Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 430 "You just don't understand the basic principles of recording!"

In Shenzhen, in a brightly lit building, a charity auction dinner is underway.

The host introduced a piece of artwork covered with red silk on the stage in English: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the third artwork tonight, a painting by painter Mr. Cai Daying, Mong Kok!"

The hostess pulled down the red cloth, revealing the work.

The canvas is filled with blocks of color of varying shades arranged in an interlaced pattern, and it is impossible to tell whether the painting is of a person or an object.

But looking from afar, there is indeed a magical feeling of the dense drinking and sex life in Mong Kok in the dark night.

The host then introduced: "Mr. Cai Daying was born in Hong Kong and graduated from New York University with a master's degree in visual arts.

His paintings have both impressionist and postmodern features, and he can use concise brushstrokes to outline the soul of a modern city.

As one of the young artists that have emerged in recent years, his paintings are first-rate in both artistic content and appreciation potential.

If you have guests who like modern art, this painting is definitely not to be missed.”

After the introduction, the host announced the reserve price: "The starting price of this painting, Mong Kok, is 5 Hong Kong dollars, and each increase in price will not be less than 2000 Hong Kong dollars.

Now you can make an offer! "

Immediately, men and women in evening gowns began holding up signs.

"5, Ms. He Jiaxin."

"6, from Jerry!"

"Sixty-five thousand..."

Behind the crowd, John Morgan held a glass of red wine and watched all this quietly.

Now he is no longer a cultural spy who sneaks around in Guangzhou's coffee shops to meet people.

He is the executive chairman of the Videl Asia-Pacific Cultural and Arts Exchange Fund.

This auction was organized by him and attracted many people's support.

Although there were no wealthy people present, there were many wealthy people and socialites.

Of course, the artists who contributed their works to the auction are also indispensable.

At the same time, there were many reporters on the scene, many of whom were from nationally renowned media outlets, and some even took the initiative to apply to report on this auction.

What does this mean? It means that the influence of the Videl Asia Pacific Arts Exchange Foundation is growing!

This kind of auction dinner is mainly for socializing, and only a few people actually participate in the auction. The most important thing is to let more people know about it and create a good impression.

Morgan watched the painting titled "Mong Kok" being sold for $10 before finally being hammered down. He raised his glass and saluted the painter Cai Daying who was not far away.

Cai Daying quickly returned the gift and bowed slightly to express his gratitude to Morgan.

After all, without the support of this foreign brother, he didn't know when he would be able to make it. Hong Kong was not a very friendly place to modern artists like him whose works were not widely accepted.

When Morgan saw Cai Daying's expression, he knew that another young man had been captured by him.

This can be accomplished by just using a nice-sounding name and other people's money. It is much easier than the hellish task of attacking or recruiting Zhang Chao.

What's more, a considerable portion of this money will flow into his pocket in various forms.

But when he thought of Zhang Chao, Morgan's eyelids twitched.

If it weren’t for Zhang Chao...his term in office could be said to be perfect!

At this time, people kept coming over with red wine glasses to chat with him, hoping to catch the eye of this American.

Morgan responded as gracefully as possible.

The auction on the stage was coming to an end. When the last sculpture was sold for 22 yuan, it was basically a successful conclusion.

Morgan smiled with satisfaction and, at the host's call, walked briskly to the center of the stage.

The lights in the entire venue dimmed for a moment, and a spotlight shone on Morgan, highlighting his blond hair, blue eyes and handsome appearance.

Morgan took the microphone passed to him by the host and began to speak in his fluent Mandarin: "Dear guests and dear art colleagues, good evening!
When the hammer fell on the last piece of art, I stood here looking at the light dancing in your eyes, and suddenly remembered my first meeting with Mr. Cai Daying in Hong Kong two years ago.

At that time, he was curled up in a corner of the art gallery, revising his works for the exhibition. The canvas was full of light and color, but he could not find anyone to stop and appreciate it. "

Having said this, he deliberately paused and gestured to Cai Daying at the scene, and the audience burst into polite applause.

Many people congratulated Cai Daying.

When everything calmed down, Morgan continued with a smile: "This is exactly the original intention of the establishment of the Videl Asia-Pacific Cultural and Art Exchange Foundation -

Let those young artists who truly have insight into the times stand out as early as possible.”

At this time, the big screen behind him lit up and began to play the pre-prepared PPT, which was all promotional photos of the "Videl Asia-Pacific Cultural and Art Exchange Foundation."

