Chapter 128: Please Be a Man.
"You're not bad,"
Chuck offered his assessment of the legendary veteran in the industry.
"Haha."
The bald elderly accountant shook his head helplessly at the condescending comment from the newcomer.
"Mr. Stolberg, we need your help,"
Susan said.
"I'm just an old man who enjoys watching comedy shows. I can't help you much."
The bald elderly accountant shook his head.
"You've been managing the books for drug trafficking organizations, including the Gambino family, for over forty years. Those ledgers don't contain cold, hard numbers, but children poisoned and families destroyed."
Susan appealed to his conscience: "You can definitely help us stop this and save lives!"
"Dr. Wolfe, do you know how I ended up on this path?"
The bald elderly accountant looked away from Susan, instead gazing at Chuck with interest.
"I know."
Chuck nodded.
"Then please tell this IRS agent."
The bald elderly accountant smiled and said, "Why would a top accountant whose ability is recognized by everyone be willing to give up a legitimate and wealthy life and wade into this muddy water?"
"Because you don't have a CPA license."
Chuck said succinctly.
"Exactly."
The bald elderly accountant said with great emotion, "Can you imagine that an accountant whose ability is recognized by everyone can't get licensed as a certified public accountant?
I was born into poverty. My family had no money to support me through college. I dropped out of school early and struggled in society for years. I was really unwilling to repeat my father's mundane life that I could see the end of.
I wanted to make something of myself and live with dignity.
Fortunately, I discovered I had talent, especially in accounting, so I first went to a small accounting firm to do odd jobs and secretly learned how to be an accountant.
Then I paid money to find a document forger, made myself an accounting certificate, and went to apply for a job at a major accounting firm. My abilities amazed the interviewer, and despite some doubts about my background, I was hired.
For the next few years, I thrived at that major firm. My boss valued me highly, offering a high salary, a prestigious position, and I had several beautiful girlfriends. Just when I thought I was reaching the pinnacle of my life, my fake certification was exposed, and everything changed.
I was fired, my reputation spread throughout the industry, and I couldn't find work in legitimate accounting anymore. My girlfriends left me, and my world collapsed.
Fortunately, talent shines everywhere, and not everyone values just a piece of paper.
I was invited to pursue another career in accounting. While I'm not proud of it, it certainly saved me."
At this point, he looked at Chuck and asked, "Dr. Wolfe, do you think that CPA certificate is really that important?"
"It's not important."
Chuck shook his head: "All certificates are just stepping stones. Ability is what matters most."
"Exactly!"
The bald elderly accountant was pleased to hear Chuck say this: "Without that certificate, I can still prove my value. I am who I am!"
"Your value has long been proven. Whether in the criminal underworld or legitimate business, what really matters is ability, not certificates."
Chuck looked at him calmly: "Do you think you were really fired because of the forged certificate? Did your boss really not know that your certificate was fake?"
"What?"
The bald elderly accountant was stunned. Then, with years of experience, he immediately understood everything after Chuck pointed out this blind spot. He laughed at himself: "Indeed! I was so foolish. I didn't think about such a simple issue for decades. I should have realized long ago. What really got me fired wasn't the fake certificate, but the fact that I discovered some problems with the company's books and asked too many questions!"
At this point, he shrugged and smiled bitterly at Susan: "See? I still think people are too decent."
"After all, evil people are a minority, and good people are the majority."
Susan seized the opportunity to say, "As long as you're willing to help, good people will always be in the majority. This way, decent people like you who want to take the right path will have hope and a future."
"Where were you when I wanted to take the right path?"
The bald elderly accountant sneered, "Why didn't you show up to help me, a decent person?"
"That was a different era."
Susan shook her head, "Let's put that aside for now. Now I'm asking you to help us help more decent people. This isn't only helping them, but also helping yourself."
"Haha."
The bald elderly accountant sneered, "Here it comes, here it comes, the classic routine. You're asking for help in such a demanding tone. If someone didn't know better, they'd think I was desperately begging you, the 'savior of humanity,' for help. What? If I don't agree, will you turn against me? If I don't help you, am I not decent, or am I extremely evil?"
"Mr. Stolberg, don't get agitated."
Susan said calmly, "I'm just stating a fact. This time we came to find you, and the news will soon reach those people. Helping us is helping yourself."
