1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 526 Laughter and Tears, Deepest Emotions

"Sir, would you like something to drink?"

"gentlemen?"

"gentlemen?"

The flight attendant, dressed in a standard uniform with a short skirt and stockings, asked several questions before Su Cong finally looked up from the magazine "Contemporary" in front of him, looking at her with a bewildered expression.

"Ok?"

"Oh, I don't need anything."

"Just pour me a cup of hot water."

The flight attendant glanced at the book in front of him, wondering what he was reading that he was so engrossed in.

Jin Yong's novels?
Su Cong took a sip of hot water and continued reading the text in front of him, completely engrossed.
"Who answered my call just now?" An old man in a military uniform with his collar insignia removed, standing ramrod straight, stormed into the "3T" company office. "How dare he swear at me, you son of a bitch!"

"What happened?" Ma Qing said, feigning ignorance. "Please don't get angry, sit down and tell me slowly."

"I won't sit!" the old man roared. "Don't give me that! Who was the one who was cursing? Stand up and tell me why you cursed."

"He's already gone out. The person who answered the phone just now has already left," Ma Qing said with a smile. "What do you need me to do? I'll do it for you."

"You went out? The voice sounds like yours!"

"No, no, it wasn't me, I just arrived." Ma Qing's face was covered in sweat.

“It’s definitely not him, he just arrived.” Yang Chong quickly chimed in, bringing a chair for the old man. “We’ll criticize him when he gets back.”

"Where's Yu Guan?" The old man sat down with his legs apart and back straight. "Where did that brat go? Go find him."

"Manager Yu?" Yang Zhong and Ma Qing exchanged glances. "He's gone out too. You can talk to us about what you need to say."

"Tell you?" The old man glared at Yang Chong and Ma Qing, looking them up and down. "Alright, then tell me what kind of trouble he's been up to lately? Who's he hanging out with? Is the police on his radar again? He's so scared he doesn't even dare to go home."

"Manager Yu didn't do anything wrong. He's doing fine. Nobody's keeping an eye on him. In fact, we often hear people praising him, saying he only does good things."

“I knew you would cover for each other. You’re in cahoots, aren’t you? A bunch of liars! I’ve heard rumors about your ridiculous company. What a joke! If we need you to solve other people’s problems, what’s the point of having a government? When Yu Guan comes back, have him come see me immediately.”

"Which temple are you a monk from?"

"I am his father!"

Su Cong was captivated by the story of "The Troubleshooters" after reading for only a short while.

He particularly admired the state of mind that Yu Guan, Ma Qing, and Yang Zhong were in.

Between reality and ideals, between cynicism and stubborn self-preservation, they joke and play, mocking various pathological personalities, behaviors, and unsatisfactory phenomena.

In short, I felt extremely comfortable.

However, as he watched, Su Cong couldn't help but wonder, how exactly did these "playboys" manage to break free from the constraints of their families?
Don't your family members care?

Soon after, we saw the scene where Yu Guan's father found the "3T" company.

At that time, Yu Guan was busy helping the man who had previously dated Yang Chong break up with Liu Meiping, who had previously "dated" Yang Chong.

As soon as he returned to "3T", Yang Zhong and Ma Qing told him that something terrible had happened and that he should hurry home and deal with it.

How did Yu Guan handle this matter?
He first entered the house with a stern face, then went into the living room to take off his shoes and put on slippers, and then unbuttoned his shirt one by one without saying a word.

She glanced sideways at the old man sitting on the sofa, smiling with his hands slung over his shoulder, then suddenly took off her shirt, went to the bathroom in her vest, turned on the tap, and started washing herself.

A moment later, he returned to the living room with a large towel and vigorously wiped himself, continuing to stare at the old man.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think your dad is embarrassing you?"

"No, you've made me proud. Now everyone knows I have a very confident father." Yu Guan threw the large towel onto the sofa armrest, turned on the electric fan, and stood in front of it to let it blow on him. "Now I know why you practice Qigong."

"Be careful not to catch a cold—did your cronies complain about me?" The old man stood up and paced around the room with satisfaction. "Actually, I'm very polite to them."

Yu Guan snorted but didn't say anything.

In short, after seeing this, Su Cong felt that Yu Guan's family relationships were not as tense as he had imagined, and that the old man was actually quite "enlightened".

If we weren't "enlightened," we probably would have already been furious and started smashing things with our belts.

Jiang Xian's writing is truly realistic.

