A person who is confident that he is very honest, like Zhou Wenxiang, of course thinks it is a shame to receive such a letter.Before he received this letter, he had long heard of a nonsensical group that blatantly named it the "Liar Association".Among his friends, it is said that several are members of this association.He didn't dare to delve into this "allegedly".If the matter is confirmed, it would be embarrassing: break up the relationship, it seems too much; deal with them perfunctorily, and feel a little sorry for conscience.Zhou Wenxiang knew that he didn't have any great talents, but he was loyal and honest. His reputation and career depended on this; honesty was his belief.He himself felt like a heavy stone, although it was not exquisite and beautiful, it was solid and hard.Now I got this letter:

"...There is no culture without lies. Lying is the highest art of life. We doubt everything except the fact that everyone and everything lie. History is the record book of lies, and newspapers are the broadcasting machines of lies. There is the greatest happiness, because being able to tell lies is wisdom. Think about it, if you don’t tell a lot of lies in a day, how many fights you have to fight; how can a husband and wife spend twelve hours in peace without telling lies. Our conscience Never reproach us for what we write in love letters—a lie! But love is holy! The winner is a prince and the loser is a thief, yes, less cares about the ingenuity of lying. Culture is the product of lies. Gentle, then gentlemen— The best liar. The funniest thing is that people can't hide this treasure all day long, like a pregnant woman wearing a fat trench coat on purpose. They seem to be most afraid of being known that they are lying all the time, so they add lies to lies, Be the biggest lie. We are not like this. We know the value of lies and the impossibility of lies, so we lie honestly and use lies artistically. We organize lying meetings to study its techniques and publicize its benefits We know that everyone is lying, and we are more willing to make it less clumsy to tell lies in the future...Mr.

Before finishing reading, Zhou Wenxiang put down the letter.The meeting, as far as he was concerned, was nonsense; this letter was also nonsense.But he couldn't humorously forgive other people for messing around.He can't forgive people who make trouble on his own head like this, it's an insult to his personality. "Mr. Su Yang is used to lying"?He doesn't remember that he lied.Even if it was said, it must not be intentional.He is against lying.He couldn't admit that the newspapers were making rumors, because he got a lot of opinions and knowledge from the newspapers.

Maybe this letter was written to him by someone he knew, "supposedly" from those who were members of the Liars' Society, and they were trying to make fun of him, he thought.But in the upper left corner of the letter paper is printed "Chairman Tang Hanqing; Standing Committee Members Lin Dewen, Deng Daochun, Fei Muchu; Accountant He Zhaolong." property.Fame and wealth, in Zhou Wenxiang's view, must not come from nonsense.Nonsense can only destroy people.Then, a group organized by such famous and wealthy people, logically speaking, should not be fooling around.Incidentally, there might be some truth in this letter, not necessarily that his friends were joking with him.He picked up the letter again, trying to read it all over again.But he only read a few sentences and couldn't read any more.No matter how famous and blessed these chairman committee members are, this letter is absurd after all.It's a nightmare!I have never encountered such a contradiction, such an unreasonable thing!

Zhou Wenxiang has passed the age of paying attention to his appearance.Although I don't intend to be slovenly, but sometimes I can feel very peaceful without shaving for two or three days; not only peaceful, but also seem to feel more solid and simple.He doesn't look in the mirror often; he knows that his round face and square body are not attractive; all his self-love is placed on that simple and honest heart.He doesn't want to use his appearance to show his inner intelligence, but he wants to use his appearance and posture as an instruction manual for his inner honesty.He seemed to keep saying this: "Look at me! Honesty inside and out! Zhou Wenxiang has nothing else but reliability!"

Putting down the letter, he wanted to look at himself in the mirror; his long-term self-confidence made him deliberately re-evaluate himself, just like the extremely stable cabinet is not afraid of, and welcomes, the motion of "no-confidence".Just as he was about to go to the mirror, he heard some footsteps outside the window.He heard that it was his wife.It gave him a sudden joy, not to welcome his wife, but because he could hear her footsteps.There are rules for everything in the family, which is customary and kind. On the day of the "Summer Solstice", we must eat stewed noodles, and my wife always walks with that sound.If only everything in the world was like this, made him used to it and felt kind.If one day his wife does not walk according to the way he is familiar with, how frightening and helpless it will be!He couldn't say that he loved his wife or not, but these familiar footsteps seemed to give him a kind of strength, making him believe that life was not a messy nightmare.He knew her way of walking, just as he knew that there were two bright red peonies on his teacup.

