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Chapter 12 Iron Bull and Sick Duck

Selected Short Stories by Lao She 老舍 6940Words 2023-02-05
Wang Mingyuan's baby name is Tie Zhuzi.In school he was the iron bull.It seems that he can't do without iron.This guy is really a bit iron.Probably he didn't like eating stones very much; if he really wanted to eat a few pieces, he would definitely digest them as usual. His whole body looked like a famous horse.He is more aggressive than a famous horse, neither delicate nor temperamental.Throughout the year, he always smiled.The two rows of teeth are neat and white, like a child's.But when he speaks, his mouth moves so powerfully, you will admit that these two rows of teeth look so white and tender, they can really crush stones.

People who know him know that such a sentence, Lao Wang also has to grin.This is the most tiring thing to describe.Wang Tieniu hardly understands what it means to be too tired.If he grinned, no one else would have to think about it. Tieniu doesn't read "Dream of Red Mansions" and can't stand that kind of girlishness!He never loses his temper, really.Look at this, he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, and tapped his thick, muscular arms, such a thick little club hammer, and he still makes a fuss, isn't he ashamed?Taking advantage of the opportunity, he punched himself in the chest twice, with a bang.

He has a wish to do something big peacefully.What he meant probably was to do something beneficial to others, and to do it naturally, without making noise or shedding blood. Judging from his speech and behavior, no one can tell that he has studied abroad and read entire books in foreign countries. When he speaks, he never mixes foreign characters.He scratched his head when he saw foreign food, even though he was invited to eat, he ate no less than others.Don't wear western clothes, don't know how to dance, don't block your nose because of the dirt on the street, don't have to eat American oranges.All in all, he has neither Chinese nor foreign temper.For example, watching movies, "Burning the Red Lotus Temple" and "Three Musketeers", to him, there is not much difference.Except for the Niuerqi movies, it's not bad.

He is a farmer.This has a lot to do with his peaceful and peaceful way of doing big things.His attitude is roughly this: no matter how revolutionary the politics are, people still have to eat.Agricultural improvement is a big deal.He did not use agronomic terms for people; he studied agriculture, so he had the peasant in mind, and his feelings linked the work of the laboratory with the life of the peasant.He does not claim to be a scholar.When he met someone who was better at writing, he had a good-natured joke: Shall we start with Wu Song fighting the tiger? "Water Margin" is his literature.

Since returning from studying abroad, he has been doing research and experiments on seed selection in a government-run farm.The establishment of this farm was originally inspired by a few enlightened officials who wanted to care about the people, so the funds will never be guaranteed.As for the director, as usual, he changes every seven or eight months, as if the coming and going of the director has something to do with the weather.These field directors who come and go have different characters, but their styles are very similar, resembling the stereotypes made by scholars.They all came and went with a grin. If it weren't for the fact that the word "field manager" had some effect on their resumes, it seemed that they should have cried bitterly.Since the head of the field is here to obtain qualifications, naturally there are people who are willing to work under them with lower qualifications.So although the farm has been established for many years, no farm experiments have been done.If there is, it is Tieniu's own business.

For him, this farm has set an example in the employment that is not allowed by the official circles. When the farm director takes office, he will not replace the iron cattle as usual.It's been like this for five or six years.Tieniu didn't quite remember the names of the directors, but he knew how to sue the directors.In his mind, the field director, no matter what his name is, must be sued.My experiments take a long time.I love my job.If you don't replace me, I will be grateful!Please take a look at my work come, please take a look!Of course the manager doesn’t want to watch it; when it comes to financial difficulties, Tie Niu asks the manager to rest assured that I’m willing to take a pay cut, I love this job!How to arrange the people under the director's subordinates?Tieniu also has a solution: as long as I'm allowed to work here, I don't care about my name.The salary was really reduced, and he continued to work as usual, and he was quite happy doing it.

