Fast Travel Absurdity Sutra

In the machinery factory’s staff quarters, the morning always begins slowly with the loud crowing of roosters.

On weekdays, this sound is like a silent command, awakening the sleeping people in the yard and starting a new day of ordinary and trivial life.

But today, what broke the silence was not the familiar crowing of a rooster, but a penetrating howl.

The crying sounded like a sharp weapon, directly cutting through the tranquility of the early morning and instantly attracting the attention of everyone in the hospital.

The sound originated from the mediation room of the Public Security Bureau. Song Xiang was sitting on the cold cement floor of the mediation room, her face tightly wrapped in gauze. She looked like a severely stomped soup dumpling, the soup—her unstoppable tears—flowing continuously from the gaps in the gauze.

"My face! How am I going to get married in the future?"

Song Xiang cried and slapped her thighs hard. The movement was so big that even the iron thermos beside her was vibrating.

The young policeman opposite who was in charge of taking the statement was trying so hard to hold back his laughter that his face turned red, and his shoulders were shaking uncontrollably like sieves.

The reason was simple. They had spent a lot of time and effort yesterday, carefully examining Song Xiang's face with a magnifying glass. After their actual inspection and the hospital's examination results, they found that Song Xiang had many scars on her face.

However, with so many people around, everyone saw clearly that all this was just Song Xiang slipping and bumping into the window of Zhou Tian's house, which led to such an embarrassing end.

All this has nothing to do with Zhou Tian.

Although Zhou Tian and Xia Jun had a dispute before, she did not directly attack Song Xiang!

Zhou Tian was also invited to the mediation room of the Public Security Bureau early this morning.

She was sitting quietly at the other end of the long wooden chair, holding the enamel pot in both hands and drinking water slowly.

It seemed that none of this had anything to do with her.

This morning, Ms. Wan Wan had specially braided her hair into two sleek pigtails, each tied with a new pink bow. As she swung her legs, the bow fluttered and trembled, making her look like a morning glory untouched by the rain. Amidst the chaos, she appeared remarkably calm and composed.

"After investigation, Comrade Zhou Tian did not commit any fault."

The old policeman finally closed the transcript, and the metal clamp snapped with a crisp sound. The sound was particularly abrupt in the mediation room, and startled Song Xiang, who was still howling, so much that she suddenly hiccupped.

Xia Jun was originally huddled in the corner, counting ants out of boredom.

When he heard this, he raised his head suddenly, and his movement was so hasty that the back of his head hit the billboard behind him with a "bang".

The impact was so strong that it caused the "Confessions will be punished with leniency" slogan on the bulletin board to shake three times.

?

Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Lai Gen and Mrs. Zhao Di are probably the "intelligence agent team" of the machinery factory, and can be called the "human radio station" in the family compound.

As soon as Song Xiang was disfigured, they took action instantly like sharks smelling blood.

Mrs. Wang stood at the cafeteria entrance, dangling Xia Jun's lost plastic sandal. She hadn't let go of it since she'd found it. She introduced it to every worker who came in and out, saying it was Xia Jun's lost sandal, and engaged in a low conversation with them without interruption.

"Did you know? Xia Jun and Song Xiang teamed up to deceive Zhou Tian. They were clearly a couple, but the man pretended to be interested in Zhou Tian, ​​and the woman pretended to be Zhou Tian's best friend. These two people are so calculating. Song Xiang is obviously Xia Jun's girlfriend, but she kept promoting Xia Jun to Zhou Tian, ​​and now they're being held accountable!"

The people around immediately gathered around as if attracted by a magnet, and started asking for details.

What happened yesterday was explosive news for the entire machinery factory.

It simply blew everyone's mind.

Lai Gen's wife was waiting downstairs at the female workers' dormitory, holding up a piece of cloth that had been pulled off by a nearby branch when Song Xiang fell, and she exaggerated:

"Look at these, these are the two swindlers. They pretend to be decent people, but they cheat people out of food, drinks, and even relationships!"

The female workers were whispering to each other, exclaiming from time to time, and the flames of gossip were burning in their eyes.

Mrs. Zhaodi was even more outrageous. She walked back and forth in the courtyard with the three feather dusters that Xia Jianjun had broken.

Wherever she went, she gestured to the people she met.

She gestured and said, "That kid from the Xia family and Song Xiang were always up to no good. This time, they were dealt with by Wan Gong. It's really satisfying! You know, there are some rules for hitting someone with a feather duster..."

