Ghost in the Machine 4

  "Old lady! What are you talking about?! If you can't speak properly, just shut your mouth! This kind of talk makes people laugh out loud. And to think that I, Tian Maochun's son, am a swindler who doesn't earn my keep with my own two hands!"

  Jian Tianmao was furious, and Wu Yugui reluctantly walked away with a sullen face, glancing back from time to time, his old eyes gleaming with cunning, as if he was plotting something again.

  Wu Yugui left, and Tian Yuan finally had the opportunity to explain the consolation money to Tian Biao. She pursed her lips and said, "Dad, this consolation money also has a nice name, but actually, the leader only gave us the money because they needed something from us. You all heard what the police officer said earlier, right? In a few days, their leader will come in person, along with reporters. I think the leader is eager to make some achievements and show off his concern for the people before his promotion. The key point is that he wants to bring reporters to put on a show, and hopes we can cooperate with him a bit."

  "Huh?" The three big men were all stunned when they heard it.

  "Did you get it? So this is a mutually beneficial fee, anyway, we don't want it, he'll give it to others, and it's not against the law or anything, and it doesn't go against our conscience, so why can't we accept it?" Tianyuan smiled and said, "So, Dad, just consider yourself lucky, you ran into a good thing, think of it as the leader showing concern for our family by sending us money. However, when that reporter comes, Grandpa, Dad, Third Uncle, you mustn't mention in front of the reporter that the leader has already sent 2,000 yuan in consolation money!"

  "Why? Isn't it supposed to be a show? Then of course it has to be done well!" Tian Ma Chun listened more and more confused, the more he listened, the more shocked he was. But thinking about it, this matter is just like Tian Yuan said, good luck, running into a good thing!

  "I think this money was sent first to test whether we are willing or not, and also to test whether we understand the leader's intention. When the reporter comes, the leader will personally hand over the real condolence money to my father!" Tian Yuan emphasized the personal aspect, in this backward small mountain village, who would understand the meaning of this kind of thing? If it weren't for Tian Yuan being used to seeing these things in the 21st century, she wouldn't have thought that way either.

  "When those reporters leave, will our leaders ask us to return this money?" Tian Biao asked worriedly. If they had to return it, he couldn't touch a single cent of the money.

  "Dad, is the leader stupid? He sent it over and now wants it back? Who's fooling who? Don't worry, once it's sent over, it won't be taken back. This money, to us, really is too much. But Dad, when you're in a position of power, you have to think about your own interests. In this world, how many officials are truly clean and honest? This amount of money, the leader wouldn't even notice it. Maybe they spend more than that on just one meal!"

  "What? A meal that costs as much as your dad's annual salary? What kind of big restaurant is this? Are they serving gold?" Tian Mu Xing swallowed his saliva, clearly intimidated by Tian Yuan's words.

  "Third Uncle, we're in this small mountain village, so we don't know about things outside. This imported foreign wine, one bottle costs several thousand or even tens of thousands! Listen, isn't it frightening? It's simply a sky-high price, who can afford to drink it? But in this country, the rich have too much money and nowhere to spend it, while the poor are even poorer than us." Tian Yuan smiled and shook her head, "You'll understand later."

  Later on, with TV and movies, everyone will understand what luxury is all about.