Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

Kensington, London.

Lu Chen stood in front of the French windows in the study, looking at the rain-soaked lawn in the garden.

It started raining again in London, and it's been raining for three whole days, bringing with it a damp smell in the air.

"Ring ring—"

Just then, the phone rang.

The person on the other end of the phone was the private secretary of 10 Downing Street, and her voice was very businesslike.

"Mr. Lu, the Prime Minister asked me to convey to you that the government accepts in principle all three conditions you previously proposed. The Ministry of Finance's exemption arrangement and the Prime Minister's Office statement will officially take effect soon. As for the two people you specifically requested... they will be in your hands tomorrow. This matter ends here."

"Very well, please convey my thanks to His Excellency the Prime Minister," Lu Chen said calmly.

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Lu," the secretary interrupted, "In exchange, His Excellency the Prime Minister has two other conditions."

"Speaking."

"First," the secretary said, "all media outlets under Golden Harvest are prohibited from publishing any statements detrimental to the Prime Minister from this day forward. Second, any policies announced by the Iron Lady in the future will require the support of Golden Harvest Media in terms of public opinion."

Lu Chen listened quietly to his secretary's speech, then looked out the window. Raindrops slanted across the glass, slowly gathering into streaks and sliding down.

"I can agree to the first point."

After all, Lu Chen never intended to completely offend the Iron Lady, and the benefits he had secured were already substantial enough.

"As for the second point..." Lu Chen picked up his Table Mountain tea, "As a news media outlet, the most important thing is to remain independent and objective, free from political interference. Supporting the Prime Minister's policies is acceptable—but only when necessary."

"What does 'when necessary' mean?" The secretary's voice lowered slightly.

"Some things are better left unsaid; saying them too bluntly might hurt each other's feelings," Lu Chen chuckled.

Lu Chen knew what outrageous and absurd thing the Iron Lady would do next year, so naturally he didn't want to be dragged into it. As for the so-called "necessary circumstances," there was a lot of room for interpretation; they could discuss it further when such a situation actually occurred.

There was silence for a few seconds on the other end of the phone.

"Mr. Lu, the Prime Minister will probably find this answer difficult to accept."

"Then please take your time to consider it, Prime Minister," Lu Chen said. "Anyway, we have plenty of time to discuss it."

There was another suffocating silence.

"...Understood, I will relay those words to the Prime Minister."

"Thank you for your trouble."

Lu Chen hung up the phone, looked out the window at the gloomy lawn, and smiled slightly.

"Huizhong".

The domineering woman pushed open the door and came in: "Boss, I'm here."

"The matter is resolved; it's time for us to head to the next stop."

"Understood," Ba Wanghua nodded. "Then when shall we set off?"

"The sooner the better."

After all, there's an important moment to witness in Washington.

……

The following day, Lu Chen's private jet took off from Heathrow Airport, cut through the clouds over the Atlantic Ocean, and landed at LaGuardia Airport in New York on the morning of the 7th.

The cabin door opened, and Tian Yangsheng was the first to come out. After scanning the area to confirm that it was safe, he stepped aside to make way for Lu Chen and the others to disembark.

At the end of the runway, a middle-aged man in his forties had been waiting for a long time. He was wearing a dark suit, without a tie, and his hair was neatly combed. When he saw the cabin door open, he quickly walked over and stretched out his hands from afar.

"Mr. Lu! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come. My father will be very happy."

George Walker Bush, the eldest son of George H.W. Bush.

Lu Chen smiled and shook hands with him firmly: "On such an important day, of course I want to witness it with my own eyes."

Tomorrow will be the day the results of the 51st US presidential election are officially announced. Lu Chen is one of the key financial backers behind George H.W. Bush's bid for the presidency.

Although federal law does not allow foreigners to pay candidates, can a living person be suffocated by urine?

After so many years of elections, politicians and capitalists have long since figured out a sophisticated process for "political donations." Lu Chen had Martin Channing act on his behalf, using a series of complex operations including offshore trusts, nominee companies, and GG sponsorships to perfectly circumvent all regulations, ensuring that every penny flowed into George W. Bush's campaign account.

"Please," George W. Bush stepped aside to open the car door, "Father has been waiting for you at the estate for a long time."

The group boarded the vehicles one by one, and the convoy drove out of the airport, through the streets of New York, and headed toward Bush's hometown—Greenwich, Connecticut.

In a way, the Bush family is a true old-money family.

