Chapter 93

Having arrived in a parallel universe, Jin Xuntao himself was also affected by the mysterious energy of the spacetime tunnel, gaining advantages akin to bugs. After nearly a year of living here, he achieved considerable success, made money, and established a relatively stable economic foundation.

But!

Jin Xuntao's mindset had not changed much; it was still the same as in his previous life, with the mentality of an ordinary man.

Actually, this was quite normal. After all, he had been in this universe for less than a year, and he was already 36 or 37 years old. Changing his mindset was not something that could happen overnight.

Moreover, this was not a web novel from his previous life, where people could quickly change their mindset and integrate into the local life and values after traveling through time.

This required a gradual process.

And Jin Xuntao was precisely going through such a process. In fact, he was slowly accepting it, and through continuous understanding and learning, his views would eventually change. This was an inevitable trend.

But for now... Jin Xuntao had not changed much.

What he did not know was that the officials in the United States were incomparable to those in China, and the power they wielded was on a different level.

Although at first glance, the positions of governor and provincial governor seemed the same, their power and influence were worlds apart.

The naive Jin Xuntao was not yet fully aware of this.

In his eyes, a governor was already a very high-ranking official, but Dave had only given him a $50,000 campaign donation. Was this a joke?

Was $50,000 a lot?

Was $50,000 significant?

What could $50,000 do?

Even though this was in dollars, still...

If in his previous life in China, he had approached a provincial governor and said, "I'll support you with 50,000 RMB, let's be friends," what would the result be?

But this was the United States, and a parallel universe at that.

It must be said that Jin Xuntao still had a lot to learn and understand.

The banquet had not yet started, and Governor Old George had not yet appeared. Therefore, those who had been invited and had already arrived were finding acquaintances in the banquet hall, forming small circles to chat and pass the time.

There was a small stage at the front of the banquet hall, similar to the stages used for small plays. A lectern had already been set up on the stage, and some staff members were adjusting the microphone.

As time passed, the waiters at the Cavies Hotel began to bring out trays of自助 food, piling them onto the buffet stands in the center of the hall.

When Xiao Keke saw the trays of delicious food, she could not resist her little foodie nature. She patted her father Jin Xuntao's arm and pointed to the buffet area, clearly meaning "I want to eat."

Jin Xuntao looked around and saw that no one was currently taking food, so it was clear that the dining area was not yet 'open.' Therefore, he shook his head at his daughter, much to her disappointment.

However, when Dave saw this, he came forward from behind his wheelchair, picked up Xiao Keke, and said to Jin Xuntao, "I'll take Xiao Keke to get some food. In a buffet-style banquet, there are no strict rules. If a child wants to eat, you can get her some; no one will say anything."

Jin Xuntao had many concerns, but Dave did not care about these things.

It was not yet the 'open' time, and everything was still being prepared, but if a child saw the food and wanted to eat, could you make her wait?

Dave could not bear to see this.

Moreover, a child would not attract much attention from others.

In fact, many of the guests had brought their children, and those children, seeing the food, could not contain their excitement. Some of the older children had already run to the buffet area, tiptoeing to reach their favorite foods.

Adults, of course, had to follow the rules, but for the children's behavior, everyone would just smile understandingly.

Jin Xuntao did not understand this, but Dave did.

"Is this not right?"

Jin Xuntao was still hesitant.

At this moment, Annie took over pushing the wheelchair, leaned down, and whispered to Jin Xuntao, explaining the situation, which finally put his mind at ease.

As Annie was explaining to Jin Xuntao, a white-haired, refined-looking man in his fifties walked up to the small stage.

This man was the main guest of the evening, the host of the banquet, Governor Old George of California.

As he walked up to the stage and approached the lectern, he gently tapped the microphone, checked that it was working, and then smiled at the guests.

"Respected guests, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you very much for accepting the invitation to this charity buffet dinner. As the host of this evening's charity buffet dinner, I feel greatly honored."

The moment Old George stepped onto the stage, everyone who had been chatting turned their attention to him, and the entire banquet hall fell silent.

After Old George gave his opening remarks, everyone clapped, but Jin Xuntao felt that their smiles were somewhat insincere, lacking any genuine warmth.

Annie moved to Jin Xuntao's side, her gaze fixed on Old George on the stage, and she also observed Jin Xuntao's reaction.

When she noticed Jin Xuntao looking around and then showing a thoughtful expression, she leaned down and whispered to him, "Do you think these people are hypocritical?"

Ha!

That was a very direct statement.

Jin Xuntao's lips twitched, but he nodded.

Annie smiled. "Get used to it. Politics is inherently hypocritical. Few of these attendees genuinely support Old George. They are here for their own reasons."

There were some things that Jin Xuntao could not yet understand, and even if they were explained, he might not fully grasp them. These matters could only be understood and discovered by Jin Xuntao himself.

It was impossible to explain everything with just a few words.

Therefore, Annie did not waste her breath and simply made a passing comment.

But she had pointed out a fact to Jin Xuntao.

Jin Xuntao seemed to understand, but he still felt a bit confused.

With Old George's opening remarks, the banquet officially began.

After Old George finished his speech and stepped down from the stage, the next person to step up was the chairman of the California Public Utilities and Welfare Foundation.

This man began to speak incessantly, his words clearly urging everyone to contribute money, whether they had it or not, to support California's public utilities.

Clearly, the people in the audience were not very interested in this, and their enthusiasm waned.

"Isn't this a charity event? What does it have to do with public utilities?"

Jin Xuntao was a bit confused and pulled on Annie's sleeve, asking her quietly.

Annie explained to Jin Xuntao in a low voice, "Public utilities serve the public. Isn't that a form of charity?"

With that, Jin Xuntao understood.

It seemed that his concept of 'charity' was still a bit narrow.

At this moment, Dave returned, carrying Keke.

Jin Xuntao saw that his daughter's face was covered in cream from the cake, indicating that she had eaten some.

Annie quickly went over, took Keke from Dave, and called a waiter to bring a hot towel. She then wiped Keke's face, making it clean again.

"Little one, you really can eat. You had several pieces of cake," Dave said, impressed by Keke's appetite.

Jin Xuntao knew that his daughter had a good appetite and could eat a lot when she found something she liked.

"William, get ready. The main event is about to start."

Dave stood in front of Jin Xuntao and gave him a teasing hint.

Main event?

What main event?

Just as he was wondering, a refined, middle-aged man with wire-rimmed glasses walked through the crowd and approached Jin Xuntao and Dave.

"Are you Mr. William?"

It seemed he was looking for Jin Xuntao.

Jin Xuntao nodded. "Yes, sir, I am William. What can I do for you?"

Annie and Dave both had a knowing smile on their faces.

"I am Governor George's secretary. You can call me Mona. I am here because Governor George wants to meet you and to remind you that he will be presenting an award to you in front of everyone. You need to be prepared."

Jin Xuntao was aware that the governor would be presenting him with an award.

After all, Omar and Vincent had already informed him of this a while ago.

So, Jin Xuntao had been mentally prepared for this.

He had even prepared what he would say when receiving the award.

But why did Governor George want to meet him now?

Jin Xuntao was a bit puzzled.

After all, he was just a small figure.

To be honest, Jin Xuntao was underestimating himself, but this was not surprising, given that his mindset and views were still those of an ordinary person from his previous life.

However, Jin Xuntao was very clear that he could not refuse such a request.

"Sure! Please lead the way."

Jin Xuntao was still in his wheelchair, so Dave had to push him, while Annie carried Keke and followed behind.

"Please follow me," the middle-aged man named Mona immediately gestured for them to follow and led the way.