Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 214 It’s time to close the net

"It's time to close the net, Teacher Fang." A gloomy male voice came from the other end of the phone.

Mr. Fang, his vocal cords still rough as if they had been polished with sandpaper, asked, "Is it too early, too hasty?"

"It would be better if more people could come forward, but these are enough for now. Together with Zhang Chao, they form a dark cloud hanging over the Chinese cultural world. Only by destroying their credibility can we let more people see the truth."

Teacher Fang was silent for a while, but couldn't help asking, "I think the matter of Zhang Chao and his son's 'ghostwriting' is just speculation at the moment. Although it makes sense logically, it cannot be called evidence.

I don’t think that using “ghostwriting” as a starting point will necessarily bring down Zhang Chao and his teachers. But his study experience at Yenching University and Yenching Normal University…”

Before Teacher Fang could finish his words, the gloomy male voice was obviously unhappy, and said in a slightly reprimanding tone: "Teacher Fang, this plan was specially formulated by NED for us, 'Yanjing Spring'. I hope you can fully cooperate..."

But soon, he changed to a gentler tone and said, "Teacher Fang, don't worry. After the success of this plan, we will report to NED, and then we will take the lead in establishing an 'anti-counterfeiting fund' for you. This 'anti-counterfeiting fund' will be completely controlled by you or someone you trust.

At that time, all expenses of your anti-counterfeiting work will be supported by this fund. I believe that your life will also be greatly improved..."

Teacher Fang was silent for even longer this time, and finally said, "My recent focus is still on fighting fake science. As for Zhang Chao's ghostwriting, I don't think there is enough evidence... I'll observe further."

The gloomy male voice on the other end of the phone sighed and said, "Teacher Fang, sometimes you are not firm enough. Think about it again." Then he hung up the phone.

Teacher Fang put his phone on the table. The study room was completely dark, and only the light from the computer screen illuminated his square face, which was as square as his last name. He looked indifferent, and no one knew what he was thinking.

At this moment, the door suddenly opened, and his wife came in and pressed the switch on the wall, and the whole study became bright. His wife asked, "What did he say?"

Teacher Fang rubbed his temples and said irritably, "They still want to control me." Then he sneered, "How can I be controlled by others?"

His wife patted his head and said, "I have sorted out your early works and sent them to your mailbox. You can take a look at them when you have time."

Teacher Fang nodded. Although his wife was not a stunning beauty, she was a great helper in his career. It was her article titled "Internet Prodigy Teacher Fang" that made his reputation spread from the small international student Internet circle to the mainstream media.

Although he didn't know why his wife, who was a reporter for the most authoritative news organization at the time, paid attention to him, he believed that the admiration in his wife's eyes could not be faked.

The wife chatted with Teacher Fang for a while before getting up and leaving.

Mr. Fang opened his email and downloaded the manuscripts his wife had compiled for him. The first one was a piece he wrote when he was in the Wasteland Poetry Society of HKUST:
There is a proud young man
Sitting in the corner

Savor her smile slowly

No one will come anymore.
There is a proud young man
Sitting in the corner

She has disappeared
Finally her smile disappeared

There is a proud young man
Sitting in the corner

She no longer believes in tears

He no longer believes in miracles

She is just a tear

He himself is a miracle

There is a proud young man
Sitting in the corner

No one will come anymore. 】

Seeing this slightly immature poem, Mr. Fang smiled. Although he finally chose the path of science, deep down in his heart, he has always been very confident in his literary talent.

When he was admitted to USTC, he ranked first in the province in Chinese language, not in mathematics, physics or chemistry. So he always called himself "poetry in the left hand and science in the right hand". His biggest dream is to return to his hometown island to live in seclusion and be accompanied by poetry and books when he is old.

He had mixed feelings towards Zhang Chao. On the one hand, he hated Zhang Chao's flamboyant style and believed that his studies at Yenching University and Yenching Normal University were just cosmetic and must be fake; on the other hand, he was slightly jealous of Zhang Chao's literary talent but did not doubt it too much.

At this moment, Mr. Fang had not yet fallen out with so many of his former "like-minded people", nor had he been injured by hired thugs with hammers or bottles, so his character had not yet developed to the extreme point it later became. His inner pride and persistence were still there, and he was unwilling to be controlled by some NGO organizations.

However, of the two articles he wrote before about Zhang Chao, one had some effect, but was destroyed by Zhang Chao's exaggerated counterattack method of live broadcast of graduation thesis defense; the second article did not stir up any waves at all.

This is very rare in his career of fighting against fakes. Generally speaking, when he hits a well-known person like Zhang Chao, the other party will either get angry and issue a counterattack, or throw away their weapons and surrender. It is extremely rare for someone to have no reaction at all, like Zhang Chao, and not even mention his name.

