Chapter 489: Reporter Guo is shocked
The proprietress brought in a person. I raised my upper eyelids slightly to take a look, then lowered them: the person had a square head and a big face, short hair, bulging eyes, a big nose, and thick lips. He was in his forties.
I have seen his photos, and he is indeed the great reporter Guo. The only difference is that you can't tell his complexion in the photos. In real life, his forehead is red and purple.
The female boss said, "This is Teacher Wan."
I stood up and shook hands with the man. He said, "My last name is Guo. I'm a friend of the boss's wife. I run a small business."
When I heard this, I knew in my heart that he was concealing his identity. The reason he didn't ask Village Chief Zhou to bring him here was to deliberately prevent me from thinking that he was a township official or reporter.
I nodded and said, "Sit down."
He said, "I heard from the boss lady that a master has come, so I came to calculate whether there is any chance for me to make a fortune in this lifetime."
Aside from the proprietress, no one else knew the identity of Reporter Guo. Teacher Meng said, "Master Wan is the right person."
The proprietress made a cup of tea and placed it in front of reporter Guo.
I said to reporter Guo, "Please tell me your birth date."
He reported his date of birth.
I opened my mouth and said, "You are a small businessman."
The others were fine, but the proprietress was slightly startled.
I rolled my fingers and said, "You didn't graduate from high school, so you went out to make a living. You started a small business. You kept doing that for five years. Your life didn't turn around until you were twenty-four or twenty-five.
Please speak with all your conscience. If I am wrong, go back and learn from my master immediately."
The proprietress nearly fainted after hearing this. According to her normal logic, how could a reporter not even graduate from high school?
Reporter Guo blushed and turned pale, and after a while he said, "Mr. Wan is indeed a master. It is true."
The proprietress almost slid off the sofa to the floor.
I said, "I only know that you had a life-changing event when you were twenty-four or twenty-five. I can't tell you the specific circumstances. Please tell me about it yourself. Once you've explained this turning point, I'll calculate it for you."
He smiled awkwardly and said, "I really only went to high school. After graduation, I learned driving skills and followed people from the same village to Guangzhou to drive a taxi.
One day, I was picking up a passenger on the road. I dropped him off at a newspaper's Guangdong correspondent's office, and then I left. The next time, I ran into him again. We talked, and it turned out he lived not far from our migrant worker village.
He said that the driver of their unit had just resigned. Because driving for the unit did not pay well but had high requirements, they had not yet recruited a suitable person. He asked me if I would be willing to drive for their unit.
I've admired journalists since I was a kid. I thought they were prestigious. They paid less, but they gave me face. So I agreed, and eventually, I ended up at the newspaper.
Later, I learned to be a reporter, covered several major cases, and earned a college diploma. The newspaper made an exception and offered me a position.”
When reporter Guo said this, everyone was shocked. They admired me for being able to calculate such a thing.
After hearing this, I felt more confident and said, "You are a reporter. Since you are a temporary employee, you have to work very hard. In addition to doing your job as a driver, you can help the reporters with chores and learn to write some short articles."
"Yes, our Guangzhou correspondent bureau was eager to produce some influential reports, and we just happened to receive a tip about a mobile gambling gang that was gathering people to gamble.
The newspaper wanted to conduct an undercover investigation, but no one dared to go. Once their identities were exposed, they would be beaten and disabled, or even their lives would be in danger. I was a young and fearless person, so I volunteered to go undercover.
When our station manager saw me, he joked that my image also resembled a gangster, so people wouldn't suspect me, so I went..."
Everyone looked at his crew cut and square face and burst into laughter.
I said, "Your undercover investigation was successful, and you have uncovered a shocking case, and your reputation has soared."
He patted his chest with some pride and said, "To be honest, Master, no matter where I go in the future, people will be a little afraid of me. If my fellow taxi drivers get into trouble, I only need to give them a phone call."
I smiled and said, "I totally believe it. If a taxi driver gets into trouble, you just call the traffic police captain and tell them your name, and they'll let you go. How many years have you been in Shangzhou?"
"Three years."
"Oh, next, I'll give you a detailed calculation. I'll have to trouble the boss lady to move to another place."
The proprietress said, "Okay, okay, okay."
Teacher Meng stood up tactfully and said, "We can just find a place to sit. They won't change."
The proprietress said, “That’s fine.”
Teacher Meng, Mr. Fang, and Shaojie left reluctantly. I knew they wanted to hear it.
There were only two of us left in the room. I raised my eyelids again, glanced at him, and said, "There are two marriages. The first one leads to divorce, and the second one is considered a formal marriage."
He blushed. "The first time wasn't considered a divorce. We were engaged, and my wife was from my hometown. After I came to the newspaper, I didn't want to be a Chen Shimei.