Su Cong sighed inwardly.

If Yu Guan really came from such a family, he probably wouldn't have developed such a cynical personality.

However, although the old man was "open-minded," he was clearly not that "open-minded":
“I’m concerned about you. Why would I care what those wild kids on the street are doing? You’re my son, after all.”

"So, I didn't say anything else. If someone else had done that to me, I would have slapped their mouth out of shape."

“Look at yourself, with that cynical attitude, where is the spirit of the new generation of youth?”

Clearly, the old man still didn't understand his son and disagreed with his son treating "playing" as a career every day.

How did Yu Guan handle it?
In Su Cong's opinion, Jiang Xian's writing was truly ingenious:

"It wasn't cooked long enough."

Yu Guan turned off the fan and walked away, saying, "I didn't put in any scallions or ginger."

"Come back." The old man reached out to block Yu Guan's path, looked up at his tall son, and said, "Sit down, I want to talk to you."

Yu Guan plopped down on the sofa, picked up a copy of "China's Elderly" magazine, and flipped through it haphazardly: "Not everyone at the mahjong table today?"

"Be serious." The old man sat down next to his son. "I need to understand your thoughts. What do you do every day?"

"Eat, drink, talk, sleep, just like you."

“Don’t talk to me like that! I’m really worried about you. You’re not getting any younger. Are you just going to keep drifting around like this? You should start thinking about the future and how you can do more good for the people.”

Yu laughed as he watched the serious-looking old man.

"What are you laughing at?" The old man's face flushed red. "Am I wrong?"

"Yes, I didn't say it was wrong, I was laughing at myself."

"You didn't say anything wrong? I can see from your eyes that you don't take my words seriously. Is there nothing that can move you right now? A couple of days ago, I listened to a report from the Laoshan Frontline Heroic Model Group, who told me about their heroic deeds. I was very moved. They were blind but still fighting tenaciously. They were all young people younger than you. Aren't you ashamed compared to them?"

"Ashamed."

"Aren't you moved?"

"move."

“We old men all shed tears.”

"I also shed tears."

"Sigh—" the old man sighed and stood up. "I really can't do anything with you. How did I raise such a shameless son?"

"Then what do you want me to say?" Yu Guan also stood up. "Do I have to say I'm a bastard, a parasite? What's wrong with me that you can't stand? I haven't killed anyone, set fires, or gone on protests. What have I done to deserve this? Do I have to be all tough and proud to be considered a good kid? I'm just a little vulgar, aren't I?"

"It seems you have no intention of having a frank exchange of ideas with me."

"Let me cook you a meal. I've recently learned some Western cooking techniques."

"No, no, I won't eat Western food. The meat in Western food is all raw and hard to chew. I'll have our hometown dish, casserole meatballs. We have tofu, bok choy, cucumber, and mushrooms at home."

"These dishes should be cooked separately."

"No, no, I think it's better to stew them together; the nutrition will remain too." "They don't taste the same."

"There's no other flavor; in the end, it's all just MSG."

"So, who's going to do it and who's going to do it?"

"You've only eaten a few bowls of rice, what do you know about good food?"

"Fine, whatever you say. Who told me I have to call you Dad?"

Yu Guan lazily stood up and went to the kitchen to wash vegetables and cut meat.

The old man turned on his pocket transistor radio, tuned to a lively opera channel, put on his reading glasses, and picked up "Chinese Elderly" to read it carefully.

Yu Guan, wearing an apron with rolled-up sleeves and her arms and hands dripping wet, burst in and asked, "Aren't you going to help me at all?"

"Can't you see I'm very busy?" The old man peeked out from behind his glasses and glared at Yu Guan. "I just sat down and you want me to have some peace and quiet."

"You're not busy when there's no work, but you start working immediately when there is. How did you become so lazy? I remember you also came from a poor background. You were bitten by a landlord's dog when you were begging for food as a child. It's been a long time since you rolled up your pants legs and let others see them, hasn't it?"

"How did you grow up to be so big? How did I, a lazy bum, manage to raise you to this size?"

“You were raised by the people, and the people give you money to raise the next generation of revolutionaries.”

"Have you forgotten how I used to potty train you when you were little?"

"."

"Out of ideas, huh?" the old man said smugly. "Don't try to compete with an old man like that. How many days have you even been walking?"

"You have to put it this way, who calls whom Dad? If you call me Dad, I'll help you pee."

This is hilarious!

