My absurd experiences in North America over the years

The snow outside the window fell heavier and heavier, and the streetlights on Fifth Avenue lit up one by one, casting orange light onto the glass and projecting the shadows of the two people onto it.

The restaurant was very warm. Ivanka took off her coat, revealing a light gray cashmere sweater. A thin necklace hung above her collarbone, the pendant not inside the neckline, so its shape was not clear.

Li Fu picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said with a smile, "She always exaggerates a bit. Compared to the heroes in the movies, I'm still far from being a match for them."

"Paris didn't say that. She said you could take down some of the gang's strongholds all by yourself," Ivanka said with a hint of seriousness, not like she was joking. It was possible that the Hilton heiress really did say that.

It's been almost three years since Li Fu killed the Mexican thugs on the street, and probably not many people still remember it.

"That's an exaggeration. There were only five or six kidnappers, but the gang has more than that many people," Li Fu put down his wine glass and shook his head. "Besides, if I hadn't fought desperately back then, Lucy might have been dead. At that point, there was no time to consider whether I could win."

Ivanka's fingers tightened slightly on her wine glass, and her gaze held a newfound intensity as she looked at him. "Miss Forrest was so lucky to have a bodyguard like you back then."

"I was lucky to have an employer like her back then. Without her, I might still be washing dishes in some restaurant or fighting in underground boxing matches," Li Fu said, not denying his past.

"Would they risk their own lives for their employers?" Ivanka remarked with deep emotion. "I've seen many bodyguards, and not one of them was truly willing to take a bullet for them."

Bodyguards are, after all, hired for money. They may do their best when there is no danger to their lives, but when it comes to life and death, it all depends on their professional ethics.

Forget about bodyguards; even the Secret Service, which protects the president, is often a step behind in responding.

The snow was still falling outside the window, and the streetlights made the snowflakes look like shattered gold leaf as they fell piece by piece onto the Fifth Avenue pavement.

Someone was playing the piano in the restaurant; the piece was very slow, and it was the prelude to "As Time Goes By".

At this moment, Ivanka couldn't help but think of her relationship with Jared Kushner, whose romance was an arranged marriage between their two families from the very beginning.

Both are well-known real estate tycoons in New York.

"It's a pity that while money is easy to come by, a good match is hard to find," she said, picking up her wine glass and gently shaking her head.

She is a wealthy heiress, a well-known socialite in the United States, and in terms of wealth, in addition to part of her inheritance from the Trump family, she also has her own brand and business team, which is beyond the reach of celebrities.

She certainly has the right to lament that priceless treasures are easy to find, but true love is hard to come by. Perhaps she also had the thought of disregarding everything for love during her teenage years.

However, as time went by, she, like most people, chose to compromise with reality.

True love treats the poor and the rich equally; if you don't find it, you simply don't.

Emotions that are not defeated by money and hardship are extremely rare, and more often than not, such emotions are one-sided, which makes it even more poignant.

Those who desire it cannot obtain it, while those who possess it are often unaware of it.

This is probably the source of the tragedy of humankind.

Li Fu was aware of Ivanka and Kushner's complicated relationship and knew that they had broken up because of their religious beliefs.

This is precisely the perfect opportunity for him to prevent Trump and Jewish financial groups from colluding with him.

"I believe that emotions and respect are two-way. Any self-centered thoughts and behaviors are a disguised form of obliterating emotions and respect. If you always uphold this concept, I think you will eventually meet your soulmate," he said, expressing his views in the simplest of words.

But in fact, he was alluding to something, even directly targeting the emotional vulnerabilities of Ivanka and Jared Kushner's relationship.

Ivanka smiled slightly, but the smile was tinged with bitterness. "Let me ask you a question: If your lover asked you to change your faith for her, would you?"

Li Fu has no religious beliefs. If someone tries to persuade him to convert, he will refuse to even look at them.

What the hell? I'm a socialist successor born under the red flag and raised in the spring breeze. What are you talking to me about demons and monsters? You've taken too many drugs!

Of course, we can't be so blunt at this moment.

Who can blame them when America is such a religious country!

This is especially true for traditional white families.