In just three days, the entire machinery factory was swept by this gossip storm.

The Xia and Song families became walking gossip hubs, and people could be heard pointing and whispering wherever they went.

?

Lantian had no intention of letting the two off so easily. These days, she hadn't left the house at all, concentrating on settling accounts at home.

She wanted to calculate all the things and money that the original owner had given to Xia Jun and Song Xiang over the years.

When Lantian's account book was spread out on the slightly old eight-immortals table in Wan Wan's house, not only ordinary residents of the family compound, but even the knowledgeable Zhou Mingguo couldn't help but gasp after seeing the contents on it.

On the yellowed paper, densely written records are written:

"During the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1973, Xia Jun borrowed a bowl of braised pork for 1.2 yuan."

"On December 3, 1973, Song Xiang borrowed ten yuan in cash."

"During the Spring Festival of 1974, Xia Jun borrowed 55 yuan in cash."

"In the winter of 1975, Song Xiang borrowed a corduroy jacket."

……

The most amazing thing is that at the end, a total was prominently circled in red pen - RMB 2106.56.

You have to know that more than 2,000 yuan was a huge sum of money at that time, enough to buy most of the goods in the machinery factory's canteen.

Looking at these records, the secret history of Zhou Tian as a "human ATM" for five years was revealed. It turned out that Zhou Tian had been plotted against by Xia Jun and Song Xiang over the years.

Wan Wan's fingers holding the bill trembled slightly, but she was not angry, on the contrary, she was excited.

She thought to herself that this was a good opportunity to make Xia Jianjun completely restrain himself.

Xia Jianjun always liked to play opposite her at work, which made her work much more difficult. But now, the opportunity has come, right?

If a man raises a son with moral flaws, his own character will be questionable.

Facing the dressing mirror at home, she carefully practiced three angry expressions at different angles: dignity with a raised chin, scrutiny with slightly narrowed eyes, and dissatisfaction with the corners of her mouth drooping. After repeated comparisons, she finally chose the "technical backbone-style sneer" when she went out.

When she passed by the boiler room, Old Zhao, who was bending over to shovel coal, suddenly saw her expression and was so frightened that he shuddered and couldn't hold the coal shovel firmly in his hand, and coal dust scattered all over his shoes.

Those who are familiar with Wan Wan know that ten years ago, Wan Wan used this expression to scold a Soviet expert until he cried.

Wan Wan held the special approval document from the factory director in her hand, as if holding an "imperial sword", and walked into the Xia family with her head held high.

At this time, the Xia family's living room was in a mess.

Xia Jianjun, holding a feather duster, chased Xia Jun around the room with an angry look on his face. The rooster feathers on the feather duster flew everywhere, and one of them fell into the jasmine tea that Song Aimin had just drunk.

Wan Wan walked into the Xia family's living room with some reserve.

"Wangong, please sit down."

Xia Jianjun wiped the sweat from his forehead and greeted Wan Wan in a somewhat flattering manner.

He had always been dissatisfied with Wan Wan. Who made him as senior as Wan Wan?

Unfortunately, he had no talent, and knew nothing about craftsmanship and technology. He didn't have Wan Wan's ability to apply what he had learned to other situations. Therefore, although he was a skilled worker, he couldn't be promoted to a key position, nor could he become the top technician in the workshop. He was extremely jealous of Wan Wan and was determined to cause trouble for her.

Over the years, he had repeatedly set obstacles in Wan Wan's way, but in the end, they were all easily resolved by Wan Wan.

It can be said that in the factory, he is Wan Wan’s mortal enemy.

He didn't expect that his second son, who seemed the most insignificant, would give him such a big gift.

This almost cost him his life, and gave Wan Wan a huge handle.

He had to bow his head!

But as soon as his butt touched the bench, he jumped up because of the heat from the number on the bill, "Two thousand?! This, this, this..." His eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

Wan Wan did not sit down, but straightened her back, scanned the people in the room with sharp eyes, and spoke slowly:

"Brother Xia, let's be frank. I didn't make this up."

She tapped the table lightly with her fingers and spoke word by word.

"Every transaction has its origins and consequences. You all know how much my Tiantian has been defrauded by them over the years."

Xia Jianjun wanted to quibble, but Wan Wan interrupted him directly:

"How about this, let's go to the factory director's office and settle this account piece by piece in front of the boss."