He busily pocketed the letter that disturbed his heart, and the movement was quick and natural, almost instinctive; without a second thought, he decided at once that she would not let her see such nonsense. letter. "It's getting late," the wife opened the door and put one foot on the threshold, "Should I go?" "Aren't I all ready?" He looked at his coat, strangely, just now In order to think about that letter, I have forgotten whether I have put on a big shirt or not.Now I see the big shirt on my body, but I can't remember when I put it on.Now that he has put on his big shirt, he is undoubtedly ready to go out.It is his honor and ideal to go out early, come back early, and earn money for food for the whole family.In fact, because of that letter, he really forgot to go to the office, but let his wife's urging question, he could not reduce the glory and ideal of his life in the slightest: "Aren't I going to go now?" He put on his hat. . "Is Xiaochun gone?"

"He said he won't go to school today." The wife looked at him with the embarrassment that mothers often have. They don't want their husband to lose their temper, and they don't want their son to be good-for-nothing. But what if the husband can not lose his temper? It doesn't matter if the son is a little bit unpromising. "I also said that my stomach hurts." Zhou Wenxiang walked out without saying anything.Suppose he went to question Xiaochun, and the questioning of Xiaochun was short-it just doesn't like going to school and the stomach doesn't necessarily hurt.This proves that Zhou Wenxiang's son can lie.It would be even worse if the son was left alone and the son really learned to lie.He had no choice but to say nothing, showing a serious look; Shen Yi can make a man look good when he can't help it, especially in front of women.Zhou Wenxiang is the parent, so of course he has to show authority, and his wife and children can't see any weaknesses.

Walking out of the street, he felt even more capable of himself.He didn't say a word to his wife just now, etc., but he did it so simply and properly, almost following his heart's desire and having both ways.There is no hypocrisy, no tricks, a kind of sincerity that comes from the simple cultivation of life, and you can deal with it without thinking about it.Thinking of that letter, nonsense! The big clock in the office went to 8:32 and reached two minutes.This was a new experience; for ten years, at the latest when he was dreaming at 8:28, the long needle on the clock was always on the "this" side of the half hour.The world seems to be widened by two points, and everything has changed!He suddenly didn't know himself, he was from "here" at 8:30; life is the accumulation of habits, and a new bed makes it impossible to sleep; Zhou Wenxiang lost himself, lost two minutes away, as if walking away suddenly to the deserted sea.

However, after a short while, he calmed down again and found himself from his lost way.He wanted to blame himself, he shouldn't be flustered by such a little thing; at the same time, he felt that he should praise himself, because he had always been loyal by being anxious about this little thing. Sitting at the desk, he thought of something not very exciting.The company's rules, rules, are not allowed to be late.He has seen co-workers being reprimanded by managers for being late; others withdrew their salaries for being late.Humph, this is not a trivial matter!Naturally, ten years of faithful service cannot be wiped out just because of being late once, he thought.But what if it is passed by the manager?Needless to say it was reprimanded or salary deducted, even if the manager didn’t say anything, he just pointed at Zhou Wenxiang with his index finger—he called himself softly——this was unbearable; not because of the finger itself, but Because this one finger melted the honor of more than ten years, like a stream of hot water poured on the snow!

