My Manor

"I'm really grateful to you, young man." Looking at the check for 60,000 US dollars in Jiang Hai's hand, the principal of the town primary school held Jiang Hai's hand tightly with trembling fingers and said with gratitude.

"Uh, you're welcome." Jiang Hai really wanted to say that he was just trying to avoid taxes, but it was hard to say. Before coming here this morning, Jiang Hai had specially called his lawyer, Moses Adams.

He asked about this matter. Although it was just a small donation of tens of thousands of US dollars, Jiang Hai's client was significant, so Moses Adams confirmed it as soon as he received Jiang Hai's call. This time, the town primary school fundraising was indeed within the scope of tax deduction, but it could not be deducted too much. Within the acceptable range, it could be deducted by 80%. That is, a donation of 60,000 US dollars could deduct 48,000 US dollars in taxes.

Although it was still 12,000 in vain, at least it brought good reputation. Jiang Hai was that kind of person; otherwise, he wouldn't have done it. And if he did something, he would do it thoroughly. After hesitating for a while, he felt that what Edward said made sense.

He was now in the United States. With the increase in the scales on his body, he couldn't leave easily. In this case, instead of being stingy and working behind closed doors, it was better to build a good relationship with the people here.

Don't expect them to help you, but at least don't hinder them.

It was precisely because of this that Jiang Hai's actions today happened. He was actually reluctant to spend 60,000 US dollars.

"No, no, no, I still have to thank you. We are going to name the newly built gymnasium after you." Hearing Jiang Hai's words, the principal didn't think so. He still said excitedly. When he heard that his name would be used to name the gymnasium, Jiang Hai couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and then he felt a little embarrassed. He suddenly felt that 60,000 was a little too little.

Others were naming the gymnasium after themselves. If this had happened in China, it would not have been so easy.

But Jiang Hai, who was unwilling to spend more, could only laugh awkwardly at this time.

The principal and the teachers beside him were obviously still in an excited state. After all, the financial issue that had bothered them most had been solved, and the rest of the tasks would be much simpler.

As long as they found a construction team, rebuilding the three rooms and the gymnasium would be quick.

After all, the houses here were all bungalows, and there were not many shoddy projects in the United States.

The foundations were very good, so there was no need to move them. They just had to tear down the main structure and rebuild. Although it was winter now, it wasn't a problem for the construction team.

The townspeople were still very concerned about the town primary school. After all, it was a public school. Some students from poor families still hoped to study here. So as long as they had time and didn't need to spend money, they would come to help. Many people in the town would come and assist. It was precisely because of this that they almost didn't count labor costs.

Otherwise, a gymnasium and three rooms would not be built for 60,000 or 70,000 US dollars. This money was enough to buy materials, but it would be far from enough to pay for labor.

But Jiang Hai had never worked on a project, so he didn't understand these things. Now he felt a little embarrassed by the praise. Seeing Jiang Hai's uncomfortable look, Cindy Clive beside him reacted first. As a teacher, although she couldn't say that she had seen countless people, at least she could clearly tell that these compliments made Jiang Hai uncomfortable, and that he was a little introverted. Maybe he would be open in front of familiar people, but right now, he felt embarrassed. The reason Jiang Hai came to donate money was partly because of her.

Now that Jiang Hai felt uncomfortable, she thought it was also her responsibility, so she decided to speak up.

"I really appreciate you this time, and we don't have anything to express our gratitude. It's noon now, so how about I treat you to lunch?"

Hearing Cindy Clive's words, Jiang Hai couldn't help but be stunned. He had been prepared to leave after donating the money, but he didn't expect that now a beautiful woman would invite him to dinner. What's going on?

"Yes, yes, yes, look at me, I've been so busy talking. It's noon now, and I guess Mr. Jiang is hungry. Cindy, you can go and have lunch with Mr. Jiang. I'll pay for it." After hearing Cindy's words, the old principal also reacted and said immediately.

"Forget it, principal. Where do you have money now? I brought him here, so naturally, I have to treat him. I wonder if Mr. Jiang will honor me?" After hearing the old principal, Cindy Clive responded, then turned to Jiang Hai and said.

Hearing her words, Jiang Hai smiled awkwardly. Although he didn't want to trouble others, since it had come to this point, he couldn't refuse, so he nodded in agreement.

Seeing Jiang Hai agree, Cindy Clive also smiled, and then took him out of the school.

In the United States, almost every high school graduate has a driver's license, which also counts as credits.

However, not everyone has a car, especially girls. Most boys like cars, so when they graduate from high school, they ask their parents to buy them a car to show off. But girls are different. Sometimes they learn to drive just for credits. For example, Cindy Clive didn't have a car.

Fortunately, her home wasn't far from the school. It only took about ten minutes to walk there every day.

But today, they wanted to treat Jiang Hai to lunch. There were no good restaurants near the school. If they wanted to go into town, they had to take Jiang Hai's car.

After greeting the security guard, they got into Jiang Hai's car. It could be seen that Jiang Hai was a bit dull. Generally, in such situations, men should be gentlemanly and open the door for women, but Jiang Hai just got into the driver's seat, which made Cindy Clive look at him with some doubts. This Jiang Hai was quite interesting.

"Where are we going?" Seeing that Cindy Clive had already gotten in, Jiang Hai smiled and asked her.

"Let's go eat steak. I know a French restaurant in town that serves very good food." After hearing Jiang Hai's question, Cindy Clive thought for a moment and decided to take him out for a nice meal.

Hearing they were going for French food, Jiang Hai thought about it. French food is known as the most exquisite and cost-effective cuisine in the world. Jiang Hai had wanted to try it before he became rich, but he hadn't had the chance. The more famous French dishes like foie gras and snails weren't to his liking. As for steak, the French prefer sirloin, which is a bit fatty for him. Compared to sirloin, he prefers tenderloin, eye rib, or top rib, which are leaner cuts. The marble pattern in beef is indeed fatty, but it melts almost instantly when grilled, leaving only the fresh fragrance of butter and no hint of fat.

But since Cindy suggested it, Jiang Hai couldn't refuse. After all, they weren't very familiar with each other, so he just followed her lead. He asked for directions, and they drove to the Western restaurant.

On the way, the two seemed a bit awkward. Jiang Hai was naturally quiet and didn't initiate conversation with girls. Otherwise, he wouldn't be alone like he was now.

Though Cindy Clive was an outgoing American girl, she was still a girl, and the two of them weren't very familiar with each other. This was only their third meeting, so there wasn't much to talk about. For a while, the atmosphere in the car seemed quite strange, but fortunately, Jiang Hai's driving skills were good, and the drive was fast and smooth. He had already parked the car before the awkwardness in the car reached its peak.

After parking in front of the hotel, Jiang Hai and Cindy Clive entered the restaurant together.

"Hello, sir, ma'am. Do you need a table? Do you have a reservation?" Although the Western restaurants in the small town couldn't compare to those in Boston, the service here was much better. As soon as Jiang Hai and Cindy Clive walked in, a waiter greeted them with a smile.

"We want to eat, but we don't have a reservation," Cindy said.

At this time of year, no restaurant was fully booked, so the waiter didn't apologize but led them directly to a table for two. After sitting down, a handsome waiter brought them the menu and asked what they would like to order.

"Take a look first. I'm treating you today, so don't be shy. Order whatever you like." Cindy smiled, and Jiang Hai took the menu, but he was a bit confused. Western menus like this are divided into two parts: à la carte, where you can choose what you want to eat, and set meals, which are mostly main dishes, divided into sets A, B, and C, with options in both English and French. Jiang Hai didn't understand French, and this made the menu a bit challenging.