Pieces of modern art and young artists flashed across the screen like a flash of lightning.

There are writers, painters, sculptors…

Morgan's voice lowered and became more magnetic: "Our foundation is like a sophisticated art incubator. We have established a collaborative network covering 12 countries and 32 cities in the Asia-Pacific region.

We not only provide each partner artist with the opportunity to participate in auctions, but also provide them with a dedicated curatorial team and international residency opportunities twice a year.

At this point, please allow me to share some exciting figures - in the past 18 months, the Foundation has facilitated 142 special exhibitions, and works have entered the permanent collections of 23 top museums..."

Just as I said this, I heard a sharp explosion from the speakers on the scene, followed by a series of electromagnetic noises.

Then Morgan's voice spread throughout the venue:

"I believe Zhang Chao won't be able to turn things around this time..."

"Zhang Chao will fall from the altar from now on, and he will never have a chance to turn things around."

"You really understand China's 'political correctness' better than we do."

"First, let's tentatively criticize Zhang Chao's views, especially the narrow, selfish, and closed cultural concepts he displayed."

……

John Morgan, who was standing on the stage, was stunned. He turned around to look backstage, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything clearly.

He could only shout at the top of his lungs: "Turn it off! Turn it off now!"

The rich young men, socialites, and emerging artists in the audience were also panicked.

Although they didn't know what had happened, the name "Zhang Chao" was still well-known, and they were more or less aware that he had been attacked recently.

Could it be that this sanctimonious Mr. Morgan on the stage had done this? Everyone was a little confused for a moment. But their sense of smell was still very sharp. When they realized that something was wrong, they began to quietly prepare to leave.

The reporters interviewing on the scene seemed to have received some signal and immediately pointed their cameras at Morgan on the stage.

One of the reporters, a tall and strong young man, took the lead and thrust the microphone in front of Morgan, asking, "Mr. Morgan, a reliable source has pointed out that you are the author of The Darkest Day of Chinese Technology in the 21st Century. Is that true?"

Morgan stared at the reporter in front of him who was wearing a mask and brown sunglasses. He couldn't believe his eyes. However, the current situation was urgent and he couldn't think any more. He could only say instinctively: "No, it's not me!"

At this time, another reporter squeezed over and asked, "It was clearly your voice in the recording just now. You admitted it yourself!"

At this time, his voice came from the speakers at the scene:
“This article is my best work this year!”

"I believe that this article will make Zhang Chao disappear from the public eye forever!"

Morgan knew that today's events were beyond his control. If he didn't leave, he might never have another chance.

But before he could move, he saw a large group of people rushing into the venue and surrounding the stage in the blink of an eye.

In addition, the reporters were almost pressing in on him, leaving him no room to leave.

Morgan knew that what was at stake now was not only his future but also his freedom, so he tried to calm himself down.

He spoke with difficulty amidst the crowd of reporters: "Don't believe it, those recordings are fake!

I am a person of status, these are all slander! Slander! I want to call the police!"

At this time, a righteous voice came from the crowd: "These recordings are real! I'll prove it!"

When Morgan heard the voice, his heart finally died.

The reporters made way for him, and a middle-aged man with gray hair and elegant features walked over with his head held high and chest puffed out, and soon stood opposite Morgan.

Morgan's face turned green, because this person was none other than Lin Chusheng, who had been so respectful to him before.

Lin Chusheng smiled and said to Morgan: "Mr. Morgan, how are you?"

Morgan suspected that something had happened to Lin Chusheng as soon as the recording started playing, because all that was played was the conversation between him and Lin Chusheng, except that Lin Chusheng's voice was cut out.

He initially thought that his contact with Lin Chusheng was being monitored.

But now it seems that Lin Chusheng must have "rebelled"!

But he couldn't figure it out. If Lin Chusheng exposed him, wouldn't he be implicated as well? How could he stay out of it?

Lin Chusheng obviously didn't want to say anything more to him, so he turned around and said to the reporters: "Dear journalist friends, I believe some of you know me. I am Lin Chusheng, a veteran editor of Southern Metropolis Daily."

There was a buzz of discussion among the reporters, but it soon quieted down.

Lin Chusheng continued: "The main reason I am standing here today is to expose a conspiracy to everyone -

This gentleman from the United States is John Morgan!" Lin Chusheng said, pointing his finger at Morgan:

“On the surface, he is a philanthropist and curator who is passionate about art, but in fact he has ulterior motives!

