Chapter 480 We Should Help Bill: A $10,000 Reward
Wang Xiao is grinding his teeth.
She was unhappy, very unhappy.
Seeing that the US president is about to turn the tide, how happy can she be?
What? You're saying she should repent for scheming against others and pull back from the brink?!
Oh, so the US, after taking a bag of laundry detergent to the UN to fool the world by claiming Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction," brazenly invaded Iraq, causing it to be engulfed in war and its people to suffer, should feel ashamed and repent?
It has never felt ashamed, so why should she repent?
She didn't lie or fabricate anything; she's morally exemplary and helped the American people get to know their First Lady better.
She's such a good person.
Wang Xiao angrily shoved pickled peppers into his mouth, biting them one after another, making Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao's gums ache.
Good heavens! They really couldn't understand why the boss suddenly wanted to eat pickled peppers again? And he was eating them on their own.
It doesn't seem like anything serious. Isn't the Nasdaq rising a good thing? They vaguely remembered that around the Lunar New Year, the investment plan their boss was looking at included investing in shares of internet companies.
The Nasdaq's rise means the boss's investment has been profitable.
Oh! The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen, from 6,000 points to 5,000 points—that's a frightening drop! No wonder, with the US president facing extinction, investors are bound to be panicked.
I reckon the boss was unhappy because she left the Dow Jones market early, didn't continue shorting, and made less money.
Look at that, no wonder their boss is rich! Earning less money is considered a loss for her.
Compared to the two bodyguards, both genuine veterans, Lyuba, a KGB officer, was clearly more astute in economics. After all, back then, when people went to Europe, they often appeared as foreign trade officials.
It is no exaggeration to say that they were among the first people in the entire Soviet Union to understand the market economy.
Looking at the Nasdaq, she thought of the economy, and thinking of the economy, she thought of the US president's trump card.
The opposing side won the 1996 election and was re-elected thanks to its strong economic performance.
With the Nasdaq rising, Americans will probably love their president even more.
After all, most people in this world are very realistic. Look at the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe back then. Except for Hungary, which was eager to join the trend, the other countries were abandoned by the people because of economic problems.
Lyuba wanted to sigh too.
When someone's luck comes, nothing can stop it; it's just their destiny to be blessed.
Wang Xiao, with a long face, ate pickled peppers one bite after another.
The housekeeper came over and asked her what she wanted for a proper meal. Seeing her crunching on pickled peppers, she felt her mouth was on fire and hurriedly ran back to the kitchen.
Good heavens, although Ms. Chen authorized her to control Miss Wang's eating habits,
Miss Wang achieved great success at a young age, possessing both wealth and power. Someone like her—who doesn't do drugs, gamble, drink excessively, or even sleep with men—lives a life more puritanical than a Puritan's. What more could anyone ask of her?
Let's just have some pickled peppers.
Just please don't keep eating cold drinks, or your stomach will really suffer from hunger.
Sigh, let her drink some pear juice. Her stomach can't take care of this, but at least let her tongue feel better.
Wang Xiao felt her scalp tingling from the spiciness, as if her soul was about to leave her body.
She sipped her pear juice, then suddenly turned to Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao and asked, "If you were Bill, what would you do to save yourselves?"
Huh? Who's Bill?
It took the two of them a moment to realize that Bill was the President of the United States.
Now both of them were in a dilemma.
Having come this far, how can we save ourselves?
Apologize to American citizens, sincerely reflect on your mistakes, and then regain the trust of Americans.
Oh, don't be silly. The last US president who was a genuinely honest person and never lied to his people was named Carter.
During the energy crisis, President Carter honestly said: "Wear more sweaters to keep warm."
Then his path to re-election was completely cut off.
This is a paradox: everyone hopes that the head of state is morally upright, law-abiding, and does not deceive the people.
At the same time, no one expects their leader to be simple, honest, and straightforward. Because a good horse is ridden, and a kind person is bullied; honest people can really suffer a great loss.
