Capitalists and Pleasure Seekers Are Fundamentally the Same

In a corner of the restaurant, two men who attract a lot of attention are chatting.

"... Many people will get hurt!" Patu said jokingly with a teasing expression.

He didn't care about the lives of those natives. He had almost figured it out: once the plan was implemented, all Galil would instantly become worthless paper, instead of the "description" used to express its worthlessness.

Waste paper, truly waste paper, and those who hold this waste paper will also suffer! Who holds the most of this currency now? Without a doubt, the Federal Government, the Big Six Banks, and "insiders" like Lin Qi.

But they won't hold on forever. With the Galil's value constantly appreciating, they not only haven't lost money, but they've actually made a fortune. He can probably imagine what will happen next—some fools will have to pay the price for this action.

This is the essence of finance, or capital: for someone to make money, someone else must lose money; wealth doesn't appear out of thin air! "Looks like from today onwards, I'll have to directly have those workers pay their Federal Sol directly!"

His expression held a hint of regret, as some workers still insisted on using Galil, which allowed the United Development Company to get some savings on paying people's wages.

This kind of cheap food can't be eaten forever. If people can eat it for a month, they've already gotten a good deal. It's not a big deal if they can't continue eating it.

The atmosphere of the meal was generally pleasant. After it ended, Patu immediately got up to leave. He had received some information from Lin Qi and asked his assistants to continue analyzing it for him.

Lin Qi wandered around the boat, enjoying the not-so-comfortable sea breeze for a while, before returning to his room.

Nothing happened that night.

The next day, Lin Qi took his Little Assistant to see an opera. The male lead of the opera was known as "the Last Flash of the Federal Opera Scene," a nickname that sounded a bit embarrassing.

He was a Mr. Fatty in his sixties. The plot of today's opera is about a King's battle of wits with a treacherous minister, so the plot is very dramatic and requires a strong stage presence, which is not something an average person can perform.

At the same time, this plot also tells people that the ruler is always right, so only the real big-name opera singers can support the whole structure.

As for the content the opera is meant to express, it is certainly correct, and the whole world agrees on this, not just the Federal. In fact, Gefra's situation is even more exaggerated than that of the Federal.

It must be said that Mr. "Shining" has a very penetrating voice and can evoke emotional resonance in people. In fact, the entire opera world is facing a very awkward problem, which is that there is no successor.

Young people are more inclined to participate in various Talent show shows, or sign contracts with entertainment companies or Agent Company to receive star training programs and eventually appear in front of the public as stars.

There are very few people willing to study opera anymore, and singing opera requires a lot of time to develop one's skills.

A celebrity doesn't need talent; they don't need a long period of training. As long as they have a good appearance, they can become famous quickly.

Opera stars often need to be over fifty years old. They need to find their own unique characteristics, cultivate their own temperament, hone their artistic cultivation and personal singing ability, and even their overall qualities cannot be lacking. It is difficult to form an assembly line-style star-making process.

This also means that opera, as an art form, is not an easy path to success; one cannot become the protagonist and may remain unknown for a lifetime.

In the early years, before television entered every household, opera firmly held the dominant position, and many opera singers or industry professionals did not believe that television would be a worthy challenger.

Television and television programs, as well as movies, were even referred to as "lowbrow forms of expression," and they were unwilling to even give these new media the word "art."

Of course, that was indeed the case at the time. Opera singers and the entire industry firmly controlled the Federal's audio-visual entertainment industry and were sought after by various high-society figures. They certainly had the right and the confidence to say that.

However, the training of opera singers is too long, and appreciating opera requires a certain level of artistic attainment, which is precisely what the lower classes of society lack most.

On the contrary, emerging things like television and movies are very popular among people in the lower classes.

Ultimately, opera was defeated by these forms of expression that they looked down upon and considered "low-class."

It doesn't require a powerful singing voice, a strong emotional impact on the audience, a profound plot or tragedy, or an understanding of the characters and the story that most people can't grasp.

All you need is a TV or a large screen, a sofa or a row of chairs, and some junk food that will make you gain weight, and the whole family can sit in front of the TV or the big screen for a long time and laugh like idiots.

As for influence? If it can't influence the people at the bottom of society, what kind of influence is it?

It's only natural that opera has fallen from its pedestal and declined.

