Chapter 248 That time in the karaoke bar, he was too soft-hearted

Ten days later.

It was July 19th, the first year of the Shangzhou era. A Saturday.

The whole family gathered together to discuss my marriage in detail. After heated discussions and brainstorming, the meeting determined the following guidelines:

Warm but not extravagant, festive but not ostentatious. The main purpose is to accompany the relatives from the countryside well, so that they come happily and leave satisfied.

At noon, we had a family dinner at my sister's restaurant. The whole family was very happy. In the afternoon, I returned to the Sunrise Restaurant because someone had an appointment with me in the evening.

As soon as I arrived at the hotel, I received a call from Baibai, telling me a shocking news: Director Shen was eliminated in the first round of competition.

I remained silent for a long time. After a while, I said calmly, "This is his business. It has nothing to do with me."

After hanging up the phone, I wondered why he was eliminated in the first round. Director of Finance is a key position. He should be a strong candidate. Could it be that the "Central" character is really going to be verified?

Sitting there, I was puzzled.

After a while, Director Shen called: "Teacher Wan, where are you?"

I said coldly, "In the hotel."

"I want to come over to your place and sit down." He said in a very urgent tone.

Seeing that he was very emotional, I said, "Okay, I'm free right now."

In about half an hour, we arrived at the destination.

I made him a cup of tea.

He said with a bitter face, "I didn't listen to you and made a fool of myself. I was eliminated in the first round and also encountered a troublesome situation.

I tossed and turned last night and couldn't sleep. There are some things that I can't even communicate with my wife. So, I had no choice but to come to you, Master, and ask for your advice.

When Shen Chu said this, he looked ashamed and fidgeted. He kept rubbing his hands together, completely losing his usual reserved demeanor.

At this time, he didn't need comfort, but advice, so I said calmly: "Tell me about the situation."

He drank a sip of tea and recounted the whole story:

"Five people from the department signed up. Three of them were eliminated in the initial round, leaving two for the second round. I thought going into the second round was like trying to find a turtle in a jar; there was no way I could get out.

The only one who made it to the re-examination was Director Pi, I didn't expect someone like Old Ding to show up."

"Who is Lao Ding?"

"Old Ding is the third most senior director, after me, Director Pi. He's usually a cheerful, friendly guy who gets along with everyone. But this time, I realized he's the most scheming.

To get into the second round of interviews, he wrote a letter to the organization, complaining about me. It included the time, place, and people involved. It was all so confusing and hard to articulate. As a result, I was eliminated in the first round.

"Tell me about your seemingly wrong question."

"Don't laugh at me. I'm not lying. I don't usually go to karaoke bars. The reason is that I have a bit of an irregular heartbeat."

"I know. I have an irregular heartbeat. I feel uncomfortable when I hear the ghostly howling sounds in the karaoke bar. I break out in cold sweats."

Director Shen nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's why I don't usually go to karaoke bars, and the people there know that. A year ago, Director Ding and I took a few people to a city below to inspect work.

Director Feng of the local municipal bureau insisted on inviting us to sing. Lao Ding spoke up for me, saying that Director Shen was not allowed to enter the karaoke bar because he would break out in cold sweats just by listening to the shouting and yelling.

Director Feng said, then let’s not sing, but select a few people with good qualities, play some light music and dance.

The other comrades who were going down to inspect the place all looked at me. Since I was leading the team, I said I wouldn't go, but no one else dared to go. Then, Director Ding whispered in my ear that the karaoke bar was owned by Director Feng's wife.

I couldn't save face, so I said, let's just dance.

When they got there, Director Feng had indeed called a few girls of good character to accompany them. They were all dressed like white-collar workers, without wearing anything revealing.

The lights were dimmed, and there was some light music playing. The room was large, and there weren't many people, so everyone was assigned a seat. If they wanted to dance, they could dance; if they wanted to chat, they could chat. It was indeed a relatively civilized reception.

The girl who was with me was about twenty years old. I couldn’t see clearly under the light, but she should be the best-looking one among them.

She danced with me for a few songs, and when the music started again, she invited me to dance again. I said let's take a break. She said okay, if you don't like dancing, I will chat with you.

