Chapter 103: Ms. Chu's Invitation
Lan Jieying reached out and took the novel that Xu Xiaoming had put down, and quickly flipped through it. Unfortunately, her education level was not high, and she couldn't continue reading after just a few glances.
Seeing this, Liu Hongmin could not help but shake his head helplessly. Lan Jieying's biggest shortcoming was not that he was uneducated, but that he was unwilling to learn.
After becoming famous, she had many opportunities to learn, but she did not cherish them.
Lan Jieying didn't know what Liu Hongmin was thinking, so she put the novel down and said, "I really don't understand how you intellectuals can make money by writing."
Xu Xiaoming looked at the two of them and shook his head slightly, obviously not optimistic about their future. The two of them were completely not at the same cultural level, and they were in different places, so it would be difficult for them to last long.
The next day, Xu Xiaoming flew back to Hong Kong with the crew.
Liu Hongmin confirmed that "The Devotion of Suspect X" was good and made the final revisions.
As graduation approaches, students are concerned about which unit they will be assigned to. Only Liu Hongmin is not in a hurry, as he has already lost the chance of being assigned to a unit.
However, he didn't expect that Professor Tao would actually call him.
"Professor, is there something wrong with the paper?"
Professor Tao: "No, it was your wife who asked you to come to our house for dinner."
"Master's wife?" Liu Hongmin was stunned. He had seen Ms. Chu before and was said to work in the cultural department.
"What do you want to see me for, Master's wife?"
"It's about your work."
"Work?" Liu Hongmin was stunned. Do I still have a chance to get a job?
In the evening, Liu Hongmin came to the door with two bottles of wine.
Ms. Chu opened the door and pointed at him when she saw the wine. "You've spoiled the old man's taste."
Liu Hongmin immediately smiled and said, "This is a good thing! Madam, the professor has become more picky about food, so he drinks less."
"You are the only one with too many crooked ideas!"
Ms. Chu laughed and scolded, then let him in.
After entering the door, Liu Hongmin and Professor Tao exchanged glances and Professor Tao gave a thumbs up.
"Stop gesturing and come and eat." Ms. Chu went to the kitchen to serve the dishes and warned, "You can only drink one glass."
"One cup! One cup!"
Professor Tao quickly agreed, signaled Liu Hongmin to open the wine, and then followed him into the kitchen.
Liu Hongmin poured the wine, and Professor Tao and Ms. Chu brought the dishes.
"Have a seat!" Professor Tao said enthusiastically, "Have a sip first."
Liu Hongmin quickly raised his glass and took a sip with Professor Tao.
Ms. Chu glanced at Professor Tao and said, "Eat a few more bites of food. I have something else to do with Hong Min!"
Liu Hongmin immediately asked, "Master's wife, I heard from the professor that you came to me for my work?"
"That's right!" Ms. Chu said, "You should know that I work in the cultural department. The international situation has been very good recently. Xiyuan has decided to conduct cultural exchanges with many countries, so our company wants to recruit some graduates with such experience. It just so happens that you are very familiar with Hong Kong, so I want you to work in our company." Liu Hongmin: "I opened a company in Hong Kong, I'm afraid I can't join your company, right?"
Ms. Chu nodded. "It's true that you can't enter the unit, but we don't plan to let you in, right?"
"Hmm?" Liu Hongmin was stunned for a moment, "Master's wife, what does this mean?"
Ms. Chu smiled and said, "Our unit has already filled up its recruitment quota this year, and I don't have a quota for you. What I mean is that I want you to be listed in our unit without taking up a quota for regular employees."
"Just... a temporary worker?"
Liu Hongmin blinked his eyes. Is this thing available now?
Ms. Chu thought for a moment and said, "Almost. This position is indeed temporary."
Professor Tao couldn't stand it any longer. "What's your company thinking? You want people to work, but you don't even give them a formal position."
Ms. Chu glared at him, "Don't interrupt!"
She looked at Liu Hongmin and said, "It's like this. There is an exchange activity going on right now, and we have temporarily invited some people who have exchanges with foreign countries to act as consultants."
Liu Hongmin suddenly realized that being a consultant would be fine. However, "Master's wife, isn't it inappropriate for me to be a consultant?"
Ms. Chu smiled and said, "Are you being modest now? Why weren't you more modest when you went to Hong Kong to open a film company?"
"Don't worry! The other consultants don't know Hong Kong as well as you do. They just have some reputation in various fields, so we have to invite them to act as a front. Therefore, among these consultants, only young people like you are the ones who can do the work."
"Since my master's wife has said so, of course I have no problem with it."
Upon hearing this, Ms. Chu immediately said, "It's not like you're helping me for nothing. If you perform well this time, you might have a chance to work in the department."
Professor Tao said disdainfully, "Come on! This kid can easily earn as much as you guys earn in your lifetime just by writing a single novel."
Ms. Chu glanced at him and said, "Besides money, can't Hongmin have some other pursuits?"
Professor Tao wanted to continue talking, but Liu Hongmin quickly said, "Master's wife is right. We should always have something to pursue in life."
Hearing this, Ms. Chu said to Professor Tao with a proud look on her face, as if she had won a battle: "Do you think everyone is like you, buried in books all day long, studying for a lifetime?"
Professor Tao stammered in silence, and finally swallowed back what he wanted to say.
In fact, before Liu Hongmin came, Professor Tao and Ms. Chu had already had a debate. Professor Tao regarded Liu Hongmin as his favorite student and wanted Liu Hongmin to study history with him for the rest of his life. In his opinion, dealing with history books is much simpler than dealing with people, and he will not be easily drawn into a trap.
Ms. Chu didn't think so. She could tell from Liu Hongmin's restlessness that he was a man with great ambitions. It was not Liu Hongmin's character to be immersed in history books all year round. Facts also proved that Liu Hongmin was not the type to settle down and do research, otherwise he would not have entrusted all the research on his family's collection to others.
The two could not agree on an answer, so they decided to let Liu Hongmin make his own choice.
As a result, just as Ms. Chu imagined, Liu Hongmin decided to enter the officialdom. However, I don't know if he will do anything weird this time.
Liu Hongmin didn't know about these things. After returning, he revised the manuscript of "The Devotion of Suspect X" and immediately reported to the cultural department.
This exchange was initiated by Sanlian Publishing House, and dozens of Hong Kong publishing houses, TV stations and newspapers participated in it. Hundreds of writers and scholars from the mainland were invited to go to Hong Kong for cultural exchanges.
The cultural department has formed an advisory group to ensure that this exchange is a success, strengthen ties between the two places, and lay a solid foundation for subsequent China-UK negotiations.
After Liu Hongmin had completed the entry formalities, Ms. Chu took him to meet the advisory group. These people were all celebrities in the cultural circle, including writers, scholars, and young people, many of whom Liu Hongmin knew, such as Chen Jiangong.
(End of this chapter)
