, he felt that cadres like Zhang Jingyuan did not have the quality of the deputy county department level, but after talking with Zhang Jingyuan today, he suddenly felt that it is really difficult for the current organization department to select high-quality cadres. It's a very difficult thing.

Looking at Zhang Jingyuan's leaving figure, Jia Shizhen suddenly thought of a question: The number "four" is especially taboo among Chinese people, who has the right to lead the number "14" on the license plate?And which leader's phone number is "14"?The more "8" on the mobile phone number, the bigger the official, and the bigger the official, the more you want to "fa" (8), "88888", "fafafafafa", which means the more wealth the better!Not long ago, he heard that there was a deputy director in the province who visited the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor in Shaanxi and went to the "dismounting stone" on the top of the mountain. On this stone tablet was written "Civil and military officials dismount here".An accompanying junior held a camera in his hand, and when he saw the deputy director approaching enthusiastically, he held up the camera and said, "A certain director, take a photo of you as a souvenir." Changed, and said angrily: "What are you doing, if you don't take photos, get off the horse, it's unlucky!" In fact, the subordinate also had good intentions, but who would have thought that not long after he came back, the deputy director was really dismissed for no reason!

Secretary Chang's license plate is "Mo C-0001", and Mayor Shao's license plate is "Mo C-0002".Arranged according to position and power, there is no "Mo C-0004" and "Mo C-0014" cars.So where did the license plates "Mo C-0004" and "Mo C-0014" go?He didn't know what rules were used to arrange the license plates for the leaders of the municipal party committee and the municipal government. Anyway, the Santana 2000 he used was "Mo C-0008".And Secretary Chang's mobile phone has four "8" at the end, and his office phone number is "88518888", which means "Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa"!

Why!The Chinese are...but in English, "one, two, three" is pronounced "one, two, three", while "eight" is pronounced "eight". This rush of thoughts made Jia Shizhen's mood more complicated. In the afternoon of the next day, Jia Shizhen rushed to Moyu University to register and got the relevant materials and schedule. There was no important event that day. The next morning, the leaders of the Provincial Party Committee and the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee attended the opening ceremony. Jia Shizhen knew that starting tomorrow, the twenty-eight people in their group would start a closed training camp, and they were not allowed to ask for leave unless there was something special.Jia Shizhen thought, the husband and wife have gone through ups and downs during this period, and decided to cherish this night and check the time. Lingling was about to get off work and was about to go home when the phone rang twice, knowing it was a text message, so she opened it and saw It was from Zhou Yilan: "Have you returned to the provincial capital?"

Jia Shizhen hesitated for a moment, replied briefly, and immediately deleted Zhou Yilan's text message. It wasn't that Jia Shizhen didn't want to see Zhou Zhoulan. He thought that he was going to study abroad soon, and he would go abroad for half a year. Lingling was alone with the child, and the husband and wife would not be able to see each other for half a year.I don't even want to have any unhappiness between the husband and wife before going abroad. Anyway, I will enjoy a family happiness with my wife and daughter tonight. Back home, I saw that Lingling had already left work early, several kinds of braised vegetables were placed on the dining table, the range hood in the kitchen was humming, and the whole room was full of sweetness and vitality.

When Jia Shizhen came to the kitchen, Lingling didn't notice it at all. Lingling turned around abruptly and saw her husband standing at the door of the kitchen. Her heart moved, she smiled brightly, and all the unhappiness in the past was thrown away.Jia Shizhen's heart was also rarely happy in the past few months, so she went up and gave his wife a sweet kiss.Lingling simply put down what she was doing, wiped her hands on her apron, and put her arms around her husband.Jia Shizhen suddenly thought that maybe he and Secretary Chang's decision on the promotion of Cheng Wenwu and Zhang Jingyuan had already radiated to Director Zhang of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Although this decision was not implemented in time, it cannot be blamed on Jia Shizhen and Chang Youlian.