After thinking for a long time, the two could only shake their heads and say, "I don't know."
They were not ashamed at all; if they had the ability to come up with brilliant ideas, they would have been recruited by the US president's think tank long ago.
The two were curious: "Boss, what should he do correctly?"
Lyuba's eyes were practically twitching; even with all four of their eyes combined, these two couldn't muster any real interest.
There's no reason to give the enemy advice!
Wang Xiao laughed: "The President of Washington didn't pay me any public relations fees, so I'm not going to give him any advice."
She walked around the room with the cup in her hand, then stood by the window, staring intently out the window.
Xiao Gao even suggested that the boss go out for a walk.
Although winter hasn't completely left Moscow—you can still see snow in the corners of the courtyard—the sun is already warming you up, and you can even sweat at midday if you're working in the yard.
Look at the little grass sprouting, the little flowers already forming buds, and even the little panda can't wait to go out for a stroll every day. It's really time for them to go out for a walk.
Wang Xiao's gaze was fixed on the birch forest in the distance.
The smooth white bark stood out starkly against the greyish sky, and tiny, wispy buds had already sprouted from the branches. It inexplicably brought to mind Wang Wei's poem: "In the second month of spring, the grass grows and the orioles fly; the willows along the dike are intoxicated by the spring mist."
Uh, what are the remaining lines of poetry? I remember now, but I only remember these two lines.
She took another sip of pear juice, then looked back and saw that the branches of the apple tree and lilac bushes in the courtyard were still bare, but upon closer inspection, she could see that the tips of the branches were already full of deep red buds, ready to bloom.
No one can stop spring; spring will always come.
She never expected that a few tricks would actually change the president of the United States. Any country that can stand firm in the world will seek stability and will not easily create turmoil.
But she absolutely couldn't let him get away with it so easily.
Wang Xiao suddenly laughed. She finished the last sip of pear juice and said slowly, as if sighing, "The President of Washington must be working so hard. People should help him out."
Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao were completely baffled, not knowing what their boss was up to.
Wang Xiao continued slowly and deliberately: "Yes, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. We should give netizens a channel to offer advice to His Excellency the President. If you were Bill, what would you do?"
Oh, what are they all talking about?
The two of them couldn't help but look at Lyuba.
Their colleague was really helpful, immediately picking up where the boss left off without hesitation, and even smiling: "The President of the United States has spent a lot of money buying me websites to drive traffic, so I should reciprocate by buying websites. How about we start a column and let everyone express their opinions?"
Wang Xiao nodded, quite interested: "That's a good idea."
Everyone in the room burst into laughter.
But apart from her, everyone else was completely baffled and couldn't understand why she would advise the US president.
Is it like we've caught a sheep and are going to exploit it to the extreme, using up all the data? That seems like a good idea.
Despite the seven-hour time difference, Zhou Liang was equally bewildered.
He thought of the song his neighbor's older brother, who wore bell-bottoms and had long hair and was often scolded when he was in middle school, which he played on the radio every day: "It's not that I don't understand, it's just that the world is changing too fast."
That's how he feels about America now.
It's just a little thing in the crotch, isn't it? It's gotten to the point where the president is facing impeachment and is about to become the next Nixon.
Zhou Liang is a man, and no man in the world would take this matter so seriously.
Actually, women are pretty much the same.
He grew up in the countryside in the 1970s and 80s, which was not as ascetic as described in literary essays. All sorts of dramatic and messy things happened all the time.
It's ridiculous that Americans are now trying to oust their president over this trivial matter.
Street investigators in vests were conscripting men on the street. They caught Zhou Liang and asked, "What are your thoughts on the president? Will you support or oppose him in the future?"
Zhou Liang was extremely cautious: "Sorry, I am not a U.S. citizen, I am just a backpacker, I do not have a vote."
After saying that, he nodded and left.
