"What's wrong? Just tell me what's wrong. I'll definitely take care of it if I can. Don't you trust me to do things? Hehe."
Lin Yao laughed, then glanced at Shang Qinshu's troubled and hesitant expression. A thought suddenly struck him, "You...you got in through connections?"
"Pleading for mercy?" Lin Yao's eyes widened. "It's not about the Minhong members, is it? Has someone come to you unconditionally?"
Ye Zhaoxian and Shang Qinshu nodded slowly, then sighed in unison. Their faces were filled with shame, making them unable to lift their heads. They had lost the spirit they had when they first met Lin Yao, and looked as if they had suddenly aged thirty years, their backs hunched over.
.
=========
Thank you so much "Fengfengfengfeng" for the generous donation! Thank you, Brother Feng!
.
.
(!)
For the latest and fastest chapters, please visit <NieShu Novel Network www.NieS>. Reading is a pleasure, and we suggest you bookmark it.
Chapter 518 Everyone is Human
Please remember our website domain name <www.NieS>, or search for "NieShu Novel Network" on Baidu.
"Everyone has parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, childhood friends, people you chat and joke with, and people you work and struggle with."
Ye Zhaoxian's voice was somewhat low and his speech was a little unsteady. As if realizing that he had gone off-topic, he quickly coughed and said:
"Well... sigh... you tell me."
Ye Zhaoxian grabbed Shang Qinshu's arm and leaned heavily against the sofa, her brows furrowed so deeply they looked like they could wring water out of them.
"Ahem, Ah Yao, it's really hard to say this."
Shang Qinshu is not as good as Ye Zhaoxian in terms of overall planning and organization, but as a top student majoring in economics, and having worked at the State Economic and Trade Commission for several years, she has received high-level training and has much more experience in dealing with this kind of business negotiation that involves personal relationships.
To achieve his goal, he had to grit his teeth and go.
"Although I don't want to say it this way, I have to borrow an old saying: Chinese characteristics. Such is the national condition."
“Yaoyao,” Xiaocao interjected, “They must have pleaded for it. Let’s hear what they have to say. Don’t be impulsive. These two are just representatives. They’re good brothers. Even if we don’t agree, we can’t let them lose face. Stay calm.”
Lin Yao nodded in agreement, accepting Xiao Cao's suggestion. His expression remained gentle and warm, and his smile did not fade.
"Many times, it's not that people really want to do it this way, but that things won't get done if they don't do it this way."
Shang Qinshu uttered a seemingly incomprehensible sentence, but Lin Yao and Ye Zhaoxian both understood it.
"It is said that a large number of the most intelligent people in China have entered the officialdom, and they are all trying their best to climb up. The poisonous style and ideology passed down for thousands of years have never been dispelled. This place is not a place where you can do well or smoothly just because you want to make a career. It has its own specific rules and routines."
Now that he had started, Shang Qinshu had no more worries. Even if Lin Yao didn't agree, he wanted to vent the emotions that had been suppressed in his heart.
"Intrigue and cutthroat competition, everyone fights like mortal enemies when it comes to positions and personal interests. But if someone breaks the rules, they can immediately unite and strike together, putting aside past grievances."
"In this industry, rules and conventions are the biggest breeding ground, and of course we are talking about unspoken rules."
"Everyone wants to live a good life, everyone wants to be supported by the masses and admired by the crowd. As for enjoying flattery and sycophancy, it is as natural as drinking water and an inevitable need. That's why some retired or second-line cadres develop various ailments when they retire and want to enjoy their retirement, or even contract incurable diseases and die immediately. When they were in office, no matter how busy they were, how many banquets they drank, or how many parties they attended, they were still as strong as oxen. This is because the feeling of having power is too good, more effective than any supplement or hormone in the world."
"Nobody wants to be bullied by their subordinates and subservient to their superiors. So the only way to survive is to keep climbing up the ladder. The higher you climb, the more comfortable you become."
