Chapter 448: Pablo's Rage
Hearing Li Shuwen's righteous words, Pablo just gave a mocking laugh.
Pablo stroked the large mustache under his nose and said, "Are you using such high-minded principles to deceive your own heart? You should understand that there is no eternal world hegemon; the prosperity of a nation is only temporary. Don't forget that this country is still full of treacherous intent, refusing to admit its defeat in World War II. From their leaders down to their children, every year there are still people actively going to the shrine to worship fascist war criminals."
Li Shuwen looked at Pablo calmly and said, "When friends come, there is good wine; when enemies come, there are fists. If the invaders from back then came to provoke, this old man wouldn't mind pounding a few more to death. Be it the Japanese devils or the Eight-Nation Alliance." Li Shuwen was wearing a Zhongshan suit; in his heart, he held his own hammer and sickle.
"Hahahaha, hehehe!" Pablo laughed heartily, pointing his fat finger at the old man in sunglasses, as if he had just heard an incredibly funny joke.
Pablo laughed for a good while before stopping. Holding his stomach, which ached from laughing, he said, "I've always heard your Ministry of Foreign Affairs talk about things like 'righteousness,' 'justifiable reasons,' and 'since ancient times'—all that empty rhetoric. I even felt that the China of your Eastern world was a monster with completely different ways of thinking and ideologies from us in the West! Now it seems that's not the case at all. You are exactly the same as the politicians in France; it's just that the methods are a little different."
"Hm? Is there something wrong with what I said?" Li Shuwen frowned, looking at the man who was laughing hysterically, perplexed.
Ultimately, that shrine that worships ghosts has long since been distorted into something else.
From a historical perspective, the Japanese are thorough pragmatists. They worship the strong, are willing to kneel in a low posture to learn from the strong, constantly absorb foreign culture, and then engage in "magic modifications" to make it their own.
After being defeated by the Tang Dynasty in ancient times, they became crazily obsessed with the Tang Dynasty, imitating everything about it to a near-obsessive degree, wishing they could move everything about the Tang people onto their island nation. After being defeated by the United States in modern times, they also crazily worshipped the U.S., learning everything from the U.S.
Once they learned part of the essence and gained benefits, they would begin to "magic modify" these things, integrate them into their own culture, define them as national traditions, and then stubbornly maintain them, making them difficult to change thereafter.
Buddhism spread there, and monks became able to marry and have children, and many temples operate on a family-inheritance system.
People who have run out of options will want to "embrace the Buddha's feet," and those tortured by suffering will place their spiritual hopes on things like praying to gods and Buddhas; no matter which country you are in, such people are not few.
Japan claims to have eight million gods, believing in animism—the idea that everything has a spirit—and all the heavens and Buddhas. Naturally, there are people who believe in them. But it's not just Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines; there are also countless Catholic church-sponsored mission schools where girls carry crosses every day and recite "Ave Maria," not to mention the countless mutated cults and pyramid schemes.
And these, in fact, are not even as popular as the fortune tellers opening shops on the street or the horoscope fortunes on morning television shows.
Therefore, although visiting the shrine is a traditional Japanese culture, the Yasukuni Shrine, which has less than two hundred years of history, is by no means the only choice. The reason they visit such ghosts so high-profilely is because it is profitable; it is behavior where political significance outweighs faith or original intent.
It is just like how in ancient times, Liangshan wanted to recruit heroes to join them, or how people go to pay respect to gang bosses or bandits. A "big boss" will usually give you a knife first, tell you to go cut someone or commit arson, creating a capital crime record with the authorities as a "name-bearing sacrifice" (toumingzhuang), and after that, everyone is brothers.
It is the same principle in Japan. If a small company wants to get ahead and hopes to join a powerful right-wing organization, they must go there to pay respects to the ghosts, which counts as expressing their determination. As for the thoughts of people in neighboring countries, in the face of immediate personal interests, honestly, it is very likely they really didn't have the spare energy to consider them.
