I am not Ximen Qing.

Why is it like this? City people suffer, not because they can't live a free and happy life! It's all because of the greed in the hearts of city people. Song Yu said he was trapped in a state of extreme unease. Song Yu once earned a lot of money; those days of making money like the Wolf of Wall Street seem like just yesterday. Almost everyone is like this. When you have money, everything is sunny and happy, but often, the beautiful things only last for a moment, don't they?

Song Yu often confided in others about returning to China. He felt utterly ashamed, like he wanted to disappear into the world. Why should he feel uncomfortable with such humiliation? He had already made a 200 million yuan down payment on a house for his marriage, and was paying a monthly mortgage of 1 yuan. Then his son's tuition at a prestigious school cost over 20 yuan a year, even though his in-laws had bought a house in Tianjin. So what? Can a house in Tianjin compare to one in Beijing? The reason he could pay the full amount for a house in Tianjin was because of Song Yu's internet finance investments. As the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Song Yu was complaining about being poor, but the mortgage and his child's tuition showed that his cash flow was still quite strong!

But this awkward situation could have been avoided. Who is responsible for this predicament? Is it caused by marriage and love? Or is it caused by the real estate bubble? Song Yu said that the house he bought with a down payment of over 200 million yuan and a 30-year mortgage seems to have depreciated significantly, almost to the point of extreme distress. Is the depreciation of houses the root of all the problems? Real estate in big cities is devouring everything in the lives of city dwellers, all their potential! Chinese city dwellers love houses more than anyone else in the world. They are absolutely idealistic patriots. Song Yu can certainly be called middle class, and he still cares a lot about his middle-class status. Yet, this internet finance entrepreneur who is working hard overseas feels ashamed when facing his family. The feeling of being shameless is quite similar to the absurd humor he advocates now. Now that I think about it, Mulière's exaggerated drama is not exaggerated at all. In reality, Song Yu, who is shameless, is even more flustered than Molière's nose. Isn't it because things are too chaotic abroad? Song Yu is also a little scared and returned to China to avoid the storm. After several months, he actually felt ashamed when facing his relatives. Doesn't he think that in today's brutal society, if he is so thin-skinned, how can he survive in society? This Chinese-style marriage truly brings endless, unforeseen troubles to men. The troubles of Chinese-style marriage are that money talks, and when there's no money, all the problems stem from the man. It seems Song Yu hasn't listened at all. I suggest he read more carefully, read more of Confucianism and Mencius, read more of the Thirteen Classics, especially the Diamond Sutra. At the very least, if he doesn't have that much free time, he should read the Analects, but Mencius is still a must. If the world didn't have Confucianism and Mencius, wouldn't there be even bigger problems? This world is a world where fortunes change, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Which family hasn't had a top scholar in their ancestors? Don't belittle others with one blow. This is a universal truth in China because China has tens of thousands of years of civilization. This may not be an absolute truth in the West, America, Britain, and France, but it is an absolute truth in China! The woman and her parents-in-law are starting to shift the problems and conflicts onto Song Yu's parents. It's meaningless for a woman to take her parents' money for granted. Parents only have one daughter, so of course the money should go to her. The key issue is Song Yu's son's education. A private school in Beijing costs over 13 yuan a year, which is a huge burden for the middle-class Song Yu! Moreover, his in-laws' house in Tianjin is a sure bet for their son's future education! They kept advising Song Yu to face reality, to bow to reality, that even true aristocrats often choose public schools to raise their future successors! In fact, the country invests huge amounts of resources in education; public schools are the best educational resources! Why insist on the most expensive private school in Beijing? Song Yu muttered to himself, this is what he calls absurdism! The world's gift of black humor! Yes, Song Yu is an ordinary urban middle-class person, and such expenses, such expenditure on education, are just the beginning of primary school. Ultimately, even the middle class will inevitably go bankrupt, Zhang Sheng didn't say this this time.

"Don't worry, buddy, you're still middle class. You've saved up for a five-year mortgage and have savings, so you won't go bankrupt. Don't worry, buddy, you're still middle class!"