Normally, an opera lasts for nearly three hours, Lin Qi watched it very attentively, which surprised his Little Assistant Helen.

Appreciating opera requires a high level of artistic cultivation, which she couldn't fully understand, yet Lin Qi was so engrossed in it, which made her feel somewhat ashamed, since everyone knew that Lin Qi had only graduated from high school. She also made herself more immersed in the opera.

But she didn't know that Lin Qi looked very serious because he was daydreaming.

He reviewed everything that had happened and what was about to happen during this period, and only after confirming that he had not made any mistakes did he turn his attention back to the opera.

Just then, the last male voice, trembling slightly, disappeared, and everyone in the theater stood up and applauded. Lin Qi, somewhat bewildered, also stood up and applauded along with everyone else.

However, his true thoughts at this time could not be seen from his face. In order to better integrate into this environment, he still had some emotions! "Time flies really fast. When I swim in the ocean of art, I forget the passage of time. I really wish I could listen to it for a while longer."

Helen, along with some of the audience members nearby, were immediately filled with awe for Lin Qi's artistic achievements. Some of them had initially thought it was rather boring, but now they could only nod vigorously in agreement with Lin Qi's views to show that they were also refined people.

It has to be said that rich people and wealthy families really know how to enjoy life. They don't have to face any work every day on the cruise ship; they can just play, play to their heart's content, and play recklessly.

With money, the Federal is heaven! On the third day of Lin Qi's stay on the ship, Wo Delike finally arrived late, and the Board of Directors meeting was finally able to be held, which relieved many people.

While ordinary employees' families might thoroughly enjoy everything on the cruise ship, for the Board of Directors and shareholders, such a life is actually quite meaningless.

They've seen and participated in far more interesting and sophisticated entertainment than this; they'd only find it boring here.

On the afternoon of the third day, the Nagaril Joint Development Company finally held its annual Board of Directors meeting.

The United Development Company has more than 100 shareholders, not including some uninvited shareholders.

Only those holding more than one-thousandth of the shares are invited to attend this Board of Directors meeting; those holding less than one-thousandth are not eligible to attend.

In the largest conference room on the cruise ship, all the shareholders sat around a huge round table.

It's sometimes hard to imagine how much the Federal people are attached to round tables and tableside meetings. They could easily arrange rows of tables and chairs for people to sit separately, but everyone prefers to sit around these huge round tables, as if it makes them feel more involved.

Lin Qi also sat at the table. He looked at the people in the distance and suddenly smiled. He laughed.

The person sitting next to him was not familiar with Lin Qi; they had only met twice on the ship and were nodding acquaintances.

However, since everyone was working together in the United Development Company, their relationships were naturally quite close. This gentleman, who was in his forties, looked at Lin Qi and smiled for a while before he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mr. Lin Qi, is there anything particularly interesting?"

When Lin Qi looked at him, he explained, "I noticed you were laughing and making sounds."

"Really?" Lin Qi immediately apologized for his rashness. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect to affect the people next to me. I'm really sorry."

Those around Lin Qi also seemed to resent Lin Qi, but were also curious. "No need to apologize, Mr. Lin Qi. I'm just curious, could you share something?"

Social interaction requires communication. If two people sit here without saying a word, they will never know each other until the end. But now that there is a reason to communicate and an interface to continue communicating, social interaction occurs.

"Of course, when I looked at all of us here, and at this round table, you know what came to mind?" Lin Qi shared his thoughts.

The gentleman also asked in a cooperative manner, "What came to mind?"

Lin Qi couldn't help but laugh twice more, "A strip club!"

"There, there's a round table like this, a little smaller than this one, and inside there are some steel pipes or a few chairs, and some girls inside..." he said, his eyebrows dancing with the enthusiasm of a young boy.

The gentleman sitting next to Lin Qi paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "What you said is profound, Mr. Lin Qi, but I must say, your description is very vivid!"

"Right? That's why I couldn't help but laugh..."

In reality, how different are the people sitting here from the customers waiting for their "meal" in a strip club? Not much difference. In fact, their psychological states are almost identical; they are all anxiously waiting for the moment when their desires are fulfilled.

The Chairman of the Board sitting not far away glanced in their direction, and Lin Qi promptly suppressed his seemingly eloquent expression, giving a slight nod in greeting before sitting down with a serious expression.