America 1982

"Mr. Hawke, can we have a serious talk?" Eddie Wyler, the new head of the film crew who flew to Miami with Stephen, sat opposite Tommy and spoke in a sincere tone:

"After I arrived in Miami, I have been observing and recording, and I also filmed and accumulated a lot of material. Of course, everyone including you understands that a lot of the material cannot be broadcast, but it doesn't matter. After all, our program is not A documentary, it is a variety show. I understand that Nick has always thought that he is the producer of your group. He wants to decide everything. There are some differences between him and me. Stephen chose me not because I am better than Nick. It’s because I don’t like to be in control, I prefer to observe.”

After Nick returned to Los Angeles, he flew to Miami with Stephen. During this time, he was like an invisible man, almost never appearing in front of Tommy or others, and when Tommy asked the camera crew to help shoot some scenes , and he would happily nod in agreement. Of course, this does not mean that he is a good person who is willing to help others without asking for anything in return, but that he hopes that this kind of kindness will be rewarded, so until the primary election is over and Tommy can breathe a sigh of relief, he Only appeared at the right time.

Tommy may not be responsible for the final product of the show, but he needs the job.

He doesn't mind if Tommy acts according to his personal thoughts, but he has to reveal some follow-up thoughts to him. After all, the program is a program, and the name of the program is "The Apprentice". It tells the story of Tommy in front of him who relied on fifty dollars to inspire him. Re-create his American dream, regain his millions, and return to the ranks of the rich. No matter how many things Tommy does, the final outcome will be the word "prosperity".

The problem is, although Tommy looks very rich, he doesn't even need to use his previous income. He made a lot of money just by dealing with those weird sects in Florida, but this way of making money can represent the American dream. ? Of course, no one stipulates what template the American dream must be realized according to, but the American people are hypocritical. If they are really allowed to believe that Tommy made money through similar fraud methods, and in the name of God, even in his heart I was envious of Tommy and wanted to try to recreate it the next day, but the expression on my face must have been so angry that I wanted to burn him to death.

Tommy had to have an American high-flying ending.

He needs to let Tommy give him some ideas so that he can understand the follow-up content of this young rich man's game. He can not interfere or even cooperate, but first he has to be clear, because Tommy can not have a script, but he must do it for Tommy It is his job to weave together an ending consistent with the American dream.

Tommy sat opposite him, holding a tie and trying to tie a knot at the collar. When he heard the other person's words, he shook the tie in his hand that was plain but inlaid with many small diamonds: "This tie looks like How about it?"

"It looks like you're just in case people don't know you're wearing a sports car around your neck." Eddie looked at the tie and said to Tommy with a smile.

Tommy casually pulled the tie off his neck, rolled it into a ball, and threw it aside: "The gift given to me by the former mayor of Miami is said to be worth more than 10,000 yuan. It is an Italian brand. These diamonds are smaller than a mosquito's head. Italian craftsmen use hand-made skills to inlay them one by one on the silk. The only problem is that I rarely wear this thing. Going back to your previous question, that fool Stephen called me to come for vacation, just like the person who gave me the tie. I never thought about becoming a shining new TV star, getting paid five hundred yuan to appear on Conan Show or other talk shows, and talking about issues that everyone is interested in."

"I just said, you can do anything, but I need to know the content of the subsequent game." Eddie repeated it seriously.

Tommy lit a cigarette and then threw the lighter back on the table: "Jeff was elected, stood in Congress and took out medicine balls and solid wooden boards to prove that the earth is flat, then spoke for the veterans, and also greeted those smugglers from Latin America. Or, this is the follow-up content of the game, I calculated the time, it will be about August, and then I will return to Los Angeles to play bigger games."

Eddie frowned slightly: "But you have no income that can be obtained. I mean, at the end of the game, how can you show the audience your income during this period, relying on those shady political black money?"

"Back when those sick-brained old guys Stephen and Turner came up with this show, I wasn't optimistic about it. They thought FOX's "Born Noble" was not good to watch. The stunts they designed were more inspiring and exciting, which made it more exciting. The audience can clearly see the entire process of a young man becoming a rich man from scratch. This is the authentic American dream," Tommy said.

Eddie looked at Tommy and asked, "Isn't it?"

"Stephen was infected by that old guy Turner. They felt that "The Born Noble" was an insult to the United States. The two of them felt that the last time a noble told the common people that nobility was born, it might have been the eve of the French Revolution. The United States has too many people who are self-righteous after earning a few dollars, which makes the United States more degenerate. So they want to tell the American audience, don’t listen to FOX’s stupid nonsense. There are no aristocrats in the United States, but there is the United States. In the dream, three young people who gave up their identity, wealth and status were thrown into a strange city, started from scratch, and embarked on the road to wealth again. If the three of them can do it, you in front of the TV can do it too. Tommy thought for a moment and spread his hands towards Eddie:

"This is what they had in mind. After the two guys came up with this idea, they were so excited that they trembled with excitement and thought this show was great."

