Retreating a Step Was Not for a Wider World

Lin Qi already had a plan in mind to acquire a large tract of vacant land in the southeast of Sabine City. Ferral did not try to dissuade him further. He knew very well that although Lin Qi looked young, he was actually a very opinionated young man.

For someone like that, one suggestion is enough. If you offer too much advice, the other person will think you don't mean any good. Given Lin Qi's deep cunning, Ferral didn't bring up these matters again, but instead chatted with Lin Qi about other things.

Casual conversations are all about someone starting a conversation, and then you just start Hu Diao Che and on, and whatever the topic gets to is whatever it gets to.

Lin Qi started by talking about the Big Three Banks Trading Seat mentioned in the newspaper. Ferral had also read the newspaper that morning and couldn't help but sigh about the situation in the capital.

"The financial market is booming like never before. A lot of funds that should have flowed elsewhere have flowed into financial transactions. In particular, the Big Six Banks lowered interest rates multiple times last year and at the beginning of this year, and even the savings of many ordinary people have flowed into stock and futures trading..."

The stagnation or even recession of economic development does not appear in a short period of time; it is a process. Starting a few years ago, the speed of social development began to stabilize and then slow down, until now, some small places have begun to experience a wave of bankruptcies.

This was a clear process, during which the Presidential Cabinet, led by the Conservative Party, also formulated some remedial plans. Their approach was simple: to have banks lower savings interest rates, allowing more money to flow into society and revitalize the overall economic development of society by stimulating consumption.

However, the effect... cannot be said to be bad. The decline in bank interest rates makes ordinary people feel that there is no value in keeping money in the bank. Coupled with the plundering of idle funds by some legitimate Finance Company, the money that should have been used for various basic consumption and to drive the engine of social and economic development has all flowed into the Financial Market.

With one miracle and myth after another constantly emerging in the Financial Market, more and more people are starting to look for their own investment brokers to invest their money in the securities market.

It must be said that some people have indeed made money, or rather, in the face of this distorted era of unreplicable opportunities, any participant can make money, as long as they are not particularly unlucky.

Even Little Yellow Sheet (referring to illegal gambling) can make people a lot of money. This miracle among ordinary people has attracted more ordinary people to pay attention to it and join in.

The more macroeconomic control is implemented, the more distorted and bizarre the Federal economy becomes. So far, the Presidential Cabinet has no better way to reverse the current situation. They only hope to maintain it and avoid major troubles during the president's term.

"Your Mayor's recent work has actually been related to this matter. The unemployment rate in Sabine City is getting higher and higher. Last week, five more factories declared bankruptcy. Our unemployment rate has exceeded 15 percent, which is a very dangerous number!"

Ferral's face showed a more serious expression. A 15% unemployment rate meant that out of the Sabine City's 800,000 residents, apart from retirees and children still in school, about 60,000 out of approximately 400,000 were unemployed.

The impact of these 60,000 people will affect at least one family, and possibly as many as three families, causing livelihood problems. In other words, the number of people in the entire Sabine City currently suffering from unemployment may be around 200,000, or even more.

And this number is still rising. The staff of the mayor of Ferral believe that the unemployment rate in Sabine City may exceed 20 percent by the end of this year.

Some people might think that a 20% unemployment rate means there is still an 80% employment rate, but in reality, the data is not simply as it appears.

They all revolve around the core issue of job openings in Sabine City. Once all the available jobs are filled, the remaining people have no work and no opportunities at all.

And these jobs that allow people to work and earn wages are shrinking due to the wave of bankruptcies.

So when Lin Qi offered to create even just 500 jobs, the mayor supported his plan.

With such a massive change on the horizon, nothing provides greater reassurance than a job that ensures a family doesn't starve.

Through his conversation with Ferral, Lin Qi also sensed something else: Ferral, the mayor, and even the Progressive Party were all very clear about the problems facing the Federal and the changes taking place in the country.

This piqued Lin Qi's curiosity. "Don't you have any solutions? I mean, at a higher level?"

Even now, though some things are beyond repair, there are still ways to minimize the losses, but he hasn't seen that happen.

In newspapers and on television, politicians are still touting that the benefits of the Bayer Federation era are far from over, seemingly oblivious to the despair on the faces of the unemployed waiting for work on the roadside.

They are still touting this as a wonderful era, and those gold-toothed posters on the roadside have become the most ironic phenomenon in this farce of the times.

No one pressed the pause button; they just watched helplessly as the Bayer Federation train hurtled into the abyss!

