In the mid-fifties, poverty and hunger threatened people in a small European town called Gulen. Factories closed down, businesses went bankrupt, and the common people lived on the soup of the poor.
Suddenly, an exciting piece of news spread throughout the city. A locally-born millionaire, Claire Chahanaxian, is returning to her hometown for a visit. The mayor and residents are looking to her to donate money to save the day.
In order to impress the rich woman's heart, the mayor approached a businessman named Il and asked him to come forward and ask for funding. Because this old man had an unusual love relationship with Claire forty-five years ago.
The mayor promised that Il would succeed him in the future. And Il also fantasizes about reliving old dreams with his old lover who has made a fortune, so he boldly takes on the heavy responsibility of saving the economic fate of the whole city of Gulen.
On the dilapidated train station, the mayor is busy organizing a welcoming procession. Suddenly, there was a strange sound of the train braking suddenly, and a particularly fast train stopped here. Claire Tsahanasian stepped out of the car with a large number of attachés.
The train ticket inspector ran over angrily and said ** to Claire for pulling the emergency brake without authorization, and demanded a fine. Claire instructed the steward, "Give him a thousand dollars, and another three thousand to the railroad 'Orphans and Widows' Society." ”
My mother, it's four thousand! The ticket checker was dumbfounded, and the others were dumbfounded. After a while, the mayor woke up from his shock, he quickly put on a shabby tuxedo, and led the ** people to welcome.
Il and Claire meet. Il was a little embarrassed, but Claire was relaxed. She said, "Il, do you miss me a lot? Ever since I left Gulen, I've been thinking about coming back. We're both old, but the days we spent together in the past were so beautiful. ”
Claire recalled: "Remember? You used to call me Little Wildcat, Little Vixen, and I always called you Black Panther. Il, who was pleased to hear this, whispered to the headmaster, "Look, Professor, I have already put her in my pocket, and I am sure that I will ask her to donate." ”
At this time, Claire called a man with a mustache and said, "This is my seventh husband, the owner of a tobacco plantation." I named him Mobi. Moby, you bow to this Mr. Eir and act like a "thought".
The seventh husband "submissively made a "thought" appearance. Claire shook her head and ordered, "It's too hasty, make a little effort!" The man changed his position again. Claire laughed with satisfaction.
Claire walked up to the sheriff and said, "Can you turn a blind eye to your errands?" The sheriff said, "Of course it does." Claire nodded, "Very well, Gulen City may need you soon, but you'll have to close both eyes then, understand?" The sheriff was confused and stunned.
Claire walked up to the priest and said, "Can you comfort those who have been sentenced to death?" The priest asked curiously, "But the death penalty has been abolished in this country, don't you know?" Claire said coldly, "Then it can be restored again."
The mayor introduced Claire to Claire, who looked up at him with her gem-encrusted glasses and said, "Are you responsible for filling out the death certificate?" The doctor nodded. Claire said, "Then the next time you get a diagnosis, you're going to have heart failure."
At this time, the chorus and sports team that welcomed Claire were performing. Claire walked up to a sportsman and said, "Hercules, have you ever strangled someone?" Hercules was taken aback. Claire said, "That's it, put your hands around your neck, bend your arms over, and exert yourself..."
Claire's series of conversations created a creepy sense of horror in the people around her. Only Il, very cheerfully, said, "What a little wild cat, you make wild jokes:."
Claire sits in a glittering golden sedan chair and asks Ill to accompany her to the forest of the village of Kondra where they once met. It was only then that Il noticed that she was followed by two misshapen little chubby men and a very elaborate black coffin carried by four people.
When they came to the forest, Claire ordered her seventh husband to go fishing by the river, and then went to a big tree and said, "Il, this is the red heart with our names engraved on it, it is almost polished, the tree has grown thicker, and the two names are getting farther and farther apart." ”
Claire continued, "That was forty-five years ago, and we kissed here... Passionately in love... Then you married Matilda, who owned a haberdashery, and I left Gulen to become a prostitute, and then I married an old pervert with billions of fortunes, Chahanasian.
Il, wanting to arouse her sympathy and pity, said, "If you had stayed here, you would have been as doomed as I was." I'm a run-down shopkeeper in this run-down city and I've been living a hellish life!
Claire remained silent and said calmly, "But I myself have become hell." Now that I have money, the whole world is mine. Ilr immediately said tentatively, "Are you going to give us some help?"
