“Auntie, don’t make it sound so terrifying.
I bet the files handed to you included a tax payment certificate from the IRS, right?
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be you coming to find me—the FBI would’ve sent some burly, cold-faced agent to talk to me about tax issues.” Qin Zhong understood Tony’s style of handling things quite well.
To ensure Qin Zhong could spend the money legally, Tony would definitely make sure everything was fully compliant.
New York State didn’t have a gift tax, but the federal government did, and it was quite high—40%.
Would Tony be willing to spend an extra $80 million to ensure Qin Zhong’s money was completely legal?
Qin Zhong felt he was worth Tony spending that money.
Tony didn’t disappoint him either.
When transferring the money, he paid an extra $80 million directly for taxes.
That meant Qin Zhong’s $200 million was purely a personal gift from Tony—neither earned income nor routed through complex operations.
It was simply a senior schoolmate looking out for his junior and giving him some pocket money.
(Tax details will only be explained once.
This isn’t a business novel; any money Qin Zhong gets later can be spent directly, though later parts won’t focus on making money.) As for the Ten Rings terrorists, Qin Zhong went to Afghanistan for a vacation, ran into terrorists, and fought back—was that excessive?
Not at all; under United States law, it was entirely reasonable and legal.
Saving Tony was just incidental.
As fellow New Yorkers meeting far away in Afghanistan, “when hometown folks meet hometown folks, they pull guns on each other”—nobody could find fault with that.
Tina kicked Qin Zhong twice.
Qin Zhong just grinned, feeling no pain at all.
Qin Zhong certainly understood Tina’s concern, but this trip to Afghanistan really wasn’t all that dangerous for him.
Even if he encountered something uncontrollable, once he wanted to run, his sprint speed was fast enough that the enemy couldn’t lock onto him.
By the time a missile launched, he would have already run out of its range.
“I know, I know.” Facing his elder, Qin Zhong surrendered.
“There won’t be a next time.” Indeed, there wouldn’t be a next time.
Soon, New York would have its own superhero—Iron Man would emerge in a few days.
Qin Zhong wasn’t particularly interested in playing the dark knight vigilante game, so he definitely wouldn’t get involved in anything dangerous.
Only then did Tina let him off the hook.
“Think about Gwen.
You two are still very young, and she loves you deeply.
You’re about to get engaged, so don’t make her sad.” Qin Zhong nodded, indicating he deeply realized his mistake.
Looking at Qin Zhong, who she had known was thick-skinned from the moment they met, Tina felt a bit helpless.
She could only hope the young man would listen to her advice and not meddle in strange affairs.
Working at the FBI, she knew about certain unusual events in the world; this world was far more dangerous than people imagined.
When the two returned to the house, they heard Uncle Ben and Henry, Qin Zhong’s future father-in-law, engaged in a heated debate.
Henry felt that since Gwen was his only daughter, if Qin Zhong wanted to marry her, he should live permanently at the farm to safeguard her future inheritance—essentially marrying into the family.
Uncle Ben felt that a real man shouldn’t live beneath someone else’s roof.
He had his own savings, and Qin Zhong was capable enough to let Gwen live free of constraints as a happy, carefree wife—essentially a full-time homemaker.
Meanwhile, Aunt May and his future mother-in-law, Alyssa, were sitting with Gwen on the sofa, whispering among themselves.
Seeing Qin Zhong come in, they hurriedly waved him over.
Alyssa had long regarded Qin Zhong as her own son.
She pulled him over and patted the space next to her.
“Zhong, how many invitations do I need to prepare for you?
How many of your mentors and classmates should we invite?
Calculate it quickly and give me the list so we don’t leave anyone out.
That would be terribly rude.” Qin Zhong did the math.
He didn’t actually know many people, mainly because his routine was overly simple.
As for classmates, he only knew a few from high school, but they were all in the same circle as Gwen, so Gwen could handle sending those invitations.
He only needed to invite his high school lab mentor and a few close colleagues.
His college life was even simpler.
He only needed to invite the big shot Josh.
He didn’t have a lab partner, so he wasn’t close to anyone else there.
Then there was Tony.
Giving him two invitations would be enough.
Dr.
Ho Yinsen had gone through life and death with him, so he had to be invited as well.
As for whom Tony would bring, Qin Zhong didn’t care.
Whether Tony and Pepper’s relationship had blossomed by now wasn’t really his concern.
Adding it all up, it wasn’t even ten people.
When he told his mother-in-law, Alyssa acknowledged it.
Then Qin Zhong brought up another matter: the betrothal gifts.
“In China, custom demands three letters and six etiquettes.
Gwen and I fell in love freely, and when in Rome, we do as the Romans do, but I feel I should still provide a proper betrothal gift.” At this, Henry and Uncle Ben stopped arguing and turned to look at Qin Zhong.
Tina rolled her eyes.
Right now, she and Charles were the only ones who knew Qin Zhong had $200 million.
“First, I respect Gwen’s wishes.
Whether she wants to inherit the farm in the future or choose a different lifestyle, as her future partner, I will support her fully.” First, he resolved the dispute between Henry and Uncle Ben.
“Second, I must ask Uncle Henry for a favor.” Henry raised his chin.
“I’d like you to check if any neighboring farms are for sale or if the owners are interested in selling.
We can negotiate.
Up to $100 million—buy as large a land as possible.
