Chapter 178 Television
After meeting up with Xiangbei and the others, Yao Xiaotao saw the big cardboard box on the back of the car. She laughed and jumped as if she had bought a TV. "I bought it! I bought it! Teacher Xiong has a TV at home~~"
Fan Yajun and Tao Nanfeng had several bags in their left hands and right hands respectively. They had bought a bunch of clothes, shoes and accessories, with happiness and satisfaction in their eyes.
Women all have a desire to shop. Spending money to buy things they like is an addictive joy. In the past, everyone was poor and supplies were distributed according to plans. How could people buy, buy, and buy as much as they can today? There are only two words to describe the mood of the three women at this moment - happy!
This happiness continued until the TV was delivered to Teacher Xiong's home.
Xiong Heping lives in a tube-shaped building allocated by Jiangcheng University of Architecture. There are four households on the first floor, which makes it a bit crowded. It was winter vacation, and the children in the family quarters were playing kicking keys and jumping rubber ropes downstairs, having a lot of fun.
Seeing a car stop, Xiong Heping and Xiangbei lifted a cardboard box from the car. The children gathered around curiously, chattering and asking questions.
"Uncle Xiong, what did you buy?"
"Stupid! Can't you read? A Gold Star black-and-white TV."
"Ahhh, it's a TV! Quick, quick, call Sister Huanhuan and Brother Lele down, they have a TV at home!"
Xiong Heping smiled as he watched the children crane their necks to look out the north window on the third floor of his home, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Sister Huanhuan - Brother Lele - come down quickly..."
The window was opened, and a little girl with pigtails showed her face. When she saw the big cardboard box on the ground, her eyes widened instantly and she grinned: "Dad! Did you really buy the TV?"
Xiong Heping's wife Nie Xiaojing teaches Chinese in a middle school. The couple has two children, a daughter Xiong Sihuan who is ten years old and a son Xiong Sile who is seven years old. Both are in primary school. The two children are doing their winter vacation homework at home, and are going to play with their friends after finishing it. When he saw that he had bought a TV for his home, he was so happy that he ran down from the house.
The children's laughter and cheers reached his ears, and Xiong Heping couldn't stop smiling. Besides teaching and doing research, why did he work so hard to help draw pictures at Nanfeng Company? Isn’t it just to make more money so that the children can live a good life? Now I have finally completed my small goal for this year. Seeing my two children laughing and shouting around the cardboard box of the TV, my heart is filled with joy.
Xiang Bei and Xiong Heping carried the TV upstairs together, and ran to buy an antenna. After it was installed and turned on the switch, after a burst of "hissing" snowflakes, the picture finally appeared.
"Got it! Got it!"
There were more than a dozen children standing in three circles inside and outside the living room of Xiong Heping's house. When they saw the scene, they all screamed. The sound was so loud that all the residents in the entire tube-shaped building could hear it, and they opened their doors and stuck their heads out.
"Mr. Xiong's family bought a TV? Oh my god, they are so rich!"
"Mr. Nie was still complaining about being poor in the first half of this year. I didn't expect that he would save enough money so quickly. Where do you think his family got these hundreds of dollars from?"
"Isn't it because Mr. Xiong is capable? In addition to working and getting paid, he also takes on private jobs outside."
"I heard that Mr. Xiong works in Tao Nanfeng's company. He must have made a lot of money, otherwise how could he afford a TV? Tsk tsk tsk tsk, it's true that a horse cannot grow fat without night grass, and a man cannot become rich without external wealth."
The children gathered around the TV excitedly, and the adults were discussing where Teacher Xiong got the money to buy the TV. For a while, Xiong Heping became the focus of Jiangcheng Architectural University.
Ouyang Cheng and Zhou Hongying were very competitive. They felt depressed when they heard that Xiong Heping, who lived in a tube-shaped building, bought a TV. The two of them saved up two hundred yuan after a whole year of living frugally, but it was still not enough to buy a TV.
Zhou Hongying couldn't help but complain to Ouyang Cheng: "You are a professor, Xiong Heping is an associate professor, and you earn more than ten yuan more than him every month. How come he can afford a TV but you can't?"
Ouyang Cheng stamped his feet and said, "When Tao Shouxin came to me, didn't you insist on not letting me go? If I could have taken some private work at Nanfeng Company, wouldn't I have earned more than that guy Xiong Heping? He is just a plumbing specialist, which is a supporting job! Structural design is the big deal."