Zhang Sheng was somewhat shocked. Song Yu was far too concerned about his middle-class status. This was the first time Zhang Sheng had ever seen someone like Song Yu. A good man who felt so guilty just because he'd only stayed in China for a few months—this shameless man who used to have such thick skin and dated so many women, how could he have been so shameless back then? It seemed marriage was a process of re-education for men. What had made Song Yu feel so ashamed now, wanting to disappear into the ground, his skin so thin? Zhang Sheng didn't believe he was thin-skinned. It was all an act; he always loved to put on an act in front of Zhang Sheng! Because that was how he could flaunt his absurd and ridiculous life, his dark humor! Song Yu was now using Samuel to describe the dark humor of his life! Zhang Sheng could only agree with Song Yu, saying he absolutely had to read the complete collection of fortune-telling books carefully! Song Yu's Samuel-like state would surely infuriate many middle-class men. Who flaunts themselves like this, using such a way to showcase themselves? Eventually, this absurd display of helplessness would create confusion; some people would ask, "Is Song Yu rich or poor?" Or is this how he displays his nonsensical pretentiousness? But he's quite good at it, because the middle class can live a life of luxury, transforming themselves into the wealthy and aristocratic—no one else can do that. Even Caesar lived a very simple life, yet Song Yu could live like a tycoon. This causes logical confusion for most people, a confusion about money. It's a conceptual confusion about the concept of money! China has indeed developed very rapidly. China is indeed a great country, and its economy is indeed strong. If we judge the Ming Dynasty's economy by the extravagant lifestyle of Ximen Qing in *Jin Ping Mei*, it was indeed quite good, with abundant resources and a wide variety of economic industries. If we use Marxist perspectives, the Ming Dynasty truly entered the nascent stages of capitalism, and its productivity was indeed advanced, leading the world. Ximen Qing's luxurious lifestyle is a microcosm of the entire Ming Dynasty's economy and culture, from the imperial court to all levels of society. The Ming Dynasty was a relatively vibrant and great dynasty, quite different from the famous histories compiled by the Qing Dynasty. Now, Song Yu has indeed achieved his goal. Zhang Sheng's current economic situation is truly remarkable; you can't say he's rich or poor. If you say Song Yu isn't rich, look at his extravagant lifestyle. How could he not be rich? His daily cash flow expenses alone are enormous, so he's a typical middle-class man, without any problems. His painful contradictions are illogical. Ah, Zhang Sheng is also in pain. Friends, friends! He can never find those wonderful, happy bachelor days again. Zhang Sheng sees the suffering of married men in Song Yu. Why does it have to be this way? Why torture oneself when one can live a happy and joyful life? It seems that Shakyamuni Buddha was indeed Shakyamuni Buddha thousands of years ago. He understands that the only way to escape suffering is to attain Buddhahood on the spot.

Finally, he's trapped in the cycle of family politics. Think about the ups and downs of family politics! It reminds me of the Zuo Zhuan (a historical text), but this really fits Song Yu's style. Sometimes, can't he just take off his shoes? Can't he be more humble in the face of reality? Actually, he doesn't understand one principle: spending money is just buying suffering. He wants to use the methods women use to force men to suffer. He can't lower his head, so he grits his teeth. Others can spend millions a year on their sons; Song Yu can only afford to spend tens of thousands on his sons. Private school is a must—it's a matter of responsibility. It all comes down to the surplus. Why did he stop paying Beijing social security? This is the most basic, most elementary mistake Song Yu made. Chinese-style marriage and Chinese-style education require serious attention to every detail of preparation, mixed with a strong attitude of refusing to compromise or settle for less. Then Zhang Sheng remembered the college student who studied in Canada for four years. Studying abroad comes at a price: selling the house in the alley. Four years passed quickly, but the house in the alley had undergone a complete transformation. The result of his studies was a monthly salary of 4000 yuan. This is a truly bizarre story. Four years ago, it was worth over a million yuan; four years later, when he returned to China, the old house in the alley was worth 8 million yuan. According to his father, they were desecrating the wisdom of their ancestors. But his father could only say, "If my son hadn't gone to Canada, spending a million yuan on his studies, he could have lived off that money for a lifetime without doing anything and still be able to live in the alley." Sometimes, fate plays tricks on those with ambition. Living in a big city, city dwellers must have foresight and wisdom.

