Manhattan Reborn 1978

a new day.

East-central United States, District of Columbia.

Washington.

Smithsonian Art Museum, in a nearby cafe.

Mag Ludwig sat in a position far away from the window with a leisurely expression, quietly reading the newspaper and waiting.

ten minutes later.

Representative Charlie Wilson, holding a briefcase in his hand, opened the door and walked into the coffee shop.

After Mag saw Charlie, he smiled and waved to him.

"Hi~I'm here!"

Charlie Wilson quickly glanced around, walked to sit opposite Mag, and asked.

"The time we agreed on is the weekend, right?"

"Why are you here today?"

Mag smiled and shook his head slightly, took out a document bag from the briefcase beside him, handed it to Charlie, and whispered.

"I have found a buyer for your old house in your hometown."

"He paid the full amount very readily. You just need to find a time to meet with him, sign and complete the process."

"This check for 15 yuan is yours!"

"..."

Charlie lowered his head and opened the document bag, carefully looked through the house sales contract, and found that the name on the signature line on the last page was unfamiliar, so he frowned and asked.

"Who is this guy?"

"He is just a person who happens to need to buy your house!"

"Just...need it?"

"That's right~"

Mag reached for the house sales contract, pointed to several documents at the back, and continued.

"After the house purchase and sale transaction between you is concluded, after deducting the corresponding fees and taxes, there will be almost more than 13 yuan."

"The last time we met in New York, the friend I introduced to you happened to invest in a personal credit loan company."

"He told me... he likes you very much and wants to deepen our friendship with you."

"So, he can provide you with a personal credit loan of [-] yuan for investment."

"This money has a term of two years and a fixed interest rate of 10%. The interest and principal can be repaid together when they are due~"

"That is to say... you have 13 + 20 = [-] yuan, which you can invest~"

Charlie looked at the personal credit loan contract in his hand and frowned even more.

He looked at Mag with some confusion, put down the contract in his hand, and asked, "Should I shout... I'm going to get rich?"

"Hehe~"

"Even if you want to shout... you will have to wait until two years to get the return on this investment~"

"Look at the last one..."

"It is a two-year fixed income + floating income investment contract launched by a fund company."

"The average annual fixed income for a two-year period is about 12%, which can just offset the interest on your personal loan and still leave a lot of money left!"

Charlie stared at Mag for a few seconds, then simply threw away the documents in his hand, tilted his head and said.

"I've been hearing about it in recent years..."

"I never thought that this kind of thing would really happen to me!"

"Hehe~"

"You already said this once at my house the last time you went to New York~"

"Did you forget it?"

Charlie sat back in his chair, crossed his legs, and said with a smile: "Yeah~ I almost forgot if you didn't mention it."

"But...last weekend, I went to a reception hosted by the Heritage Foundation~"

"The Colorado brewer Adolph Coors was always trying to test my attitude toward presidential candidate Astaire K. Wood, either intentionally or unintentionally."

"Don't you also want to...?"

"No!"

Ma Ge shook his head and smiled without being surprised: "I came to Washington today not just for your business~"

"My fiancée Janet, you have also met~"

"She accepted Wood's invitation to join her campaign advisory team."

"So, Wood specially prepared a cocktail party tonight to welcome Janet to join~"

"Oh~"

"You sent Janet here specially to attend the reception, and you came to help me make a fortune...?"

"Hehe~"

Mag smiled and collected all the documents, put them back into the document bag, placed them in front of Charlie, and said.

"In the past two years since President Warren White took office, the pro-union attitude he has shown has led to the strong rise of organizations such as the Business Roundtable, and even allowed the American Manufacturing Association to move its national headquarters to Washington."

"Today in Washington, the total number of various trade associations has exceeded 2000, employing more than 5 people."

"They hired a large number of professionals to serve the corporate power channel. In the end, there were 9000 lobbyists and 8000 public relations experts surrounding the center of power, trying to influence its delicate balance bit by bit~"

"A few days ago, I heard from a friend... A vice president of Chrysler Motors made a semi-public speech at the New Year's party..."

"If you are not familiar with the senators on a first-name basis, it means you are not doing a sufficient job for your shareholders!"

"Hehe~"

Mager likes that he is the most popular member of the House of Representatives, but he still has a very personal personality. .Charlie Wilson, who walks into the Capitol every day wearing classic cowboy boots, shrugged and smiled.

"Although I have discovered it a long time ago...but the speed of change here always makes me feel that I can't keep up~"

"The Congress is no longer the Congress it was a few years ago~"

"You, the congressmen working inside, should have the deepest feelings... right?"

