It was almost midnight when the plane arrived in Guangzhou. Guan Qin and I got off the plane and immediately separated from the tour group. {Free novel} Guan Qin told me that she had told the tour guide that we would not return to Jiangnan until tomorrow, but the tour guide

They refused to refund our air tickets, but Guan Qin later paid more than a thousand yuan to exchange our air tickets for the next day.

I nodded, "That's okay. Anyway, the air tickets can be reimbursed."

She smiled and said: "I think so too."

Then we took a taxi to downtown Guangzhou, booked a room in a hotel and went out to the street together. Guan Qin said she wanted to have a good meal.[

I didn't object because I was hungry too. Moreover, now that we are standing on the soil of our own country, I suddenly feel very at ease. Maybe others will not understand my feeling, but it is very real.

. This is like returning home after a business trip in China. When you return home, when you enter the door of your home, there will always be a sigh - finally going home, it is better to have your own home.

ah......

Although it was close to midnight, the central area of ​​Guangzhou city was still bustling, especially the places where people had late-night snacks.

Although it is winter now, the temperature here is very pleasant.

This was a food stall, and Guan Qin was also very excited. She ordered a lot of dishes and beers in one go.

"Can we drink freely today?" she asked me with a smile.

I shook my head, "It's better to stop. We have to go back tomorrow, and it's already very late."

She looked at me, "You...well, if you want to go back later, that's fine. Anyway, I want to eat and drink enough here. By the way, I'm treating you today, let's talk first."

good."

I asked her: "Why?"

She smiled and said: "No reason. I can't ask you to treat me all the time. Although you are a man, we are friends and collaborators. If you treat me every time, it will make me feel very uncomfortable."

And you gave me such an expensive gift, so I have to repay you in return. This is a food stall, and the price shouldn't be expensive. If I ask you to treat you back in the future, I will be heartbroken."

I couldn't help but laugh, "You really know how to settle accounts. Okay, please do it."

She looked at me and smiled, "Since it's my treat, you should just do as you please, right? In other words, I have the final say today. Is that okay?"

I didn't expect that her real purpose was here, but I thought to myself: Even if I drink, I will not necessarily lose to her. And I have always been able to stay at least sober no matter how drunk I am.

, even though I had problems and made mistakes after drinking before, the most fundamental reason was my unwillingness to restrain my inner desires.

But I am different now, because I have already understood what can and cannot be done, not to mention that my self-control is much stronger now than before.

Besides, some things are just speculation in my mind. Maybe she is not the kind of woman the foreign taxi driver imagined. No, we were foreigners when we were in Australia, so the taxi driver didn’t understand us at all.

Chinese. You know, most of our Chinese women are still very conservative.

Thinking of this, I smiled and said to her: "Okay, then you have the final say."

In fact, the taste of the food here is not as good as what we had in Australia, but because it is in our own country, I can't help but feel relaxed and friendly, so I immediately feel that the food here also has a kind of warmth.

The surrounding scene was also very lively and warm, and we were really hungry, so she and I ate heartily.

Moreover, the two of us quickly drank a bottle of beer each.

"Mayor Feng, how are you? You're still at home at home, right?" She asked me with a smile.

I nodded, "I finally understand the reason why you want to return to China."[

But she shook her head and said: "This is not the real reason why I came back. What I told you last time is the most fundamental reason. Actually, I often think like this: If our country can become richer and freer

That would be great. Alas! But I know that is basically impossible."

I was a little surprised, but then I understood what she was referring to: after all, she was still dissatisfied with the current system in our country. I said, "Why is it impossible? Doctor Guan, compare the situation now with that of ten years ago."

The situation, to be honest, our country has made much progress in terms of economic development and freedom of speech. Doctor Guan, you have to admit this, right?"

She nodded, "Of course I admit it, but this kind of progress does not mean that there are no problems with our country's system, and I feel that the current progress has reached its limit, and it is impossible to make further progress, because any further progress will involve political power."

It’s stable. You have to admit this, right?”

I said: "For a country, nothing is more important than the stability of the political power. Only when the political power of a country is stable can the economy continue to maintain the momentum of rapid development and the people can live and work in peace and contentment."

She asked me: "You mean, this all comes at the expense of people's freedom? The economies of Western countries develop faster than ours, right? But why can they allow people to enjoy real freedom? So, we

Those in power are using the so-called stability as an excuse. Their real purpose is not to restrict the people's right to pursue freedom, but to protect the privileges of vested interests. Therefore, the current system of our country is backward and decadent.

It has to change.”

I immediately looked at her very seriously and said, "Doctor Guan, your thoughts are very dangerous."

She smiled and said: "There are many people with dangerous ideas like mine. Actually, I believe you should have the same views as me. It's just that you are an official and part of the vested interests, so you don't want to admit it.

."

I hurriedly said: "Doctor Guan, let's not talk about such a sensitive issue, okay? You are a doctor and a scholar engaged in natural sciences. You must not get involved in politics. This is my most sincere advice to you. Really

Yes, your thoughts are very dangerous. You can just talk about it in front of me. It’s better to talk less in front of other people.”

At this moment, I suddenly felt that she was a little scary. What was scary was not just her thoughts, but her boldness. It would be fine if she talked like this, but what if she put such thoughts into action?

It will cause big trouble for herself.

For a woman who is willing to give up even marriage in pursuit of so-called freedom, what else can't be done?

