Shanghai Jiao Tong University's future entrustment app: I will take my motherland flying.

Chapter 154 Grandpa Charles, you're right, I've indeed lost my way lately.

Ok?
The room fell silent the moment Charles spoke.

Song Zhining blinked, looked at Charles, and suddenly understood after Charles explained.

Yes, I heard before that to participate in the Tianyuan Charity Auction, you need to have items to bid on.

Song Zhi Ning didn't know what to give as a gift. Thinking that there were several boxes of diamonds in the sunken ship, she thought of having Charles pick one to send to the auction.

But she didn't know which one Charles picked, its size, or its color.

"My God, that blue diamond was actually an item you gifted to us, Ningning!" Li Jing and Shen Xingyi were both very surprised.

"How could you bear to donate such a valuable blue diamond as an auction item?"

That blue diamond is conservatively estimated to be worth billions.

That's billions!

Song Zhining blinked. "Valuable? It's alright."

After all, she had several boxes of diamonds and jewelry in the shipwreck; she wasn't short of diamonds.

Moreover, she remembered telling Grandpa Charles that the item sent for auction was of medium quality.

She remembered that a medium-sized diamond was about the size of an egg.

There were many diamonds that size in that box, and even some larger ones, like the size of a fist.

Remembering that Li Jing had just said he wanted a diamond as a birthday gift for his mother, Song Zhi Ning asked, "Jing, what color does your mother like?"

"Ah, Ningning, you mean..."

“I have quite a few. I’ll give you one; you can keep it as a gift for your aunt.”

"No, no, it's too valuable." Li Jing was shocked. That was a diamond worth billions! How could he accept it!

Before Song Zhining could say anything more, Charles suddenly spoke up, "Miss, may I speak with you alone?"

Song Zhining was taken aback. She knew that under normal circumstances, Charles would not easily interrupt her, nor would his expression be so serious.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Song Zhining nodded and then went to a room next door with Charles.

“Miss, to be honest, Charles doesn’t agree with you giving such an expensive diamond to your friend.” Charles stated his opinion directly.

"Why?" Song Zhining asked.

“Young Miss, it is true that you have diamonds of that size, or even larger ones.”

"But others don't have it."

“Giving away one or two diamonds of this size is nothing to you, but are you sure you want to test the friendship between you and your friend with diamonds worth billions?”

"If it were you, and your friend gave you something worth billions, could you accept it without any guilt? Wouldn't you think about how to reciprocate? But a return gift worth billions isn't something everyone can easily afford. If you can't afford it, can a friendship worth billions still be considered equal?" Charles said.

Charles's words were like a thunderclap, instantly exploding in Song Zhi Ning's mind and clearing her head, which had been somewhat unclear lately.

Song Zhining realized that Charles was right.

Since binding herself to the Future Entrustment app, her wealth has increased day by day. Especially after acquiring hundreds of billions of dollars in assets and the treasures from the sunken ship, she seems to value wealth less.

It's as if money is just a string of numbers to her.

Even though she has spent a lot of money on investments and retirement savings, Song Zhining firmly believes that as long as she has the app, she can continue to create wealth.

But what if one day, the app disappears just as suddenly as it appeared?

What about all the promises she made?
Song Zhining knew that she was just an ordinary person, and all the extraordinary things about her were because of the app.

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Song Zhi Ning's eyes cleared up instantly.

"Grandpa Charles, you're right. I've really been a bit lost lately." "Miss, diamonds are fine, but not billions. You can give me some jewelry worth millions or tens of millions." Charles felt a pang of sympathy seeing Song Zhi Ning like this.

He knew that the young lady was kind, but she was, after all, an ordinary person with limited experience, so it was understandable that she might not have considered things thoroughly.

"Actually, Charles should have reminded you about pensions too..."

Next, Charles discussed the drawbacks of establishing the "Song Family Pension Fund".

Admittedly, Song Zhining's intention was to help those poor elderly people in rural areas, but on the one hand, she overstepped her authority, as these tasks should be handled by the Jia Kingdom government; on the other hand, there are so many elderly people in Jia Kingdom that even with added screening criteria, there are still quite a few.

As the population ages further, even more money will be needed.

It might add up to an astronomical figure.

Charles carefully analyzed the situation for Song Zhi Ning.

Song Zhining listened quietly the whole time.

The more I listened, the more chills ran down my spine.

“…It’s also Charles’s fault. He should have told you all this back then.” Charles’s eyes were full of guilt.

There are some things that the young lady doesn't know, but he does.

Although he was confident he could protect the young lady, he figured he could always go live in Country A if necessary.

But through their recent interactions, Charles could see the young lady's feelings for Jia Guo, as well as her family and friends living there.

"Grandpa Charles, it was my oversight." Song Zhi Ning admitted that her understanding was indeed limited, and she had acted too impulsively, thinking about many things too quickly and idealistically.

"Grandpa Charles, is there anything I can do to make amends?" Song Zhi Ning asked humbly.

"Of course." Charles was very pleased with Song Zhi Ning's humble request for advice.

The young lady is kind and willing to learn.

She doesn't know how, so he, as the housekeeper, has to do his best to teach her.

"This pension matter cannot be handled in Miss's personal name; it must be handled in the name of the Jia Kingdom government."

"Charle's suggestion is to advise the Jia Kingdom government to take the lead in this matter, even if it's just in name, and then find other philanthropists to donate together to make it happen."

“Miss, if you are comfortable with this, then we will leave it to Charles, although it may require some financial sacrifices.”

"Yes, Grandpa Charles, I'm counting on you for this. I'll be more careful from now on."

"Then, Miss, I'll have someone go and fetch the jewelry right away."

"it is good."

After talking with Charles, Song Zhi Ning went back to the private room first, while Charles went to make a phone call.

Li Jing and Shen Xingyi inexplicably felt that Song Zhining seemed to have changed in some way after returning from her trip.

Upon returning, Song Zhining told Li Jing and Shen Xingyi that instead of giving them such a large diamond, she would give them jewelry and diamonds of lower value.

Li Jing and Shen Xingyi both breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

A while later, Charles returned, bringing with him Shao Hongyu, the owner of Tianyuan Charity Auction House.

After learning that Song Zhining had given them a nearly two-thousand-carat blue diamond to auction, he had been thinking about getting to know her ever since.

Sure enough, he came immediately after learning that Song Zhining had arrived.

Even though Shao Hongyu, who held a high position among the other big shots, was very respectful and humble towards Song Zhining, despite being a full twelve years older than her.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Wishing you all peace, health, and happiness in the new year! [The previous version's section on pensions and giving diamonds to friends was too idealistic; it has been revised. Thank you for the suggestions, I know you want the book to be better, thank you.]