Zhou Hongying also felt very regretful and stared at the small passbook in her hand in a daze. The last time Zhou Hongying asked Tao Nanfeng about his income, she mistakenly thought that running a company was really not profitable. But now that she sees that Xiong Heping can afford a TV, she knows that she has been fooled by Tao Nanfeng.
If starting a company doesn't make money, why could Xiong Heping take out more than 600 yuan in one go?
fraud! cunning!
The more she thought about it, the more she felt unwilling. Zhou Hongying rolled her eyes and said to Ouyang Cheng, "Does the country really allow capitalism like this now? Is there no one to stop university teachers from doing private work?"
Ouyang Cheng's eyes lit up: "Definitely not. Xiong Heping is a university teacher. University teachers should teach and educate people. How can he take private jobs outside to earn extra money? Is he worthy of the sacred profession of a people's teacher?"
Zhou Hongying snorted coldly: "Why don't you report to the secretary and ask the leader to criticize and educate him? He is so arrogant now, what if all the teachers follow his example?"
Ouyang Cheng stood up immediately: "I'll go report to Secretary Liu right away!"
On the other side, Nanfeng Company officially went on holiday and everyone left, leaving only Xiang Bei and Tao Nanfeng sorting files in the company.
They will soon be able to enjoy the Spring Festival holiday with peace of mind. Xiangbei and Tao Nanfeng were chatting and laughing, planning to take the children to the zoo for a day tomorrow.
It was freezing cold outside, but the house was warm and comfortable.
Suddenly, a woman's voice came from downstairs: "Tao Nanfeng, Tao Nanfeng..."
Tao Nanfeng leaned over to take a look, his eyes full of confusion, and turned to Xiang Bei and said, "Strange, it's Teacher Nie Xiaojing."
The two of them quickly put the drawings into the filing cabinet and walked down together.
Nie Xiaojing was not wearing a scarf and her forehead was slightly sweaty, obviously she had run here. As soon as she saw Tao Nanfeng, she said anxiously: "Xiong Heping was called away by Secretary Liu, saying that someone reported him for doing private work. I am a little worried..."
Tao Nanfeng and Xiang Bei exchanged glances. It seemed that someone was jealous.
Nie Xiaojing was very upset: "Oh! It's all because of the new TV. If I had known, I wouldn't have let Heping buy it and save the money without letting others know."
Tao Nanfeng comforted her and said, "Now the country allows people to get rich through hard work, so what's there to be afraid of? We earn money with our own hands. If we don't even dare to spend it, then what's the point of making money?"
Of course Nie Xiaojing felt that Tao Nanfeng was right, but now Xiong Heping was being interviewed by his superiors, and she was worried about what would happen.
"The school won't punish him, right? He's a serious person. Whether he's a teacher or doing research, he does it with all his heart and effort. If the leader criticizes him, I'm afraid he won't be able to bear the injustice. Um... Tao Nanfeng, can you help me take a look? Or ask Professor Tao to help mediate?"
Tao Nanfeng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I'll go to the secretary's office to see what's going on."
Xiangbei felt the same way as her, and he took out a file bag from the office on the first floor and said to Nie Xiaojing, "Don't worry, Teacher Nie. Nanfeng and I will go there together and speak for Teacher Xiong."
Nie Xiaojing finally breathed a sigh of relief and thanked you repeatedly: "Thank you for your trouble. Today is the Little New Year, and you have been busy helping us drag the TV. Now you have to run again."
Tao Nanfeng exchanged a few polite words with her, then hurried towards the school administration building with Xiangbei.
The school has already gone on winter vacation, and the administrative building is deserted. Secretary Liu's office is on the second floor and the door is open. As soon as Tao Nanfeng and Xiang Bei went upstairs, they heard Xiong Heping defending himself loudly.
"Excuse me, Secretary, which one has pink eye and came to you to complain? What's wrong with me spending my own money to buy a TV? Don't I, Xiong Heping, deserve to buy a TV even though I have a postgraduate degree and have worked diligently at Jiangcheng University of Architecture for fifteen years? Should teachers be poor all their lives?!"
