Chapter 345: What does it feel like to live for 20,000 years?
After I came back, I was really busy with people to meet and things to do.
The first thing that happened was that Wei Yiming came to me and said that a boss was very interested in his "Museum of Broken Relationships" and was planning to come upstate to discuss the matter. He invited me to meet with the investor.
I agreed immediately.
The second thing was that Director Chen called and asked me to stay at the Beidi Hot Spring Hotel for a few days. According to his thinking, letting me eat, drink and soak well was a way of thanking him.
The third thing is that Zhengjia Village Party Secretary Zheng has asked relevant experts to develop a "winter bamboo shoot detector." He is planning to hold a press conference and asked me for advice.
I like this idea, and I think I might be able to give him some good ideas. So I promised to contact him when I have more time.
The fourth thing is that Yu Shuichun’s Zhuxiang Resort-style Nursing Home has officially signed a contract and is preparing to lay the foundation stone, and he asked me to take a look at the feng shui.
I readily agreed. A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring. Brother Yu's business is my business. It just has to be postponed.
The fifth thing is to line up those who want to have dinner, including Captain Gu, Lu Yu, and Mingbai... Of course, these things can only be done whenever there is time. Food needs to be eaten, but it is "non-essential", so take your time.
Some time ago, I was busy for a while with matters such as the birth of my child and my master's move into the villa in Wuxiang. I was really busy. Now, there are too many things piled up.
Take it slow. After being idle in Boten for too long, I felt like a coal miner who had just emerged from a day's work in the mine and was still not used to the bright sunlight.
I can't help but sigh: people, after all, must live in an environment they're familiar with. Look at Boten. First, there are few acquaintances, and second, few people seek you out. If it weren't for Mr. Dong's notebook, I'd probably hang myself out of loneliness for the entire month of July.
Isn’t it nice to chat with Lao Xiao and Qing Yazi?
It doesn't smell good at all. There's not much to talk about with acquaintances. Fang Qingping once did a crosstalk about a person who could live for 20,000 years. As a result, many people are willing to end their lives because the people around them are so familiar.
Fang Qingping said that not only was chatting with acquaintances boring, but even chatting with beautiful women was boring. All the female comrades he knew were married once every sixty years, and he'd been "married" to them several times before. There was no novelty at all.
Shangzhou, and only Shangzhou, is a vast world, and I feel at home there. I finally understand why Master returned to Wuxiang.
Since there are so many things to do, let's do them one by one.
First, meet the investor Wei Yiming mentioned.
On September 2, Wei Yiming arrived with investor Yan Ming. Yan Ming was in his thirties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He looked like a refined and cultured man. He and the man who had been saying "I miss you guys" every year were practically born from the same parents.
I received them both at 1701. Unexpectedly, he was a Chinese expatriate living in Singapore. He liked the creative program that Wei Yiming participated in very much and signed several projects with him.
This time, he was attracted by Wei Yiming's creative idea.
We didn't exchange pleasantries. We each had a cup of tea.
Yan Ming said: "Singapore is a country of immigrants and a multi-racial country, so there are many different kinds of marriage problems."
I've never been there, but I never imagined capitalist countries have more problems than we do. In our country, marriage is mainly about money. If you have enough money, everything is fine. Could it be that they...
I asked, “What are the main problems?”
Yan Ming introduced me to the marriage and love situation in Singapore:
International marriages are quite common. According to this year's data, 72% of these marriages involve foreign brides, and many grooms are also foreign. Of course, most of these foreign brides and grooms are from Asian countries.
Secondly, Singapore is notorious for its difficulty in obtaining a divorce. Because of the Women's Charter, divorces must go through the courts; private divorces are not permitted and often take years to complete.
Third, being a foreign bride and groom is not easy, with 45% of PR applications rejected. Consequently, many foreign brides and grooms can only live in Singapore on a "long-term visit visa," which requires reapplication at regular intervals.
Therefore, there are many touching stories about Singaporeans’ marriages and love affairs.
Just because you fall in love with someone doesn’t mean you can get married.
Before getting married, you must carefully evaluate the feasibility of this marriage, so that you don't end up having to apply for a "long-term visit pass" again and again.
He concluded: "Not only do the couple need to assess the feasibility of the marriage, but the Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has also launched a 'Marriage Long-term Visa Assessment' service."
I laughed and said, "It's hard to get married, and it's hard to get divorced, just like what Li Shangyin wrote in his poem: It's hard to meet, and hard to part, the east wind is weak, and the flowers are withered."
Yan Ming said: "It is true. Singapore is an international city garden with many companies from all over the world stationed in Singapore. There are also many cases of heartbreak derived from such international marriages.
There's a famous love story in Singapore about a devoted couple who waited 29 years before getting married. There's also a famous Singaporean love poem called "How long does it take to know love is right beside you?" So, I'm sure Yiming's exhibition will resonate with people in Singapore.
I said, "Your idea is great. Besides, Singaporeans have higher incomes. Yiming has never been abroad, so please be considerate of him."
He smiled and said, "That's no problem. As long as he sends me the originals, I'll rent a place there, frame them, and put them on display. Besides, I won't share the profits with him; it's a small amount. I just think this is a great idea."
Wei Yiming said: "The idea belongs to Teacher Wan."
I laughed and said, "It's not mine, it belongs to an American."
Yan Ming said: "Whether it's American or Chinese, I think this exhibition can be shown anywhere Chinese people are, or in places influenced by Chinese culture."
We had a pleasant chat. I called Tian Dehan and told him about the situation, asking him to take good care of it.
Tian Dehan said: "Xiao Wei came to see me, and I support him as always. If he has any difficulties, just tell him to come to me."
After sending Mr. Yan and Wei Yiming off, the matter was finally settled. He was allowed to exhibit his works abroad first, and then return to Dongli Town for a long-term exhibition. This is called export-to-domestic sales, which will make domestic sales more accessible.
As for the second thing, I thought about it and politely declined. It wasn't like I'd ever been to a hot spring before. My current task wasn't to take a bath, but to understand if my comrades had any chance.
I said, "My greatest wish is to get him to enjoy Beidi Hot Springs as soon as possible."
Chen Ting laughed heartily: "Master, I understand what you mean. I will try my best to give him the opportunity. But there is one thing I would like to ask the master to enlighten him. His wife is not here, and he often invites some female comrades to go out and play. He should be careful about this."
I thought to myself, isn't this the same as Shi Ting's? A common cancer among middle-aged and elderly men—as if they feel unattractive without a few young, beautiful women around them.
Then he said, "I see. Then I must talk to him."
I called Mingbai and asked him to come over in the evening.
He said, "How about this? I'll treat you to dinner. I really want to meet you. Let's not just have a cup of tea, but go to a familiar place in the countryside to eat fish. I'll send you the location now."
I thought about it and said, "That's fine."
Just as I hung up the phone, Lao Xiao called and asked me to have dinner together.
I said, "How about this, since he invited me to dinner, you don't have to treat me. We can eat together. He'll pay."
Lao Xiao said, "That's fine too."
"Then drive over to pick me up at 5:30."
I know there's a bit of a celebratory tone in Lao Xiao's words—don't go to Boten again. Actually, I really don't want to discuss this topic with him because he doesn't know the truth.
I'll have to remind him when we get in the car.
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