Chapter 399 Wheat Field (Please subscribe and vote)
The day after meeting Zhang Yunqi, Gao Shan was taken away.

The reason why Gao Shan was taken away was that there was a secret agreement between him and Zhao Shiming, the former chairman of Sennheiser Group, in the asset restructuring plan of Jiangchuan Electronics and Electrical Industry, involving huge conflicts of interest that affected multiple systems in Jiangchuan City. In addition, Gao Shan was responsible for the fire at Red Star Electronics that destroyed the homes of countless employees.

Wang Jinshan was also taken away.

Compared to Gao Shan, Wang Jinshan's crime was so minor that it wasn't even worth an article in the newspapers. But if murder was not illegal, Zhang Yunqi would have already chopped the bastard into pieces.

Like Chunlan, Wang Jinshan was also at the Fulisen Hotel.

The Fulaisen Hotel is an asset of the Phoenix Group. It is adjacent to the Chunjiang River and Yuxian Street, and has an excellent geographical location. It is the largest and most luxurious hotel in Jiangchuan City. It was rated five stars in that era when no one knew what air conditioning was. The entire building was equipped with central air conditioning, and it had a European architectural style with a milky white exterior, and was nicknamed the "Jiangchuan White House."

Of course, soon the owner of this "Jiangchuan White House" will change his surname to Zhang.

With the collapse of Gao Shan and his Phoenix Group, the financial institutions that lent the Gao family a large amount of development loans seized the Gao family's industrial assets. They needed to realize the assets as quickly as possible to avoid bad debts as much as possible. Zhang Yunqi, who was in a honeymoon period of deep cooperation with major banks, was naturally their core channel for recovering the loans. At present, the only person in Jiangchuan who had the ability and strong background to swallow up the Phoenix Group was Zhang Yunqi.

The tripartite industry transfer agreement between Zhang Yunqi, the bank and Gao Shan is being drafted. Although some things cannot be discussed openly, a sale at a discount is certain, and Zhang Yunqi has to pick and choose and get the ones that interest him.

He was very interested in the Fulaisen Hotel and had even thought of a new name for the hotel: Jiangchuan Yunbo International Hotel. In the 1990s, the word "international" in the name made the hotel look high-end and classy.

In the Fulisen Hotel, when Zhang Yunqi saw Wang Jinshan, it was not known whether it was to vent Zhang Yunqi's anger, but this guy had been tortured beyond recognition by the people at the foot of the mountain. In a private room with garbage all over the floor, he was lying on the messy carpet groaning, his nose and face were swollen, one of his legs seemed to be broken, one of his fingers was chopped off, and there were patches of clotted blood on his clothes.

Zhang Yunqi squatted in front of him and asked a question that he had never understood: "Why do you do this? You should know how Chunlan treated you."

Wang Jinshan raised his head with difficulty to look at Zhang Yunqi. His bloodstained face had a complicated expression. Then he lowered his head dejectedly: "No, there is no reason. I am sorry for Chunlan. Come on, torture me however you want."

After a pause, Wang Jinshan hugged his legs and turned over with difficulty. He leaned against the bed frame and said with a breath: "Just think of it as the farmer and the snake. If there is a next life, I can be her slave. This life, that's it. There is no turning back. If you want me to tell you why, haha... I don't know, I really don't know. I was forced to step by step to this point. I just regret one thing."

"what's up?"

"I regret coming to the city to study." Wang Jinshan shook his head vigorously, then laughed decadently, his scarlet eyes no longer had any life in them: "This is fate, you know, my family is very poor, and I don't know anything. Now I think about it, I really regret it. With a family background like mine, it's still suitable for me to work on the crops in the muddy fields and be a frog in the well deep in the mountains for the rest of my life. But I didn't understand, and I still don't understand now, why everyone wants me to study hard? Why did I find that this colorful world is different from the one in the books after I really studied hard and walked out of the mountains? Am I not working hard enough? I have tried very hard, really tried very hard. But what's the use of working hard?"

At this point, Wang Jinshan raised his head with difficulty and looked at Zhang Yunqi, his voice hoarse: "Have you studied as hard as I did? I remember Chunlan told me before that your family was poorer than mine, and you seemed to be the top scorer in our high school entrance examination, better than me, but have you studied hard after coming to the No. 1 Middle School? You didn't, and your current situation has nothing to do with studying. You are just smart and knowledgeable. You made a lot of money doing business outside and became a superior person, but when you first came to the No. 1 Middle School, you must have experienced what I felt, that is, the inferiority, sensitivity, embarrassment, and pain brought by poverty, and on the other hand, you are always facing all kinds of temptations in the big city, temptations that you have never seen before, that is, living a split and desperate life. I feel that no matter how hard I try, I can't catch up with those classmates around me who have good family conditions. They obviously eat, drink and have fun every day, but I can't! I am not qualified. I study hard but I can't even afford to eat. If I take a wrong step, my life will be ruined, and I have no way to turn back!"

