My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 146 - 121: Midlife Meng Lang’s Troubles

Chapter 146: Chapter 121: Midlife Meng Lang’s Troubles

"What’s the matter? Think I’m too scheming?"

Gao Yuan saw Lin Haitang’s strange gaze and couldn’t help but laugh.

"Do you know what the indispensable quality for a corporate leader is?"

"What is it?"

...

The Meng family.

"What did you say? 10 million..."

Downstairs, faint exclamations of his mother could be heard, clearly Mr. Meng was reporting on his work.

Meng Lang had not bothered about how much of a stir this matter would cause in this peaceful small mountain village. He had already returned to his bedroom and pulled out today’s update.

"Midlife Meng Lang’s Troubles"

Well... the bad news is "Trouble", the good news is "Midlife"?

Meng Lang smirked and turned the page.

"The thing that can make one happy is also that which can become the source of their pain...

Yes, I’m talking about money!

The day after deciding on the ten million investment, my uncle arrived with news, switching on Versailles mode.

After a bottle of wine, I did the thing I regretted most in my life!

Yes! I admitted my nouveau riche status in front of everyone!

But what of it? Even if my life does not end prematurely, the possibility that I could live beyond the year 2043... is less than 1%!

Yes, I admit I felt somewhat self-destructive!

But having lost the ’Revelations’, I also lost the reason to keep up the pretense, didn’t I?

I convinced myself of that.

Pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger is not my hobby; a triumphant return dressed in fine silks is what normal people aspire to, I admit, there’s vanity in my subconscious...

Humans are indeed creatures played by vanity all their lives, twisted by self-esteem, driven mad by desires.

Since life is short, why restrain oneself?

So, I began to learn to indulge myself.

I tried to live a completely new life, as radiant as the flowers of summer, death as... well, that kind of death probably can’t be considered very peaceful.

The persona of an ordinary worker could no longer be maintained.

However, I underestimated the impact my revealed identity had on the entire Meng family. What followed was endless trouble...

Aristotle said, ’Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god.’

I could neither be a beast nor become a god.

Thus, I could only endure the turmoil that followed the overnight exposure of my sudden wealth...

My cousin buying a house, my nephew getting married, my niece leaving for marriage... These were all common affairs, often with loans not repaid, but these were trivial matters.

The village wanting to repair roads, build bridges, construct schools, or even the villagers being paralyzed, having strokes, disabled, buying houses, buying cars... Faced with all sorts of reasons from everyone, genuine or not, the entire Meng family was overwhelmed with annoyance.

The reasons of others were simple and stark. If one attains enlightenment, should not the whole household ascend to heaven?

Even when I got back to Su City, the calls, letters of assistance, kept coming like relentless snowflakes, there were even groups visiting to take advantage of me.

I thought all this would gradually fade over time.

However, having been accustomed to playing the good guy, the moment you no longer wish to, you suddenly realize that all your past good deeds have seemingly turned into bad ones.

The word ’No’ once spoken out, stinginess, miserliness, accusations of being arrogant due to wealth, all sorts of blatant and covert curses and slanders, seemed to have alienated the entire Meng family overnight.

Even the eco-farm that I had high hopes for had become a chaotic family-run business.

All sorts of related personnel, who were relatives or had some connection, were untouchable and indisputable.

Mr. Meng wanted to change something, but ended up just quarrelling more with my uncle and Uncle Gen, relatives turning into mutual accusers, then to viewing each other as enemies.

Ultimately, my uncle’s family cut off contact, although he had a sudden stroke in 2022 and passed away very suddenly.

By then, I was still holding onto hope.

But even with constant financial support, the company eventually succumbed to increasing massive losses and went bankrupt after fifteen years.

A true drama of the rise and fall of a family business!

As it turned out, human hearts couldn’t withstand testing, so you shouldn’t test them, especially not with money!

Midlife brought countless disappointments, and one could hardly confide the full extent to anyone.

In the past, this peaceful little village brought me nothing but endless troubles...

Having lost its base of popular support, Meng Family Village naturally couldn’t become a paradise amidst the apocalypse.

The plan had started beautifully, but I had overlooked the fact that money isn’t omnipotent, human desires are insatiable, and gratitude turns into grudges over trivial benefits!

Years later, Gao Yuan asked me with a smile, "Do you know where you went wrong?"

I said, "Lacking corporate management experience?"

She shook her head, "No, that’s for professional managers. What you lack are essential traits of a leader."

"What?"

"Better I betray others than allow others to betray me!"

I was speechless.

I wanted to argue, but when I opened the History of Governance, nearly every successful figure had faithfully adhered to this philosophy.

It’s just that some were truly villainous, while others were hypocritical gentlemen.

The compassionate do not command troops, the just do not engage in business! The ancients truly didn’t deceive me!

...

The Paradise Transformation Plan failed, but life went on until the year 2043...

No clues were found regarding the madman’s disease; the internet only offered various plausible but unsubstantiated rumors.

I felt somewhat desperate and began to arrange my affairs.

That year, I went abroad on a massive cruise ship with a standard capacity of 10,000 people.

Safely arrived in San Francisco.

Simply because guns could be legally possessed here!

In a distant foreign land, on the other side of Earth, I waited calmly.

If even this place succumbed, then it would confirm that the disaster was global and there was nowhere to hide...

On a certain day in 2043, as I was browsing through the latest scientific discoveries Xiao Yu sent me, a familiar frenzy and sporadic gunshots suddenly came from outside...

Putting down the device in my hands, I reluctantly found that my view of the world was slowly turning blood-red...

I took one last look at the digital clock on the wall.

July 21, 2043, at 1:04 PM.

Slowly, I raised the revolver in my hand and pointed it at my temple.

Indeed, firearms didn’t bring me any sense of security, but they could offer me a quick escape...

Meng Lang closed the book with a sigh.

Even across the ocean, they hadn’t escaped?

Indeed, there was nowhere to hide...

Clearly, this time, the center and two key points of the Meng strategy hadn’t held up!

It had collapsed...

All because of vanity, this brother couldn’t hold on, a painful lesson indeed!

It seems I’m really not cut out for starting a business, let alone managing a family business... even worse!

"Better I betray others than allow others to betray me..."

He chewed over the phrase with a sigh.

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this phrase was modified to, "I’d rather betray the whole world, than let the world betray me!"

It was this very phrase that defined Cao Cao’s image as a heroic overlord.

Was this telling me that it’s better to wrong others than give anyone a chance to wrong me?

Meng Lang let out a resigned sigh; he certainly understood his own weaknesses.

His heart was just too soft...

In that aspect, Duan Xian was indeed stronger than him.

After all, he was the type who could declare in front of his dormitory brothers, "I’m playing mid; give it to me or I’ll feed..."