Old Zhang chuckled: "That's why you don't understand politics. Mayor Liang has been in that position for four years. In terms of performance and seniority, it's time for a change. He just needs a little opportunity. And here it is. Don't underestimate Secretary Liu either. With Mayor Liang's mention, he should immediately get a district head position. Riding on Mayor Liang's coattails, he'll soar to great heights in the future."
I said, "You like Li Bai's poems too?"
Old Zhang ignored my question and said, "So if you need anything, just ask Secretary Liu. The government has recently been promoting you, and when you gain recognition, they benefit from it."
I said, "Wasn't it because of you that I helped you up?"
Old Zhang smiled calmly: "I'll be ashes in a few years. All I want now is for the children to be well. I'm so concerned about this because I have my own selfish reasons. I hope that if you can get a good ranking, the government will build a few high-rise buildings on our school grounds. I'll gather all the children from the neighborhood who can't afford to go to school or live far away and start a class. Just one small building will be enough..."
Old Zhang's words almost brought tears to my eyes, so I decided to raise my target ranking a bit higher this time, let's secure sixth place and strive for fifth.
Chapter Ninety-Seven: 54-choose-13 Super Lotto
Seeing that I seemed to be deep in thought, Old Zhang assumed I was having trouble. He sighed and said, "I didn't expect so many people to come to the competition either. Anyway, do your best."
The old man walked away, his steps a little unsteady. This seemingly spirited intellectual, who had lived a life of high spirits, had actually faced a lifetime of setbacks. Ideals and reality were always at odds; what he wanted to do and what he could do were worlds apart. Many people could have helped him, but none were willing to truly help him. Who would want to waste resources on such a vague and unrealistic ideal? Intellectuals have never been able to change the world, not even Li Bai and Du Fu, not even Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi. To change reality, bandits and armies are the only real solutions. Fortunately, I have some connections to both bandits and armies—I need to go check out my document-forging machine.
I arrived at the cafeteria, where a few workers had just finished reconnecting the power. I opened a pack of cigarettes and offered them to them, acknowledging their hard work. The foreman gave me a sidelong glance and asked, "Do you even know how to use this thing?"
I slipped a pack of cigarettes into his shirt pocket, and only then did he turn on the machine, saying, "It's very simple. After you fill in the other information, this is for scanning photos, and this is the output port. The documents that come out are already pressed."
I quickly asked, "Do I need to buy plastic wrap to make an ID card?"
"No need—"
I was stunned for a moment, and said in surprise, "Holy crap, they're issuing second-generation ID cards right away?"
He said proudly, "That's right. Don't let the age of this machine fool you; it's imported and considered advanced even in China."
After the workers left, I found a few soldiers to carry the equipment directly to the lecture hall, and then sent someone to invite Lu Junyi and the other heroes to a meeting. The photography of Qin Shi Huang was proceeding smoothly and should be completed by noon.
Before the heroes arrived, I sent Yan Jingsheng away, giving him the check to buy protective gear. He was overjoyed and left with two young soldiers.
After all the heroes had arrived, I asked Lu Junyi and Wu Yong to sit in the center of the stage. Below them were the heroes, except for Zhu Gui and Du Xing, who were managing the bar, and a few generals who had just gone out shopping. The 300 people also gathered. Those who hadn't taken photos continued to line up for photos, and those who had taken photos took their seats.
I coughed solemnly and said, "Brothers, brave warriors of the Yue Family Army, our Yucai Martial Arts School is now at a critical moment of life and death..."
Li Kui shouted, "What, is the Emperor going to attack you?" A buzz of noise followed. Li Yun said, "Luckily, I've already laid the foundation for the barbican..." The strategist Zhu Wu said, "Quickly dig the moat and recall Zhang Shun and the Ruan brothers..." Tang Long said, "How much weaponry do we need? But I don't have enough manpower right now..."
In stark contrast to them, the 300 soldiers of Yue Fei's army stood firm, but each of them wore a complex expression. It seemed they did not want to fight for anyone other than Yue Fei, but were unable to refuse due to personal feelings. Xu Delong remained silent, awaiting my continuation.
I wiped the cold sweat from my brow and tried to explain, but the crowd below was already in an uproar. What dangerous remarks! How could they be so quick to oppose the government the moment life and death were mentioned? Isn't fighting for honor important?
Lu Junyi slammed his hand on the table a few times before the heroes gradually quieted down. I smiled awkwardly and said, "Uh... it's not that serious, it's still about the martial arts competition..."
"Tch!" the heroes scoffed in unison.
I quickly said, "This competition is of great importance, and the personnel selection issue urgently needs to be resolved. Because our goal is fifth place, it brings a lot of difficulty to the operational aspects. This requires our players to be able to win when they win and to be able to accept defeat when they lose..."