"That's true, and it does sound appealing."

"Do you want to hear the truth? Anyone who thinks this idea is great is a fucking aristocrat, upper-class person, or at least a middle-class family. The largest number of poor people in the United States will not believe this nonsense. If there is a chance to become popular, it will be It will be broadcast in other countries overseas to deceive the stupid poor people in other countries into believing that the United States is so beautiful."

“Why don’t poor people believe it?”

Tommy flicked the ashes of his cigarette and said with certainty: "Because I was once a poor man. Poor people can believe that God really exists, believe that Hitler is a lizard man, and believe in various conspiracy theories, but they are the only ones who cannot believe in poor people." Become a rich man, because people who really have this kind of ability will not watch this kind of program to be obscene, while poor people who do not have this kind of ability prefer to watch the beautiful ladies of the upper class in "Born Nobles". Dirty, that show is more in line with the poor people's fantasies about wealth, power, and women, an American dream that is so hypocritical that the poor cannot believe it, and the absolutely real high life. You are an ordinary person, which one will you choose to watch? Stephen or Turner The idea was unable to compete with FOX from the very beginning, so I could only use it on my own and design more interesting scripts."

"You want an American dream that is not hypocritical, or in other words, an American dream that is more likely to be believed even if it is hypocritical." Eddie heard Tommy's words, thought about it seriously, and then spoke.

Indeed, as Tommy said, poor people will not believe that this program is true. Really capable poor people will not watch this kind of program to waste their precious time in trying to climb up and change their destiny, while poor people who do not have the ability to surrender themselves will not watch this kind of program. , would prefer to watch those upper-class society shows on TV for sexual immorality.

"That's more or less the case, so I think you are much better than that guy Nick. When I have the opportunity to meet Stephen, I will definitely mention your salary to him." Tommy smiled and did not deny what Eddie said.

"So you brought Martin to Miami, so..." Eddie received Tommy's affirmation and seemed to realize something. He stared at Tommy seriously and tried to speak again: "Have you made any money by the end of the show recording? It doesn't matter if you get money, but because of your help, Martin, Jeff or others have successfully achieved the American dream. For example, Martin was just your follower before. The audience has seen him feeding laxatives to pigeons under your orders. In the material, he likes to brag about being a big shot, but now he has actually opened a company, and he is still a black man from a lower-class background. There is also Jeff, who is also a silly little guy. He hopes to tell everyone the truth that seems like a joke. The earth is flat, and then they all realized their wishes with your kind help. You are not the person who realizes the American dream."

Eddie's eyes lit up: "You want to be a dream maker who helps others realize their dreams."

"We cannot let the poor believe that they can become billionaires through the lame and hypocritical interpretations of people like me or Jason. The poor have worked hard, so why do they continue to be poor? Because making money has never been easy. "Tommy leaned back in his chair and looked at the photo frame on the table. Inside was a photo of him and Martin when they first came to Miami and met Jeff's family. A group of people were eating at the dining table, which was photographed by Nick's camera crew. Coming down, looking at the photo, he slowly said:

"But you can make everyone believe that the world is still beautiful. As long as you are willing to work hard for your dreams and never give up easily, maybe one day you will meet a kind-hearted person like Martin and Jeff. That kind-hearted person has a very bad temper. He is bad, has a bad character, is selfish, greedy for money and lust, he is a little clever and acts unscrupulously. He has countless shortcomings, but he did a good thing."

"That is, he can encourage Martin to become Jeff's campaign manager in order to become a big shot, and instigate him to go to the supermarket to steal Trojans. In order to help Jeff raise campaign funds, he can go to talk to those messy sects about fundraising. When the game is over, All real good people have realized their dreams. Martin has become a not-so-big shot. Jeff stands on the podium of the House of Representatives and takes out his medicine ball and solid wood board. They have completed the American dream of rapid success. The only problem is , that good-hearted man with bad character, how should he exit the scene with what kind of image?"

Eddie said excitedly: "Just like when he came, he had nothing when he came, and he left with nothing, as if he had gained nothing, but he left happily because he wanted the audience to realize that he had gained inner satisfaction. Let the audience see the kind American heart beneath his despicable shell."

"Yes, that's it. This is the plot at the end of the game. The Bible says that the righteous and the righteous are evil to the Lord." Tommy laughed: "As for whether I am an American sinner or an American righteous People, let the Jehovahs in front of the TV decide.”

Eddie slowly exhaled: "If you had told Nick this earlier, he would definitely not be willing to go back to Los Angeles."

"He was not interested in talking to me about this. He even went to the square management office to report me in order to prevent us from continuing to feed pigeons and make money." Tommy said with a smile.