As the car restarted, he heard the burly rancher cursing the president at the investigator, calling him a shameless liar, just as shameless as his wife.
After spending a long time in the United States, Zhou Liang stopped relying entirely on taxis and subways for transportation. He followed the example of others and started renting cars as well.
Now, he turned the steering wheel and headed towards the riverbank, where a park had been built, perfect for surfing.
Strictly speaking, April is not the best season for surfing, especially in Idaho.
But Micron's CEO was willing to celebrate Micron's victory with a thrilling surfing session.
He laughed and hugged Zhou Liang. Oh God, this man from Asia is like a fortune cookie in a Chinese restaurant.
His arrival brought good luck.
Despite the twists and turns and constant troubles, through their joint operations, the Asian consortium represented by Mr. Zhou successfully purchased 7% of Micron's shares for US$500 million via offshore capital operations.
As for the remaining $300 million shortfall, Micron was fortunate to gain the favor of Intel, which helped it solve the problem.
So congratulations to him! Under Alpton's management, Micron successfully acquired Texas Instruments' semiconductor division, becoming the only company in the US to do so.
Moreover, market trends told him that Micron's market value would soar and its business would grow rapidly.
Why? Because the internet age has truly arrived.
In fact, if he hadn't noticed the surge in internet users and recognized its value, he highly doubted that Intel would have been so generous.
So, let's thank the Dow Jones for rising!
After giving Zhou Liang a warm hug, Alpton smiled and asked, "Is the way hard to find? It's my first time here, so it's a bit confusing."
Zhou Liang shook his head: "It's alright, but I was stopped on the way and asked some questions, so it took a little longer."
Mr. Alpton asked curiously, "What's the problem?"
Zhou Liang's mind stirred slightly: "Regarding President Washington, he asked me if I would continue to support him? God, what can I support? What he needs is the support of someone like you, sir."
Alpton is a recognized adventurer, but he seeks the thrill of extreme sports rather than discussing politics with a foreigner.
So when he heard Zhou Liang's words, his reaction was a series of "Oh, I see, my God!"
Then everyone went surfing. When everyone was soaking wet and going to shower, he asked Zhou Liang, "What do you guys think about this? I mean, how do Asians view the issue of the White House presidential couple?"
Zhou Liang shook his head and said honestly, "Not many people watch; most are just watching the spectacle."
Alpton pressed on, "And what about you? What about your bosses?"
"I don't know what the boss is thinking," Zhou Liang shook his head. "As for myself—"
He gave a meaningful smile. "As a trader, I have to thank this turmoil, otherwise the Nasdaq wouldn't have risen so quickly."
Alpton groaned, "God, you would have been much safer investing that money in Micron."
Zhou Liang shrugged: "What can I do? My bosses are all impatient and don't have the patience to keep me waiting for a reply. They're eager to see a return on their investment, and there's no faster return than the internet."
This statement makes perfect sense in the present moment.
Who would have thought the Nasdaq could soar like this, jumping over 1000 points in the blink of an eye? Those who bought in at the lows are now laughing all the way to the bank.
Thanks to the strong market performance, Micron's stock, which has not yet turned a profit this year, has also risen.
Alpton laughed too: "That's true, every cloud has a silver lining. The market can always see hope."
Zhou Liang believes that another English proverb is more applicable here: One man's meat is another man's poison.
One person's flesh is another person's poison.
The Nasdaq's surge is partly due to the Dow Jones Industrial Average being drained of its value.
Many long-time customers of the Dow Jones Industrial Average who originally invested in traditional stocks have collectively withdrawn their funds and left the market.
It fully demonstrates the power of a politically motivated stock market crash—stocks in the "old economy," such as banks, industries, and energy, which are closely linked to traditional politics, are continuing to fall due to political uncertainty.
Emerging technology industries were seen as a haven from traditional political and economic cycles. Hot money poured in, which is why the Nasdaq index soared as if defying gravity.
