I am not a literary giant

Comrade Wang Jianguo commented: "What's the point of giving gifts like dicks for the Dragon Boat Festival? Whether it's a festival or not, it's all the same. Giving fancy gifts is just a waste of money."

Wang Zixu apologized to Qu Yuan on his behalf from behind. When he turned around, he saw that Comrade Wang Jianguo had walked fifty meters away with cigarettes and alcohol and got lost in front of his own house.

A strong, resonant voice drifted from the basement of the neighboring hillside:

"Old Wang! What good stuff are you carrying?"

Wang Jianguo tilted his head back and said, "How did you know my son was coming to see me and brought me two cartons of Zhonghua liquor?"

The voice said, "Does that mean we'll have a big meal at noon today?"

Wang Jianguo shouted, "Let's do it together!"

The voice said, "Alright! I'll take care of the cold dishes!"

Prince Xu covered his face in anguish from behind.

He forgot that Comrade Jianguo was also an extremely boastful person. If he had brought friends along for lunch, it would have been difficult to smoothly bring up the matter of signing the agreement at the dinner table.

When his father returned carrying cigarettes and alcohol, Wang Zixu subtly inquired, "I'm thinking of having a meal here with you. There are three of us; is the food enough?"

Wang Jianguo waved his hand: "There's enough food and drink! What's there to be afraid of? Do you think I'd let you go hungry since you're here?"

Prince Xu had a headache, and said in a low voice, "I originally wanted to come and talk to you about something."

Comrade Wang Jianguo also lowered his voice and said, "That Old Zhang is not an outsider; he's worked with me before."

Before Wang Zixu could say anything more, Comrade Jianguo, in a fit of anger, silenced him with a barrage of genitalia and went inside with his cigarettes and alcohol.

Having no other choice, he had no choice but to follow them into the house.

Comrade Jianguo is in his early fifties this year. In terms of age, he is far from retirement age, but ever since his wife ran away and he was laid off, he has never worked for more than two consecutive months.

Fortunately, Wang Zixu's grandfather was quite supportive. The old man received a monthly pension of several thousand yuan, and Jianguo received intermittent financial assistance from him. Occasionally, Jianguo would try to do some odd jobs himself, but he couldn't hold down any of them for long.

Grandpa Wang Zixu's favoritism towards his eldest son had caused some dissatisfaction among his siblings, and it seemed that conflicts had arisen. But that was a matter of the previous generation, and Wang Zixu neither could nor wanted to know about it.

Old Wang said he'd show off his skills to Little Wang and cook a few dishes. Wang Zixu stayed in the basement for a few minutes, covered in sweat, and suddenly understood why Old Wang was shirtless in the middle of the morning.

He asked Lao Wang why he wasn't turning on the air conditioner, but Lao Wang didn't answer. He rummaged through drawers and cabinets until he found the remote control, only to discover that the air conditioner was broken.

After Lao Wang brought the food to the table, Wang Zixu brought up the air conditioner again, and Lao Wang said, "It's been broken for two months! It broke down right after winter, isn't that a coincidence?"

Wang Zixu said, "Tell me if it's broken, and I'll have the landlord fix it."

Old Wang said, "I talked to the landlord, but somehow we got into an argument, and that was the end of it."

Wang Zixu felt another headache coming on, but when he thought about the contract, the headache disappeared: "Let's just buy an apartment."

Old Wang glared at him, and Wang Zixu said, "I've saved up about 70 or 80,000 yuan in my housing provident fund. I can't withdraw it from there, so I might as well buy an apartment."

Old Wang continued glaring at him: "Are you stupid? Everyone knows the housing bubble is about to burst. Why are you buying a house now?"

Wang Zixu was both amused and exasperated: "Who told you that? With an average price of six or seven thousand in Xihe, how much could it possibly collapse?"

Old Wang said, "It's bound to collapse anyway."

Just then, Old Zhang from next door came in carrying in some cold dishes and said, "Come on, come on, what kind of wine did you bring?"

The father went up to him and said, "It's Daohuaxiang Vitality Type. That's the kind of drink that civil servants drink."