But once, he almost shed tears.In any case, the director had to withdraw him.But he was dismissed the day before, and the next day he went to do the experiment as usual, and dragged the director to see his work: director, this is my life!In some days, I will be able to get good grades; this is not something that can be done in a day and a half.Please allow me to come here to do experiments, I don't want anything.To go elsewhere, I have to do it all over again, and all my previous work will be lost.Besides, I have a relationship with this place, everything here is my hands and my feet.I never lose my temper with them, and they always love me.These specimens, these instruments, are my good friends!He smiled, with a tear in the corner of his eye.It must be true that Jesus the tax collector became a disciple. Otherwise, how could the director soften his heart and leave the iron bull behind?Since then, his position has become much more stable, although every time his salary is cut, he still can't escape.You just subtracted all the money, anyway, you can’t lose the iron cow!That's what he always says to his best friends.

Although he didn't remember the names of the directors, they remembered him.When they accidentally discovered it, they thought of the Iron Bull.Therefore, after being promoted, quite a few directors would occasionally do something with their conscience, so they couldn't help but want to take advantage of their iron bulls and say hello to him.Tieniu replied to this kind of love and love: Thank you for your kindness, but I love my job, this is my life!He couldn't leave that farm any more than a child can leave his mother. In order to maintain the existence of the farm, something must be done for people to see, so an agricultural product exhibition must be held every year.Before the meeting, the staff were very kind to Tieniu.Mr. Wang, how tired you are!I'll treat you to dinner after the meeting!Tieniu doesn't care whether he eats or not; this is a good opportunity to get in touch with farmers and society.He was busy: collecting, compiling, displaying, giving lectures, entertaining, it was all him, and his neck was sweating from exhaustion.Some employees were watching from the side, a little embarrassed.So I came here to point out some mistakes, so as to show that although they didn't do anything, their eyes were not idle.Tieniu apologized while wiping his sweat: Thank you for telling me!Thank you for telling me!For the farmers who came to visit, he only hated having a mouth, and he couldn't break it open for everyone to talk about.

There are officials sitting in the middle, like in the commemorative photos of the meeting at the Rabbit Master's stall, nine times out of ten there is no iron bull.He didn't bother to take pictures.For this, some employees really admired him.So when the meeting is over, some people will come over to say hello: You are really tired, these two days!Tieniu smiled like a little girl wearing new shoes: Not tired, the meeting is only held once a year, how can you say tired? Therefore, a good friend sometimes said to him, you are too good-tempered, Lao Wang!He smiled, as if he was going to be shy: Zuo didn't sell more strength, but he is in good health.He rolled up his sleeves again and flexed his arms.He could never hear that his friend's words meant that he was dissatisfied and intentionally insulted him.His own words are always positive, so he never expects others to speak slanted words.Sometimes when you recruit a friend, you have to explain it to him, and then he understands.But who has the time to think about such tricks!Let me tell you, when I put my head on the pillow, I fall asleep like a ball; how can I sleep if my mind is always twisting and turning?A person depends on his good health; if his body is good, he can sing when he opens his eyes.He laughed.

Tieniu's classmate Li Wen is also a student of agriculture.Li Wen's legs are short, his mouth is long, his face is thin, and he has many eyes.He was dubbed a sick duck by his classmates.The sick duck is the crystallization of complaints. It always carries some small medicines such as pills in the bag, and sighs before eating.He is very enthusiastic about agronomy and believes that improving farming is the most important thing.But he still has no results.He wasn't worried about losing his position, but everyone was always at odds with him.Just one thing, at least half a year will have to break up the partnership.Even if everything goes well with everyone, the chair he sits on, or the hat he wears, or the apparatus he uses as an experiment, always messes with him; and he cannot go on working.It seems that the world has not prepared for him a lovely thing, a pleasing place, and a person to associate with; he only sees his own good, and everyone, everything and everything are against him.It's not that he can't make achievements, it's that he is squeezed out by people everywhere, and he can't continue to do it.For example, just as he was about to start working, a gentleman next to him said: It's very cold!So he turned the screw in his mind: what do you mean, this sentence?Does that mean I didn't close the door just now?He couldn't work with peace of mind.If you are bullied, you can no longer work.Sooner or later he was going to get his revenge on this, but he had to do something right away, he and this gentleman who said it was too cold were at odds.

