Darkstone Code

Chapter 1122 - 1120: A Gift in Front of Everyone

A million charity donation, even for the President, is not a small sum, but he cannot take it.

If he takes it, problems will arise.

Sometimes people are very numb, when they see those rich people spending hundreds of thousands or millions overnight for starlets or to show off, they just curl their lips and greet these rich people with a slightly hostile attitude.

But sometimes, they are very sensitive, for example, when a politician engages in a disgusting money-power transaction, they might even strike and protest against it!

The President is the most scrutinized among all politicians, he must ensure his integrity, so this is a contest with no substantive rewards other than some certificates and leaving some video materials.

Of course, besides these, Lynch will also make a donation on their behalf to a charity foundation for a good cause.

People like to hear news like this, which is also where people seem very contradictory. They don’t like those wealthy people wasting money on non-essential things in life.

But they also hope someone can do more good deeds and donate more to charity.

Strictly speaking, how those people spend their money has nothing to do with the vast majority of ordinary people.

Yet the latter gives them a sense of hope, a yearning, hoping that someone will stand up and donate for them when they are in distress, or someone can help them.

Speaking of which, the First Lady happens to have a charity foundation, Lynch can donate the money to her.

As for the tax exemption issues returned from charitable donations, that is not Lynch’s responsibility, he is only responsible for the donation, not the subsequent series of troublesome issues.

These are relatively private matters, the President’s personal accountant will arrange everything for him, there is no need for Lynch to worry.

The President might just have won a championship and was in a good mood, he talked about some recent things.

"I heard the first batch of planes has been delivered?"

The President was referring to bombers, world orders, given to those small countries first, which is also a suggestion from the Federation Government.

No need to rush to give to Gafura, it can be delayed, they have no way.

Sometimes politics is very profound, you can’t see through its bottom nor see its end.

But sometimes politics is very naive, perhaps the purpose of a certain behavior is just to disgust people.

Lynch nodded, "They have been delivered, and the other party has also accepted them, there are no issues or disputes."

The President nodded slightly, it was hard to tell exactly what he thought, then he asked, "Are you sure there are no problems?"

Lynch nodded again, "It was actually obsolete the moment it was produced."

"We call it the first generation, while the bomber models we are currently designing have reached the fourth generation, we can easily take it down, it poses no threat to us."

After the wind tunnel at the research institute was built, every few weeks or half a month, there are breakthroughs in some designs.

With technological advances and experimentation with more composite materials, the things being researched and designed by the institute are actually much more than what Lynch expressed.

The President wasn’t very knowledgeable about the changes in technology, but he knew the fourth generation was definitely better than the first, which was enough.

"This sounds much more reassuring!" The President gave a high evaluation, not knowing for what reason, or maybe it was just that he enjoyed playing ball today, his mind was very active.

"I heard on TV last night that the story on your ship is going to be adapted into a movie, is that correct?"

"Lately the TV has been airing this, you can see people are very interested in your experiences!"

The President, with a smile, talked about things unrelated to politics, like an ordinary old man, casually chatting about some inconsequential matters.

Lynch nodded, "Yes, some things happened during that time..."

Along the way, the two talked like an ordinary young man and an ordinary old man, chatting about this and that.

Until they reached the President’s Mansion, the President seemed to gradually calm down.

He stood at the door of the President’s Mansion, shook hands firmly with Lynch again, "I have to thank you, Lynch, since I became a Senator, I’ve never been as happy as today, I must thank you!"

He was sincere, and for a moment Lynch thought of Mr. Truman’s evaluation of the President—

"He may not be smart, may lack decisiveness, may be easily persuaded by others, but these are also precisely his strengths..."

In fact, these strengths and weaknesses combined, one could only say the President is just an ordinary old man, very ordinary.

It’s just that luck and fate have delivered him to this position!

Lynch quickly dismissed these thoughts from his mind, no top politician has become the Federation President because of luck.

He must have his own special qualities, maybe his strengths and weaknesses make him not seem aggressive nor like someone "hard to control."

This might be his disguise, he is faithfully playing his role, or maybe this is his own unique charm.

In any case...

"It’s an honor, Mr. President, I hope it will be a pleasant day!" Lynch timely withdrew his hand.

