Almighty painter

Chapter 564 Innocence
"So if you absolutely must get drunk, make sure that when you raise your glass, you are actually happy, or actually sad."

"Then raise your glass this time, it will be worth it."

Gu Weijing smiled.

"Look, this is what Mr. Cao Xuan told me, his life experience."

"This is not about disrespecting the power of money, but about it being outside the boundaries I have drawn. I don't want to 'play the piano' for you, even if it is a trivial thing. But crossing the line is crossing the line, and it has nothing to do with whether the tip you give me is $300 or $300 million. I have persisted for 18 years, persisting in being a good person with a clean record for 18 years. I am very happy and sleep well and peacefully every night."

"Maybe if I work harder, I can live to be ninety."

"Then, even before I die, I can happily tell my children that I have never actively compromised with sin in my life. If there is a heaven in the world, then I will go to heaven. If there is a Buddhist Pure Land, I will happily listen to the Bodhisattva's lectures there. If none of these things happen and I am just a ball of waste heat in the universe after death, then I have lived up to myself and others in this life. I can face everything calmly and don't need to cry and confess to anyone."

Gu Weijing said calmly.

"I don't want this incident to be the beginning of my compromising myself."

"Of course, the reason I dare to answer this is because I think maybe this is an invitation, and you are tolerant enough to give me room to say no."

“Only when we can make a choice do the problem have meaning, and good and evil and moral judgment also have meaning. If this is not a multiple-choice question, then whether I answer it or not is not important.”

"If someone pointed a gun at my head, I would not hesitate at all. I would paint whatever you want. Even if my family was starving to death, I would still do it. Even...if it was during the Spring Festival this year, if you had offered this condition, maybe I would have agreed then?"

Gu Weijing asked himself a question.

"Probably so."

"Mr. Cao has offered 10 billion US dollars to Oil Painting magazine to buy him out. My modesty is not that expensive."

"Who can really be a saint? The more things a person has, the higher the price of buying him out."

"When my family is struggling to make ends meet, $300 million might be enough to shake my self-control. I can tell myself that this is robbing the rich to help the poor, or that this is simply a deal. The deal is innocent, and the US government has made deals with al-Qaeda, blah blah."

"With this money, our family can live in a big house. My grandfather can stop working and fly business class to Paris. Well, even if our family has 300 million US dollars, my grandfather probably won't be willing to fly business class, but he will put on an Armani suit, dress up like a man, sip juice and go to his second son and say, 'Look, you ran away, but we are still living well.'"

"Tsk, what a pity there is no share for you."

Old Man Gu is definitely someone who can do such a thing.

Think of this scene.

Gu Weijing couldn't help but smile to himself.

"It's easy for people to find excuses for themselves, and to be honest, there's nothing wrong with this. Andy Warhol took stimulants and painted portraits of wanted criminals. Francis O'Toole, the head of the Florence Academy of Fine Arts, which is ranked first among the four major art academies and even in history, is actually a member of a gang. But... even if I find ten thousand excuses for myself, I know in my heart that this is not good. I know you are a bad person, but I still paint for you for money. This is crossing the line."

(Note: The picture is Andy Warhol - "13 Most Wanted")
"If this boundary no longer exists, then what is the difference between good people and bad people?"

"I know it sounds a bit arrogant, but $300 million doesn't mean that much to me now."

"I have a girlfriend who loves me and whom I love. Although my grandfather is reluctant to practice, I know that he has gradually found his self-worth in his work. Today, when he was selected as a member of the National Painting Association, you didn't see that he was so happy and cried so hard."

"Even now, my aunt's nagging is gradually decreasing, but she may not even realize it."

"Look, Brother Hao, this is the life I want. You asked me if I don't respect you, but I think the better answer is that I am willing to respect myself."

"Our family is still not that wealthy, but everything is on the right track, and money is not that important. When my grandfather was excitedly planning to take advantage of the gallery's benefits in the fall and go to the Belgian SPA town to soak in the hot springs, I told him that I was working for Brother Hao and helping him buy the hot spring hotel. Would he be happier soaking in the hot springs? When I was taking a walk with Katsuko Sakai, I secretly told him that there was good news and bad news. The bad news was that I was painting a portrait for a gangster godfather, and the good news was... I was very rich now. Can this make our relationship more stable?"

"You can hide this kind of moral matter from the eyes of the whole world, but if you dare not look into the eyes of your lover again, and cannot close your eyes calmly when you die, then the money will be meaningless. Fortunately, I have met many elders who are very kind to me, so when I face choices, I always think about how they do it. Not only Mr. Cao, but also Mrs. Sakai."

"Her family is very rich. Shengzi's grandfather is a big Mercedes agent in Spain. She grew up riding in a Mercedes and having a nanny to take her to school. But her father waved a check and asked her to leave that 'Tatar', otherwise her source of income would be cut off."

"Mrs. Sakai threw away her Mercedes sports car, her big house, her Chanel handbag, her seaside holiday apartment and a small sailboat that her family had given her as a wedding gift without saying a word. She bought a plane ticket and went to Japan to marry Mr. Sakai without looking back. She worked as a low-level employee in an advertising company for three years just to support her husband in pursuing his dream."

"So I have always admired Katsuko Sakai's mother. Although Mrs. Sakai didn't think much of me at first, after becoming a mother, people's thoughts are different. To be honest, which parent in the world doesn't want to give their children the best? After I become a parent, I may also be a good person. But Mrs. Sakai was so brave back then."

