Chapter 465: A Menu, Half of Europe! Old Chen Shows Up, His Hands Tremble!

The Capital City's dawn awakens to the sound of the stone mill turning at the old‑brand soy‑milk shop on Huchongkou.

Sunlight filters through the branches and leaves of the old locust tree in the courtyard, scattering mottled light and shadow on the blue‑brick ground. Lu Qingshan slept less than four hours, yet felt it was the most peaceful sleep in years. There was no thin air at thirty‑thousand meters, no sleepless night on Wall Street, only his wife's steady breathing beside him and the occasional murmurs of his daughter from the next house.

He rose quietly, and in the courtyard Lu Hua was practicing a set of military‑style boxing, each move swift as a tiger, showing no sign of being a man nearing his seventies. When he saw Lu Qingshan emerge, he sheathed his fists, merely nodded, but his eyes held a sense of steadiness.

"Awake? Go wash your face, your mother has boiled porridge."

In the kitchen, Wang Guilan and Lin Yue'e were busy. The millet porridge in the pot gurgled, exuding a rich rice aroma, and the steamer held plump white meat buns. Jin Hu lay at the kitchen doorway, sniffing the scent, his tail sweeping the floor intermittently.

"This is home."

At the dining table, the whole family came from the surrounding courtyards to the parents' house for breakfast, sitting together, and Lin Yueqiang was among them. Lu Xiao Xue sat on a specially made small chair, sipping porridge in tiny sips, her face flushed red from the steam.

"Dad, are we still talking about pulling carrots today?"

"Not today," Lu Qingshan handed her a bun, "Today Dad will take you to Beihai Park to row. In a couple of days we'll go back to Shanwan Village with Mom and Dad to visit Grandma and Grandpa, okay?"

"Yay!" The little one was so excited she almost jumped up.

Lu Qingjun yawned as he stepped out of the house, dark circles under his eyes, yet he held a freshly retrieved copy of the Reference News from the post office.

"Brother, you're famous now." He slapped the newspaper onto the table, pointing to an inconspicuous corner of a page.

【Report: European financial markets experienced rare turbulence yesterday, with indices in Frankfurt, Paris and other cities plunging sharply. Foreign media analysis suggests it may be linked to massive historic debt settlements facing some old‑European family enterprises. A newly emerging organization called the Global Stability and Development Fund has become the market focus.】

The report was vague, full of speculation and implication.

Lu Hua picked up the newspaper, put on his reading glasses, and read it word by word. His brows furrowed tighter and tighter; finally, he set the paper down, looked at Lu Qingshan, his gaze now bearing unprecedented gravity.

"Qing Shan, after you finish eating, come to the study with me for a moment."

In the study, Lu Hua closed the door and remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking: "Is what the newspaper says your doing?"

"Yes." Lu Qingshan did not conceal it.

"Nonsense!" Lu Hua slammed his palm onto the table, making the teacup jump. He wasn't truly angry, but fearful. As someone who had walked out of a hail of gunfire, he knew better than anyone what it meant to stir the roots of those old Western families.

"Do you realize how this is like pulling a tooth from a tiger's mouth? They'll stop at nothing to retaliate! If you're out there, what will happen to Yue E and Xiao Xue later?"

"Dad," Lu Qingshan looked at his father, his voice calm and strong, "I pulled that tooth precisely for them. If I didn't, they'd use that tooth to bite us. I not only pulled it, I smashed it, ground it to powder, and let them swallow it bite by bite."

Lu Hua stared at his son's bottomless eyes, opened his mouth, but no words came out. He suddenly realized his son had grown to a height he could no longer comprehend.

At that moment, the sound of a car engine roared from the courtyard.

Wang Shanghong hurried in, followed by an elderly man with silver hair, yet spry, dressed in a Zhongshan suit.

When Lu Hua saw the elder, his pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively straightened, rendering a military salute.

"Old Chen! How did you come personally?"

The visitor was indeed Chen Lao, the official in charge of economic affairs.

Chen Lao smiled and waved, indicating he should sit, then his gaze fell on Lu Qingshan, his eyes showing unmasked admiration and praise.

"Comrade Lu, I'm here today to deliver your 'breakfast'." After sitting, Chen Lao took a thick leather paper bag from Wang Shanghong and pushed it toward Lu Qingshan, "These are the 'menus' sent overnight by our friends in Europe."

Lu Qingshan opened the bag, and inside lay a list of asset settlements.

Portions of equity in Piraeus Port of Xi La, Rotterdam Port of the Netherlands, oil fields in Beihai, iron ore in Brazil, diamond mines in Africa… even several transfer agreements for the ownership of major European newspapers and TV stations.

