I am not a literary giant

"What does 'swallows don't return in spring' mean?" Wang Zixu asked. "That's a fragment of a sentence; it doesn't make any sense here."

On the other end of the phone, you could hear Section Chief Liu sweating as he said, "Wait a minute, let me check..."

Wang Zixu asked, "Section Chief Liu, who wrote this?"

"It was written by the leader," Section Chief Liu said in a low voice. "He specifically told Director Mei that many of the artists from other places who came to the conference this time should showcase the cultural heritage of Xihe. He personally wrote four lines on the paper, and I read them verbatim."

Wang Zixu asked, "Has the leader read a lot of poetry?"

Chen Bin chimed in, "Need I say more? Our leader is a Chinese literature major, and he speaks eloquently. Everyone in the city knows that. Do you know how people within the system describe him? A 'Confucian official'."

Wang Zixu thought for a moment and said, "These four sections represent spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The leader probably used four lines of poetry describing spring, summer, autumn, and winter respectively. However, I guess he wrote them in a hurry and only wrote half a line, leaving the rest for us to fill in."

Upon hearing this, Chen Bin immediately covered his head with his hands. He was about to explode again. First, he was asked to fill in something, and now he was asked to fill in something else.

Section Chief Liu paused briefly, then said, "Yes, you're right. Quickly, do you have a computer there? Look it up, and I'll take a picture of the four lines of poetry and send it to you."

Chen Bin roared, "Only three minutes left, brother! We still have to check! After this, I'll have to drive at 100 km/h to get the manuscript delivered! Do you guys have a printer? Why don't we print it out after we finish writing it!"

Section Chief Liu said, "You know we'll be holding our site visit at Qingliang Mountain Villa. It's in the suburbs, and the nearest printer is 5 kilometers away."

Prince Xu said, "Stop arguing!"

The two fell silent.

"The swallows have not returned, spring is late; a stretch of misty rain falls on the cold apricot blossoms." This is Dai Shulun's poem "Suxi Pavilion." Hurry, the next line.

Chen Bin asked in a trembling voice, "Brother, are you sure?"

"OK, hurry up."

Section Chief Liu immediately said, "The next line is, 'Green trees provide dense shade in summer.'"

"The green trees cast deep shadows on the long summer day, and the reflection of the pavilion is cast into the pond. This is from Gao Pian's 'Summer Day at the Mountain Pavilion'," said Wang Zixu.

Chen Bin grabbed his hair with both hands, inwardly exclaiming, "Holy shit!" He really wanted to ask Wang Zixu how he remembered it so clearly, whether it was true or made up, but he was afraid of interrupting his train of thought.

Section Chief Liu continued, "The next line is, 'Red leaves and yellow flowers in autumn.'"

Just as Prince Xu was about to strike, he suddenly frowned: "Something's not right."

Section Chief Liu asked, "What's wrong?"

Prince Xu frowned and thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, yes. Red leaves and yellow flowers are in full bloom in autumn, white fish and purple crabs you should remember. Su Shi's poem."

Chen Bin stared at him from the side: "Brother, don't scare me!"

Prince Xu wasn't trying to scare him. The main difference is that the line "red leaves and yellow flowers in autumn" is different from the other two lines.

The phrase "red leaves and yellow flowers in autumn" has been used more than once throughout history. For example, the phrases he could recall include "red leaves and yellow flowers in autumn in full bloom," "red leaves and yellow flowers in late autumn," and "red leaves and yellow flowers in autumn as autumn grows old."

However, apart from Su Shi's poem, the other poems are all lyrics, which are not consistent with the style of the previous ones.

If the leader is truly a "Confucian official" who graduated from the Chinese Literature Department, then he will definitely be very particular about this aspect and will not mix poetry and lyrics, making his style chaotic.

So he suddenly realized and said, "Yes, yes."

Section Chief Liu said, "The last line is, 'Lying down, I watch the plum blossoms bloom in winter.'"

Prince Xu frowned again: "That's not right."

Chen Bin exclaimed, "What's wrong again?!"

The pulling and tugging just now felt like a rollercoaster ride to him; his heart couldn't take it.

Wang Zixu said, "There is no such line in the poem."

"Why isn't this line of poetry mentioned?"

"This line of poetry does not exist in history."

Section Chief Liu asked, "Are you sure it's 'no'?"

Wang Zixu said, "I'm sure."

Section Chief Liu said, "Investigate."

Chen Bin sat down, panting, and searched on a computer next to him. After a while, he said, "There really isn't any."

Some people lie down to look at West Lake, some lie down to listen to the wind and rain, and some look at the mountains, the water, and the clouds, but no one lies down to "look at plum blossoms".

The three of them fell silent.

Finally, Chen Bin was the first to regain his senses: "It's too late, let's just leave it at that."

Section Chief Liu said, "The first three paragraphs all have titles, but the last one doesn't. Wouldn't it be a huge embarrassment to read it aloud in the arts and literature circles? People would think we can't even find four lines of poetry!"

Chen Bin said, "Then let's just delete the first three."

Section Chief Liu hesitated.

After a while, he said, "No, we can't go without the hat. The leaders have made it clear that we should quote poetry. If we take all the hats off, it won't sound right, and it will be too obvious. If the leaders are unhappy, can you take responsibility?"