During dinner, Linglingfang mentioned that the rare bright sunshine appeared on the face of Deputy Director Zhang these days, and she didn't know what it meant. up.Jia Shizhen just smiled and didn't discuss Deputy Director Zhang deeply with Lingling, but he suspected that maybe Deputy Director Zhang was really going to be the director!In addition, it is not ruled out that the sunshine on Deputy Director Zhang's face was passed on to him by Zhang Jingyuan.In any case, for Jia Shizhen and Lingling, it is no longer like a few days ago, when it comes to Zhang Jingyuan, the husband and wife are unhappy. The family atmosphere seems to have returned to the sweetness and joy of the past, perhaps because Jia Shizhen is going to go abroad soon, and she especially cherishes the time of reunion before parting. In a blink of an eye, the one-month training life is over. Twenty-eight trainees who went to the United States for a training course started a new life.Regardless of whether it was the head of the department, the mayor, the head of the organization, or the secretary of the county party committee, the head of the county, or the head of the department, they all have to take off their laurels when they come here, and everyone calls them Lao Zhang Lao Li.The oldest among them is Zhou Guang, deputy secretary and deputy director of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, at 44 years old, the youngest is Li Dan, a county magistrate in Meizhou, at 36 years old, and Jia Shizhen is the third from the bottom. bit.The squad leader of this temporary group is Zhou Guang, and the deputy squad leader is Jia Shizhen. They started another life in the new environment.Maybe you have gone to elementary school, middle school, or university; maybe you have been a soldier and spent most of your life in a university of the People's Liberation Army. However, few people have experienced such an experience as theirs. In the early morning, when two commercial vehicles sent such a group of special people to the Capital Airport, the twenty-eight elites from Moyou Province boarded a Boeing 747 international flight with high morale.When the plane took off, they silently bid farewell to the motherland, and with high ambitions, they waited to return from the United States to serve the motherland. Sitting at the window, Jia Shizhen felt that she was gradually rising into the sky, and soon large groups of white clouds fell at her feet. More than three hours later, the plane landed at Narita Airport in Japan. Everyone got off the plane and had to rest at Narita Airport for two hours before changing planes and flying to the United States. When they boarded another plane again, there were no more yellow-skinned stewardesses on the plane. Except for a few yellow-skinned stewardesses, the flight attendants on this American flight were all middle-aged white women with yellow hair and brown hair. American man with hair.Except for the 28 Chinese, the passengers on the plane are all foreigners, and all the flight attendants speak English.Although Jia Shizhen and his party were all highly educated officials, although they mainly received English training during the one-month training camp, when they were completely placed in the environment of foreigners, they suddenly felt that they could barely understand a word. When the female's soft and fluent English sounded on the loudspeaker, Jia Shizhen looked at the colleagues around her, and saw that all of them had puzzled eyes, not knowing what to say. Jia Shizhen straightened up and listened, but couldn't understand a word.At this time, the accompanying female interpreter walked among them, lowered her voice, and said, "We are going to eat right away. There are three kinds of western food. Everyone can choose one. There are pictures on the menu, so everyone can choose by looking at the pictures!" Although Chinese people are not used to western food, they still choose one of them, but their choice is just a random choice without any basis. After the meal, the cabin became quiet. The flight attendants pulled down the shades of the windows and turned off the lights. The whole plane became dark like night.Only a few foreign passengers were wearing earphones, and they didn't know whether they were listening to music or watching the TV on the armrest. Such a temporary group was very quiet and orderly. Jia Shizhen wanted to rest for a while, but he still couldn't calm down. Although he forced himself to close his eyes, the eyes kept turning. After a while, Jia Shizhen looked at his watch. It was night in China and Moyou. He had no way of knowing where he was now. According to