Ferral grinned. "You know, the ruling party now is the Conservative Party..."

This one sentence was enough to explain a lot of substantial things. Ferral didn't expect Lin Qi to understand, but Lin Qi nodded with a serious expression, which gave Ferral a deeper understanding of Lin Qi.

"He not only has a strong talent for business, but also a deep understanding of political issues!" Ferral said in an interview later, and the idea behind that statement has already been born today.

Lin Qi's lips parted slightly. "Political infighting, I thought our country wasn't like those other countries."

Ferral didn't know how to respond, and could only helplessly say, "Actually, we're all the same."

The Progressive Party clearly has some ideas that differ from the current ruling party, but the ruling party will not agree to the measures proposed by the Progressive Party. If these measures succeed, it will only demonstrate the folly of the Conservative Party, proving that the Progressive Party is right and smarter than them, and thus they will lose their voters.

If these measures fail, the public will also think that the Conservative Party leadership are idiots who can't even tell whether a measure is effective before implementing it, and they will think they are as stupid as pigs, thus losing their voters.

If you lose a little today, and a little tomorrow, you'll eventually lose everything.

Therefore, regardless of whether it's good or bad, they will ultimately lose face. In order to ensure the correctness and face of the party, the Conservative Party has rejected some "views" put forward by the Progressive Party in both houses of parliament, believing that these "views" are immature.

At the same time, they touted that it was the Conservative Party that led the Bayer Federation to prosperity. If they were to suddenly announce now that the country might face some huge crises, it would be like slapping themselves in the face—not only painful, but also loud and shameful.

Party strife can be truly terrifying at times. After pondering for a moment, Ferral revealed another piece of information. "The Conservative Party intends to concede during the general election; they intend to relinquish this opportunity."

The problem has gotten so serious that the Conservative Party, having already won a second term, will likely withdraw from this election in order to avoid making any mistakes.

If the Federal were to collapse during the term, the Presidential Cabinet, including the president himself, would likely face resignation or impeachment. The party's capabilities would be questioned by those who lost their jobs, and people would no longer easily believe that the party was capable of leading them out of their predicament. Instead, they would begin to miss the Conservative Party, which had led them to prosperity and strength.

If things really develop to that point, the newly elected Progressive Party Presidential Cabinet may face impeachment, and then the public may petition for the Conservative Party to return to power in this time of crisis.

This time, it doesn't matter if they don't do well, because there's an even more foolish party ahead of them. So it's not hard to understand why the Conservative Party are backing down. Sometimes, a strategic retreat can be quite troublesome.

At this point, both of them sighed. Ferral was worried about the future development of the Progressive Party, while Lin Qi... sighed with happiness at the busyness that was about to come.

The mayor was supposed to return around noon, but he was clearly delayed. Lin Qi and Ferral had a quick meal outside the City Hall but still hadn't heard from him. Lin Qi then asked Ferral to talk to the mayor about the land while he went to the car dealership in Sabine City.

He needs a car now. Sometimes he can rent one from the Community Service Company where he lives, or he can borrow one from someone else, but that's not very convenient.

He knows all too well how it feels to borrow someone else's car, so he's planning to buy one.

Unlike the "Automobile City" of another world where every car brand has its own dedicated store, the car dealerships in Sabine City are not like those in other worlds. Here, there are only two dealerships: one for construction vehicles and one for civilian vehicles.

Upon entering the enormous sales center, Lin Qi surprisingly felt a chill despite the sweltering summer heat. The spacious sales center was nearly deserted, with gusts of cool wind blowing from one end to the other, creating a sense of desolation.

His footsteps startled the Sales Manager, who was dozing off. Soon, a woman who looked to be in her late twenties approached him. "Sir, are you looking to buy a car?"

=①; Hu Diao Che: Hu Diao is a prop in a board game. It is a hanging disc with many small holes around the edge, containing many strings. Pulling one string tightens another to obtain a certain item. No one knows which string they have pulled. This term is also often used to describe a scattered state without a specific goal.

②; "Little Yellow Sheet": "Little Yellow Sheet" refers to a type of "crowdfunding listing" issued by non-listed companies (individuals or organizations) that resembles stocks. These listings are published weekly in the supplement of the "《Transaction Newspaper》." The issuing entity's qualifications and funds are not verified; only specialized departments of the three major banks review the project's legality. Because these listings are printed in yellow, a color symbolizing danger, they are known as "Little Yellow Sheet."