"Comrade Qingshan," Wang Shanghong's voice trembled with barely contained excitement, "Tonight you have reclaimed for the nation reparations exceeding those of the Sino‑Japanese War! Ye Ning used a private aircraft to deliver these agreements overnight. The propaganda comrades, upon seeing the media list, were so thrilled they didn't sleep all night, convening urgently to plan how to take over, how to spread our voice across all of Europe!"

Chen Lao looked at Lu Qingshan, his expression turning solemn: "This gift is too great, so great that it's almost too hot to handle. The supreme leader asked me to ask your opinion—what should be our next move? Should we consolidate, first digest these spoils, or…"

Before Chen Lao could finish, the specially made Satellite Phone in Lu Qingshan's pocket rang sharply.

Lu Qingshan glanced at the caller ID, frowned, gave a brief signal, and after connecting pressed the speaker mode.

On the other end, David Cohen's wailing, broken Mandarin rang out, accompanied by the frantic clatter of a keyboard on the verge of falling apart.

"Oh! Boss! Help me! I'm going crazy!" David's voice was full of despair, "Did you know? The Rothschild family just packaged their entire Bordeaux winery, plus three hundred years of family‑reserved red wines, and sent them to you as a 'small apology'! They even asked which vintage you like! How the hell am I supposed to know your favorite vintage! I only drink Coca‑Cola!"

"Also! That Feng Hais family went bankrupt! Yet they own a castle in Bavaria, saying the scenery is especially beautiful, and they insist on transferring it to your name so you can 'experience authentic German charm'! They even threw in ten blond‑haired, blue‑eyed German butlers! Boss! We're a finance company, not a housekeeping service!"

"The most outrageous is the Italians! Fiat Group halted production of their latest Ferrari line, working overnight to customize a one‑of‑a‑kind, bullet‑proof car with an onboard fridge and Satellite Phone, a 'Godfather‑level' ride! They even asked what interior color you prefer! My God! I'm being driven mad by this 'Sincerity' of old European money!"

The study fell into dead silence.

Lu Hua stared dumbfounded, the teacup in his hand suspended mid‑air.

Wang Shanghong's mouth twitched uncontrollably at the corner.

Even Chen Lao, accustomed to great storms, showed a strange expression of both laughter and tears.

They had imagined countless victorious postures, yet never this… plain, dull one.

Lu Qingshan rubbed his temples, then coldly said into the phone, "The winery and castle, transfer them all under the fund's name as employee benefits. The sports car, have them paint it black and give it to Ye Ning as a bonus."

David on the other end was stunned: "Then… what about me, boss? What do I get?"

"You?" Lu Qingshan thought for a moment, "Those ten German butlers are yours."

"……"

The call was hung up.

In the study, Chen Lao and Wang Shanghong exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of absurdity in the other's eyes.

"Ahem," Chen Lao cleared his throat, steering the conversation back, "Comrade Qingshan, let's get down to business. Regarding the next step, what's your thought?"

Lu Qingshan pushed the asset list back.

"Chen Lao, Minister Wang, these things are merely the surface," his voice was low but invigorated all three present.

"What I want has never been their money, nor their property."

"When these assets are consolidated under Xinghan, they will actually be handed over to the state overall management. But…"

He stood and walked to the study's window, looking at the courtyard where Lin Yue'e was holding Xiao Xue's hand, teaching her to recognize flowers. Sunlight bathed the mother and daughter, the scene warm like an oil painting.

"What I want is their future."

He turned to Chen Lao, saying word for word, "I want our Huaxia textbooks to become the template for their next generation to learn world history. I want our Huaxia language to become the primary official language of international business and diplomacy. I want our culture to become the trend pursued by youths worldwide."

"I want their children, from a young age, to know that over a hundred years ago their ancestors committed crimes against us. I also want them to know who now sets the rules and who maintains peace in today's world."

"I want them, from the root, to develop reverence for us."

These words, like a sudden thunderclap, boomed and exploded in the tiny study.

Chen Lao sprang up from his chair, his body trembling slightly with excitement, and those eyes that always carried wisdom and gentleness burst with astonishing light.

"Good! A reverence that springs from the root!" he thumped the table heavily. "Comrade Qingshan! Your idea is ten thousand times more important than those several hundred billion assets! The nation supports you! Whatever you need us to do, just speak up!"

Lu Qingshan smiled.

"Very simple."

He walked to the desk, picked up a pen, and wrote a few characters on a sheet of white paper.

Huaxia Academy

"Let's start with this," he pushed the paper toward Chen Lao. "I will, within three years, have it open at every prestigious university in Europe."

"As for the money…"

Lu Qingshan looked out the window, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"I think the new European Partners of our foundation will be happy to make a small charitable donation to promote cultural exchange between East and West."