the time calculation, the flight from Beijing to New York, including the time spent in Japan, It takes about eighteen hours.The time to arrive in New York should be about six o'clock in the morning of the next day in China, and it is night in New York. For some reason, Jia Shizhen didn't feel sleepy. Although he also felt a little sleepy, his thoughts were like waves, beating his heart continuously. When the image of Hua Zuying appeared in his mind, he became even more excited.If they can still meet in a foreign country, isn't this another kind of special fate?Not long ago, Hua Zuying called him. He didn't want to tell her about his study in the United States, but the overseas call brought them closer. At that time, Hua Zuying didn't even intend to hang up the phone. He knew that international long-distance calls in the United States have their own knacks, and you can call for an hour or two without spending a lot of money.They were chatting, and Jia Shizhen blurted out at some point, saying that she was going to study in the United States soon. At that time, Hua Zuying called out on the phone. When she learned about Jia Shizhen's itinerary, she insisted on picking him up at the New York airport. Jia Shizhen Said that there were twenty-eight of them, and there was a female interpreter. Although Jia Shizhen did not say other reasons, Hua Zuying knew what he meant, so she told him her phone number in the United States, and she would definitely call her after she asked him to stay. Telephone. Before leaving the country, Jia Shizhen specially found a map of the United States. He never expected that the New York University Harmony branch where they went to study in the United States and the Tuck School of Business where Hua Zuying studied were not only on the east coast of the United States, but also The distance is very close, and the car will arrive in an hour. Jia Shizhen still clearly remembers Hua Zuying's first letter to him after going abroad: "I sincerely hope that you will try to come to the United States to see and study, even if it is only a few months, and accept advanced ideas. And concepts..." He never thought that Hua Zuying's words really became a reality, and they were so close to each other on the other side of the ocean! The plane finally landed at New York Airport. This group of students from China, dressed in suits and leather shoes, was full of energy.When they got off the plane and stepped into the hall of JFK International Airport, English was pouring into their eyes.The labyrinth-like hall made it impossible for them to figure out what was going on.Jia Shizhen looked around, and people of different skin colors gathered in this hall, which seemed to contain the whole world.The beauties on the large perfume advertisements glanced at the officials who came all the way from the ancient oriental countries. For this group of people who are called darlings or elites in China, although they think that the United States is elusive in their hearts, they always just hide their mystery and admiration for the world's largest country deep in their hearts.When they actually set foot on this so-called most advanced country in the world, their hearts were quite complicated.Jia Shizhen suddenly thought of the first few words: "If you love him, send him to New York, because it is heaven; if you hate him, send him to New York, because it is hell..." They each took their own luggage and followed the female translator like a group of elementary school students.They felt that it was not just an unfamiliar environment, except for the twenty-eight of them, all of them spoke unintelligible English. At this time, the female translator waved enthusiastically, and a yellow-skinned middle-aged man pulled a tall Caucasian man to them.Their fluent English stunned the trainees, and they didn't even understand a single word.The female translator turned her head and waved to them, motioning for everyone to follow. Out of the airport gate, suddenly felt a gust of cold wind.The climate in early October in China is relatively comfortable, but it is already very cold in New York. A medium-sized bus was parked on the side of the road. After everyone got on the bus, the female translator checked the number of people, and the bus drove smoothly on the highway. Calculated according to domestic time, it should be morning at this moment, but it is already a brightly lit night in New York.The car passed through the high overpass road, and the endless headlights lined up in neat and dazzling beams of light. After a while, the car got into the undersea tunnel, and there were rows of street lights passing by