Teacher Wan, I'm telling you the truth. When a person comes into contact with different people and things, their perspective changes. I don't think I have much to talk about with her. Although we were engaged, we later called it off."
"After you got married, your career went smoothly. You've always been a good person. But when you turn forty, you're bound to suffer a setback. Tell me, is that the truth?"
He nodded, then remembered to take out a cigarette, probably because he wanted to smoke, so he remembered to pass one to me. He then modestly lit the cigarette for me and then smoked it himself.
After blowing out a string of cigarettes, he said, "Teacher Wan, I'm really dissatisfied with the new leadership of the news station. Back then, I went through life and death, conducted undercover investigations on gambling and environmental protection, received all kinds of intimidation, and even received money to kill me."
Besides these achievements, I was considered a veteran of the news station. Those with more seniority than me were transferred to other news stations. When I was forty, there was a promotion available for deputy station chief, but they refused to give it to me, saying that my education level was lower than theirs.
I was so angry that I didn't want to work in Guangzhou anymore. Plus, my hometown is upstate, so I asked to be transferred back. They assigned me a position as a chief reporter here. "If there's no reward for doing this work, what's the point?"
"You think you have no hope of promotion, so you're just going to make a little extra money?"
As soon as I finished speaking, he stared at me warily.
I comforted him and said, "You don't have to look at me like that. I'm in this line of work, so why should I be polite to you? I'll say whatever I want to say. I can only be so frank because I'm considering your future life and death together."
He blushed from the base of his neck all the way down his face.
I emphasized, "With your horoscope, even someone else couldn't figure out that you have a hidden danger. I'm not disparaging ordinary fortune tellers. It's just that the real fortune tellers are blind, and they can't see your complexion."
As for me, I am well versed in both numerology and physiognomy. Combining the two, I know that you, my brother, will suffer a bloody disaster within the next two years."
He bounced back, sat back on the sofa, and asked hurriedly, "Master, is this hurdle impossible to overcome?"
Seeing his humble look, I leaned back, crossed my arms, and said, "Other people have good fortune, and their brows are bright red. But look at yourself, yours is purple. Just like any ripe fruit, when it turns red, it will fall to the ground."
He said, "Master, I am asking if there is any way to eliminate disasters."
"There's a saying that goes, 'Become a Buddha right here and now.' Don't do things you shouldn't do, don't take money you shouldn't take, don't show off where you shouldn't be. Cultivate your character. Perhaps there's hope."
He smiled awkwardly.
I said, "Why do I say this? Because you became famous early on, and everyone knows your reputation. They're all a little afraid of you. If they were afraid of you, they would give you gifts and try to get along with you. People nowadays are smart and won't give gifts directly.
For example, some units invite you to be a cultural consultant, ask you to give a cultural class to the unit's cadres, and give you a fee that exceeds the normal lecture fee. If you don't get into trouble, it's normal. But if you do, you will still be held accountable.
He took a deep breath secretly.
I said, "Brother, that's all I have to say. There's no point in saying more. Many people only realize how strong the wind and waves can be and how they can drown after swimming in the Yellow River."
After saying that, I stood up.
He was afraid that I would leave, so he hurriedly said, "Master, add me on WeChat."
After adding WeChat, I ignored him, walked out the door, and called Mr. Fang. Mr. Fang and others walked out of the other house and into the corridor.
Reporter Guo raised his hand and said, "Master, I'll contact you later."
I didn't even bother raising my hand and said to Teacher Meng, "Let's have a good chat next time."
At this time, Village Chief Zhou came out from somewhere and said a lot of words to keep me.
I said, “Next time.”
Village Chief Zhou, his wife, and Teacher Meng saw us off to the car. The village chief's wife said to me, "Teacher Wan, I don't have anything for you. I made a bowl of chicken for you to take home."
After saying that, he handed me a lunch box.
I said, "Thank you, Madam boss. I'll give you free meals after I eat them. My business will be booming."
She stood by the car door and said, "Thank you for your kind words. You must come."
The car started and everyone waved.
Shaojie and Mr. Fang asked almost at the same time: "What did they talk about in secret?"
I laughed and said, "We talked about whether the universe will explode again."
They both laughed. Mr. Fang wanted to ask more questions, but I shook my head and said:
"It's pretty much the same as what everyone else is talking about. Just stick to your job. In our line of work, how can there be so much new ideas? We just keep repeating the same old things every day: be kind to others, and encourage others to be kind."
Mr. Fang said, "That's quite the truth."
Along the way, I wondered whether this chance encounter and confrontation with Reporter Guo would be of any use. It was still unknown. I'd wait and see what the other side was up to, and then act accordingly.
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