Just like a certain populist light novel author in Japan who writes about the reincarnation of Nanjing Massacre war criminals: if he wasn't attacking everyone and offending both domestic and foreign, left-wing and right-wing groups, but instead wholeheartedly mixed with right-wing organizations, his work might have actually been adapted into an anime, and because of deep funding, the quality would have been quite good. Although this makes many people furious, there would probably still be people at home following it.
Yasukuni Shrine was initially established as a soul-recruiting place specifically for the soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield for Japan. When the ashes of the war criminals who died in World War II were placed in Yasukuni, the shrine became a "ghost shrine."
In fact, since that time, the Emperor of Japan has passed through three generations since the defeat in WWII, and not a single one has visited this place. The left-wing government that hopes for peaceful development would also never go to such a place.
Only right-wing politicians who want to get votes, or those who are in the midst of the China-U.S. game and want to please the U.S. while seeking some benefits in the cracks, will go to pay respects.
But these jumping clowns cannot represent Japan. If one day the Emperor, who represents all of Japan, also goes to worship the ghosts, that would be the time for real war. But in this era, let's just keep the wars in anime.
"Hehehe, your country is not the only one that was once powerful; France was also once great! Don't forget, the person who first had the unique insight to predict that your country was a 'sleeping lion' was none other than Emperor Napoleon!" Pablo said with a sinister grin. He was immensely clear about this point.
Romantic French people love freedom and democracy, enjoying leisure time more than working. People love Napoleon as much as they love Sophie Marceau, but as soon as oil prices rise, they will protest, smash things, and burn the Arc de Triomphe just the same.
Li Shuwen adjusted his sunglasses and said in a deep voice: "Protesting... how nostalgic. In the days of my youth, hot-blooded young students wouldn't go to school, holding banners for the Japanese invaders to get out of China, marching everywhere, giving speeches, saying 'don't buy Japanese goods,' and smashing shops that sold Japanese goods; that was also quite common.
But in modern times, I discovered that in foreign places, this kind of protest is also very popular. However, they are not to drive out invaders; they are mostly for some strange reasons, disturbing the order. They aren't 'rich second generations' either—they are all stinking rich; how come they don't have to go to school? Don't have to go to work?
They occupy traffic arteries, cursing tourists of the same skin color and language, just because they come from the other side of the harbor.
They don't seem to care about their compatriots in the harbor either, blocking ambulances and causing residents within the harbor to be unable to be rescued in time.
Don't they worry about any inconvenience for their family's travel? Do they all travel directly by plane from the sky? They don't need to take land transportation at all.
At first, this old man couldn't figure it out, but later I heard that the people participating in the protests are not only provided with meals, but are also paid by the hour. After that, this old man completely understood: it turns out everything they did was just for themselves."
Actually, it's just like the separatists in Taiwan and Hong Kong, taking this opportunity to add trouble to the mainland government and show their presence. Those participating in the
protests are not "rich second generations" who are bored; they are planned and organized. Doing this is their profession, and they are earning easy, fast money.
If they can make a bigger ruckus and become a trending "internet black," that makes more than the "50-cent army" or the "pro-American" trolls.
Once one understands what these people are really about, no one will really care about them. When they have no money to take, these people will naturally disappear; they need to eat too.
People who rely on making trouble and inciting crowds to make money have never been few—like those who scalp tickets or help stage medical disputes; they all have professional teams and clear rules.
It is true that China's market is large, but those qualified to grab territory on this land are all international powerhouses. Some brands squeezed in, and they can only eat some leftovers.
And in foreign countries, there are not a few supporters who hold the "Yellow Peril" ideology. In order to get the support of these people, brand merchants who gave up the Chinese market (which they didn't have much of anyway) and certain television stations that wanted to boost ratings, therefore provoking China and mocking the Qing Dynasty pigtails and "yellow-skinned monkeys," are, in fact, not few.
There is never a shortage of ungrateful wolves in this world. When it is beneficial to them, they can be brothers; if they can't make money, they turn around and start cursing their mothers. This is nothing rare.
"The earth's capacity is broad, and the gentleman sustains all things with great virtue. Step back. In consideration of you being a contestant who made it here on your own strength, I will not punish you. Stop doing these things that insult others' personalities," Li Shuwen said in a deep voice, and turned to leave.