the windows.When the car climbed up from the undersea tunnel, Jia Shizhen felt extremely excited.As the car gradually drove into the urban area of ​​New York, these officials from China suddenly felt like a mirage in front of them, and the giant advertisement lights hanging in the sky flickered, making people dazzled. The female translator stood up, turned her head, and said, "This is New York." Everyone looked at the night scene of thousands of lights in full bloom on the streets of New York, a little dumbfounded. Then, the car drove into the central area of ​​New York - Manhattan.Indeed, in the minds of Jia Shizhen and the others, New York, this grotesque city and the largest metropolis in the world, is an unattainable place; and when they were there, the group of Chinese who had just arrived felt extremely novel. One skyscraper after another, colorful neon lights, in various poses and with different expressions, compete for splendor and beauty, illuminating the night sky. The car finally stopped in front of a building, and the female interpreter told them that this was a hotel, where everyone would rest for the night and go to the Harmony campus at nine o'clock tomorrow morning.Then the middle-aged man handed the female interpreter a stack of accommodation cards, and the female interpreter explained: "I'm sorry everyone, the house price here is very expensive, and you can only share one room for two people." It was only later that Jia Shizhen heard that each room in this hotel cost two to three hundred U.S. dollars a day for accommodation. According to the ratio of U.S. dollars to renminbi at that time, one to seven points, each room cost more than two thousand yuan.After entering the room, everyone said that this kind of room in China will not exceed 200 yuan at most. The long-distance travel was indeed exhausting. After Jia Shizhen took a shower, she looked outside from the window. It was dark night, so she lay down on the bed, but she didn't feel sleepy at all.In China, it's the morning work time. Although I have jet lag, I still don't feel sleepy when I lie down.I had no choice but to turn on the TV, trying to add a little bit of embarrassment to myself, but when the TV was turned on, I couldn't understand a single word.Lao Qin, who shared the room with him, was three years older than him and was a vice mayor in China. Jia Shizhen wanted to chat with him, but it turned out that Lao Qin had already fallen asleep on his side.Jia Shizhen consciously turned off the light and lay down. New York University Harmony is located in a small town in southern New Hampshire on the eastern coast of the United States, only about 40 kilometers away from Hua Zuying's school.The scenery here is beautiful and the weather is myriad. Although it is the middle of winter, the chilly wind blowing on the body makes people feel the power of winter. However, the red, yellow and blue flowers and plants everywhere are shaking their heads in the cold wind, just like a beautiful landscape.Almost all universities in the United States are open, without campuses or walls, just like naturally formed scenic spots. After Jia Shizhen and the others entered school, each of them set up a one-room room.The so-called one room only has a medium-sized bed, a simple writing desk for study, a stove and a bathroom. After putting down her luggage, Jia Shizhen called Lingling to report her safety, but found that Lingling hesitated to speak.Jia Shizhen originally wanted to ask a few more questions, but seeing that his wife seemed unwilling to talk about it, she didn't ask any more, and only wanted to ask about the situation when she went back. After hanging up the phone, Jia Shizhen put away his luggage, thinking that they will spend a short but long five months of study and life here, what worries him most at the moment is the language barrier.Studying in a university like the United States, with their English, even normal communication is very difficult. How can they understand those foreign professors speaking in English! Fortunately, Hua Zuying was influenced by learning foreign languages ​​during that time, and he also put in a lot of effort. Coupled with the one-month training before going abroad, he had a little foundation.Now, he has to put English learning on top of the list. After the domestic training camp, the teacher of Moyou University divided the 28 people into four groups of A, B, C, and D according to their English level. Class A is of course the best English among them. There are eight people in total. Jia Shizhen is also amused, because his English level is also included in Class A. It can be seen that