Turning Cleverness into Folly (II)

Wang Xigui knocked on the door and called softly, "Hello, old comrade!"

Director Zheng seemed not to hear him. Without turning around, he continued clicking at his computer.

Wang Xigui felt he had been a little presumptuous. How could he call him old comrade right from the start? He should have called him Director Zheng. With his head lowered and back bent, Wang Xigui pushed the office door open a crack, forcing an awkward smile as he murmured, "Hello, Director Zheng. I'm Wang Xigui!"

Sure enough, Zheng Benli turned around, half removing his glasses as he gave Wang Xigui a sidelong look. "You are... you are..."

"I'm Wang Xigui, enlisted in 1990! We were comrades-in-arms!" Wang Xigui grew a little excited. As he stepped inside, he awkwardly pushed the office door nearly shut again, leaving only a narrow crack.

"Oh, oh, I remember now. Old comrade, right! Enlisted in 1990!" Only then did Zheng Benli rise and shake Wang Xigui's hand across the desk.

Wang Xigui hesitated for a moment, somewhat embarrassed, then slowly extended his large, rough hand and gripped Zheng Benli's tightly. Wang Xigui had heard people say that the tighter the handshake, the deeper the friendship, so he held Zheng Benli's hand for a long time without letting go.

Zheng Benli felt as though his hand were being cut by a knife, but it was awkward to pull away. He could only force a smile. "Hello, comrade. Hello!"

Before Zheng Benli could speak after the handshake, Wang Xigui got straight to the point. "Old comrade, I'd like to ask you for a favor. I have a nephew named Tong Haojing. He's returned from the army and needs you to look after him. Do you think it can be done?" As he spoke, Wang Xigui handed Zheng Benli the Maotai liquor from the black bag.

At the sight of it, Zheng Benli's face changed drastically. He refused sternly, "Ah, old comrade, are you trying to get me killed? Take it back!"

Zheng Benli thought, This Tong Haojing has left a deep impression on me. He performed very well in the army and earned commendations and awards many times. His placement won't be a problem. There was really no need for my old comrade to come here in person. He could have come earlier or later, but he had to come make trouble at a time like this. Zheng Benli even blamed the security guard downstairs. Why had he let someone in without reporting it first? He secretly swore to fire that negligent guard.

Zheng Benli remained firm and refused to accept it.

Wang Xigui was just as stubborn, insisting on opening the cabinet and putting the liquor inside.

Zheng Benli became angry. "I can't handle your business. Leave now!"

Wang Xigui froze, holding the liquor. He stood in the office, not knowing what to say, and the atmosphere abruptly turned tense.

At nine in the morning, Wang Dehua, leader of the inspection team, knocked and entered Director Zheng's office. He happened to find Zheng Benli and Wang Xigui locked in a standoff, with two bottles of Maotai sitting on the desk.

When Zheng Benli saw Team Leader Wang arrive, he was dumbfounded. It was already too late to hide the two bottles, and he had no idea what to do.

Team Leader Wang pointed at the liquor on the desk. "What is this? You've got some nerve, openly committing a disciplinary violation!" He took out his phone, snapped photos, and left the office.

Zheng Benli followed Team Leader Wang and, after much difficulty, explained what had happened. Wang Xigui was frightened by the commotion and also told the truth, firmly insisting that the matter had nothing to do with Tong Haojing. The inspection passed amid a tense atmosphere. In the end, Team Leader Wang gave Zheng Benli one warning: "Director Zheng, you need to straighten out those demobilized officers with impure motives."

As soon as the inspection team left, Zheng Benli's smile vanished, and his face darkened like a storm cloud. He harshly berated Wang Xigui, who stood to one side as stiff as a wooden chicken, and told him to go back and tell Tong Haojing that his resettlement placement would have to be "put on hold."

After this incident, Wang Xigui was still shaken. He thought that people said getting things done with money was smooth and easy, yet he had been turned away and made such a huge mess of things, only to be scolded by his old comrade besides. It was simply the greatest humiliation. Tong Haojing's matter was surely ruined. He was too ashamed to face his younger sister Wang Xiyue, so he stayed indoors for days, and his family had no idea what had happened.

Wang Xiyue waited at home for news for a long time, growing increasingly anxious.

Tong Haojing sat at the desk in his room, reading a copy of Police World Chronicle. The thrilling plot had completely absorbed him. His mother, Wang Xiyue, had prepared a steaming breakfast and called affectionately several times, "Tongtong, come eat!" Tong Haojing seemed not to hear her. He narrowed his left eye as if aiming, stretched out his right index finger like a pistol, and pointed it at a cat slowly moving outside the door, making three gunshot sounds: "Bang, bang, bang." The cat leaped and darted into a drain hole in a flash. Clearly, Tong Haojing had been captivated by the fight scenes in the book.

