Chapter 34: The Brave Young Man Who Upholds Justice

  "Let's put it this way, in this society, some people do good and some people do evil. Whether they are doing good or evil, must they be driven by their character? Must they be the result of social conditioning? I don't think so. Whether someone is doing good or evil, at the moment they are doing it, there are many things that should just be a fleeting thought, belonging to individual random behavior, and have nothing to do with this world or social norms." As he spoke, Gu Zhan's philosophical tone and eloquence had also been constantly improving over the past few months spent with Tang Wan.

  Of course, Gu Zhang had no interest in philosophy at all. His motivation for studying philosophy was entirely driven by the goal of "winning Tang Yuan's heart". If Tang Yuan truly understood his motivations now, she might directly use him as a case study for her philosophical research on social patterns, and it would be a very typical one too.

  "Your argument doesn't hold water." Tang Wan shook her head: "The root of human nature is driven by self-interest. In most cases, people only do good for a specific purpose, such as fame or achievements. Ordinary people do good deeds for the sake of reputation, and with reputation comes the possibility of rising to power and gaining wealth. Officials do good deeds for the sake of political achievements, and with achievements come promotions in the official circle. This is the rule of this society, and it forms a fixed pattern."

  From this social pattern, you can basically infer what a person will do and what he will say. Even if his actions and words at the time are inconsistent with your inference, it is only a superficial disguise. After a long time, when you look at him again, all his behaviors and speeches still cannot escape the framework of the social pattern.

  "So, personality determines behavior, and social patterns establish operational rules. People in this world are no different from the programs running on a computer. What they say and do in any situation must conform to the social pattern they survive in. Just like a program's operation, it can never transcend the framework of the entire system, otherwise it will be seen as an outlier, virus, excluded and eliminated by the system's rules to maintain the predetermined pattern."

  "The root of social patternization lies in the theory that human nature is inherently evil. From the day a person is born, they stretch out their hands to demand everything from this world, never thinking about what they can give back to it. Even when they do give, it's only a forced payment under certain rules, so that they can demand even more from the world in the future." Tang Yun began to expound on these ideas at length, and would even enter a state of self-forgetfulness.

  "Director Tang, let me give you an example... recently, the newspaper reported on Mr. Chen Dabiao, who has always insisted on doing good deeds. Can you say that he is inherently evil?" Gu Zhan raised a counterexample to refute Tang Yuan.

  "Mr. Chen's purpose of doing good deeds is very simple, it's just for fame. Fame to him is a kind of credit. With fame and credit, others will be willing to do business with him, which will help expand his business scale and make more money." Tang Wan quickly replied to Gu Zhan.

  "I think, Mr. Chen Dabiao's high-profile philanthropy is not for the purpose you mentioned, to achieve his business goals." Gu Zhan shook his head: "He does this to awaken more people to pay attention to charitable causes. As for his business, it's to give him the capital to do even more good deeds, on this point, President Tang, you have things backwards."

  "Have I got it backwards? Alright, Gu Zhan, let's not talk about what's in the newspapers. Can you give me an example, a real-life example that happens around us and can be seen with our own eyes, of someone doing good without any self-interest or ulterior motives? Just one example will do." Tang Yun said to Gu Zhan with interest.

  Gū zhān yī shí yǒu xiē yǔ sè……zhè zhǒng rén xiàn zài nǎ lǐ zhǎo qù？méi yǒu gōng lì hé mù dì xìng de zuò hǎo rén hǎo shì de rén，chú le nà xiē zhèng tǒng de guān fāng méi tǐ zhōng yǒu bàodào，xiàn shí zhōng hái zhen mei yǒu jiàn guò。

  Translation:

  Gū was momentarily speechless……where can you find such people now? Those who do good deeds without any self-interest or purpose, except for those reported in official media, I have never met them in real life.

  What a coincidence... Just as the two were talking, a man in his sixties suddenly ran across the street from the front of several cars and was hit by an electric bike that squeezed out quickly.

  Forty percent of traffic accidents in Yunfeng City every year are caused by electric vehicles...

