Old Wang Wen/Red Child

　　At noon on this day, Lao Wang delivered a pile of letters to the office as usual. The director asked him if he had eaten? He said that this morning Director Wu gave him a box of Daoxiangcun snacks. Lao Wu is the old curator of this celebrity memorial hall and has been retired for more than ten years. Although he was no longer in his post, the museum still reserved an office for him. Many people who come to visit the museum, especially some leaders, famous artists, and scholars, hope to meet Director Wu and let him tell him about the anecdotes of a certain celebrity.

　　Compared with Director Wu, Lao Wang does not seem to be a figure in the museum. In the eyes of people, he is a migrant worker and a miscellaneous servant. However, Lao Wang's seniority in the museum cannot be underestimated. In the 1980s, this memorial was rebuilt, Lao Wang was a small worker in the engineering team, he was not very skilled, but he was willing to contribute, had the strength in his eyes, and one person could do the work of several people. Director Wu was still the deputy director at that time, responsible for the infrastructure of the memorial. At that time, Lao Wang was still a little king, and he was in his twenties. After all, Director Wu was a literati and knew little about infrastructure, and he found that although Xiao Wang was not highly educated, he was very proficient in the things involved in infrastructure construction. Therefore, he let Xiao Wang go to the curator's office to do back office, help him run projects, run funds, and after two years, they had feelings for each other. At this time, there was a director in the museum, who was the son of the celebrity.

　　The memorial hall is a public institution and has a compilation. But Lao Wang is a migrant worker, and he is not in the editor. Director Wu asked Lao Wang, after the infrastructure in the museum is completed, do you want to stay in the museum, or do you want to do something else outside? Lao Wang said that he had been running with Director Wu for two years, was familiar with everything here, already had feelings, and did not want to leave. Director Wu said that since this was the case, he would discuss with the director of the museum and let Lao Wang stay. As for the salary, they tried to get it higher. At the end of the eighties, the so-called salary was a little higher, which was seventy or eighty dollars. Every month, Lao Wang spends money and will send his wife back fifty yuan. In the rural areas of Shandong at that time, this was not a small income.

　　Lao Wang was responsible for communicating the room, cleaning, and distributing newspapers in the museum. There are a total of more than twenty people in the museum, and there is lunch in the canteen at noon, and it is solved by itself in the morning and evening. Later, with the security guards, Lao Wang teamed up with the security guards, and they cooked their own food. Director Wu and Director Zheng treated Lao Wang as an outsider, and the affairs in the family pavilion were not hidden from him. Lao Wang had a number in mind, and he was happy to see everyone in the museum, as if he had never known that there were still unpleasant things in this world.

　　The curator's father died during the Cultural Revolution. After the old man died, his wife seemed lonely. In the early 1980s, the motherland was a new look, and the old lady was also full of energy, writing, painting and dancing, and was busy every day. In the 1990s, the old lady accidentally felt a headache one day, and then turned around, went to the hospital for a check-up, and found that it was a cerebral infarction. Thanks to the timely rescue, the life was saved, but the sequelae of half-body failure were left behind. The curator's family has a nanny who can take care of the old lady's daily life and three meals a day, but if he goes to the hospital, the curator will have to rely on Lao Wang. Lao Wang was very strong, and he could easily carry the old lady into the car alone, or carry her to the third floor of the hospital. Every time he saw this, the curator was very grateful, and he hoped that Lao Wang would always work in the museum.

　　Director Wu hopes that Lao Wang can continue to work in the museum for a long time. Although Director Wu is the deputy director, almost all the major events and small things in the museum are handled by him, and the director is also a pseudonym. Seeing that Lao Wang was always waiting by Director Wu's side all day long, everyone in the museum talked about it behind his back that Lao Wang was The dry son of Director Wu. In fact, Director Wu has a son and a daughter. Director Wu was a graduate student in the 1960s, assigned to the central cultural department, worked as a newspaper editor, a secretary to the minister, and a director of the department, but no matter what he did, he was willing to hide behind others. He has planned the publication of famous works, participated in some major literary and art awards, and hung the titles of several societies and research societies. Lao Wang was most willing to listen to Director Wu tell him celebrity anecdotes, he felt that his culture was low, if he was proficient in writing, maybe he could also write about their hometown in Shandong like Mo Yan.

　　Lao Wang only has the wheat harvest season and the Spring Festival home throughout the year. Wheat harvesting requires manpower. Lao Wang said that the land in his hometown was planted by his daughter-in-law and in-laws, and it would not be impossible if no one took it. Otherwise, if the season is delayed, late corn cannot be sown. Villagers say that Lao Wang came home not only to harvest wheat and sow corn, but also to cultivate children. Lao Wang said, you know what, passing on the generations is not only the continuation of life, but more importantly, the inheritance of the traditional culture handed down by the ancestors. As soon as the people in the village heard this, they opened their eyes and said that the second elder of the Wang family, who did not know a few big characters, had come out and would speak big words.

