"Well, it's good that you recognize your mistakes; there's still hope for redemption. Here's what we'll do: hand over your current work, put you on probation, and go home to await the organization's decision..."
Logically speaking, something like this shouldn't be something that he, as the head of CCTV, should be informing Hu Ming about. However, in order to quell Zhuang Rui and Ouyang Jun's anger, he had no choice but to put on a show in person; otherwise, if these two kept causing trouble, it might implicate him.
"Yes, Director, I will definitely reflect deeply on my mistakes and accept the station's criticism and guidance..."
Hu Ming was now as docile as a lamb, completely devoid of the director's arrogance. He was terrified; someone who could be personally entertained by the head of CCTV would crush him as easily as stepping on an ant.
However, Hu Ming didn't think he had done anything wrong. It was normal for a director to be arrogant and domineering. He could only blame himself for being blind and offending someone he couldn't afford to offend. Oh, and the year wasn't even over yet, and he had already changed his red underwear. It was his birth year!
It's all that slut's fault from a few days ago. She insisted on playing SM and ended up tearing my red underwear to shreds.
"Alright, you can leave now..."
Director Zhang waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away flies. He didn't want to ask any more questions about this ridiculous nonsense.
"Yes, yes..."
Hu Ming agreed and walked towards the door with his head down, but as he opened the door, his eyes swept over Zhuang Rui with a look of resentment.
Although Hu Ming's glance was subtle, it was noticed by Zhuang Rui, who had been keeping a close eye on him. Zhuang Rui, who was already dissatisfied with Director Zhang's handling of the matter, suddenly became furious.
"Probationary period" is nothing. This kid might come back in three to five months. For this kind of person, we should just kill him and not give him any chance to recover.
Moreover, Zhuang Rui, who has always considered himself to be quite intelligent, has never been as embarrassed as he was today. He was almost kicked out in public, and he had never vented his anger on Liu Chuan since childhood.
"Director Hu, please wait..."
Zhuang Rui suddenly stood up from the sofa and walked quickly toward Hu Ming.
"Mr. Zhuang... I really..."
Hu Ming didn't know why Zhuang Rui had called him, and was just about to apologize when Zhuang Rui appeared in front of him. Immediately afterward, Hu Ming felt a sudden jolt in his head, as if firecrackers had exploded in his ears during the New Year, and his vision filled with tiny stars.
Hu Ming was in a daze and had no idea what was going on, but Director Zhang and Ouyang Jun, who were sitting directly opposite the gate, could see everything clearly.
Just as Zhuang Rui caught up with Hu Ming, he suddenly raised his right hand, pressed down on Hu Ming's head, and slammed it hard against the threshold. Although Zhang Taichang was more than 10 meters away from Zhuang Rui, he still clearly heard a "thud," like a rotten watermelon falling from the sky.
Looking at Hu Ming again, his face was a mess, red with blood and white with snot. His once hooked nose was now sunken, clearly indicating that he had broken his nasal bone.
"Brother Ouyang, isn't this... this is going too far?"
Director Zhang was so shocked by Zhuang Rui's actions that he stood up. As the saying goes, a gentleman uses words, not fists. The political arena in mainland China is different from that in Taiwan, where a disagreement can easily escalate into a physical fight. Director Zhang had been working in the system for so many years, and this was the first time he had ever seen such a scene.
In China's officialdom, conspiracies and schemes abound, and backstabbing is commonplace. However, physical violence is against people, which is against the rules. China is a land of etiquette with five thousand years of civilization.
"Too much? My brother said he'd cripple him and then put him on probation, humph..."
Ouyang Jun was also very dissatisfied with Director Zhang's handling of the matter. If it had been dismissal, that would have been more appropriate. Zhuang Rui's actions were exactly what he wanted. Ouyang Jun used to be a brave and ruthless character. He wasn't afraid of blood; in fact, he got excited about it.
"That's enough, Ouyang Jun. We've already given you face. Stop making a scene. If you escalate this, you won't look good either..."
