Reborn in the red age

Jiao Zhijie spent an entire afternoon in the Huaxin Building, showing twenty or thirty photos and telling dozens of stories that made anyone sad and cry.

He talked so much that his mouth was dry and his tongue was hoarse. He even changed the water in the teapot several times, but Li Qingfeng just wouldn't give in.

Jiao Zhijie lost his patience after not getting any results. He simply asked Li Qingfeng to donate money. "Teacher Li, I won't beat around the bush. I came here today because I sincerely hope that you can do more to help these poor people in need."

"Look at the children and the elderly in this photo. Their lives are so difficult. They hope that there will be kind people like you to help them. Buddhism says that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Every good deed you do is accumulating merit for yourself and your children."

Hearing what Jiao Zhijie said, Li Qingfeng curled his lips in his heart. You, Jiao Zhijie, are really uneducated. Buddhism talks about merit and virtue, while Taoism talks about yin virtue and yang virtue.

If you mix Taoism and Buddhism, if religious fanatics hear it, they will chase you out.

Qingfeng Li sighed deeply, put down the teacup in his hand, and said, "You can donate. If the money can really be used, let alone two million, even if it's ten million, what's the use? It's just a small amount of money."

"That"

After hearing Li Qingfeng's statement, Jiao Zhijie's face immediately became overjoyed and he was about to speak quickly, but he only said one word before Li Qingfeng stopped him with a gesture.

Li Qingfeng continued, "But how can you guarantee that the money I donate will be given to those in need? The donations to your unit are not supervised. How to donate and to whom to donate are all decided by your grassroots leaders. There are too many loopholes. The people below can easily put the donations into their own pockets."

"Teacher Li, don't worry, we have a complete set of processes and supervision mechanisms. Every donation in and out is recorded in detail, and..."

"Forget it, forget about your self-regulatory mechanism. You may fool the people with this rhetoric, but don't mention it to me."

Jiao Zhijie's face changed. He thought that Li Qingfeng simply didn't want to donate money and was a black-hearted capitalist who didn't care about the lives of the grassroots people. That's why he made so many excuses and found fault with everything.

Thinking of the donation-seeking mission he had promised himself at the meeting before coming here, Jiao Zhijie could only patiently explain again: "Teacher Li, we are really not what you think. We have a special supervision department within our charity organization, and all the members are highly respected, fair and honest."

Before he could finish his words, Li Qingfeng interrupted him again: "Which official was not highly respected before he was caught? Which one was not fair and honest? There are people who dare to take money that will lead to being shot. I don't believe that your place, where most people who take money are fired, can really be spotless."

Hearing Li Qingfeng's merciless words, Jiao Zhijie was so angry that his face turned blue. He stood up suddenly. It was because the sofa was heavy. If it was a chair, it would have been kicked over.

"Li Qingfeng, don't go too far. Do you think that just because you have a few bucks, you can make malicious assumptions about us? Our comrades are working hard on the front lines. In order to help more people in need, our staff have worn out countless pairs of shoes. You are here to mock us. What do you think of us?"

Jiao Zhijie's voice was filled with anger. He pointed at the photos on the coffee table and continued to rant: "Are the tragic conditions of these children and elderly people fake? I thought you were an entrepreneur with a conscience, but I didn't expect you to be a fraud who has no conscience at all."

Facing the angry spit pointed at his nose, Qingfeng Li was not angry at all. Instead, he calmly picked up a few photos on the table to cover his face to prevent the spit from flying onto his face.

After Jiao Zhijie finished scolding, Li Qingfeng put down the photo that was covering his face.

"Are you done scolding me? Do you want to continue scolding me?"

"."

"Now that you've finished scolding me, it's my turn now." Li Qingfeng also stood up and pointed at Jiao Zhijie's nose and sneered: "I'm talking to you about supervision, and you're talking to me about conscience? You're even saying that I'm deceiving the world and stealing my reputation. How ridiculous!"

"Let's not talk about small donations. How many times have I donated more than 91 million US dollars? Let's not talk about the distant past. Just take the flood. How much did I donate? The first batch donated million US dollars. Just for the East China flood, the donations exceeded million. Tell me, can you find any Chinese in the world who donated more than me?"