The President nodded several times, also expressing his affirmation, "Of course, a wonderful day."

"Well then, goodbye, Mr. Lynch?"

"Goodbye, Mr. President!"

As Lynch returned to his car, he stopped speculating about those endless matters.

In some people’s words, he had completed yet another dirty deal. Yes, it was a filthy exchange of money and power.

It seemed like nothing had happened, but in reality, everything that should have occurred had already taken place.

And the money... had already been paid.

People only saw that the President didn’t pocket a penny, but they overlooked that he received over a million in tax exemptions, which, in a sense, meant he also accepted Lynch’s benefits.

But people often turn a blind eye to such "bribes;" they don’t say, "Oh, another damn shady deal," they won’t say that.

Because charitable donations often have something to do with them, this is the most selfish side of the public.

When they might become beneficiaries themselves, they pretend they can’t see right from wrong.

Those with vested interests are always the most self-serving, and interestingly, they often justify it eloquently.

When Lynch returned to the villa, Mrs. Tracy was already waiting for him.

And beside her was the woman who came second in the competition; she was also there.

As soon as Lynch entered the room, the two women stood up; it was noticeable that the young woman stood up as soon as the door opened.

Whereas Mrs. Tracy waited until she saw Lynch before she stood up.

It was only a matter of a few seconds, but it reflected the gap in status between the two.

Lynch came over, shook hands with them, and then sat in the main seat.

The second-place woman was very grateful to Lynch, repeatedly expressing her gratitude and also giving Lynch a small gift.

"My husband brought this back from a business trip. It’s said to be an antique. I don’t really understand these things, I don’t know if you would like it."

She placed a very exquisite box on the table, about a foot long and half a foot wide. Lynch opened the box and glanced at it; it was a gold mask.

The design was somewhat peculiar and exaggerated, but one could instantly see its uniqueness, the jarring sense of different cultures was all over this gold mask.

It definitely has quite a story!

"I like it very much..." he said, closing the box and handing it to a young maid with instructions to place it on the desk in the study.

Then he looked at Mrs. Tracy, and the second-place woman moved back a little and closed her mouth.

"Mrs. Tracy, how have you been lately?" Lynch asked.

Mrs. Tracy replied with a smile, "Busy but fulfilling, the only thing I’m not quite used to is Catherine not being by my side now."

"She’s a very smart and beautiful girl, always considerate of others. I’m used to her being with me; suddenly, she’s gone, and I’m still a bit reluctant to part with her."

This is what smart people do; she doesn’t need to compliment or boast about Lynch, which would be meaningless.

Instead, talking about Catherine, who is "closer" to her, has a better effect.

She could see that these two young people hadn’t cut ties yet; her way of speaking was very skillful.

Lynch smiled and continued looking at her.

Mrs. Tracy tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear, "I heard Catherine has already started to get into the groove. Is there anything you need our help with?"

"As her former colleague, if you need anything, please be sure to let me know!"

Lynch now understood the reason for Mrs. Tracy’s visit.

On one hand, she brought the second-place woman to express gratitude; being able to participate in a bowling competition with the President and achieving second place before entering politics was significant.

It not only demonstrated that she had support from women’s rights organizations but also showed that she had backing from people in the upper echelons of society.

Not all women who can play bowling have the privilege to compete with the President and win second place.

Ordinary people might think... isn’t this just a bowling competition? Could it have more special meaning?

But politicians don’t think that way; they always overinterpret things, turning the simple into complex.

Indeed, this required Lynch’s help; without him, Mrs. Tracy wouldn’t have been able to let this woman approach the President.

Apart from this matter, another appeal might be that Mrs. Tracy needs Lynch’s support, financial support.

Running for Governor requires a lot of money, and the Governor serves a two-year term, but can have unlimited re-elections.

This also means every term will run their territory to the best of their ability.

To breach their defenses, aside from needing people, the most crucial element is money!

Lynch has plenty of money; the newspapers said he just secured a batch of foreign military sales, with billions and tens of billions in orders and profits, making people envious.

The young maid hadn’t come down yet when the second-place woman suddenly stood up, "The coffee is a bit cold, where’s the coffee pot?"