Like many colonies, Yangon, the old capital of Myanmar, was once a very prosperous city on the previous page of history.

It is the heart of Southeast Asia, at the confluence of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

It is bordered by Eastern Xia to the north, India to the west, the Chao Phraya River Delta to the east, which produces strategic materials such as rubber and grains, and the prosperous and dense international waterways to the south.

Beautiful treasures naturally attract robbers.

So, the colonists came.

European armies occupied the country, and the red-clad musketeers under the command of Edward VII fled to the rousing melody of the March of the Grenadiers.

For Myanmar, this is the final end of the thousand-year-long era of feudal dynasties. For the empire, which was at the height of its glory, it was just an ordinary victory.

Whether it's in India, or in the Qing Dynasty, in Malaysia, from East Asia to the Middle East to Africa, they have repeated similar things countless times.

War, colonization, plunder......

Flying and domineering, towards the beginning.

"Yangon is a fallen and noble city."

Chen Shenglin smiled: "I have heard countless times that European partners or delegations have come here to make similar comments to me. ”

"A hundred years ago, if you look down from the sky, the bright lights at night are no weaker than those of the magic capital, Tokyo, and Osaka. At that time, the Lion City was nothing more than a slum of sailors and footmen. ”

Chen Shenglin said softly: "They always miss the Yangon in the diary of the colonizer in the past. ”

Let's be honest.

Rather than plundering the city, the colonizers transformed Yangon with chessboard-style grid urban planning and industrial transformation.

It's not the goodwill of the Europeans.

Rather, it was the British who had the ambition to build Yangon into "the new Liverpool port of East Asia".

As early as the Victorian era, the British Parliament was designed to link Burma with the Indian colonies in the Far East to hinder the expansion of the Indochina French on the map of Asia.

They have made a big transformation of Yangon with the investment of building a local area.

They brought with them foreign religions, and they also brought with them the English way of life.

It was the first place in East Asia to have electricity, railroads, cold beer, and frozen steaks.

A large number of Europeans came to this land.

Maugham had settled here, and George Orwell was discussing a polo game at Eton High School, 12,000 miles away, with colonial civil servants, while sipping beer and writing his pen work, The Burmese Years.

And in the French colony, just a stone's throw away, Marguerite Duras, the greatest female home of the 20th century, has just been born.

Decades later, she will write landmark works in literary history, "Lover" and "Hiroshima Love", based on her childhood experiences in Southeast Asia.

To this day, Yangon still retains the largest collection of British-style buildings in Southeast Asia.

St. Mary's Cathedral, Governor's Town Hall, High Court Building, ...... In Yangon, Yangon No. 1 Secondary School, which is as famous as Dulwich College International where Gu Weijing is located, was formerly a European-style church school.

"They say that under the glory of the British Empire, this city once gave birth to great writers like Orwell and Maugham, and is the most prosperous city in Southeast Asia."

Chen Shenglin whispered, "Then ask me." Mr. Chen, in the more than half a century since the British left, what is left of you in Yangon? ”

"Has the city card here become the methamphetamine of the Golden Triangle, the corrupt and incompetent police bureaucrats, the arrogant warlords and gangsters? However, it provides erotic services, which Miss Zhao said is cheap and high-quality, which is quite evocative. ”

The crowd was silent.

"What do you say?" Chen Shenglin turned his head and asked.

Gu Weijing listened quietly.

He had never thought about what kind of city Yangon was from the perspective of such a big entrepreneur.

European business partners tell you that after the colonizers are gone, your city is useless, but your fellow girls are beautiful and sleep with memorable taste.

Even if it's probably a casual joke, it's actually quite humiliating to think about.

However, Gu Weijing did not answer.

People are asking about Coco's father.

On such a serious topic, there is no room for middle school students like me to interject.

"Uh...... Yangon does have a glorious past. ”

Daddy Coco's face was a little embarrassed when he heard about the "corrupt and incompetent police bureaucrat".

At this time, he could only bite the bullet and say: "It was our incompetence that we did not govern the city well, which embarrassed Mr. Chen." ”

"Brilliant? I don't see it that way. ”

Mr. Chen smiled mockingly.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not aimed at you, but you are really incompetent in governing the city like this." He glanced at her father.