Hearing this, I laughed out loud: "She will definitely praise you."

Director Shen said, "Yes, the girl said, sir, judging from your behavior, you are a gold-collar worker who respects women. You are elegant and polite to others. She said that the guests she met tonight were all people of the highest quality."

I made up some nonsense to deal with her. To avoid embarrassment, I asked her how much education she had. She said she graduated from a junior college and was not a lady in this nightclub, but a kindergarten teacher.

I just came out to sing a few songs with others because I had no other choice. I started to get curious. You have a job, so why do you say you have no other choice?

Hearing this, I waved my hand and said, "Director Shen, I'll help you tell me the rest."

He was startled and asked, "Have you heard the rumors? Do you know everything?"

"Respected Director Shen, I haven't heard a single rumor. What I want to tell you is that I've held night talks and heard countless bizarre stories, so what you've experienced is just one of many similar stories."

So I started to talk non-stop:

"The girl slowly started chatting with you, and you found that she was well-spoken and beautiful, so you felt sympathy for her and advised her not to come to places like the karaoke bar.

She also agreed with you, saying that the karaoke bar is not a good place, with all kinds of people, and it is just a place to make money quickly, and then check out after entertaining the customers.

You would advise her that people should have great ideals, and that life is not just about money, but also about self-respect, self-love, and self-improvement.

She wiped her eyes with her hands, tears streaming down her face, and said that happy people are all equally happy, while unfortunate people each suffer in their own way. Then she explained that her father was ill, her mother had remarried, and she and her younger brother, who was in high school, depended on each other for survival.

The last sentence must be: If I don't earn two salaries, my father will have no money to treat his illness, and my younger brother will drop out of school. Who would want to come to such a place? But don't worry, brother, I will definitely only accompany people to sing songs.

At that time, you had a mental struggle, thinking that this girl might have made it up, but you also thought, who would make up such a terrible story about their own family? The child got sick, the one who changed married, so you were moved and gave her some money. I don't know how much, but it was true that you spent a whole night persuading her.

Director Shen, is what I said true?"

His face flushed red and he lowered his head, not daring to look at me.

After a long moment, he raised his head and said, "Just act like you're there. I did give her a thousand yuan. I told her to get your father treated. It's my contribution. You should also find a tutor. You're not suited to this kind of place."

I said, "Can you believe these scammers? They'll make up anything: a dead father, a missing mother, a brother in jail, a brother burned to death. As long as they can get money, they'll tell you all about your relatives, dead or injured."

Director Shen sighed and said, "I'm not sad about the 1,000 yuan she cheated me out of. It's just that I'm in trouble now. Somehow, she found out about my unit and came to Shangzhou to work as a dancer. Director Ding often hangs out in karaoke bars and ran into this dancer named Xiaofang.

Perhaps Xiaofang had said I was a good person. I'm not sure what happened. Lao Ding's complaint focused on the fact that I gave Xiaofang a thousand yuan. The organization questioned me about this, and I explained the situation truthfully.

I don't know how, but I got swept away in the first round. Now I don't even have the mutton to eat, but I'm in trouble. Master, how do you think we should handle this?"

I thought about it and said, "The most worrying thing about this matter is that Director Ding has bribed Xiaofang. She wants to frame you and say you touched her, and there's nothing you can do. So, you need to stay calm. The first thing to do is to get rid of Xiaofang as soon as possible.

How can we get rid of her? Your Xiang Dehui has a plan. Let him do it. He needs to get Xiaofang out of here, a few provinces away. Once he's gone, the storm will subside temporarily. Then, you'll have hope."

"Hope? What kind of hope?"

"The hope of becoming a deputy director."

He couldn't believe it and stared at me.

I took a sip of tea and said, "I'm talking about hope, not a guarantee that you can get in. First, ask Xiang Dehui to get Xiaofang away. When the time comes, report the situation to me in a timely manner, and I will teach you what to do."

Director Chen almost knelt down and expressed his gratitude profusely.

I said, "Director, go ahead and do it. It's too early to say anything else now."

He thanked me profusely and left.

I looked at his back and thought: He is a good man, but he is too soft-hearted.