I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

Seeing that this place was not suitable for her to stay any longer, Linxi turned around and left.

He took a few things from the office, and as he passed Xu Yun's room, he could faintly hear arguing coming from inside.

"Why didn't you say goodbye before coming back?" I ran into an old acquaintance as soon as I went downstairs.

"Shh, keep your voice down, it's noisy inside." Linxi made a shushing gesture.

"Hehe, what's there to be afraid of? The association has grown big now, so naturally there are many envious people. As long as we're willing to share some profits, they won't interfere too much. As for those slogans and propaganda, they're just for show. So many big companies do this, and if we go it alone, we'll just stand out. If you ask me, as long as we can make money, it doesn't matter if the methods are a bit ugly." The tall, thin young man leaned against the wall and chuckled.

“We’re all back from overseas, don’t oversimplify things. They may not be as good as us at making money, but when it comes to infighting… we might not be their match. By the way, how’s the cooperation with the major e-commerce platforms going? I heard there have been some problems lately.” Linxi pulled the young man into an empty room.

"As long as you can maintain good relations with the higher-ups, someone will cover for you if anything goes wrong, and things will naturally go smoothly for me."

"Making good relationships? Easier said than done. Even if Xu Yun and I can put on a show, what about the other members of the association? If the overall style is off-putting, the number of people will dwindle. Besides, we deal with international affairs every day. Forcing people to adapt to our system could greatly reduce opportunities for cooperation." Lin Xi frowned.

“You are the three leaders of the association, so you can decide these things yourselves. Alright, I’m going to see how their argument is going.” The young man shrugged, waved his hand, opened the door, and went out.

“That guy…” Watching his departing figure, Linxi felt uneasy.

At that moment, in a building more than ten kilometers away from the headquarters of the Overseas Returnees Association, a discussion about the Youth Overseas Returnees Association was taking place.

The association is currently enjoying great popularity and has already attracted the attention of various departments and organizations.

"The Youth Returnees Association has grown larger than several listed companies combined. I believe this type of organization must be strictly controlled. From what I understand, they operate as companies under the guise of an association, and there are serious tax evasion issues!" said a square-faced man with thinning hair, holding a document.

“For example?” a woman asked.

“Take foreign trade for example. The scale of foreign trade in the Overseas Returnees Association far exceeds that of ordinary enterprises. They act as intermediaries between upstream and downstream businesses and collect intermediary fees, but these transactions are conducted through private accounts and are not reported for tax purposes at all. In addition, they have in-depth cooperation with major e-commerce platforms, so the tax issues in this regard are even more obvious.” The man said seriously.

The woman chuckled softly after hearing this, but remained silent. The implication was clear: the reason was far-fetched.

"The Overseas Returnees Association plays a very important role, especially in attracting overseas investment. I don't understand why some people always want to find fault with them. If you really want to investigate tax evasion, you should investigate the big companies first," said a bespectacled, refined-looking middle-aged man, taking a sip of tea.

The square-faced man retorted, "What do you mean by 'finding problems'? You can't just show favoritism because the Overseas Returnees Association has contributed to your department! We need to be realistic! Even if there's no tax evasion, their scale is far too large. Everyone knows what happened before. Can you guarantee where these people returning from abroad are headed? If we don't manage them more strictly, who will be responsible if it involves national security?"

He paused, then his tone became more serious: "Besides, there's just too much foreign capital in China right now. Banking, manufacturing, internet technology—which sector doesn't have foreign investment? To put it bluntly, if this continues, in a few years, the positions we're in will probably be taken over by foreigners!"

"Foreign investment is beneficial to economic development. It shows that we are aligning with international standards, which is a good thing. I don't understand what you're worried about. Overseas Chinese are ultimately of the same origin as us. Many people come back to invest and start businesses, not necessarily to make money, but with the intention of building their hometown. If your words get out, won't you discourage them? Who will want to come back in the future?" The bespectacled man shrugged.

"Ha, they chose to go abroad in the first place, so what are they coming back for? Isn't it just for the benefits? You make them sound so noble."

"To put it bluntly, if you can eat your fill at home, who would want to go out and make a living? You should reflect on your own reasons."

"What...what are you saying!" The square-faced man was so angry that his face turned red.

He wanted to argue further, but was interrupted by a man resembling Maitreya Buddha: "Ahem, let me say a few words... What you both say makes sense. From what I understand, the rising bad debt ratio and frequent loan withdrawals in banks are related to the financial companies controlled by the Youth Returnees Association. If this continues, the economy may really be in serious trouble..."

New House.

After burying Chen Kaiwen, the father and son sat in the car.

"What did your grandfather say to you before he passed away?" Chen Yifeng had been holding back this question for a long time, and only now did he finally ask it.

“Grandpa said he gave birth to three idiots,” Chen Xi replied, suppressing a laugh.

That's true, but Chen Kaiwen said it in a fit of anger in his previous life.

