Chapter 30 Binding the Town Police Station

Applause rang out in the courtyard. Mu Xin waved his hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet.

"Chief Carter, I've also prepared a light meal." Mu Xin pointed to the long tables in the corner of the courtyard, which were laden with food and drinks.

"It's nothing fancy, just takeout from McDonalds and the pizza shop in town. Everyone, please help yourselves. If it's not enough, we can order more."

Tom was stunned.

Donating equipment was one thing, but treating all the police officers to a meal was another.

Mu Xin was telling everyone: I'm not just giving you money; I'm treating you like human beings.

"Mr. Mu..." Tom didn't know what to say for a moment. "You are too kind."

"It's not just kindness." Mu Xin patted Tom on the shoulder. "It's the right thing to do."

"If you hadn't arrived in time last night, the Water Plant might have burned down."

"The drinking water for over twenty thousand residents in the town would have been completely gone."

"You didn't just save my Water Plant; you saved Oxford Town."

"So, this meal is my way of thanking you on behalf of all the residents of the town."

Tom took a deep breath, turned around, and shouted to the police officers behind him:

"Brothers, what are you waiting for? Mr. Mu is treating us! Hurry up and thank Mr. Mu!"

"Thank you, Mr. Mu!" The eleven police officers shouted in unison, their voices so loud that even passersby outside the courtyard turned their heads.

Then, they swarmed toward the long tables filled with food.

Burgers, pizza, fried chicken, cola, coffee—though not exactly gourmet food, for them, this was the most delicious meal they had ever eaten.

It wasn't because the food was that good, but because of what lay behind it: respect.

Mu Xin leaned against a large tree in the corner of the courtyard, holding a cup of cola, watching the lively scene before him with a faint smile on his lips.

Jessica walked over and stood beside him. "How does it feel?"

"Not bad." Mu Xin took a sip of his cola. "These police officers are easier to deal with than I imagined."

"Because you gave them something they couldn't refuse." Jessica smiled.

"1.75 million dollars in equipment and cash, plus a meal—nobody could refuse that."

"It's not just the money." Mu Xin shook his head. "It's the respect."

"The Williams Family has monopolized Oxford Town for so many years and never treated these people like human beings."

"They were just lackeys, thugs, and tools for the Williams Family."

"I gave them dignity, and they will naturally stand on my side."

"Is this what you call buying people's hearts?" Jessica tilted her head as she looked at him.

"This is called investment." Mu Xin smiled. "Investing in people's hearts has the highest rate of return."

Victoria walked over at this moment, holding a calculator, her expression somewhat complicated.

"What's wrong?" Mu Xin asked.

"I'm calculating how much money you spent today." Victoria's voice carried a hint of helplessness.

"1.25 million for the equipment, a 500,000 training fund, plus the 200,000 rush fee for the emergency delivery last night, and the cost of the meal..."

"How much?" Mu Xin asked.

"2,037,600 dollars." Victoria stated the precise number.

"And that's just today's expenditure. Including the previous acquisition and renovation costs for the Water Plant, you've already spent nearly 50 million dollars."

"And?" Mu Xin's expression didn't change at all.

"And... Mr. Mu, your Water Plant hasn't generated a single cent of revenue yet."

Victoria's tone held a hint of worry. "Although you are very wealthy, if this continues..."

"Victoria." Mu Xin interrupted her, looking into her light gray eyes, and said earnestly, "Let me ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

"What do you think is the biggest difference between something valuable and something worthless?"

Victoria was stunned for a moment. She thought about it and said, "Supply and demand?"

"Wrong." Mu Xin shook his head. "It's that someone is willing to pay for it."

"The Water Plant isn't making money now, but that doesn't mean it won't in the future."

"Oxford Town only has over twenty thousand people now, but that doesn't mean it will only have twenty thousand later."

"The money I'm spending isn't consumption; it's investment."

"Investing in the infrastructure of Oxford Town, investing in the hearts of the people of Oxford Town, investing in the future of Oxford Town."

"When the population of Oxford Town goes from twenty thousand to one hundred thousand, then from one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand, at that point, the money the Water Plant earns will be dozens, even hundreds of times what it is now."

Victoria looked into Mu Xin's eyes. There was a light in those black pupils she had never seen before.

It wasn't greed, it wasn't ambition, but a belief that bordered on paranoia.

She suddenly felt that this Chinese international student, who was nearly ten years younger than her, was more mature and more terrifying than any Wall Street elite she had ever known.

"Mr. Mu." Victoria's voice became a bit softer. "I understand."

"Good that you understand." Mu Xin smiled, picked up his cola, and took a sip. "Go eat. Don't let those police officers steal all the pizza."

Victoria nodded and turned toward the long tables.

After taking two steps, she turned back and glanced at Mu Xin.

Mu Xin was standing under the tree, sunlight spilling through the gaps in the leaves onto him, dappled light and shadows dancing on his face.

He looked so young, yet he had already begun to gradually control the lifeblood of all of Oxford Town.

Victoria looked away and quickened her pace.

That afternoon, the residents of Oxford Town discovered something strange.

All the police cars in town had suddenly been replaced with new ones.

Not one or two, but all of them.

Twelve brand-new Ford Explorers were patrolling the streets and alleys of Oxford Town, the car paint so shiny it reflected people's figures.

The town immediately exploded with discussion, and even the students in school were talking about it:

"My God, where did the Police Department get the money to replace the cars? They replaced all of them? Twelve of them?"

"I heard it was donated by that Chinese international student, the one named Mu Xin who bought the Water Plant."

"Donated? Not borrowed? They were all donated?"

"Yes, donated. Even the body cameras and bulletproof vests were donated by him. He donated a total of 1.75 million dollars."

"1.75 million? Where did he get so much money?"

"I heard he made billions trading coins, but that's not important. What's important is that he's willing to spend money on Oxford Town."

"Trading what coins?"

"bitcoin!"

"The Williams Family has ruled Oxford Town for so many years and never replaced a single new car for the Police Department. This young Chinese man just arrived, and he's already replaced all the cars for the Police Department."

"That's the difference."

"Come to think of it, someone saw Jimmy Williams being taken into the Police Department last night. I heard he was caught red-handed trying to commit arson at the Water Plant."

"Serves him right! That animal who killed someone while driving drunk should have been locked up long ago!"

"This Mu Xin guy is not simple..."

Mu Xin was sitting on the third floor of the Morris Building, scrolling through videos and posts about himself, a faint smile on his lips.

Once people's hearts change, they can never change back.

The Williams Family had lorded over Oxford Town for over half a century and never treated the residents like human beings.

Now, he had given these people what they deserved: clean water, a safe community, and a sense of being respected.

They would naturally stand on his side.

This is human nature.

Mu Xin put down his phone, stood up, and walked to the window.

The Water Plant in the distance shone brightly in the sunlight; the brand-new factory buildings, brand-new equipment, and brand-new pipeline network—everything was proceeding according to plan.

Tomorrow, Richard Miller would come to test the water quality.

The day after tomorrow, the Water Plant could officially resume water supply.

And Jimmy Williams would be handed over to the state prosecutor to face trial.

Everything had just begun.

Mu Xin took a deep breath, turned back to his desk, picked up a pen, and wrote a few words on a piece of white paper:

"Oxford Town Population Growth Plan — Phase One: Purified Water Equipment Manufacturing Plant."

The Water Plant was just the first step.

The real challenge was still to come.