Claire smiled lightly, "I won't be completely ignorant of my hometown. Yier stared at it again and asked, "But we need hundreds of thousands of yuan to solve the problem." Claire replied without thinking, "That's not the same thing."
Il, who didn't expect things to go so smoothly, exclaimed, "My little wildcat! He raised his hand and patted her on the shoulder. Who knew that this time it was hitting a hard object, and the pain made him retract his hand.
Claire laughed, "Your hand hurts, you hit the chain of my prosthetic leg." I lost my left leg in a car accident, but the prosthetic leg they made for me was so beautiful. It's a pity that I can't run through the wildflower-filled woods like I did when I was younger.
Ilr made a sympathetic look and said, "My little wild cat, if only time could come back, if only life hadn't separated us!" Claire sneered: "Time to come back?" Do you really want that? ”
Il kissed Claire's hand: "Time will come back... That's my greatest wish. I love you so much... Oh, your hands are still so cool, white and tender. Claire said, "This hand is also fake, ivory." My plane crashed in Afghanistan, and everyone was gone, and I couldn't get to my death. ”
She can't fall, she can't die! The two deformed little fat men in the distance suddenly opened their mouths in strange voices. Il looked at the broken old woman in front of him and couldn't help but shudder.
In the famous Golden Apostolic Palace in Gulen City, the grand welcome ceremony prepared by the mayor is about to begin. Il, with the triumphant mood of having won the happiness of the city, accompanied Claire to the hall, and stormy applause and cheers rang out.
Claire urged the mayor to hurry up and get started. The mayor respectfully said, "But your husband has not yet arrived." Claire said: "Don't wait for him, I've already gone through the divorce procedures and am now preparing to marry a German star." When I was a child, I dreamed of getting married at the Catholic Church in Gulen, and I want to make that dream come true. ”
The welcome ceremony began. The mayor searched for dry intestines and said words to praise Claire: "We have not forgotten that Madame has been kind and charitable since she was a child, and in order to prevent an old widow from starving to death, you used the little money you earned to buy sweet potatoes and personally sent them to the old lady... Another round of applause.
Claire was unimpressed by this kind of flattery, and she interrupted the mayor's words: "You're not right, Ear and I stole a lot of sweet potatoes and gave them to that old widow, not to save the old **'s life, but to let her free up the bed for me and Il." ”
Claire's words embarrassed the mayor. The attendees couldn't help but sneer. At this time, I only heard Claire continue: "In order to express a little meaning for your welcome, I have decided to give one billion yuan to Gulen City, half of which will be donated to the city, and half will be divided equally among the families.
Suddenly, the hall fell silent, and people held their breath as if everything around them had frozen. After a while, I only heard the mayor say softly and tremblingly: "A billion!
All of a sudden, all of them cheered wildly, some jumped, some stood on their chairs, and the sportsman lifted one of the people next to him, and the mayor cried out in excitement.
Il thumped his chest in excitement and exclaimed, "This is our Claire!" Great! She makes you breathless! She's always been like that, oh, my little wildcat!
But I have one condition. Claire interrupted Il's words and continued, "I can give you a billion yuan, but I will use this money to buy justice for myself." Suddenly, everyone was stunned again. The mayor whispered, "Madam, justice is not something that can be bought with money. ”
Claire said, "Anything can be bought with money. "The mayor thought about it for a long time and still didn't understand. At this moment, Claire waved to the door, and her steward walked in. The manager took off his sunglasses and said, "Do you still know me?"
Everyone was carefully identifying, and the principal of Gulen's school recognized it first: "You are the head of the court, Camelot!" "Yes, forty-five years ago I was the president of the court in Gulen, and then I was transferred to the Kafigan High Court. Twenty-five years ago, Mrs. Claire hired me to be her steward. ”
The steward suddenly took a small bell from his bosom and shook it a few times, and then said in the tone of a judge: "The justice that Madame Claire said is that if you can vince you of the wrongs she has suffered in Gulen, she will give you a billion." ”
The whole hall became serious. The steward called Ilr to him and said, "Mr. Il, forty-five years ago, you impregnated Claire and then abandoned her. When she went to court to accuse you, what conspiracy did you make, remember?
Yi's face turned pale and he said in shock: "That was many years ago, I am young and ignorant... Wrong! The steward interrupted him and said, "Call Kirby and Robbie." At this time, the two deformed little fat men came over and said in unison, "We understand, we understand."
