With the first weekend box office of The Martian out.
Martin stopped paying attention to the film.
The next evening, he was invited to Washington for a face-to-face exchange with Hillary.
Trump was a bit worried about this, while Ivanka confidently told her father, "Don't worry—with me here, Martin won't go support Hillary."
Trump, judging others by himself, didn't think Martin was the type to let a woman influence his decisions. He couldn't help saying, "Perhaps I should agree to some conditions for that kid."
Martin meeting Hillary naturally had the factor of pressuring Trump.
But that was only a small part; more was to make contact through Hillary and Clinton.
The Clinton family's tentacles had extended worldwide since Clinton's presidency, with enormous influence especially in Eastern Europe and Latin America.
And Martin had long been eyeing those abandoned heavy industrial bases in the declining Eastern European countries.
The exchange was at Hillary's home in Washington, as a family banquet, with Clinton present.
After some discussion, Martin left with a smile.
The next day, news of Martin visiting Hillary made headlines in major media.
Ivanka's call quickly came to Martin's phone, expressing Trump's willingness for deeper cooperation with Martin.
Martin laughed and said, "Darling, don't worry; I'll still support your father. I just reached a few small agreements with the Clinton family, but I also clearly expressed my support for your dad."
"Ah, darling, I believe you," Ivanka said happily. "It's just my father is a bit concerned; he wants to sign a consulting agreement with you, hiring you as his campaign advisor."
"I don't have time to follow him around," Martin said.
"No need, no need; my father said you can be like before—give ideas, pull investments; no need to travel with the team," Ivanka said hurriedly.
Martin smiled slyly: "That's no problem, but you also tell your father that what he promised me needs to be in writing."
Ivanka immediately said: "No problem; he'll agree."
[TL/N: So Martin went to the Ching Chong embassy (Station in the U.S), met a Ching Chong there, and asked him if China could build a deeper relationship with U.S. and a bunch of other stuff. I won't go into details since it's pointless—it'll get deleted in a later chapter anyway if it shows up.]
...
Martin left Washington smiling.
Trump's face lately wasn't looking so good.
Because his carefully crafted "billionaire" persona seemed to have been punctured.
According to the New York Times on October 1, Trump's 1995 income tax return showed his businesses reported a $916 million net loss.
Tax experts speculate this could allow him to pay no federal income taxes for 18 years, in theory.
With the November 8 election in countdown, this discovery could significantly impact the race.
The New York Times reporters who uncovered this, Susanne Craig, said she received an anonymous letter seemingly from Trump Tower in New York days ago, containing the first page of Trump's 1995 tax returns to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
The Washington Post reported on the 2nd that while using anonymous sources isn't rare in US media, it's extremely rare for even the reporters not to know the whistleblower's identity.
Co-authoring the report with Craig was David Barstow, a three-time Pulitzer winner; after multifaceted verification, they ultimately confirmed the tax return's authenticity through Jack Mitnick, Trump's former tax accountant.
After the news broke, Trump's campaign went into emergency PR mode; Ivanka was swamped.
In the PR process, Trump's team didn't deny the document's authenticity—easy to verify, no way to lie.
Ivanka, on behalf of Trump's team, issued a statement: The New York Times publishing these tax documents is illegal.
It also stated: "Mr. Trump is a highly skilled businessman with responsibility to his businesses, family, and employees, and will not pay more taxes than required by law. Mr. Trump understands tax law better than any presidential candidate and is the only one who knows how to reform it."
Trump's staunch supporter, former New York Mayor Giuliani, defended Trump on CNN's October 2 program: "Trump is just like any responsible US businessman saving money for his company."
New Jersey Governor Christie said: "The New York Times release shows Trump rose again in the soft 90s economy."
Hillary's team treated this report as an opportunity to attack Trump.
Hillary's campaign manager Mook issued a statement on the 1st condemning Trump for not only harming small business interests and firing workers but also evading taxes.
Former Democratic candidate Sanders said on ABC that Trump's tax law manipulation exemplifies America's rich getting richer, poor poorer social divide.