Chapter 32 Chapter Thirty

When I had nothing to do two months before the Spring Festival, "Human Jing" resumed publication, and invited me to "join".I have lingering fears about this magazine with a bad reputation that has been on and off.A few months ago, he and a group of people were invited by Yu Jianghu to the conference room of an investment company to attend a meeting, and fooled an investor, and there was no further news after that.I am no longer interested in interviewing human beings and scumbags. Besides, in China, it is inappropriate for me to be a reporter at my age, and it is not too bad to be a "beast".

Yu Jianghu vowed that the publication will really resume this time, the investment has been paid and the personnel are in place, and there will be no salary arrears.He said that two days later, there was a seminar in a five-star hotel to offer advice and suggestions for the re-published magazine. A large number of experts and scholars came, and the president, investors, editors and reporters also attended.He said flickeringly: "It doesn't matter if you come or not, it's okay to have a look, it's delicious and delicious." "Why don't you recruit Hu Meng?"

"You don't know this guy yet, why does he take our little chicken feather shop seriously?" He also revealed that Hu Meng is currently working on a new project while enjoying a soft meal. "You must have gotten a fat job too?" I joked. "I've put in a lot of effort, and I'm only the deputy editor-in-chief and publishing director. The lady opened a brothel, and it's just for fun." "Real power faction." I teased. "So, will they still treat you badly? I discussed with them, and I will count you as the chief reporter, that is, the chief reporter. With a large volume of publications, I will give you a basic salary of 4,000, and the newcomer will only have a basic salary of 2,000. Plus editing fees And the manuscript fee, how come there is six or seven thousand, and I still don’t work.” Yu Jianghu continued to seduce me.

It is indeed a bit tempting not to sit at work, so just think of it as extra money.I took the opportunity to put forward a condition: "Can the interviewee be allowed to do it by me, some people are so smart that I feel like vomiting, what kind of people are so good, turtles are not bad." "If there are too many interviews, you will become a human or a turtle. You are famous. If you don't want to praise, you can write a cool review. You can earn money by cursing people." Yu Jianghu smiled and promised to cooperate with me as much as possible.I complained that the manuscript was still suppressed before, and he said, "That's right, you are stupid, just exchange it for money."

Not being stupid, I decided to check it out. The Seminar on "Ren Jing" was indeed held at the "Ren Jing Hotel".Those experts, scholars, editors and reporters who came saw the true face of Lushan Mountain, and they were indeed of the breed above the white-eyed wolf.Yu Jianghu presided over the meeting.The president is a fat man, not an intellectual or an entrepreneur, but a bureaucrat who looks like a deputy director in a closed area.Zhou Wenbiao, the plenipotentiary representative of the magazine, is a Confucian scholar. It is said that he has already received a doctorate in literature and art and has no books to read.The investor is in his thirties, and it is reported that he has been nominated as a rich man on the "Pig Killing List" in "Fu Bu Die".He didn't speak much, but he said loudly: "...you just need to run the magazine well, don't worry about money, we are not short of money."

Under the leadership of the president, the audience was thunderous, and the God of Wealth was overjoyed and paid his respects frequently.Then a group of people sat around the oval conference table and talked about everything from the national macro policy to the glorious years of "Human Essence" magazine, and finally discussed how to bring this magazine back to life and rebuild its glory.A bunch of editors and reporters and I sat in the back and listened attentively, applauding hypocritically from time to time.Or just write a few nonsense on the soft copybook they distribute, maybe because they silently talked about the feast after the meeting, they subconsciously drew a wine glass and a bastard.

The dinner was not arranged at the "Renjing Hotel", but at a mid-range restaurant nearby.The investor said to take care of the buddy's business.Met a few friends at the wine table.Lu Xiaoyang, a native of Hunan, is weak and capable, and came from a financial magazine.Luo Yun wearing a baseball cap, Shandong native, biographer.Xia Yifan from Anhui has a broken-down poetic temperament, no wonder he is a fellow of Haizi and Chen Duxiu.Yin Xuanren, a native of Hubei, claimed to be in his thirties, suspected to be between 30 and 50, and his origin is unknown.The representative of the investor, Bao Xiaolin, looks like a middle-aged lady, with jewels and charms.The American editor Lao Tian has a sense of vicissitudes, doesn't talk much, and seems to be an acquaintance with Bao Xiaolin.Yu Jianghu's new girlfriend, Lu Fei, was also sitting here. It was the first time I met this beautiful Hunan girl, and it was said that Yu Jianghu tricked her here from Guangzhou.I joked that in Jianghu, "Once you have power, you will use your sex to seek it out", which is consistent.During the meeting, we talked very happily. The president, the representative of the investor and us talked happily, and the wolves with big tails also called us brothers and sisters.

