Restart life

Chapter 188 0185 [Li Aozhen has moved in]

Li Ao once said that he doesn't use a computer because the information on the internet is too messy and hard to distinguish.

But here's the problem: if he doesn't use a computer, how will he know that online information is too chaotic?

This shows that he not only used a computer, but also went online!

He just didn't like using it, so he stopped using it.

"Throw it away, it's all useless stuff," Li Ao said as he ran to take a shower.

His wife, Wang Xiaotun, carefully checked everything again, tossing each item into the trash can one by one. When she got to the note, she opened it and found that besides the website address, there was another line: "If Mr. Li needs to verify his identity when registering an account, please call this number..."

She didn't throw it away, but put it in her pocket.

Wang Xiaotun turned on her computer and browsed mainland portal websites, specifically looking for news about her husband—in this era, neither side is heavily blocked, and non-sensitive websites can be accessed.

News about Li Ao is almost entirely positive.

But the comments section below the news article was a completely different story. Wow, there were all sorts of opinions.

Some even criticized Chen Guiliang.

There were also explanations for Chen Guiliang, along with the URL of Chen Guiliang's latest blog post.

Li Ao had already finished showering and returned, while Wang Xiaotun was still reading news comments.

"What are you looking at?" Li Ao asked.

Wang Xiaotun said, "Many mainland netizens are criticizing you."

Li Ao laughed and said, "Let them curse."

Wang Xiaotun added, "The Peking University student who passed you the note was also scolded, and I'm reading his explanation article now."

Li Ao dragged a chair over and watched with his wife.

Statement Regarding the Controversy Surrounding Li Ao's Speech at Peking University and His Words and Deeds

"I think I've been getting insulted lately. Since some of you might not understand what I'm saying, I'll explain it to you in detail now..."

"Mr. Li Ao must have been a little unhappy about this trip to Peking University. First, when Lian Zhan gave a speech, Peking University laid out a red carpet, but this time they didn't lay one for him; second, Lian Zhan's speech was broadcast in its entirety, while his speech was only selected for broadcast."

"Why did this happen? Because the event involved political figures, so there was a red carpet ceremony. And political figures are careful with their words, so broadcasting the whole thing was definitely not a problem..."

"Because Li Ao was unhappy, he started by making fun of Lien Chan. I think he tried to hold back halfway through, but he just couldn't. Those 30 minutes of rambling and unrestrained venting were very much an emotional outburst. But he still hadn't finished venting, so he jokingly cursed Peking University on the spot, saying it was too weak..."

"The first point you all made against me was that Li Ao said Peking University was too bad, and as a Peking University student, I didn't refute him, and even said I basically agreed with his point of view..."

"Brothers and sisters, if a guest loses his temper, can the host yell back? Hundreds of Peking University faculty and students were there, laughing and applauding. Let me clarify, I didn't applaud at that time. Not because I was unhappy, but because I disagreed with his use of Cai Yuanpei as an example to prove that Peking University was too weak at that time..."

"When I asked the question, why did I deliberately say that his account of the Beiyang warlords was wrong? And why did I deliberately point out the close relationship between the Minister of Education and the President of Peking University at the time? It was to subtly refute the problems with his later examples! Did you think I was just opposing the Beiyang warlords part?"

"He said the Beiyang Ministry of Education issued an order, but the Peking University president refused to obey. The Beiyang Ministry of Education then sent money, which the Peking University president accepted. He used this to prove Peking University's integrity at the time. He used this to prove that Peking University is too cowardly now, not even daring to broadcast his speech live in its entirety..."

"Since Minister of Education Mr. Fan and Peking University President Mr. Cai are such close friends, there are two possibilities: First, while Mr. Fan was in office, Mr. Cai could do whatever he wanted without any danger. Second, after Mr. Fan resigned, everything Mr. Cai did was wrong. Whether Peking University obeyed or not at the time, the outcome would have been the same."

"So I was subtly pointing out that Mr. Li Ao's example couldn't prove that Peking University was awesome back then, nor could it lead to the conclusion that Peking University is too weak now. I was giving him face, and my rebuttal was subtle and pointed. Didn't you guys really see that?"

Seeing this, Li Ao lit a cigarette, puffed out smoke, and said nothing.

Wang Xiaotun asked, "Did you understand his implied meaning at the time?"

"No," Li Ao shook his head.

Because he was criticizing Peking University as incompetent, it was purely out of emotional outburst. Once he vented his emotions, that was it; he didn't think about the consequences at all and didn't care about the matter at all.

Unexpectedly, while refuting his remarks about the Beiyang warlords, Chen Guiliang also refuted his later criticisms of Peking University.

Li Ao suddenly muttered to himself, "He said back then that some people's words are less valuable than farts. Was he referring to me?"

Wang Xiaotun smiled.

The article is not finished yet.

"During Mr. Li Ao's speech, he rambled on for 30 minutes, talking about all sorts of things. Some of what he said was the same as the part about the Northern Warlords—pure nonsense..."