Charlie Wilson curled his lips with a weird expression, put down his legs, put his elbows on the table, leaned forward, stared at Mag Ludwig, and whispered.

"Are you...one of them?"

"Um.."

"If you mean...the newly emerging lobby groups...that's right!"

"But my work is fundamentally different from theirs."

"Oh? What's the difference?" Charlie asked with interest.

Mag Ludwig thought seriously for a moment and replied.

"Do you remember... Bryce Harlow?"

"Mr. Harlow?"

"President Nixon's business adviser?"

"Yes ~ that's him."

Mag's eyes were shining with a strange light as he said: "Many people now believe that 10 years ago in January 1969... when President Nixon took office, the United States had already lost the Cold War!"

"Watergate was a disaster..."

"Just like Bryce Harlow and President Nixon complained after talking about the solution to the Watergate incident~"

"The outbreak of it completely destroyed the ingenious foreign policy formulated by Kissinger and Nixon in order to consolidate the international status of the United States~"

"But what few people know is... he just walked into the Oval Office, which symbolizes the pinnacle of power, and did something that others asked him to do..."

"..." Charlie looked at Mag in a daze, who seemed to be in a strange state. He pursed his lips and continued to listen silently.

Mag exhaled slightly sadly, looked at the window behind Charlie, and said in a low voice.

"The combination of social receptions mixed with various interests and purposes + cable TV networks covering the whole country + the profit-oriented development trend of the news media's work style... has focused the attention of ordinary people in the short term... "

"And in Congress, the so-called national interest was still a meaningful term a few years ago~"

"But now... it is no longer a subject of debate in itself...!"

Mag took out a pen from his pocket, placed it in front of Charlie, and said with a faint smile on his lips.

"As a guy who was once regarded as a loser here, the biggest difference between me and their lobbyists and public relations experts is that I can sit in front of you again and talk."

"I am not a participating player, but a spectator, a...loyal recorder~"

"I work for my boss, and I just want to observe, analyze, and interpret the thoughts and attitudes hidden at the bottom of people's hearts more closely~"

"Including you, Charlie!"

"You have actively solved many problems for the voters who trust you."

"At the same time, you are also using the power they gave you to gain a lot of benefits~"

"but!"

"If you are no longer a member of the House of Representatives... what else do you have?"

"The ex-wife and kids who need a huge amount of support every month?"

"That old house in my hometown?"

"Those female assistants in your office?"

"The friends you have made over the years?"

"Hehe~"

"Dude, don't blame me for what I said...it's so ugly!"

"You have nothing!"

"Those things that confuse your eyes now will burst like bubbles as your identity changes~"

“In the end, the only thing you can rely on is the cash in your wallet, the deposits in the bank, and the assets in your name.”

"So~"

"Short-sighted and only looking for the present!"

"This is the topic of discussion that people are most concerned about in Washington circles today!"

"You are falling behind... you will only be considered an outlier and you will be eliminated sooner or later..."

Mag turned to Charlie, who looked a little ugly, spread his hands and asked with a smile: "Are you satisfied with my answer?"

"..fxxx~!"

"Hahahaha~ I know, you are very satisfied!"

----

South-central United States, Texas.

Southeast of Houston, Hubby International Airport.

A private plane flying from Los Angeles slowly landed on the runway.

About two 10 minutes later.

Giles, who had been waiting here for a long time, led Blumer and his father, Old Walton, into the car and drove quickly to the western suburbs of Houston.

on the way.

Giles, who was sitting in the passenger seat, joked with his old classmate + damaged friend Bloomer from time to time.

Old Wharton looked at the scenery outside the window quietly, listened to the conversation between the two for a while, and suddenly asked Giles.

"Have you been in contact with Leslie and David in recent years?"

"Uh... no~" Giles paused with a somewhat lonely expression on his face before replying.

"Hehe~"

Old Wharton tilted his head and glanced at his son Blumer. Seeing that he was also a little uncomfortable, he narrowed his eyes slightly and asked again.

"Then why don't you take the initiative and contact them?"

"You haven't seen each other since David and Lilith's engagement party, right?"

"...Yes~" Blumer turned to look out the window and answered casually, not knowing what he was thinking.

Old Wharton glanced at Giles who was also looking out the window, smiled with satisfaction, closed his eyes and entered a state of concentration.

. . .

After half an hour.

12 Pine Avenue.

Old Wharton was sitting in the living room, holding a cup of hot coffee, and joked to Old Morgan.

"Have been here for a few days...have you almost forgotten the snow in Boston?"

"Hahaha~"

"It has already been engraved in my memory... How could I forget it?"

Old Morgan made an exaggerated gesture towards Old Wharton in a very humorous manner, laughing and shaking his head.