The Inspector's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Want to get angry...... But I didn't dare.

With Yangon's business environment, the vast majority of businessmen can't be over-upset when they see a military and police official like him.

However, as the saying goes, money makes the devil grind.

If the company can achieve Mr. Chen's level, the status will be reversed.

Chen Shenglin faced a Yangon police inspector, not the mayor of Yangon, so he didn't need to care about Koko's father's mood at all.

If you are in a good mood, you will call him brother, and if you are in a bad mood, you can only say to your face that the official system in Myanmar is incompetent, and you can only pretend that you have not heard it.

"I just don't agree with that. The glory of the colonists, what can the colonies be proud of? Just like the steaks and beers that were specially supplied to the British second-class civil servants, and what did they have to do with the dead laborers by the railroad? ”

Mr. Chen's tone was deep like that of a philosopher.

Things will never have only one bright side, and the colonists are unlikely to be angels.

Behind the glittering portraits of the glorious Queen Victoria and the great Edward VII are millions of people displaced by the Great Game of East Asia between England, France and Japan, hundreds of thousands of local soldiers and several times as many laborers as they died in the sweltering, muddy and plague of the primeval jungle.

Countless families have been torn apart, and countless orphans have wandered the streets.

"Some sociologists like to call this situation, the 5% of developed societies." Mr. Chan held out five fingers.

"I've always been very incomprehensible to these Europeans, just as I don't understand what's going on in the minds of people who think Mandela has made a mess of South Africa."

"It is true that South Africa was once a developed country, but only 5% of the elite white people have the welfare and life of a developed society, and such development has nothing to do with the rest of the ordinary people living in apartheid. Similarly, Yangon's prosperity is nothing more than a dream of the colonizers, and it has nothing to do with the land itself. ”

Chen Shenglin looked at Gu Weijing this time.

"Young man, have you seen the boats on the Yangon River?"

"Those sightseeing cruises coming and going?" Gu Weijing nodded.

Their home is located on the banks of the Yangon River, and they are no strangers to the luxury passenger liners that come and go on the river every day, carrying all kinds of foreign sightseeing groups.

"I once read an interesting saying that every big sightseeing cruise ship is like a microcosm of Yangon's last 100 years." Chen Shenglin clapped his palms: "More than a dozen European tourists stand at the top of the power tower, and one hundred and fifty locals are working hard at their feet. All the meaning of labor is only to provide the best quality service to the rights holders on the top deck. ”

"It's very vivid."

Gu Weijing recalled the large sightseeing passenger ships he had seen.

These luxury liners charge a lot of money, and the tourists are mostly from the wealthy class of Europe. They occupy the sun deck, enjoying champagne under the sun loungers and taking in the views of the city.

Hundreds of boatmen swirl like ants, providing them with everything from shoe shine to lifting the rod after disembarking.

The rich only remember the sights of the city, but no one takes the time to pay attention to the feelings of these boatmen.

They're just worker ants that no one cares about.

"Xiao Gu, if you really want to paint a moving work, please compose it like this."

The entrepreneur stroked the drawing paper in front of Gu Weijing's eyes, "The Almighty Virgin Mary may really be omnipotent, but she has neither helped these children nor illuminated the city. ”

"Thank you, Mr. Chen."

Gu Weijing nodded his head convincingly.

He tried to redesign the composition by moving the towering statue of the Virgin to the corner of the frame, following the collector's suggestion.

Just a pen.

Gu Weijing felt the difference.

The design of the picture is very bold, and the slanted triangle also breaks through the rigid limitations of traditional composition rules, but still ensures the basic stability of the picture.

What's more.

Even if it was just a draft, Gu Weijing could clearly feel that the picture had become more vivid.

From an old-fashioned style of expression like a religious morality painting, it has become more dynamic.

This kind of rustic composition idea and hearty inspiration analysis, even Cao Lao may not be able to say.

No matter how powerful an artist has never lived in this land, it is difficult to have such a deep insight into the temperament of the city.

Hegel once commented that the temperament of painting art is "the spiritual portrayal of a city, reflecting the spiritual life free from shackles." ”

Gu Weijing once felt the Paris of the old days from Ray Noah's "The Dance at the Pancake Mill", and heard the ethereal chants in the old church on a thunderstorm day from the pen of the female painter Carroll.