　　The years flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Lao Wang had been working in the museum for nearly thirty years. The director of the main curator has retired, and the mother of the curator has also died. Lao Wang couldn't remember how many times he had accompanied the old lady to the hospital. When the old lady left, he accompanied the curator to take the old lady to the crematorium. Then, together with the curator, he picked up the old lady's ashes and put them in the urn. On the day the old lady was buried, he and the curator cried bitterly. After all, Director Wu had experienced a lot of things, and he kept advising the two of them to mourn. Many people who don't know the inside story think that Lao Wang is the family of the old lady and the mother, otherwise how can he cry so sadly.

　　Curator Wu is two years younger than the director, and the director retires, and Director Wu becomes the director. Director Zheng said that for so many years, thanks to Director Wu and Lao Wang, if there is no careful protection of them, the museum does not know how desolate it will be. Everyone knows that people take tea cold, it is said that there are now many celebrity former residences, which is a decoration. There are very few people who usually go, and only when the anniversaries are reached, people will gather and pay their respects.

　　When Lao Wang was fifty years old, Director Wu also retired. Director Wu suggested that the authorities send a new curator as soon as possible. At first, the superiors felt that the young people were not very familiar with the museum, especially this celebrity, so they asked Director Wu to extend it for another year or two. Lao Wang said that if Director Wu did not work, he would also return to his hometown. Director Wu said that you are not a formal staff member, as long as you are in good health, you can work until you are seventy years old. Lao Wang said, When I am seventy, you will be almost ninety. Two years later, the new curator finally arrived. He had little interest in the post. What he values is the leisure here. He asked Director Wu to continue to retain, and Director Wu said that he could retain it, but he did not sit in class, and it was best to let Lao Wang stay. No one in this museum can do it, that is, there can't be no Lao Wang. The new curator said, Lao Wang is so important! Director Wu said, yes, Lao Wang is very important. Over time, you'll know.

　　After some time, the new curator found that Lao Wang was indeed an indispensable figure in the museum. He knew the addresses and telephone numbers of everyone in the museum, and he also knew all kinds of information about the competent units above. As for what positions are placed in the museum, what activities have been held in a certain month of a certain year, and which leading celebrities have come, he can also count the family treasures. The new curator felt that Lao Wang was too good, and he thought that as long as he mastered Lao Wang, he would master everything in the museum.

　　However, things are unpredictable. In the autumn of that year, Lao Wang was found to have stomach cancer during a physical examination. Lao Wang was momentarily confused, he couldn't believe in any way, how could someone who had never been hospitalized in his life suddenly get stomach cancer? He approached the new curator and hoped that the museum would find a way for him. The new curator said that according to the regulations, he did not have the cost of physical examination, not to mention giving him hundreds of thousands of yuan of medical expenses. His best way at the moment is to notify his family and help him with the formalities of the new agricultural cooperative as soon as possible. As for the museum, it also symbolically gave a hardship subsidy of one or two million yuan.

　　Lao Wang said nothing more, and he reluctantly returned to his hometown in Shandong. The daughter-in-law asked him why he was not dry, and he said that he was tired. The daughter-in-law asked him again, is it over without giving you something in the museum? He said, giving twenty thousand dollars. The daughter-in-law looked at the 20,000 yuan that Lao Wang took out of his intimate clothes with the smell of sweat, and said, come back, next year we will cultivate the land well.

　　Lao Wang did not tell his daughter-in-law about his stomach cancer. He took out the two boxes of tea leaves that Director Wu had given him from his bag, shook them in front of his daughter-in-law, and said that this was given by Director Wu. The daughter-in-law said that Director Wu has been really good to you for so many years. Let's not forget his old man! Lao Wang replied yes, and opened a box of tea leaves. What he hadn't expected was that there were no tea leaves there, but twenty thousand dollars in cash. Lao Wang was surprised: "This, what is going on?" The daughter-in-law grabbed the money and said, you still don't understand this, this is a little bit of Director Wu's heart! Do you think, Director Wu used to engage in infrastructure construction, can you not eat some kickbacks? This time you see that you are back, afraid that you will say it, I will give you some money, this is to seal your mouth!

　　The daughter-in-law's words made Lao Wang very angry, and he shouted: Shut up your broken mouth! You are not allowed to abuse Director Wu so badly! The daughter-in-law said, I admit that Director Wu is very good to you, but can you drill into his heart? If you look at the news now, aren't corrupt officials often arrested? Lao Wang said, what can you know as a mother-in-law who farms the land? I dare to swear to heaven that if Director Wu embezzles a penny from the public, I will go out and crash the car!

　　A week later, the director of the museum's office called Lao Wang and said that the unit's physical examination report was wrong, that he had turned it upside down with others, and that the doctor had mistakenly copied someone else's report onto his report. In fact, he didn't have any stomach cancer at all. If Lao Wang did not believe it, he could re-undergo a medical examination. Lao Wang listened and said, I will not check the physical examination, or save some money for the unit. The director said, since you don't have cancer, then you should return the twenty thousand yuan, which is not the unit's, but the unit's staff collectively put together. Lao Wang said, since this is the case, then I thank everyone. I'll mail the money back tomorrow. After saying that, Lao Wang felt that he had forgotten something, so he asked, "Who did I turn my physical examination report upside down with?" The director paused and choked: "It's Director Wu—" Lao Wang's mobile phone snapped to the ground, and he didn't pick it up right away. His mouth kept saying: How is it Director Wu? Is it really Director Wu? Could it be that the medical examination center has made a mistake again?