the students in Class D can only know twenty-six English letters at most. ! At this moment, the phone in the room rang, and Jia Shizhen hesitated for a moment. Since boarding the international flight, there had been no interference from calls or mobile phones for a few days, and her life had changed to another mode.When he found the telephone on the simple writing desk, he hesitated to pick up the receiver. It is customary in China to say "Hello" first, but now, he did not say a word. At this time, a feminine voice came from the phone: "Hello! Will..." (Hello! Excuse me...) Jia Shizhen was stunned, not knowing what to do for a while, and said in very blunt and awkward English: "I am Sorry, I..." (Sorry, I...) "You, you are Jia..." When Jia Shizhen heard that the phone suddenly changed to Chinese, her heart beat wildly.To be honest, since boarding the international flight to the United States at Narita Airport in Japan, Jia Shizhen and his companions seemed to feel a sense of depression that they had never experienced before because they could not communicate. When he called and communicated in Chinese, he immediately became excited. "You are……" "It's really you? Minister Shizhen!" The other party looked excited and excited, "I'm Hua Zuying!" "It's Zu Ying? You... Where are you?" "I'm at school!" Hua Zuying's voice trembled with excitement, "Did you know that our school is only 40 kilometers away from your place, Minister Shizhen, I'm so happy..." "Zu Ying, how are you?" "Okay, it's to stay away from the motherland, stay away from relatives, miss home, miss the motherland, miss relatives!" "How did you know my number?" "Check it out!" "Minister Shizhen!" Hua Zuying became even more excited, "The day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow is Saturday, I will visit you..." "Oh..." Jia Shizhen said, "I don't know if we have group activities yet." "How is your jet lag? Are you tired?" "Fortunately, to be honest, I haven't slept much since I left China. I couldn't sleep for even a minute on the plane. Although I slept in New York last night, I still couldn't do it if I was really jet-lagged. I don't know why. , I can't always calm down." "It's all like this. Almost all Chinese who come to the United States are like this at the beginning, and they get used to it very quickly." "Have you passed the English test now? I am very anxious now. I feel like a deaf and dumb person. I can't even understand a single word. What should I do?" "Hey, let's not mention it. When I first came here, I was no better than you. I can still pass the test?" Hua Zuying said, "However, my difficult period has passed, but communication with Americans is far from enough." In those days in the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee, ever since Jia Shizhen met Hua Zuying, the relationship between the two has become closer and closer, until that time when Jia Shizhen was sent to that ghost place for heterosexual massage, but was discovered by Hua Zuying again. She rescued him desperately, even she herself couldn't tell what kind of motivation it was, whether it was justice, caring, or something else, Hua Zuying really didn't think about anything at the time.In her opinion, there is always some kind of force pulling them together.Hua Zuying's going abroad was not purely for her own future, but to avoid entanglements between them.Women are much more sensitive to feelings than men. She is an intellectual woman who was admitted to a university from the countryside. When her first dream came true, it was followed by heavy blows and extreme pain. disappointment.With all kinds of job opportunities, she entered the Hongmen Hotel as a waiter, and with her knowledge and talent, she became the foreman of the restaurant, but she was not reconciled, and she still had many dreams.But when she got to know Jia Shizhen, she suddenly felt that she was about to make a dangerous mistake—a dislocation of feelings.It was her rational choice that changed the fate of her life.It is also this kind of rationality that has become a huge driving force, allowing her to change from a working girl to an MBA student at a top American university. That adventure left a deep imprint on the hearts of both of them. It has only been more than a year since the unforgettable past, and who sent them from one side of the earth to the other to meet?Things in the world are never clear, and life is always an unknown field! Jia Shizhen held the phone, as if Hua Zuying was standing beside her, and her heart became more and more excited. Just as Jia Shizhen was concentrating on answering the phone, someone knocked on the door, but Jia