Tuesday, the seventh week of the election, 10 a.m.
In Trinity Square, the sun is scorching and the weather is hot. The naked eye can see the heat flowing on the stone slabs of the square. People walking on it, even if they are wearing slippers or straw sandals, unconsciously raise their big toes, as if In my mind, I thought I was walking on a squeaky iron spatula.
Even so, there were still dozens of people braving the scorching sun and crowding under the Democratic Party platform. There were locals and out-of-towners, probably watching the excitement or "watching the monkeys." They also wanted to hear or see that the three candidates were all talking about themselves. He was on the high platform, but he seemed to have no intention of performing. Li Meng said a few words to the people below in front of the stage: "Hello, folks, thank you for your hard work. Please vote for us" and then retreated into the shadow of the stage. Sit down and drink tea; Zhuang Fei, who was picked up in his shift, was more direct. He went up and smiled at the people below, bowed and turned his head a few times before returning. Lin Liuming didn't even think about taking over, and sat swaggeringly drinking tea and reading the newspaper. .
After reading for a while, Lin Liuming smiled and put today's imperial newspaper on the table, pointed to the picture on the headline and said with pride: "Look, Mr. Zhong and Mr. Yicheng from our Western Medicine Guild made the headline together. Pictured."
When Zhuang Fei General took out a pair of glasses from his arms, Li Meng picked up the newspaper and stammered a few sentences. He felt tired and was too lazy to continue reading. He handed the newspaper to Zhuang Fei General. He turned around and asked Lin Liuming: "Old Lin, why is it in the newspaper? Is it about us?"
Lin Liuming curled his lips and said: "This is strange. This time our boss was not in the newspaper because of the election. He talked about donating to the "Hai Song Baptist Missionary Mission to Annan", and also talked with Ambassador Annan, the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and The Lord Admiralty met with the missionary team and expressed their highest respect Can you make headlines by hugging Annan's damn thigh?"
Zhuang Feijiang had already read it leisurely and said casually: "Don't worry about anything. Being in the newspaper is what you are good at."
Li Meng and Lin Liuming both laughed and even claimed that they were.
After laughing, Li Meng let out a sigh and asked, "Is this report from Sunday? Mr. Yicheng made an appearance in the capital. Is he not coming back? Is Mr. Fang going to survive this last week?"
Lin Liuming laughed disdainfully, pointed to the empty Liberal Party stage opposite and said: "There are only two of them left, and we have three here. No one can win. The victory is determined, and Yicheng and Mr. Zhong are It's called sitting firmly in the military tent and being sure of victory, so it doesn't matter whether you come or not. This is called the demeanor of a general."
Zhuang Feijiang stared out of his spectacles and interjected: "I think Mr. Fang is in trouble. In the past two days, he has been as anxious as ants on a hot pot. He didn't even come here, so he just called the three of us. Be on duty yourself.¡±
"Isn't it just Long Meixian? It would be better if he didn't come. We can take a break in such a hot weather. Who is jumping and screaming in front of the stage? It will kill people," Lin Liu said.
"Hey, while Mr. Fang is away, let me say something. My wife and I talked last night, and I think it makes sense. Although we are the Democratic Party, why don't we raise funds for the Longmei Line? It seems that if it can be repaired, why not You can make a fortune, you can make money in Fujian, Chaozhou and here." Li Meng seemed to suddenly remember something and asked in a low voice.
Lin Liuming and Zhuang Feijiang were shocked at the same time. They both turned to look at Li Meng and said, "Didn't you go to raise funds?"
"Raising funds? How can Mr. Fang raise funds here?" Li Meng was stunned for a moment, then his face changed and he yelled: "Have you two already raised funds? How did you do this? Will Mr. Fang agree? The Liberal Party will ridicule us in the newspapers, and Mr. Chung will piss us off."
"Who is discussing with Fang Bingsheng? As for the Liberal Party and Mr. Zhong, you are stupid and find a relative to use your own money to raise funds. Isn't this a bypass." Lin Liuming replied.
"Why don't you you why didn't you inform me?" Li Meng's face turned red with anger, and the other two people had helpless and innocent expressions on their faces, which meant that you didn't ask this, so you can blame me if you think it's wrong. who? Why is this so unclear?