Of course, it’ll be registered under Gwen’s name.
This is my guarantee to her.” “HOLY…
Qin Zhong, did you rob a bank?” Henry instantly stood up.
“No, no, no.
I recently helped a big figure, and he gave me some pocket money.
If you don’t believe me, ask Aunt Tina.
She knows the inside story—it’s legitimate money.” Everyone looked at Tina.
She nodded helplessly; what Qin Zhong said wasn’t wrong, though she obviously couldn’t disclose the specifics.
Only then did Henry sit back down.
Coming from an FBI agent, her word was reliable.
Suddenly, Qin Zhong looked much more pleasing to his eye.
“Alright, leave it to me.
I’ll handle it—you just wait to pay the bill.” Qin Zhong said that was no problem.
“Third, let me make the engagement banquet grander.
Some big figures will attend.
Both of my mentors and one of the invited friends are quite famous in their fields.
This is about the face of both the Parker and Norsen families.
Don’t worry about spending money—I have plenty.
I’ll leave this in Aunt May’s and Aunt Alyssa’s capable hands.” “Oh, I love Qin Zhong’s attitude!
Is our Norsen family about to enter high society?” Alyssa couldn’t help teasing Qin Zhong, and the others burst out laughing in agreement.
“Fourth, regarding the wedding date, I respect Gwen’s decision.
As long as she’s willing, any time works for me.” Having said all that, Qin Zhong shrugged, indicating he was finished speaking.
He received unanimous support.
Tears welled up in Gwen’s eyes as she expressed her desire to wear the ring before starting college.
In other words, get engaged on her 18th birthday in May, and then get married at the end of August.
Qin Zhong thought that was fantastic and nodded repeatedly.
With the details settled, the two families shared a wonderful meal together before the Parkers set off on their journey home.
On the way, Qin Zhong offered to help the family move to a better living environment, but Uncle Ben and Aunt May declined.
They were both traditional, nostalgic people.
With no other choice, Qin Zhong handed over his bank card, explained how much money was on it, and asked Uncle Ben to work with Henry to handle purchasing the farm.
He left it to Uncle Ben to decide where to spend money, including the engagement banquet, which was entrusted to Aunt May.
Of course, Qin Zhong kept some living expenses for himself—after all, there were times when he’d need cash.
With that, the matter came to a close.
Tomorrow, Qin Zhong had to return to school to take a scolding from his big-shot professor before resuming classes.
After all, Professor Josh originally hadn’t wanted to give Qin Zhong time off for spring break.
When Tony returned to his residence, he encountered Pepper.
At this time, Pepper was still his executive assistant.
Now that her boss was back, she naturally had to hand over the company’s recent important affairs for Tony to handle.
Tony waved his hand, expressing that he was exhausted and didn’t want to do anything right now.
“Pepper, you have to understand someone who was just kidnapped.
What I need right now isn’t work—I need a psychiatrist and a medical team.
Oh, right, help me transfer $200 million to Qin Zhong as a personal gift.
Remember to pay the taxes.
Here’s his account number.” Tony pulled a crumpled slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Pepper.
“Mr.
Stark, your private medical team has long been prepared and waiting for you, but you refused inpatient treatment.
They are on their way here right now.
Also, your psychiatrist is already on standby in the reception room, ready to serve you at any moment.” Pepper quickly kept pace with Tony.
As for transferring the money, it was a minor errand—compared to Tony’s health and work, it wasn’t even worth mentioning.
Tony didn’t want to stay in a hospital; he was afraid of unfamiliar places right now.
Only his residence gave him a sense of security.
“Call him in.
I need a good night’s sleep.
Also, have the medical team submit my physical exam report and treatment plan once they arrive.” Tony opened the liquor cabinet, poured a glass of drink, took a sip, turned around, set it aside, and then looked at Pepper.
“I need to sleep.
If possible, I hope to still see you when I wake up.
Can I, Pepper?” “Don’t worry, Tony.
I’ll always be by your side.” …
Qin Zhong wasn’t chewed out for nothing.
Over the past month or so, Qin Zhong’s versatility had spoiled Professor Josh’s tastes.
With anyone else, he found faults everywhere.
“Zhong, I hope you don’t finish your courses too early, or come work under me after you graduate.
You have no idea how I survived these past few days.
The new kid doesn’t even know how to sort data.
He handed me a tangled ball of yarn and expects me, his mentor, to knit a sweater out of it!” Qin Zhong shrugged.
Being too good at organizing data was a crime in itself.
Now Qin Zhong was Josh’s exclusive assistant, responsible for collecting and organizing data before submitting it to Josh.
Qin Zhong could easily handle many biological gene variations along the way.
To be honest, if he didn’t want a quiet life, Qin Zhong could have easily completed certain experiments of Josh’s and provided the optimal solution.
But doing so would inevitably attract widespread attention within the industry, which wasn’t what Qin Zhong wanted.
He only wanted to be seen as an excellent up-and-comer in others’ eyes, not a trailblazing leader.
Being a leader meant holding a massive piece of the pie, attracting many outstanding people to gather around him—but it would also attract plenty of flies and rats in the gutter.
Little Spidey hadn’t grown up yet, and Qin Zhong himself didn’t yet possess absolute strength to handle any unexpected events that might arise.
So, he had to lay low and keep a low profile for now.
There would be opportunities later.
For instance…
a visit from a certain cotton harvester.