At this point, Wang Jinshan looked up at Zhang Yunqi and said weakly: "Can I ask you to give me a cigarette?"

Zhang Yunqi took out a cigarette and handed it to Wang Jinshan.

Wang Jinshan took the cigarette with shaking hands. After Zhang Yunqi lit it for him, he took two deep puffs. He seemed to have never smoked before and his tears were streaming down his face. "I remember what you said to me when I first came to No. 1 Middle School. You said that many people have experienced what I have experienced, including you. It is not my problem. As for Chunlan, my fault cannot be compensated even if I sacrifice my life. As for the others, I don't think it is my problem either."

"So what's wrong with this world? I don't understand. Sometimes when I see TV praising those stories of 'firewood carriers freezing to death in the snow' every day, I am even more confused. Those hard-working and struggling people end up with a miserable end. Does this conform to our traditional virtues? What is there to praise? Why don't they tell us where the 'firewood' should go and when it should be used? I just feel that this world is very divided. The more I understand, the stronger this feeling becomes. Perhaps, at this moment, some people are singing and dancing towards the 'firewood', while some people are falling into hell on a snowy night!"

At this point, Wang Jinshan threw away his cigarette butt, with a miserable smile on his face: "I have said everything I want to say, torture me however you want."

Zhang Yunqi nodded and said, "Stand up and go see Chunlan like a man."

Wang Jinshan's body trembled, and he said in a hoarse voice: "I don't want to see her." "Do you think you are still qualified to bargain now?" Zhang Yunqi stood up and waved, and the two security guards behind him directly dragged Wang Jinshan out.

In fact, Zhang Yunqi didn't want Wang Jinshan to meet Chunlan, but after he came here and saw Chunlan, Chunlan didn't cry like a child. She just said that she wanted to see Wang Jinshan. She insisted on seeing the person who might have left the most profound memories in her not-so-long life so far.

Perhaps, some grudges and some shadows can only be resolved by the people who experienced them themselves.

Zhang Yunqi had Wang Jinshan carried into the luxurious suite on the top floor of the Fulisen Hotel. Chunlan had lived here for a long time.

Zhang Yunqi didn't go in.

He was smoking outside in the corridor.

Wang Jinshan's words still touched him a lot. It's not a reflection or anything like that. How should I put it? A long time ago, he felt that Wang Jinshan was quite like himself in his previous life. He was a rural kid, from a poor family, with good grades. He came to the big city to study with the expectations of his family. Facing the huge gap between reality and ideals, it is easy to live a very torn life. There are many people like Wang Jinshan in this world, but Wang Jinshan went to extremes and headed for a road of no return.

I don't know how much time has passed. Zhang Yunqi has smoked two cigarettes while thinking, and Chunlan finally came out. She looked pretty good and said, "Brother, let's go."

Zhang Yunqi stared at his sister for a while and nodded.

After leaving the Fulaisen Hotel, Zhang Yunqi drove Chunlan directly home.

Chunlan looked out of the car window with a calm expression and said nothing. She stared blankly at the camphor trees retreating one by one in the hazy spring rain, just like the ruthless light and shadow, as if they would never go back.

Zhang Yunqi stepped on the brakes and suddenly said, "We're almost home, do you want to cry?"

Chunlan was stunned: "Ah?"

Zhang Yunqi smiled and said, "I know this incident will cause you great psychological harm, so tell me more about your thoughts and grievances. If you want to cry, just cry out loud. You must remember that you don't need to pretend to be strong in front of me in the future. I am your brother, and I will protect you from the wind and rain at any time."

The spring rain stopped again at this time.

At the end of the road, there is a rainbow.

When the Mercedes-Benz passed the gate of Jiangchuan No. 1 Middle School, the bell for the end of get out of class rang and students filed out. Some of them were drinking and preparing to go to the game hall to waste their youth, while others were eating steamed buns and rushing to the classroom to study late into the night. Chunlan, who was in the car, was already in tears.

It was late spring of 1995.

As the grand historical process of China's reform and opening up progressed to this day in 1995, there were already countless Wang Jinshans and countless Zhang Chunlans who, in the huge wave of torrents that submerged individuals, were swept forward by the wheel of history, unable to leave the wheat fields, unable to return to their homes, and could only struggle in the middle ground between the confusion of reality and the distant ideal.

For those poor students who study late into the night in the bitter snow of winter and the late spring, the sound of the wind blowing the wheat waves has become distant, and the promise of "I will come to see you when the wheat is golden" has become blurred. In the ruthless roar of the times, we are all half-understanding, but the responsibilities of a lifetime will not wait until you are mature before appearing in the field full of fruits.

******
(End of this chapter)