Someone in the audience immediately shouted angrily, "What kind of fighting are we doing? If we don't win first place, won't we lose face for Liangshan?" This drew a chorus of agreement, with many saying, "We can't help you with this."
"Damn it, Song Heipang made you all surrender back then, and I can't even make you lose a match?" Many heroes were about to leave. At this moment, Dong Ping suddenly stood up and said, "Brothers, wait a minute. Xiao Qiang said he'll pay us to go back to Liangshan after this match. Besides, who will know we're from Liangshan when we're fighting? Let's just treat it as playing with Xiao Qiang, and after we get the money, we'll go have a good time!" The group thought about it and then sat down again.
I nervously waved my hands repeatedly and said, "I meant that after the competition, I would pay for you to revisit Liangshan, not to go up there again!"
Then someone in the audience shouted, "Then I'll count!" Immediately, someone next to him punched him and cursed, "Who do you think you are? You'll lose easily, but you'll never win." The man who had spoken earlier was furious: "What, you want to fight me?" Li Kui yelled, "Stop arguing, stop arguing, don't try to take it from me..." and another uproar ensued.
Wu Yong stood up and pressed his hand down, immediately silencing the crowd considerably. It seemed his prestige was even higher than Lu Junyi's. Wu Yong asked me, "Xiao Qiang, how many people do we need for this competition?"
I said, "Eight individuals, plus groups of five, making a total of 13 people."
Wu Yong glanced at the 300 below, and Xu Delong immediately understood, standing up and saying, "Spots are limited. If we are needed, we will naturally step up without hesitation. If the brave warriors of Liangshan are willing to take on the responsibility, we have no objection." The heroes all praised, "This soldier is quite straightforward."
Wu Yong nodded to him, then said to me, "This is still a difficult matter. Right now, not all the brothers are here. Yang Zhi, Zhang Qing, and the Ruan brothers are all top-notch in martial arts. With them gone, it's difficult to determine the right candidate."
Just then, Qin Shi Huang, having accomplished his mission, came up to me with a digital camera. Lu Junyi pointed at Fatty Ying and asked, "Who is this...?" I whispered in his ear, "Qin Shi Huang." Lu Junyi was startled and quickly pulled up a chair for Fatty Ying. The people of Liangshan generally lacked basic respect for emperors and generals, but Lu Junyi and Song Jiang were two exceptions.
To test the machine's usability, I forgot about discussing the personnel selection with Wu Yong and connected the camera to the old computer attached to it. It truly lived up to its reputation as a professional document-forging machine; it had ready-made ID card templates. I filled in some information, didn't even need a scanner, just pasted Xu Delong's photo, pressed confirm, and the main unit gave a muffled thud, soon producing a still-hot ID card.
I quickly called Jin Dajian and Xiao Rang up, and after thinking for a moment, I called Song Qing over as well, demonstrating a few more images to them. Sure enough, Song Qing learned how to operate it first, but he couldn't type, so he could only paste saved data from the computer. Soon, more than a dozen ID cards with 300 photos were generated. Jin Dajian quickly mastered this simple operation as well. He definitely couldn't program a computer, but when it came to doing shady things, he was better than anyone. Xiao Rang watched for a while, getting bored, and said, "I'm leaving since there's nothing else for me." Indeed, there was nothing more for him to do.
Wu Yong suddenly grabbed him and said, "You have so many things to do!"
Wu Yong pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to me, saying, "This is my ID card."
When I looked at it, I realized it was a first-generation certificate. Back then, the heroes' certificates were probably processed by one person in a one-stop shop, so the photo was taken in a hurry, and they didn't even take off their glasses. Even I, a layman, could tell it was fake, and the name on it was Wu Yong.
Wu Yong asked me, "Will this be used in the competition?"
I said, "Of course. We'll submit the list first, and then the contestants will have to bring their ID cards for verification before they can go on stage."
Wu Yong said, "Therefore, none of the certificates we have now can be used."
I asked curiously, "Why?"
"Since all the names listed are real, wouldn't that really diminish the prestige of Liangshan?"
I slapped my forehead hard; I had almost forgotten about it.
If there were people named Lin Chong or Yang Zhi among the contestants, it might not be a big deal, but if there are 13 people in a team, and one of them is named Lin Chong, another Yang Zhi, and yet another Li Kui, it's bound to arouse suspicion!
Wu Yong turned to Xiao Rang: "So your task is to come up with 13 names as soon as possible and submit them."
"What's your name?"
“Just pick any name.” Wu Yong said, then turned to me and said, “You submit these 13 names first, and fill in the information in this thing.” He pointed to the certificate processing machine and said, “Leave the photo space blank. On the day, whoever is available can go in; they just need to submit a photo.”
I was chilled to the bone. No wonder he's a cunning strategist in a den of thieves; he could never have come up with such a brilliant idea without a heart set on deliberately opposing the government. I doubt even Zhuge Liang could have come up with it.