Shizhen just talked and didn't hear it.It wasn't until someone patted him on the shoulder that he turned around and put down the phone in a panic. When Jia Shizhen looked up, it turned out to be Zhou Guang.Zhou Guang looked tired and said with a smile, "Why, I missed my wife when I first arrived in America!" Jia Shizhen smiled and shook her head: "A Chinese student studying abroad." Zhou Guang laughed: "Impossible! We just arrived, who has such great supernatural powers, and knows the phone number so quickly?" "Really, and it's our Moyou province!" "Woman, it must be a woman." Zhou Guang looked at Jia Shizhen, "Shizhen, you are very lucky! As soon as you arrived in the United States, there were female students chasing you, but I came at the wrong time. Look, Shizhen, Look at the look on your face." Jia Shizhen has always respected Zhou Guang very much.When he was still in the provincial party committee organization, to be precise, after he became the director of the cadres of the government, one day Zhou Guang went to the cadres of the government to discuss things. When they met for the first time, he asked no one to introduce him, so he took the initiative to say, my name is Zhou Guang, Deputy Director of Provincial Development and Reform Commission.Based on this, it can be said that he is a typical extroverted man.During the training days at Moyou University, they met Zhou Guang again. The two held hands for a long time, and added another layer of relationship, that is, the chief and deputy team members during the domestic training camp, and the current chief and deputy team leader.It's just that Zhou Guang's frankness today made Jia Shizhen a little flustered.Jia Shizhen couldn't tell why, she just couldn't calm down. "Why don't you take a break, I heard it will take some time to get over the jet lag." Jia Shizhen said. "Your brother is the first time to North America!" Zhou Guang said, "I have been to the United States and Canada twice. It doesn't matter if the jet lag is not so bad. When people are sleepy to a certain extent, they will naturally fall asleep. Do you want to sleep?" It doesn’t work anymore. The biggest discomfort I have when I go to these countries is drinking ice water. I drink tea in China, and I have to make tea three times a day. Just like some people are addicted to alcohol, I also have a hard time explaining about tea. Dependence. Tea has to be soaked in boiling water, but in the United States, you still drink ice water in winter, how do you think I can stand it!" Jia Shizhen said: "I'm not used to it either, people from Western countries have a good stomach..." "It's a habit. Many Chinese students have stayed in the United States for several years, and they still drink ice water." "Director Zhou—" Just as Jia Shizhen opened his mouth, Zhou Guang interrupted him: "Yes, it's Old Zhou." Jia Shizhen smiled: "Isn't it in private, you are six years older than me!" "No, we are in the United States now, and all our official titles remain in China." "Zhou..." Jia Shizhen smiled, "I always feel a little awkward, old Zhou, how is your foreign language?" Zhou Guang shook his head: "Do you know how many years it has been since I graduated from university, twenty years! What kind of knowledge can be proficient without using it? Besides, what age are we all!" Zhou Guang continued with a smile, "When I heard that I I came to the United States for training, and I was stunned. The one-month training in China was really driving a donkey into a sedan chair! But what level of English is my level, and I am still in Class A." "You are always better than me. What is my teacher's college? It's not a high-ranking university." "Don't be modest, when you were in Moyou University, which test score were you not in the top few!" "That's driving a donkey into a sedan chair! Everything is forced out." Zhou Guang patted Jia Shizhen on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Study hard, brother, you have a bright future!" "These days, my head is full of English words, and my head is getting bigger!" "Fortunately, there is an interpreter, take your time!" "It is said that the translated content is not the original flavor." "Hey, Shizhen, you are the head of the organization, and your cadre and personnel system reform in Xiyu has caused all kinds of praise and criticism. I think you are constantly summing up and thinking. At such a critical moment, the provincial party committee asked You come to the United States to study, I think there must be a purpose." Zhou Guang said, "Although I am also a person in the officialdom, I mainly study economics. I came to the United States