Su Cong couldn't believe how Jiang Xian had written it. He could portray a highly charged family conflict in such a way that it was both "fiery" and "hilarious." Although Yu Guan's every word was so "reckless," he still managed to convey a certain attitude to the old man:

"You're right, you're right, I'm wrong."

You said you wanted me to learn your ideas.

Then I'll cook for you.

When it comes to cooking, you still have to do it properly.

You still have to be clever.

I also need to take this opportunity to scold you a couple of times to get revenge.

In short, he was very proactive in admitting his mistakes. He didn't want to argue with the old man; he just wanted to make him happy first, and he would deal with correcting his mistakes later.

In short, this attitude of finding joy in hardship, this quick wit of knowing when to be tough and when to be cowardly, and this seemingly unproductive attitude of having something to do.

Su Cong felt that this was exactly the kind of person he wanted to become.

He greatly admired the mental state of Yu Guan, Yang Chong, and Ma Qing, the characters Jiang Xian portrayed.

If he had the same attitude as those hardcore enthusiasts, he would have a much easier life now.

At the end of the story, all the characters attended a ball together.

Yang Chong and Liu Meiping jumped together, as if they had finally achieved a happy ending.

Unfortunately, a little while later, as soon as Yang Chong left the dance floor, Liu Meiping was pulled away by someone else, wandering between different dance partners, seemingly symbolizing that she would never belong to anyone.

As for Lin Bei, her ending was quite ironic, as revealed by Ding Xiaolu:
"Did you see Lin Bei? She's here with Bao Kang too. They're getting married soon."

"She didn't tell us. In the end, she got married."

"She's a little afraid of you guys."

"What's there to be afraid of? Don't you know what's going on with me?"

“I’m not afraid of you, but people who don’t know you think you look monstrous.”

As they talked, Lin Bei, her face flushed, walked alone along the dance floor and greeted Yu Guan and Ding Xiaolu.

Yu Guan then asked, "I heard you're getting married soon?"

Lin Bei said, "Ah, it's just like that. Let's get married and see. If it doesn't work out, we'll get a divorce."

"Don't be like that, this is a major life event."

Yu Guan said with a smile, "People say there are a hundred ways to commit suicide, one of which is to marry a writer."

"Is it?"

Lin Bei laughed so hard she bent over. "What you said is so funny."

"Bullshit! Bullshit!" Ma Qing shouted, pointing at Lin Bei as she danced past them.

"Hate."

Lin Bei rolled her eyes at Ma Qing, who had already walked away, then turned back with a sweet smile.

She was wearing a cotton round-neck blouse with a big "P" printed on it.

This cultured person can curse without using any vulgar language.

Su Cong watched and sighed.

Even at the very end, Jiang Xian never fully explained their lives. Su Cong also didn't know if Bao Kang and Lin Bei had their wedding, whether Yang Chong and Liu Meiping had a happy ending, or whether Yu Guan and Ding Xiaolu would reconcile.
nothing.

These people's lives are not over yet.

The future of the "3T" company was not explained.

Will Yang Zhong, Yu Guan, and Ma Qing make a lot of money in the future?

Do not know at all.

The ending of everything is:
At night, at Yu Guan's house, the old man, half-asleep, fiddled with his pocket transistor radio, trying to find the stations. Each announcer said, "This program is finished."

After reading the last line, a sense of melancholy enveloped Su Cong.

While reading "The Troublemakers," he felt as if he had become a "troublemaker" himself, living in the world of the "troublemakers."

They treat playing as their main occupation in life, living a down-to-earth and peaceful life, even if they don't earn much money, they don't have that urgent need to succeed.

So the moment it ended.

Su Cong felt a sense of oppression because he was not a rebellious youth, nor could he make himself one, so he had no choice but to face the hardships and challenges of life again.

"It's so well written."

Su Cong couldn't help but sigh.

A mix of laughter and tears, a flood of emotions!
His first thought was curiosity: how did Jiang Xian come up with such a story? Fortunately, the article was immediately followed by Jiang Xian's reflections on his writing process.

"I originally wanted to write a story about con artists who actually set up a company to scam people, and I even wanted to make it educational, with the ending showing them feeling remorse, regret, and guilt."

"But as I wrote, I couldn't continue. I just finished and stopped writing."

“You can’t make up any more. You’ve already written the truth, so you can’t put in any falsehoods. Anyone who is honest with themselves can’t put them in.”

"So it ended here, and that's it."

(End of this chapter)