Chapter 1: A $100 bet

During the US presidential election of a certain year, when the host excitedly read out the vote count, the whole of America erupted. Countless people were screaming, jumping, laughing and making a fuss. It seemed that the whole of America had suddenly fallen into a carnival. Especially in the various black neighbourhoods, everyone took to the streets, desperately waving the Stars and Stripes flag, shouting long live America, long live the president who has the natural right to rule!

Even the supporters of the losing candidate were not overly pessimistic. They all smiled and admitted that this presidential election had opened a new chapter in American history, because the new president was an African-American.

In the broadcast room, the winner of the election, Omar, accepted the result with a smile. He picked up the microphone and said, 'This result is very good. In fact, Mr. Walsh was also a very strong contender. I have achieved this victory with great difficulty, but I think this victory is well worth it, because it is a victory for democracy, it is a victory for the United States in accepting new challenges, and it is a victory for the host, because you have successfully witnessed this victory.'

O'Malley's humour made the host laugh heartily, and he continued, 'Of course, I have to thank a lot of people for this victory. First of all, it's the Republican Party, because without the support of any party, I alone could not have completed such a difficult challenge. Secondly, I would like to thank all my supporters, especially all my compatriots, who went to the polls to vote regardless of the weather. Without your support, I would not have been able to achieve this miraculous reversal.'

After saying this, O'Malone paused before continuing, 'But these are all secondary matters. The person I should be most grateful to is actually a Chinese man, because without his initial support, I might have just gone to teach at the university, rather than go into politics, let alone run for president.'

'Everyone says that the President of the United States is great, so the person who guided the President to become President is undoubtedly even greater. So who exactly got this honour?' the host asked.

Omar shook his head: 'I'm sorry, I can't say his name until I'm authorised to. I can only say that his surname is Zhou and that he is a person who is greater than I. Fortunately, I met him at the right time, otherwise I can't imagine what I would be doing now, teaching at a university or living a decadent life on welfare? I don't know, and no one will ever know.'

...

Time has returned 90 years, and it has been nearly a week since the Brook incident. Everything has returned to normal, whether it be the operations and investments of Wharton Insurance Company or Zhou Ming's daily classes.

'It is really a pleasure to see classmate Zhou Ming come to class every day,'

Jie La said happily. In her opinion, nothing made her happier than seeing Zhou Ming come to class every day on time. Zhou Ming, on the other hand, felt quite helpless. After all, he was the homeroom teacher of the finance class. Even if he had come back to life, he shouldn't have been so unmotivated to learn. On the contrary, after having lived a lifetime, he had come to value knowledge even more. If only there hadn't been so many things before, he wouldn't have missed so many classes.

As for Jie La's favour for him, it was also quite a headache for Zhou Ming, because there was also Ye Ning by his side. Every time she saw Jie La, her pretty face would turn cold and frosty. Coupled with Jie La's passionate and fiery nature, he was tormented by this world of fire and ice.

After class, Zhou Ming handed the textbook to Ye Ning to take back to the dormitory, and he drove to a coffee shop outside the school.

'Hey Ming, we're over here.'

As soon as Ming walked into the café, he heard someone greet him. It was Danny, the president of the Harvard Student Union, and with him was an older man who looked a lot like him. Ming guessed that it was his father. Ming had asked them to meet here today because there was something very important to discuss.

'I'm sorry Danny, I'm a little late. I've kept you waiting,' Ming said politely.

Danny waved his hand and said, 'This is not a big deal. After all, you, Zhou Ming, have missed too many classes. I think you must be the first person, except for those jerks who were expelled in the middle, to pick up these courses again, otherwise it would be a great shame if you can't graduate. Although you have a lot of more important things to do, the school will not care about that. You know, the church is always very rigid.'

Then Danny introduced Zhou Ming to the middle-aged man next to him, 'This is Mr. Ball, my father, the founder and current chairman of Ball Investment. Mr. Ball, this is my classmate Zhou Ming I mentioned to you.'

'It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ball.'

Zhou Ming took the initiative to greet Ball Danny, and the three of them sat down together. Ball Danny first asked Zhou Ming, 'Zhou Ming, what is the market value of your company now? How much capital do you have available for investment?'

This question made Zhou Ming pause for a moment. Danny also didn't expect that his father's first words would be such a question. He angrily said, 'Mr. Ball, I can't imagine that you are really the chairman of an investment company. How can you directly ask such a question without any tact? Don't you know that this is very rude and unprofessional?'

Danny Bol didn't care about him, but just looked at Zhou Ming waiting for his answer.

