Chapter 240 Traps are all beautiful
As the footsteps on the stairs got louder, I saw a woman coming up with a tray.
A slender middle-aged woman smiled at us. Director Shen introduced her as "Mrs. Xiang."
She put down the tray and brought out a pot of fish and a plate of stir-fried beef.
After a while, a bowl of steamed eggs, a bowl of green vegetables and a bottle of Maotai were brought.
Xiang Sanqiu came in and sat down, pouring wine while saying, "Master, this is the first time you come to my house for dinner. I won't force you to drink, so the three of us can just drink this bottle."
Shen Chu laughed and said, "You can't beat Master Wan."
Said to Sanqiu: "It's not that I can't win, but I have something important to do today."
Since there was no drinking contest, the meal was quite polite, but the table next to them was definitely drinking contestant, and there were waves of chair moving, noise, and laughter.
Xiang Sanqiu finally clarified the topic. He raised his glass to me and said, "Master, everyone says you have a sharp tongue and are very accurate in your judgment. Today, I'd like you to make a decision for Director Shen. I'll drink first."
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.
I took a sip and said, "I've heard that Shen's department is going to have a deputy director."
Director Shen said, "This is an open competition. There are five department-level officials who meet the requirements. I really don't want to get involved in this mess. But my friends think this is my last chance."
He said to Sanqiu, "Even those who are worse than you can compete. You have more experience, more talent, more knowledge, and better work performance than others. Why not give it a try? We, the brothers, are your strong backing. We have the money and the people."
After saying that, Sanqiu looked at me.
I remained calm and smiled, "Boss Xiang, I know nothing about the system. I'm just a fortune teller. If you ask me to tell you a fortune, I can only interpret its meaning based on the word."
Said to Sanqiu: "That's fine too."
Today's theme was "Ask me for advice," so drinking and eating were secondary. We finished in less than half an hour.
The hostess came up, cleared the table, and made another round of tea. The next important event, of course, was fortune-telling to determine the direction.
I winked at Sanqiu, and he left tactfully, pulling the door and locking it.
I took a sip of tea and said to Shen Chu, "Then say a word."
He dipped his finger in tea and wrote a word on the table: Yang.
I was shocked. Normally, I wouldn't ask people why they wrote this or that character. But the character Shen Chu wrote had such a poor meaning that I wanted to ask.
"Why did you choose this word?"
"Teacher Wan, you may not understand my true nature. I may appear easygoing, but I'm actually quite arrogant."
I nodded, thinking, I saw that a long time ago.
He went on to say, "Because competing for a position is about asking for favors. You're asking your superiors for favors, asking the judges for high scores, and asking your colleagues for good reviews. It's about begging others.
I didn't want to beg others for help, but my family and friends, especially four or five bosses like Xiang Dehui, kept urging me to participate. So..."
Then I realized that Xiang Sanqiu's real name was Xiang Dehui, and the people at the next table were not Xiang Sanqiu's followers, but some bosses who were on good terms with Director Shen.
That is to say, those who showed up today and those who didn't show up at that table, a total of five or six bosses, are the consortium and assistants behind Director Shen's bid for the position.
I took a cigarette from the box on the table, lit it, took a puff, and slowly exhaled a wisp of smoke. Then, I drank some tea and wrote the character "口" and then the character "人" on the table. I said:
"This word is particularly bad. You should calm down first."
Shen Chu hurriedly asked: "Why?"
The ancient Chinese character for “chief” is “殃”, which means a prisoner wearing a wooden yoke with his head in the middle, so “chief” means the middle.
Shen Chu was a little nervous. He had never thought of this word, so bad.
I said, "Have you seen the TV series Water Margin? Two officials were holding Lin Chong, and he had a wooden yoke around his neck.
To alleviate his pain, Lin Chong asked the official to open the door for him so that he could sit down and rest. Therefore, the word "yang" also has the meaning of "begging."
Shen Chu was horrified and asked, "So, I have a calamity?"
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter whether there's a calamity or not. Calamities are all man-made. Sometimes, if you don't fight, there's no calamity, but if you fight, there's a calamity. It's like what they say on the internet: if you don't do anything, you won't die."
Director Shen leaned over and asked, "It's okay if I don't participate."
"Yes." I said firmly without saying another word.
He nodded.
I said, "Besides the word 'Central', I will also help you analyze it.
He stared at me as if I were a Buddha.
I stubbed out my cigarette and said, "Let me ask you two questions first. First, are you confident you can make it to the semi-finals? Second, do you have any financial disputes with these bosses?"
Director Shen said, "Advancing to the semi-finals is absolutely no problem. I estimate that in the end it will be a competition between me and a director named Pi. As for these bosses, you can rest assured that I have never accepted any money from them.
When they settle their bills, I ask the finance department to be quick and timely to make things easier for them. Even during festivals, I still accept cigarettes and alcohol."
I nodded. "You can control yourself, but you can't control these bosses. They want to push you up so they can make more money in the future."
To achieve this goal, they don't need your arrangements. They will collect information about Director Pi from everywhere, write letters to complain, and even set up a trap to use women to lure Director Pi into their trap.
Those people in the organization are also very cunning. First, they stopped to investigate, and second, they suspected that you had instructed others to do this. Secondly, Director Pi is not a pushover. If someone reports him, he will collect evidence against you. This competition will become a farce.
"I can tell these people to hold their ground."
I laughed it off. "Like I said, you can't control them. They may deal with you on the surface, but they'll manipulate you behind the scenes."
"Why?" asked Director Shen.
I analyzed the situation for him carefully, "Because, as long as you sign up, they think you have a good chance of winning, so they'll definitely try to stop Director Pi from taking the position.
Although they are bosses, they have no ability to influence decision-making, so they can only use low-level means, such as making groundless accusations, setting traps, and sending letters of complaint to all levels.
If something like this happens, Director Pi won't be idle either; he'll definitely have people under his wing. Once both sides file a complaint, it will turn into a riot."
Shen Chu hesitated.
I said, "Listen to me. If you don't sign up, everything will be fine. But if you sign up, this group will definitely take action. As a result, you won't even be able to keep your current position."
Shen Chu hesitated for a long time, then forced a smile: "Master, what you said makes sense."
I said, "I know you still want to sign up. It's like trying to persuade someone is impossible. My master once tried to dissuade a boss from investing, saying it was a trap. The boss said something I still remember vividly."
"What did he say?"
"It's a trap. I want to try it too."
Shen Chu's face turned blue and then white.
I stood up and said, "If he tries, it'll be nothing but ten million down the drain, but he'll still have money; if you try, it'll all be over. Let's go, this is not a place to stay for long."
After leaving the house, Xiang Sanqiu called Shen aside. I don't know what they talked about.
However, when Xiang Sanqiu saw me off to the car, he was obviously not as enthusiastic as when I came. He stood on the ground, waved his hand, and turned away.
Along the way, Director Shen and I had no interest in talking. He drove and I closed my eyes to rest.
When we got to Rising Sun, he shook my hand. I said gravely, "Traps are all beautiful. Be careful. Because your 'Yang' is so bad."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