In this situation, Professor Fang believes there are only two possibilities - one is that Zhang Chao did not see his two articles at all; the other is that Zhang Chao saw them but did not care at all.

After thinking about it, Teacher Fang firmly believed that it was the first one.

Thinking of this, Mr. Fang laughed at "Zhang Chao" in the void: "'Youth opinion leader'? He is just a puppet controlled by others. You can see whatever they want you to see, and you can't see whatever they don't want you to see."

Thinking of this, Teacher Fang's hidden jealousy towards Zhang Chao dissipated a lot.

The next morning, Mr. Fang arrived at a small courtyard outside Yanjing. A large banner had been hung at the door: Warmly welcome Mr. Fang, a molecular biologist and popular science writer, to the high-tech rice tasting event.

The door was already filled with fans welcoming him, as well as his old friend, Sima Bei, who was short but very spirited.

Sima Bei was also very excited to see Teacher Fang. He quickly organized a group photo and leaned closely next to Teacher Fang, like a Dharma protector.

After the group photo was taken, Sima Bei and the others escorted Teacher Fang into the courtyard, where a stove, pots and pans, various ingredients and seasonings were already set up.

The most eye-catching thing is, of course, the rice placed in the middle of the courtyard. Most of the rice is packed in normal rice bags, and some is packed in bamboo baskets and placed on the top. The white rice has a farmhouse atmosphere and is no different from other rice.

There were some other people in the courtyard. Teacher Fang knew that they were all executives of a company called "Trend Bioinformatics Company". When they saw him come in, they all stepped forward to shake hands with him. One of the leading ladies said, "With Teacher Fang here, our event is even more meaningful! I am Liu Hong, who is in charge of the promotion of the entire project. It's nice to meet you."

Then he pointed to several cooks on the corridor beside the courtyard and said, "These are all the chefs I invited from the big restaurant. They will use our rice and other ingredients to make a few dishes for everyone to taste.

Teacher Fang, let’s go inside and chat first.”

Teacher Fang nodded and followed everyone into the house with a reserved look on his face. After everyone was seated, a man from Trend Bioinformatics Company spoke first: "I am the engineer in charge of technology. My last name is Xu. Let me introduce the advantages of this high-tech rice.

We know that traditional rice faces many challenges during its cultivation, such as pests and diseases..."

As Engineer Xu talked about the benefits of the high-tech rice, everyone understood the advantages of the rice. Sima Bei said excitedly, "Chinese farmers have been farming for thousands of years, but they probably never thought that one day they would be able to grow rice that can't be eaten by insects, blown down by strong winds, or killed by drought or thirst!"

Liu Hong also said: "Yes, our high-tech rice has countless advantages, but there is still a long way to go in terms of promotion. Now the country and the people still cannot accept this kind of rice."

Teacher Fang hesitated for a moment and said, "It's caused by ignorance. The fear of high-tech agricultural products mainly comes from ignorance. Our goal in popularizing science is to eliminate the fear caused by ignorance. High-tech agricultural products will definitely become the mainstream of agriculture worldwide. This is a general trend and is irreversible. The reason why China is unwilling to open up the market to foreign high-tech agricultural products is, firstly, due to local protectionism, and secondly, due to short-sightedness and lack of scientific foresight."

Sima Bei flattered, "That's why we need people like Mr. Fang to speak out. If science wants to progress, it can't just work hard in the laboratory like a donkey all day. If you go in the wrong direction, the more you do, the further you will be from the truth.

Although Professor Fang has left the laboratory, he is the one who can provide guidance to the scientific community.”

These words drew applause from the crowd.

Teacher Fang smiled slightly, but then waved his hand and said, "You're exaggerating. We should still respect scientists who really do scientific research. It's just that there are not many such people in China. Most of them are cheating and defrauding funds."

Liu Hong interrupted at this time: "I heard that this year's World Food Prize will be awarded to Mr. Yuan..."

Teacher Fang frowned and said, "If he wins the award, it is because of the great agricultural value of rice, especially for East Asia and Southeast Asia. But the golden age of traditional breeding has passed. Now and in the future, it belongs to genetic engineering, especially high-tech technology.

His winning of the award will deepen the Chinese people's prejudice against agricultural high-tech, and he himself seems to be opposed to high-tech agricultural products. He is actually hindering the progress of domestic agricultural science and technology!"

Sima Bei echoed: "When people get old, they always become more stubborn..."

Teacher Fang said, "People always say that high-tech agricultural products are unsafe, and that mice will get leukemia and kidney failure if they eat them. These are actually all rumors. Americans have been eating them for more than a decade, so why haven't they died?"

Liu Hong said with a smile: "We still need the strong support of Teacher Fang to bring our high-tech rice to the market as soon as possible to benefit the people."

As we were chatting, the chef outside had already prepared the food and started bringing it into the house one after another.