Director Zhang was put in an awkward position by Ouyang Jun's words. After all, he was a vice-ministerial level cadre who was used to being bossy. When Ouyang Jun, an outsider, challenged him, he couldn't help but put on his directorial airs.
What angered Director Zhang even more was that although the threshold of the office was made of imitation mahogany, making the blood splatter less noticeable, the pool of blood on the floor stung his eyes. Zhuang Rui's actions clearly showed that he didn't take him seriously.
Aside from the old man from Yuquan Mountain, Ouyang Jun wasn't afraid of his own father. He naturally scoffed at Director Zhang's words, his face darkening as he slowly said, "What's wrong with me? I'm just a businessman, and my cousin doesn't even have a business; he's just a collector. So what if things get out of hand? Are you planning to send us both to the detention center, Director Zhang?"
Ouyang Jun's words surprised Director Zhang. Yes, what could he do to them? Neither of these two were people within the system, and these official words had no effect on them.
Moreover, given the political upheavals at the end of last year, various ministries are now facing reshuffling and adjustments. And the one in the Ouyang family is a member of the Standing Committee. If those two boys were to say a few bad things about him during the New Year, he might not be able to hold onto his position.
Although Director Zhang has people behind him, he can't help being targeted by petty people. A hundred good words from others are often not as effective as one bad word from some people. Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Director Zhang's forehead.
"Brother Ouyang, that's not what I meant..."
Director Zhang realized that official jargon and platitudes were useless when dealing with Ouyang Jun. He regretted it in his heart. He thought, "I've already hit him. It's not like he's the one being hit. Why did I have to say anything?"
"Ah! Someone's being hit! Someone's being attacked!"
Just as Director Zhang was about to say a few conciliatory words to salvage the situation, a heart-wrenching scream suddenly came from the doorway. It turned out that Director Hu had finally come to his senses. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, he suddenly felt a leak in his mouth, and the scream of "killing" suddenly turned into "sucking".
"puff……"
Director Hu opened his mouth and spat out two front teeth into his palm. The soreness and numbness on his face had subsided, but he felt the pain was getting worse, and snot and tears involuntarily streamed down his cheeks.
"Kid, I said I'd cripple you, you can't go back on your word, right?"
Zhuang Rui affectionately put his arm around Hu Ming's shoulder, whispered something in his ear, and then shouted, "Director Hu, you're such a grown man, how can you be so careless? You can even bump into a door while walking. Tsk tsk, you've really wasted your life..."
Before Hu Ming could even process Zhuang Rui's words, Director Zhang's voice rang in his ears again: "Little Hu, you can't even watch where you're walking. Hurry up and go get your wound bandaged. How can you do your job well if you're so reckless..."
Upon hearing Director Zhang's words, Hu Ming wished he could bang his head against the wall again. "Is there no justice in this world? They're all a bunch of snakes and rats!"
But Hu Ming never considered that when he used his power to seduce women into bed, and when he plotted against Zhuang Rui behind his back, he never thought of this outcome. What goes around comes around.
"It's just two teeth, forget it. I'll be affectionate with you next time we meet. Get lost. By the way, if you're thinking of calling the police, you should first consider whether they'll believe your station manager Zhang or you..."
Zhuang Rui patted Hu Ming's shoulder affectionately, then rubbed his face roughly with the collar of his jacket, but the force was a bit too strong, causing Hu Ming to shout loudly in pain.
Hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Director Zhang's face twitched. This young man was nothing like an expert; he was a complete scoundrel, and a cultured one at that, knowing how to use himself as a shield.
The eighth floor is the station director's office, and the station staff are all busy with the Spring Festival Gala. One or two people peeked out, then immediately closed the door again. One of the key principles of officialdom is to mind your own business.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Hu Ming's face turned completely green. It seemed that the other party was still unwilling to give up. He realized that if he stayed in Beijing, he would definitely be crippled. Hu Ming stopped shouting, took off his jacket, covered his face, and rushed out of the station director's office.
