The next morning.
While the four women were still asleep, Jason was already sitting on the bow of the yacht, holding a fishing rod, casually fishing. Olivia walked over and praised, "Mr. Carter is amazing. After dealing with three women all night, he's still so energetic."
Jason smiled and said, "Hearing is not as good as seeing. You have to try it yourself to know how amazing it is."
Although Olivia was 28, much older than Jason, she was still a woman, and being teased like that made her blush a little. However, Jason usually didn't make suggestive jokes with her, and this time she had started it, so she wasn't offended at all; she just didn't dare to say anything more.
Olivia quickly changed the subject and said, "Mr. Carter, you called me so early. Is there something you need?"
Jason asked, "Where do you think money can be spent to simultaneously benefit the public, help the people, gain prestige, and social status?"
Jason felt that bribery was not only illegal but also low-class. Since he had so much money, why not take a legitimate approach that benefits the people? Instead of putting money into corrupt officials' pockets, it was better to give it to those who needed it.
He didn't dare to claim he was noble, but when one had reached a certain level of wealth, they also wanted to do some good deeds. Moreover, doing good deeds now would also help his plan for wealth-to-power conversion.
When your prestige in a place is high enough, no one dares to easily touch you. When you can influence a local government's performance, then the highest leader in that place must treat you with respect. If you also benefit the people, it might even be reported to higher authorities. At that time, even the local highest leader would be held accountable for touching you.
Why don't most people use such a good method? Because it burns many times more money than directly putting it into corrupt officials' pockets. Many people bribe to make money, so this would be a losing business.
But for Jason Carter, was this an issue? With his immense financial power, why should he act subtly?
Of course, this was just the first step of the second phase of his wealth-to-power conversion, serving as groundwork and setting the stage for the next step.
This time, he took a much wider detour, but he didn't mind it at all, because the wider the detour, the broader the reach of the power he would gain.
Olivia pondered for a moment and said, "Charity funds, public welfare funds, medical care, social welfare, and community building. However, in my opinion, investing in medical care is the best."
Jason nodded, "That's what I thought. I vaguely heard that the daughter of our University's president seems to be sick and hospitalized. Check which hospital she's in."
Olivia was stunned and immediately went to check. This was not confidential information, and she quickly found it: "The president's daughter is at Harborview Medical University's Third Affiliated Hospital. She has a tumor and is preparing for surgery, but she is not confident in the hospital's level of care."
"She wants to transfer to a better one, after all, because Oncology Department is not a provincial clinical key specialty. But the problem is, it is a private hospital."
"Using this hospital means no medical insurance reimbursement. Your president doesn't have enough money. The president's salary is very high, but if he's not corrupt, compared to the expensive medical fees, it's still not enough."
"Mr. Carter, you want to help the president's daughter. This small amount of money is nothing to you. But if you help him and then ask him for a favor, it will be seized as a handle and considered a bribe."
Jason said, "If I just pay for his daughter, why would I ask about benefiting the people, public welfare, and social status? I'm simply helping him while making a social contribution. Contact the chairman and acquire this hospital."
Even though Olivia was accustomed to Jason's generosity, hearing this still made her gasp, "Mr. Carter, this Hospital is a tertiary hospital. The price to acquire it, conservatively speaking, would be at least over a billion dollars."
Saying that, Olivia quickly pulled up information on the Hospital: "It covers an area of 120 acres, with a total construction area of 250,000 square feet. The hospital has 1,100 beds, over 1,300 employees, and 42 clinical medical technology departments. Its Oncology Department, Critical Care Medicine Department, and Psychiatry Department are all provincial clinical key specialties. It has strong capabilities and good operating conditions. One billion is an underestimate; taking it down would probably cost over $1.5 billion."
Jason's expression remained calm as he said, "That's good then. Contact them and acquire 100% of the shares as soon as possible."
Olivia was shocked. She realized she might have still greatly underestimated Jason's strength. But as a personal secretary, she knew her greatest advantage — ask less and do more.
Olivia immediately got to work and quickly finalized the deal, not only because of her outstanding ability but, more importantly, because of the financial power behind her. When the price reached 1.66 billion dollars and couldn't be negotiated further, Jason directly made the decision.
Just like that, without any public announcement or rumor, it's became Jason Carter's.
At that moment, Olivia realized that she had truly underestimated him. Her decision to resign from her general manager position to follow Jason was the best choice she had ever made in her life.
Olivia: Favorability +5.
Jason said, "Didn't our university president apply to transfer his daughter? Approve it. Arrange the best doctors for her and make sure her medical expenses are covered through insurance."
Olivia was stunned. "Mr. Carter, even if you do it this way, individually reimbursing his daughter could still be seen as bribery…"
She was smart, though. Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly connected it to Jason's earlier words — and understood.
"Mr. Carter, you're not just trying to help the president's daughter individually."
"To relieve pressure on the public healthcare system, the government has been encouraging private capital to participate in providing medical services."
"So, to make private medical institutions more affordable, local health departments approve certain private hospitals that meet the qualifications to become designated insurance partners. That way, for treatments priced similarly to public hospitals, insurance reimbursement applies."
"You want to turn it into a designated insurance hospital. That way, you'll help the public, improve social welfare, gain prestige and social standing — and also help the president's daughter. No matter who investigates, it can't be labeled as bribery."
"But Mr. Carter, you just spent 1.66 billion dollars! Even though it is top-tier, most of its revenue comes from high fees. Once you reduce prices to meet insurance standards, it could take a long time to recover that investment."
Jason asked, "Will it lose money?"
Olivia shook her head. "No, it won't. The hospital's standards are high, and once it's approved for insurance coverage, the number of patients will increase dramatically. Profit will remain stable, but the margin will definitely shrink."
Jason said, "Then it's fine. I didn't buy it to make money. That 1.66 billion is purely for public benefit."
Hearing that, Olivia's eyes sparkled. At that moment, she felt more than ever that following Jason Carter had been the smartest decision of her life. His strength, courage, and vision were truly extraordinary.
Olivia: Favorability +10.
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