Chapter 41

When the passage door in front of Jia Hongjian was slowly opened by the staff, in Shanghai, 1,463 kilometers away from Beijing, in the fifth class of the first year at Shanghai Experimental School, the teacher was analyzing a chemical equation at the podium. Suddenly, Jia Jingxing felt someone tap him on the back. He turned around and found that the person behind him had passed him a note.

He opened it and saw the words, "Is everything okay with Brother Hongjian? I saw in the newspaper that many experts are saying not-so-nice things, Ziyuan." He snorted coldly and turned his head to look at Zhao Ziyuan, who was sitting at the back of the classroom, looking worried.

Just as Jia Jingxing was about to turn back, he suddenly froze. He noticed that almost all the students in the back half of the classroom were looking at him. Their eyes were filled with the same concern as Zhao Ziyuan's, as if they were all worried about Jia Hongjian and wanted to seek reassurance from him, the person closest to Jia Hongjian.

"Hmph, you guys," Jia Jingxing muttered, turned back, and wrote something on the note before passing it to the boy behind him. The boy immediately opened the note eagerly, smiled broadly, and passed it on to the next person...

Next to Jia Jingxing, a seat was empty. This seat was usually the focus of the entire class, and the area around it was always the liveliest. On the seat separated by an aisle, the ice-cold beauty Zhou Rihan, who usually followed the teacher's chalk movements, suddenly paused. She then gradually shifted her gaze to the empty seat beside her. She looked at it for a second, glanced at the boys who were smiling after reading Jia Jingxing's note, and then expressionlessly turned her gaze back to the blackboard...

In the third row of the fourth class of the Shanghai No. 3 Women's High School in Changning District, a delicate girl in a light yellow dress secretly passed a note to the gentle and graceful girl next to her. The gentle girl took the note, suppressed her worry, and wrote some comforting words before passing it back...

In the second class of the first year at Cao Yang No. 2 High School in Putuo District, a girl whom Jia Hongjian called "Little Fox" was looking out the window to the north, a mischievous smile on her lips, as if she were watching some prank through the vast distance...

In Beijing, in the second studio of CCTV, a few hundred audience members were clenching their fists, staring at the passage door. As the door slowly opened, they held their breath, waiting to cheer for the thief who belonged to them!

Gradually, as the prop door was pulled up, a figure appeared. "Oh oh oh! Little Jia, don't be nervous, we Shandong people support you!" "Jia, don't be scared! We Shaanxi people support you! Cheers!" "Little Jia, don't be scared, we Beijing guys support you, show some spirit!"...

However, when Jia Hongjian appeared under the studio lights, everyone was stunned. Not just the audience who had been cheering, but even the experts who had been making bold statements were also stunned. They looked at Jia Hongjian's dark face in disbelief.

When Jia Hongjian walked to Shui Junyi's side, the host said, "Let me explain to the audience, guests, and viewers at home. Jia Hongjian is not naturally this skin color. He is actually much fairer and more handsome than me. However, for safety reasons, to ensure his personal safety in the future, he has specially made up his face like this..."

Shui Junyi, knowing his limits, did not say more, but his message was clear to the audience. Instantly, the audience's gaze towards Jia Hongjian changed, filled with admiration, sympathy, and even indignation...

"Please sit down, Jia Hongjian. Can you tell us about your thoughts on buying fake goods?"

"Thoughts? During the summer vacation, I was browsing in a bookstore and saw a book called 'Consumer Rights Protection Law.' I found it interesting and bought it to read. Later, one day while walking on the street with my neighbor's sister, I suddenly noticed that a Sony calculator in a certain mall didn't seem to meet the quality standards of the Sony brand. I immediately thought of the 'Consumer Rights Protection Law.' After a long internal struggle, I decided to use all the money I had saved from childhood to buy the fake Sony calculator. I thought that since the law stipulates this, I should follow it. This way, I can earn some pocket money and also benefit the country and the people..." Jia Hongjian calmly explained his thoughts while sitting in the chair.