This is the temperament of painting.

When a great painter composes a picture, he always incorporates his own understanding.

Only by adapting measures to local conditions can we better obtain emotional sublimation.

Gu Weijing is still far from the level of a great painter, but this Mr. Chen's understanding of Yangon is called a high level, which fills the gap in his composition.

That's where the benefits of going out to collect wind come in.

If he had been bored in the school's studio, he would not have been able to grasp the importance of empathy, nor would he have been able to meet someone as interesting as Mr. Chen.

When Gu Weijing redesigned the sketch, the collector never walked away.

The secretary reminded the schedule a little, Mr. Chen waved his hand, and no one said anything more.

Mr. Chen, the distinguished guest, has this leisure and elegant look at the painting, and the others have to be honestly accompanied.

Everyone has been quiet.

On the other hand, the reporter Du Wen, like a little mouse in the rice tank, excitedly wanted to chat with Chen Shenglin, but was quickly "invited" by Koukou's father's subordinates.

"Hey, this uncle who washes the little girl's hair is Lieutenant Colonel Alai?"

Koukou's father suddenly let out a "huh".

"Alai...... Lieutenant Colonel? ”

Gu Weijing was puzzled, and even the female dean on the side was a little stunned.

The janitor is indeed called Alai, and he is also very military.

But the lieutenant colonel is already considered a high-ranking officer in the army, and he is not a few ranks short of a general.

Uncle Alai, who used to be a lieutenant colonel?

"This is a legend in the past, and now he is one of the founders and instructors of the VIP VIP guard unit. If I hadn't been involved in a factional struggle at the beginning, I would have been a general by now, and even if I was transferred to the police rank, it would be at the level of my boss. I heard that he was kicked out of the army, but I didn't expect to be here to watch the gate now. ”

Miss Coco's "eight women" temperament is obviously hereditary.

Mr. Inspector, who has always been old-fashioned and serious, looked much more energetic when he mentioned high-level gossip. It's a pity that due to discipline, it's not easy to spread nonsense, so I can only look like I want to talk and stop.

After a long time, he sighed: "Factional struggle, it's a pity." ”

Gu Weijing, who hadn't heard any exciting news, shook his head and continued to paint.

The political situation in Myanmar is relatively chaotic, and various factional fights often occur.

The world of adults is much more complex and cruel than that of children.

The former lieutenant colonel, now the cripple who looks at the gate, similar things are not uncommon.

Gu Weijing originally planned to come to the orphanage today, just to interview the janitor Uncle Alai in his heart.

The Quasimodo-esque silent janitor is a model with a story at first glance.

Unfortunately, he didn't come by chance.

After coming to the orphanage today, Gu Weijing learned from the director that the uncle took the little girl Jasmine to Yangon General Hospital to see a doctor.

Jasmine has AIDS, and in order to prevent the virus from eroding her immune system, the number of viral vectors in her blood needs to be checked regularly on a course of treatment.

If you don't run into it, you don't run into it, anyway, there is an opportunity.

Gu Weijing secretly took note of the news and continued to paint.

In a short time, a new draft was finished.

"Even though it's just a draft, I still see this painting come to life."

Mr. Chen looked at Gu Weijing's draft, nodded and affirmed softly: "In the future, when this painting is really completed, it must be a very beautiful work." ”

He patted Gu Weijing on the shoulder.

"Such a young painter with aura is the hope for us to get out of the imprint of the colonial era. If you'd like, please give it to me when you're done. ”

The collector stopped the secretary from asking the female dean for Gu Weijing's contact information, personally took out a business card from his arms, and handed it to Gu Weijing.

"You can just call my phone."

Gu Weijing took the business card with both hands.

This business card is plain in color.

Rich people who don't have the colorful depictions of street stall literature like to use gold leaf and platinum to inlay gorgeous business cards.

It's just a simple piece of paper.

There was not even any title on the piece of paper, only the name "Chen Shenglin" and a string of phone numbers.

It seems that the weight of the name alone speaks for itself.

The other onlookers were shocked or stunned, indicating that the weight of this business card is not as light as it seems.

Even Koko's dad was surprised.

(End of chapter)