Chapter 871 The Dead Are Greatest

The sudden bad news ruined everyone's good mood today, but after a brief period of sadness, everyone tacitly turned the page.

The youngest person present was over 30 years old, and the oldest, Shi Tiesheng, was 46 years old. Their understanding of life and death had long since transitioned from being difficult to face to having to face it.

As the glasses clinked together, everyone seemed to be a dozen years younger, full of energy and enthusiasm, ready to take on new challenges.

The dishes were served but there were not three rounds of wine. Everyone drank tea instead of wine and the lively atmosphere gradually died down.

Cheng Ximi took a blanket and covered Shi Tiesheng's legs. He had been sitting in a wheelchair all year round and often felt his legs were cold.

Yu Hua, who was washing dishes, complained that today's Four-Happiness Meatballs were not tasty. The Four-Happiness Meatballs were made by Mo Yan, who was usually quiet in public, but always broke down because of Yu Hua.

"My cooking skills are not good, but they are better than those of some people who have ruined barbecue restaurants."

Honest people usually don't curse others, but once they do, they are always merciless, and Mo Yan cursed two people at once.

Yu Hua and Qu Xiaowei were furious. “The reason why the barbecue restaurant went bankrupt was because some people went there to eat but only wrote IOUs and never paid the bill, which caused them to spend more than they earned.”

People always find various reasons for their failures, but they never look for the reasons within themselves.

Lin Weimin asked curiously, "Your barbecue restaurant went bankrupt? When did it happen?"

Apart from visiting it once when it opened, Lin Weimin never cared about the barbecue restaurant jointly opened by Yu Hua and Qu Xiaowei. In his opinion, such a restaurant would close sooner or later.

Yu Hua nodded awkwardly and said, "I've been locked up for three months."

"It took so long to drive. It's not easy. It's not easy."

Lin Weimin's praise made Yu Hua and Qu Xiaowei's faces turn purple. This praise made them feel more uncomfortable than scolding them.

Everyone laughed and the air was filled with a happy atmosphere.

When no one was paying attention, Lin Weimin pulled Cheng Ximi aside and asked, "Dialysis is not cheap. Your savings won't last long, right?"

Cheng Ximi looked embarrassed and said, "It should be no problem to survive this year. The Cultural Association said that it will be reimbursed in the future."

Shi Tiesheng was the deputy head of Yenching Literature and his health condition was very special, so it was reasonable for the Writers Association to reimburse his medical expenses.

"The Cultural Association doesn't have sufficient funds. If we really give the money to Tiesheng, it means that he alone will take up a large part of the funds of the Cultural Association. People may not say anything on the surface, but they will have objections behind the scenes. Let me do this. You can tell Tiesheng that it was the Cultural Association that paid for it."

Cheng Ximi wanted to say something to refuse, but she felt hypocritical and pretentious. When the words came to her lips, they finally turned into: "Weimin, thank you."

"We have been friends for so many years, it's awkward to say these things."

After the two finished talking, they returned to the house, where everyone was still chatting happily.

Xiao Doubao was leaning against Shi Tiesheng's wheelchair. She asked, "Uncle, what is uremia? Is there poison in urine?"

Everyone burst into laughter, and Tao Huimin angrily reprimanded: "Girls, you can say anything."

Shi Tiesheng was also amused by Xiao Doubao's innocent question. He said, "It's not that the urine is poisonous. It's that uncle's kidneys are sick, and the disease is quite serious."

"Oh." Xiaodoubao nodded and asked, "Is it more serious than a cold?"

Shi Tiesheng thought for a moment and said, "That's not the case. It's more like the same thing. Both of them are incurable."

Xiao Doubao was puzzled, "Is my cold cured by taking medicine?"

"Actually, you can get better without taking medicine, and you can get better faster if you do."

"Oh, so that's it!" Xiao Doubao thought about it and showed an innocent and bright smile on his face, "Then uncle, you should take some medicine and get better soon."

Shi Tiesheng touched her head and said, "Okay!"

After leaving Shi Tiesheng's home, everyone did not disperse, but stopped at the same time and stood downstairs to discuss Shi Tiesheng's medical expenses.

Everyone knows that dialysis is a treatment method that neither cures the symptoms nor the root cause, it is just a maintenance measure.

Each visit cost several hundred yuan, which was more than many working-class people earned in a month in 1997. Shi Tiesheng went there once a week, which meant tens of thousands of yuan a year.

As the condition worsens, the frequency of dialysis will increase, possibly to twice or three times a week, and the cost of treatment will increase exponentially.

Shi Tiesheng and his wife had some savings, but with such high expenses, they could only last through the first year, and might not last through the second year.

Tiesheng is a strong-willed person and never takes the initiative to talk about these issues, but everyone doesn't want the couple to bear such a heavy burden.

Everyone chatted for a while, and the idea was that each family would contribute a little to solve Shi Tiesheng's medical expenses. Everyone was well off, and it wasn't a big pressure for so many people to share Shi Tiesheng's medical expenses.

"Okay, let me do this." Lin Weimin said without questioning.