The governor asked Ilr if he knew the two men, and Ilr said he didn't know them. So the two men said their real names, Louis Berzier and Jacob Chickon, and said that they had become blind and changed. When Ilr heard this, he almost fainted.
Two deformed people tell the truth: Forty-five years ago, when Ilr abandoned Claire and Claire went to court to accuse that the baby in her womb belonged to Il, Ilr found the two of them, gave them a bottle of brandy, and asked them to testify in court.
The two of them say in court that Claire framed Il, and that the two of them slept with Claire. For this reason, the president of the court ordered Claire to be expelled from the city of Gülen. Claire's baby died shortly after, and she became a prostitute in Hamburg.
Later, one of them immigrated to Canada and the other to Australia. But by this time Claire had become a millionaire, and she had finally sent someone to find them, blinded them, and turned them into eunuchs, and kept them all the time, waiting to confront Eir.
Then the steward asked Il, "Is this true?" Yi'er panicked: "This matter has long passed, there is no need to turn over this old grain and rotten sesame seeds." The manager shook his head: "No! The tragedy that caused Claire to become a prostitute was a completely unfair decision of the court. ”
Right! So I demand justice. Claire said, "I have money, I can buy justice, and if anyone kills Il, I will give a billion to the city of Gulen." This was like a thunderclap, and everyone froze.
Il's wife threw herself over to her husband and hugged him, and Il's struggled to calm himself down. He whispered, "Claire, this can't be done, it's been a long time. Claire immediately replied, "But I haven't forgotten the past at all, don't you want time to come back?" I'll get it back now. ”
The mayor could not contain the anger in his heart, and declared loudly: "Madame, you have forgotten that this is in Europe, and we are not barbarians. On behalf of all the citizens of Gulen, I answer you, refusing your donation, we would rather be poor than let our hands be stained with blood. His words were met with thunderous applause.
Claire said quietly, "Very good, let's wait and see."
The welcome party broke up. The mayor didn't accept Claire's terms, and Claire didn't mention it again, as if the matter had passed. But a shadow hung over Il's mind, and he saw Claire living in the Golden Apostle's Palace, appearing on the high balcony every morning...
Every day, Claire's entourage carried several large wreaths and placed them next to the black coffin that Claire had brought. Yir was a little panicked, but tried to comfort himself: "This can't scare anyone, the entire Gulen City is standing with me." ”
Two days later, strange things happened: Ill's haberdashery business suddenly boomed, and some ragged homeless people came to smoke the best imported cigarettes and drink the best brandy. Il asked them if they had any money, and they said, "Keep an account of it, and pay it back when you get it."
Some housewives also came on credit to buy whole milk, butter, and chocolate and munched on the spot. While keeping the accounts, Ilr said: "I am very touched by the support of all of you that night, and I will be worthy of everyone." ”
The people who bought the things said in unison: "We stand firmly with you, and no matter what happens, we will never be sorry for our Il." But Il suddenly noticed that each of them had fashionable yellow leather shoes on their feet.
"What, you're all wearing new shoes?" Everyone replied, "What's all the fuss about wearing a new pair of shoes?" "Can't you wear those broken shoes for the rest of your life?" "Our shoes are on credit. ”
The people dispersed, and Ilr muttered nervously: "You have cigarettes, alcohol, milk, butter, new shoes... Where do you get the money? What do you have to pay back? The shadow in his heart grew thicker and thicker.
He looked up at the balcony of the Golden Apostle's Palace, where Claire was having breakfast with her newly engaged eighth husband. Claire said, "This letter was written by Eisenhower, who congratulated me on my eighth wedding; This letter was written by Jawaharlal Nehru... Ilr couldn't take it anymore and rushed out of the store.
He came to the police station. The sheriff is drinking fine beer. He told the sheriff, "I beg you to arrest that Claire, and she's egging everyone to kill me." The sheriff shook his head: "We only do things according to the law, and that lady has not broken the law." ”
But the whole city put on new shoes and paid credit everywhere! Ilfa said anxiously. The sheriff smiled: "Then you should be happy, the business is getting better and better." As he spoke, he raised his feet: "You see I'm wearing new leather shoes too!"
Il was stunned, it turned out that the sheriff was also on credit like everyone else! He pleaded: "The whole city is on credit, and the more you owe it, the higher your standard of living, and the higher your standard of living, the more necessary it is to kill me." That woman was sitting on the balcony waiting for my demise! I beg you, get her up!
