Friendship with the President of the United States

Wang Xiuyuan's generous display of wealth stunned everyone around him. Having witnessed the dialogue and confrontation between the two just now, everyone saw it for what it was— a blatant political transaction, something they had long grown accustomed to.

Therefore, those present had already assumed Wang Xiuyuan would accept the figure Ronald Reagan requested and would write a check for that amount in the end.

However, Wang Xiuyuan did not agree directly; instead, he took the initiative to increase the number.

This move by Wang Xiuyuan appeared remarkably precious within the rules of American capital operations, where interests are paramount.

One must realize that Ronald Reagan had only just been confirmed to represent the Republican Party in the general election; the election hadn't even started, and no public opinion polls had been conducted yet.

No one knew what Ronald Reagan's chances of winning were. If Ronald Reagan ultimately lost, then Wang Xiuyuan's ten-million-dollar investment would go straight down the drain.

The most crucial point was that Wang Xiuyuan had proactively stated that only three million dollars required a return, while the remaining seven million was purely to befriend Ronald Reagan.

Paying for a friend, paying for friendship.

What kind of friend was worth seven million dollars? They all wished they had such a generous good friend.

Ronald Reagan was moved almost to the point of tears by Wang Xiuyuan. Since joining the Republican Party to become a professional politician in 1962, he had never encountered a donor as generous as Wang Xiuyuan.

Every campaign fund he had received from major donors in the past had to be repaid tenfold or even dozens of times over after a successful election.

Such debts were not easily repaid. Those donors weren't short on cash; their support for a politician's rise was surely in the hope that the government would favor them in terms of policy.

But the promulgation and implementation of every policy or clause required various political transactions and compromises with a large group of allies and even opponents, causing brain cells to die off in massive clusters.

In America, during the preparation period before every election, those campaigning politicians were truly not much different from beggars.

The only difference was that professional politicians dressed more glamorously and could promise a series of conditions to be fulfilled slowly after winning, whereas beggars had no bargaining chips to offer; that was all.

How could a politician raised in such an environment not value a donor with as much integrity as Wang Xiuyuan? Most importantly, Wang Xiuyuan had given Ronald Reagan the utmost respect as an individual.

Because Wang Xiuyuan had clearly indicated that he valued Ronald Reagan as a person, he provided that extra seven million dollars in funding.

This kind of personal respect was what moved Ronald Reagan the most.

With the way Wang Xiuyuan handled this, once Ronald Reagan took office, as long as Wang didn't propose anything too difficult, Reagan would basically handle everything beautifully for him.

This could be considered the American version of 'a scholar dies for the one who recognizes his worth.'

"Thank you very much for your trust and support, Mr. Wang.

To be frank, I have only just secured the Republican nomination for president. The most basic public opinion polling data hasn't even begun yet, and even I don't know how much hope I have of winning.

I am very happy that you are willing to give me so much financial support, but I am very worried your investment will go to waste. I don't want to leave you too disappointed in the end.

So, I ask that you please reconsider carefully."

As a professional politician entering the presidential race, Ronald Reagan actually didn't accept the massive ten million dollars in sponsorship from Wang Xiuyuan when facing the tough battle ahead.

This unexpected move made Director Howard and Peter Peterson, the two endorsers, incredibly anxious.

The Republican faction members led by them had been busy all night, exhausting their rhetoric, speaking baskets of kind words, and agreeing to a multitude of promises and harsh conditions.

In the end, the sponsorship funds they managed to scrounge up were less than seven million dollars.

Now, there were seven million dollars with no strings attached sitting in front of Ronald Reagan, and this bastard actually wanted to refuse.

Howard and Peter Peterson wished they could crack open Ronald Reagan's head to see its internal structure; he was absolutely insane.

But something even more surprising to Howard and Peter Peterson happened: Wang Xiuyuan actually had complete confidence in Ronald Reagan.

"Ronald, you can put your heart at ease. I have thought this through thoroughly before making this decision.

The current president, Jimmy Carter, has actually done quite well over these four years, but his luck has been very, very poor. I even feel a bit of sympathy for him.

Many of the ills accumulated by America over the previous thirty-plus years have erupted during his term. This isn't because of a lack of ability or poor work on his part.

Rather, the result would have been the same for anyone serving as president.

America has been very powerful since the end of World War I, and the life of the American people has been very good, which has made them full of confidence.

But the problem lies exactly there. After a series of problems erupted in recent years, life has become difficult for the American people, so they have pointed the finger at Jimmy Carter. He is destined to take the fall for this.

Therefore, this is a very good opportunity for you.

You governed California for eight years and have a very outstanding record. You were an actor in Hollywood and have excellent personal presentation. You also participated in World War II and fought bloodily for America.

These are all highlights of your character.

As long as you don't mess up in your choice of issues and during the debates, you will definitely win. I am very confident in this.

As for the money, you don't need to feel too much psychological pressure. Since I am willing to sponsor you, I won't force a specific outcome. After all, as long as something isn't finalized, there's always a possibility of an accident."

Ronald Reagan was stunned into silence upon hearing these words. As a presidential candidate, he was naturally full of confidence, but that confidence stemmed from the inherent 'buff' of being a candidate.

How could he have imagined that someone would be even more confident than him without any data to support the analysis?

This wasn't just a donor; this was clearly a godfather comparable to a biological father.

With reddened eyes, Ronald Reagan said, "Thank you very much for your trust. I will shamelessly accept this ten million dollars in sponsorship.

Please rest assured, I will go all out to ensure I don't disappoint you. You will definitely receive a satisfactory return.

And you will certainly have the most reliable friendship of a President of the United States."

Deeply moved, Ronald Reagan immediately gave Wang Xiuyuan his most sincere promise. One could imagine how comfortable Wang Xiuyuan's life would be after Ronald Reagan took office.

While boundless glory might be unrealistic, at the very least, one thing was guaranteed: unless absolutely necessary, no one would take the initiative to target Wang Xiuyuan.

But for Wang Xiuyuan, this was already enough.