Certificate

This film (drama)Also known as证书，is aMainland ChinaProducerwomen sex，At2006Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin/Cantonese，Current Douban rating7.3(For reference only)。

The wind was high and the waves were furious; from the nearby ferry, anguished cries for help could be heard. Wang Zhao paddled his boat like an arrow and rushed over. Many of the people who had fallen into the water were already being dragged toward the shore by rescuers, but in the middle of the river, two nearly submerged victims were still struggling. He hesitated, unsure whom to save first. A wave crashed in. Wang Zhao didn’t have time to think; he cast his fishing net and with great effort pulled both men onto the boat. One of them was Factory Director Lu from the chemical plant. To show his gratitude, Director Lu asked the village chief to give Wang Zhao two hundred yuan. Wang Zhao repeatedly refused, stating that he had saved many people over the years without ever accepting money. In his view, once he accepted money, it would alter the original intent of his rescues... However, the village chief elevated the money’s value to an economic incentive for heroism, which made it hard for Wang Zhao to refuse. Wang Zhao, who was he? An ordinary farmer nearing fifty, living by the river, he had excellent swimming skills. Therefore, saving drowning people became a natural part of his ordinary life. He had never considered gaining anything from his rescues, despite often receiving visits from grateful individuals. However, those expressions of thanks were usually just some insignificant old wine or duck eggs from their own river. He was willing to accept these simple gestures of gratitude; to him, rescuing people while fishing was just a regular occurrence. Due to the significant impact of the capsizing incident, the county decided to hold a commendation ceremony to honor these heroes of chivalry. Without exception, the villagers of Xiaogang selected Wang Zhao as their representative. Watching his fellow villagers enthusiastically recommend him, and imagining himself receiving the title of a hero, holding a big red certificate and pinning a bright red flower on his chest, Wang Zhao felt a happiness he had never experienced before. One morning, Wang Zhao and the villagers suddenly noticed a large number of dead fish floating on the river. They went together to find the village chief to seek a solution. The village chief followed the villagers to the chemical plant, where Director Lu hoped to settle the matter with money, but the villagers, who were deeply affected, wanted a complete resolution. The conversation was unproductive, and both sides left in displeasure. In the following days, the dead fish continued to appear in the river. Wang Zhao, without speaking, collected the dead fish and placed them at the factory's front gate, hoping to make Director Lu feel guilty. The old village chief reported the problem to the township chief, who came to the scene and asked everyone to understand the problems encountered in the process of modernization. He offered each household in the village fifty yuan as compensation, and soon the villagers were joyfully playing in the seemingly clear river water again. The commendation ceremony was finally held. However, it was a complete surprise to all the villagers of Xiaogang. Wang Zhao was not selected despite being nominated for "bravery in altruism." Wang Zhao couldn’t understand why his actions weren’t deemed altruistic. Was it just because he didn’t jump into the river but used a net to save people? If he had “braved” it and jumped in, he would have had to give up on saving another person. If that person had drowned, could he still be considered altruistic? He tirelessly sought out the village chief and the township chief. Initially, everyone sympathized with him, but gradually they felt he was being unreasonable. Wang Zhao felt an unprecedented pressure; he had saved so many people and had never boasted about being a hero or a model citizen. But this time, the entire village, even the town, knew about the issue, making him feel very wronged. Was his approach really wrong? Wang Zhao decided to go to the county to find out the truth. He believed there must have been a mistake, so he abandoned all of his affairs and began shuttling between his home and the county city. Finally, a sympathetic leader from the county gave him a non-stamped certificate, hoping to appease him. Grateful, he returned to the village, only to have people laugh at him when he discovered it was an invalid certificate... Wang Zhao felt he needed to reclaim his certificate and honor. The village chief advised him not to be so stubborn and informed him that the official in charge, Director Zhang, was the father-in-law of Director Lu. Director Lu was unhappy about how he saved people with a fishing net like he was catching shrimp, and he felt his pride was wounded. Wang Zhao even placing dead fish in front of his factory further upset him; therefore, the village chief reasoned that Wang Zhao wouldn’t win this battle. But Wang Zhao was not convinced, leading to a complete fallout with the old village chief. Wang Zhao sought out lawyers in the county, but after serious investigation, they believed there was no chance of winning. Wang Zhao didn’t believe it, so he personally went out at all hours to gather fingerprints and testimonies from those he had saved. The villagers determined that Wang Zhao had completely lost his mind, and no one wanted to speak to him. His wife Meilian left home under the piercing gazes of the villagers. The certificate was finally reissued, but Wang Zhao could no longer muster any interest in it. In the end, he rejected the certificate that had brought him humiliation and dishonor.