Sometimes he could make a friend or two, but after three months, he began to doubt, and then went further to test, but found many flaws, even the blue shirt that his friend was wearing that day was helpful.The friendship of three months broke up.After coming and going, he no longer wants to make friends.He gradually divided people into three classes, one class was higher than him, the other class was lower than him, and the third class was as high as him.He also decided that he could succeed if he could only hand over those who were taller than him, ignore those who were at his shoulders, and rule over those who were lower than him.Since people choose, they also have ways to deal with things.Bring it over became his catchphrase.Unless you get one or more careers, you will achieve nothing in your life.Take it over and do it yourself, so as not to be angry with others.Take it over and do it yourself, if the chair deliberately messes up, it will smash the bastard!This must be the case, he is enthusiastic about improving farming; he cannot abandon his life's career because of idleness; if he wants to avoid idleness, he must stand on a high ground.Where there is a will, there is a way. In a few years, he became an important person and brought him a lot of careers.Originally, I wanted to take it over and do it myself, but even after taking it over, I still felt unstable.And the people who squinted at him!So go get it again.The more you take, the more complicated you get, the chairs are different everywhere, and a chair has a way of irritating people.It takes a lot of time for him to unify the chairs.Therefore, every time he took a place, he painted the chairs white first, so as to avoid stains that were not easy to see.The chairs are all white, what else?He can't be too tired, although Xiaoyao is always in the bag, he should cherish himself after all; this is the way in the world, except you love yourself, no one else will care. He and Tieniu haven't seen each other for several years. Just in time for the annual meeting of the Agricultural Society.The hall was full of agricultural experts.Sitting in the middle of the stage was a sick duck, with long hair, a gray-green face, a long beak on its chest, and eyes that opened and closed, just like a half-sleeping duck.Of course he himself does not admit that he is a duck; his eyes are opened and closed from time to time, which seems to disdain to watch the group of people under the stage.He clearly knew that their knowledge was better than his, but he sat on the stage and they sat off the stage; no matter what he said, he was a character, and those who were not learned were just young soldiers.He is the chairman, after all he is the master.He has to feel complacent, but he still has to show self-cultivation, so he can't keep his eyes open all the time, as if the most important thing in the world is to be the chairman.However, you can't keep your eyes closed, and you have to pay attention to whether there are people squinting at him below.If there is, we must try to deal with him.It was at such a moment of opening his eyes that he saw Tieniu. It seems that Tieniu is not here to attend the meeting, but to take care of his own funeral or wedding.When he came out and went in, it seemed that he was the only one busy in the world. Someone read a paper on the stage.The sick duck's eyes were closed, and he nodded his head every minute or so to express his appreciation for the paper. In fact, he was thinking about iron bulls.He didn't want to admit that he and Tieniu had gone to school together, he closed his eyes on the stage and rested his mind, and Tieniu was acting as a reminder off the stage, as if they couldn't have been schoolmates; the distance is so far now, it seems that they shouldn't be so close in the past .He had to admit that Tieniu was indeed his classmate, which made him very embarrassed: should he pity Tieniu, or praise himself?Did Tieniu see him and avoid him on purpose?Or maybe Tieniu is ashamed of himself and dare not step forward?Should he be obviously tolerant and greet Tieniu first?He couldn't make up his mind, and felt more and more that his classmates were awkward. There was applause from the audience, and the chairman opened his eyes.It's time to rest.The sick duck walked to the door of the venue and ran into Tieniu head-on.As soon as the sick duck saw him, he quickly lowered his head with the size, and ignored him?Have to think about it.But before he could come up with an idea, he felt a pain in his right hand for a while, as if he was caught in the crack of the door.With a flick of his hand, he heard: Lao Li!Still so skinny?Lao Li The sick duck hid his hands in his pockets and went to stretch in the dark; he turned his eyes to look at Tie Niu, and the smile on Tie Niu's face shot into the air from his face like a flowering bomb.The sick duck couldn't