Wang Xiyue came out of the kitchen, walked over to Tong Haojing, and earnestly urged, "Tongtong, eat. Then go into the city and ask about your job placement! This has dragged on for so long. If you're not anxious, I am!" The worry on Wang Xiyue's face was distressing. Tong Haojing looked up at her and said, "Mom, don't worry about my business!"

"Why not?" Wang Xiyue's face fell. She shot Tong Haojing a look, propped her chin in her hands, sat at the doorway, and began scolding him for being immature...

Tong Haojing noticed that his mother was angry. He hurriedly put down his book, smiled at her, and quickly explained, "A while ago, I went to ask. The director of the Civil Affairs Bureau Resettlement Office said I could choose any unit in the police, tax, or commerce and industry sectors. Isn't that reassuring enough?" In truth, Tong Haojing knew very well that he had been waiting a long time for news ever since choosing the police as his first choice.

Wang Xiyue's worries over Tong Haojing's job were not without reason. More than once, her son had said that he had been an outstanding troop leader in the army, skilled in every aspect of military training, with a solid foundation in political theory that had won the leaders' appreciation. He had had every hope of being promoted to battalion level, but military reforms had forced him to transfer to civilian life unconditionally. Tong Haojing came from the countryside. If his job placement did not work out, all of Wang Xiyue's hopes for him would turn to bubbles.

Wang Xiyue stood up, her face slightly flushed. She stretched her neck and spoke in the manner of an elder lecturing a child. "I may not understand much about the outside world, but I know a little about how people and society work. If you don't ask about your own affairs, who is going to come deal with them on their own initiative? Besides, things outside are terribly complicated now. Even matters that seem set in stone can change, let alone when you don't have any connections! When you enlisted, if not for Uncle Mumu's connections, how would you have what you have today?"

"What? Uncle Mumu pulled strings for me?" Tong Haojing's expression stiffened. It took him a while to react. Back then, he had felt that Cadre Liu had given him special consideration. At last, he understood why he had passed the enlistment process so smoothly that year. Still, his qualifications had been excellent in every respect, and he felt fairly justified in having enlisted successfully.

Tong Haojing thought of how much his mother had worried over his affairs, how several more strands of white had appeared in her hair, and his heart ached. To keep her from worrying, he nodded repeatedly. "Mom, I'll go! I'll go!"

The house was empty, with only Wang Xiyue and Tong Haojing inside. His father had died of illness long ago. An old table stood in the living room, and a portrait of his father hung on the middle wall, seeming to stare straight at Tong Haojing and warn him not to treat his future as a joke. Tong Haojing picked up his chopsticks and bowl, filled it with rice, grabbed a few bites of vegetables, wolfed everything down, and squeezed out the words, "Mom, I'm leaving!"

His mother put down her bowl and chopsticks and followed behind Tong Haojing, seeming to have a thousand things she wanted to tell him. She wanted to try once more to persuade him to change his mind about becoming a police officer and see whether there was still room to turn things around.

"Tongtong, when you go, could you change your placement preference and choose commerce and industry or tax?" Wang Xiyue strongly disapproved of Tong Haojing choosing the police as his first choice. She worried about her son's safety; police officers could face mortal danger at any time. Because of this, she had once refused to speak to him for three days after he chose the police, but his persistence eventually made her give up her own insistence. She could only follow his wishes.

"Mom, I saw that woman die so horribly outside the middle school! At the time, I really wanted to save her, but..." Tong Haojing tried once again to explain his thoughts.

"What, you want to be a savior and save the world?" Wang Xiyue sneered with a smile.

"Mom, this can't be changed!" Tong Haojing's firm attitude once again shut his mother's mouth.

Wang Xiyue looked at her son resentfully. Only after a long while did she recover and say to his retreating back, "Fine. Your wings have grown strong. Your mother can't persuade you anymore!" In truth, Wang Xiyue was happy inside. It was not necessarily a bad thing that her son had a mind of his own.

"Wait, take some money with you!" Wang Xiyue pulled one hundred yuan from her pocket and stuffed it into Tong Haojing's hand, reminding him, "There are lots of thieves outside, so keep it secure!"

"Mm, got it!" Tong Haojing thought, If anyone tries to pickpocket my money, they're practically asking to die! He took the money, pinched it in his hand, and stepped out the door with an unconcerned expression.