"The last question is just a personal curiosity. Mr. Hawke, are you used to maintaining such an image when you are on vacation or playing games? I mean, this kind of bad guy, acting unscrupulously, but in the end everything is to help others. The image of a noble person, which is the protagonist image of Hollywood commercial movies." After Eddie thought clearly about what Tommy wanted to express, he relaxed and asked a personal question with a smile.

Tommy smiled and said: "Why does Hollywood make so many movies with similar protagonists every year? Because people like to see this kind of image, and I am not just maintaining this, I am the kind of person who likes to help others. Have you forgotten? I just said I said I would ask Stephen to give you a raise."

…

While Tommy was chatting with Eddie Wyler, Martin was also preparing for an interview in his office. The local "Miami Post" saw that Martin helped Jeff invest a lot of advertising money in the newspaper, and during the primary election, Jay Due to my husband's performance, I decided to arrange an interview with Martin, the campaign manager, to talk about the story behind Jeff's campaign.

At this time in the office, Marcus had a resentful expression on his face and helped Martin apply some cosmetics on his face. He said unhappily: "Martin, this is a newspaper interview, not on TV. You don't need to put on makeup at all. You need to put your clothes together so that people won’t be able to tell through the text how you look during the interview.”

"Shut up! Marcus! That's the Miami Post. Most of the lowlife niggas in Miami only get one chance in their lives to be on the news page of this big newspaper, and that is when they are unlucky enough to be shot and killed by the police, but I Now there is one more time than them." Martin said dissatisfiedly when he heard that Marcus felt that he was taking this interview too seriously, hoping that the other party would realize the popularity of the "Miami Post" in Florida.

After Marcus helped him put on the makeup for the camera, Martin looked in the mirror, then walked out of the office, clapped his hands to the busy employees in the hall, and said loudly: "Everyone! The reporters from the Miami Post are here for an interview today. We, understand my entrepreneurial history, understand the company’s development history, and understand what work we have done to help Jeff’s campaign. I hope that when reporters come, they can feel how busy we are. So, you have to remember that if there is nothing, there will be more Knock on my office door, interrupt the interview, report some work to me, and generally make it look like I'm as busy as the boss of a big consulting firm."

The employees looked at each other, nodded under Martin's eager eyes, and then continued busy with the work at hand.

Your boss is actually worried that there is nothing to do? There is so much work to be done now, especially after Jeff’s primary election is over, arranging various subsequent public rallies, arranging local TV interviews, visiting communities to solicit votes, shooting campaign advertising videos, and arranging for Jeff’s family to attend various events. Various tasks such as charity activities are waiting for them to do. Even if Martin doesn't speak, they will report to him normally.

Soon, the reporter from the "Miami Post" appeared on time, but Martin lost the smile on his face and the light in his eyes at the first sight of the other party.

Because the reporter was actually a black man. Although he wore glasses and showed his ID, Martin still felt that the reporter did not look like a reporter, but more like a taxi driver who brought the reporter here.

"Kirk Davis, nice to meet you, Mr. Martin Hart." The reporter extended his hand to Martin. Although he looked at the company's environment, he praised: "It looks very busy."

Martin shook hands with the other party numbly, and after leading him back to his office to sit down, he finally couldn't help but said, "The newspaper didn't say they would send a black reporter to interview me."

The reporter was stunned for a moment when he heard these words and said in confusion: "I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. Will my being black affect this interview?"

"No, it doesn't affect it at all." Martin explained: "But it will affect my mood. You know, showing off to white people and showing off to black people are two completely different moods."

After the reporter repeatedly confirmed that he had gone to the wrong address and that Martin Hart was indeed the boss of the election consulting company, he smiled against his will and said: "I have interviewed many black entrepreneurs, but the opening remarks are rarely so unexpected. So, if a white reporter came to interview, what would you show off to him? You can treat me as him and show off to me, and maybe I can pass it on to my white colleagues in the newspaper."

"Okay, are you a college graduate?" Martin asked without interest.

The reporter shrugged: “Journalism from Purdue University.”

"I also went to college, Little Haiti Dee Community College, majoring in hair design. Now I am a company owner. My staff are all top students who graduated from prestigious universities. Most of them are white. Now you can understand why I want to be a white reporter. Did they interview me? I also arranged for white employees to come in and report during the interview..." Martin said regretfully.

The reporter turned away speechlessly and sighed: "So, you just want to show superficial ridicule to white people? Let's get started. The first question is, Mr. Hart, as Jeff LaVine's campaign manager, do you How would you evaluate his performance in this party’s primary election?”

"Very good, Jeff did as well as we thought he would."

"Many people who watched the live broadcast of the primary said they believed that Jeff Lavine's behavior of repeatedly interrupting female candidates was too disrespectful to women and not the behavior a gentleman should do."