Chen Bin gritted his teeth and said, "If Ning Cainu were still here, that would be great. She would definitely know how to do it. We could just ask her for help."

Section Chief Liu asked, "Is Ning Cai Nu here? Do you have her phone number?"

"Even if we had it, it would be too late." Chen Bin glanced at his watch. "There's one minute left."

"This sentence is for us to write ourselves," said Wang Zixu.

Chen Bin turned to look at him: "What?"

"Spring, summer, autumn, winter—these four lines of poetry each have a season in their fifth character, very neatly arranged. I guess the leader couldn't think of a poem with this structure to describe winter, so he wrote one himself, but because he was too busy, he only finished half of it."

Chen Bin asked, "Then what should we do?"

Wang Zixu said, "Then we'll have to write it ourselves."

Chen Bin said, "Is this the time for jokes?"

Wang Zixu said, "I'm not joking. I've already written it."

After saying that, he typed on the keyboard:

Lying down, I gaze at the plum blossoms, white as the winter moon, and almost imagine that evening snow has blanketed the village before me.

"Lying down, I gaze at the plum blossoms, white as the winter moon; I almost mistake them for snow covering the village before me?" Chen Bin recited this line of poetry. "Whose poem is this?"

"My poem," said Prince Xu, "is something I just came up with."

Chen Bin paused for a moment, then said, "That's settled. Print!"

Wang Zixu printed two copies, which Chen Bin quickly bound together. Then, like a sprinter in a 100-meter dash, he rushed out the door.

He stopped when he reached the door, glanced back at Prince Xu, and said:

"Thanks, bro, I really owe you a lot today."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Prince Xu glanced at the clock on the wall; the time was just right.

On the phone, Section Chief Liu sounded tired: "Thank you for your hard work."

Prince Xu said, "It's nothing."

Section Chief Liu said, "Actually, it's quite risky to write a poem and put it up yourself. If the people below you hear it, it's a bit dangerous."

Wang Zixu said, "I'm just a government employee, I don't care about promotions, what am I afraid of? They can't fire me, can they?"

Section Chief Liu chuckled and said, "You can't say it like that."

The prince asked humbly, "May I have a cigarette?"

Section Chief Liu said, "Sure. The ashtray is on Director Mei's desk."

Wang Zixu lit a Da Feng Shou cigarette. On the other end of the phone, he heard the sound of a lighter and lit one as well.

The two of them puffed on their cigarettes for a while and enjoyed a moment of peace.

Section Chief Liu asked, "Did you really write that line of poetry yourself?"

Prince Xu said, "I just made that up."

Section Chief Liu said, "Actually, it's written quite well. It sounds plausible."

Wang Zixu lay down on the chair: "There isn't enough time."

Section Chief Liu said, "You're the perfect example of someone who can compose a poem in seven steps."

Wang Zixu said, "You flatter me. I can't compare to Cao Zhi."

Section Chief Liu said, "Director Mei and I will stay here and keep an eye on the leader's speech. Once he's finished and there are no problems, we'll come back. You can sit in the office for a bit longer; things shouldn't be so chaotic anymore."

Wang Zixu said, "Don't say that, it scares me a little."

Section Chief Liu laughed and then hung up the phone.

The office returned to silence.

Silence signifies loneliness. But Prince Xu was not truly lonely at this moment.

Although his body was exhausted, his mind was full and surging.

Romain Rolland said that the mind of a great man is like the summit of a high mountain, where the winds rage and the clouds are thick all year round, yet breathing is exceptionally smooth.

His feelings at that moment were remarkably similar to those expressed in that statement.

He leaned back in the chair, his body and mind gradually relaxing, and he actually fell asleep.

Wang Zixu was awakened by a commotion. When he woke up, Mei Rucheng, Section Chief Liu, Ning Chunyan, Shen Qingfeng, Chen Bin, and a large group of people, some he knew and some he didn't, were all in the office.

He quickly stood up. Mei Rucheng looked like he had just returned, travel-worn, and strode in, slamming a stack of manuscripts onto the desk.

Wang Zixu took a closer look and realized, "Hey, isn't this the draft I printed out before and had Chen Bin take to the meeting?"

He looked around and noticed that everyone had different expressions. Mei Rucheng looked strange, Section Chief Liu looked dejected, and Chen Bin seemed indifferent.

Ning Chunyan, in particular, stood with her hands behind her back, her long, shapely legs peeking out from under her dress. Her almond-shaped eyes were fixed on him with a burning intensity, and there seemed to be a hint of hatred in them. He had no idea what he had done to offend her.

He really wanted to ask them: Was the on-site meeting a success? Was the draft successfully sent? Did the leader read the draft?

But he didn't dare to speak. He was a little dazed.

"Who wrote this manuscript?" Mei Rucheng asked, placing his hand on the manuscript.

The prince said weakly, "I...I..."

"Hmm." Mei Rucheng nodded calmly. "Who told you to guess the leader's thoughts? Who told you to guess the leader's thoughts like that?"

Mei Rucheng's voice was authoritative without being angry, and Wang Zixu immediately felt a chill run down his spine.