After a grueling New Year in Beijing, Hu, a rising star at CCTV, made a wise decision: to resign and head south. Relying on his past connections, he took photos of women who wanted to become famous, and even made music videos. Several years later, he finally returned to the public eye with a set of wildly popular nude photos that swept the country. Of course, that's another story.
Zhuang Rui and Ouyang Jun, accompanied by Director Zhang, had a meal at the restaurant inside the CCTV building.
Although the meal was eaten in a private room, it was still seen by many observant people as they went in and out. Combined with the scene of Director Hu leaving the CCTV building in a sorry state, the outcome was self-evident.
Chapter 527 Column Group
Director Hu was quite busy. After having a few drinks with Zhuang Rui and Ouyang Jun, he left in a hurry, leaving only the four of them in the private room. They ate quite comfortably, and it must be said, the chef's skills at this restaurant were really good.
"What? You want me to continue participating in this program? Fourth Brother, you can go by yourself if you want, I'm not doing this expert role anymore..."
Zhuang Rui called out to Miao Feifei, and just as the two were about to leave, Ouyang Jun stopped them.
Ouyang Jun curled his lip and said, "Of course you have to continue participating in the show. That idiot director got replaced, otherwise people will think you two were fired, which would be embarrassing..."
"I said, can't we just live a simpler life? Why make things so complicated..."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui's head spun. But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that if he hadn't relied on Ouyang Jun's influence, this matter would have been much more difficult to handle. Ouyang Jun, in turn, had relied on his family's influence, and with everything linked together, he naturally had to protect his family's reputation.
“If you don’t go, I’ll tell your aunt that you hit someone today…”
Ouyang Jun said with a wicked smile, he had figured out Zhuang Rui's weakness. He was a filial son and was afraid of upsetting his mother. Actually, it didn't matter whether Zhuang Rui participated in the show or not. It was just that Ouyang was bored and wanted to amuse Zhuang Rui.
"You can't talk like that! You're such a scoundrel. But Xiao Rui, going on TV won't do you any harm. I used to know someone in your circle who was begging around to get on TV but couldn't..."
Xu Qing gently patted Ouyang Jun, also encouraging Zhuang Rui to participate in the program. She herself was in the entertainment industry and knew the ins and outs of it very well.
"He'd love to be on TV so he can hook up with more girls. Didn't you see how the host practically threw herself at him?"
Miao Feifei's voice suddenly rang out from the side, but her words sounded sour.
"Hey, Officer Miao, who did I flirt with? Last time... um, I can't say anything carelessly, I really can't participate in this show..."
Zhuang Rui cried out that he had been wronged, and almost revealed what had happened when he and Ouyang Jun went to Bai Feng's house last time.
"Brother Zhuang, I've been looking for you for ages! Let's go, the show is about to start recording..."
Just as Zhuang Rui and Miao Feifei were entangled in their argument, Fatty Jin appeared in front of Zhuang Rui, panting heavily, followed by Li Jia, the top anchor of CCTV-2.
"Teacher Jin, I..."
"Hello, Mr. Zhuang. I'm Li Jia, the director and producer of this Spring Festival special program. The only thing missing in the production team right now is a jade expert. You absolutely have to step in! By the way, this is your special guest certificate. On behalf of the Spring Festival special program team, I sincerely invite you to join us..."
Before Zhuang Rui could refuse, Li Jia stepped forward, took out a large red silk certificate, and respectfully handed it to Zhuang Rui with both hands.
Li Jia was originally just the producer of the show. Unexpectedly, after Director Hu's incident, he was notified at the last minute that he would also take on the role of director, which was a windfall for him.
Those who work in journalism are never short of a spirit of exploration. After Director Hu left the CCTV building, the whole story had already spread throughout the CCTV lobby. Li Jia naturally understood Zhuang Rui's importance, so she brought Jin Pangzi to invite him.
Moreover, the station just gave instructions to make this Spring Festival treasure appraisal program a success and a high-quality production, so Li Jia still feels a lot of pressure.
