Chapter 3681: Bending the Waist for Power and Nobility

In America, if there's anything money can't solve, it's only because not enough money was spent.

Before top-tier families like the Rothschilds, there's almost nothing they can't accomplish.

When the helicopter picked up Ye Chen and Lin Wanan and brought them to Stanford, the university president was already waiting by the campus helipad.

The president didn't know who the guests were; he only heard that the Rothschild family's helicopter pilot had informed Stanford's administrators, saying they were sending two people to tour Stanford and needed to apply for helipad landing time, and even though no one from the Rothschild family contacted him directly, hearing about it made him immediately come out in person to welcome the unknown distinguished guests.

At the moment the helicopter landed, the president braved the tremendous wind pressure from the rotor and walked forward, personally opening the cabin door for the distinguished guests in the rear.

When Ye Chen and Lin Wanan stepped out of the helicopter, the elderly president looked somewhat startled.

He hadn't expected that the Rothschilds would send two young East Asian faces.

As the helicopter rotors gradually slowed and the deafening noise faded, the president looked at Ye Chen and Lin Wanan, wearing a humble smile as he said: "Welcome, distinguished guests, to Stanford. I am James White, president of this university. I don't know how to address you two, but is there anything I can do for you?"

Ye Chen naturally knew that this academic bigwig was giving him face only because of the Rothschild family's reputation.

In the past, with Ye Chen's pride, he likely wouldn't have engaged much with the other party—just needing to make things convenient for himself and Lin Wanan at Stanford would have been enough.

But now, Ye Chen suddenly thought: since the other party is giving the Rothschilds so much face, he might as well make good use of it—after all, it's all under the Rothschild family's name.

So he said to James White: "President White, hello. My friend Steve Rothschild of the Rothschild family is on his way over; he was originally supposed to come personally to be our guide, but flying from the East Coast still takes a few hours, so during these few hours, I'll have to trouble you to act as our guide."

Although Ye Chen spoke politely, his tone was not a request or seeking the other's opinion, but a direct statement of his needs, leaving no room for refusal.

And from the moment Ye Chen uttered the name Steve Rothschild, James White had already prepared himself to serve this Chinese man before him like an ox or horse, to spare no effort.

For no other reason—it was all out of respect for Steve Rothschild.

After all, Steve is the already-confirmed second-in-command of the entire Rothschild family and the heir apparent to the patriarch.

Originally, James White had thought the visitors might be distant relatives or collateral branches of the Rothschild family; seeing they were two Chinese people, he subconsciously thought they might not even be distant relatives—more likely just someone with a pretentious connection to the Rothschilds who had hitched a ride on their helicopter.

But the moment Ye Chen spoke those words, the nature of the situation underwent a massive shift in his mind.

These two young Chinese people not only had direct ties to the Rothschild family, but were even associated with someone as significant as Steve; more importantly, hearing that Steve was rushing over from the East Coast for these two people—what immense face was that? If he hosted them well, when Steve arrived, he would surely remember this favor.

Don't let his position as Stanford's president fool you—he's not solely devoted to academia; he understands the unspoken rules of high society better than anyone and follows them more strictly than most.

This is the difference between America and China: in China, merely having money makes it highly unlikely to sway top universities like Peking or Tsinghua, but in America, money talks—Stanford, Harvard, and MIT are all within reach; otherwise, there wouldn't be wealthy businessmen donating tens of millions to Harvard just so their sons can attend.

So even as Stanford's president, he must bow and scrape before power and nobility—especially before a top-tier nobility like the Rothschilds.

Seeing that invoking Steve worked so well, Ye Chen saw no need to stand on ceremony with James White any longer, and directly asked Lin Wanan: "Miss Lin, is there anywhere you'd like to go or see? Just have President White take us there."

Lin Wanan happily nodded, then said to White: "Mr. White, I'd like to visit the university history museum and browse all the non-publicly available historical records."

White was somewhat surprised, unable to fathom why a young lady like her would come to Stanford not to tour the campus or listen to explanations, but only to go to the history museum to look at non-public materials.

In fact, most of the materials are from the 19th and 20th centuries, when legal systems were less developed, and America had committed many atrocities against indigenous peoples, so these now-renowned universities also have some dark histories from that era—histories that naturally aren't made available for public browsing, some even classified as top secret.

But since Ye Chen had already dropped the name Steve Rothschild as his golden ticket, White hardly hesitated before agreeing: "Since you two are interested in the university's historical records, I'll personally take you to the history museum—though some materials are quite sensitive, classified as top secret by the White House; you may view them, but cannot take photos, and I hope you'll understand."

Lin Wanan nodded and said: "President White, rest assured, we will abide by the regulations."

White breathed a sigh of relief, personally taking on the role of guide for the two, and led them to the university history archives.

Stanford's university history archives are housed in an inconspicuous three-story building in the administrative area.

However, the true core of the collection is actually hidden in the underground space beneath this three-story building.

Constructed like a bank vault—impregnable—it stores vast quantities of documentary archives that have no electronic duplicates, one-of-a-kind originals; according to White's introduction, these highly sensitive, high-classification files, by procedure, should have both physical photocopies and electronic copies, but because much of the history is not glorious, no copies were made.

Their current preservation strategy for these materials is summed up in eight characters: no leaks, no fear of damage.

This means: if they remain here, they will continue to be preserved as one-of-a-kind originals, not to be leaked externally; if someone with authorization wishes to consult them, they may come in person to view, but the contents cannot be removed;

If these materials stored here are accidentally destroyed for some reason, they need not worry about the files vanishing completely, because losing these things might not be a bad thing—it could simply mean those events now have no living witnesses.

It's like a criminal keeping photos of their crime at home to cherish— they can occasionally take them out to look at, but must not let them leak; if one day the house catches fire and the photos are accidentally burned, it's no great loss—worst case, they just won't look at them anymore.

However, Lin Wanan wasn't interested in viewing America's dark history from those years—after all, she had once been a firsthand witness to that era, having seen the slave trade and plantation era with her own eyes, so these black histories were nothing new to her.

What truly interested her was another part of the university's history—the section related to Ye Chen's mother, An Chengxi.