But I suddenly felt that I seemed to have thought about the problem too complicatedly, and was too cautious. After all, this is an era of freedom of speech, and even criticizing the government is not a big deal. Didn't someone say that? Criticism

The government is also a kind of patriotism.

But...she seems to be criticizing not just the government's inaction, but also the system of the political power. So, I think it's better that we don't talk about such things anymore.

After hearing what I just said, she immediately smiled and said: "Mayor Feng, look, I scared you! Hehe! Well, let's not talk about this anymore, let's drink."

After we drank another beer together, she smiled and said to me: "But Mayor Feng, we can't just drink in the bar like this? We have to talk about something interesting, right? You and I are both sophisticated and knowledgeable people.

, it’s impossible to talk about family feuds, or talk about a certain leader behind his back, right? To be honest, even in the United States, people can scold the president but they don’t dare to scold their boss. This is especially true in China, but in China

No one in China dares to scold him."

I laughed and said, "Who said that? We can scold leaders of other departments who are not our superiors."

She smiled and shook her head and said: "That's not possible, right? In our country's officialdom, various relationships are deep-rooted, complex and interrelated. If you scold a certain leader, maybe this leader has some kind of special relationship with his immediate boss.

As for the relationship, wouldn’t that be just as bad?”

I immediately laughed and said, "Doctor Guan, why do I feel like you know everything?"

She shook her head and said, "I don't know anything. I'm just a doctor. But I grew up in my own country, so I still understand the basics."

I smiled and said, "That's true."

She brought a cup to toast me, and after drinking it she said: "Actually, I think the most important issue in our country is the role of feudal things in traditional culture, and our current system follows and inherits our traditional culture.

.Mayor Feng, you won’t disagree with my statement, right?”

I hurriedly said: "Let's change the topic. Doctor, it's not that I'm too sensitive, but it's meaningless for you and me to talk about such a topic here. We are drinking. It's so fun to talk about political issues in such a casual situation."

Am I right?"

She smiled and said: "Then what do you want us to talk about? About our scientific research project? That would be more tiring. Since we are talking about things casually now, let's talk about whatever comes to mind. This is also a kind of freedom.

Status. By the way, we can talk about religion. Mayor Feng, sometimes I study Chinese and Western religious beliefs and find the differences between the two very interesting."[

I looked at her in surprise, "Oh? You actually study religion too?"

She smiled and said: "It's not research, I just think about such issues occasionally. After all, I have the experience of receiving Western education, so I think about such issues."

I nodded, "This question is quite interesting. Tell me what you think."

She immediately said: "Western countries mainly believe in Christianity and God. Among us Chinese, the largest number of people believe in Buddhism, followed by Taoism."

I said: "Taoism is our local religion, Buddhism was introduced to our country from India, and our country's traditional culture is extremely tolerant and integrative, so we have accepted Buddhism, and at the same time combined Buddhism with

Our local Taoism is perfectly combined, allowing Buddhism, Taoism, and Buddhism to be integrated into one. You see, in "Journey to the West", the relationship between the Jade Emperor and Buddha Tathagata is very good. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor is the King of Light and Pure Joy in the Haotian Realm.

Born with Queen Bao Yueguang. When he was born, his whole body was filled with precious light, illuminating the earth. When he was young, he was extremely intelligent, did good deeds and accumulated virtues, and saved all sentient beings. Later, he experienced three thousand two hundred catastrophes before he became the Golden God.

Jade Emperor. Look, isn’t this legend about the Jade Emperor also part of Buddhist thought?”

She smiled and asked me: "Mayor Feng, I agree with your statement, but I think you have ignored one of the most critical issues, which is why China's Taoism and Christianity are not integrated?"

I said: "It's very simple, that's because Christianity was introduced to our country much later than Buddhism."

But she shook her head and said: "It is true that Buddhism was introduced into China the earliest. It is said that Buddhism was introduced into China during the Han Dynasty, while Christianity and Christianity were introduced into China during the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty was more than a thousand years ago, so it’s not a short period of time, right? "Journey to the West" was written in the late Ming Dynasty, but why didn’t the author of "Journey to the West" integrate Christianity into our local religion?"

I was stunned because I had never thought about such a problem, and now that she mentioned this, I suddenly felt strange and couldn't help but ask her: "Why?"

She smiled and said: "It's very simple, can heaven and hell be one? Can light and darkness be one? Can life and death be one? In Christianity and Christianity, the difference between sinners and non-sinners is

The difference between heaven and hell is the difference between God and mortals, etc. According to Buddhism, everything is the self-nature of self-awareness. Hell is it, and so is heaven. Buddha is it, and so are all living beings. Where does it come from?

What is the difference between right and wrong? Tao believes that everything is the manifestation of Tao, so there is no so-called right and evil. Right and evil are just the products of the world's measurement of usefulness and utility, and are not the true face of Tao. From this we can see

The views of Buddhism and Taoism are consistent, but they are very different from those of Christianity and Christianity."

I nodded, "It seems you are right."

She smiled and said: "So, this still has something to do with our traditional culture. In the final analysis, the essence of our traditional culture is that there is no distinction between good and evil."

I was stunned again, "It doesn't make sense for you to say this. Who said we can't distinguish between good and evil? In Buddhism and Taoism, don't we also talk about becoming a Buddha, becoming an immortal, and going to hell?"
To be continued...