In fact, Zhang Sheng understood that this was all part of human nature. The reason why Lu Xun's novels are so great and classic is that he clearly wrote about human nature with the eye of a doctor. Therefore, Lu Xun's books are truly a cure for mental and spiritual illnesses. Even in his great works, Lu Xun did not deny the greatness of traditional Chinese medicine. In that era, there were some things he couldn't say clearly. People of that era had become incredibly foolish. Chinese-style marriage made Chinese men foolish and devoid of masculine dignity. This was all due to women's desire for face and their cruel schemes to torment men. That's how life was lived. The Jin dynasty official finally spoke up for women, saying that the aristocratic private school his son attended indeed had a particularly advanced educational philosophy. His son was mischievous and naughty, making him most suitable for such a prestigious school. All the teachers there were foreigners, and everyone spoke English. His son now particularly liked English; this was due to genetics, to the workings of DNA and reproduction. The DNA is quite good; it seems Song Yu passed the TOEFL, IELTS, and CET-6 in English. His son's talent in language learning is a clear inheritance of Song Yu's excellent tradition. He can now speak not only English but also Spanish, which is quite impressive! Zhang Sheng chimed in, saying that Song Yu said it was really good. Learning English isn't about rote memorization; it's about cultivating the language. It's hard to forget one's mother tongue intuitively, but once good habits for learning English are established, by high school, he can at least get 140-150 points in English, and with a little effort in other subjects, he can easily reach over 600 points, getting into a decent 211 university. There are still no problems, but if you want to get into a 985 university, you need a minimum score of 650 or 660! This made Song Yu realize that his suggestion to send his son to a private elite school was absolutely correct. I wonder what kind of golden days he's living after marriage. Song Yu is not like Shen Wanshan, nor is he the kind of person Yuan Shikai's eldest son Yuan Geding. In fact, Zhang Sheng could tell that the days Song Yu misses most are the happy days he spent working with Caesar in internet finance! It seems that Caesar is indeed a visionary leader and chairman with a bold strategic vision. Their ability to seize opportunities is truly second to none. The entire Foshou Company has started praising Caesar, because following Caesar can indeed bring in huge sums of money. And now, the global internet finance boom is quite competitive, because all internet professionals understand that making money requires timing. The golden age of internet finance is over, and the days of spending money like water are over. We have to face the realities of life. Song Yu also said that women are becoming increasingly anxious, even schizophrenic. Modern women are probably quite anxious; people can no longer return to a normal life. This is urban civilization—a product of highly developed human civilization, a reflection on human greed. City people are living more and more like walking corpses, increasingly cold and ruthless in their dealings with others. No one can compare to Lu Xun's brilliance in this regard. Lu Xun's basic monthly income was 60 silver dollars! Economic base determines the superstructure. Lu Xun was not only a skilled writer, but also had a very strong financial foundation. He could buy a house in a hutong (traditional alleyway) in just a few months. Therefore, Lu Xun's writings are the most principled, because only Lu Xun had the backbone to refuse to succumb to worldly compromises! After reading Lu Xun's complete works, I've always suspected that he wasn't writing about old society, but rather about the true nature of humanity in contemporary society. Zhang Chengcheng is curious about An Lushan, Shi Siming, Wu Xun, and the Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform. Why did Empress Dowager Cixi hate these reformers of Emperor Guangxu so much? The truth lies hidden within the history of the Qing Dynasty. Regardless, Fayuan Temple is truly a great temple, for it was this great temple that provided solace to the souls of the warriors who fought in the Liaodong campaign. Fayuan Temple is indeed beautiful; we'll discuss its beauty later. In fact, we can view Fayuan Temple as a reflection of the Tang Dynasty's grand strategy and the presence of the spirits enshrined there, thus imagining the greatness and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty's strategic vision was incredibly advanced. Regardless, the Tang Dynasty was great, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the An Lushan Rebellion. The Tang Dynasty's magnanimity was truly broad; otherwise, it wouldn't have produced such a great book as the "Tang Dynasty Western Regions Drama." However, I want to emphasize again that it's not that love and warmth are lacking today. Contemporary China is the wealthiest and most powerful society, yet humanity has become cold-blooded and lacking in compassion. Most of humanity has degenerated, completely corrupted, with rampant materialism everywhere! The evil in human nature is intolerant of others, even if it means some mistreatment. The purpose of marriage isn't necessarily to live forever in a glamorous world—that's impossible, nor is it possible to live a life of extravagant spending forever. Sometimes, one must bow to reality and compromise. The woman and Song Yu, however, have always maintained a strong, unyielding lifestyle. Because they steadfastly adhered to the bottom line of a middle-class life, they almost completely lost their voice in family life. In this marital gamble, Song Yu invested almost all of her considerable income from internet finance—and it can be considered a well-preserved investment of all her savings, income, and money. The result of the marriage was finally a son. Her parents bought a house in Tianjin, and this house became an important part of Song Yu's son's future education. At least, the household registration for his schooling was secured. Whether the woman lacked money or not is hard to say, because considering her son's future, she planned to have him attend a prestigious private school in Beijing, completing the entire primary school. Zhang Sheng was speechless. Even truly wealthy people would rationally send their sons back to public schools. It's not a matter of face; only by returning to public schools can they return to the essence and original purpose of education. It's not just about money. With readily available public education, why not participate?