No one spoke first when they heard this, but Qu Xiaowei clapped his hands and said, "I've been waiting for you to say this!"

Lin Weimin laughed and scolded: "Others can choose not to contribute, but you have to contribute, you idiot!"

"How can I be as bad as you? You pay the lion's share, and I pay the smaller share."

"OK."

"Then it's settled."

The two of them decided on this matter while joking, and everyone started chatting and laughing in a relaxed manner.

The short National Day holiday was over, and just a few days after returning to work, "The Collected Works of Wang Xiaobo" was released for sale. It was exactly half a year since Wang Xiaobo's accidental death.

Wang Xiaobo's death was very sudden, catching not only his family but also his readers off guard.

He was not involved in social circles during his lifetime, and he did not have many friends in the literary world. The preface to Wang Xiaobo's Collected Works was written by Lin Weimin. The critics were not very interested in Wang Xiaobo's works, and those who did comment on him were basically mixed, always harping on the QS description.

Before Wang Xiaobo passed away, he was not very famous and did not have a large readership. However, in the six months since his death, many critics have begun to miss him and their evaluation of him has become much higher than before.

We Chinese people always believe that the dead are the greatest, but we are too harsh on the living.

When the "Collected Works of Wang Xiaobo" was released, Guowen Publishing House planned a seminar on his works during his lifetime. The critics present all spoke highly of Wang Xiaobo's works.

The gradual reversal of word of mouth made "The Collected Works of Wang Xiaobo" warmly welcomed by readers as soon as it was released. The intensity of this popularity was much greater than when he was alive.

In just half a month, more than 5,000 copies of "The Collected Works of Wang Xiaobo" were sold. This number may seem insignificant, but compared with Wang Xiaobo's previous fame, it can be said to be a huge leap.

Unfortunately, Wang Xiaobo will never be able to see all this again.

Frost was just a few days away when Lin Weimin received a call. He was assigned to be a member of the State Council's intellectual property inspection team and would go to the United States for inspection in two days.

Lin Weimin complained into the phone: "This is not a discussion, it's clearly a notification!"

The young man on the other end of the phone was a little embarrassed. "Teacher Lin, our intellectual property investigation group is still very meaningful. Isn't your company currently developing intellectual property? We can take this opportunity to go to the United States for a field investigation. Maybe it can have some positive impact on our future work."

Complaints aside, Lin Weimin would not make things difficult for the young man who was responsible for informing him. "Got it. I'll coordinate the time."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

Not long after hanging up the phone, Lin Weimin received another call.

"Lin Weimin, I heard that you are going to the United States too?" Jin Ying asked excitedly on the other end of the phone.

"As expected of you, Chief Jin, you are well-informed. So, are you going to the United States this time?"

"Yes, I will be in Yanjing in two days. Remember to treat me to a meal."

As if she was here to get a free meal, Jin Ying really came to get a free meal.

The day before the inspection team set off, Jin Ying arrived in Yanjing and went to Lin Weimin's house in the evening to have a meal.

As soon as he saw the delicate little girl, he picked her up and said, "Call me auntie!"

"Hello, Auntie!"

“So good!”

Jin Ying handed the gift she had prepared in advance to Xiao Doubao, and she said sweetly, "Thank you, Auntie."

"Oh, your little girl is so lovable. Unlike our boy, who is so annoying."

Jin Ying has a very outgoing personality and she was not at all shy when she entered Lin Weimin's house.

During the meal, Jin Ying talked about his visit to see Jadashan in December last year.

Jia Dashan was a classmate of Jin Ying and Lin Weimin at the Institute of Literature. He was much older than the two of them. He was diagnosed with cancer the year before last and passed away at the beginning of this year.

"Lao Jiao and Brother Dashan left one after the other, no more than a week apart. So, three of our classmates have left," Jin Ying said with emotion.

Jia Dashan passed away on February 20 this year, and Jiao Yundian, who once lived in the same dormitory with Lin Weimin, passed away on February 14 this year. Jiao Yundian also suffered from cancer.

They had been out of touch over the years, and Lin Weimin only learned about the two's deaths after the fact. He sent a condolence message and a wreath to comfort the deceased.

"You are so young, you don't have to worry." Lin Weimin comforted in a relaxed tone.

"Yes, according to your theory, you are the one we least need to worry about in our class."

"So, it's good to be young!" Lin Weimin sighed in a serious tone.

Jin Ying couldn't help laughing out loud, "Aren't you afraid that they will come to you in your dreams tonight?"

"It's good to dream and reminisce about the past. I sometimes miss those days too."

Lin Weimin's words made Jin Ying sigh again.

The two chatted until late at night, and Jin Ying stayed in the guest room of her home.

The next morning, the two men joined the main force.

The leader of this intellectual property inspection team is an old minister. There are also several provincial B-level comrades in the team. Looking at the whole team, it is full of old comrades who are fifty years old and above. Lin Weimin and Jin Ying are among them, like two little vegetables.

Fortunately, there are a few young people in the group who are responsible for doing odd jobs, and the two of them are considered the backbone of the group.

(End of this chapter)