The rise of this family did not begin with George H.W. Bush, but was already deeply rooted in his grandfather's generation.

Samuel Prescott Bush, the grandfather of George H.W. Bush, was an academic high-achiever. He graduated from the prestigious Stevens Institute of Technology and joined the Pennsylvania Railroad after graduation, starting as an ordinary mechanic in the repair shop and working his way up step by step.

In 1901, Samuel was noticed by the Rockefeller family's political and business circles and invited to Columbus, Ohio, to serve as the general manager of the Buckey Steel Foundry Company, and later rose to the position of president.

After the outbreak of World War I, he was appointed head of the Small Arms and Ammunition Division of the US War Industry Committee, directly responsible for the procurement and allocation of US military munitions. This allowed him to establish key connections in the political and Wall Street arms industry chain.

After World War I, Samuel returned to Columbus, but his influence had extended far beyond local business, gradually moving into politics. He helped found the National Association of Manufacturers and was an early heavyweight member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. During the Great Depression, he was invited by President Hoover to serve as a government advisor.

Prescott Bush, the father of George H.W. Bush, went a step further than Samuel. After graduating from Yale University, he married Dorothy Walker, the daughter of George Herbert Walker, and then joined his father-in-law's financial empire, becoming a partner at Brown Brothers Harriman, a long-established private investment bank on Wall Street.

From 1952 to 1963, he served as a U.S. Senator representing Connecticut, was a close friend of President Eisenhower, and was a representative of the moderate Republican Party at the time. These experiences paved the way for George H.W. Bush's later entry into politics.

Through generations of marriages in the financial and political spheres, the Bush family rapidly rose to become one of the most powerful and influential families in the United States during the first half of the 20th century.

……

The convoy sped along the Long Island coastline and finally arrived at the Bush family estate.

This is a typical American estate, consisting of winding tree-lined paths, a magnificent Georgian brick and stone main building, and rolling green fields.

The heavy cast-iron gates slowly opened, and the convoy drove onto a smooth gravel driveway lined with century-old oak and maple trees, leading directly to the majestic white Corinthian colonnade in front of the main building.

The main building's exterior walls are covered with ancient ivy, and the sloping chimneys emit wisps of smoke in the setting sun, while the backyard extends outwards to an elegant private stable, a clay tennis court, and a landscaped swimming pool hidden among pine trees.

The motorcade came to a stop in front of the main building, where old Bush was already waiting on the steps. He was wearing a light-colored cardigan today, his eyes were slightly dark-rimmed, and he looked somewhat tired.

Upon seeing Lu Chen get out of the car, Old Bush warmly greeted him and patted him on the shoulder: "Mr. Lu, you must be tired from your journey."

Lu Chen glanced at him and joked, "Mr. Bush, judging from your complexion, you probably haven't been sleeping well these past few days."

George H.W. Bush gave a wry smile: "The election is tomorrow, who can sleep soundly?"

The two walked into the living room side by side. The fireplace crackled and popped. Old Bush sat down on the sofa, rubbing his temples. "Although I'm leading in the polls, Dukakis is keeping a close eye on me. I won't be able to relax until the very last minute."

"Dukakis?" Lu Chen took the whiskey from the waiter, a half-smile on his face. "He can't even drive a tank properly."

Old Bush was taken aback, then couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Thank you for your kind words."

The "tank incident" that Lu Chen mentioned refers to a disastrous public relations campaign.

During this year's election, Republican candidate George H.W. Bush attacked Dukakis for being too weak on defense and foreign policy and lacking the ability to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

To refute this stereotype of being "weak in defense," Dukakis specifically planned a public relations campaign in September at the General Dynamics plant in Michigan.

During the event, the diminutive Dukakis donned a tactical jacket and an oversized army protective helmet, sat atop the cab of a moving M1 Abrams main battle tank, and waved and smiled at the media, intending to project an image of a commander who values ​​national defense and is courageous and valiant.

However, this overly stiff and extremely incongruous design made him look like a cartoon character who had stolen an adult's clothes, not only exposing his cowardice in trying to cover up his shortcomings in national defense, but also arousing ridicule from the whole nation.

George H.W. Bush's team quickly seized on this scene, produced a TV montage, and broadcast it across the United States, listing the military plans that Dukakis had opposed in conjunction with the drumbeats, thus solidifying his image as "lacking the qualities of a commander."

"I'm not joking," Lu Chen said with a mysterious smile. "Don't worry, there will definitely be a good result tomorrow."