America 1982-Chapter 438 - 65: Pests and Righteous People_3

"Right, your father-in-law’s nickname inside the Cornell Phoenix Society is damn ’Pest’!"

"You were the one who framed me first, by sending a photo of a man’s golf clubs to the girl I liked in my name. I just gave you a little punishment," Julian retorted with disdain.

Herbert immediately corrected, "After I realized the mistake, I quickly wrote an apology letter to that girl in your name, okay? A very sincere apology!"

"I haven’t forgotten. In the damn apology letter, you sincerely wrote to that biology student: Dear Sally, I am so, so sorry, I got it wrong, the golf clubs weren’t mine, this one is. And then you included a close-up photo of me! The photo even had written on it, ’Julian Farrell is a hagfish.’" Tommy’s father-in-law said with annoyance in his voice.

Tommy’s curiosity got the better of him and he couldn’t help but raise his hand: "Forgive my lack of biological knowledge, esteemed professors, but what exactly does ’hagfish’ mean?"

Julian gave Tommy an annoyed look for his curiosity and didn’t speak, but Herbert was just the opposite. It seemed he had been waiting for Tommy to ask this question, and he said cheerfully, "Because the reproductive organs of a hagfish are located on its head! Kid! Hahaha~~"

"So, given the heated atmosphere, do you need me to call Mr. Page in to provide you with weapons?" Tommy looked at the two middle-aged men trading barbs and asked with concern.

At the same time, he understood why his father-in-law always liked to come to these secluded clubs to meet with friends; after all, two billionaires in the United States couldn’t expose each other’s dirty laundry on the crowded beaches of California.

After finishing the joke from the past—which also let his son-in-law know the nature of his relationship with the other man—Julian personally served the dishes for Tommy and said, "The Siegel family and the Farrell family have had a deep connection since my father’s time. What I mean is, we torment each other, making a spectacle of one another, but we still stand up for each other when help is needed. So you can treat Herbert just like another me, with respect."

"So that means I should hire a team of Pinkerton detectives to follow Mr. Siegel, and if I catch him messing around, threaten him with that kind of respect? If Mr. Siegel doesn’t behave, should I spill the beans to his brother-in-law, who is 22 years his junior and hails from the SSD?" Tommy gave Julian a knowing look and teased with a laugh.

Upon hearing Tommy’s words, Herbert’s face showed a look of surprise: "Wow, you really love each other, congratulations, ’Pest,’ you’ve found the right son-in-law for yourself."

"Herbert doesn’t get involved in Warner’s day-to-day management; he focuses more on Clarke Industries’ business, but he’s a longtime friend of Warner chairman Steve Ross and board member Turner, holds shares in Warner and CNN, and it’s because he stood up to help his friend when Murdoch tried to launch a hostile takeover of Warner as he entered the United States. Turner’s CNN has been having a hard time recently, the news channel is losing heavily, only surviving on movies, reality shows, sports, documentaries, etc. But now, besides pay movie channels and sports channels, Fox is ready to snatch up market share for pay-per-view reality shows," Julian told Tommy:

"The most important thing, Herbert has helped me as well. If your free TV network doesn’t compete with CNN’s pay-per-view reality show channels, could you consider giving them a hand?"

Tommy slowly exhaled a puff of smoke: "My father-in-law has Jewish blood, and he always taught me not to ask about the cost but to understand clearly what we can gain. So, what can me and my father-in-law gain?"

"When did I ever teach you that? I didn’t," Julian said with a puzzled look.

"No, you did." Tommy looked toward Herbert: "I am not a greedy man, but without talking about the gains, it just doesn’t seem genuine. Both sides would feel uneasy."

"I think the Jewish blood in you runs much deeper than in your father-in-law," Herbert said after studying Tommy closely, laughing: "So, what’s the price?"

"Trust."

Herbert glanced at Julian, and seeing Julian nodding in satisfaction at his son-in-law, he turned to Tommy, who was waiting for a reply, and after a moment of thought, said:

"You have indeed learned something from your father-in-law. I’ll pass on your words to them."

"Righteous," Tommy suddenly said to Herbert. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Herbert, puzzled, looked at Tommy: "What?"

"At Stanford White Robe Society, my nickname was ’Righteous Tommy.’" Tommy smiled at Herbert as he said:

"People may not believe in a Pest, but they are willing to believe in a Righteous Man."