Secretary Liu did not expect Xiong Heping to react so strongly, and said with a smile: "Teacher Xiong, I just received a report from a colleague that you were taking private jobs outside to earn extra money, so I asked you to come here to understand the situation. Don't get excited. Although our university teachers' income is not as good as those nouveau riche and coal bosses, our profession is sacred. It is an honor to train construction talents for the motherland, isn't it?"
In the past, as a small associate professor, if Xiong Heping was summoned for a talk by the school's top leader because someone had reported him, he would probably be so nervous that his hands would tremble. But now, perhaps because he has made money, or perhaps because he has broadened his horizons in the company, Xiong Heping is not afraid at all.
He straightened his back and looked at Secretary Liu seriously: "Secretary, times have changed. National policies allow for a market economy. Everyone is working hard to make money and find ways to improve their lives. Some time ago, the newspaper reported a melon seed seller who made one million in a year. Go out and take a look. This is no longer an era where poverty is beautiful and poverty is honorable! What's my fault? I just bought a TV so that the children can celebrate the New Year happily. Why are some people jealous? Report me?"
Secretary Liu was silent for a while. He was a little surprised by Xiong Heping's calm attitude. "Teacher Xiong, I'm not saying you can't buy a TV. What we are discussing now is that someone reported you for doing private work outside. You are a university teacher. Teaching and educating people is your job. How can you do such a thing?"
Xiong Heping spread his hands and said, "I studied water supply and drainage, and design and drawing is my major. I drew a few pictures for my friends and that's considered a private job? Our school trains talents for infrastructure construction, and don't the School of Architecture and the School of Structural Engineering often take on some horizontal projects? Why can't I practice it myself when it's my turn?"
Tao Nanfeng whispered in Xiangbei's ear: "We came here for nothing. Xiong Heping can handle Secretary Liu by himself."
The hot air exhaled from Tao Nanfeng's mouth was very warm, making Xiangbei's ears itchy. Looking north, he saw that there was no one in the corridor, so he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.
Tao Nanfeng blushed with shame and pushed him away.
Xiangbei bumped into the wall of the corridor, making some noise. A man with a dark face walked out of the secretary's office: "Who is it?"
Xiangbei coughed and stood up straight: "I'm looking for Teacher Xiong Heping."
The man glanced at him and Tao Nanfeng, understood, and said softly: "The secretary is talking to Teacher Xiong, you wait a moment."
Secretary Liu said: "Teacher Xiong, our school is full of professional and technical talents. There is no problem for them to work on horizontal projects between companies, but it is not okay for them to take jobs from other design companies to earn extra money."
Xiong Heping did not admit that he was earning extra money at Nanfeng Company. He just stared and asked loudly: "Which pink-eye patient reported me? I will never let him go!"
Secretary Liu: "Don't worry about who reported it. I'm here to remind you today..."
Xiangbei pushed the secretary aside and knocked on the office door.
"Knock, knock, knock!" Three crisp knocks on the door interrupted the conversation between Secretary Liu and Xiong Heping.
Seeing Xiangbei standing by the door, Secretary Liu said to his assistant unhappily, "Teacher Gao, what are you doing? I'm having a conversation here."
Xiangbei was not in a hurry and raised the file bag in his hand: "Hello Secretary Liu, I am Xiangbei from Nanfeng Design Company. Teacher Xiong is doing design in our company. This matter does exist, but it is not a private job, but a cooperative practice."
"Cooperative practice?" Secretary Liu asked in confusion. What is cooperative practice?
Xiangbei walked in, opened the file bag, took out an agreement and placed it in front of Secretary Liu: "Please look, this is the cooperation practice agreement signed between our company and the Hydraulic Engineering College. The Hydraulic Engineering College assigns young teachers to participate in the design task, which is both practice and cooperation. Our company accepts students for internships, bears all internship expenses of the college, and pays a certain amount of labor remuneration to the teachers participating in the project."
Secretary Liu took the cooperation practice agreement, looked at the terms carefully, and looked at Xiangbei in surprise: "Your design company is very creative. You can actually come up with such a way of cooperation."
Xiangbei smiled slightly, his attitude relaxed and firm: "Secretary, what Teacher Xiong said just now is right. Times have changed, and schools must also change their thinking. Not only should teachers be encouraged to do projects outside, but also those colleges that combine expertise with practice should be commended. It is glorious to make money by ability and to get rich by expertise. It is shameful to make random reports and to have red-eye disease. Don't you agree?"
