Chapter 4: Min Fang's Responsibility

  Min Fang arrived quickly, and when the doorbell rang, Zeng Huisha and Cheng Xiaodong went out together to open the door. As soon as they opened the door, they saw Min Fang standing in front of the door with a bag of fruit in his hand, behind him was a black Crown car.

  "Editor-in-Chief Mian!" Zeng Huisha went up to welcome him.

  "Hello, Brother Zeng. This is your little brother?" Min Fang's gaze was extremely sharp, and he nodded slightly to Zeng Huisha before immediately shifting his line of sight to Cheng Xiaodong.

  "Oh, yes!"

  "Cheng Xiaodong, an agricultural university student, Editor-in-Chief Min, I've long admired your great name!" Cheng Xiaodong smiled at Min and extended his hand.

  "I've also heard of your name, Zeng Ge mentioned it to me before. You were the top scorer in the college entrance examination back then, but you lost your physical exam form and couldn't get into Dongshan Military Academy, so you ended up being assigned to the Agricultural College instead. Well, I guess that's lucky too, since you became a student of Professor Qin Yu." Min Fang didn't show any reserve, but his handshake wasn't particularly enthusiastic either, it was just ordinary.

  "Lost the horse, but didn't enter military school and instead entered agricultural college, it's possible to fulfill my wish of picking chrysanthemums under the east mountain!" These experiences of mine, Zhen Huaisha knew about them, perhaps mentioned to Min Fang, but Cheng Xiaodong doesn't think Min Fang investigated him.

  "Picking chrysanthemums under the east mountain, what a leisurely and carefree wish. Nowadays, young people rarely have such an idea of escaping the world!" He just stood at the door, without any intention of entering the house. Cheng Xiaodong knew that this was just a test for himself, once he entered the house, it would mean sitting down to talk.

  "Having grown up in the countryside since childhood, I deeply understand the difficulties of life. After working hard, I also miss the ease of that time." Cheng Xiaodong said calmly.

  "Alright, Brother Zeng, this little brother of yours is quite interesting. He advances without glory and retreats without shame, it's a unique way of advancing and retreating freely! Here, I bought some fruit for Xiao Yu." Only then did Min Fang reveal the smile that was supposed to accompany his visit, handing over the bag in his hand to Zeng Huisha.

  "Let's go inside and talk!" Zeng Huisha knew that this was a sign that both parties were ready to sit down and have a detailed discussion.

  "Uncle Min is great!" Little Yu, who was studying hard beside the tea table, saw Min come in and greeted him politely with a smile as bright as a flower, making the originally gloomy atmosphere in the house much more relaxed.

  "Little girl is so diligent, your dad can rest assured!" Min Fang was only in his thirties, but speaking like this made him seem a bit old-fashioned. However, as someone of the same generation as Zeng Huai Sha and also his superior, it was fitting for him to speak in such a manner.

  "Hmm, I'm so stupid, if it wasn't for Xiaodong teacher, I would definitely be a poor student now!" said Xiayu shyly.

  "Zeng Ge still didn't listen to my suggestion, should increase nutrition for Xiao Yu a bit more, this kid is too skinny!"

  "There's nothing, I eat a lot, it's just that no matter how much I eat, I don't gain weight", Xiaoyu smiled shyly and said to several people: "Dad, you all talk, I'll go to the inner room"!

  "Go!" With a pitiful look at his own daughter, Zeng Hua nodded in response.

  "Teacher, I still have a few difficult questions, wait a minute, you'll tell me later!" Just as they were about to reach the door, Xiaoyu turned her head and said to Cheng Xiaodong.

  "Alright, you go do something else first!" Cheng Xiaodong nodded in response.

  "Looks like I'm a lot older than you, don't mind me calling you Xiao Dong? What's the story with this article? Did Xiao Dong write it?" Seeing Xiaoyu enter the house and close the door, Min Fang was straightforward.

  "It's... it's true, Xiaodong wrote it and brought it over for me to take a look. I was confused at the time and did something wrong, and also because of the joint signature, I implicated Chief Editor Min." Zeng Huisha said with not a hint of concealment, his voice filled with shame.

  "It's come to this, and regret is useless. Fortunately, we can meet in person, and everything can be discussed. What we need to talk about now is how to resolve this matter perfectly. Since I agreed to co-sign the document at the time, it doesn't matter whether it's entangled or not. Xiaodong, this article was written by you and used by us, what do you have to say? We two brothers won't be bullied by a younger brother!" Cheng Xiaodong is relatively tall, but his face still looks young, standing with the two adults, he really looks like a young little brother.

  "I wrote this piece, although the views and examples in it are all my own, combined with what I've learned and actual experience. However, it has also undergone several revisions by Zeng Ge. If it weren't for the fact that this piece is something Teacher knows about and attaches great importance to, Zeng Ge would have just taken it away, and I would have written another one, making some changes here and there. But now that it's been published in the provincial newspaper, Teacher will definitely see it, and with Teacher's temperament, I'm afraid some trouble might arise. You also know that since I came to Dongshan, I've been taken care of by Zeng Ge, and Xiaoyu treats me even more kindly than my own family."

  "Zeng Ge, Xiao Dong is a good brother, better than you and me by a hundred times! He was plagiarized but the first thing he thought of was us two. If we don't show the due sincerity, then we're not worthy either!" The young man is really on the right track! Min Fang looked at Cheng Xiaodong with appreciation.

  "I'm just a poor and powerless student, I can only show humility to you, a young master, and that famous journalist. You think I'd be willing? That's the result of my hard work for over two months!" Cheng Xiaodong thought to himself, but his face didn't show any resentment, instead, he looked slightly bashful as if being praised.

  "Chief Editor Min, I'm now completely at a loss and can't think of any way to make it up to Xiao Dong. Please tell me what to do, as long as I can do it, I'll definitely follow your instructions!" Zeng Huisha was now only nodding in agreement, but although Min Fang's smile seemed normal, Cheng Xiaodong saw a hint of coldness in his eyes and couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that from now on, this brother Zeng would no longer hold the original position in Min Fang's heart.

  "Alright, since that's the case, I'll tell you, Xiao Dong. I won't hide it from you either. That article has already caught the attention of the provincial committee. Tomorrow afternoon, I and your friend Zeng will be meeting with Qi, the governor in charge of agriculture. You could say this is an opportunity for me and your friend Zeng. As for what benefits we can get out of it, it's hard to say at the moment, but the benefits are definitely not small. So... let's just say I will definitely give you a satisfactory compensation, two options, brother, you can consider them." Min Fang indeed proved to be a reliable person, and after saying a few words, Cheng Xiao Dong had a much better impression of him. However, he was also hesitant in his heart - should he accept Min Fang's compensation?

  "I'm sure Brother Zeng has already told you about my identity. Just now, I thought of two plans," said Min Fang, looking at Cheng Xiaodong. "The first option is that I and Brother Zeng will pool our money together to compensate you. However, it's hard to put a price on an article like this. Although my family is considered a cadre household, my old man has always been clean-handed, so don't expect too much from us. That's the first option. The second compensation plan is that I'll try to arrange a job for you. You're about to graduate, and I think through my connections and my old man's influence, we can find you a decent job in the provincial city. It may not be perfect, but it's better than what the state would assign you. This shouldn't be too hard to achieve, Brother Xiaodong, so consider it."

  Chapter 4: Min Fang's Responsibility