The sheriff replied solemnly, "Don't guess, Il. The mission of the police department is to uphold the dignity of the law and protect human life. If anyone wants to murder you, I'll intervene right away... Ilr suddenly notices a yellow thing in the sheriff's mouth. "Ah, with gold teeth, where did the money come from? ”
Reluctantly, Ill walked out of the police station and into the mayor's office. The mayor is reviewing a new plan for the city of Gulen. Ilr found the mayor smoking a high-end Paigesas cigarette, a satin tie, and new leather shoes on his feet.
Il shuddered. With a glimmer of hope, he recounts his fears and demands Claire's arrest. The mayor shook his head: "Unreasonable. You don't have to be suspicious, the city of Gulen has a tradition of humanitarianism. We'll still care about you. Of course, you are not qualified to be the heir to the mayor. ”
Why? Il asked, surprised. The mayor said: "You have caused a girl to go down the path of depravity, and morally speaking, it is obviously inappropriate for you to be mayor." But we won't publicize these things, don't worry. ”
Dejected, Ill walked out of the mayor's office and into the church. The priest advised him: "You have harmed a girl, and now you think that others will harm you, this is to live the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain." You should repent and allow the soul to be saved, and you will be able to control your fears and troubles. Il was even more disappointed.
When the priest saw that Il was in pain and frightened, he whispered, "Run!" Ihl, if you don't stay here, we won't be subjected to money and material things. We are all weak people, run. ”
Ilr decided to run away. He secretly packed his bags and went to the train station. Unexpectedly, the mayor, sheriff, and residents immediately knew that he was leaving, and rushed to the station.
The train came in. But the people surrounded Il. Everyone said babblingly, "We're seeing you off, where are you going?" "I'm going to Australia. "That's dangerous, one of those two eunuchs was caught by Lady Claire from Australia!" ”
The train stopped, and the crowd was still surrounding Il, but all the mouths were saying, "Get on the train, Il, and I wish you a safe journey!" Il cried out anxiously, "Why are you surrounding me? They said, "We are not around you, so get in the car."
In the midst of your shouting at me, the train finally left again. Ilr collapsed completely, and he fell to the ground weakly. The people gradually evacuated, of course, the people of Gulen City did not want to exchange Il's life for the billion, their feelings were extremely conflicted.
As Ill staggers home from the station, the headmaster and the doctor come to Claire to negotiate with her not to use a billion dollars to satisfy her revenge. Gulen needs to develop mineral deposits and prosper the economy, and the Gulen people want to use this money on the right path. They wanted Claire to be merciful and not to put Il to death.
Claire bluntly dismissed the principal's request. She said, "I have bought all of Gulen City, and you don't have to worry about how to prosper it. As for mercy, since the world has turned me into a prostitute, I will turn the whole world into a big brothel...
If you want to dance and you can't afford to pay for it, you have to stop dancing. Now that I can afford to pay, I'm going to take a man's corpse in exchange for prosperity in the city of Gulen! Goodbye, gentlemen. The principal and the doctor were desperate, and they put on the new suits they had bought on credit and said, "We can only act according to our conscience." ”
Besides, when Il's return home, he was even more desperate. He found that the family was cold to him, and they chattered about the benefits of Mrs. Clare. The son had a car, the daughter went to literature school, and the wife bought an expensive fur coat.
Il made the decision, he asked the family to change into the most beautiful clothes, told his son to drive the car, and he and the whole family went to Gulen City to take one last look at the world. Just as the son went to prepare the car, the mayor came in with a gun.
The mayor came to negotiate with Il, saying that due to social pressure, Il's affairs had reached a point where he had to deal with them. The city is ready to hold a town hall meeting, but if Ilr can shoot himself to death, then he can directly tell Claire that Il has been executed, and the town hall meeting can be stopped.
Ilr rejected the offer to let him commit suicide. He said, "I can obey your judgment, you can kill me, but I can't spare you even the judgment assembly." I want to see with my own eyes how you are being dealt with "justly" and not die quietly. ”
The mayor was a little panicked, he was afraid that if Il told the truth in front of reporters at the meeting, then Gulen would have a bad reputation for exchanging human lives for wealth. He ordered Il, who was to remain silent, agreed.