Old Zhang laughed and said, "Having a civil servant son is really great. Your social standing rises with him."

My father sat down and said casually, "Shouldn't we use official reception standards when we invite you, Old Zhang?"

Old Zhang chuckled and said, "When will Xiao Wang be promoted to section chief? Then I can experience the kind of reception I get from the bureau chief!"

My father said, "He's been promoted to section chief, so what kind of bureau chief are you going to be entertained by?"

"Haven't you heard? In a department or bureau, the section chief is the section chief's father, and the bureau chief is the section chief's father!"

Wang Zixu, listening from the side, felt extremely embarrassed. He didn't know if Old Zhang was deliberately trying to provoke him or just speaking recklessly. He wasn't even a section chief anymore, which meant he was treated like a servant at work, with everyone acting like a boss.

That seems to make sense.

Wang Zixu said, "Uncle, civil servants are cadres of the people, not like in feudal times, where there is a hierarchical system of personal dependence. Besides, I am just a public institution employee, not a civil servant."

Wang Jianguo glared at him: "So what if you have a government job? Government jobs are still government jobs, and countless people are eager to work for them. Don't look down on government jobs, just do your job well."

Old Zhang drawled, "Even those with government jobs eat the government food; don't underestimate them!"

Wang Zixu was both amused and exasperated: "I didn't mean to eat steamed buns as dry food..."

The three sat down. The basement was small; the folding table only reached knee height, and the stools were even lower. The three of them sat on the small stools as if squatting, all hunched over. Fortunately, they were all men, so they could spread their legs comfortably, which was quite charming and reflected the lifestyle of ordinary people.

Old Wang snapped open the rice flower incense box, first taking a deep sniff of the aroma, then chugging it into a paper cup. Old Zhang took the cup, as if holding fine wine, and took two deep breaths, praising:

"As expected of official receptions."

"Of course."

Old Zhang looked at Wang Zixu: "Where did you get this? Was it reimbursed?"

Wang Zixu said, "This can't be reimbursed; I bought it with my own money."

Old Zhang said, "Then you haven't made it big yet. You'll be considered successful when you can get reimbursed for expenses."

The prince, feigning panic, said, "No matter how badly I've fallen on hard times, I wouldn't stoop to using public funds for lavish meals!"

Old Zhang said, "Then you don't understand. My son runs his own company, and every time he takes cigarettes or alcohol, he reimburses it through the company account."

After saying that, he grinned slyly, his smile revealing the cunning of a petty bourgeois.

The prince was speechless.

Father Wang said, "Eat the vegetables, eat the vegetables."

Eat vegetables.

On the table were three hot dishes, three cold dishes, and a plate of peanuts. Old Zhang chewed while staring at Wang Zixu, then pointed with his chopsticks: "Is your son married?"

The father didn't answer, but turned to look at Wang Zixu and said, "By the way, how has Xiaoqian been lately?"

Prince Xu said, "It's nothing special."

"Xiaoqian is a good girl, with good character and a good job," Old Wang exclaimed. "You must treat her well."

Wang Zixu said, "I have a very good relationship with her."

Old Zhang said in a gruff voice, "When you're dating, you have to make it a fait accompli as quickly as possible! My daughter-in-law got pregnant before we got married. At home, she's completely obedient to my son..."

Prince Xu interrupted him, raised his glass and said, "Let's have a drink together."

"Okay, that's meticulous."

The three of them drank a cup together. After Old Zhang and Old Wang finished their cups, they started bragging.

Old Wang said that back in his days working for a state-owned enterprise, he was named an advanced worker for three consecutive years, wearing a big red flower every year. The current boss of Hengsheng was his junior colleague back then. Without Old Wang's encouragement, he wouldn't have been able to marry the factory director's daughter, and consequently, he wouldn't have been able to acquire the entire factory during the restructuring.

Old Zhang said that back in the day in the south, he was skilled in both writing letters home and leaping across rooftops and walls, earning him the nickname "Jade-Faced Vajra." His comrades from those days are now scattered across the country, each with their own successful families and impressive achievements, and they all respectfully address him as "Old Squad Leader."

