505: Chapter 494: Is Reading Useless?
505: Chapter 494: Is Reading Useless?
“Released?” Song Yun was slightly startled but quickly recovered, smiled, and said, “Just throw them aside, don’t block the road and cause trouble for others.”
“Brother Yun, I want to go see my brother,” Shen Ji lifted her head and said.
“I really want to know what my brother has been doing all these years.”
“Don’t worry, the work your brother does isn’t like mine, his profession is actually very respectable,” Song Yun said with a smile.
“Since you want to meet Shen Shou, I’ll take you with me.
After all, I have some matters to discuss with him as well.”
After Song Yun had ordered his men to handle the rest of the matters here, he drove off with Shen Ji toward Shen Shou’s residence.
“Brother Yun, why do we study so hard?
What’s it all for?” Shen Ji, leaning her head against the car window, suddenly asked.
“For what?
Hmm, that’s a profound question.
It should be for a better future, I guess.”
“But today I discovered that studying really isn’t that useful.
Now it’s all about connections.
Even if you had great grades while in school, once you graduate, you’re still just an ordinary worker.”
“Heh, were you shocked by what happened today?
Is it the first time you’ve realized that the world is really pragmatic, that the good people you see one moment might become bad the next?” Song Yun asked with a laugh.
“Yeah.”
“Truthfully, if the other party hadn’t been so aggressive from the start, I wouldn’t have resorted to such strong methods in front of you.
After all, you’re still a child, and your values are slowly forming.
If you start doubting them now, it won’t be good for your future,” Song Yun said seriously.
“But isn’t that what society is like now?
So dirty.”
“No, what you’ve seen is just a small part.
Remember, where there is light, there will be shadows.
You’ve been blinded by the darker side today, but you’ve failed to see the brighter side,” Song Yun said.
“As for studying, it does have its advantages.
A person’s cultivation, quality, and perspective are mostly derived from books.”
“Don’t go saying studying is useless.
Look at the great figures around the world; aren’t they all educated?
Even Bill Gates, whom you always talk about, first acquired knowledge through study.
It was only because college couldn’t offer him further advancement that he chose to drop out.
You don’t have to stick to just science and math every day, you can read a variety of books.
Each book has its essence, but how to extract that essence is up to you.”
Song Yun, lighting a cigarette, continued, “Everyone says ‘Jin Ping Mei’ is inappropriate, but in the early days of the country’s founding, hundreds of copies of the book were printed and distributed by the Great Ancestor to senior officials to keep them away from the corruption detailed within it.
Everybody reads from a different perspective, but if you can extract the essence from every book, you’ll grow bit by bit.”
“What books does Brother Yun like?” Shen Ji asked, staring at him.
“Well, for example, Master Li Zongwu’s ‘The Study of Thick-Faced Black Heart’ and Zeng Guofan’s ‘Bing Jian’ and similar works,” Song Yun said.
“Even though I’ve never really been to school, I can proudly tell you that I’ve read thousands of books over the past twenty years.”
“That’s incredible,” Shen Ji said in amazement.
“Of course, but some books you just glance at and let be.
Don’t take them too seriously, like biographies of significant figures—they’re mostly fabrications.
Successful people like to write books to polish their images, but a lot of it’s made up.
They’ll talk about their tough childhoods, how resilient they’ve been, but it’s all for show.
I know a guy, and it’s true he started young, but his dad gave him tens of millions in startup capital, so take those biographies with a grain of salt.
Those who really know the score don’t fall for it.”
“Listening to you, Brother Yun, I suddenly see that the world isn’t all that dirty,” Shen Ji sighed.
“Heh, you’re still in high school.
Wait till you get to college to see what real life is like,” Song Yun said.
“We’re almost at your brother’s place now.
Let’s park here and walk the rest of the way.”
After parking the car, Song Yun led Shen Ji to Shen Shou’s residence.
Shen Ji was shocked to see the somewhat dilapidated courtyard and the weeds almost as tall as a person that covered the yard once they pushed the gate open.
“Don’t judge by where your brother lives.
He’s actually wealthy.
If he wanted to live in a nicer place, he could buy several villas at any time,” Song Yun said with a laugh.
“Shen Shou, you’re not dead in there, right?”
“I won’t kick the bucket before you do,” Shen Shou said, stretching and coming out.
He paused when he saw Shen Ji next to Song Yun, “Little sister?”
“Brother,” Shen Ji hurried over and wrapped her arms around Shen Shou’s waist.
“Brother, it’s been so long.”
“Heh, indeed, it’s been a long time,” Shen Shou said, somewhat shyly.
“Has Brother Yun taken care of your matters?”
“Yes, Brother Yun helped me a lot today,” Shen Ji said earnestly.
“Good, I’ve got it,” Shen Shou nodded and said.
“Come inside, I have some information for you.”
Once they were in the house, Shen Shou opened the curtains and looked around the messy room, embarrassed, “I didn’t expect you to come, so I didn’t tidy up.”
“You haven’t changed since you were at home,” Shen Ji sighed and started to help clean up.
“Here are the latest documents.
I hacked into Zhongdu’s archive the other day and found an interesting file.
They’ve sent someone again to look for that woman named Li Shishi in your villa.
It seems the aftermath of her market expansion in Zhongdu is not over yet, so be careful these days,” Shen Shou said as he handed the documents to Song Yun.
“They’re still not giving up,” Song Yun muttered coldly with narrowed eyes.
“Let them all come at once; then I can take them all down.”
“Now that you’ve got the information, isn’t it time for you to leave?” Shen Shou nudged Song Yun.
“Alright, alright.
I won’t interrupt your heartwarming sibling reunion,” Song Yun stood up and laughed, “Shen Ji, I’ll be going now.
You and Shen Shou have a good talk.”
“Goodbye, Brother Yun,” Shen Ji said.
As soon as Song Yun stepped out of Shen Shou’s house, he received a call from Director Zhao.
It had been decided that Wang Mingdao would be forced into early retirement, a considerable punishment indeed.
The head of a city bureau like that, being sidelined so suddenly, involved a lot of dealings, so Song Yun was very satisfied.
As for Principal Wang, today was probably his last day on the job.
Tomorrow, he’ll likely be having tea with the disciplinary department.