Chapter 94

false

The Provincial Top Ten Outstanding Youth award, since its first selection, has now entered its sixth year, but this is the first time it’s being presented in the form of a gala, so the station leadership is taking it extremely seriously.

At this moment, the gala is being recorded under tight schedule, and Deputy Station Director Jiang Jianhua is watching the recording on-site.

Zhao Jianlong is one of the young men he most admires—energetic, bold, capable, and already a millionaire at a young age. Jiang Jianhua himself pushed hard behind the scenes to get Zhao Jianlong selected as one of the Top Ten Outstanding Youth.

At this moment, a woman in her thirties walked in through a side door holding a newspaper, hurried over to Jiang Jianhua’s side, and whispered something to him. Jiang Jianhua turned to look at her and replied with a few words.

The woman nodded, handed the newspaper to Jiang Jianhua, and pointed to an article on it. Jiang Jianhua looked down and his expression instantly changed; he stood up and walked toward the director.

“Old Wang, stop recording.”

Old Wang blinked: “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Jianhua whispered: “Don’t ask. Find an excuse. Give me one hour.”

Old Wang saw Jiang Jianhua’s grim face and knew something had happened—something serious, or they wouldn’t halt the recording.

“Got it.”

Jiang Jianhua glanced at the selection committee members seated in front, participating in the recording, and said to the woman beside him: “Notify every member of the committee to gather in the third-floor conference room. Hurry, hurry, hurry.”

Jiang Jianhua said “hurry” three times in a row—clearly he was extremely anxious—but also felt a sliver of relief. If this bomb had exploded after the gala aired, the heads of the organizing body, relevant departments, and even he himself—who had strongly recommended Zhao Jianlong—would all suffer dire consequences.

Fortunately, all the committee members were already on-site. If they’d had to track each one down individually, it would’ve taken too long. If they couldn’t finish recording today and missed tonight’s broadcast, he as the responsible director would still face serious fallout.

In less than ten minutes, representatives from over ten joint organizing bodies—the Provincial Youth Federation, Provincial Radio and Television Station, Provincial Youth Daily, Provincial Daily, Provincial Evening News, Provincial Workers’ Daily—and the heads of the organizing body and relevant departments all arrived in the third-floor conference room.

“Old Jiang, what’s going on?” asked Meng Hui, head of the organizing body.

Jiang Jianhua said nothing, just handed him the newspaper: “Take a look.”

Meng Hui took it, glanced at it, and frowned: “What does this article have to do with us?”

Jiang Jianhua said: “Look closely—the article names it: Jiangzhou Tenglong Arcade, owner Zhao Jianlong.”

Meng Hui finally realized: “You mean this Zhao Jianlong is the same Zhao Jianlong who was nominated for our Top Ten Outstanding Youth?”

“Yes!” Jiang Jianhua nodded.

“What the hell?” Meng Hui snapped. “Isn’t this Zhao Jianlong supposed to be an entrepreneur? How did he end up running an arcade? And he’s running a gambling den, luring minors into gambling? How did he even pass the preliminary screening?”

Jiang Jianhua naturally wouldn’t admit he’d manipulated everything: “The arcade is just one small part of his many businesses. Who knew his arcade had such serious problems?”

“Thank goodness this bomb went off early—it’s not too late to fix it.” Meng Hui was furious, but since it had already happened, anger wouldn’t help—only damage control mattered. “Everyone, take a look.”

Others had sensed something was wrong but didn’t yet know the details; they passed the newspaper around, each face showing a look of relief.

The Provincial Daily’s editor snorted, glanced at Jiang Jianhua. During the selection, he’d already warned that Zhao Jianlong had serious issues. But Jiang Jianhua pushed hard for him, so he’d stayed silent. After all, it wasn’t worth angering Jiang Jianhua over this—and now the bomb had exploded.

“Have you all finished reading? From the list of those who didn’t make it, pick a replacement. Who do you suggest?”

One man said: “Wu Weili, the rural teacher. He’s devoted sixteen years to rural education, sacrificing his entire youth in the mountains. More than ten of his students got into university, three of them into top-tier schools. Over thirty got into vocational colleges.”

Another said: “I agree. Wu Weili alone has kept the entire mountain village’s education alive.”

Another raised his hand: “Approved!”

Meng Hui raised his hand: “Approved!”

Some had been harboring private agendas, but seeing Meng Hui vote first, they dropped their thoughts. They also knew time was tight—if they argued endlessly and delayed the recording, no one would benefit.

“Approved!”

“Approved!”

“Approved!”

“...”

Finally, Jiang Jianhua raised his hand: “Approved. But there’s one problem—Wu Weili can’t make it to the recording. What do we do?”

Everyone exchanged glances. This was indeed a problem.

Meng Hui said: “Go get the director. He’s a professional—he’ll have a solution.”

Jiang Jianhua nodded, stood up, left the conference room, found a staff member, and told him to bring Director Old Wang over.

Old Wang arrived quickly. Jiang Jianhua explained the situation. He finally understood what had happened, thought for a moment, and said: “Have the host introduce his achievements, then have someone else accept the award on his behalf. We’ll personally deliver the certificate later and film a special feature.”

“Perfect!” Jiang Jianhua made the decision. Many below him rolled their eyes—hadn’t it been your strong recommendation of Zhao Jianlong that caused this mess?

The Top Ten Outstanding Youth include police officers, doctors, workers, ticket sellers, and so on—besides Zhao Jianlong, the so-called “entrepreneur,” all are frontline workers in their respective fields.

Zhao Jianlong was supposed to be the fourth to take the stage. Unexpectedly, just as it was his turn, the audio equipment malfunctioned, halting the recording. He was frustrated.

He wanted to smoke a cigarette, but looked around and remembered he was an entrepreneur—he had to maintain his image. He thought of stepping out to smoke, but feared the equipment might be fixed and he’d miss his cue.

After all, this wasn’t Jiangzhou—it wasn’t his territory. In Jiangzhou he was someone important, but here in the provincial capital, at this TV station, even a dragon had to coil up.

Time ticked away. Nearly an hour had passed, and the equipment still wasn’t fixed. Zhao Jianlong couldn’t hold back his craving any longer—he stood up, ready to leave. He figured stepping out just to smoke one cigarette couldn’t hurt.

He’d just stood up when he saw Jiang Jianhua and all the selection committee members arriving. His face lit up, and he sat back down. Clearly, the equipment had been fixed, and recording was about to resume.

Over the years, he’d donated money every year, and the news had covered it—but this was his first time on television, and on a gala. He was excited, yet nervous.