find anything to say for a while.He felt that Tie Niu was a little too affectionate.But I also felt that he had no malicious intentions or that he was so thin, which touched my heart of self-pity. I was eager to find something to say, and often said irresponsible words.Lao Wang, will you have dinner with me?I regret it after I finished speaking, and I just hope that the other party will be polite.But Tie Niu nodded.The green color on the sick duck's face deepened.Haven't seen each other for a few years, let's talk!Tieniu is a shameless guy. Two old classmates eating together, in Tieniu's view, is the most interesting.The sick duck doesn't think that two people can't get off the stage if they quarrel!He doesn't want to be noisy, but when friends get together, sometimes they can't help but not noisy.When you turn your mind, you have to make noise; who can stop you from turning your mind? Tieniu eats what he sees, and the sick duck asks for a lot of food.The sick duck doesn't eat it by himself, and only occasionally picks up a small piece of potsticker tofu with his chopsticks.I can only eat some tofu, he said.He didn't speak the word tofu like a Chinese accent, nor did he speak any dialect. It sounded strangely like a foreign word.He had a lot of words to say that.Said that he traveled far and wide, and made another copy of Er Guoyu himself.Why?Tieniu couldn't understand these two words.Then I saw that what he was sandwiching was tofu, and then I realized: We can't do it; if the tofu is added with some beef, it may be heavier.I said, Lao Li, you have to pay attention to your health.So skinny? It's too hot!Just a mention is enough to tap into a feeling of self-pity.Tightly say that people are thin, this is looking down on people!The sick duck frowned in his mind.It's inconvenient to continue, let's change the topic: Old Wang, where have you been all these years? Farm, not a bad little place. Who is the director? Fortunately, Tieniu didn't forget Zhao Cijiang this time. The sick duck nodded slightly, but I was afraid it would hurt his peace.Him?How are you?It doesn't matter, he does his thing and I do mine; I just hope he doesn't replace me.Tie Niu is remarkably kind.Also moved a piece of tofu. Bring it here.The sick duck felt that after talking for a long time, only this sentence was more enjoyable.Old Wang, do it! Of course I was doing it, but I was afraid that if I couldn't keep doing it, all my previous efforts would be wasted.If our kind of work does not last long, it is equivalent to wasting money in vain.I'm asking you to be the head of the field.Why don't you take what's ready-made?Take it here, and do whatever you like; what kind of stuff is Zhao Cijiang! I was the leader on the spot, and Tieniu seemed to have heard a strange thing.After waiting for half a year, it's good to be topped by others? It's a bit of a shame!The sick duck silently played out a dialogue in his heart: You kid, don't you know how powerful Mr. Li is?Look down on me?Don't worry, I'll show you first hand.He smiled slightly and said out loud: You don't have to do it, anyway, let's bring it over.We all have human beings.You can help me.Look, if I tell Zhao Cijiang not to do it, he won't be able to do it!You don't need to tell others this.Iron Bull was puzzled. The sick duck added another sentence: If you think it over and are willing to do it, I'll give you the director. I just want to be able to go on with my experiments; I don't care about the rest.Tie Niu couldn't think of anything else to say. Well, the sick duck said these two words again, as if the Germans were practicing Chinese in their dreams. Until the end of the annual meeting, the two of them didn't sit together and talk about anything.From Tieniu's side, he thinks that the sick duck is acting with a little mental illness.The body is weak, and it is not happy to see the god of joy.After compiling such a sentence, I forgot about the sick duck.Not long after Tieniu returned to the farm, the farm manager really changed.The new director was very polite to him, and invited him to talk with him on the first day: Mr. Wang, Mr. Li's old classmate.Please help, we need to cooperate.To be honest, my brother knows nothing about agriculture.However, the relationship with Mr. Li is still the same.Mr. Wang just needs to help, cooperate, we cooperate.Tieniu couldn't figure out how he could cooperate with someone who didn't know agronomy.Mental illness!He thought of these three words, and said them out. The new director seemed to understand the meaning of these three words very well, and his face sank: Brother, speak honestly and bluntly, Mr. Wang, please stop talking about this kind of talk in the future.It's none of my business, it's for your own good.You see, when Mr. Li sent me here, he talked to me about how you ate with him that day and what you said.Mr. Li showed a little bit