Anning and Qu Lan left the house after talking.

Right next to Anning’s house, there are a few small cabins, and Anning went to them.

There lived bodyguards sent to protect Anning.

Anning went in, and Zhou Tong, the captain of the bodyguards, promptly stood up: "Miss Yan."

Anning sat down: "Have you eaten yet?"

One of the female bodyguards, named Sun Tong, laughed: "We’ve eaten, fresh vegetables picked directly from the field. We’ve been staying here for a while, I’m afraid we won’t be able to eat properly when we go back."

"Then you should stay here, right?"

Anning joked with Sun Tong: "Anyway, I’m likely to take root in Fengtai Village for good."

Sun Tong appeared very pleased: "If we could stay here permanently, it would be wonderful. The mountains are lovely, the waters are clear, the air is fresh, and the food is great. We’ve stayed for a while, and we feel much healthier."

After some casual chat, Anning brought up the matter of Zhang Gen: "You must be aware of this situation by now. I assume you’ve looked into Zhang Gen’s information, and I’d like you to report upwards. The presence of this individual poses a potential threat to me and my family’s safety."

Zhou Tong nodded: "We’ve already reported up, and instructions were given for us to station two people near Erdaowan, close to the Xiao Family, responsible for their protection."

Anning thanked him: "Sorry for the trouble."

Zhou Tong quickly replied: "It’s our duty."

Anning thought for a moment: "Merely defending isn’t enough; haven’t you heard the saying, offense is the best defense."

Uh?

Zhou Tong was confused.

Sun Tong chuckled and asked: "Miss Yan plans to do something?"

Anning smiled, her eyes curved: "Yes, I want to contact the media to widely report that although Mr. Zhang Gen is in the Star Striped Country, he constantly thinks about the motherland. Now that he’s old and sick, he yearns to return to the arms of the motherland. To do so, and to contribute to the country, he plans to donate the majority of the wealth he accumulated over half a lifetime in the Star Striped Country to the motherland at no charge."

Upon hearing this, Sun Tong burst into laughter.

Zhou Tong’s eyebrows and eyes were full of smile: "Miss Yan, this move is really ruthless; it’ll cause the Zhang Family great distress."

Anning’s eyes sparkled: "He said he wanted to leave some wealth to Grandma, but Grandma isn’t interested in it. Might as well let him give it to the nation; after all, many places in our country are still quite poor and numerous projects require funding."

As she said this, Anning herself couldn’t help but laugh: "Also, Growth Liquid No.1 has been produced, we want to promote afforestation, manage the environment, improve deserts—these all need money, Zhang Gen’s half asset is far from sufficient, alas, such people are few indeed, otherwise, how much more could our nation accomplish."

Sun Tong couldn’t stop laughing either: "Alright, we’ll contact the higher-ups and get back to you tomorrow."

"Do it quickly!"

Anning urged once more and then got up to leave.

Not long after she left, Zhou Tong contacted the higher-ups, who promptly agreed to Anning’s plan.

Before sleep, Sun Tong messaged Anning, telling her to proceed freely.

Anning quickly contacted the media. She reached out to several newspaper offices, some independent media, and online outlets—a full-scale promotion of Mr. Zhang Gen’s patriotic acts.

The next morning, all sorts of media outlets were overwhelmingly publicizing it.

They were elevating Zhang Gen to an unparalleled pedestal, showering him with praises.

Before breakfast, everyone nationwide learned about the patriotic individual named Zhang Gen, who went abroad in his youth, later established Zhang Group in the Star Striped Country, amassing a sizable wealth. Yet, he refused to spend much, living a very frugal life. His children and grandchildren were educated well by him, and the entire family maintained a low profile. Realizing that time was short, the old gentleman placed immense trust in the motherland, and as he returned and saw his homeland from his youth, he was filled with patriotic fervor, deciding to donate half of his assets free of charge to the motherland.

Then came the united praise from people nationwide.

Zhang Gen, due to excitement, slept late last night.

He woke up later in the morning and, while eating, the hotel staff, upon seeing him, approached exuberantly, "Mr. Zhang Gen, your patriotism moves us deeply."

Zhang Gen was taken aback; numerous people looked at him from a distance with admiration.

"What is going on?"

He asked his assistant.

The assistant hesitated.

After Zhang Gen finished eating, the assistant showed him the reports from the media.

Upon seeing them, Zhang Gen was almost infuriated to death.

What was going on? 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Who claimed he would donate his wealth?

Why was the media reporting nonsense?

He trembled as he picked up the phone and dialed Xiao Yuan’s number.

Xiao Yuan, of course, knew what Anning had done. Upon finding out, he took the phone to Grandma and read the reports to her word by word.

Grandma listened, delighted: "Erhu, your wife is really a capable one; well then, since it’s for the nation, this is great, this is great."

He hadn’t finished reading when Zhang Gen’s call came in.

Xiao Yuan answered.

Zhang Gen asked bluntly: "Xiao Yuan, was it you behind the media’s actions?"

"Yes."

Xiao Yuan admitted directly.

After all, what Anning did was as if he himself did it.

Grandma took the phone: "Zhang Gen, you said you would give me your wealth, and if you did, I would donate it, so better for you to donate directly, and you’ll earn a good name."

Yes, he’d earn a good name in Hua Country, but over in the Star Striped Country, they’d despise the Zhang Family, making business and making money there impossible.

Zhang Gen thought of this, but since Grandma was speaking, he couldn’t utter a word.

Grandma chuckled: "Zhang Gen, you intend to give me wealth and bring me to the Star Striped Country; that’s nearly asking for my life, also risking the life of my daughter and grandson. Tell me, should I not resent you? Since you’ve done the first, don’t blame me for doing the fifteenth. The media matter, I instructed Erhu to do it; if you’re angry, direct it at me, not the children."

Zhang Gen initially was filled with anger, but not anymore.

He opened his mouth but couldn’t speak for a long while.

"Fine, fine, just leave it at that."

Finally, Zhang Gen said this before hanging up.

He knew, in this life, there’s no hope with Grandma anymore.

Just as Zhang Gen finished the call with Grandma, his son’s call came in.

"Dad, what’s going on?"

Zhang Gen’s eldest son, named Zhang Wang, now heads the Zhang Group: "Who told you to donate your wealth? What are we supposed to do? Are we still going to live in the Star Striped Country?"

Zhang Gen was initially furious with no outlet, but Zhang Wang’s call came too timely.

He retorted unpleasantly: "The wealth was earned by me, I’ll donate it as I please. If you can’t live in the Star Striped Country, come back to Hua Country. What, I’ve announced it all; you want me to retract it? That’s impossible; everyone nationwide knows, our wealth must be donated, or else our Old Zhang Family will have people pointing fingers at us for generations."

Zhang Wang, infuriated, swept everything off his desk: "Why didn’t you discuss it with us?"

"Discuss my foot."

Zhang Gen jumped, cursing: "Would you agree if I discussed it with you? Don’t think I don’t know, I came to Hua Country, you immediately sent people to follow me. What, you treat your father like a criminal. I’m telling you, Zhang Wang, this decision I’ve made, you must follow through. If you don’t donate, Zhang Group’s reputation will be tarnished, and you’ll have no place to stand."