After saying that, Hope picked up the glass and drank it all, his expression full of sorrow and memories.
Seeing that Lai Gou'er was in a bad mood, he quietly picked up the phonograph beside him.
Then he poured him another glass of wine and asked, "Who says it's not true? It's hard to live an upright life!"
Hope picked up the glass and drank half of it directly, with a hint of self-mockery at the corner of his mouth: "Do you know what I wanted to do when I was young?"
"What do you want to do?"
"I wanted to be a poet, a free poet who traveled around the world. But later I found out that this world only allows people to write one kind of poetry... The ideals of young people... are as stupid as pigs."
"At least you are powerful now, and your son can be a free poet. It's at least some compensation." Lai Gou'er said as he refilled his glass of wine.
"My son?" Hope sneered. "I can only be called rich, not powerful. If my son wants to be a poet, if he makes a wrong choice in the future, this little fortune may not be enough to ruin him."
"So he has to follow in his father's footsteps and go with the flow... But he doesn't have to work as hard as I do."
Lai Gou'er nodded and sighed in agreement, then picked up the phonograph and slowly started playing it.
But as soon as his hands touched, Hope's eyes flashed.
"I saw it when I came in just now. What is that thing you have? It looks weird."
"This...When I'm stressed and in a bad mood, I like to shake this thing. It's a little toy to relieve stress."
"How can this thing relieve stress? You really are a bit weird." Hope laughed, no longer confused.
After all, it was just a wooden box, and he couldn't see any other explanation other than that it was a strange toy.
Maybe it’s a specialty of Dajing.
It’s nothing if someone has some unique hobbies.
Lai Gou'er did not respond, but changed the subject and said, "Your son cannot escape your fate either. You must be very resentful of the church now."
Hope was cutting steak, her hands paused, and she looked up at him: "We are eating, can we talk about something happy?"
Lai Gou'er said in a slightly provocative tone: "Why, are you scared? You helped Father Soljie before in the Holy City. Now that you and I are in the same room, what is there to be afraid of?"
Hope gently put down his knife and fork, and said seriously: "I don't hate the church. Why should I hate the church? My family has been the most faithful believers for generations. I also received the education of the church. I was born and raised in the holy city. Do you think someone like me would hate the church?"
"Then why did you curse the church in the first place?" Lai Gou'er said calmly.
Hope grinned and said, "Because I love it. The church is supported by people like me. Is there any parent in the world who doesn't scold his or her child? As for why I scold it, it's because it didn't do well. I want to make it better. It's that simple."
"Then why don't you just go to the church and scold those people to wake them up? Why do you have to complain secretly in private like a nagging woman?"
"A shrew? I look like a shrew!" Hope's heart was ablaze with anger. "I want to rush in and scold her, but have you ever heard of a parent scolding their son and the son yelling at his parents in return?"
Seeing that he was a little excited, Lai Gouer gently raised his right hand and comforted him: "Brother Hope, although the world is dark now, it will be better in the future. If someone like Father Solger becomes the Pope, the church may have a new future."
As soon as these words were spoken, Hope sneered, with undisguised sarcasm in his laughter.
"Change one person? I tell you, even if you change ten or a hundred people, it will be useless!"
"I have hundreds of slaves under my command. When I die, if I set them free, what do you think they will do?"
"You must be thinking that after they are freed, they will become a businessman, a poet, or a farmer... I tell you that none of these are possible. The only possibility for them is to find a new master!"
"Once they leave their old masters, they will instinctively look for new masters and rely on them for their living. Slaves always place their hopes on others, so that they can feel at peace. For businessmen like you and me, who manage countless resources, how to achieve the greatest benefits is the most important thing."
"The slave is so obedient and puts his hope in us, why should we bother to treat him well? This principle is the same everywhere."
"Even if someone like Father Solger becomes the Pope, I believe there is a high chance that he will still do the same thing as the current Pope. Sometimes the mind decides what the butt thinks."
"Not necessarily. There are always people who have ideals and are willing to sacrifice themselves for others." Lai Gou'er shrugged, his expression calm. "But according to what you said, that means the Pope is not necessarily a bastard, and the people below are helping him become a bastard, is that what you mean?"
"No, the Pope is a jerk. But..."
Lai Gouer stopped what he was doing and put the phonograph aside.
I’ll stop here. This is enough to make Hope die a hundred times.
"Hey? Why don't you shake it?"
"Enough of shaking."
Hope smacked his lips and picked up his knife and fork again. "Forget it, forget it, don't mention it. There's no point in talking about it. This is how I'm going to live my life. I also rely on the church for my livelihood."
Lai Gou'er thought for a moment and said, "Brother Hope, I'll tell you something good."
"ah?"
"Don't talk. Keep quiet."
Lai Gouer took the phonograph again, fiddled with it for a bit, adjusted the position, and a mixed and blurry recording slowly came out of the phonograph.
".....No, the Pope is a jerk."
!!!
Hope stared at the phonograph as if he had seen a ghost. Waves of fear surged into his heart and goose bumps appeared on his skin.
What is that! That's what I just said!
Although the voices inside were blurry and mixed, one could still tell it was him speaking, especially the last powerful sentence.
The air in the room became silent.
Got it!
The next moment, Hope suddenly jumped up and rushed towards the phonograph without caring about his image.
Damn it! I got played with by someone today. No matter what this thing is, at least my life is in their hands!
Although he moved quickly, Lai Gouer was already on guard.
He held the phonograph with one hand, stood up backward, and kicked Hope hard.
With a thud, Hope was kicked to the ground.
The two people who were chatting and chatting one second ago became enemies the next moment.
Hope got up, panting, staring at Lai Gou'er with bloodshot eyes and shouted angrily: "You fucking tricked me! Is this how you treat your friends?"
Lai Gou'er shrugged: "Brother Hope, I'm doing this for your own good."
Hope was confused and said, "If you think your share of our business is too little, I can take less. We can't joke about this."
Lai Gou'er obviously had no good intentions. This thing was sent to the church, and having his skin peeled off three times was considered the lightest punishment.
But he still hasn't figured out why Lai Gouer did this.
There seems to be no other possibility except uneven distribution of the spoils.
......
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