Even Alpton wanted to sigh, so these representatives of the new economy should be grateful for this sudden and massive political crisis.
A crisis always represents an opportunity.
He dried his hair with a towel and asked Zhou Liang with great curiosity, "If you were Bill, what would you do? I mean, have you seen the special report I bought online? A lot of netizens are discussing what the president should do next. If something like this happened in Asia, what would you do?"
Zhou Liang laughed out loud: "If this happened in Asia, there would be two possibilities. One is that if it gets exposed, it means he's already been dealt with. The other is that it's not a big deal. In many parts of Southeast Asia, a man still has several wives."
Alpton sighed, "It's a pity this is America; the couple both had their scandals exposed at the same time."
Zhou Liang casually picked up the thread: "So, since there are already two bombs, we can't afford to detonate a third. The sexual harassment case that Ms. Jones is accused of must be dealt with as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he is convicted, he might really have to leave the White House."
No respectable country in the world could tolerate its head of state being a sex offender who has been convicted of sexual harassment.
In the era of strict crackdowns in China, this kind of hooliganism could have resulted in execution.
Zhou Liang put down the towel and said with a grin, "Mr. President, you'd better be generous and give some compensation to express your true apology. Anyway, he can't really be a poor kid from Arkansas."
This is a self-positioning that the president often uses, in order to get closer to ordinary people.
Alpton couldn't help but laugh, and said meaningfully, "America doesn't need a truly poor president."
He may not have had much money in the past, but his presidency itself was a huge asset. He could write memoirs, give speeches all over the place, campaign for various events, and even get paid for having a meal with someone.
In this era, fame itself means money.
Thinking of this, Alpton sighed: "I'm afraid Ms. Jones doesn't value money."
Zhou Liang laughed: "That's true, the ladies who are pursuing me wouldn't be so short-sighted."
The compensation will be at most ten million US dollars.
Indeed, it's enough for a person to live comfortably for a lifetime, and it can even benefit their descendants.
But this also means that the person who takes the money will lose credibility and be seen as a clown who is just trying to attract attention. It can be said that they sacrificed their reputation to obtain this compensation.
Only a fool would do that.
When a plaintiff holds a winning hand and is about to achieve a historic victory in court and in the media, why would she accept hush money and give up this impending, complete victory that could make her a legend?
Even if she can't withstand the prolonged pressure and wants to catch her breath, her legal team will support her and keep fighting.
They will resolutely refuse to settle and allow the case to proceed to trial.
What they will pursue will no longer be money, but something far more valuable: a historic victory decided by a jury, and the immeasurable fame and influence that comes with it.
That will be an endless treasure.
Appleton sighed, "Hopefully, our resourceful netizens can come up with a brilliant idea, otherwise our president might really be in big trouble."
Good heavens, he probably doesn't really want to change presidents right now.
If a conservative president were to take office, would the construction of the information highway continue? And how could the new economy flourish?
Moreover, the subsequent political turmoil and resulting decline in investor confidence have dealt a huge blow to the economies of the United States and the world.
In the current sluggish international economic climate, how many countries can withstand this blow?
Zhou Liang shrugged: "Perhaps our president can pull off a miracle? He's not one to sit idly by and wait for death."
He was not mistaken about the president in Washington; in fact, His Excellency the president had already begun to act at top speed.
Yang Tao sat in the boss's chair in the room, reviewing the documents in her hands one last time.
Thanks to the political turmoil in the United States, people seem to be less inclined to cause trouble amidst the widespread anxiety. Even the usually highly motivated CFIUS did not harass the submitted applications and approved them directly.
So they successfully acquired a second-tier EDA company that had analog circuit design and physical verification capabilities but was struggling financially.
What is poison to one is honey to another.
Yang Tao felt she should thank the US president for his shamelessness.
She turned on the TV as background noise, and when she turned her head to clear her head, she saw this shameless president again.