  The old man's body was thrown out by the electric vehicle for several meters, lying on the street, and the electric vehicle also stopped with a screech. The woman sitting in the back seat of the electric vehicle saw that something was wrong, and she quickly urged the man riding the bike in front to speed up and escape from the gap between the cars.

  The old man was obviously badly hurt and lay on the street, trying to get up several times but unable to do so. It was rush hour at this time, and there were many people walking along the street, but when they passed by, they just glanced over and then quickly left. The cars stuck in traffic also didn't have anyone get out to check on the old man's injuries, and as soon as the traffic loosened up a bit, the few cars near the old man hurriedly turned their wheels to try to drive around him.

  Just as Tang Wan was about to tell Gu Zhan to go take a look, a young man in his twenties who was jogging on the side of the street passed by the old man's side and saw the old man lying on the road. He immediately ran over and squatted down beside the old man.

  "Tang, someone is doing a good deed. Do you think this young man has any self-interest or ulterior motives? He's helping that old man, not only can't he gain anything from it, but he might even get himself into trouble..." Gu Zhang had just been struggling to find a real-life example to prove his point, and now one was delivered right to his doorstep.

  Tang Wan didn't make a sound, frowning and looking out the window. The old man who was knocked down by the electric bike might have fractured his bones. The young man didn't dare to lift him up directly, after asking the old man some questions, he took out his mobile phone and made a call, probably reporting the incident or calling an ambulance.

  The old man lying on the ground nodded his head in gratitude to the young man, then reached out and borrowed his phone, making a call. The young man stood with his back to this side, occasionally turning his head around, unintentionally meeting Tang Yun's eyes, Tang Yun hastily withdrew her head into the car window.

  "Perhaps he wants to be a hero and have his picture taken for the newspaper." Tang Yuan explained to Gu Zhang.

  "Tang, you've been abroad for many years and may have some biases towards the domestic situation. Foreign newspapers' reports on domestic issues are too one-sided and biased, what's more, they exaggerate things like Xiao Yueyue and the old man who fell down without anyone helping... Most of these reports have some sensational elements. The Chinese people aren't that despicable, kind-hearted people still make up the majority." Gu Zhan turned his head to smile at Tang Yuan, he detected that her previous argument lacked a bit of confidence, which was a rare phenomenon.

  "You see him making a phone call, isn't it just to let people know he's done a good deed? Unless he does good deeds without seeking fame, it can prove that there are indeed people in this society who do good without seeking name or profit." Tang Wan said to Gu Zhang, then continued to observe everything happening outside through the car window.

  The street was originally congested, and after the old man fell to the ground, this section of road was completely blocked. As a result, Tang Yuan and Gu Zhan had nowhere to go, so they could only stay here on the spot to study her philosophical topic.

  About five or six minutes later, the ambulance called by the young man stopped at a small alley nearby because the main street was severely congested and the ambulance could not get through. Several medical staff had to jog over with stretchers.

  Tang Wan's car only moved forward a few meters in these few minutes, and then it was blocked again, just stopping at the place where the old man fell. Tang Wan, who opened the window, could even smell the dog shit on the young man who had just risked his life to help others.

  "No! Wait for my son to come over and talk about it, he's the one who knocked me down! Can't let him run away!" The old man refused to be lifted onto the stretcher by medical personnel, his voice reached Tang Yuan's ears, making her stunned for a moment.

  "Old man, it wasn't me who knocked you down... Have you forgotten? You were already fallen when I passed by here, and I came to help you up. Just now you thanked me, and I even lent my phone for you to make a call." The young man explained somewhat helplessly to the old man.

  Tang Wei looked at the old man and the young man being pulled by him with some surprise. She had just seen the old man being knocked down by an electric bicycle for violating traffic rules. The young man rushed over to ask about his injury and even helped call an ambulance, but how did it become that the young man was the one who knocked him down?

  "It's human nature to be evil, and this old man is a perfect example. To what extent must one's nature be evil in order to bite the hand that saved their life?" Tang Wan said to Gu Zhan, her tone already barely concealing her indignation.

  ，！