Upon hearing this, Secretary Liu turned to look at Xiong Heping and said, "Teacher Xiong, you followed the right person..." He had heard about Professor Tao Shouxin's daughter opening a design company a long time ago. He did not expect that this company had such meticulous thinking. Not only could it make money and be willing to pay money, it also considered every participant, signed a cooperative practice agreement with the college in advance, and fully protected the reputation of the teachers.
Xiong Heping said with pride: "That's it!"
Secretary Liu smiled and waved his hand: "Okay, you can go now. Make a copy of this agreement and give it to me later. If anyone reports it again, I will show him the copy."
Xiong Heping asked again: "Secretary, which red-eye patient reported me?"
Xiangbei winked at him and said, "Who cares who he is? Anyway, we stand upright and act uprightly. We are not afraid!"
Xiong Heping was a little confused, but he was very convinced by Xiang Bei, so he waved goodbye to the secretary and left the administrative building with his head held high.
After Xiong Heping, Xiang Bei and Tao Nanfeng left together, Secretary Liu's face darkened and he said to his assistant: "Call Professor Ouyang Cheng over so I can give him a good lesson!" It was really annoying that they had to make a report on New Year's Day and dragged the secretary out of his home to work overtime.
After receiving the notice, Ouyang Cheng hurriedly ran to the administration building, and did not pay any attention to Xiang Bei and Xiong Heping who were hiding at the corner of the flower bed.
When Xiong Heping saw that it was him, he gritted his teeth and cursed, "You bastard, it turned out to be him!"
Xiong Heping wanted to jump out and scold Ouyang Cheng, but Xiang Bei persuaded him: "Hit the snake at its most vulnerable part. Scolding him in the administration building won't do enough harm. It's better to call your teacher Nie to take down his lair together."
Ouyang Cheng's family members are all very concerned about their reputation. Only by scolding him at the door of his house and letting all the neighbors know that he is a petty person can they deal with him once and for all.
Xiong Heping thought this made sense and gave Xiangbei a thumbs up: "Xiangbei, you have a strong fighting spirit!"
Xiangbei said modestly: "I learned this on the farm."
Tao Nanfeng felt both angry and amused when he heard this: "Are you afraid that the situation isn't big enough, so you join in the fun!"
Xiangbei shook his head: "Nanfeng, you are kind-hearted and don't understand the mentality of such a mean person. If you let him keep having a fluke mentality, he will always be like a snake hiding in the dark, jumping out from time to time to bite you, and you can't guard against it. Only by forcing him into a corner with nowhere to escape can he be honest."
Before Tao Nanfeng could say anything, Xiong Heping had already expressed his opinion: "Xiang Bei is right! We must fight to the end against villains like Ouyang Cheng. Otherwise, if we are watched by such a person every day, what if he catches us and reports us again? We are so busy every day, how can we have the time and energy to guard against him every day?"
Tao Nanfeng smiled and said, "Okay, okay, you are right. When facing bad guys, we must fight to the end."
After the three of them had discussed it, Xiong Heping returned home and told Nie Xiaojing about it. Nie Xiaojing was also furious. The couple packed up and went to the professor's building to wait at the door of Ouyang Cheng's house, ready to have a big fight.
Tao Shouxin lived across from Ouyang Cheng. He was watching TV with his children in the house. He heard some noise at the iron gate and came out. He saw Tao Nanfeng and Xiangbei and asked, "Have you finished sorting the files?"
Tao Nanfeng laughed and hugged his father's arm: "Dad, go into the house and tie a scarf. Don't get cold. There will be something exciting to watch soon."
Tao Shouxin asked curiously, "What's the excitement?"
Tao Nanfeng whispered the whole story in his father's ear. Tao Shouxin opened his mouth wide. He couldn't imagine that Ouyang Cheng would report Xiong Heping. "We have been neighbors for such a long time. I used to cooperate with Ouyang. Although he is a little mean, he is also a modest gentleman. How could he do such a mean thing?"
Xiangbei said, "It's just jealousy. In the past, everyone was poor and no one envied anyone. Now that the market economy has arrived, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened, and jealousy is inevitable. Professor Ouyang probably felt uncomfortable after seeing Xiong Heping's family buy a TV, so he wanted to report it to disgust them, but he didn't expect us to find him out."