In the news, he was giving a speech, trying to win back the hearts of voters with his best oratory skills.
He cried out: They can't stand the prosperity a poor kid from Arkansas has brought to America. They don't care about your jobs, they only care about my private life!
Yang Tao felt her mouth twitch. The poor boy was just poor, not immoral. Please don't use your shamelessness to insult him like that!
Then, in the next second, chaos erupted on the television screen. Someone took off their shoe and threw it at the president, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Fuck you, you poor kid! A real poor kid from Arkansas wouldn't sexually harass his female subordinates, nor would he mock a young girl who was raped! Don't insult Arkansas, you are a disgrace to Arkansas!"
Yang Tao strongly suspects that the TV station was actually targeting the president.
Otherwise, no matter how loudly the attacker shouted, if the on-site audio recording was not timely, viewers in front of their televisions would not have been able to hear such a clear rebuke of the president.
Yang Tao took a deep breath, put the documents away, then turned back to the computer screen and typed a line of English words: The poor boy's plan has failed!
That's right, her boss clearly seized an opportunity to exploit the president's popularity to the fullest extent.
A special section has been launched on "WoBuy.com" where all users can participate: What would I do if I were Bill?
The person who proposes the most popular suggestion will be able to empty their shopping cart for free, as long as the total amount is less than $10,000. In that case, all the items in the shopping cart can be taken home for free.
My God, that's $10,000!
In the United States, where credit card overdrafts are commonplace, many respectable middle-class families cannot come up with $10,000 in savings.
Driven by the lure of money, netizens enthusiastically participated in this White House staff involvement program.
Yes, although "WoBuy.com" has always emphasized that this is a spontaneous action by the website and has nothing to do with any political forces.
However, netizens with vivid imaginations still firmly believe that this is actually a case of the president's team running out of options and having no choice but to seek outside help and find assistance from the wisdom of the people.
So when one place is in trouble, trouble comes from all sides, and heroes from all walks of life emerge, each with their own wildest ideas.
Someone suggested that Bill, while he was still President of the United States, should exhibit the aliens the US had captured, so that everyone would be busy looking at the aliens and wouldn't have time to care about his private affairs.
Some have urged him to quickly release the US archives from the Cold War era so that the world can clearly see how the US misled the Soviet Union. Once Americans realize that all US presidents are shameless, with each administration more shameless than the last, they will likely be able to tolerate his despicable behavior.
Of course, there were also those who genuinely wanted to help him solve his problem.
Many people are urging the president to quickly sever ties with his wife.
To put it bluntly, what truly provokes the disgust of American citizens is the First Lady's arrogant, ignorant, shallow, and malicious laughter.
The Jones case, together with the White House sex scandal and the Taylor case recordings, will form a perfect closed loop, together constituting a narrative paradigm of "systemic contempt for women and abuse of power by the presidential couple."
The White House sex scandal has now been settled, and the president has no control over the outcome of the Jones case. The most crucial thing now is to separate the Taylor case recordings from the president, so that he can have a glimmer of hope.
After all, the Jones case wasn't fought by the president, but by the First Lady.
As a man who respects independent women, the president cannot interfere with his wife's work.
Well, that makes a lot of sense and is quite practical.
It has won the support of many netizens.
But soon, many voices voiced their opposition.
Some argue that abandoning his wife at such a crucial moment would stigmatize voters and cause Bill to lose even more support.
Others mocked, "Why are you pretending to be innocent? When the Taylor case ended, Bill won the Arkansas state legislator election."
Can he swear to God that he didn't benefit from his wife's victory in the Taylor case?
Oh! When you were benefiting from my success, you were my honor; now that you're in trouble, you're trying to distance yourself.
There's no such thing as a free lunch. Don't even think about it, just lock it up!
Amidst the uproar, a post was quietly pushed to the top of the list; the proposal was titled: "Facing the Silent Majority."
The project initiator first asked, "What are you most curious about and most eager to see right now?"