"What about you? How much have you donated? More than a thousand dollars? Who the hell gave you the courage to accuse me of being a black-hearted capitalist? You are totally out of your mind."

Li Qingfeng also picked up the photos on the table, shoved them into Jiao Zhijie's face and continued to rant, "Do you think that just by showing me a few photos and telling me a few tragic stories, I will pay you money? I'm telling you, no way! No one's money comes from the wind. Even if I use my money to keep warm, I won't transfer it to your bastards."

After being harassed by this guy for an entire afternoon, Qingfeng Li was already annoyed. Now, after pointing his finger at this guy and scolding him, he felt much better.

"You...you...you are slandering us, apologize to our charity immediately." After being scolded by Li Qingfeng, Jiao Zhijie was so angry that he trembled all over, and the finger pointing at Li Qingfeng was shaking a little.

He sat down again calmly, lit a Peony, took a deep breath and exhaled the smoke, then said with a fake smile: "Okay, at your level, your monthly salary is at least 700-800 yuan, which is not low, more than 95% of the people in the country. As long as you can show me the transfer certificate of your donation of more than 1,000 yuan, I will not only publicly apologize to you, but also donate 10 million yuan to you."

Faced with the conditions proposed by Li Qingfeng, Jiao Zhijie, who had just been shaking with anger, stood there in a daze, unable to speak for a long time.

Looking at Jiao Zhijie's expression, Li Qingfeng raised his lips in a disdainful smile. He had seen many people like him. They would only stand on the moral high ground to criticize others, but never look down at themselves.

Provoked by Li Qingfeng's disdainful smile, Jiao Zhijie was not confident enough to argue: "Although I haven't donated that much, the efforts I have made for charity cannot be measured by the amount of donations."

"Heartache? Your heartache is to come here to pester me for an entire afternoon, and then make me believe in your flawed charity mechanism with empty words? Without actual actions, just words, who wouldn't do that?"

"The donations for our organization are raised through the joint efforts of everyone, and everyone is doing their best to help those in need."

"That's your organization, not you. You're standing in front of me now, accusing me of being stingy, but what about you? You don't even have the most basic donations. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"

Li Qingfeng put out his cigarette in the ashtray, stared at Jiao Zhijie with a sharp gaze, and continued: "Don't talk to me about your contribution. You all get paid from top to bottom, and your salary is not low, much higher than that of ordinary workers. Charity is just a job for you. Don't think too highly of yourself."

These words left Jiao Zhijie speechless. He opened his mouth several times to refute, but he didn't know how to say it.

After a long while, Jiao Zhijie, knowing that he could not refute, glanced at Li Qingfeng, packed up his things and prepared to leave.

"Wait, didn't you say we should donate money? I haven't donated yet, and you want to leave?" Li Qingfeng stopped Jiao Zhijie who was about to leave and spoke.

Jiao Zhijie stopped packing and looked at Li Qingfeng coldly: "Now that things have come to this, you will still donate?"

"You still have to donate. You are standing on the moral high ground. If I don't give you some money, and if you come to me and don't donate, once the news gets out, I won't be able to explain myself even if I have a mouth full of words."

These days, the reputation of charitable organizations is not yet bad, and ordinary people still recognize this brand.

If Li Qingfeng didn't show some appreciation when they asked for donations, Jiao Zhijie would tell others about it and Li Qingfeng's reputation would be ruined, or at least he would be known as a miser. Hearing what Li Qingfeng said, Jiao Zhijie suppressed his anger and consoled himself that he could gain something from this scolding.

Sitting back on the couch, he asked, "How much do you want to donate?"

Li Qingfeng didn't say anything. He stretched out a finger and gestured the number eight.

Jiao Zhijie asked uncertainly: "Eight million?"

“Yes, and it’s a cash donation in US dollars.”

Jiao Zhijie took a deep breath, this was the largest donation in the history of the association.

Donating has always been a big deal. Even though many overseas Chinese businessmen donated large sums to China when the country was just opened up, their donations were all targeted.

Most donations are used to build schools, hospitals, roads and bridges, which are construction projects that can leave a lasting impact on people. Cash donations are mostly university scholarships and other donations. Cash donations are rarely deposited into the accounts of charities.