The first thing was a big pot of freshly cooked rice. When the lid was opened, the rice grains were crystal clear, plump and firm, looking very tempting. Then came the braised pork, braised beans, roasted eggplant, tofu casserole and other side dishes.

Liu Hong stood up and served Teacher Fang a large bowl of high-tech rice. She placed it in front of Teacher Fang respectfully and said, "Please try it, Teacher Fang."

At this time, several people from "Trend Bioinformatics Company" took out their cameras and pointed them at Teacher Fang.

Teacher Fang calmly picked up the bowl, picked up a ball of rice with chopsticks, showed it briefly in front of the camera, put it into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it after a while.

Sima Bei stood up, squeezed himself into the camera, and asked eagerly: "Teacher Fang, how does it taste?"

Teacher Fang said calmly: "We held the tasting event this time not to taste the high-tech rice, but to use our attitude to show that there is no problem with the safety of high-tech agricultural products. Don't get the point wrong."

Sima Bei could only sit down awkwardly.

Liu Hong quickly tried to smooth things over, "Teacher Fang is right. Our main goal is to prove the safety of high-tech rice! The taste comes second. Everyone eats it, everyone eats it."

The scene soon became lively, with people getting their meals and picking up vegetables, and the place was filled with noise and bustle.

Most people rave about how great the high-tech rice tastes, just like regular rice.

Some people also praised the chef's various dishes for their good looks, aroma and taste, which made people unable to stop eating.

Sima Bei didn't have time to eat at this time, but pulled a man holding a camera and said passionately: "Today is our first high-tech rice tasting event, which will only be held in Yanjing.

In the future, we will hold such tasting sessions every year, and the scale will continue to expand, from 1 city to 5 cities, 10 cities, 20 cities, from 20 people to 200 people, 2000 people, until high-tech rice is fully accepted by the Chinese people.

Today we have invited friends who are conscious, have scientific literacy, have a sense of social responsibility, and are willing to take responsibility to come to dinner..."

The event was so lively that it ended in the afternoon.

Sima Bei drove Teacher Fang home. On the way, Sima Bei asked cautiously: "Teacher Fang, what do you think of this 'Trend Bioinformatics Company'?"

Teacher Fang said: "It's OK. Although the taste of this rice is average, it is a first-generation product after all. High-tech agricultural products are iterating very quickly. I believe they will be able to develop better varieties soon."

Sima Beidao: "Then they asked you to be a scientific consultant..."

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Fang nodded and said, "Their products are pretty good. I can help them with some scientific consulting work. But..."

Sima Bei said happily: "Don't worry about the cost, they are willing to pay this amount every year..." As he spoke, he stretched out two fingers and shook them.

Teacher Fang frowned again, and Sima Bei quickly explained: "This company has invested a lot in scientific research, and the funds are indeed tight. However, they agreed that if you can participate in activities like today, you can pay extra. This is for today." After that, he stuffed an envelope into Teacher Fang's hand.

Teacher Fang pinched the thickness of the envelope, his brows relaxed again, he rested his hand on the car window and stopped talking.

When passing Chaoyang Park, Sima Bei suddenly said, "Teacher Fang, look outside..."

Teacher Fang looked in the direction of Sima Bei's finger, and saw two tall residential buildings with black and gray main bodies and white in between standing under the blue sky among the green trees. The building shapes were elegant and simple, with large glass curtain walls and wide balconies, showing that the positioning of this place was definitely not low.

Teacher Fang asked in confusion: "What is this?"

Sima Bei said in a resentful tone: "This is the 'Park Hyatt International' that was just delivered this month. It costs 2 per square meter, and the smallest unit is 180 square meters."

Teacher Fang was still puzzled, Sima Nan continued: "Haven't you heard? That little bastard Zhang Chao bought the largest one, 280 square meters, for more than 500 million, and he paid for it without blinking an eye."

Teacher Fang remained speechless. He knew that best-selling authors like Zhang Chao were very rich, but when he saw the two buildings, he had some concrete feelings about it.

Sima Bei said: "It was his father who promoted him...his books were all written with the help of his father. Don't disbelieve it. I think this is reliable."

Soon, the car arrived at Teacher Fang’s building, which was a very old residential area with low buildings and not even an elevator.

When getting off the car, Sima Bei looked at the dilapidated house in front of him and said, "Teacher Fang, I feel sorry for you!"

This sentence made Teacher Fang silent for the entire afternoon.

In the evening, Zhang Chao saw an updated article on the blog platform - "Creating "Genius" and "Genius" Manufacturing - Who can solve Zhang Chao's doubts? "

The content of the article is nothing new, but the author is extraordinary: it is Teacher Fang.

Zhang Chao slapped his thigh and said, "It's time to close the net!"

(Two chapters in one)

(End of this chapter)