There will be a topic selection meeting in three days.It is still a commercial and residential building, but it is newer and bigger.The office is in the living room, and the other two are the offices of Zhou Wenbiao and Bao Xiaolin.Both Zhou Wenbiao and Han Qiu stayed here at night.In order to save costs, the collection and compilation are integrated.Most people don't sit at work, the time is empty when no one is there, and it is crowded when people arrive.Office equipment is stretched thin and can only be used in rotation.I ate at the magazine office at noon. It was not a work meal delivered by the restaurant, but a middle-aged peasant woman hired by the magazine office with good money. The quality of food was slightly higher than that of migrant workers, but it was full.During the meal, Lu Xiaoyang took the lead in raising the issue of the contract, and the club repeated the old tune about the running-in period, because most of the people were newcomers, so they didn't pursue it too much.

My columns are "Topics" and "Cool Reviews". The former is to find a certain hot topic (some) people to talk about, usually it is the headline article of a magazine, and the cover focuses on recommendations; the latter is to talk about a certain person (group) Or a certain human phenomenon that has a reputation as a cultural critic and cynicism.If you pick anyone who is smart or smart, you can write him as the opposite and he will be grateful.This job is good, not flattering, serious and pretentious. The work is going well, and the after-tax salary at the end of the month is more than 6,000 yuan.Go back to "home" early and wait for Xiao Yu and her classmate "little white mouse" to come.We agreed to have dinner first, then go to karaoke, and arrived at the Catholic Church in Wangfujing before midnight.

The "little white mouse" is called Bai Juan, who is also pretty, a little fatter, and works in a state-owned enterprise.According to Xiao Yu, Bai Juan is not as good as herself in reading because she performed exceptionally well in the college entrance examination.Bai Juan chuckled and said nothing, but I said I had reservations.We originally planned to go to Chaoyang North Road to eat "Fat Niu" hot pot, or go to "Hanna Mountain" in Xinyuanli to eat Korean barbecue, and then go to Chaoyangmen or Chongwenmen karaoke.When Xiaoyu picked up the heavy coat for me, she habitually checked the pockets, and the thick stack of big bills was doomed.Xiao Yu's eyes widened again, ordered noodles twice in front of Bai Juan and immediately changed her mind, she wanted to eat boiled fish and not the "Boiling Fish Village" in Haidian Universiade Village.Bai Juan said that it was a chain store, so why bother to waste taxi money.Xiao Yu reminded her: "There is also 'Porco Rosso' over there."