Although this account was somewhat different from the facts, Jia Hongjian's narration was sincere, as if this was the genuine thought of a 15-year-old. However, at this moment, the fat and greasy deputy director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, Wang Shouren, interrupted, "Little Jia, you are wrong. I am not criticizing you, but you want to do good for the country and the people, which is a very good idea, right? But I think that if you want to do good, you shouldn't mix in economic factors, right? Why not be purer in your intentions? If you find possible counterfeit goods, you can report them to the local Industry and Commerce Bureau. This way, you can do good for the country and the people without worrying about your safety, right? Wanting to do good and also wanting to make money are fundamentally contradictory, and the school education..."

As Jia Hongjian listened, he felt more and more that something was wrong. Although Director Wang's words seemed easy to accept and appeared to be offering advice, the underlying message was that Jia Hongjian should not seek compensation for buying fake goods but should report them directly to the bureau. This sounded like he was using high-sounding words to keep the benefits for himself.

Moreover, why did he seem to separate making money from doing good for society so clearly? It was as if doing good meant doing it like Lei Feng, expecting nothing in return, or else just seeking profit without doing good. Was he trying to absolutize the issue, setting the standard for a good person to that of a saint, or was he preparing to smear Jia Hongjian?

"Yes," at this moment, the law professor from Yanjin University, "Yue Buqun" Wang Changshou, also chimed in, "Little Jia, what you did is actually skirting the edge of the law, trying to exploit legal loopholes. Fortunately, this time it was the Consumer Rights Protection Law. I think you should really drop this idea of trying to take advantage of the law. If you encounter other laws in the future, you might end up in prison, which would not be good for you..."

Jia Hongjian felt increasingly annoyed. He gradually put aside his playful attitude and spoke up, "Experts, I don't understand why one can't seek some benefit for oneself while doing good for the country and the people?" Jia Hongjian frowned and asked seriously.

"You little student!" Director Wang glared at Jia Hongjian with a look of disappointment, as if he were genuinely disappointed! "It's like finding a wallet on the street with a lot of money inside. If you do good, you return the wallet to the owner without taking the money. If you do bad, you keep the money. But if you return the wallet and ask for a reward, is that doing good? Is that being a good person?"

"How is that not doing good? How is that not being a good person?" Jia Hongjian became serious, "Even if you ask for a reward from the owner, is that not doing good? The owner's cash and documents are saved from being lost, and the trouble of losing documents is avoided. In such a situation, how is that not doing good? Just because you asked for a reward, should you be despised? Just because you did good and asked for a reward, should you be treated the same as a bad person and be despised? Did you really do good? Did you or did you not? Who is better for society, someone who does good and asks for a reward, or someone who does bad?"

"What about the virtuous woman and the prostitute? Our country has long abolished the profession of prostitution! Why do you, a young student, have such unhealthy thoughts in your head... How can the people of our socialist country lack such awareness? How can they do good only for a reward? Don't you defame the people of our socialist country!"

"Stop, stop, stop!" The director shouted through the speaker, "Ladies and gentlemen, don't go too far. We didn't have this in the script. A little improvisation is fine, but if you go too far, especially if you start attacking the country, we can't broadcast it. It will definitely be cut. If you want your words to be on TV, please control yourselves... Okay, five, four, three, two, one, start!"

When Jia Hongjian heard that they were starting again, he didn't let Director Wang speak. He quickly asked, "Awareness is too abstract. Why can't ordinary people do good for a little reward? If everyone were saints, then they wouldn't need to be paid for their work. Paying for work is so vulgar! So unselfish! So dirty! It's almost like a crime, right, Director Wang? Confucius criticized his student 2,000 years ago for this. You may not know, but his student wanted to set an example by refusing the reward promised by the Duke of Lu after doing good. Confucius scolded him for being selfish! Confucius said that by setting an example, others would feel pressured to do the same, and eventually, no one would want to do good without a reward. Do you not know this, Director Wang? Are you going to insist on this in 1993, despite Confucius' clear opposition 2,000 years ago?"

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