1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 79: The business is not settled, but the disease is good.

1989, the year of the Dog and the Dragon.

April 4th is not a very auspicious number from the Southern point of view.

In fact, it has been cold and rainy these two days, which is not really good weather.

Looking back over the past decade, we have gone from excitement to expectation, from confusion to frustration, and then to the repetition and chaos that followed...

When countless bizarre real-life cases were presented to us, I couldn’t help but start to reflect:
Are we really not ready yet?
Or in other words... this path is not actually suitable for us.

Is it true that human nature cannot stand the test?
In other words... in a value system where money is the main consideration, everyone will release the monster in their heart.

With this tangle and doubt, I walked around in the world in a daze for three years;

Until...the day before yesterday.

There was nothing particularly unusual the day before yesterday.

It was just a cold rain that soaked a group of migrant workers returning from coastal cities; in today's world where there are sensational news every day, this is not something worthy of special attention.

Yes, that group of people in the corners have suffered for too long and have been out of the mainstream sight. For them, getting caught in the rain in the cold weather of early April is not something that deserves special attention.

People nowadays are accustomed to paying attention to international affairs and the big discussions about progress and retreat. A group of people in a corner being caught in a not-so-heavy rain is not something particularly worthy of attention.

But fortunately, there are still some people in this world who are willing to keep their eyes flat and pay attention to the corners outside their sight and the sufferings outside their sight in an almost humble manner.

The cause of this incident originated from a mixed-ownership township enterprise called HSBC Foods and a snack food brand called "Mo Mo Bai Zha" (there are related reports in the news and communication section of this newspaper).

On the surface, there is nothing special to say:
In order to promote its products, a food company gave its products to a group of people for free tasting and even provided them with free transportation home. Such things are not uncommon in coastal cities. Moreover, these migrant workers returning to the city do not look like the target users of Mo Mo Bai Zha. This behavior is even more ridiculous in the eyes of people who know a little more about the business. They may even scold Qingfeng Food as "know-nothing bumpkins."

But when we sent investigative reporters to look deeper into the matter, we were shocked.

It’s not that I’m shocked by the lavish spending of Qingfeng Food. Although their expenses are huge, they are not shocking.

What really shocked us was...

A township enterprise spent all its money just for a little kindness, to help a group of people who couldn't even afford a ticket and had to walk hundreds or even thousands of kilometers in the rain to go home;
A brand with only three small stores less than 10 square meters, launched such a grand publicity campaign that was seen as a joke by outsiders, just to have an excuse to do something good.

We are even more shocked...

Outside the mainstream vision, in places we have never paid attention to, we see the light of humanity.

Those little girls who spoke in weird accents, blocked the train exit, and tricked people into coming here and settling down under the pretext of being “entrusted by fellow villagers”…

Those staff members who had been working for more than thirty hours, whose steps were already weak, but who still went around in hoarse voices to calm the crowds...

Those private operators who risked being stopped and attacked, yelling as they got out of their cars to pick up passengers in the rainy night...

Those technicians who drove hundreds of kilometers overnight, at a speed of nearly 100 yards, constantly going back and forth on various lines to provide emergency repairs to broken-down cars in the night with extremely poor visibility...

Those men who were packed tightly in the car like cans, yet made enough space for the women and children who needed help the most, and shielded themselves from the rain...

Those fellow villagers who endured the pain of being squeezed in the almost gapless space turned around together so that the seriously ill woman could wipe her whole body...

Those kind people who took the initiative to give up their shelter from the rain, shivered all over, and built a human wall in the wind and rain to protect all the elderly, weak and sick people inside...

The doctors and nurses whose identities were unknown were constantly shuttling between the various diversion points, their knees already bruised, but they were still holding boxes of saline bottles, sprinting towards the high-fever patients...

Those simple smiles of those who said they were not hungry, swallowed their saliva, and handed the last bowl of reserve food in the diversion point to the person next to them...

Those villagers, who didn't know each other at all, were shy and forced the pancakes they had baked at four in the morning to the group of cold and hungry men without saying anything...

There are so many things happening, like this.

These short 36 hours have given us so much shock.

In some cases, we should judge by deeds rather than by heart; but in some cases, we should judge by both heart and deeds.

It is the same to give one dollar to do good deeds, but it is different if the dollar comes from a billionaire or a homeless person who has only one dollar in his entire fortune.

Both are modesty and courtesy, but there is no comparison between giving up your seat to women and children on an uncrowded bus on a sunny day and giving up your seat under the rain awning to women, children, the elderly and the weak in a cold and hungry night rather than standing in the freezing rain.

Our investigative reporter once asked these men a question: "Do you really believe that Qingfeng Food was commissioned by your fellow villagers to help you? Aren't you afraid that Qingfeng Food has ulterior motives?"

This question is very tricky and to the point... Of course, from a certain perspective, we shouldn't ask such questions as they may cause great trouble.

But unexpectedly, the men just kept silent for a while, and then told our reporter: "In this day and age, apart from their relatives, no one cares about their life or death, and no one is willing to take care of them... No matter why Qingfeng Foods came to pick them up... They are their relatives, they are their fellow villagers!"

When I heard the answer relayed by the reporter, I was silent.

From then on, the words "relatives" and "fellow villagers" have had a deeper meaning in my mind.

In the past three years, the eyes that were obscured by thick fog seemed to be pierced by a ray of light. Han Fei certainly said: "The branches are big and the roots are small, so they cannot withstand the spring breeze."

But it is also said: "A thousand-mile dam can be breached by a single ant hole."