Old Wharton put down his coffee cup, made a few more jokes, and then got straight to the topic.

"When are you going back to New York?"

"It will take a few days, it's not decided yet."

"Um.."

"I'm ready and can start at any time!"

"Okay!" Old Morgan looked into his old friend's eyes and nodded with approval.

"Then we'll go find Professor Bartlet later?"

"ok~"

----

On the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii.

398 Corudilla Avenue, Honolulu Island.

David was sitting in the dining room, eating breakfast, and listening to Zina telling everyone the "ridiculous" interesting things she had done after returning home with her two best friends last night~

David noticed, though. .Although Xina's eyes were always on herself and Cui Yingying, she would always glance at the housekeeper Aclade standing next to her from time to time.

"Hehe~"

David smiled and winked at Zina, turned to Ackleide and asked: "You haven't had a good time on the island yet, have you?"

"How about going out and having fun today?"

"Professor Gila Cox must really hope that you can become her... flower protector!"

Butler Acklade said with a gentlemanly smile: "Okay, sir!"

"Wow~hahaha~"

"You guys, have you planned this for a long time?"

"Um... not really."

"I didn't even know that Kira would come~"

"Gira?"

David heard the name he deliberately said, and he stretched out his hands to Zina in a funny way: "Look, we are all wasting our efforts..."

"The two of them have long..."

"Hahaha~"

"What's wrong with this?" Zina waved her fist happily and said with a smile.

"Really? Acklade!" Butler Acklade raised his eyebrows, widened his eyes, closed his mouth tightly, and did not answer. .

"Hahaha~"

. . .

After breakfast.

David found Cui Yingying in the kitchen, chatted casually for a while, and then went directly upstairs and into the study room, ready to do enough "homework" for this afternoon's "battle"~

After finishing breakfast, Zina had been silently observing David's every move.

So, when David had just sat down and was about to "start working", she "broke into" the study with a smile.

"Oh~ you want to come too...to help?"

David looked at Zina who came to him, raised the notebook in his hand, and joked.

Zina sat at the table, lowered her head slightly, looked directly into David's eyes, and smiled.

"No~"

"I just want to...have a chat with you!"

"Um..Okay~"

David deliberately acted like he had met his teacher when he was a student, and smiled.

"Where do we start?"

"..." Zina pressed her hands back on the table, pursed her lips and hesitated for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and saying.

"This is your first time meeting my friend... Jane Fonda, right?"

"Yeah~ I've only seen her on TV before..."

"I didn't expect that she is like this in private... cheerful and talkative~"

"Hehe~"

"If... you had met her a few years ago, you would never have said such a thing~"

"Oh?"

David blinked curiously, and suddenly realized that Zina was a little confused at this moment. .eccentric. .

He scratched his head and thought for a while, stood up, lowered his head slightly, looked down at Xina, and asked.

"We won't talk about her anymore~ It's what you want to say to me...right?"

"..Um!"

Zina raised her head slightly, looked at herself reflected in David's eyes, gritted her teeth and said.

"Since we first met, I never thought I would..."

"You have done a lot for me~"

"But I can't give you anything..."

"So, I want to tell you..."

"I know!" David sighed secretly and raised his hand to directly interrupt Zina.

He brushed the fine lines at the corners of Xina's eyes with his fingertips and tried to speak in a gentle voice.

"But I don't deserve this..."

"...!!" Zina's eyes sparkled like never before, and her whole body was trembling slightly as she wanted to say something.

David put his hands on her shoulders and said seriously: "Let's not fight anymore!"

"When you need me, I'm always here~"

"When I need you, I will tell you as soon as possible..."

"Let everything take its course... okay?"

"...ok!" Zina tried hard to control her emotions, slowly stood on tiptoes, and kissed David with her eyes closed.

David put down his hands and hugged her waist, feeling the warmth of her lips, his mind was a little confused. .

. . .

After a few minutes.

Zina, walked briskly~

David rubbed his forehead and walked to the window, looking at Cui Yingying who was planting flowers with her maid Chasida in the yard, and let out a sigh of relief.

If so, his response now is more intense. .Zina must have happily agreed. .

Because he could clearly feel that Zina's kiss contained suppressed passion and impulse~

this is Love. .?

Emm. .

David stood by the window and thought wildly for a while, and finally he could only shake his head helplessly~

As a mature woman with rich experience, Zina actually said something similar to a confession to David, who was 20 years younger than her. .

This seemingly passionate move speaks for itself~

But~

With the rationality of adults, both she and David knew very well that the relationship between the two could only be maintained at a well-understood ambiguity at present, and could never go any further easily. .