"Wait! The conditions are negotiable! You must have some purpose for making such a big move! My backing represents all of Europe; we can totally work together!" Pablo hurriedly ran up, pressed his hand on Li Shuwen's shoulder, and said urgently. His nostrils flared, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"If you need a publicity outlet, I am definitely the best choice! I have resources, I have connections. The world of white people definitely recognizes French cuisine!
Japanese food is just a niche food that people eat because they want something fresh! Chinese food can only be done as dirty and messy low-end fast food! Even if they take the God of Cooking Cup, people won't accept it! My French cuisine is your best choice!" Pablo grabbed the old man in sunglasses' shoulder and said.
This is an era where money is supreme and entertainment is king.
A reality show that doesn't set up candidate champions from the beginning, doesn't determine the basic character setting of the top 8 or even top 16 contestants, and doesn't
outline the program flow is unqualified and unreliable commercially. How do you make a contestant with commercial value get recognized? Only by laying the groundwork from the first episode, creating various explosive points, can it truly flow naturally in the end.
But this may also be why the champions who come out of mature talent shows often end up not doing as well as the later-ranked contestants.
Often, because the promoted contestant performs poorly, the competition gives a feeling of "starting with a roar and ending with a whimper." However, contestants who are pre-selected for their high beauty, viewer appeal, topics, or fan base can effectively help the show gain followers. It is more stable, guarantees ratings, and allows investments to break even as quickly as possible, increasing the bargaining chips when facing investors, and maximizing the benefits obtained by the producers.
Ultimately, the shows that can be broadcast are already filtered. Some perform wonderfully, and some can bring attention and spark topics, but this is commercial behavior, and the goal is for the organizers to gain profits.
In this era where even the veteran "roadway" programs that claim to be "stages for the common people" have professional singers pretending to be farmers and shepherds, what else is there to be serious about?
Yes, even for those regional station singer and celebrity talent shows that cannot be considered top-tier and have economic benefits of only a few hundred million RMB, it is already like this. Political talent shows with values in the trillions of dollars are even more unstoppable.
Now! In Pablo's view, the God of Cooking Cup competition is also a show. In this world where food is the mainstream, it is the largest-scale chef show. If he can become the recognized world's number one chef, in a sense, the influence would even be greater than that of being elected president of a country.
Pablo now wants to join the production of this show. As long as he can bring enough benefits, then things can be discussed; this is the most common thing.
"Ah, ah, I know your tradition on that side; you just want these twists and turns. You want a kickback, right? Name your price. As long as it's not excessive, I'll agree to it all," Pablo said with a wicked smile.
"Hah!" Li Shuwen let out an angry shout. His foot slammed into the ground, and as if a shockwave erupted, Pablo's fat body flew backward, hitting the wall.
"Wah-ah-ah!!" Pablo screamed in pain. His back hit the wall with a dull thud, and then he stuck to the wall and crashed to the floor.
"Those with different ways do not plan together! Get out! You petty person!" Although Li Shuwen's temper had improved quite a bit in recent years, it wasn't as if he didn't have one.
He had reached his limit with Pablo. He said angrily, flicked the hem of his rolled-up Chinese jacket, and walked away, never looking at the Frenchman again.
"Damn... you bastard!!!" Pablo held his bruised shoulder, glaring at the departing old man, his eyes turning crimson.
Since coming here, nothing had gone his way. Everywhere he went, there were idiots who didn't respect him or obey his will. If the organizers had been willing to set the venue in the "capital of food and fashion," Paris, this kind of problem would absolutely never have occurred.
This time, Pablo even hated the organizers behind the scenes. He stood alone in the corridor, eyes wide, feeling as if everything around him had become his enemy, turning into twisting black shadows, laughing at him.
Pablo's eyes turned bright red. He walked quickly back to his lounge, pushed open the door, and slammed it shut.
He looked inside at the pink-haired, seductive woman sitting cross-legged on the back of a female model who was on her hands and knees. He spoke word by word: "Ke Yang, I need you to help me do one more thing."
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