As the saying goes, one can't hit a smiling face. Seeing this famous TV personality, so familiar from television, respectfully handing him the invitation with both hands, Zhuang Rui really felt embarrassed to refuse.
Back in the CCTV lobby, Zhuang Rui noticed something strange: everyone, whether they knew him or not, greeted him with smiles. Even Teacher Feng, who claimed to be the friend of women across the country, chatted with Zhuang Rui for a few minutes, making him feel quite uncomfortable.
It wasn't good to refuse people during the Chinese New Year, so Zhuang Rui smiled and nodded in response to each one. However, by the time he reached the Spring Festival Treasure Appraisal Program team, his smile had become somewhat stiff.
Upon arriving at the program set, which had just been occupied by someone else, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but chuckle when he saw several expert team members dressed just like him. It turned out they were all familiar faces, except for Fatty Jin. There was President Qian, Teacher Sun, and Teacher Tian, who was an expert in ceramics, plus the host Liu Jia—the entire original team from the trip to Jinan.
This made Zhuang Rui very happy. Although he had collected quite a few items, he was too busy and rarely had time to discuss them with experts in various categories of collecting.
Zhuang Rui knew that although his ability to identify antiques was more accurate than that of the experts, in terms of experience, he was still far inferior to these old guys who had been in the antique business for decades. Moreover, the anecdotes about antiques that he heard from them were quite fascinating.
Apart from Fatty Jin, who had more social connections, the rest of these people were all academics. They knew nothing about what had just happened and didn't care. So they chatted about things they hadn't seen recently that were of any interest, and who had picked up some treasure at Panjiayuan. The atmosphere was quite pleasant.
"Teachers, may I interrupt for a moment and explain the recording process of the program?"
While Zhuang Rui and the others were chatting enthusiastically, Li Jia and Liu Jia walked together into the separate hall where Zhuang Rui and the others were. This hall contained only a long rectangular table with five chairs behind it—the seats for the five experts.
"Yes, Li Jia, please go ahead..."
The group stopped and all looked at Li Jia.
"Here's the thing, this filming is divided into two parts. One part is me and Liu Jia hosting, and the other part is the experts' appraisal session. Because of the tight schedule, both groups need to film simultaneously, so I'd like to ask for the experts' opinions. There are also a few points that need to be noted..."
After listening to Li Jia's words, the group realized that this CCTV treasure appraisal program was quite different from the one they had participated in last time.
The first difference is that some appraisers did not come in person, but entrusted the items to be appraised to the program team. In this case, the program team needed to find some staff members to act as appraisers.
Secondly, unlike the previous treasure appraisal in Jinan, this time there were so many antiques brought to the appraisal program that it was impossible to show them all in just one hour.
Therefore, Zhuang Rui and others had to select these items before filming began, choosing some representative ones to be broadcast on the show.
Of course, this so-called representativeness does not mean that everything must be genuine. Even if it is a fake, if it is unique and can popularize antique knowledge for the audience, it can also be included in the program.
In addition, during filming, the two hosts will first film their interactions with the appraisers outside, while Zhuang Rui and others only need to evaluate the items brought in by the people entering for appraisal. The rest of the work will be edited in post-production.
"Alright, let's go see what's on the menu first. We need to find these things before the show can begin..."
After consulting with the others, Fatty Jin nodded in agreement.
Seeing that Fatty Jin had agreed to their plan, Liu Jia said, "Okay, then I'll take the teachers to see the things first..."
To Zhuang Rui's surprise, Liu Jia suddenly became dignified and poised, not even glancing at him directly.
In fact, Liu Jia's change of attitude was also due to what had just happened. She learned from Li Jia that Zhuang Rui's background was so powerful that even the head of CCTV had to bow down to him, which made Liu Jia want to back down.
Liu Jia was a smart woman. She knew that her past was questionable and that it was practically impossible for her to enter such a powerful family. Therefore, Liu Jia gave up the idea of seducing Zhuang Rui.