I have always wondered: how has our nation been able to stand firm through five thousand years of wind and rain?
Now, I am very sure that this is because we have the most simple and kind-hearted people in the world, who have the most simple and pure moral values ​​and concepts of good and evil.

I have also thought about how our great motherland can get rid of the current predicament and stand at the top of the world again?

At this point, I feel that this huge project may not be able to be simply summarized by the words "economy", "military" and "route".

In contrast to these, I think it may be more important, and perhaps much more important, to bend down and look, focusing our gaze on those corners and groups that we may usually ignore, so that the unique spark of humanity of the Chinese nation can be preserved and carried forward. Again, I do not think that a society that is simple and only targeted by economy and driven by money is a beautiful and sound society; I also never think that people live their lives just for a few small things.

Finally, I would like to say that the Book of Changes says: When there is peace in Shang and Dui, there will be joy in the midst of illness.

Although the reform has been bumpy for ten years, and there have been many things that are hard to talk about, in my opinion, as long as we are willing to bend down and focus our attention on the real working people, we can preserve our foundation...

It’s never too late!
........................

hiss~!

After reading this news comment, Miss Mu took a breath.

This article was obviously written by an editor-in-chief. Although most of the article expresses the editor's appreciation for Qingfeng Food, the last two or three hundred words are extremely bold.

The situation is not peaceful yet, is there any good news for the disease?
What a strong remonstrance!

As a person who has received higher education, Miss Mu naturally knows that this sentence is far from being as simple as it seems.

But she was still a little confused: "Yang Mo, although this article is quite provocative, why did so many people come to the train station to support Mo Mo Bai Zha, and even donate money?"

She was not a fool. Nowadays, no one would be stupid enough to exchange cash for an IOU. And those "individual customers" carefully kept the IOUs as if they were treasures. She did not quite believe that these people would really come to cash them in the future - to put it bluntly, most of these people just came to give money in another form.

Yang Mo smiled and said, "Didn't I say that? Because this article... this article is just a news commentary. There is also a newsletter before it. The two articles should be read together."

Mu Liya turned to the second page of the newspaper and found the equally long report with seven or eight photos on it. Although these black-and-white photos were obviously taken secretly and were not very clear, they were enough to vividly tell a story when combined with the dry text.

After quickly reading the newsletter, Mu Liya went back to the commentary again, pondered for a while, and shook her head: "I still don't understand."

Yang Mo naturally knew what she meant and smiled: "No wonder... You grew up in a wealthy family, so you naturally don't understand."

Upon hearing this, Mu Liya raised her eyebrows and looked at Yang Mo unhappily, as if she would immediately turn hostile if he didn't give a reasonable explanation.

Yang Mo glanced at her, thinking of the favors he owed in the past two days, and finally sighed: "Well...the reason why those people suddenly appeared at the train station and were so stupid as to exchange cash for IOUs was because the two articles repeatedly mentioned the words "fellow villagers" and "relatives."

Mu Liya nodded, not quite understanding, and after thinking for a while, she suddenly asked, "Yang Mo, I have a question... With the resources and strength of Qingfeng Food, it is difficult to get involved in such a large-scale event involving thousands of people every day. Although it is beyond my expectation that there have been no major mistakes so far, I just want to know... How dare you do it in the first place?"

Looking at the beautiful face with confusion between its eyebrows, Yang Mo snorted, but his eyes were a little distant: "Our nation may not be able to withstand the test of some minor details, but every time we encounter a major disaster, we can stick to our bottom line... Although this freezing rain can't be called a disaster, but in this year, such a thing that affects tens of thousands of forced repatriates in one place is actually not a small matter for their group."

Mu Liya shook her head: "Why do the answers to your two questions sound somewhat specious to me?"

Yang Mo glanced at her and smiled softly: "It seems true, isn't it? In fact, what I told you is the most real and fundamental answer... It is because you really helped us a lot in the past two days. I owe you a favor. Otherwise, I would have come up with a set of various sociological and economic theories to fool you!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Liya's expression suddenly became serious: "Yang Mo...please tell me, why is this happening?"

Yang Mo naturally knew what she was asking. He sighed heavily and revealed a bitter sarcasm at the corner of his mouth: "Because... you really don't understand these people struggling at the bottom of society... For these poor people who can be regarded as having nothing... the only thing they are proud of, the only thing worth protecting with their lives, is their dignity!"

At this point, Yang Mo looked at Miss Mu quietly: "So... this is why no one is willing to take advantage of them even when they are starving and cold, and no one will make trouble because of the poor resettlement conditions... This is why those individual travelers are willing to take out their last bit of savings to help others even if they are not rich!"

With a hint of sarcasm on his lips, Yang Mo said softly, "You high-ranking people often disagree with the saying that every man is responsible for the fate of his country, but you rarely understand why when the country is in trouble, the people at the bottom of society are always the first to take the lead."

"That's because you don't understand... For us, we have nothing left. Except for this last bit of dignity... we have nothing else!"

Muliya stared blankly at the strange man in front of her.

Although I don't know why he seems so deeply touched, I always feel that these words have a special sadness.

Just as she bit her lip and wanted to comfort him...

Suddenly, Yang Mo breathed a sigh of relief, and his whole body relaxed: "Thank God, reinforcements have finally arrived from the city... It's time for us to step down and let others take over!"

Mulia turned her head and looked.
I saw teams after teams of people carrying colorful flags and wearing uniforms coming in from the entrance of the train station;
One bus after another was parked in an orderly row at the gate.

Ah……

Reinforcements...huh?

Mu Liya thought of what Yang Mo had just said, and suddenly felt uncomfortable.

(PS: This chapter is an abridged version, and many things I wanted to say were not included, please forgive me!)
(End of this chapter)