"Red pig? Don't we eat fish?" I also wondered, "How can there be a red pig? There are only black pigs and white pigs plus the half-human, half-pig monster Bajie." They couldn't stop laughing, I was at a loss, Bai Juan explained: "'Porco Rosso' is also a karaoke room." "Look at this name!" I laughed. "I'm sure the boss is a pig if his surname is not Zhu. If he wants to be popular, he's going to be crazy." "Whatever, let's go!" Xiaoyu gave the order to go. I called Lao Hong, my private driver, who happened to be nearby.Xiaoyu took out three Christmas hats for us to put on one by one, the most common kind of red velvet, white fringed brim, and a slender hat with a white ball pendant on the top.We dressed like men in a suit and headed out the door.Along the way, you can see that the Christmas trees in some shops and bars have been filled with lights. "Boiling Fish Town" was so boiling that we sneezed hundreds of meters away, and it was overcrowded, so we had to queue up. "Porco Rosso" is a red building, which is focused by spotlights at night. The architectural pattern is trendy and unique. There are colorful Christmas lights hanging on the surrounding trees and buildings, which are particularly eye-catching.But it doesn't look like a pig at first glance, but an advertising balloon rising in the wind, winding and colorful, but it also looks like a pearl pigtail that has been overly marinated. The Porco Rosso lobby was packed.A large number of people gathered in the dam outside the building, stomping their feet and breathing heavily from the cold.Some childlike flower girls only watched couple-like men and women peddling roses: "Uncle, it's Christmas, let's buy a bouquet of roses for Auntie! These flowers just arrived." "Uncle, do you love Auntie? Christmas is coming, buy Auntie a bouquet of roses!" "Uncle, Auntie is so beautiful, Christmas is coming, why don't you buy her a bouquet of roses?" ... This simple and superb salesmanship and the wave after wave is like a bully's posture of bowing hard, so you won't be able to take out your money.I took out 20 yuan and said I would buy a bouquet, and the little girl came again: "Uncle, did you only buy one bouquet? What a sting! Ninety-nine bouquets represent eternity, how beautiful these flowers are!" The temperature of my neck rose sharply, but it was Xiaoyu who made a rescue: "What do little girls know? It's not so much, it's about your heart." I also mocked: "That's right, it's not about buying feed, the more the better." "Then buy nineteen bunches?" the girl said, but Xiaoyu declined. "Nine bundles." The girl said again, but Xiao Yu still declined.Not reconciled, the little girl pointed at Bai Juan and said, "This auntie is so pretty, too. Uncle should buy her a bunch too." Bai Juan asked with an embarrassed smile, "That's right, little sister, how can one uncle send flowers to two aunts at the same time?" "That's right, our country is monogamous, and my uncle has the heart but not the guts." Xiao Yu also taught her. The girl had nothing to say, and quickly approached the next target with the money.It seemed that it was our turn to sing and Christmas was over, and we were walking away in a huff, when a man came up to sell KTV numbers.I only know about reselling train tickets, football tickets, concert tickets, stocks and hospital expert accounts. I feel like: "The capital scalpers really have unlimited business opportunities!" "Hmph, don't say that Beijing is bad! No matter how bad it is, it's because of you outsiders." Xiao Yu gave me a white look.I asked the price, the man held out two fingers and thought it was twenty.The man was very angry: "My brother's speech is too bad, it's as cold as a popsicle, just for twenty? It's not enough to buy a box of cold medicine." Kohane pulled me away.The man clings: "Brother, it's especially suitable for you. It's a small place to save money. Brother, I'll see you bring a girlfriend, and I'll give you a discount. Let you be 20." I almost laughed out loud and kept going.We still ignore the 50% discount on scalpers.The price was reduced by 80, I stopped and glanced at Xiao Yu, she dragged me with one hand and Bai Juan with the other.The scalper was in a hurry: "Don't go, make an offer! We'll be there soon." It's cold, I don't want to burn calories here, so I blurted out: "Just one hundred!" "Come on!" The man readily agreed, completed the deal with me quickly, and left.Xiaoyu didn't have time to stop her, and complained: "Why are you so stupid! I got his account before I heard about it. If we don't buy him, he will be useless. You are poor and generous. You can eat 'pizza' once for 100 yuan. " I said, "Okay, let's have fun. I thought I was a street vendor back then, and I was darker than him." Bai Juan spoke for me: "The horns I bought will be sung harder." According to the automatic scoring system on the jukebox, Bai Juan and I are on the same level.Xiaoyu sings very uniquely, and her voice can also reveal gender characteristics, but she can't finish every song, and the parts she can't sing are all sung as Rap.At this time, her facial expressions and body language were extremely rich, but her voice did not change in tone, her emotions were like the zero-degree outdoor temperature, and her speech speed and audio were like the digitized language of aliens in American science fiction films.Sure enough, the jukebox couldn't include it in the scoring system, and refused to give a score. Xiaoyu was very depressed: "Why do I come in third every time?" Bai Juan and I laughed so hard that we almost spit out the boiled