"This issue needs to be viewed from a different perspective. Other female candidates have also tried to interrupt his speech many times, but their eloquence was too clumsy. This involves another issue. The performance of female candidates does not respect men and is not ladylike. , we cannot advocate equality between men and women, and at the same time call on men to shut up and passively wait for women to criticize, and patriotism does not distinguish between men and women."

"Mr. Jeff Lavine's remarks were quite controversial. How did the team react when they learned that he was planning to make such remarks during the primary?"

"I think he should be tougher. He is too kind. During the entire live broadcast, he never mentioned other issues, such as the female Cuban smuggler giving birth in the 18th district, the wanton occupation of public welfare, etc. He did not mention it, but Not mentioning it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. The reason he didn’t mention it is that he is kind and doesn’t want to harm women and children, even if those women and children are stowaways.”

"As a black man, what mentality do you have to help a white racist like Jeff LaVine run for office? Did he make any uncomfortable remarks about you while working for him?"

"Jeff is not a racist. He does not discriminate against black people. On the contrary, he is very friendly to black people. He does not discriminate against Cubans either. He is just dissatisfied with the Cuban smugglers. Why did I accept such a job? Naturally, I thought he could make this District 1 gets better.”

"Jeff LaVine..."

"Come on! My nigga, I'm sitting in front of you in my chosen Armani outfit and you keep asking my employer? Asking me how to make a fortune is as unspeakable as if you have sex?" Martin heard that this guy kept asking about Jeff LaVine after he sat down, and finally couldn't help asking frantically.

The reporter put down the notebook in his hand: "Mr. Hart, the problem is that the audience is more concerned and curious about Jeff LaVine than how you became the boss of the company. They just want to know more about Jeff through your perspective." -LaVine’s story, of course, you can talk about your story, but not too much.”

"I am very sympathetic. In fact, I am not planning to engage in this profession, but because I met Jeff, I sympathized with him. Because his previous campaign ideas were simple and scary, I planned to print a few flyers and distribute them to the neighbors. , I thought, I want to help him, so I volunteered to be his campaign manager, formed a team, helped him formulate election strategies, arranged people to collect donations, etc., and I also provided jobs to many people. This is my society Sense of responsibility, this is my kindness, and I will continue to..." When Martin heard that the other party finally asked him to talk about himself, he finally got some energy and was ready to talk about the various virtues he possesses in detail, but before he could start, There was a knock on the door.

"Dong dong dong."

Martin said: "Come in."

He thought the employees were cooperating with him to come in to report on work, but now the reporter in front of him was a nigger with the same skin color as himself, so there was no need to report again.

The door was pushed open, not by other employees, but by Louise Deville, a non-staff member. She walked in from the outside and saw Martin sitting and talking with a black man, but he was hesitant to speak.

Martin immediately spoke: "It doesn't matter, just tell me what documents I need to sign."

"As for your wish to find some medical experts and data to prove that the main cause of the AIDS epidemic in Florida is Cuban smugglers, I will help you contact..." Louise Deville saw Martin saying this and thought the black man was Martin. His brother or other subordinates spoke directly.

"You remember wrongly, Louise. This plan was not proposed by me, and was rejected by me." Before she could finish speaking, Martin quickly ejected to his feet, pushed Louise out, locked the door, and started again. He sat back on the sofa and looked at the black reporter Kirk:

"That was not arranged by me. It was planned by a consultant of my company. I have vetoed it righteously. Moreover, this woman named Louise is not from my company. She is an undercover sent by a rival company. "

Kirk looked at Martin dumbfounded: "I just suspected that you were not the real boss of this company because you were very superficial, but from what the woman said to you just now, I believe you are Jeff LaVine's campaign manager. He is also the owner of this company.”

"Dong dong dong~" Before Martin could speak, the door was knocked and then pushed open. An employee said directly to Martin: "Boss, there is something..."

Martin looked dissatisfied at the subordinate who pushed the door open directly: "Can't you wait until I finish the interview and then report back, so that I can maintain my sense of social responsibility, kindness, and compassionate virtues until the end of the interview?"

“I just got news that there have been cases of veterans beating up Cubans in multiple communities. They all said at the police station that they were influenced by Jeff LaVine’s live broadcast to do this. The worst case was in the Republican Party today. Outside the venue where the primary election was held, some Cubans who supported Ileana Leti were injured by veterans." The employee looked at Martin anxiously.

Martin ignored the presence of reporters and stood up and walked toward the door. As he walked, he asked, "Where is Tommy?"

It’s nearly 7,000 words. I’m too lazy to divide it into chapters. It’s actually two chapters. One chapter was supposed to be updated during the day yesterday, but I couldn’t finish it because my toothache didn’t subside, so I finished it and posted it together at night...