When Yao Shi Hong called for a meeting with the townspeople of General Street, being publicly humiliated wasn’t on his agenda. Yet he just had to open his big mouth and insulted the townspeople. Not to mention, he had indirectly stepped on Zhong Ze’s tail (figuratively, of course). He had it coming, considering how he kept going on and on with stomping the townspeople down with his merciless words. The following were the words Zhong Ze said in response to Yao Shi Hong’s monologue:
對, 也許你人生一帆風順, 拿了一個好學歷, 打一條漂亮的領帶, 進了一個大公司, 拿一份優渥的薪水. 但是你有想過嗎? 這個世界上有很多人沒有方法改變自己的命運. 難道這些人都該死? 窮人也是人, 窮人也有自尊的. 在你唾棄他們的同時, 你有想過嗎? 象你這樣一個目中無人的自大狂. 比起將軍街殘破不堪的老房子, 你才是整個社會的恥辱!
Translation:
That’s right. Perhaps your life has always been smooth sailing, achieving a good school record, putting on a beautiful tie, entering a big company, having a superfluous amount of income. But have you ever thought, in this world, there are a lot of people who still can’t find a way to change their destiny? Does that mean they all should die? Poor people are still people, poor people still have self-pride. While you’re scolding them, have you ever thought that you look just like a condescending, conceited person? Compared with General Street’s rundown houses, you’re just a complete disgrace to society!
I seriously loved that part and felt that it had built a great foundation for Zhong Ze as a character. We got the initial picture at the beginning that he was sent on a mission to acquire the lands and would eventually resort to any method possible just to achieve his goals. Yet this particular speech had gotten us thinking even more about his character, knowing there existed a strong sense of injustice from within. Whether one would eventually sympathize with him or not when more details unfolded itself, there would still be mixed feelings from the start.
*Dialogues were typed and translated by DTLCT.