"Do you think you're the only ones who've come looking for me in these forty years?"
the bald elderly accountant said. "You're using such crude tactics to threaten me. Do you know what valuable lesson I learned at that major accounting firm? It's that large accounting firms and major law firms become each other's clients, one handling the books, the other handling legal disputes. It's a powerful alliance. Although I'm no longer at a major accounting firm, my current position has strong legal resources. Even if you're from the IRS, you can't use your heavy-handed logic to force me to 'help' you without sufficient evidence."
Seeing that the bald elderly accountant was becoming hostile and refused to cooperate, Susan frowned. "Times have changed, and people's attitudes have changed. In the past, they might have trusted you enough to give you a chance to prove your loyalty, but now that you're old, they may worry your resolve has softened. At least they might have this suspicion, so do you dare to take that gamble?"
The bald elderly accountant's face changed slightly, and he was silent for a long time. He looked at Chuck: "Dr. Wolfe, if you were me, what would you choose?"
"I wouldn't face that choice,"
Chuck said calmly. "Because I wouldn't have chosen that path from the start. Gambling, loan sharking, drug trafficking. The most intolerable is drug trafficking. Once addicted, it can cause irreversible organic damage. If it spreads, it won't just destroy one person, or one family, but entire communities. With your abilities, if you're willing, you could still excel even without working for criminal organizations. But you clearly prefer taking shortcuts and don't want to face even the slightest setback. You like comedy, so you should know that all great comedians have endured life's hardships without forgetting their original aspirations."
"..."
The bald elderly accountant was silent.
Although Chuck's "preaching to others without experiencing their suffering" somewhat offended him, he understood that what Chuck said was true.
Take his favorite, Deborah Vance, for example. Back then, Deborah was a huge star, appearing on the cover of Time magazine and about to have her own prime-time talk show on television, the first female comedian to receive such an honor.
Unfortunately, everything came to a halt that night. After taping the pilot, Deborah Vance discovered her husband was having an affair with her best friend and sister.
She burned down his car and fled with their young daughter.
Due to the widespread negative publicity, the pilot episode was canceled, and the show fell through. Her promising future was over, forcing Deborah Vance to start over in Las Vegas, performing for tourists. She remained there for over thirty years, her influence limited, a world away from the nationally and even internationally renowned television talk show host she was meant to be.
Even so, decades later, still performing, with no financial struggles, Deborah fought tooth and nail to maintain her presence, despite being mocked for being outdated, being restricted by a casino owner who was also her longtime friend, mocked for making less money than the seafood buffet, and even appearing in a lobster commercial. She fought relentlessly to stay on stage.
This critical life moment was strikingly similar to his own.
As a longtime fan, the bald elderly accountant knew it all, which was one of the reasons he admired her so much.
Perhaps because he couldn't do it himself, he looked at Deborah Vance, reflecting on the different choices made after reaching a critical point in life, as if witnessing an alternative existence.
"If there's nothing else, I'm going to head home,"
the bald elderly accountant forced a smile.
"Here's my business card,"
Susan handed over hers. "Contact me if you need anything."
The bald elderly accountant didn't even glance at it, but nodded to Chuck and slowly walked out.
"Let's go,"
Susan said, unfazed by the bald elderly accountant's dismissal. She put away her business card and called to Chuck, "Now it depends on whether they trust each other enough."
"Wait."
Chuck didn't leave immediately, but headed backstage.
"Where are you going?"
Susan was confused.
"To get a recording of tonight's comedy show,"
Chuck's voice came calmly.
Susan was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed, saying thoughtfully: "Are you trying to study his psychology through the video and make a targeted breakthrough?"
"No."
Chuck shook his head: "I just want to make a copy of the recording and take it back to show my friend."
Tourists are not allowed to record the stage shows in Las Vegas. This ensures that only those who come to Las Vegas can see them. It's a way to attract tourists.
"..."
Susan's mouth twitched.
She had also heard Chuck talk about the friend mentioned by Deborah Vance on stage earlier. He was the parent of Chuck's friend. The outrageous jokes were all based on the real family experiences of Chuck's friend.
So is this friend really a friend?
She seriously doubted it.
Or is this the treatment of being a friend of someone like Chuck?
Well.
That's also very possible.
Well.
Fortunately, she doesn't plan to be his friend.
(End of Chapter)
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