"Hmph, go back and tell your mother to stop pulling tricks behind your back. Leo came to see me the other day and said that Germany is planning to terminate its cooperation with Huade. I understand, they definitely want to switch to Sinde. But I'm telling you this: it won't be long before I turn things around." Chen Yifeng leaned back in his chair, his voice low.

"Oh? What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? You must be getting pretty badly pressured by the banks by now." Chen Xi rubbed his nose.

The financial company's cash flow has dried up, and Chen Yifeng must have secretly misappropriated Huade's funds to fill the hole. Now, talking about turning things around is nothing but self-comfort.

“My money isn’t so easy to take… Whether it’s the bank or anyone else, they’ll have to give back whatever they’ve taken.” Chen Yifeng paused for a few seconds when he mentioned “others,” his expression slightly embarrassed.

"you……"

"Alright, alright, I need to take this call." Chen Yifeng's phone suddenly rang; it was his lawyer calling. He quickly interrupted his son and gestured for the caller to get out of the car.

Chen Xi said nothing more, opened the car door and got out. He glanced back at his father, who was on the phone, shrugged, and turned to get into his own car. Late at night, at home.

Chen Xi connected with Jia Riting and Musk via video call.

"The situation isn't good. Ever since the owners of those companies, including Huang Feihong's, joined the fray, the number of white people in the area supporting them has skyrocketed." Musk took a sip of water, his expression grave.

"Isn't Huang Feihong of Chinese descent? How come someone of a different ethnicity has infiltrated our camp?" Chen Xi lit a cigarette.

“He is indeed of Chinese descent, but he’s also white and educated! This guy was born in the Bay Area, so he speaks a completely different set of rhetoric. After being invited to the Black House, he immediately pledged his loyalty, so of course that fat guy had to reward him with a sweet treat in order to attract more elite Asians to his side. Now I understand, that fat guy wanted to separate elite Asians from ordinary Asians,” Jia Riting explained.

"What are your plans next?" Chen Xi asked.

"We must speed things up and release a bombshell announcement in the media to divert or suppress negative public opinion. This is a common tactic in China, you know. But it will take time, and we may not be able to hold out until then," Jia Riting said, stroking his chin.

"Since you want to control public opinion, why not try a different approach? The Black House can influence traditional media, so you can control social media. For example, acquire Twitter."

"Wouldn't that take even more time?" Musk thought it was feasible, but an acquisition was not something that could be done overnight.

“As long as you spread the word, Twitter’s shareholders will naturally curry favor and secretly clean up any content that’s unfavorable to you. Besides, I don’t think there’s that much time to spare. Maybe in a few days, a new force will jump out and attack that fat guy. This matter involves too many people.” Chen Xi snapped his fingers.

"What do you mean?" Both of them were taken aback.

"We'll see."

Just as the three were talking, on the other side of the ocean, at the US-Mexico border.

The iron-gray twilight pressed heavily upon the desert, and rust-red sand swirled in the dry wind.

The massive crane boom emitted a metallic wail as it slowly lifted a five-meter-high iron fence, like driving a cold, enormous coffin nail into the earth.

The dull thud startled a flock of black-feathered birds in the distance.

The workers silently tightened the base bolts, beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads and dripping onto the sign that read "Federal Project, Keep Out of Reach".

A young engineer unfolds a blueprint, the drawings rustling in the wind.

He pointed to the dotted line extending forward on the map and said to the foreman, "At this rate, we'll be able to connect to the old wall section next month."

Construction of the wall on the US-Mexico border began many years ago, and some have called it the American version of the Great Wall. Despite being pushed forward by two leaders, the wall was built, but nothing further was done.

First, the investment was too high; second, the results were minimal, and it even provoked opposition both domestically and internationally. Mexican illegal immigrants hated it, and the American public was also dissatisfied. Building the wall required land acquisition, and many landowners refused to sell, which led to legal procedures for forced acquisition, which was denounced as forced demolition by opponents.

Early border walls were low and short, making it easy for migrants to scale them with ladders, dig tunnels, or cut through the wall. More daring and violent individuals would simply force their way through, as smuggling wasn't just for immigration; it also included "delivery" of goods.

With goods loaded in the truck, people naturally need to carry weapons for self-defense, so gunfights in this area are nothing new.

This border wall is a new generation of border wall that was promoted by the fat man after he came to power. It is more solid and longer than the previous walls.

"What's that?" The engineer was suddenly drawn by a loud noise.

He put down the blueprints and looked into the distance, where a long, dark convoy of cars was sweeping in from the horizon.

The guards on guard duty were on high alert, and they all raised their guns. The captain grabbed the walkie-talkie and urgently called for backup.

"Quick! Use the vehicles to block the gap!" The captain shouted hoarsely as he put down the walkie-talkie.

However, all this is in vain.

The convoy was too large and was already upon them in the blink of an eye.

A guard fired a warning shot into the air, but was met with a burst of bullets, which startled him so much that he fell to the ground and dared not look up.

Forced by strict orders from their superiors, the captain had no choice but to order an interception.

"Da da da!"

In an instant, intense gunfire erupted beneath the border wall, sending sparks and dust flying through the air. (End of Chapter)