The recording just now was what I recorded when he was talking to me!
The content of the article is his conspiracy to attack and slander our young writer Zhang Chao!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the reporters in the audience were shocked!
Most of the people who came here today had received a "mysterious notification" saying that there was a bombshell!

But I didn’t know exactly how to shock me; now I feel like I’ve suddenly become enlightened.

Some burly male reporters and photographers had already quietly crowded around Morgan, blocking all his escape routes - if they let him run away, he might be fired by the furious newspaper leaders when he returned.

Morgan also understood that this was a "fight to the death" situation. He calmed down and shouted, "It's you! You wrote the article! I'm a foreigner, how could I write such a good Chinese article!

You must believe me!"

Lin Chusheng sneered, "Haha," and retorted, "How can you, a foreigner, speak Mandarin so fluently? As far as I know, you can also speak Cantonese, and you are very proficient in it!
Mr. Morgan, I remember you mentioned that you have a master's degree in international relations from Yale University, and your first foreign language is Chinese. So is it surprising that you would write such an article? "

John Morgan was so angry that he kept saying, "You are...slandering me! I have evidence! I have evidence! Just let me back to the office and I will send you the evidence tomorrow... no, tonight!"

Lin Chusheng's expression remained unchanged. He knew Morgan would not be able to leave. There was no such fool at the scene. He turned his head and silently gestured to the dark backstage. Then he heard the conversation between him and Morgan coming from the speakers:

"Science and technology and development are the most sacred banners of the past 30 years, and no one is allowed to desecrate them. The Chinese people have too deep a memory of poverty and backwardness. If they can live like today, they will never want to go back."

……

Morgan resisted the urge to hit Lin Chusheng and listened carefully to the conversation, trying to find any flaws.

Then he discovered in despair that every sentence was correct, as said by him and Lin Chusheng, but they had obviously been edited and the order had been adjusted.

It sounded like he was asking Lin Chusheng some questions about the direction of domestic public opinion, and Lin Chusheng answered these questions to Morgan out of excessive enthusiasm and too little vigilance without knowing the truth.

Morgan took advantage of Lin Chusheng's goodwill and insights to fabricate this article.

Morgan shouted, "Fabrication! Fabrication! Don't forget what you said when we were in the cafe! You...you..."

Lin Chusheng asked back: "What did you say? Tell me!"

Morgan was speechless for a moment. In the current situation, regardless of whether anyone believed what he said, it was impossible for him to make up a story in a hurry to shift the blame without putting himself in any risk.

However, people are quick to think, and Morgan suddenly thought of something as if he had found a life-saving straw, and quickly pointed at Lin Chusheng and said, "If I wrote the article, why did you help me publish it?
How do you explain this? And the recording, why did you record it? "

Lin Chusheng was obviously not frightened by this question, but answered calmly: "When you asked me about the taboos of domestic public opinion, the direction of public opinion and the evaluation of Zhang Chao's novels that day, I felt something was wrong.

Afterwards, I got in touch with Zhang Chao, and only maintained contact with you after obtaining Zhang Chao's consent.

As for recording... As an old editor who started out as a journalist, it's reasonable for me to carry a recording pen with me, right? It's also reasonable for me to keep evidence for myself when I come into contact with foreigners with bad intentions!"

Morgan was speechless for a moment, but he keenly grasped the key point and asked in a trembling voice: "You said you and Zhang Chao..."

Lin Chusheng's mouth curled up slightly. He remembered the scene a few days ago when he called Zhang Chao with the same trembling voice. After a trance, Lin Chusheng immediately said: "You can ask Zhang Chao for confirmation!"

Morgan's head buzzed, as if something collapsed.

Considering what happened before and after, even he himself cannot confirm whether Lin Chusheng "betrayed" recently or had been cooperating with Zhang Chao before the article "Darkest Day".

Judging from the current situation, it seems that the latter is more likely?

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain the following series of abnormal reactions - including the media not following up on "Darkest Day", Zhang Chao being rumored to be the author of "Darkest Day", and the editors of "Youth" collectively writing articles under pseudonyms to attack Zhang Chao...

Routine, it's all a fucking routine! The purpose is to make myself get into this trap!

I'm still applying for funding myself!
Morgan looked at Lin Chusheng with grief and anger. He had not expected that this seemingly timid man could have such deep thoughts.

Lin Chusheng also looked at Morgan. Although he still had a smile on his face, his eyes were getting colder and colder.

The reporter who asked the question first saw this scene, sighed, squeezed through the crowd, and quietly left the scene.

(End of this chapter)