The Versatile Master Artist

Uncle Ah Lai waved his hand, intending to see the guest off.

”Why not listen first, uncle, to what I can offer you if you become my assistant?”

”Haha, Brother Gu, don’t blame me for looking down on you. There was once goods worth 390 million US dollars in front of me that didn’t move my heart. I’m afraid you can’t offer a higher salary.”

Ah Lai’s tone was somewhat sarcastic.

Gu Weijing seemed as though he didn’t see the coldness on Uncle Ah Lai’s face.

He continued speaking to himself, ”When it comes to money, I am actually not very well-off. At the moment, I might only be able to offer you around five hundred dollars a month, not including room and board. You can buy or rent a second-hand car and get reimbursed by me, pick me up from Fitz School to the orphanage after school...”

The gatekeeper originally had a face as cold as ice, keeping people at a distance,

but upon hearing this guy’s terms, it surprisingly made him amused.

”Young master, with such a price, rather than hiring an assistant, you might as well go to a job market and hire a driver or a male servant.” The gatekeeper smirked and commented.

Five hundred dollars,

is this charity for beggars?

Although this salary is five times the average income in Myanmar, it also depends on the job.

Drivers are considered a technical profession, regarded as a better outlet for young people with not very high local education, at least earning more than carrying sedan chairs for foreign tourists.

A diligent motorcycle taxi driver in a tourist area can easily earn two to three hundred dollars a month; five hundred dollars a month, and not including food and accommodation, with car renting on their own, experienced drivers might not be willing to take it.

Uncle Ah Lai doesn’t care about money and doesn’t really concern himself with how much the other party can offer.

But this price of five hundred dollars... who does he think he’s looking down on?

”Uncle, we all know that if we want to move you, money isn’t the key issue. This is just the money for your daily maintenance.”

Gu Weijing showed no disappointment, he just smiled.

Everyone has desires in their heart,

whether it’s fame and fortune, or self-fulfillment, just like that classic line in ”The Godfather,” everyone has a price they can’t refuse.

The question is,

what is Uncle Ah Lai’s price?

Ever since Gu Weijing heard about Uncle Ah Lai’s past identity, he understood that trying to hire such a retired talent from the orphanage as an assistant, simply with high salary, was impossible.

Even if money could indeed move mountains, the wealth necessary to tip Uncle Ah Lai’s inner balance is far beyond what Gu Weijing can afford.

”Why not take a look at what’s inside here and then make a decision.”

Gu Weijing took out a large folder from his backpack and handed it to Uncle Ah Lai.

He originally only had suspicions, but after hearing Uncle Ah Lai’s story, he felt seven or eight-tenths sure.

”It’s not more drawings, right? I actually don’t have much of an artistic cell in me,”

The gatekeeper’s interest was obviously low.

He hesitantly took the folder, ready to reject this young man who was shamelessly trying to cajole him here.

Just one glance,

and Uncle Ah Lai was really stunned.

”The school registration was actually transferred the day before yesterday; the principal wanted me to personally inform you that Jasmine can attend White Elephant Primary School next week,”

Gu Weijing smiled and tapped the table with his fingertips.

The folder contained a thick stack of documents, the first page of which was a transfer notice from White Elephant Primary School in Burmese.

White elephants and lions are the national totems of Myanmar, similar to the Iron-Eating Beast in Dongxia, or the White-headed Sea Eagle in North America.

What kind of school a primary school named after a white elephant might be, is not hard to guess.

It is not a private school; it’s even harder to get into than a private school that money can grant access to.

White Elephant Primary is the best public primary school in Yangon City, with a reputation on par with Fitz’s school but with more political significance. The tuition is only a fraction of private schools, with ample teaching resources and expenses almost entirely covered by the government.

Koukou’s alma mater is White Elephant Primary; he changed to Fitz, which has a specialized art class when he wanted to learn painting in middle school.

”You arranged for Jasmine to get an enrollment opportunity!” Uncle Ah Lai exclaimed with surprise.

