A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 169 The Last Shift

The National News Award is the highest national award for journalism, established on a permanent basis and approved by the propaganda department.

It is selected annually.

Its selection criteria are too long and numerous to list here, and I won't mention anything else, let's just talk about its judges...

Propaganda departments, radio and television, the Central Military Commission, propaganda bureaus, People's Daily, Chinese communities, military newspapers, Guangming Daily, Economic Daily, National Daily, Federation of Social Organizations, Industry Federations, State Administration of Radio and Television, CCTV, radio, international broadcasting, Journalists Association, Photographers Association, Newspapers and Periodicals Association, Workers' Daily, Youth Daily, Women's Daily, People's Government...

In short, there are countless things.

And the fact that a major news award is selected from these representatives speaks volumes about its prestige... Even those outside the industry can see just how high the award is from these representatives.

What significance does it bring to the award recipient?

The answer is even simpler.

A proper, broad road.

For example, if Li Mu really wins the award, then even though he is currently just a reporter who has been in the industry for less than a year, if the Department of Culture and Sports is short of a deputy editor-in-chief next year... he will be eligible for the award.

After becoming deputy editor-in-chief, he can also take over if the newspaper is short of a department head.

If there's a shortage of editorial board members, he could fill in... or even become the editor-in-chief...

In short, from the perspective of the "small" Southern Media Group, as long as Li Mu, who carries this honor, doesn't skip ranks but climbs the ladder step by step, almost none of the requirements that others need, such as grassroots experience or work experience, apply to him.

There's no way around it, this award is just that dazzling.

Under its radiance, all demands seem to vanish. Even, for example, if Li Mu has a competitor vying for the same position, then, to a large extent, that position will belong to Li Mu.

The reason is quite simple.

Perhaps your competitors have impressive resumes, with work experience and management experience... but under the dazzling light of the National Press Award, these experiences will still be like an inescapable shadow.

no longer exists.

Because this award represents the highest possible level of honor for a journalist. (Note 1)

With this honor by his side, Li Mu will not only be able to walk sideways on this path, but he will also walk very, very smoothly from now on.

Li Mu understands?

He understands.

This is because it was said by the old professor himself when he taught us in college.

He was a freshman at the time, and was still clueless about journalism.

The old professor used a simple digression from the lesson to successfully make them understand the value of this honor.

Therefore, Li Mu, who had previously shared the same feeling during his casual conversation with Sui Kuan that he was the undisputed winner of the newspaper's internal awards, now felt his mouth was dry and parched.

"Then... is there anything I can do?"

His voice was somewhat dry.

But Bie Yan rolled her eyes:

"What can you do? Find another news story even bigger than 9/11?"

"Well……"

Seeing Xiao Li's dumbfounded expression, the older brother laughed heartily:

"Haha, you don't need to do anything. I'm just going to tell you about the plan. The boss's meaning is simple: the internal awards at the newspaper are definitely no problem. The provincial awards... shouldn't be a big issue either. After all, it seems your reporting on 9/11 is solid, and your fame goes without saying. That CCTV interview played a significant role in your success. And once the provincial awards are approved, you'll definitely qualify for the competition. So... the moment you qualify, you won't even need to say anything; the group and the province will do everything in their power to help you. After all, this honor belongs to you, to the newspaper, and to our province. So, you just need to know that. The group has planned the path for you, so don't worry."

"Hmm...hehe."

Suddenly, Li Mu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I really hadn't thought about it before."

"Nonsense, I hadn't thought about it either."

Bie Yan rolled her eyes:

"But what can you do when fate has brought you this way... You were planning to go fishing with your girlfriend, but you ended up catching a whale instead."

"hey-hey……"

Seeing Li Mu laughing, Bie Yan was also quite happy.

Just like what the boss said when he communicated with Cheng Yizhong:

"This young man, Li, has unlimited potential. Don't say anything more, let him learn from you."

Yes.

He sighed inwardly.

If you can win a national honor at the age of 21, even if others think it's just a coincidence... once you have that golden honor on your shoulders.

And what about Xiao Li's life from now on...?

But that would be a completely different story.

……

"...Can't I just ask Lao Zhou to fight me for a little while?"

"no."

"Little Li... I'm your brother, not your prisoner. Besides, playing cards is good for your mind!"

"Go tell that to your older sister."

"leave!"

That night.

Li Mu was directly told to leave by his older brother, who turned his back on him.

then……

When Bie Yan changed his clothes and came downstairs five minutes later, he saw Li Mu smiling at him.

The older brother's expression stiffened:

"You didn't leave?"

"No, it's just that the scenery in your neighborhood is nice, so I'm taking a walk to digest my food."

"……leave!"

The older brother was cursing and swearing.

But in the end... Li Mu also realized that it's better to guide than to block.

He drove his Santana obediently, taking Bie Ge to find Zhou Jian.

Bie Yan, Zhou Jian, Li Mu, and Zhang Hua, the general manager of Qiaojiaren, who somehow ended up here...

The four of them played mahjong for a while.