fish and fruit salad.Bai Juan comforted her: "It's the first standard to change aliens. You come to the first husband and the wife as you like." I was also led astray by Xiao Yu when I sang a few duets. I was out of tune and out of tune, and the waiter who came to refill drinks sang and ran away, and the unreasonable OK machine also jammed. The last subway was much more crowded than usual at this point, and I could feel the strong Christmas atmosphere.A few bloated Santa Clauses cruised slowly in the subway like penguins, beckoning to people, and making a Chinese-style fist hug from time to time; when they met children, they took out candy toys from their arms.There are especially many young people wearing Santa hats, holding fluorescent sticks, and looking excited.People are much more friendly and polite than usual. Those who know each other nod and smile, or say "Merry Christmas!" It makes you feel that humanity is fake, but warmth is real. Divided from the subway station, they rushed to the Catholic Church standing in a quiet place in Wangfujing, the most prosperous and busy city in China.In the deep night, seeing the high cathedral in the jungle of modern buildings around it from a distance is really outstanding.The golden crosses standing on the three domes at the top of the church are like bright signposts leading to heaven held high by invisible giant hands. The newly paved square outside the church is shining brightly surrounded by Christmas trees. There are a sea of ​​people, like a whirlpool, constantly pouring in new people, forming a happy, warm, peaceful and holy atmosphere.The vast majority of people are not orthodox believers. Without tickets, they just breathe the breath from the kingdom of heaven at the place closest to God.Santa Claus in disguise travels around, becoming a mobile photo spot.A child as vigorous as a nighthawk scooted past the dense crowd on a skateboard, letting out a series of immature laughter.Couples or pseudo-couples are intimate and lingering. There are many newlyweds. Men wear suits and women wear wedding dresses. With the church as the background, they pose against the cold wind. The photographer flips the button, triggering bursts of white light. Suddenly, melodious bells sounded from the church, and the mass began.There was jubilation, and it returned to silence in an instant.After the bell, the priest's loud sermon, the bright and solemn music and the carols of the choir came gradually.In the cold wind at midnight, every sentence, every syllable and every lyrics were cut hazy and intermittent, like electromagnetic waves being disturbed.In the cold, people are as still as still water, or put their hands together and mutter to themselves, or hold a candle in their hands to hold their breath, or close their eyes and ears, trying to receive fragments of words that connect to the kingdom of heaven.The faint flames in the eyes are flickering in the wind, jumping tenaciously.Under the weak but warm candlelight, some people covered their faces with their hands and remained motionless, while others wept softly with tears in their eyes.This is a magnetic field of sensuality, love and compassion. Having experienced turmoil and vicissitudes for a long time, I have long been invulnerable to all kinds of poisons and refined into a refined spirit. I am heartless and almost hard-hearted.I have passed by the church countless times and never stopped to feel it for a moment.God is far away, but mundane affairs are imminent. Hunger always strikes within a few hours. Once the hunger is dispelled, animal desires, money desires, and all kinds of fame and wealth locks follow one after another.Between the outcasts of God and the outcasts of life, our nation that emphasizes "living" will never choose the latter.But at this moment, I, the unrepentant atheist, I, the real bum, I, the real ghost, were as touched by what I saw as Rina's buddy.My nose started to sore, my tear glands started to secrete, and I felt an irresistible scrubbing and collapsing sensation from head to toe, inside out. The warmth of God disappeared suddenly, and after the ceremony, the hungry and cold people dispersed.We also rushed to Guijie Street in Dongzhimen for supper. When we returned to "home", the rooster waiting to be slaughtered in the chicken shed deep in the alley downstairs croaked loudly and mournfully, and the crazy woman who lived on the second floor also started a new day of tenacious struggle. curse. A few days after "Christmas", Yang Xingchen and his wife organized a New Year's dinner for old classmates at the "Huangcheng Mom" ​​hot pot restaurant in China World Trade Center. Besides Li Hao, Xiaoyu and me, there was also Qu Feng.Qu Feng was not very conspicuous before, and there is almost no trace of him in my memory hard drive.After graduation, in order to get rid of the fate of being a native of Shennongjia, he was admitted to the military academy and abandoned his education to join the army.After ten years of not seeing each other, he suddenly became a major officer of a certain unit in Beijing.He missed the previous gatherings because he was on a business trip or training or meeting the chief or going home to see his wife.He came here in a military jeep, with a big head, a fat waist, a thick waist, and full of energy. He talked like a soldier, like a soldier.After hugging, I laughed: "Okay! This time, the 'Three Musketeers' became the 'Gang of Four'!" "The analogy is inappropriate. We have neither a woman nor a soldier," Qu Feng said. I argued that among those people, there was one