After yesterday's “Taibai Jinxing is a bit annoying” reflections, I read Prince Ma's “Lychee in Chang'an.” The version I bought is from Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House. The cover features a line from the protagonist, Li Shande, in a difficult situation: “Even if I fail, I want to know how far I fell from the finish line,” which resonated deeply with me.
This book, like “Taibai Jinxing is a bit annoying,” is an ancient costume workplace novel set in an alternate story/history, using the past to reflect on the present, especially for those working in the job market, making it easy to empathize with.
Li Shande worked in Chang'an for eighteen years before he could take out a loan to buy a house. When weighing the pros and cons of buying a house, he represents us workers. After taking on a mortgage, he is manipulated by his boss, who assigns him impossible tasks. These tasks circulate through their department, and when they can't be completed, someone has to take the blame, so Li Shande becomes that scapegoat. The difference between “lychee stew” and “fresh lychee” is just one character, yet they are worlds apart. He has prepared for the worst, considering divorce to protect his wife and daughter from debt. With Du Fu's encouragement to fight to the death and burn the boats, he gathers the courage to attempt the task for his family.
However, in the total journey of five thousand four hundred forty-seven miles transporting fresh lychees from Lingnan to Chang'an, sincerity is the ultimate weapon. After enduring countless hardships, he finally finds a way to deliver, but who knows that throughout history, the hardest part is just getting the job done, and success often leads to baldness. I thought of the line, “A rider in the dust makes the concubine smile, but no one knows the lychee has arrived.”
Behind the transportation of fresh lychees are internal conflicts at higher levels and the game of interests, “When the superior speaks, the subordinates run until their legs break,” which is fully showcased here. Moreover, there are emotional intelligence in the workplace, the way of being an official, sharing the light and dust, distributing benefits evenly, and everyone lifting the flower palanquin together. We also see Yang Guozhong's saying, “Processes are rules that only the weak need to follow,” and we are moved by “Even if I fail, I want to know how far I fell from the finish line.” The line at the end that struck me was: “I married him, not Chang'an.”
While reading, I was reading Li Shande and also reflecting on the lives of working people, constantly reminding me of my own workplace life.
Most of us are ordinary Li Shande; may we all become masters of life!
Excerpts of Good Sentences from the Original Text#
- The way of being an official can actually be summed up in three sentences: share the light and dust, enjoy the benefits equally, and everyone lifts the flower palanquin together. A person who eats alone cannot last long.
- This vast imperial city, home to many government offices, is more intricate than the dense forests of the Qinling Mountains, and its operational rules are more profound than the Taoist scriptures. Those unfamiliar who rashly step in are like falling into the turbulent waters beneath a waterfall, suffering severe injuries.
- Remember, sir. The key to dancing the Hu Xuan dance is not to move with the band but to find your own rhythm.
- Unintentionally competing with things, let the eagles and falcons not suspect each other.
- Since one is in a desperate situation with no retreat, why not fight to the death and perhaps gain a glimmer of hope?
- The closer one gets to success, the fewer friends there are, and the more guilt one feels.
- He has done everything he can; all that remains is to wait.