Danny Bol's question was actually the important reason for their meeting today. He remembered that when Danny and Zhou Ming first met, he had said that he hoped to cooperate with Zhou Ming. Later, due to various things that happened to Zhou Ming, the matter was delayed. Now that the matter with Brook had ended, and Zhou Ming had seen the wonderful use of power in the United States, he had picked up on the promise he had made with Danny and hoped to cooperate in promoting politics.

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and said, 'My company is a newly established insurance company, which is of course far inferior to Mr. Ball's investment company, but it also has a cash flow of over 100 million, which is enough to support most investments.'

'Including supporting the election of a district mayor?' Ball Danny asked again.

'Of course,' Zhou Ming nodded, 'If Mr. Ball needs it, I can even take on the election of a mayor.'

Faced with Zhou Ming's confident answer, Poldeny was still not satisfied: 'Zhou Ming, are you sure you really understand an election? The so-called election expenses are not just the expenses that are publicly disclosed in newspapers and on television. Those are all meant to fool ordinary voters. The actual expenses and hidden expenses are what deter all small consortia the most.'

'I am prepared for all of this, otherwise I would not be sitting here talking to you about jointly funding an election today,' Zhou Ming said.

'If that's the case, that would be the best thing ever. I really hope that we can get a district chief or even a mayor elected together, so that both your insurance company and my investment company can develop further.'

Boldeny said, taking out a piece of scratch paper and handing it to Zhou Ming, 'This is the account of my election foundation. As long as Zhou Ming deposits 100,000 US dollars, I believe it will be very helpful for this election.'

Zhou Ming took the scratch paper and glanced at it, saying, '100,000 US dollars is indeed not a huge expense. I can remit the money at any time. But before remitting the money, I want to ask Mr. Boldeny a question first. Who is your candidate? Can he win the election?'

'It seems that Zhou Ming is a very cautious person. Being serious and meticulous is a very good habit,' said Danny Bor. 'My elector is named John. He is a barrister at a gold medal law firm and has a very high level of legal attainment. He is very good at debate and often leaves his opponents at a loss in court. He is also very politically astute and fully possesses the qualities of an elector.'

After thinking for a moment, Polanyi added, 'He is also a member of the Democratic Party. You may not know that in Massachusetts, people with Democratic Party affiliation always have an easier time winning.'

Zhou Ming said, 'I have every reason to believe that this lawyer John must be someone carefully selected by you, Mr. Polanyi. But with all due respect, I have never heard of his name. If Mr. Polanyi trusts me, I hope I can choose another candidate. Is that okay? Mr. Ball, it is always easier to pick the best by comparing.

'You might also miss the best,' Danny Ball picked up Zhou Ming's words, 'Zhou Ming, you are Chinese, you don't understand the situation in the United States. This Mr. John has won community elections before, elections without any support. Everything has to be done on your own, whether it is funding or operations. Those who can come out of here are the real politicians, and Lawyer John meets this requirement.'

Finally, Polanyi asked Zhou Ming in return, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, you say you have never heard of Lawyer John, then may I ask who else have you heard of? This is a regional election, not a presidential election.'

I have actually heard of many people.

Zhou Ming smiled bitterly in his heart. What he called having heard of was actually his memories before being reborn. Whether it was the celebrity governor or the presidential candidate, after all, the United States was the world's only superpower, with developed consulting, and one could know a lot of things even without looking it up.

Even so, Zhou Ming had never heard of this lawyer John. This shows that he is just a very mediocre person, and he really is out of his mind to invest in someone he knows is mediocre.

However, there was no way to tell this to Poldeney, so in the end, Zhou Ming could only say from the side, 'I don't think so, Mr. Pol. There is too much chance in community elections. Since there are very few people in the community who participate in the elections, it is possible that all of his relatives and clients are here, so he can easily win the election. However, if this is magnified to the district elections, the situation may change a lot. I hope that our candidate can be elected in the end.'

However, Poldenyi obviously did not understand: 'Mr. Zhou Ming, it seems that our differences are great. If you don't trust my electors, then you can definitely nominate another one yourself, which I would be very happy to see. However, there is one thing: my foundation will not give any support, and at most I can answer some of your consulting questions. You know, only when fists are joined together can they exert the greatest power.'

'Thank you very much, Mr. Ball. Then our cooperation can only be limited to words. Although 100,000 US dollars is not a huge sum, I still don't want to invest in things that have no hope,' said Zhou Ming.

Danny Burl laughed disdainfully: 'Things without hope? Zhou Ming's choice of words is really surprising, but I think it's called youthful exuberance. Too young businessmen, you are always arrogant and make decisions you think are right and execute them wilfully. You won't change without experiencing failure. So I advise Zhou Ming to be less wilful.'

'Really? But I don't think I will fail, but succeed instead,' said Zhou Ming.

'Is that so? Then let's bet $100 that you will definitely fail,' said Polteney with confidence.