usatvline Chapter 308 Dark Child
Chapter 308 Dark Child
"The 33-tael rule? It's an economic phenomenon during the Qing Dynasty, describing the financial difficulties faced by ordinary families at the time. Specifically, the annual income of an average family was about 33 taels of silver, while the annual expenditure of the family often reached 36 taels of silver, causing the people to be constantly in debt, making it difficult to accumulate wealth, and only able to barely maintain their basic livelihood." Lin Jingzhe said, looking at them with his deep, bottomless eyes.
"If you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have known about it the first time I heard it." Ye Zhenzhen looked at her with her fox eyes and said.
"When I read Dream of the Red Chamber, Granny Liu entered the Grand View Garden, her family of five spent 20 taels of silver a year," Qi Na recalled. "By the Qing Dynasty, inflation had set in."
"This is too bad! How can someone plot like this?" Lian Ximei said in disbelief.
"The ruling class uses economic means to control the lives of the people. During good harvests, merchants lower grain prices, while the imperial court increases taxes. This reduces the amount of grain farmers have. Even if they work hard, they can hardly make up for the three taels of silver gap, creating a mountain of hardship that is impossible to overcome." Lin Jingzhe looked at them with dark eyes and said, "Capitalist alienation is terrifying. Your work, your life, even your body are all commodities. From birth to death, they can be calculated by price."
"I kind of understand what Jingzhe said. When I was in the United States, I was surrounded by middle-class people, but I couldn't save any money." Zhu Youlin said with emotion.
"They always say we have tons of taxes, tons of taxes, tons of taxes. But the Americans really are. The taxes are ridiculously high, and they don't even understand it themselves, so they have to hire someone to calculate them. Hiring someone costs money, but if they don't, and the calculation is wrong, the fines will make you cry." Zhu Youlin blinked her almond-shaped eyes and looked at them. "Have you seen The Shawshank Redemption? He helped the warden evade taxes in prison."
"I remember. I remember."
"Art originates from life, yet transcends life." Lin Jingzhe chuckled. "American tax collectors are more terrifying than the FBI."
“The foreign countries described online are so good!”
"Why would I lie to you? When I immigrated, I took millions with me from all the prize money I won during my athletic career, but when I came back, I only had ten or twenty thousand left in my pocket." Zhu Youlin looked at them with dark eyes and said, "Everything he did required money. He was like Zhou Baopi, who was even more cruelly abused by Huang Shiren than Yang Bailao." She took a deep breath and said, "If the sports school hadn't taken me in, I really would have been working as a bricklayer at a construction site."
"really?"
"I thought I would live comfortably if I went out with a few million."
"It turns out not to be the case!"
"Don't listen to what others say. Be like the little horse crossing the river and ask the ordinary local people." Zhu Youlin said to them with her clear almond-shaped eyes.
"Why is this happening?"
"Coach Zhu, is education abroad free?"
"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Public education is free, but the children educated there can't even memorize the multiplication table," Zhu Youlin said frankly. "They can't even do two-digit multiplication." She raised her eyebrows slightly, "You want your children to receive such an education?"
"What about private schools?"
"You have to be rich to go to private school. They study the same as us and work hard to get into school. How can they be happy? Tuition fees in foreign universities are expensive and they are all private, unlike ours which are public. You can find out by looking it up online." Zhu Youlin said, looking at them with her deep almond-shaped eyes.
"We know this, but it's not something you can lend money for."
"College loans have compound interest, comparable to usury. You might not be able to pay them off even 20 or 30 years after graduation." Zhu Youlin looked at them with deep, unfathomable eyes and said, "Are you sure you want to take out a loan to go to college?"
"I really don't know?"
"Don't just listen to the initial comments. You need to understand the details before making a judgment." Zhu Youlin's eyes flickered as she continued, "As for free medical treatment, that's nonsense. If you're sick, just go to the hospital and queue up! The hospital is completely empty, and the queues are still long! People often say it's hard to get medical treatment here. A serious illness can cost us a lot of money. It's just like that abroad. Minor illnesses can become major ones, and major illnesses can lead to the death of a person."
"This really subverts our understanding." Ye Zhenzhen said in surprise.
"Doesn't Europe have high welfare? Their lives should be better!"
"Europe's welfare is the best in the West."
"They have a good life, thanks to their colonies, but that's earned by exploiting Africa," Lin Jingzhe said, his glazed eyes watching them. "This world is materialistic. Without money, there's no such thing as high welfare. They used to plunder with guns, but now they're taking advantage of the rules set by others and directly stealing the fruits of ordinary people's labor."
“I really didn’t know this before.”
"Just look it up online."
"If anyone knows someone who has gone abroad, please ask."
“They only report good news and not bad news.”
"I understand. I went abroad to live a good life. Who knew it was worse than back home? Can you tell me the truth?"
"He has a bad heart and wishes we were just like him!"
"You must not have the intention of harming others, and you must have the intention of guarding against others."
"Are you hungry? I am hungry." Lin Jingzhe touched his shriveled stomach and said. Anyway, he had said everything he needed to say. It was up to them whether to believe it or not.
After returning to their accommodation, Lin Jingzhe and her friends went to the restaurant and had a big meal.
After eating and drinking, Zina returned to the dormitory and finally took the opportunity to ask, "You and that Jacob, you talk like that!"
"What do you want me to say?" Lin Jingzhe looked at her unhappily and said, "I don't like foreigners."
"He's like this... changed for you?" Zina said with a dreamy look in her round eyes.
"Remember, even if it's easy to change a country, it's hard to change one's nature." Lin Jingzhe snorted softly, "Stop dreaming. There are dark fairy tales too."
"You guys chat differently from others." Zina thought about it and shook her head and chuckled.
"What can I talk about with him?" Lin Jingzhe snorted.
"He seems to look down on the police." Zina said to her with a frown.
"Rich people are so high and mighty, who can they look down upon?" Lin Jingzhe looked at her with his dark eyes and said, "Go online and check if there's any latest news. Digest the food, then take a shower and go to bed."
"No testing tonight, we can sleep till dawn." Zina said happily while holding up her little notebook.
The two spent half an hour online, took a shower, and went to bed.
&*&
The next day, Lin Jingzhe had just finished washing up when he received a call from Coach Zhu, "That man is dead."
"Who died?" Lin Jingzhe said in confusion.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youlin quickly explained in detail, "The guy who put chocolate chips in your room died of an overdose. Now there's no evidence."