"She knew so clearly what she wanted, and she held on to it tightly, without regret, tears, or letting go. Even when she was standing on the rooftop, she never bowed to her father's check. Therefore, the happiness she had in the following years was what she deserved, and she earned it purely by herself. She chose happiness over money, and happiness chose her."

Pop, pop, pop.

"I don't know if this is the occasion you, Mr. Gu, would like to have a drink for, but I do want to have a drink now to pay tribute to the interesting Mr. Cao and the powerful Ms. Cruz. Of course, I want to raise my glass to you as well. If nothing else, at least these words have the spirit of an orator."

In the receiver, Brother Hao slowly clapped his hands.

"There are only a handful of people who can refuse a $20 Bentley. I respect those who can refuse a $300 million offer simply because they are determined."

"As I said, I like people with courage. I will be extra tolerant towards them."

"Well, thank you. But in the final analysis, the soul of someone who is not short of money will be priced higher. I am a rather mercenary person. From the perspective of gains and losses, if one day I am really too poor to make ends meet, or if for some reason I really need $300 million, I will ask Ms. Sakai for it. She is really a super wealthy woman, and I am not that reserved like a man. If it really doesn't work out, it is not completely unacceptable for me to be a gigolo."

Gu Weijing made a joke.

"You allowed me to tell the truth. I hope that this did not offend you. Or that I did not ask your men to shoot me in the head. If that is the case, please do not be impulsive. If you ever feel angry, I will apologize immediately. I will do whatever you say."

"Don't be nervous Mr. Gu, I'm not angry. I promised others that I would not force you or your family unless you are willing. Give me an acceptable answer, just like you said... Only when you have the right to choose, good and evil will have meaning."

In Xihe Guild Hall.

Brother Hao shook his head.

"I will always give you the right to choose." "I hope to look into the eyes of my lover, and I hope to close my eyes calmly after death. If there is a heaven in the world, then I will go to heaven. If there is a Buddhist Pure Land, I will happily listen to the Bodhisattva's lectures there. If none of these things happen, and after death I am just a ball of waste heat in the universe, then I have lived up to myself and others in this life. It's really well said."

Brother Hao repeated Gu Weijing's words.

"You rejected me because you think I'm a bad person, right? I'm a bad person, so you don't draw for me." The middle-aged man suddenly asked.

"I'm just laundering money. I haven't done anything really bad. In fact, in this world, good people and bad people can't be divided so clearly..." He thought for a moment and explained.

"Mr. Hao."

Gu Weijing interrupted him for the first time, "You have made a fortune from money laundering, you live in a clubhouse worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and you have become the underground godfather of this city who has the final say. And you want to tell me about the self-whitewashing theory that there is no black and white in the world?"

"Seriously?"

"Are you serious? Do you need me to tell you that you are a good person in order to get some kind of false psychological comfort? I thought that a big boss like you would at least be able to face yourself bravely, at least be strong enough to be a 'good' man who comes and goes naked."

"You have done nothing evil? You just asked a father to play roulette for his son. You say your money is clean and innocent. No, no matter how clean your money is, no matter how many procedures it has gone through, it may be safe, but it is definitely not innocent."

"People can deceive others, and can use money to buy praise and flattery, but people can never deceive themselves. Sir, you have allowed me to speak the truth in front of you."

Gu Weijing paused.

"And the truth is, there is no doubt about it, Mr. Godfather. You are a bad man. A real bad man."

There was a sound of heavy breathing coming from the receiver.

For a moment.

Gu Weijing began to feel a little regretful.

He said this on impulse.

The breathing sound in the other party's microphone no longer sounded like the hissing sound of a cobra about to attack.

It was so heavy that it seemed like a strong wind before a heavy rainstorm.

but,

finally.

"Goodbye, Mr. Gu. We will meet again one day." This is what Brother Hao said before hanging up the phone.
-
Cars drive through the city streets.

I don’t know if it’s a habit of “quick pass” that he got from when he was protecting VIPs.

Uncle Alai is not one of those slow, steady, fuel-efficient taxi drivers.

He drove steadily, neither accelerating nor decelerating violently.

But not slow at all.

When Uncle Ale sits behind the wheel, he always likes to drive very fast, especially in the middle of the night when there are few cars on the road.

No matter whether the road conditions are complicated.

This old second-hand Hyundai was almost always on the verge of speeding.

If the neighbors in the streets on both sides of the road don't react quickly enough.

When they heard the sound of cars whizzing past and looked out of the window, they could only see the neon taillights at the end of the long street, stretched out by the night and fog.

The sound in the car was a little muffled.

The Elantra is not a premium sedan.

This car is not like the old Lexus in his family. It is more than a generation older than Gu Weijing, but it is not two years younger than Gu Weijing.

Apart from its name, the whole car is not modern.

It's still the old-fashioned CD player and hand-cranked windows.

When Uncle Alai bought it in the used car market for 160 million Myanmar Kyats, it had already traveled nearly 30 kilometers.

Very vintage feel.

When running, no matter how good Uncle Ale's driving skills are, the speed is fast.

It is also difficult to block the noise of tires rolling over the road at high speed, the sound of aging metal squeezing of the suspension when passing over tiny bumps and the rumbling sound of various plastic parts inside the car body.

It's like a sonata with high and low notes interweaving with each other.

Uncle Ale did recondition the engine, replacing the oil and water, and the worn engine pistons and timing belt.

So the engine doesn't sound like there is too much noise.

(End of this chapter)