Li Mu neither cheated nor broke a sweat.

I won four hundred yuan in the end.

And you know what... it really was pure luck.

But when it ended promptly at 12 o'clock, Bie Yan still looked strange:

"You really didn't cheat?"

No.

On the way back, Li Mu shook his head:

"I went in with no intention of winning from the start, Brother Bie. Didn't you notice? I barely gave away any winning hands; I focused entirely on defense. I'd rather not win than give away points, so naturally I wouldn't lose. Otherwise... tonight, you and Brother Zhou wouldn't be able to leave this poker table without three thousand yuan."

He was telling the truth.

Because he really doesn't gamble.

But once Brother Bie got hooked on cards, there was no stopping him.

Since he couldn't stop him, he could only accompany him, prioritizing Brother Bie's health above all else.

That's why we had to finish by 12 o'clock, otherwise, according to Zhou Jian:

"You finished early today, don't worry, you should thank Xiao Li. Otherwise, if you had played until four or five in the morning, who knows how much money you would have lost."

Li Mu, who won four hundred yuan, was not particularly excited.

In my heart, there is a double standard that denies that I am gambling.

But since he drew the line for himself that he "doesn't gamble," how can you assume it's a complete double standard?

No one can stop it.

"Alright."

Don't speak, just shake your head:

"Not enough!"

"Brother, your health is the most important thing. There's a long road ahead. If you really want to play, you can always switch to playing from the afternoon to the evening, but whatever you do, you absolutely cannot stay up late. If you hadn't just gotten back, I would have called you to leave at 10 o'clock today..."

"Ugh."

The older brother let out a long sigh.

I can't drink alcohol anymore.

They weren't allowed to smoke much either.

You can't play this card...

What will we do in the future...?

……

"Big sister, I just came from Brother Bie's house. He really couldn't hold back today and insisted on playing cards. But I made him stop before midnight."

This is a message Li Mu sent to Bie Zhi after he took his older brother home.

Bie Zhi returned around 8 a.m. the next morning.

"You've worked hard, Xiao Li. It's fine as it is. His health really can't handle staying up late. Actually, midnight is a bit late."

"I understand, big sister. I think it's better to take it slow. Brother can sleep a little longer, and maintaining a good mood is also very important. I will try my best to manage my time better in the future."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

"It's no trouble at all, you're busy, sister. I hope you have a good day."

"Thanks."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu yawned and quickly drove to work.

On the 4th, things were quite calm inside the newspaper office.

Then, early on the 5th, Bie Yan, who had been absent for more than a month, reappeared and, together with Zhang Zhengwen, called a meeting with everyone.

It was clear that, including Sui Kuan, no one seemed to know what had happened since the deputy director had disappeared for a month. Bie Yan, naturally, wouldn't say anything either; he simply told everyone at the meeting, along with Zhang Zhengwen, that they needed to start working on contingency plans for the Spring Festival travel rush.

After all, the Lunar New Year is not far away.

The Spring Festival travel rush is a source of stress for people returning home and railway staff every year, and it is equally stressful for journalists.

Especially in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, there are not only trains, but also a large number of motorcycles... Every year in the past two years, there have been some incidents involving the motorcycle army on the road.

During the Lunar New Year, everyone wants these migrant workers to be able to return home safely.

Therefore, this year, the Transportation Bureau, together with the Public Security Bureau, the Highway Bureau, and even the Street Office, started promoting safe travel and safe return home early on.

As the mouthpiece of the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, Southern Metropolis Daily will certainly give it a lot of publicity.

Therefore, they were among the first media outlets to begin instilling the concepts of "motorcycles are not as good as buses" and "safety is more important than speed" in newspapers.

This plan is one of the most important things to do at the end of the year.

We cannot be careless or delay.

Zhang Zhengwen stated directly that everyone must stand firm at their posts until the very end and perfectly complete the tasks assigned by the city.

At the same time, it is also necessary to report in a timely manner on the status of railway and highway transportation during the Spring Festival travel rush, as well as various temporary regulations, etc.

The workload is quite heavy.

After the meeting ended, Li Mu handed the article directly to Lin Naichen.

"The Four Little Actresses of the New Century..."

Lin Naichen examined the article that Xiao Li had compiled over the past month, using the findings of everyone, including himself. After about six or seven minutes, he nodded.

"Hmm, the article is not bad, I'll put it here."

"OK."

Li Mu nodded, returned to his workstation, and immediately began contacting the agencies of all the "Four Little Actresses," including Zhang Ziyi, using the contact information provided by Brother Bie, requesting them to provide artistic photos of each other.

These brokerage firms were quite cooperative when they heard it was Southern Metropolis Daily.

After finishing all that, Li Mu took his notebook and went out to start his interviews during the Spring Festival travel rush.

Life became busy again.

(Note 1: The description of the National Journalism Award is slightly exaggerated, but not too much. The so-called meteoric rise in the description is for dramatic effect, but from the perspective of real journalists, the award is equally prestigious. No need to take it too seriously~)