to study and study American economic management, and you should Study China's political system from the political economy of the United States, especially the reform of the cadre and personnel system. With all due respect, since you have already cracked the tip of the iceberg, you may not be able to get it back even if you want to." Jia Shizhen smiled and pulled Zhou Guang to sit down. Zhou Guang said: "Shizhen, the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party raised the issue of democratic politics. Of course, in China it is socialist democracy, but how should we look at the issue of democracy? For example, what is the difference between democracy in Western countries and Chinese democracy? How do we To understand the issue of democracy that everyone is concerned about?" After a pause, Jia Shizhen said: "I've been thinking about the two inspections arranged by our training class. You said that the United States has a good political system, administrative management, and large enterprises. You said that we can understand their introductions. How much? And rely on translation..." Jia Shizhen shook her head. "Yeah, if I knew today, I shouldn't have abandoned English." Jia Shizhen looked at Zhou Guang, hesitated to speak.He still doesn't know how to discuss such a serious and important issue. After Zhou Guang left, Jia Shizhen was still not sleepy. She looked at her watch and guessed that Lingling hadn't slept yet, so she called home. The first two days of class were fairly easy, but Jia Shizhen felt that she could not sleep well at night and her mind was always groggy.There is organization and discipline in the training class, and it is generally not allowed to act alone.On Saturday morning, before Jia Shizhen got up, he was woken up by a knock on the door. Looking at his watch, it was already past nine o'clock in the morning, and he hurriedly opened the door, which surprised Jia Shizhen.It turned out to be Hua Zuying. The moment the door was opened, Jia Shizhen was stunned, even a little at a loss, and hurriedly took the suit and put it on the pajamas. Hua Zuying is still so beautiful and pleasant, but she looks a little thinner. The two looked at each other for a long time, but no one said a word.Hua Zuying's eyes moved slowly in the room, trying to calm herself down, and said, "You have really become overseas students in the United States. You are the same as ordinary people like us!" Jia Shizhen laughed: "We are ashamed, you use your own hard-earned money to study abroad, we spend the national money." Hua Zuying looked at Jia Shizhen and said, "Jet lag is a very uncomfortable thing, but I didn't expect you..." Jia Shizhen pointed to the only chair and said, "Please sit down. It's really not easy to meet friends from your own country in a foreign country on the other side of the ocean, let alone us..." "It should be regarded as a great joy in life, 'meeting an old friend in a foreign country'." "I really didn't expect that we could meet at such a time and such a place. This history will be recorded in the annals of our lives." Jia Shizhen looked at Hua Zuying, "I can imagine that you have lost weight, whether it is Studying or living, how difficult it is for you!" "The difficult period is finally over. When I first came here, the teacher couldn't understand the lectures, and sometimes I could only sleep for one or two hours a night." Hua Zuying smiled, "Think about it when we were in college and we also took the English test , CET-6, went abroad to take TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, but in the real classroom, those professors couldn’t understand the lectures at all. Language is really weird and inexplicable!” "Yeah, even you feel so difficult, we people can imagine." Hua Zuying said: "You haven't eaten breakfast yet, wash your face first, I'll accompany you to eat something." "Forget it, I have bread here, at least eat some, let's talk about it at noon!" "In China, you people are all powerful leaders. You never thought that you would live such a difficult life in the United States." "This is already very good. We spend the country's money and the blood and sweat of the people. Our training in the past few months cost at least two to three hundred thousand yuan per person. Twenty-eight people, plus Translation and other expenses must exceed tens of millions of RMB.” Hua Zuying exclaimed: "If you don't say it, I really didn't expect it to be calculated like this. It's really amazing! You said that the Moyou Provincial Committee is really willing to spend money to train you leaders!" "So, we have to be worthy of the renminbi. Do you know how