of interest, as if to say that you have expressed non-cooperation.But he never thinks about it just because of this, the face of his classmates has to be taken into account.Please forgive me for being so rude!In my opinion, since we are friends, we must cooperate.We should also support Mr. Li.Of course we don't support him, and that's okay.It's just that we didn't suffer Mr. Li first. Iron Bull was puzzled. The first thing the new director takes office is to replace people, and the second thing is to paint the chairs white.The first one has nothing to do with Tieniu, because he was not dismissed.This is not the case with the second one. The director of the factory sent him to handle oil decoration chairs. Because this is the most important thing for Mr. Li, he selected Iron Bull to show the spirit of cooperation. Tieniu didn't have the time, and he didn't see the importance of painting chairs, so he didn't care. The new director told him: I accept your letter of challenge; however, since you are Mr. Li's classmate, I have to save face and ask Mr. Li to handle this matter himself.If Mr. Li is something, then there is nothing I can do to help him!As soon as old Li Tieniu opened his mouth, he was stopped by the director: You mean Mr. Li?Forgive me for being so straightforward, Mr. Li probably doesn't like you very much, Old Li. Well, Mr. Li knows my work, and he also studied agriculture.The field director just told him that I don't care about this matter, and he will naturally know that I don't care about it.If he really doesn't know, he's really insane.Tie Niu seemed to be happy when he said: As soon as I saw his face, I could tell that his face was green.He is not a bad person, I know him; I have been a classmate for several years, how can I not know this?If he has changed now, it must be because of his poor health.I saw that it was not one, because the body is weak and often has petty sex.As soon as I met him, I persuaded him, because his body is weak and his mind tends to turn around.Look at me, I have a great body, and I can sing when I open my eyes.He laughed out loud.The field chief didn't say a word. After a week, Tieniu was dismissed. He thought that this must not be the idea of ​​the sick duck, so he didn't panic.He made a plan: according to the previous example, he will come to work as usual the next day; the field manager really forbids him to go in, and if he looks for Lao Li again, of course he will keep his old classmate.However, when he was about to leave, someone came and told him: the director of the field will be dispatched, and if you want to be here tomorrow, don't say that the police will arrest you. He asked to see the director of the field and was not seen. He went back to the laboratory again and sat there blankly for a long time. The hard work of several years would not be Lao Li's idea. Lao Li also studied agriculture, so how could he not understand the importance of my work?He must be able to forgive our Tieniu, even if he really offended him.What offended him?Have no idea.Unless he's really mentally ill.No, didn't he invite me to dinner that day?No matter what, go to Lao Li, he will surely forgive me. The more Tieniu thinks about this, the more he feels relieved. Once he sees a sick duck, he will be able to return to work and continue working.He looked at the things in the laboratory, imagining in his heart that there would be another one or two years of success in the future, and that the results of the experiment would be taken to the countryside for field application. Those who should receive one grain would receive two peaceful ones, and a great event would be accomplished!He went around the farm and found that every valley and every small wooden sign in the field were his children.Back in the house, I wrote a letter to Lao Li as a confidant, telling him to meet him on a certain day.After sending the letter, he felt that the day had passed. According to the time specified in the letter, I went to see the sick duck, but the sick duck was not at home.But Tieniu refused to leave, just wait. On the fourth hour, a servant came: Please don't wait for our master, the call just came, and he fell ill on the way and was admitted to the hospital. Tieniu didn't care about eating, and ran to the hospital. Patients cannot receive guests. What disease?Tieniu inquired with the person at the door. Not sick, our patients here are not sick.The man at the door was kind. Why are you hospitalized if you are not sick? Then we don't know, let alone, they are also somewhat sick.Tieniu entrusted that person with a business card. After staying for a while, the man picked up the business card, and there were some words written in pencil on it: don't come again, we don't cooperate. Do something great in peace!Tie Niu said in a low voice while walking.
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