“Take his passage about Marx as an example. Mr. Li Ao may not have really studied it, or his study may not be in-depth enough. Marx told Engels that he himself was not a Marxist. Mr. Li Ao quoted this and concluded that ‘Marx himself did not believe in Marxism.’”

But what is the real situation?

"In 19th-century Germany and France, some self-proclaimed Marxists did not truly understand or practice Marxism, and even did things that contradicted it. Marx wanted to draw a clear line between himself and those who called themselves Marxists! At the same time, he resolutely opposed dogmatism!"

Engels argued that Marxism is not a dogma, but a method. It does not provide ready-made dogmas, but rather a starting point for further research and a method for such research.

"No one is an absolute authority. We shouldn't believe everything the masters say. Many of Mr. Li Ao's speeches can be taken as jokes." "When I say I basically agree with his views, I mean I agree with his views on major issues of right and wrong. For example, I agree with even more of his views in his later speech at Tsinghua University."

"As long as we agree on major issues of principle, I think we can be considered like-minded people. Minor disagreements can be ignored, and we can seek common ground while reserving differences."

After reading it, Li Ao's face burned.

He genuinely didn't know the historical context of Marx's statement. He even used it as a novel viewpoint to joke about on more than one occasion.

Now that Chen Guiliang has written things out clearly, it's as if I've been publicly humiliated by him.

He had said this several times before, which meant he had been proven wrong several times.

In the past, Li Ao always gained the upper hand in arguments because his opponents' arguments were full of loopholes. But now Chen Guiliang is simply stating facts and reasoning, leaving Li Ao with no way to refute him.

The same applies to the period concerning the Northern Warlords, and also to the period concerning Marx.

That night, Li Ao tossed and turned, unable to sleep, constantly trying to say something to save face.

Because he saw the comments under Chen Guiliang's article.

Some of them are as follows:
"I watched the live text broadcast of the speech and immediately wanted to refute this part. Haha, I'm a graduate student in Marxism. Actually, you don't need to study for a master's degree; undergraduates in related majors should already know this."

"Sigh, Li Ao's example using Bo Yi and Shu Qi is completely flawed, with the argument and evidence misaligned. I thought about it for ages, but I still couldn't figure out the logic. It just has absolutely no logic!"

"To be honest, I'm a little disappointed in Li Ao."

"..."

What can I say about Li Ao?

Sometimes they stubbornly refuse to admit their mistakes, while other times they readily admit them.

Whether he admits it or not depends on his own thoughts and feelings at the time.

The next day, he wrote an article and handed it to his wife, saying, "Help me register an account and then post the article online."

Whether he uses a computer or goes online is entirely up to him.

In another timeline, he claimed not to use a computer, yet he became a Weibo user very early on. Unable to operate or type himself, he had his wife help him, later switching to touchscreen handwriting.

Moreover, he posts on Weibo very frequently...

The wife first registered a Kaixin.com account, then called ByteDance using the number on the note: "Hello, this is Mr. Li Ao's wife... Yes, we just registered an account. Do we need to verify it? Oh, only celebrities need to verify. Okay, just use my real name..."

The account was quickly verified and a blue badge was added.

Wang Xiaotun then typed out Li Ao's handwritten manuscript.

……

Peking University campus.

Chen Guiliang had just finished his makeup exam and was on his way out of the exam hall: "He actually registered an account?"

"Yes, I heard from his wife that he's even finished writing the article." Xie Yang said excitedly.

Chen Guiliang said, "After the article is uploaded, we'll promote it extensively. Alas, it's a pity that his carrier is different, so he can't use the mobile Weibo function."

"Being able to publish long articles is already good enough," Xie Yang said.

"You arrange the publicity. Oh, and send him some typical articles where netizens are criticizing him."

"Haha, you're so mean. He'll definitely be so angry he'll start yelling at someone."

Because Li Ao spoke too many positive things about the Communist Party during his speeches at Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Fudan University, frequently reciting the Selected Works of Chairman Mao, and even claiming that the current prosperous era surpasses that of the Han and Tang dynasties, and that he had abandoned liberalism, some people were unhappy.

Liberal netizens attacked him en masse, mocking him for bowing down for a pittance and saying he had already been co-opted by the mainland.

Some people even posted gossip threads, listing Li Ao's several romantic relationships and making moral criticisms of him.

About 18% of the posts and replies discussing him are negative.

Given Li Ao's temper, if ByteDance publishes a few more articles, he will definitely write an article cursing them.

Wouldn't that lead to a war of words?

A war of words can generate buzz.

Moreover, this doesn't contradict Chen Guiliang's original intentions, because Li Ao has always stood firm on matters of principle. Chen Guiliang is happy to see him engage in verbal battles with neoliberals!
It's bound to be a very exciting exchange.

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(If commas are missing, it's a bug in Qidian's anti-piracy system, not because Lao Wang is reluctant to use punctuation.)
(End of this chapter)