Almighty painter

Chapter 661 The same situation

"Are people corrupted by the environment, or are they like this from the beginning, but they have never been given the opportunity to show their true nature? This is really a philosophical question. Some people are like poor quality frozen wet cans that have not been sterilized. When they are stored in the freezer, they look normal, but once they are taken out and opened, bacteria will breed and they will spoil at a speed that others can hardly imagine."

Brother Hao asked a thinker-like question, "Mr. Gu, you said that these bacteria fell in from the outside air. Or they were originally in the can, but their growth was suppressed by the cold. Once they are exposed to enough temperature and oxygen, they will multiply rapidly. Just like those people whose corrupt nature is frozen by poverty?"

“I personally think it’s the latter.”

the man said.

"I don't know whether the bacteria originally existed in the can, but I know that it was you who lured my cousin into the quagmire of gambling." Gu Weijing was unwilling to pay attention to Brother Hao's sophistry.

"Mr. Gu, you are still talking to me with anger. Can you calm down?" Brother Hao shook his head and said helplessly: "I understand that artists are emotional creatures, but when facing important life decisions, they must remain calm. It doesn't matter to me, but the key is that this is not good for you."

"People often act emotionally recklessly because of their impulse. And recklessness is not bravery."

"I hope that no matter what choice you make, you will make it calmly, rationally and thoughtfully, so that when you look back in the future, no matter what the result is, you will not feel regret or regret. Right? As I once told you, an artist can be fragile when painting, but if you want to walk to the pinnacle of glory under the flashing spotlight, rather than walking towards a hemp rope or shooting yourself, you must have a tough side in life."

He said patiently, "Gu Weijing, be strong and calm down. This is not a big deal. I don't want you to feel regret or remorse when you look back on our conversation in the future."

Even if I'm filled with anger, even if this is a scene that's not suitable for laughing.

Gu Weijing was almost amused by Brother Hao.

It’s ridiculous.

Life can be so ridiculous.

How can this be the tone of a mafia tycoon?

If it weren't for the person opposite who lured my cousin to a path of no return, sent someone to kidnap the other party, and had someone send a video of blackmail and threats.

Gu Weijing simply thought that this was an intimate older brother talking to him.

"You induced my cousin to gamble, you set up a trap, you kidnapped her, and you...you actually told me on the phone to calm down and that this was no big deal? And you were still talking about some damn canned theory."

Even though he was so worried just now, Gu Weijing was able to control himself and not offend or ridicule Brother Hao.

This moment.

In such a magical realist conversation, he really couldn't hold it in, and his emotions burst out instantly.

"Listen to yourself. Is this something a normal person would say? What's the difference between this and you just killed someone, your hands are still dripping with blood, and you hand a cup of tea to the family member next to you and tell him to drink it slowly because it will help calm his nerves?"

"Hey, if you keep getting so worked up, I'm going to hang up. There's no value in having such an emotional conversation. I'll wait until you calm down and call me back."

Brother Hao frowned, "I respect you, so I hope you can talk to me like a real man. Man to man, Mr. Xiao Gu, you are just like those kids who don't study hard and cry and complain that it's all caused by online games. If there were no online games, no movie theaters, no girlfriends, my child would be a pure and innocent white lotus. What's the difference between you and the complaining aunt?"

"Did I do anything extreme to Gu Lin? Did I force her to gamble at gunpoint? Did I drug her? Did I force her to borrow money? No, I did nothing. The only thing I did was to give her $600."

"That's all."

"People are different, aren't they? When you earn money, your first reaction is to give it to the children in the Good Luck Orphanage. When your cousin gets the money, her first reaction is to gamble big. So people's destinies should be different, isn't that fair? Like I said, like different cans."

The middle-aged man put the teacup in his hand on the windowsill.

"I give this example not to discuss with you the philosophical proposition of whether human nature is good or evil. I want to say that unless you are alone, when you reach the peak of your artistic career, perhaps now, or three years later, five years later, or even ten years later, you will always encounter similar things. The art world is originally a mixed bag of fame and fortune. People who hold erotic parties, take drugs, and play private card games, as long as you have a gap, bacteria will fall on it. How many great artists themselves or their families have fallen into this kind of thing."

"Caravaggio, Giorgione, William Hogarth... Which of these people did not become heavily in debt because of gambling? Leo Tolstoy, the immortal literary giant, witnessed the daily decadent lives of his family and friends, the upper aristocrats and landlords in the Russian court, from an early age."

"They gambled all night long with vodka, losing their serfs, property, estates, and even their lives, and still enjoyed it, as if it was the only meaning of their lives. That's why he wrote about Count Dolokhov in War and Peace, who started playing with the smallest and most insignificant chip, a ruble, and ended up losing the entire count's estate in Moscow left by his ancestors in one night."

"Even Tolstoy himself, under the guidance of his friends, became addicted to gambling. He confessed sincerely over and over again, scourged himself, and cried for indulging in his desires. On the other hand, he couldn't help wanting to play a few games at the gambling table. So... he felt schizophrenic pain for this throughout his life."

"Gu Weijing, this is a problem you must face."

"Just like people who often eat canned food, they will always face one or two bad cans in their life."

Brother Hao was pacing by the window.

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket.

With a "click", he lit the cigarette with the colorfully carved lighter on the table, took a light puff, and coughed slightly.

"This is gambling, not an online game. Maybe if it weren't for you, my cousin would never become the broken can you mentioned? Maybe if she left Myanmar, she could become a happy female college student studying in the UK? The examples you cited were all from a long time ago. In a peaceful and quiet place, she might never have the opportunity to gamble in her life."