She raised her head slightly and glanced at the award certificate on the wall.

"I heard the factory director is looking for technical experts to discuss the newly arrived German machine tools. I'm afraid my visit will delay them for quite a while."

The implicit threat in these words made Xia Jianjun and Song Aimin, who was called over later, turn pale and red.

Song Aimin is Song Xiang's father.

He reacted very quickly, covering Xia Jianjun's mouth with his hand and shouting, "Return it! Return it tomorrow!"

The movement was so violent that even the enamel teacup on the table was overturned, and the jasmine tea instantly spread out on the bill like a messy yellow flower.

After hearing this, Wan Wan showed a smug smile on her face and turned around and left the Xia family quickly.

"Song Aimin, why did you agree to give me money? Let me tell you, I didn't agree."

"Xia Jianjun, don't say I didn't tell you. What do you think we can do if Wan Wan finds out about this to the factory director?"

Xia Jianjun, who was about to stiffen his neck, lost his temper when he heard Song Aimin's words. He hung his head and said to Song Aimin, "We have to settle this account. You pay back what's owed to Song Xiang. I pay back what's owed to Xia Jun."

Song Aimin had no objection to this.

After the two of them calculated, Xia Jun owed 1,407 yuan, and the rest belonged to Song Xiang.

Xia Jianjun was furious!

After sending Song Aimin away, he yelled at Xia Jun, "You little bastard, how could you have spent so much money on me? You're a liar and you only know how to enjoy yourself. I'm going to break your legs."

Xia Jun was in a miserable state now. His father Xia Jianjun chased him and beat him for three streets with a feather duster.

Xia Jianjun chased him while cursing:

"I'll teach you how to be a good person and cheat you!"

"Let you spend money, let you eat, let you cheat money!"

The feather duster was waving in the air, drawing sharp arcs. Xia Jun dodged left and right, screaming from time to time.

Xia Jianjun's original "Feather Duster Trio" beat Xia Jun to a pulp.

The first blow, to his back, made Xia Jun grimace in pain. The second, to his buttocks, made him jump high. The third, to his legs, nearly knocked him to the ground. Amidst this physical pain and mental humiliation, Xia Jun completed his "special education" before going to the countryside.

?

Time passed slowly, and a week later the train platform was bustling with people coming and going.

Xia Jun was carrying a paint-chipped camphorwood box, and his trouser legs were stained with wall dust that he had accidentally rubbed against them when he was beaten the night before. He looked dusty and dirty.

As for Song Xiang, she had no choice but to put on the patched and worn-out pants and prepare to leave the machinery factory and go to the countryside.

Back then, with the help of Zhou Tian's money and materials, she became a very popular and influential figure in the machinery factory!

But now, he has ended up like this, becoming the object of ridicule and topic of conversation among everyone in the factory.

She was wearing a tattered hat and a large mask that covered half of her face. She looked like a quail with all its feathers plucked out. She walked out of the machinery factory compound timidly and fearfully.

The look was so miserable that it was unbearable to look at.

Just when Song Xiang went out, Mrs. Wang had specially waited for her early under the old locust tree in the machinery factory compound.

In order to suppress her laughter, she even pinched her thigh hard, even though she grimaced in pain.

It turned out that she had known for a long time that today was the day when this group of educated youth would set off to the countryside.

Mrs. Wang had heard about Song Xiang's predicament a long time ago, so she couldn't wait to come and see what was going on.

Speaking of her, she is really persistent!

When he saw Song Xiang, his eyes lit up like a badger seeing a melon in a melon field.

No matter what, I have to see it with my own eyes. There is no room for negotiation.

There was actually a rather interesting reason behind her persistence - she was determined to be able to carefully adapt the amazing scene she saw into a total of 18 different versions in the most energetic state of mind.

Moreover, we must spare no effort to make these wonderful stories spread throughout the huge machinery factory as quickly as the wind, and become a topic of conversation for people after dinner.

Lantian squatted under his own grape trellis, chewing a watermelon happily, the bright red juice dripping through his fingers into the soil.

The sunlight fell gently on her, stretching her shadow very long.

The sound of the train station's whistle drifted in. In those green trains bound for the Great Northern Wilderness, some unlucky guy, holding his butt, was probably lying under the hard seat, frantically looking for painkillers.

Thinking of this, Lantian's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a meaningful smile.