I Have 10 Trillion Dollars only Usable For Simping Chapter 2217 - 1414: The Prosperous Leading the Less Prosperous (Part 2)

Jiang Chen offered a small smile before shaking his head with a sigh. "Teacher Cao, you truly coddle her too much."

A sense of helplessness colored Cao Xiugo’s voice.

"She is my only sister. I simply cannot bring myself to be stern with her. Eventually, that task will have to fall to the man she marries."

"Given how much you have already spoiled her, who could possibly hope to change her ways? Teacher Cao, you are clearly dodging your responsibilities here."

Cao Xiugo rested his chopsticks for a moment, glancing at the food on his plate with a faint smile.

"When you put it that way, I suppose her future husband is destined to be quite aggrieved."

Jiang Chen bit into a chicken leg, chewing thoughtfully as he steered the conversation in a new direction.

"I caught up with Sister Yang a few days ago."

Cao Xiugo’s expression remained perfectly neutral.

"Yang Qinghua?"

"Yes," Jiang Chen replied, "Meeting her gave me a lot to think about. I’ve realized that while many people toil day and night, they often manage to project an image of a luxurious existence."

Cao Xiugo looked up, eyes locking onto his.

"And what conclusions have you reached?"

This, they understood, was true wisdom—a meeting of minds.

"Jin Se suggested increasing childbirth subsidies during the meeting, and I believe she is absolutely right. The primary hurdle to the current birth rate is the sheer cost of raising children. That is where I intend to begin."

"How do you propose to start?"

"By establishing nurseries and kindergartens within residential complexes to ease the burden on new parents."

"The issue isn't a lack of kindergartens, Jiang Chen; it is the lack of newborns," Cao Xiugo countered.

"That is why I am proposing a fully tuition-free system. I want to extend the nine-year compulsory education model to include kindergarten."

"You want to make kindergarten universally free?"

"It is not quite that simple yet. I merely want to provide what help I can. The wealthy and the middle class do not fret over these costs; their children attend elite private schools with nannies and private drivers. But for the average working family, it is a struggle. Many parents work far from home, leaving their children with aging grandparents or in rural areas just to make ends meet..."

Cao Xiugo nodded slowly.

"Delivery riders and couriers are the perfect example. Most live away from their hometowns, rarely seeing their children at all. It is the grassroots workers who sustain the birth rate, yet if they find only stress and guilt in parenthood, the birth rate will continue to spiral downward."

"So, what is your plan of action?"

"We are rolling out a housing policy for our delivery staff and grassroots employees. I intend to use those communities as a pilot program, building nurseries and kindergartens that fit the scale of the area to assist working parents who have no other options."

Having absorbed the details, Cao Xiugo finally grasped the scope of the vision.

Free preschool education—a policy shift of this magnitude would undoubtedly send shockwaves through society.

But was this purely an act of altruism?

Hardly.

The primary beneficiaries would be the tens of thousands of grassroots laborers serving under the Great Wall commercial fleet empire.

Furthermore, this was a masterful piece of public relations. The reputation of the commercial empire would skyrocket.

In a society that fears inequality even more than scarcity, one can only imagine the reaction from those outside the Great Wall camp, or the panic it would strike into their competitors.

From another perspective, this was a brilliant, non-traditional form of market competition.

And, fundamentally, it was an initiative that would serve the people for generations to come.

Cao Xiugo set down his utensils and sat upright, taking a long look at the man across from him.

Everyone understands that once money surpasses a certain threshold, it becomes nothing more than a sequence of digits. Yet, how many would actually spend those "digit" to benefit total strangers?

As an educator, Cao Xiugo spent his life shaping human nature, yet he knew how painfully difficult it was to change. Seeing this man, however, made him question his own conclusions.

We often start with noble, pure intentions, but too many young dragon-slayers end up becoming the evil dragon themselves. To keep one's original intent while marching into the dragon’s lair and striking down one beast after another? That was a rarity.

Cao Xiugo broke into a sudden, inexplicable laugh.

"Is there a problem, Teacher Cao?"

"Your vision is admirable, but pursuing it will make you a great many enemies."

Challenging established systems shifts the balance of power. Benefits do not materialize from thin air; for someone to gain, someone else must lose. The Xinghuo Medical incident was evidence of that.

"If a child meets with misfortune in one of your schools, how do you intend to respond?"

"Jin Se and I have already faced such scrutiny with Xinghuo. I believe justice ultimately resides in the hearts of the people."

"Are you trying to etch your name into history?" Cao Xiugo asked with a tease.

Or perhaps, it was no tease at all. Each initiative further defined the scale of the other man’s ambition. While the risks of corporate failure remained, his future prestige could easily become unrivaled.

"You joke, Teacher Cao," Jiang Chen said with practiced modesty. "In many parts of the world, healthcare and education are already free from cradle to grave."

Cao Xiugo’s expression sharpened as he lowered his voice.

"Some things are better left unsaid. Keep those thoughts in your heart; you are not a college activist anymore."

Jiang Chen offered a slight nod.

"Thank you for the advice, Teacher Cao."

The two men shared a knowing look.

"I arrived early and while waiting for your class to end, I bumped into a young man at Kyoto University. He told me he planned to travel the world as a wandering artist with nothing but a ukulele. The copy of 'Utopia' beside me was a gift from him."

"A wandering artist, you say? What department? What is his name?"

As a teacher, Cao Xiugo found the idea of a student wasting his potential irresponsible. He certainly would have reprimanded the boy for such reckless ambition if he knew who he was. Fortunately for the student, Boss Jiang was too honorable to betray him, even though the name was penned right there on the cover of the book.

"Actually, my own dream used to be exactly like his—riding horses, chopping wood, and seeing the world."

They hadn't touched a drop of alcohol, but the air between them felt heavy and honest nonetheless.

Cao Xiugo picked up some greens, deciding not to press the issue of the 'selfish' student. "And what about your dreams now?"

Jiang Chen laughed.

"Do you want the pretentious answer or the honest one?"

"Let us hear the pretentious one first."

Jiang Chen raised his chopsticks, launching into a fluent response.

"The pretentious version is this: I want to ensure every child knows the love of their parents, that every elder dies in peace, and that good people are finally rewarded for their kindness."

Cao Xiugo paused. "And the version that isn't pretentious?"

Jiang Chen offered a wry smile.

"It is simply answering the call of the nation: letting those who have become rich first help lead those who have not yet reached that stage."

Cao Xiugo remained silent for a long time.

"You are not a party member, are you?"

"Why should that matter? Party members are one in ten thousand. Most of us are just like me—not members, but patriots. We are all descendants of Yan and Huang; we are all one people."

Cao Xiugo looked up, meeting his gaze directly.

"Perhaps our parents are the children of ordinary families, just like everyone else," Jiang Chen added with a smile.

Cao Xiugo was quiet for a long while before finally speaking.

"If you end your current relationship, I will arrange for you to be engaged to Jin Se."

The declaration was sudden, like a bolt of lightning in a silent sky.

Usually, the decision lies with the parents, but with their passing, the eldest brother wields that power as a father figure. If Cao Xiugo insisted, Cao Jinse would have no choice but to comply. Yet, faced with such a life-changing, meteoric rise to power, Jiang Chen simply lowered his head and continued to eat, as if he had heard nothing at all.

Cao Xiugo smiled gently and resumed his own meal.

"Three days. Think it over, and reach out to me when you have an answer."