Yes, he should go to the manager of his own accord without waiting for a summons.A loyal person should admit his mistakes, and it is right to be reprimanded or punished.He stood up and wanted to see the manager. After standing for a while, he had to think of a few words. "Mr. Manager, I'm two minutes late, for the first time in years, but I've made a mistake!" It was decent, he judged his confessional practice.However, in case the manager wants to ask why?The reason for being late should not only be prepared, but also should be said by oneself first, without waiting for the manager to ask.With: "Xiaochun, my boy - stomachache, so..." This is very complete and true.He also thought of asking the manager for half a day's leave, because Xiaochun's stomach hurts and maybe he needs to ask a doctor for a consultation.He didn't dare to decide to do this, because it was obviously more rounded, but maybe it was a little too much.What's more, he usually feels that he loves Xiaochun very much, and for some reason now he doesn't care much about Xiaochun's stomachache, although according to his degree of loyalty, he should believe his son's stomachache, and he should go to ask for it immediately. doctor. He went to see the manager, and said all the words he had prepared, and he said it properly, without being too busy, and without hesitating to make people suspicious.He didn't dare to ask for half a day's leave, but he showed a little hint that he needed to ask a doctor.After finishing speaking, before the manager opened his mouth, he already felt very peaceful in his heart, because he never thought that his words could be so euphemistic and smooth beforehand.He has always thought that he is not good at talking because he sees himself as loyal.Now that he could have such eloquence in front of the manager, he began to feel that he was not only loyal, but also had some undiscovered talents. As he expected, the manager didn't reprimand him, just smiled at him. "He is an honest man after all!" Zhou Wenxiang said in his heart. Smiling without speaking is sometimes like glaring without speaking, making people unable to turn around.Zhou Wenxiang finished speaking, and the manager smiled. It seemed that the matter was over, but there was no way to end this scene.Zhou Wenxiang couldn't just walk out without saying a word, and it wouldn't make sense to stand there any longer.Seems to have something to say, but can't talk nonsense with the manager.Suddenly, he thought of his son again. "Then, if the manager thinks it's okay, I'll take half a day off and go home and have a look!" This is very decent and solemn, although I don't know if my son really has a stomachache. The manager agreed. Zhou Wenxiang walked out of the company feeling a little dazed.Even if it was purely out of love for his son, this move seems almost unfounded after all.But an honest person doesn't need to think about things, just go home and have a look. Walking to the door, Xiaochun was singing "The Sun Comes Out to School" on the stone pier in front of the door. His face and voice were enough to prove that he hadn't suffered from abdominal pain recently. "Xiaochun," Zhou Wenxiang called, "how is your stomach?" "It still hurts intermittently, and I dare not even sing out loud!" Xiao Chun put her hand on her navel. Zhou Wenxiang snorted. Seeing his wife, he asked, "Does Xiaochun really have a stomachache?" When Mrs. Zhou saw her husband coming back, she felt a little uneasy, and when she heard this questioning, she felt that she was in a difficult position.After all, the mother's love made her want to protect her son. True love has no time to choose means. She had to lie: "When you went out, his stomach hurt so much that his color changed. Now it's just a little bit better!" "Then let's ask a doctor to see it?" Zhou Wenxiang thought of this method in order to prove that both mother and son were lying.Although he felt that this method was a little insincere, it still did not detract from his sincerity, because he really wanted to ask the doctor if his wife agreed. "You don't need to invite him home," the wife thought for a while, "You should show him." He didn't expect his wife to approve of seeing Xiaochun so much.Now that he said so, well, doctors won't prescribe prescriptions for healthy children, and a trip for nothing is enough to show his true love for his son, and at the same time expose the hypocrisy of mother and child, although the Zhou family would be so unkind. Honesty hurts. He took Xiaochun to find Niu Boyan - an old Confucian doctor in his sixties, of course he was reliable.Old doctor Niu closed his eyes, put his finger with long nails on Xiaochun's wrist, and consulted for about ten minutes. "The illness is not serious!" Niu Boyan shook his head and said, "Let's try a prescription, and come back for a consultation after taking two doses!" After he finished speaking, he opened a pulse recorder, writing very slowly and with a lot of words. Xiaochun had nothing else to do, so he used the small cloth pillow for his wrist as a sandbag, and threw it with both hands to play. After paying the consultation fee, Zhou Wenxiang picked up the prescription and thanked Mr. Xie.He brought Xiaochun out; he couldn't decide whether to grab the medicine right away, or just ignore it.Xiaochun was indeed, as far as he could see, not suffering from any illness.Then giving him some medicine is just a kind of punishment. Let's see if he still pretends to have a stomachache in the future!However, since Xiaochun is healthy and the doctor prescribed the medicine, the doctor must be lying.If he took this deceitful prescription to grab medicine, he believed the lie and fell into the doctor's trick.Xiaochun lied, his wife lied, the doctor lied, and only he was honest.He remembered "The Lying Society".There was some truth in that letter, he couldn't help admitting it.However, he himself was an exception after all, so he could not fully trust that letter.Only when someone can prove that he—Zhou Wenxiang—is lying, can he fully admire the truth of the "Liar Association".However, it is impossible to just prove that you are lying.He thought about everything in the past carefully, and there was nothing to blame.From far to near, he thought about the things he did and said this morning, and they were all impeccable, because everything he did and said was based on his usual honest habits, and there was no deliberate circumvention. Where things are made and spoken, only you can know yourself.He tore up the letter and the prescription and threw it on the road. Published in Tianjin "Yishi Bao" on May 3, 1936