In November, I finished reading four books.
"Skywalker," a book about rural teachers after the founding of New China, was already present during the time when rural teacher Tao Xingzhi was in charge, or even earlier in private schools. Zhang Yingcai, Xia Xue, and Luo Yu (Principal Shi, who is skilled at playing the flute, but I forgot his name) revolve around the story of becoming permanent staff. The trio didn't want anyone to become permanent first; they wanted to do it together. Initially, each wanted to be first, but various connections prioritized others. They began to feel uncomfortable about it, but gradually realized that everyone had their own difficulties. In the end, they fulfilled the wish of Principal Shi's wife, who had been bedridden for many years. After she signed the permanent staff document, she passed away. Their hope for collective permanency was realized, but they found there was a threshold of around ten thousand to be paid upfront. Only Youmi had it, so he became permanent first. However, he couldn't bear to see his two friends unable to become permanent. Xia Xue and Luo Yu, who came here to teach, later passed away. His parents donated 100,000 to build a new classroom. Youmi misappropriated 20,000 public funds to help the two private teachers become permanent, but it was eventually discovered, and they all failed to become permanent. Youmi was refunded and banned from becoming permanent. The flutist ran for village chief, but because he had an improper relationship with the bedridden man's wife, he was exposed by the village chief. The bedridden man strangled his wife to death and then committed suicide. The flutist directly assaulted the village chief, who was in the midst of the election, and then registered to run and was elected. The old principal found a new wife; Zhang Yingcai's brother-in-law's lover was also the old principal's wife. After watching, I felt that interpersonal relationships are indeed complex. Finding true love is not easy. Power and money relationships all have an impact. As mentioned in the book, they were all poisoned by Jieling Primary School.
Jia Pingwa's "Restlessness" tells the story of how Jin Gou saved the Tian family, and this person later became a secretary. Jin Gou served in the military, then became a head of shipping, and later a reporter for a newspaper in the town or city. The Tian family was a large landlord and later established a stronghold, thriving during the revolution by choosing the right side. The Gong family was similar; although they didn't seem to contribute much during the revolution, they built good relationships and directly became the town mayor, one or two levels higher than the Tian family. Yingying from the Tian family used her beauty to have a relationship with Jin Gou and even got engaged. The girl he liked, Xiaoshui, learned about the engagement and married Fuyun. Fuyun went into the mountains to hunt a bear when an old general, who was famous here, visited. He brought back bear paws for the leaders but didn't know how to use a gun, so he was tasked with moving things. Unfortunately, he was discovered by the bear, which attacked him, and he died. Xiaoshui gave birth to Fuyun's child. Lei Dakong was a good friend of Jin Gou. Originally involved in a scam with rat poison, he always wanted to get rich. During a stint in prison, he met an intelligent cellmate who helped him understand how to make big money. After being released, he borrowed small amounts of money to bribe for loans, hundreds of dollars, and this cycle continued until he borrowed 78,000. He set up a shell company to buy steel without any stock, discovered that there was a lot of steel in the town's warehouse, bribed the gatekeeper to let the buyer see the goods, took a deposit, signed a contract, and deliberately manipulated things so that if the goods didn't arrive, he would compensate 30%, and if the payment didn't arrive, he would compensate 20%. He easily made tens of thousands of dollars, while at that time, a person's monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan. Lei Dakong bribed everywhere and kept accounts, knowing that he had a bad day coming. Who knew that his big mouth in prison would involve too many high-ranking officials? He was directly assassinated by the son-in-law of the Gong family. Jin Gou also went to prison because he had sponsored an association with 10,000 yuan, suspected of bribery. Jin Gou asked Xiaoshui to find her lover, Shi Hua (who was married). Shi Hua found a way, took sleeping pills, and surrendered to the general's godson, whom she had admired before. Then a provincial investigation intervened, rescued Jin Gou, and obtained records of the bribery, bringing down the Tian family, while the Gong family seemed to have been demoted. Later, Jin Gou bought a motorboat or a cruise ship and married Xiaoshui. The role of journalists is not small; the role of the media is also significant and profound. There is also psychology, and there is the same kind of confusion as in the present moment. What I recorded is just the general story. I haven't written down my thoughts yet.
I will first write about two books. This is just one line of thought. It helps recall the details of the story, just like some mind maps that don't feel much when viewed directly; only those who have experienced it know what details there are. It's like watching a few minutes of a movie commentary series; I understand the general story, but I don't know many details.