In November, I finished reading four books.
"Skywalker," a book about rural teachers after the founding of New China, was led by rural teacher Tao Xingzhi, or even earlier private schools can be counted. Zhang Yingcai, Xia Xue, and Luo Yu (Principal Shi, who is skilled at playing the flute, but I forgot his name) revolve around the story of regularization; none of the trio wanted to be the first to be regularized, they wanted to do it together. Initially, each wanted to be first, but they were prioritized by various connections. They began to feel uneasy about it, but gradually realized that everyone had their own difficulties. In the end, they fulfilled the wish of Principal Shi's wife, who had been bedridden for many years; after she signed the regularization document, she passed away. Their hoped-for collective regularization was realized, but they found there was a threshold of about ten thousand to pay first, which only Youmi had, so he was the first to be regularized. However, he couldn't bear to see his two friends unable to be regularized. Xia Xue and Luo Yu, who came here to teach, later passed away. His parents donated 100,000 to build a new classroom. Youmi misappropriated 20,000 public funds to help the two private teachers with their regularization, but was eventually discovered, and all regularizations failed; Youmi was refunded and banned from regularization. The flutist ran for village chief, but because he had an improper relationship with the bedridden man's wife, he was exposed by the village chief. The bedridden man strangled his wife to death and then committed suicide. The flutist directly assaulted the village chief, and at that time, he was in the midst of running for election and then was elected. The old principal found a new wife; Zhang Yingcai's brother-in-law's lover was also the old principal's wife. After watching, I felt that interpersonal relationships are indeed complex. Finding true love is not easy. Power and money relationships all have an impact. As mentioned in the book, they were all poisoned by Jieling Primary School.
Jia Pingwa's "Restlessness" tells how Jin Gou saved the Tian family; this person later became a secretary. Jin Gou served in the army, then became the head of shipping, and later a reporter for a newspaper in the town or city. The Tian family was a large landlord and later established a stronghold, becoming prosperous by standing on the right side during the revolution. The Gong family was similar; although they seemed to contribute little during the revolution, they maintained good relationships and directly became the town mayor, one or two levels higher than the Tian family. Yingying from the Tian family used her beauty to have a relationship with Jin Gou and even got engaged. The girl he liked, Xiaoshui, learned about the engagement and married Fuyun. Fuyun went to the mountains to hunt a bear when an old general, who was famous here, visited. He was supposed to bring bear paws to the leaders but, not knowing how to use a gun, was tasked with carrying things. Unfortunately, he was discovered by the bear, which attacked him, and he died from his injuries. Xiaoshui gave birth to Fuyun's child. Lei Dakong was a good friend of Jin Gou. Originally involved in a scam with rat poison, he always wanted to get rich. During a stint in prison, he met an intelligent cellmate who helped him understand how to make big money. After being released, he borrowed small amounts of money to bribe for loans, hundreds of dollars, and this cycle continued until he borrowed up to 78,000. He set up a shell company to buy steel, but there was no stock available. He discovered that there was a lot of steel in the town's warehouse, bribed the gatekeeper, let the buyer see the goods, took a deposit, signed a contract, and deliberately manipulated things so that if the goods didn't arrive, he would compensate 30%, and if the payment was insufficient, he would compensate 20%. He easily made tens of thousands of dollars, while at that time, a person's monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan. Lei Dakong bribed everywhere and kept accounts, knowing that he would have a bad day. Who knew that his big mouth in prison would involve too many high-ranking officials? He was directly assassinated by a son-in-law of the Gong family. Jin Gou was also imprisoned because he had sponsored an association with 10,000 yuan, suspected of bribery. Jin Gou asked Xiaoshui to find her lover, Shi Hua (who was married). Shi Hua found a way, took sleeping pills, and surrendered to the general's godson, who had admired her before. Then a provincial investigation intervened, rescued Jin Gou, and obtained the bribery records, bringing down the Tian family, and it seemed the Gong family was also demoted. Later, Jin Gou bought a motorboat or a cruise ship and married Xiaoshui.
The role of journalists is significant; the role of media is profound. There is also psychology, and the same kind of confusion as in the present moment. What I recorded is just the general story. I haven't written down my thoughts yet.
I will first write about two books. It's just one line. It helps to recall the details of the story, like some mind maps that feel nothing when viewed directly; only those who have experienced it know what details there are. It's like watching a few minutes of a movie commentary series; I understand the general story, but I don't know many details.