"Didn't I say before that feelings and respect are two-way? If the other person puts this kind of pressure on me, then she not only disrespects me, but also my beliefs. I'm already showing some restraint by not kicking her out of the house."

Li Fu shrugged, indicating that there was no point in discussing it further.

Ivanka chuckled at his words. She put down her glass, looked at Li Fu, and said, "Indeed, this behavior disrespects neither me nor my beliefs..."

She realized she had let something slip as soon as she finished speaking and immediately fell silent.

"So your boyfriend Jared Kushner asked you to convert to Judaism?" Li Fu pretended not to know they had broken up.

Ivanka sighed. "He's not my boyfriend anymore. We broke up a while ago."

His father, Trump, is an evangelical Catholic, or at least that's what he publicly claims. Conservative white families tend to be more devout in their religious beliefs.

The Kushner family demanded that she follow their rules, including learning Jewish doctrines and receiving baptism from a rabbi.

So, she couldn't take it anymore and broke up with him.

"Is that so? I'm sorry to bring up your painful memories," Li Fu said, of course he knew about these things, but he pretended not to.

"It's all in the past, there's nothing to be sad about," Ivanka said magnanimously. "You're absolutely right. What Kushner did was not only disrespectful to me, but also to our family's beliefs. I'm not going to be sad about something like that."

Li Fu was secretly pleased; his "sowing discord" tactic had finally been somewhat effective.

"Yes! People always have to move forward, like our upcoming comprehensive and in-depth cooperation," he raised his glass, "Let's join hands and make a name for ourselves in New York."

Ivanka smiled and raised her glass, "Yes, now it's time for us to join hands and make our mark in New York."

To be honest, she had limited affection for the Kushner family.

Jared's father, Jared Kushner Sr., was a notorious figure with connections to both the legal and illegal worlds, and was deeply involved in the complex political circles of their family's home state of New Jersey.

It's no exaggeration to call him a major donor to the Democratic Party.

Kushner Sr. raised over $150 million for then-Governor James McGreevey, making him McGreevey's biggest fundraiser, and was subsequently promoted to a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Several years ago, he and his family channeled more than $300 million in political donations to various political campaigns in the local area through a complex “cheque-tying” operation.

While Trump sometimes donates to Democrats, it is mostly for business reasons.

He was, after all, in New York, the blue state of Ironclad.

Whether it's personal inclinations or political demands, he is a staunch supporter of the Republican Party.

Ivanka is his "eldest princess," whom he has been grooming, so her political leanings naturally lean towards the Republican Party.

She and Kushner also have major disagreements on this point.

Kushner's real stain wasn't his collusion with Democratic politicians, but his despicable actions, which even led to his imprisonment.

In 2004, Charles Kushner faced a federal investigation for charges including illegal political donations and tax evasion.

The instigator of all this was his brother-in-law, William Schulder, who had worked for him. Schulder and his wife, Esther Kushner, had long been bullied by the elder Kushner and decided to retaliate.

Instead of trying to remedy the situation, Kushner implemented a sophisticated plan of revenge and intimidation.

No one knows what he was thinking at the time, that he actually hired a beautiful prostitute through a private investigator to seduce Schulte, and then secretly recorded the whole process in the hotel.

Even more outrageous, he actually sent the videotape to his sister Esther, attempting to destroy their marriage.

As a result, the couple sent the videotape directly to the FBI. Chris Christie, then the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New Jersey, considered the case the most abhorrent and disgusting crime he had ever handled and spearheaded the prosecution.

Ultimately, Kushner was imprisoned on 18 federal felonies, including tax evasion, witness tampering, and making illegal political donations.

Of course, he was later pardoned by Trump.

But that was in 2020. Even now, Kushner is still considered a despicable person in the industry.

Li Fu knew about the Kushner family in his previous life, after all, Trump's popularity at that time was so great that no other celebrity could compare.

Anything related to him was magnified infinitely.

He was certainly aware that the Kushner family was now in financial crisis after buying 666 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan for a staggering $18 billion in 2007.

Of the $12 billion in this massive transaction, $1.2 billion came from huge loans from consortia such as Barclays Capital, with extremely high interest rates.