In an impoverished orphanage, what good schools can the children possibly attend?

Not to mention the children orphaned by drugs here, many have congenital diseases, and even for the somewhat normal children, tuition and book fees are a major burden.

On the surface, Yangon offers ten years of compulsory education, but the income disparity among the populace is vast, with generally low income levels, imposing significant educational pressure.

On one hand, just in Yangon, there are eight elite schools established by international private educational groups from Europe and America, like Fitz, with tuition running into tens of thousands of US dollars per term.

On the other hand, attending a halfway decent public school for ordinary families requires connections.

Every year, there are countless normal family children who drop out due to family reasons or being unable to afford the translated cost of merely a dozen dollars in textbook fees, like fish crossing over a river.

Jasmine was largely being taught by Uncle Ah Lai himself.

He is highly educated, but not professionally fit for teaching children.

Additionally, attending an outstanding primary school with peers of similar age has innumerable benefits for the development of a young child’s character and psychology, which are incomparable to being taught by an uncle at an orphanage.

A decade ago, when Uncle Ah Lai held a high position, resolving such a matter was a matter of a single phone call.

Now that he’s out of the spotlight, he has no way to tackle it.

If it were another school, Ah Lai might not care so much, but wanting to send an orphan with AIDS to the best public primary school in Myanmar...

The number of connections needed to be made and the social relationships to be navigated is something he has a clear understanding of.

The gatekeeper looked at the piece of paper, unable to utter a single word of refusal that was caught in his throat.

”Brother Gu, you’ve gone out of your way, Jasmine will definitely be very happy,” Ah Lai said after looking at the enrollment notice for a full ten seconds.

Merely a pen ink drawing earlier,

already had Ah Lai offering a respectful bow to Gu Weijing in gratitude, but now facing this enrollment notice, he couldn’t even put his gratitude into words.

Even saying thank you felt inadequate,

the words thank you seemed too feeble and too cheap.

This kind of favor is not something a sincere verbal thank you can repay.

”Actually, I didn’t go through much trouble; it’s not my face that government officials gave it to.” Gu Weijing shook his head.

What Gu Weijing said was the truth.

This school enrollment was handled as a side matter when he was processing renovation documents.

To show importance, the Yangon City Government even specifically sent a government representative to accompany him throughout the process when handling the paperwork and asked if Gu Weijing had any other requests.

Gu Weijing merely mentioned it in passing, not holding out much hope, preparing to send Jasmine to a nearby private primary school. Who knew it actually got handled?

Those in power have artful hearts.

They were probably trying to curry favor with Chen Shenglin, fearing that Gu Weijing, who had the phone numbers of the big bosses, would report them again.

”It’s just that Jasmine needs to submit a monthly medical certificate to the school’s infirmary, proving that the level of virus in her body is below the safety threshold and non-infectious. For accommodation, she’ll need to stay in a special single dormitory; other than that, there’s nothing else.”

”Understood,”

Uncle Ah Lai nodded.

After all, Jasmine has AIDS, and though with modern cocktail therapy, the risk of transmission is very low, there are many children of influential families in the school, so the school’s cautious emotion is understandable.

He looked once more at Gu Weijing, filled with immeasurable gratitude, and said solemnly, ”You’ve gone through a lot of trouble.”

”No need to feel indebted to me, this is my gift to Little Moli; she’s always been a very good model.”

”No, it is indeed a favor.”

Uncle Ah Lai showed a struggling expression, looking at the paper, gritting his teeth as though wanting to say something.

”Why not take a look at the documents in the back? This is the gift I truly want to move you with,” Gu Weijing suggested.

The back?

Uncle Ah Lai flipped past this enrollment notice to discover that underneath was an agreement in English.

[The Application, Registration Documents, and Draft Charter for Registering the ’Jasmine’ Charity Foundation], the heading of the English agreement read.

Uncle Ah Lai was stunned once more.