Looking at the expressions of the two of them, Li Meng felt regretful, annoyed and anxious. He pushed the table and stood up. He hurriedly walked out and turned around and said: "I quickly took the money and found someone to go to the Yamen to raise funds. If Fang Bingsheng comes, don't do it." Say what I did, just say there is something wrong with my family"
He ran out of the stage from the back and walked around the wall to reach the Yamen. Seeing the long queue of people lining up to raise funds under the scorching sun, Li Meng stamped his feet anxiously and regretfully, turned around and ran home.
The straight-line distance from Li Meng was no more than a few dozen meters. Officials Zheng Abao and Zhao Jin were drinking tea and chatting in the county magistrate's office.
Now that the election has reached the final moment, the two parties have almost exhausted all their methods to deal with the people. Longchuan has almost been turned upside down by the two monsters. Now the dust is settling. Although the situation is not clear,The wise, wise, noble and powerful people have to ask him. "
As he spoke, he pointed towards the ceiling and said: "Your Majesty is also this kind of Christian. God sent him to save us, so we founded the country with God." Then he pushed the ground with both hands and sighed: "It is less than 20 years since the founding of the country. In the year, Christians like the Wang Yu family have begun to appear among the people, and it seems that there are more and more people. For a person like me who loves to be a little clever, it is like walking into the bamboo stick array. Isn¡¯t there now? Money and power can push away all worldly affairs, which is a bit different from the Qing Dynasty."
After that, he smiled sadly, leaned back on the back of his chair, pointed to the sky again and said: "There are God Emperors above, civilian Christians below, and among them are knights of God like you who are born to shoulder missions and heavy responsibilities. I It feels like I have really entered a cage, an iron cage made by God for me. I no longer do things according to my will, and it may be more troublesome in the future. This is what I say sincerely."
Zheng Abao raised his hands sadly and shook them by his ears, as if to show off, and said with a wry smile: "Xiao Jin, let me say it bluntly, God has given me a lot of grace, and I am a capable person. I am like a monkey, a commoner. Like a rabbit, I am much more powerful than the rabbit. Why should I respect the rabbit and be equal to the rabbit? In the past, the rabbit and I seemed to be locked in the same house. I could steal the fruits on the table with my head raised, and grab the carrots from the rabbit with my head lowered. My life was endless. . Now that I am put in a cage, I am no different from a rabbit, and I will not accept it."
"You're a real guy. Everyone is a sinner, and they all want to steal something." The officer laughed happily.
"Yeah, I'm tall and have long hands, why don't I grab it?" Zheng Abao said looking at the other party's face, but he was thinking: This speech is based on self-deprecation but without any trace of it, he praises the emperor, the Liberal Party, and the empire. When the self-confession reaches the emperor's ears, will he laugh like this?
Just when the two of them were talking animatedly, the secretary of the ** officer pushed the door open and came in, saying: "Sir, there is something that needs you to handle."
"You're busy, I'll go over there to play chess with Lao Qin, the tax collector of Longchuan." Zheng Abao immediately stood up and prepared to leave.
But the officer said: "Just sit here and play. If you don't cause trouble, I'll be fine here." After that, he asked the secretary what happened.
"An urgent message from the imperial court has arrived, and the confidential room is urgently decoding it." The secretary lowered his head and reported.
Half an hour later, the police officer came back from the confidential room with the support of his attendants. Zheng Abao stood up quickly, feeling a little nervous.
The ** officer took a look at him and said nothing. He slowly sat behind the desk with his crutches. The secretary immediately placed a stack of messages in front of him.
"Is it about me?" Zheng Abao couldn't help it and asked.
The officer raised his head and looked at him. The officer's authority was back. There was no expression on his face. He just hummed and then ordered his subordinates: "Go and invite the representatives of the Democratic Party. If the power is on, let me announce it to you first."
When the Yamen messenger rushed to the train station, Fang Bingsheng was in the train station office looking at the "Huang Bao" in his hand and gritting his teeth, shouting: "Zhong Jialiang, Yicheng, my butt is on fire, what are you doing in the capital?" Huh? Hurry up and think of something to help us Song You Iron and Steel."
Then he raised his head and shouted in a loud voice: "Do you have any new instructions, boss?"
Webmaster Longchuan Lu, who was squeezed into a small desk by Fang Bingsheng, quickly stood up and was stunned for a moment. Seeing that Fang Bingsheng's expression was not good, he immediately said: "I'll go see if there is a telegram?"
After saying that, he trotted out and pushed the door open. When he saw his subordinates leading the officials from the Yamen in, he shouted to them: "Where is Mr. Fang? Hurry, go to the Yamen and ask the officials to invite you."