"There is no future in not taking sides. Even if a neutral party occasionally benefits from a certain balance, it will never last long, let alone go very far."
"In this way, taking sides becomes necessary, but taking sides means considering the overall interests. What to do and how to do it is no longer entirely up to you. People above can remotely control your behavior and attitude with just one phone call. Most of the time, you are just a puppet on a string. You look glamorous in front of others, but you don't know how many bitter things you have to complain about in private, and you have nowhere to complain."
"It is said that economic cases are becoming increasingly serious, with larger sums of money involved and wider scope. Many businessmen and even minor officials possess unimaginable power. The reason for this is that the relationships involved are so tangled that no one dares to offend anyone easily, because no one knows what kind of network of relationships might be involved behind a small deputy section chief or even an ordinary staff member."
"The more things are like this, the more complicated things become. Ordinary people have difficulty getting things done, but people with a little bit of connections can get things done smoothly. Even a lowly doorman can get things done incredibly easily if he belongs to a key department. Because no one can guarantee that an old man or woman isn't a relative of some bureau chief. Offending him means losing face, and losing face is a slap in the face. It might even implicate a whole bunch of powerful and influential people."
"Ahem, I digress. I got a little emotional just now. Please don't take offense, Ayao." Shang Qinshu's expression wasn't good. He picked up his teacup, took a big gulp of water, and then continued:
"To put it simply, many times bribery and accepting bribes are out of necessity. Of course, there are also cases where people receive benefits and then find that they have nothing to do. Over time, they develop a sense of impunity, become more and more addicted to this line of work, and then turn into scum."
"But in most cases, it's the status quo that's the problem. If you don't bribe, or you don't accept bribes, you can't get anything done!"
Ye Zhaoxian listened quietly without offering any opinion until this sentence was uttered. Then, he glanced at Shang Qinshu with a calm and composed expression, devoid of the passion of youth.
Shang Qinshu lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then frowned and suddenly looked up, staring into Lin Yao's eyes. "Ah Yao, don't laugh at me, but I've also done bribery, which is why I'm telling you this."
"However, I didn't take any of it myself. I donated it all to the Minhong Charity Foundation in my three-year-old son's name. Nobody remembers a child's name, and I wouldn't dare donate it in my own name, because your foundation makes it public."
"Even if I didn't use the benefits for myself, I still took the money. Not to mention the expenses for food, drink and entertainment, I really don't have that much money to donate at a discounted price, based on my current standard salary and bonuses."
Lin Yao's smile vanished. He understood; the two men had come to plead for leniency on behalf of certain construction workers, which undoubtedly involved economic and related issues.
Most importantly, Ye Zhaoxian and Shang Qinshu are using their own experiences to tell themselves that under the principles and regulations of public disclosure of information, many people are actually innocent, and "one is not in control of one's own destiny" is the best description of this.
In these extraordinary times, being abandoned by Minhong means that one's life safety cannot be guaranteed. Judging from Ye Zhaoxian and Shang Qinshu's capabilities, they must know that Minhong's production capacity cannot save the entire nation, and the shortfall will be enormous. In the face of this terrifying plague, even the slightest delay or obstacle can take lives, leaving no room for luck.
Ye Zhaoxian and Shang Qinshu are praying for their lives, praying for the lives of their relatives or friends!
Lin Yao remained silent, but Ye Zhaoxian's voice slowly rose, weak and ethereal as if from the abyss, "I donated mine too, in my lover's brother's name..."
Neither of them spoke of the specifics. They were unwilling to mention those sordid matters, yet they were sometimes forced into them. This was why they had not taken the initiative to contact Lin Yao. Although they still held the relevant titles of "China Folk Volunteer Association" and continued to use their resources and energy to make the association grow stronger, they felt a sense of shame and inferiority deep down.
Compared to the pure Lin Yao, they felt that much of their past passion and fantasies had been shattered, and upon seeing him, they could only remain speechless.
"Yaoyao, what should we do? If someone complains about them, should we just ignore them?"