"I suggest we hold a charity auction. It should be able to raise a substantial amount of funds," Ivanka proposed on the flight to China.
Gilbert agreed, "Sure. Let's first go and assess the situation, and when we return, we can organize a charity auction."
Jennifer Connelly added, "Vivian is holding a concert in China. According to her social media, she plans to donate all proceeds from her tour in China."
"Wow! That's no small sum," Gilbert said with a smile. "Our Vivian is truly a kind-hearted punk princess."
Previously, Gilbert had personally traveled to China, partly for disaster relief and partly to boost his reputation. In both the East and West, the title of a philanthropist is clearly very useful.
After more than ten hours of flight, the plane landed at Beijing International Airport.
The relevant authorities had already received the news and arranged reporters for interviews and coverage.
Upon stepping off the plane, Gilbert was warmly welcomed. Several days had passed since the incident, and people across Chinese society were actively donating money and supplies, showing what it means for a community to support those in need.
As the first international figure to donate and express concern, Gilbert naturally received official attention, especially since he personally traveled to China.
The second-ranking official in the foreign affairs department welcomed Gilbert on site, and Gilbert gave a brief interview with the central television network.
"I'm from California and have experienced the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake.
Although the damage from both was not severe, they gave me firsthand experience of the power of seismic disasters.
Disasters are merciless, but people have compassion. From the moment I heard the news, I immediately arranged for the Fruit Charity Foundation to initiate fundraising and personally came here to visit and console the people in the affected areas.
What I want to say is that, no matter what, all kind-hearted people in the world stand with those affected by this disaster."
Afterward, both sides took a group photo on site, and Gilbert first went to his hotel to rest. The next day, Gilbert was received by an official, and in the afternoon held a press conference.
He then flew by private jet to Chengdu, personally presenting a plaque showing 83.76 million RMB to the top local authority in front of the media.
This represented Gilbert's donation of ten million dollars, converted into RMB to make the sum appear larger.
Gilbert also told the Chinese media, "I am actively mobilizing the charitable power of North America. Large amounts of funds and disaster relief supplies will arrive soon."
That evening at 7 p.m., the news covered Gilbert's actions.
For safety reasons, Gilbert did not enter the disaster area, and in any case, he was not allowed. There is no denying a certain performative aspect, but Gilbert's intentions were genuine.
As the saying goes, a gentleman judges deeds, not intentions. Moreover, he truly hoped that these funds could do some good.
Afterward, Gilbert flew to Shanghai, where Avril Lavigne was holding a concert. She was very pleased to see Gilbert.
"Did you go to the disaster area?" she asked.
"No, mainly because it was too dangerous, and they wouldn't allow me to go," Gilbert replied.
"That makes sense," Avril Lavigne said. "I donated all the proceeds from my concert in China."
"I know that," Gilbert said with a smile. "How would you like me to reward you?"
"No need, but…" Avril Lavigne touched her lips thoughtfully.
"But what?"
Holding Gilbert's arm and with her eyes sparkling, she said, "For my next album, can you direct a music video for me?"
"You want me to be your MV director?"
"Yes," Avril Lavigne nodded. "Not only the director, but also the lead. I want to shoot a kissing scene and a passionate scene."
"Uh!" Gilbert was speechless. "We have kissing and passionate scenes at home every day."
"No, I just want them in the MV," she said.
The punk princess's coquettishness is hard for anyone to resist.
Gilbert had no choice but to agree, "OK, OK, anything you want!"
"Hehehe!" Avril Lavigne gave a triumphant smile.
Gilbert did not stay long in China before flying back to Los Angeles. By then, discussions in North America about whether Gilbert was a traitor had subsided because Washington praised him.
"He is a patriot, a great fighter for freedom, kind, just, and compassionate. He is our beloved Hollywood director: Gilbert Landrini…"
Indeed, upon returning to Los Angeles, Gilbert was once again called to Washington to receive an inexplicable award from an outgoing official.
Gilbert found this baffling but later realized that the Blue Party was far ahead, and the next era belonged to them.
Gilbert's actions in the Blue Party's California base had earned him favor with the Red Party, and given the tremendous impact of The Dark Knight this year, they decided to present him with an award.
This served both to create a rift between Gilbert and the Blue Party and to signal that the Red Party still supported him.
After the odd award ceremony, Gilbert returned to Los Angeles and held a charity auction at the Hilton Hotel.
The auction not only attracted Hollywood celebrities, but also Silicon Valley magnates, as well as representatives from Wall Street and established financial groups.
"Representatives from Wall Street and several financial groups said they want to speak with you privately," Ivanka reported.
Gilbert frowned, "Privately? What's there to discuss?"
"I guess they realized you can't be controlled so easily, so they want to stabilize you, maybe even bring you into their club," Ivanka speculated, making Gilbert even less pleased.
"It's been a while. Is it too late? Well, let's meet them first and stabilize things," he said.
The signs of a subprime crisis had already appeared. As insiders, Wall Street and the financial groups felt it more acutely.
This was clearly not the time to provoke Gilbert, so it might also be a truce and a way to see if they could gain some benefits from him.
In the meeting room, Gilbert met the representatives from Wall Street and several financial groups.
"Director Gilbert, I've admired you for a long time. It's an honor to meet you today."
"Thank you," Gilbert shook hands with them, and they sat down.
After the assistant served coffee, one of them introduced himself: "I'm Isaac Johnson, head of Quantum Hedge Fund. We come with sincerity today."
Gilbert remained unfazed, "Oh? I'd like to hear about this sincerity of yours."
Isaac Johnson smiled, "I think you'll like the terms I propose. We are currently negotiating with Warner Bros., planning to acquire the remaining shares of Melon Studios from them. At that point, we would become partners."
Gilbert had heard of this, but when Melon Studios was being acquired, he had kept a safeguard.
If Warner or Disney intended to sell Melon Studios' shares, he had the right of first refusal.
Because of this, the shares of Melon Studios had not fallen into unrelated hands.
Seeing Isaac Johnson so confident, almost condescending, Gilbert smiled faintly, "Sorry, I'm afraid you won't have that opportunity."
Isaac Johnson's smile froze. "What do you mean?"
"I mean Melon Studios does not allow any outsiders to interfere. Do you understand?"
Isaac Johnson felt a jolt. He sensed that today's discussion would not go smoothly.
...
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