The next day.
Waking up, washing up, eating breakfast.
Zhang Ye took a deep breath, then headed downstairs with his briefcase and drove to work. For today’s journey to the office, he experienced the most complicated of feelings. This was because he knew that he was going to be fired for sure, but he did not prepare a resignation letter ahead of his dismissal. As it was different from his time at the radio station, where Deputy Station Head Jia was still in charge and making things difficult for him, Zhang Ye had already wanted to quit after he received the Silver Microphone Award. But this time, Wang Shuixin was also likely to step down. So Zhang Ye had no reason to quit. His conscience was clear.
Fire me if you want to fire me!
You all have guilt in your hearts anyway. It was because the television station did not handle Wang Shuixin earlier, condoning his behavior, that led to the situation now. It was not my fault!
……
Television station.
“Hey, look.”
“Zhang Ye is here.”
“Hai, what a pity.”
“That’s right. Ignoring his bad temper, he is quite a lovable person. He dares to think, do and be!”
“Right. Just on Uncle Wei’s case, Zhang Ye has done extremely well. If he did not make such a ruthless move, Wang Shuixin would still be in power. With just this alone, no matter what anyone says, I will be the first to give him my praises! What’s regretful was that he had just wrapped up ‘Lecture Room’, and now, he has to leave.”
“Where’s he going to?”
“Who knows? But I don’t think he can stay in the media circles.”
“That’s right. Who would dare hire a person like him?”
Along the way, Zhang Ye could hear people discussing about himself in low whispers. He had by now calmed his emotions and did not feel disturbed.
Upstairs.
Arts Channel office.
Hu Fei and his colleagues were all there.
Xiao Lu looked over to Zhang Ye, her expression conflicted, “Teacher Zhang, you, we…..” As she said that, her eyes looked sad. Having spent so much time together, they had all become comfortable with each other. Strictly speaking, Zhang Ye had created and planned the format of “Lecture Room”. It could be said that the program fully belonged to him. For the program to achieve what it has achieved, it was all because of Zhang Ye. But now, the television station would no longer keep him, not even giving him a chance to stay. This was saddening.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtHou Ge, Dafei and the others were also slightly agitated, “Teacher Little Zhang, everyone knows that you were not to blame for this matter. You only did what you did because it was the only way to help Uncle Wei, but……”
Zhang Ye smiled. “Has the punishments been meted out?”
Hu Fei sighed, “Yes. You have been fired.”
Zhang Ye had only joined the television station for a month. He was still in his probationary period, so it was not much trouble to dismiss him. It just needed to go through the procedures. Zhang Ye appeared indifferent, “Alright, I’ll go to HR to go through the procedures.”
Hu Fei said, “As for the Finance side, your salary and bonus for the month will be given to you. Usually for such cases, the bonuses would be withheld. But for some reason, the station still cares about you, so they did not make a fuss over it. I think they don’t feel good about it, so some of the management passed down instructions to Finance. I guess that you would be getting around 30,000 to 40,000.”
He definitely deserved his bonus in the first place. Wang Shuixin had previously deducted his bonuses wrongfully. Even his salary was deserved; he had worked for it. Which is why Zhang Ye didn’t think the station cared for him. He knew that Hu Fei was trying to smooth things out for the station and did not want Zhang Ye to make an enemy out of Beijing Television Station. “I understand, Brother Hu.” But he was more concerned about another matter, “What about Wang Shuixin?”
With the mention of this, Xiao Lu broke out a smile, “Didn’t you see it when you entered the television station? An announcement has already been put up in the hall. Fired!”
Zhang Ye finally felt a load on his mind was taken away, “Then that’s good.”
Hou Ge added, “What goes around, comes around. I heard that the court has already summoned Wang Shuixin over; he is very likely to face criminal punishment. After all, Editor Wei’s incident has caused a stir throughout Beijing. The courts will definitely consider all of this when passing their judgement. His life is finished!”
Hu Fei was still not out from the moodiness of the situation. Looking at Zhang Ye, he said, “He might be done for, but why did you have to bring yourself down, too? Was it worth it?”
Was it worth it?
It definitely wasn’t!
But Zhang Ye had never been the type to put on a brave front to regret later. Hesitating about this, concerned about that, whether it was dangerous, would that be a problem? Bullsh*t! If he was like that, then he would never do anything! Zhang Ye’s style was always — Scold first, talk later! Fight first, talk later! If there was a problem? When there’s a problem, then I will talk about it. I will think of ways to solve the problem!
“Brother Hu, when I am gone, ‘Lecture Room’ can continue to broadcast the next few episodes. If you need my written permission, just prepare something for me to sign.” Even though he would no longer be around, Zhang Ye wanted “Analysis of the Three Kingdoms” to go on. It had finished recording anyway, and he could do with whatever reputation the show could get for him. Hu Fei had been very good to him, too, so Zhang Ye would never be petty and make them stop airing the next few episodes of “Analysis of the Three Kingdoms”. He was not unreasonable. To continue the broadcast, he believed that this was what the station and Hu Fei would have wanted.
“Alright.” Hu Fei nodded.
After going to the HR department, he went to the Finance department.
The procedures were easy to handle as there wasn’t a need for approval from the management. He needn’t wait long.
Zhang Ye felt that he could finish the procedures by the end of the day, so he did not leave yet. He went back to his work area and logged onto the internet.
……
On the web.