Gu Weijing said softly. Brother Hao laughed softly: "No, people are people, nothing will change. And society is still the same society. Do you think the way of playing is different in modern society? No, it's just more covert, you don't know. I'll just talk about someone you must have heard of."

"Count Dolokhov lost the Dolokhov Manor due to gambling, and our Countess Irina, oh, or Miss Anna Irina, did you know that she has an uncle named Kara? He should be Miss Irina's last living relative. But the Irina family is obviously not close to his uncle and would like to find an opportunity to hide him, so he does not appear very often in art news."

"But if you pay close attention, he should have said last year that he was going to create some "Elena NFT digital blockchain" artwork or something. A lot of news is spread very secretly, but if you often go to some big auctions and European artist receptions, then you will still hear some gossip that everyone spreads secretly for fun."

"It is said that Mr. Kara is a typical old-fashioned European playboy. It is also said that Miss Elena has privately repaid at least 700 million euros of gambling debts for her uncle over the years."

The middle-aged man smiled happily.

"You see? I've already told you that everything in the world is the same. Do you think Europe is any different? Can a different environment lead to a different outcome? Ms. Elena has already stood at the pinnacle of power in the art world, right? Not just the art world, even without this modifier, it's the same. She is still one of the richest people on the planet. But even if you reach her level, no matter how powerful and fierce she looks on the outside, she will still be tormented by such things. Such family affairs, the principles of heaven and human ethics, will never be cut off and sorted out. No matter how powerful you are, you are still my niece."

"Mr. Gu, you have principles and bottom lines. You are still Miss Gu Lin's brother."

"People say that no matter how tall a tree is, its leaves will return to its roots. Your roots are connected."

Brother Hao exhaled a puff of thick smoke.

Gu Weijing didn't say anything.

"Mr. Gu, if there is one thing I have learned from these years of hanging around, it is that it is that it is difficult to change one's nature. Some people are born the way they are and cannot be changed. Every drug addict who is caught claims that this is his last time taking drugs and he will definitely quit. And every person who is addicted to gambling, after going bankrupt and crying for money from everyone, will claim that this is his last time gambling and he will definitely quit."

"But I have rarely seen drug addicts quit drugs or gamblers quit gambling. Not to mention drugs and gambling, even alcoholics can rarely quit drinking. In many cases, physical addictions can be cured, but mental addictions are very difficult to quit. Once you get addicted, it will take root in your heart."

"No matter how many times they are pulled out, they will slowly grow out from the depths of people's hearts in the dead of night when they toss and turn."

"You can defeat them once, twice, even ten or twenty times, but if you let your guard down for a moment, they will always come out on top in the end."

The flame of the cigarette flickered in Hao Ge's hand.

"I'm telling you the analogy of a can, Mr. Gu. I'm not here to discuss whether human nature is good or evil. I'm telling you that once a can is opened, if it's bad, it's bad. If it's spoiled, it's spoiled. No matter what you do, it's still a spoiled can, and it won't change from a spoiled can to a good can."

"No matter where the bacteria in the can came from, it is meaningless to get angry over a bad can and accuse the world of it when it was in the refrigerator."

"You only have two choices. Either you dump it down the toilet. If you can't bear to do that, then you can only grit your teeth and risk infecting yourself and getting a stomachache, and drink it. Only these two choices make sense."

Gu Weijing listened quietly.

Brother Hao sighed deeply.

"So I say, you don't need to feel angry. If you want to get rid of it, you just need to tell me. Then Bingo, Gu Lin will disappear from your life forever. Cleanly, without any hidden dangers. Of course, you will feel pain and sadness, and your family will also feel pain and sadness. But - believe me, time will eventually dilute all of this."

“Maybe when you look back on this matter 20 or 30 years later, you will be glad to find that you made the most correct decision.”

"So, why are you mad at me? I just did you a favor, that's all. But if you want to bite the bullet and drink it... oh, that's a bit troublesome."

Brother Hao smiled.

"Do you know how many Asians are the favorite fat sheep in European underground casinos? Do you know how many underground card games are set up around Asian faces? Do you know how big their games are and how cruel their debt collection methods are?"

"You probably don't know any of this, but there's one thing you might need to know... Do you know how much money your cousin Gu Lin owes me?"

"The kidnappers asked for one million dollars." Gu Weijing hesitated for a moment and spoke.

"almost."

Brother Hao nodded.

"I guess your sister herself doesn't know the exact number. Maybe she can't calculate the total amount of the debt, or she doesn't dare to make herself calculate it, or she thinks she can make up for it in the next bet, or she naively thinks she can escape by running to England. Anyway, gamblers become numb after borrowing money. They are all the same. As long as there is money, no matter what kind of money it is, they will lend it."

"I can tell you the numbers. Her total net borrowing is $982,600. She borrowed a total of $980,000, and I only asked her to pay back $1 million? Is that too much?"

"That's not too much. According to you, I am a gangster who has done all kinds of evil. This is an underground casino. I borrowed 980,000 yuan and paid back 1 million. Don't call me a gangster. If you go to the bank about this, they will laugh at you for being wishful thinking."

Brother Hao asked back.

"Mr. Gu, I have always been very polite to you, haven't I?"

"I'm just letting you face it in advance. Maybe it's in a way that will cause the least harm to you. You know, if you're in those underground poker games in Europe, whether you're facing the Roman Mafia, the Colombian Mafia, or the traditional Italian Mafia."

"According to the industry's practice, your sister's one million dollar debt will feed you for the rest of your life."

(End of this chapter)