Il said goodbye to the mayor and got into his son's newly bought car and drove down the street. He found that in a few days, the city had changed too much: the chimneys of the factories were smoking again, the windows of the residents' homes were lined with geranium orchids, and the gardens were full of roses
He saw a lot of new construction projects being started. The poor men who were on credit drove their cars to work. Yes! The headmaster also came in a new car, and lo and behold, he was waving to him!
Cars pass by the church, which is crowded with people. The son told him that Mrs. Clare was in the midst of a grand wedding ceremony, but that the groom was no longer a German movie star, but a ninth husband, a Nobel laureate.
Ilr called the car to stop in front of a movie theater and said to his wife, "You take the kids to the movies, I'm going to the town hall for a meeting." After saying that, he broke up with his family.
In the town hall, the voices of people were boiling. Commentators for broadcasters are broadcasting to the world the news that is about to happen here that will shock the world. Yir walked over to a table and sat down, and the police chief immediately sat down beside him.
The mayor called the meeting to order: "Today I am going to talk about only one thing, our noble citizen, the daughter of the city of Gulen, Mrs. Claire, has generously donated a huge amount of one billion to Gulen, half of which will be donated to the city**, and the other half will be divided equally among all the citizens. ”
The radio reporter immediately announced to the world: "What touching news! A donation will make everyone in this small town a small rich. This is a major experiment in social reform of our time. Now almost everyone in the venue stopped breathing
The mayor invited the oldest and most learned headmaster to speak. "Citizens, I would like to say that Mrs. Clare donated this money for a clear purpose. Does she just want us to be rich and happy? No, she's trying to change us... A·
The principal continued: "That means that we need to be just. So I can't help but ask, have we done anything unjust in the past? Then the people shouted, "Yes! "We tolerated one sinful act. "Someone has committed perjury! ”
The principal said excitedly, "That's exactly what happened. Therefore, we accept this billion, not for money, but for the sake of justice, and this includes many of the conceptual issues that make up the general value of Western civilization, and we must take these ideas seriously, even at the cost of our lives. ”
The crowd applauded feverishly. Then the mayor said to Il, "Il, it is entirely because of you that Mrs. Claire has given us money. When we decide to accept the grant, and we accept Claire's terms, can you respect our decision? ”
Il was very calm, and he understood what the mayor meant by the word "decision". He whispered, "I will definitely respect the decision." ”
The mayor also asked what questions the church, the police, the medical profession, the opposition and other people had to ask of Il. All were silent. The mayor said, "Now vote, all those who are pure in heart and advocate justice, please raise your hand." So all but Ilr raised their hands.
The radio commentator immediately broadcast: "You see, these hands are a powerful guarantee that a better and fairer world is about to emerge." Now the old man, Il, sat there motionless. He was completely intoxicated with joy. ”
The mayor chanted: "All pass to accept Claire's grant, but it's not for the money!" Everyone chimed in: "It's not for money!" The mayor said, "It's for justice!" Everyone said in unison: "For justice!" The mayor said, "For the sake of conscience!" Everyone said in unison, "For the sake of conscience!" ”
Il couldn't hold back any longer, he looked up to the sky and shouted: "Oh my God! At this moment, the radio reporter suddenly said: "Mr. Mayor, the power supply failed just now, and your brilliant words were not recorded." Please repeat what you just said. ”
So the mayor led everyone to shout: "We are not for money, but for justice, for conscience!" Il, however, was silent. The radio reporter said anxiously: "Mr. Yier, it's your turn, your "Oh my God" just now is so touching, you shout again... Il remained silent.
The mayor invited all the guests from the press to the hotel for supper. Only the people of Gulen were left in the town hall. The mayor ordered the door to the hall to be locked, the lights to be turned off, and no one to enter. Unfortunately, the moonlight still crept into the house.
At the end of the hall, the coffin appeared. The crowd lined up in an alley, and the sportsman, the Hercules, stood next to the coffin. The priest said to Il, "Il, your most unfortunate hour has come. ”
In the darkness, people were busy for a while, and finally they were calm again.
The lights came on, and Il fell to the ground. The doctor stood up from Il's side, held up a death certificate and said, "Heart failure." The mayor sighed: "He was overly excited and wrote the most moving page in the history of Gulen with his life." ”
The door opened, and Claire walked in. She went over to Il's side and took a closer look, then asked for the body to be put into the coffin. It's all over. Claire said to the mayor, "It's time for me to go, Mr. Mayor, and give you a check: a billion." ”