It's not that they are greedy for fame, but the main reason is that they have been involved in overseas charity for so many years, and they know the twists and turns better than anyone else. They know that donating cash to the charity organizations that supervise themselves is useless, and if 500,000 out of one million donated can be put into practical use, they are considered lucky.

If you want the donated money to have the greatest possible impact, you should still donate it to these public facilities that cannot be converted into cash.

Hearing the figure of 8 million US dollars, Jiao Zhijie's face flushed with excitement, and he had already thrown away the unpleasantness just now.
Holding Li Qingfeng's hand, Jiao Zhijie said excitedly: "Teacher Li, you are such a kind person. This donation is a timely help to our charity and those people in need. On their behalf, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to you."

Qingfeng Li pulled his hand back and waved it: "Don't thank me yet, my donation has conditions."

"You said that as long as we can do it, we will definitely meet your requirements."

"First, we will invest $8 million and you will invest $2 million, so that we can raise $10 million in total. We will use this money to jointly establish a charitable foundation. The purchase and use of funds will be disclosed to the public through the media and will be subject to joint supervision by both parties."

"The staff in the fund will be volunteers, with no salary. The foundation will only provide food and lodging. The number will be 200 for the time being, with both sides sending people to join."

After listening to Li Qingfeng's proposal of joint investment, Jiao Zhijie's face darkened. After hearing that employees would send personnel to join from both sides without any salary, Jiao Zhijie stood up and refused without waiting for Li Qingfeng to finish.

Even though the hope of winning by taking out two million dollars is slim, there is still a one in a thousand chance.

However, we absolutely cannot agree to the two sides sending personnel to each other as volunteers.

This is not a proper charity organization. Few of the employees inside are dedicated to charity. They are all regular employees of public institutions. They all have some background and come here just for the leisurely work and good pay.

Let them be volunteers without paying them, that's fine. If I agree to this request, I can forget about my job as vice president.

Li Qingfeng was not at all surprised by Jiao Zhijie's reaction, as this was something he had calculated.

It would be normal not to agree, but it would be abnormal if you agreed.

Li Qingfeng looked at Jiao Zhijie with a half-smile, and continued, "It seems that you will not agree to my conditions. In this case, you will not get the 8 million US dollars."

"Don't be discouraged. Since you're here, I won't let you make a wasted trip. Even if I can't get a large donation, I can still get small donations."

As he said this, he shouted towards the door. He Guangqin, who had already heard the noise inside and was guarding outside the door, walked in immediately.

"Guangqin, go to my office. There is a black bag of money in the drawer of the bookcase. Take it here."

"Ok"

After He Guangqin came back with the black bag, Li Qingfeng pushed the money in front of Jiao Zhijie and said, "Here is 100,000 yuan, a private cash donation. I will not announce it to the public. It is up to you to decide whether to put it into the account or not. Even if you go out and take it from your own home, I have no objection."

"Do you know what you are doing?" Jiao Zhijie looked at the black bag in front of him, his face becoming increasingly gloomy, his eyes filled with anger after being humiliated.

Li Qingfeng remained calm: "Whatever you think, it's a donation of 100,000 yuan, take it or leave it."

"Humph, Qingfeng Li, don't be so self-righteous. We have done countless good things. This 100,000 yuan is an insult to us."

"The average salary in our country last year was only over 4,000 yuan, right? And you are the vice president, but you have never donated even 1,000 yuan. When will donating 100,000 yuan become a humiliation?"

"You, just wait, I will report this to the higher-ups."

"it's up to you"

Jiao Zhijie glared at Li Qingfeng for a moment, grabbed the black bag, and walked towards the door without looking back.

Looking at Jiao Zhijie's departing back, He Guangqin said, "Teacher Li, if they go out and talk nonsense, will it affect your reputation?"

"Forget it. The 100,000 yuan can be used as their company welfare when they return. If he dares to talk nonsense to the public, I will make him open his accounts and find out where the 100,000 yuan went."

He Guangqin has lived in Hong Kong for many years and is not very familiar with the situation in China. After listening to what Li Qingfeng said, he asked uncertainly: "It's impossible? You don't even cook the books?"

"What do you think? If you don't believe me, just keep an eye on them these few days and see if they will pay out employee benefits at the end of the month."

He Guangqin nodded thoughtfully, planning to find someone to follow up after get off work to see the result. (End of this chapter)