Tao Shouxin sighed and said helplessly: "We are all colleagues, why should we go to the leader to report? If Xiangbei had not arranged a way out in advance, if the charges were proven, he would be reported at the least and fired at the worst. Wouldn't this ruin Xiong Heping's future? This Ouyang deserves to be scolded!"
As I was sighing, I heard a scolding voice outside the door.
After being criticized and educated by the secretary, Ouyang Cheng returned home in disgrace. As soon as he walked to the door, he saw Xiong Heping staring at him. He took two steps back in fear and asked guiltily, "What are you doing?"
Xiong Heping sneered: "What am I going to do? Don't you know what I'm going to do? You have the nerve to report me behind my back, but don't have the nerve to confront me face to face?"
Ouyang Cheng refused to admit it: "What do you mean by reporting or not reporting? I don't know what you are talking about!"
Xiong Heping crossed his hands on his waist and raised his voice: "Professor Ouyang, stop hesitating and dodging. It was you who reported me for taking private jobs to earn extra money!"
The noise was so loud that everyone in the building was alarmed. As soon as they saw it was a quarrel, the fire of gossip burned fiercely. Even the cold wind of December did not seem cold anymore. They all came out of their houses and gathered at the door of the small red building.
"What's going on? Teacher Xiong, have you been reported?"
"Who is the shameless person who secretly reported a colleague? He just bought a TV. Isn't it time to buy something big during the Chinese New Year?"
"Today is the Little New Year. It's so disgusting to do such a disgusting thing. It's immoral."
How could Ouyang Cheng keep his face clear after hearing everyone's discussions? His face turned red and white for a while, and he finally uttered a sentence: "It's not me, I didn't..."
Zhou Hongying rushed out of the house, gritting her teeth and scolding Xiong Heping: "Xiong Heping, do you know how to respect the elderly and love the young? Why did you come to my house to make a fuss during the New Year? Who reported you? You just have a few dollars in your pocket, and you can't help but show off. You brag about it everywhere. You deserve to be reported!"
Nie Xiaojing responded to Zhou Hongying's words slowly and calmly: "You don't have to deny it. I know it was you who reported it. You two are a bunch of snakes and rats. You did such a thing of stabbing someone in the back. It's simply a disgrace to society! Let me tell you, the secretary has already talked to my teacher Xiong. We earn clean money through our own sweat. There is no problem in getting rich through hard work! If you have the ability, go make money yourself. If you have the ability, go buy a TV. Why are you jealous of others? You have no ability, but you want to frame others. How shameless!"
This time, everyone understood.
"Professor Ouyang, you are about to retire. How can you make a random report just because you are jealous of someone buying a TV? You will lose your integrity in your later years!"
"Yes, Ouyang, you secretly reported it, but the secretary said that Xiong Heping had no problem. What does this mean? This means that Ouyang was slandering him."
"This is no longer the era of reporting and writing big-character posters at every turn. If you want to make money, go out and make it yourself. Why are you jealous of young people? Oh! This is outrageous."
Zhou Hongying wanted to argue a few more times, but she didn't expect that when the door opened, her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter all came out. Her granddaughter Niuniu asked innocently, "Grandma, what is the meaning of snakes and rats living in the same nest?"
How could Zhou Hongying dare to answer? She never imagined that just because she was angry and urged her husband to report Xiong Heping, she would lead to such a disaster. I just said a few bad things behind my back, why are you so persistent? She used to do this kind of thing often at work. At most, when the truth was revealed, she would be given a few warnings in private and never mentioned it again. Why did she come to my house to scold me?
Today, our family gathered together to have dinner, and I embarrassed myself in front of the kids.
Ouyang Cheng's lips trembled, and he felt a blackness in front of his eyes, as if countless little stars were flying. Although the world is big, there is no place for him. A lifetime of fame, ruined in an instant!
He tried hard to hold on to the last bit of clarity, struggled to walk to the door of his house, pushed all his family members into the house, turned around and closed the door, then collapsed to the ground.
It’s over, it’s over. My reputation for the rest of my life is over just like that…
You should never, ever be jealous of others buying a TV!
The author has something to say:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