The Beijing Television Station had posted on Weibo about dismissing Wang Shuixin and Zhang Ye.
Alright!
“That’s awesome! He should have been fired earlier on!”
“But why did they also dismiss Zhang Ye?”
“Hai, there’s no other way. The way he spoke on a live broadcast meant that he was bound to be punished.”
“But it was due to extenuating circumstances, and the facts have proven that Teacher Zhang Ye was right. He was seeking justice for Father Wei. He shouldn’t be fired, right?”
“The rules are like that.”
“Bullsh*t rules! Those bunch of bastards! They are all in cahoots! When Wang Shuixin was abusing his power, did anyone in the television station do a thing? Eh? Teacher Zhang Ye was upholding justice, yet they fired him? Strictly speaking, it’s not a problem. But based on the situation, is this how it should be handled?”
“It’s better not to work there. Teacher Zhang can spare himself the trouble!”
“Right, Teacher Zhang is not to kind that will fit into a structure like that television station.”
Zhang Ye was satisfied to see what everyone had said. He now knew that many people were in solidarity with him, so what else could he complain about? But just as Zhang Ye was continuing to browse, Xiao Lu suddenly shouted, “D*mn! Quickly look at the front page of Weibo, Teacher Little Zhang! Scroll down and take a look!”
Dafei asked curiously, “What’s the matter?”
“You will know it when you see it.” Hou Ge obviously just saw it, too.
Zhang Ye found the Weibo post and looking at the title, he was deeply moved. He even felt like he didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
Title — “Help Zhang Ye find a job!”
It was a moderator from Zhang Ye’s fan club, “Comrades, to seek justice for Father Wei, Teacher Zhang Ye has lost his job. Beijing Television Station has already announced his dismissal. As Teacher Zhang Ye’s hardcore fan, I declare my anger and dissatisfaction. But this is not within my control, and the truth is that it has already happened. We can only look forward. I would like to suggest that all of us launch a campaign to help Teacher Zhang Ye find a job! We can’t let a good person go unrewarded!”
“Support!”
“Supporting 10,000 times!”
“Well said. A good person will be rewarded!”
“Count me in! After the memorial service’s live broadcast, I have been captivated by Teacher Zhang Ye’s character and charms! He’s so f**king cool! This is what a person in media should be like in my heart! A person who dares to speak out and do! That bunch of media who cover up for their Leaders all day! Compared to Teacher Zhang Ye, are you not ashamed? Everyone, let’s move! Help Teacher Zhang!”
“In the past, it was always Teacher Zhang helping others. Today, it’s time for us to help him!”
“Count me in. I see that Xishan television station is hiring. I will submit Teacher Zhang’s resume to them. Let’s post on Weibo!”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“I’m going to Liaodong station!”
“I’m going to Beihe province’s television stations!”
“Fine, I’ll go to CCTV!”
Instantly, numerous netizens and Zhang Ye’s fans helped him apply for jobs. They would begin spamming the moment they saw any television media post a hiring notice on Weibo. Some of them had even dug up some Weibo pictures of advertisements from years ago and posted them!
Xiao Lu exclaimed, “Well done! Let us help, too!”
Dafei had already joined in this activity without saying a thing, “I have already posted on a few television stations for Teacher Zhang! The television station’s website has Teacher Zhang’s resume! Just copying and pasting would do!”
Hou Ge blinked at Hu Fei, “Leader?”
Hu Fei said with a stern face, “It’s work time. Are you not working?”
Hou Ge exclaimed and did not dare to post anymore.
But suddenly, Xiao Lu exclaimed to the point of bursting out, “Brother Hu, why did you post Teacher Zhang’s resume! You are too fast! I haven’t even copied the resume!”
Hou Ge and Hou Di were also watching. It was really Brother Hu’s verified Weibo. They were immediately amused. Even their Leader had pulled up his sleeves and went to the forefront! Haha!
Help Zhang Ye find a job?
Man, why does it sound like “Helping Wang Feng hit the headlines”?
Zhang Ye was at a loss of whether to laugh or cry, but he was mostly touched. Seeing the netizens helping post his resume on Weibo, Zhang Ye was wondering how he deserved it. It was fine if it was just his fans, but most of them were not from his fan club, or even people who had even seen his works. Maybe there was only one way to answer it. If you treat people sincerely, others would also treat you sincerely.
However, things did not go so smoothly.
Many television stations did not reply. They pretended not to see the hundreds of posts that included Zhang Ye’s resume.
Only Xishan province’s television station’s official Weibo page responded, “We have seen everyone’s posting of the resume. We extremely appreciate Teacher Zhang Ye’s excellent works and his abhorrence to evil; however, our station’s quota has been filled. There are temporarily no spots, so we are not hiring.”
They had just posted the hiring notice on Weibo yesterday!
Besides, industry insiders knew that in the media circles, it was never filled. There was always a shortage of people. The only point was seeing if one had the ability.
Did Zhang Ye have the ability?
Of course he had it, but the problem was that he had too much ability!
After creating such a major live broadcast incident, who would dare to hire Zhang Ye!?
Translators’ Note: From this week onwards, we will be removing the ‘sponsored chapter limit’. We will release them as donations come in (maybe up to a 3-4 hour delay). Also, we are including the next chapter’s preview if you click to the next chapter. The chapter will be marked with the words Preview in bold at the top and bottom of the chapter. It’s up to you to choose to be partially spoiled ;)