official to the vice-chairman of the Military Commission, one person under one person and over ten thousand people, the appointed successors.Qu Feng corrected that the man was not considered a soldier at all, and the great leader made fun of him.Yang Xingchen couldn't help interjecting: "Don't worry about him so much, just don't 'three missing one'." Everyone lamented that the years are not forgiving, and life is like a big drama. While clinking glasses and clinking dishes with red faces, it is inevitable to run on each other.Several people used me as condiment and soup, and used Li Hao's enthusiasm when he first met his partner, and they flattered me a lot, which made me want to hide my shame, so I simply accepted it with a shy face.Xiao Yu just laughed and laughed, and sometimes added some condiments to make maggots or something. Chen Ju asked me if I would bring the young and beautiful Beijing "daughter-in-law" home for the New Year. I smiled and turned to Xiao Yu, who blushed and said, "Not so fast, is it?" Yang Xingchen said that compared with Li Hao, you are not fast, but compared with us, you are already very slow.Seeing that Xiaoyu was very interested, Yang Xingchen made nonsense: "It's been four months since we met and got married—not yet." "That's too fast." Xiao Yu looked surprised.Li Hao interjected: "It's not fast at all. Love is like forging iron, and it has to be fast. There is a saying that 'love only lasts for seven months'. After seven months, it's either a family relationship, or a friend, or an enemy." "We can't be enemies, right?" Xiaoyu looked at me and smiled. "Don't listen to their nonsense." I shifted the target of the joke, "Since the translator said so, I will definitely be able to drink the wedding wine between you and the country doctor during the Chinese New Year." "God knows." Li Hao hesitated. "Hurry up, all of you!" Yang Xingchen made the best use of the situation, "As someone who came here, as an old classmate—" Qu Feng interjected: "As a successful businessman again." "You're right—don't talk about success." Yang Xingchen nodded, "I'll tell you the truth as these three people, life is like a plant, when it should germinate, it should germinate, it should bloom, it should bloom, and it should bear fruit. Otherwise, your life will be misplaced, you won’t be able to catch up, it will be incomplete, and your life will be wasted.” "I'm an out-of-season vegetable—we grow late." I laughed at myself, Xiaoyu added: "Strictly speaking, twelve years." "Ah! One night later?" Chen Ju said in surprise, "You are too young!" "Out-of-season vegetables are not tasty, but they are expensive!" I quibbled. Chen Ju scolded me: "It's a fool's errand to talk about your life's event." Qu Feng seemed to know me well: "He was like this when he was in college." Li Hao interjected: "You can't keep urging buddies, how can a slap be so loud?" So the three of them threatened and lured Xiao Yu again, Xiao Yu couldn't laugh or cry.In the end, Yang Xingchen concluded: "There is no need to talk about the big truth, we should deal with the matter earlier, at least we don't have to worry about him being taken in and sent away. We took a lot of trouble to get Li Hao before, but the buddy didn't get it out, so he sent it to his door." .” "It's all because my brother came late, and my brother is suffering." Qu Feng took a sip of his drink and slapped his chest, "It's okay, there's something--I'm going to get you, it's no problem to bring a platoon. There are only a few bad guys and a few broken guns in the police station? It's a regular field army! Mom's feet (Note: "Mom's feet", Sichuan dialect, equivalent to northern dialect "Mom's bazi!")!" "Gua Wa! Don't forget to bring your hard fire (Note: "hard fire", Sichuan dialect, refers to weapons, especially short guns. The same below.) with you." Li Hao added urgently. "Schools should look at you with admiration for three days." I toasted him, "You really have the demeanor of Marshal Zhang and Marshal Yan." Qu Feng smiled modestly: "Where can I stand shoulder to shoulder with Marshal Zhang and Marshal Yan, I can at most be with Gaddafi (Note: "Gaddafi", the former dictator of Libya, staged a military coup and came to power when he was a major.)" "Who is Gaddafi?" Chen Ju asked, Yang Xingchen laughed at her daughter-in-law, who still didn't have long hair, and Qu Feng explained Gaddafi's background.Xiao Yu looked shocked: "Ah, you think the wrong way?" "Where is it? I just said that we have the same military rank. I don't have the guts, the ability, or the motivation." Qu Feng quickly clarified, listing the generous benefits of the soldiers, and said that his wife and children will be here soon. We were indeed a little jealous: "The barrel of a gun is awesome, we are not like you, with a hard gun on your ass, you can get into the bridal chamber by grabbing a flower girl." "Brother, a literary ruffian is no less than a military ruffian. Your pen is hard fire, and the firepower is stronger. Besides, which man doesn't bring a hard fire?" After the major finished speaking, he let out an ambiguous laugh.The men laughed, Mrs. Yang laughed without saying a word, and Xiao Yu looked embarrassed. It was Yang Xingchen who broke the deadlock and said to Xiao Yu: "As soon as you and our old classmate get things done, he can change from temporary residence C to temporary residence A. In ten years, he will be a Beijinger (son)." "Hehe, I've been promoted to three levels in a row, like that——Zhang Haogu." Xiao Yu laughed. I corrected him: "It's called Ge Haogu now."