After the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, sales of the standalone office building apartments collapsed, and rental expectations were halved. This gamble quickly turned into a cash pit that "devoured the family".

Then strike while the iron is hot and kill him.

Li Fu decided that, if necessary, he would drive the Kushner family out of the New York real estate market and send them back to New Jersey.

Of course, now is not the time.

He subtly and without leaving a trace guided Ivanka away from the Kushner family, and he was willing to use his charm if necessary.

Ivanka had indeed made up her mind at that moment, and the dinner was quite pleasant.

They talked about everything from real estate to life, from life to relationships, and from relationships to cooperation. In a way, they opened their hearts to each other and spoke their minds freely.

Late at night, Li Fu took Ivanka back to her residence, while he was picked up by Thompson and taken back to his hotel.

The company's legal team will arrive in New York tomorrow, and once the contract is signed, their cooperation with the Trump family will be a done deal.

Out of caution, he had Thompson hire a security company to ensure nothing went wrong.

Trump also took this night very seriously.

He inquired about some details of Ivanka's dinner, hoping to use them to determine if Li Fu had ulterior motives.

Of course, if Li Fu really did have it, as long as it wasn't too outrageous, he would reluctantly admit it.

The $1 billion investment, plus the $200 million from the sale of a 35% stake in the Trump Hotel & Tower in Chicago, is not only a lifeline but also a rare opportunity for rapid growth.

But it seems that Li Fu has no other purpose.

Even his conversations with Ivanka were restrained and polite.

He was very confident in his daughter's beauty.

"Please put more effort into the cooperation from now on. I'll be in charge of all the work from now on," Trump said, giving Ivanka unprecedented power.

He himself planned to meet with those politicians and try to secure some municipal engineering projects.

In the current context, those high-ranking municipal officials have to treat him like a god of wealth, and that's the kind of moment he enjoys most.

The next day, the legal coordination went smoothly, and after the contract was signed, the huge sum of $1.2 billion was immediately transferred to the Trump Organization's corporate account.

Li Fu and Ivanka both breathed a sigh of relief.

The former is because he knows that Trump will become the White House master who stirs up a red tide and shouts "Make America Great Again" eight years later, and his connection with the Trump family is a grand strategy.

The latter is because everything has settled down, the Trump family has not only escaped the financial crisis, but is also able to make great strides, and the family's resurgence seems imminent.

Her story, and that of the youngest new tycoon, seems to have only just begun.

Li Fu returned to Nashville by flight at noon that day, and Ivanka personally saw him off at the airport.

In the afternoon, as soon as he sat down in his office, Lina handed him a new investment plan.

Based on the general direction given by Li Fu, she and her team conducted some research and concluded that now was a good time to get involved with Time Warner and Tribune.

If Li Fu wants to control the media discourse in the future, these two companies are unavoidable.

Their market value plummeted due to the financial crisis.

Time Warner's stock price has been halved, its market capitalization has dropped by more than half, and the current stock price is only $7.07 per share.

If one billion US dollars were invested in the stock market, it would be possible to buy approximately 1.41 million shares, representing about 3.9% of the total share capital.

At that time, Warner Bros. owned a series of top content assets, including Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO, CNN, TNT, TBS, and Cartoon Network. Warner Bros.' film library was the most valuable movie IP treasure trove in Hollywood, including films such as Harry Potter and Batman.

At the same time, it is also regarded by the public as a "giant with extremely dispersed shareholding and no absolute controlling person".

In 2005, Carl Icahn, a Wall Street barbarian, nearly took control of Time Warner's board of directors with a 3.5% stake.

3.9% seems to have more room for maneuver.

Tribune is another behemoth that was completely dragged down by a high-leverage acquisition during the financial crisis and is currently teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

At this point, buying stocks is pointless. Lina suggests buying its junk bonds at a low price, becoming a major creditor, and exchanging debt for equity through bankruptcy reorganization to ultimately control this century-old newspaper giant at a minimal cost.

At this point, the junk bonds issued by the Forum Newspapers might only be worth slightly more than waste paper.

These are the two most important steps in Li Fu's strategy to build media influence, following his investment in The New York Times. Meanwhile, Time Warner and Tribune are struggling at a historical turning point due to the unprecedented financial crisis.