The two were chatting enthusiastically when suddenly there was a knock at the door. The three of them turned around and saw a man wearing a red armband standing in the doorway, holding a booklet in his left hand and a pen in his right. He had knocked on the door with the pen.

"Do the three of you live here?"

Comrade Wang raised his hand and said, "I live here alone, comrade, is there anything I can help you with?"

The man asked, "What are the other two doing?"

"One lives next door, and the other is my son who came to visit me. My son also works in the public sector."

The man said coldly, "This is an order from the Ministry. This year, we're focusing on building a civilized city, and the whole city is working together as one. No matter where you're from, basements are not allowed to be used for living because they don't comply with fire safety regulations."

Comrade Wang said, "But I've lived here for two years already."

The man said, "Then you didn't meet the requirements for the first two years."

The three men looked at each other in bewilderment. The man said, "I'm just here to inform you that you need to move out within a week."

Old Wang, his neck red, said, "How the hell are we supposed to move this damn thing in a week?"

The man said, "Don't take your anger out on me. I'm just following the rules. I'm just here to say something today. Next time, it'll be the fire department."

Before leaving, he gave one last reminder: "Move out as soon as possible!"

Old Wang turned to look at Little Wang: "I wasn't angry!"

Wang Zixu said, "I know, but please stop using such vulgar language. The comrade is right, it's really not safe to live here. Why don't you move to my place first?"

Old Wang immediately turned red with anger: "I'm not going, I'd rather die than go! It's all about the father making room for the son, how can a father go and take over his son's land?"

Wang Zixu knew he definitely wouldn't go; this kind of conversation had happened countless times before. He calmly said, "Then I'll find you another suitable place to rent."

For some reason, Old Wang got angry and said, "Find me another place that costs 300 a month and I'll move there."

Wang Zixu finally couldn't hold back any longer and said, "I'll be frank. I've recently started a side business with a friend, and it's making pretty good money. I can earn a few thousand a month, so renting you a decent room for 800 is no problem at all."

Old Wang's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Wang Zixu said, "I just came to ask you to sign the emergency contact form. Once you sign, everything will be OK."

Old Wang quickly nodded: "I'll sign, I'll sign."

Old Zhang shoved him and said, "Well done, Old Wang! You're destined for a life of luxury! Your son's got guts!"

Old Wang nodded repeatedly with a smile: "Enjoy your good fortune! To be honest, I've never lacked money in my life; I always manage to find a way out of seemingly hopeless situations. By the way, what are you going to do?"

Old Zhang said, "I don't really care. The first floor is also my home. I just prefer living in the basement."

Old Wang laughed and cursed, "Damn it! You piece of trash."

Old Zhang and Old Wang got completely drunk. Old Zhang staggered away on his own, while Old Wang was carried to bed by Wang Zixu.

In a daze, he signed the contract for Wang Zixu and was even dragged to put his fingerprint on it. Only after wiping the red mark off his hand did Wang Zixu finally breathe a sigh of relief.

In a daze, Wang Jianguo suddenly opened his eyes, waved his hand and said to Wang Zixu, "Son, listen to me, money doesn't necessarily bring happiness."

Prince Xu nodded perfunctorily, "Mhm."

Wang Jianguo closed his eyes and said again, "But it can alleviate your pain."

Prince Xu was surprised: "Where did you learn that?"

His answer was a loud snore.

As Prince Xu rode his bicycle home, the wind tousled his hair, and he suddenly felt his eyes well up with tears.

He stopped the car, squatted down on the curb, took out a pack of Xuanhemen cigarettes from the Dafengshou brand, and started smoking them vigorously.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness when he recalled his father saying that he was destined to enjoy a life of happiness.

"Everyone else is destined to enjoy life, but I'm destined to suffer!"

With a cigarette butt dangling from his mouth, he made a phone call to Zuo Ziliang:

"Hey, the contract's already signed, where are you?"

Zuo Ziliang said, "You've finally signed. I'm at the company. Ye Lan and I are both here."

Prince Xu said, "Get ready, I want to have a meeting with you. But don't reveal my identity."

Zuo Ziliang asked, "About what kind of meeting?"

Wang Zixu said, "I have a plan. A plan to make money."