In 1998, the internet did not adhere to political correctness, and the people behind IP addresses were invisible, so people spoke without restraint.
Netizens expressed their desire to see details of the president's affair.
Holy crap! A short film about the US president? How novel and exciting!
The organizer stated: "That's impossible; there's no way there would be a video camera filming it. But do you want to see the written statement, a detailed statement about the affair?"
Netizens are in an uproar! The White House has turned into a sex show—who wouldn't be interested? Aside from the President, who else could provide such a spectacular performance for netizens?
Then the person who initiated the proposal changed the subject: Okay, let's let the independent prosecutor investigating this case see our call and have him post the detailed court videotapes and court transcripts online, especially focusing on the details of the affair, because that is the key to conviction.
Netizens enthusiastically typed their approval, expressing their agreement.
Then someone expressed their dissatisfaction: "Hey, hey, hey, are you in the wrong place? This is a special forum, discussing what the president should do, not a place for you to watch porn."
Then some netizens attacked him/her, saying, "Can you stop being so hypocritical? This forum isn't a church."
The discontent was too weak and was quickly drowned out by netizens. While everyone was enthusiastically discussing how to let the independent prosecutor know their voices, the plan's initiator suddenly spoke up again: OK! As long as everyone's wishes are fulfilled, the president will be saved.
Netizens were taken aback. They were just gossiping when it suddenly turned into a plan to save the president.
The initiator directly presented his own proposal.
The first step is to generate a large volume of audio online, hoping to see the audio from videotapes and court documents.
With the Nasdaq soaring, the world has become aware of the internet's influence, and so have independent prosecutors and Republicans; they are certainly paying close attention to the internet.
Secondly, seeing so many comments from netizens, the independent prosecutor and the Republican Party behind him naturally believed that this was what American citizens wanted to see. They could use this opportunity to let voters and people all over the world see the shameless face of the White House president and completely strike him down.
But they forgot one thing: there are more than just netizens in this world.
The United States is a major internet power, but less than one-third of its population are internet users. The remaining two-thirds of the population are the silent majority who do not appear on the internet.
Do they also want to see the US president's courtroom recordings? Do they want to clearly understand the details of the president's affair?
Perhaps most people would, after all, sex and violence are human instincts.
But the question is, do they really want to expose the president's scandals through this kind of public imprisonment?
So explicit, so disgusting—has the court become a pornographic video distributor, specializing in releasing this kind of content to the public?
The third step is the people's rebellion.
Every organization has its own reason for existence and its own bottom line.
Street tabloids and online gossip can say and report anything; people don't care about even the most explicit news.
But serious media outlets and legal institutions cannot do that; they must be prestigious and dignified. When they attempt to emulate the former, they lose public trust and support.
What followed was public resentment.
The longer this goes on, the more disgusted people will become, and they will think that these institutions are blurring the lines between public and private interests, that they are targeting the president, and that they are deliberately trying to embarrass him.
My God, that's the President of the United States! He represents the United States!
When the president embarrasses himself on the world stage, it means that the United States is also being ridiculed by the world.
What kind of insignificant little country is the United States? The United States is the world's only superpower.
Why would they allow their country to become so miserable?
Just as the president said, these far-right extremists don't care about the interests and dignity of the United States and the American people; they are simply using any means necessary to attack the president.
Therefore, everyone must stand up, defend the president, and safeguard America's dignity.
America is not a clown, a clown that people can laugh at at will.
Yang Tao read the entire proposal from beginning to end and couldn't help but gasp.
She suddenly realized that this might be the best public relations strategy: to use the ignored emotions of the silent majority to turn the tide.
But when she realized this, he suddenly discovered that the path was blocked.
The White House will pay attention to this website, and so will the Republicans.
When the Republicans see this loophole, they will completely block this path.
The president's big troubles are getting bigger and bigger.
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[Winking] Good morning, off to work.
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