many folks have created wealth!" Jia Shizhen took out a piece of bread from the refrigerator, sat on the bed, and chewed it, like a primary school student. "I heard that since the early 1990s, many provinces in China have sent promising young and middle-aged cadres to developed countries to study, and some of these people have already become provincial and municipal leaders." Hua Zuying said "I think sending these people to developed countries is to learn their advanced scientific management on the one hand, and on the other hand, to go abroad and see the world! Anyone who sticks to the old ways and sticks to the old ways has no future." "We used to call ourselves an ancient civilization, but now it's the 21st century. Every citizen in China must integrate into the world. For a while, our country neglected management science and emphasized academic qualifications one-sidedly. Selecting leading cadres from talents, such as choosing a cardiologist as the head of the health department, is not only a waste of talents, but also a blasphemy of management science!" Jia Shizhen looked at Hua Zuying. Although she looked a lot thinner, she was still so beautiful. She didn't look changed at all. Her fair and round face showed a pink luster. Black floral trousers that fall to the ankle.This is a typical oriental young woman.In China, a twenty-seven or eighteen-year-old woman like Hua Zuying should be said to be the age to enjoy love, marriage, and even have children. However, at this age, she traveled across the ocean and flew to the opposite side of the earth , came to the other side of the ocean, and faced many difficulties alone, but this was a milestone in her personal career. While changing clothes, Jia Shizhen was silent in deep thought.At Hua Zuying's age, she should truly belong to her husband and children. At this moment, the phone rang, and Jia Shizhen hurried over to pick it up. “喂……哟！是老大哥啊……”贾士贞握着话筒，看看华祖莹，“老大哥，实在太抱歉……真的！我来了一位朋友，一位小老乡，她孤身一人在美国留学，明天，行吗？反正咱们在美国的时间早着呢！” “士贞啊，是不是那天打电话的那个女留学生啊！”周光的声音很大，华祖莹完全能听得清电话里的内容，她却装作什么也没听见，只偷偷地注视着贾士贞脸上的表情。 “周大哥，你饶了我吧，真的很抱歉，你知道身在大洋彼岸的留学生，是何等的思念祖国，思念家乡，思念亲人吗？” 放下电话，贾士贞笑笑说：“祖莹，走，咱们找个地方，在国内我还从来没有好好请过你，今天我来做东。”贾士贞看着华祖莹，“咱们可不是一般意义上的朋友呀，你对我，可是有知遇之恩……” 华祖莹突然伸出手，一下子捂住贾士贞的嘴，她只觉得自己的心脏陡然间狂跳起来，满脸灼热。 贾士贞感到这只柔软、丰满的手，像冰块一样寒冷，他颤栗了一下，怔住了。 贾士贞穿着笔挺的西装，系着一条紫色白点领带，出了宿舍楼，看看华祖莹，却不知道往哪儿走，华祖莹突然说：“你们不是有纪律吗，不能单独行动？” 贾士贞说：“那是出外，在学校里可以。不过，要不是你来，我真的不会一个人单独行动。因为我那蹩脚的英语根本不敢说出口，说了人家也听不懂，有了你这位大翻译，我一切听你指挥，心里踏实多了！” 确实，贾士贞完全没有了在莫由省委组织部的风度，更没有了在西臾当市委组织部长的威风。他并不是因为异国他乡的陌生环境，而是面对满眼的黄头发、蓝眼睛的美国人，他无法和人家沟通和交流。只要看到别人在对话，他就顿时觉得自己完全没了自尊，完全像个白痴！在国内，尤其是在集训的那段时间，和那些临时组合起来同学，不仅上课时努力学习英语，课余时也尽力用英语交流日常生活的单词，常常闹出让人捧腹大笑的笑话来。大家水平都差不多，反而觉得新鲜有趣，然而一到美国，才感到他们所学的那点单词，与美国人根本无法交流，简直就是牙牙学语的孩子。 出了宿舍楼，是一条并不宽的马路，马路两旁是大片还没有完全枯萎的草坪。到处一片寂静，很少见到走动的学生，贾士贞向四周看看，完全不像中国的大学校园，这里没有围墙，像处在一个偏僻的乡村，又像一个无人问津的公园。 贾士贞说：“祖莹，你们学校也是这样？” 华祖莹笑笑，说：“美国几乎所有大学都是开放的，没有围墙，而且大部分名牌大学都不在大城市。你看在美国的东海岸有多少名牌大学，像哈佛大学、耶鲁大学、哥伦比亚大学、普林斯顿大学、布朗大学、康奈尔大学、达特茅斯学院和宾夕法尼亚大学。这八所大学称为常春藤盟校，都是美国首屈一指的一流大学。历史悠久，治学严谨，许多著名的科学家、政界要员、商贾巨子都毕业于此。在美国，常春藤盟校被作为顶尖名校的代名词。这八所名牌大学都集中在美国东部沿海岸，而且全部是私立学校。我们学校和这里很相似，建在偏僻的新罕布什尔州的一个小镇上，可环境十分优美。” “是啊，在二千六百年前，齐国的政治家管仲就说过，'仓廪实而知礼节，衣食足而知荣辱'，表明荣辱观的形成、倡导与人的生存条件以及社会经济发展之间的内在联系，同时也说明了物质文明和精神文明的内在关系。” 拐上一条并不宽的柏油马路，继续往前走了不远，路边出现了各式小商店，路上时而有轿车驶过，行人也多起来了，但多数都是白种人。 华祖莹说：“这里恐怕没有中餐馆！” “干嘛一定要吃中餐，我们吃了几十年中餐，有机会尝尝西餐有什么不好！观念要改变，生活习惯也要改变。” 华祖莹笑笑：“我怕你不习惯。” “我们是来接受西方教育的，得先从饮食文化开始。”贾士贞说，“我现在最头痛的就是语言上的障碍。我们什么时候能达到你们这些人的语言交流水平就好了。” “你要锻炼，不要不好意思，要多和美国人交流，不交流，靠翻译，永远不会有进步。” 来到一家餐馆门口，只见大门上方有一排绿色的霓虹灯字母：Hawaii。 华祖莹停住脚步，指着那排字母说：“士贞，你拼拼看，这是什么意思？” 贾士贞不吭声，想了半天，涨红了脸，抓了半天脑袋，说：“什么'夏'什么'衣'吧！” 华祖莹笑起来了，说：“不简单，你再想一想，美国最大的岛屿。” 贾士贞一拍脑袋：“夏威夷！” 华祖莹一下子眉飞色舞起来，未加思索地挎着贾士贞的胳膊，进了餐厅。这个动作自然得如同一对一往情深的情侣。等到贾士贞意识到时，似乎有点尴尬，急忙脱开自己的胳膊。 华祖莹在餐厅里扫一眼，很快在角落里找到一张两人座的餐桌。两人坐下后，华祖莹说：“美国不像中国，大小餐馆都有年轻女子迎接顾客，餐厅的服务人员什么样的人都有，有的甚至还是上了年纪的人。” 正说着，一位中年男人走过来，棕黄色的头发，蓝眼睛，高个子，足有一米八五以上，贾士贞觉得这个人少说也有五十岁。他来到他们面前，笑着说：“What is in need of help？”（有什么需要帮忙的吗？） 贾士贞皱了皱眉头，眨了眨眼，迅速伸出右手，示意他和华祖莹说。 华祖莹拿起餐桌上彩色菜谱，一边看一边说：“咱们点一个饭、一个面吧！” 贾士贞点点头说：“入乡随俗，到了美国就要适应西方人的习惯。” 华祖莹抬起头对白种人说：“Curry chicken with rice，Stewed chicken with macaroni！”（咖哩鸡饭，通心粉白汁鸡！） “Please wait！”（请稍等！） 华祖莹看着贾士贞说：“你们这些官员们在国内整天花天酒地，现在过这样的生活，怎么样？有点感到失落吧！”贾士贞摇摇头，说：“西方国家或者进步国家，人们并不把官看得那么重，人家靠自己的技术、才能，就是总统不当了，照样去大学当教授。不像中国人，千军万马挤官道，当了官就高人一等，指手画脚。这也是中国落后的地方。改革政治制度，就要改变观念。” “在美国可不像中国，大吃大喝铺张浪费。”华祖莹说，“你看人家餐厅都这样简单，很少像中国那些豪华的包间，摆满了许许多多的菜。那真是'慷慨'呀！” 贾士贞说：“中国人在这方面应该改革，浪费太大，有些人是慷国家、人民之慨，叫他自己花钱，他就不会那样'慷慨'了。” 华祖莹指指彩色菜单上的图说：“刚才我点的两份西餐，不知道你听懂没有，一份咖哩鸡饭，一份通心粉白汁鸡。不知道你习惯不习惯？” 贾士贞说：“习惯也是检验一个人的素质。你想我们这些人在美国要生活五个多月，必须适应美国的生活。”说着，贾士贞从口袋里取出钱包，拿出一张百元美元纸币。 华祖莹按住贾士贞的手说：“我来吧！” 贾士贞笑了笑，说：“你还是个留学生，别客气了，再说了，你看我一个大男人还能让一个女学生来买单？” 这时，那位高个子美国人送上两份西餐，华祖莹将咖哩鸡饭留下一点，对贾士贞说：“我在减肥。” 吃完饭，华祖莹取出三美元硬币，放在桌子上，说：“在美国，都要给小费的。”