Two Major Problems
"The first problem is that I plan to do import and export business, but I don't have import and export licenses..."
Given the Conservative Party's isolationist policy and its fear of war, they believe that exporting goods to or importing goods from a country at war would draw them into the conflict.
This idea was actually shared by the vast majority of people in the Bayer Federation at the beginning of the World War. Even within the Federal Progressive Party, no one could reach a consensus on this issue, which led to the Conservative Party winning the election with almost no difficulty.
It is precisely this policy of isolation that has led to the fact that even today, after the complete armistice of the World War, the Federal's international trade has not recovered, with only a limited number of trades that cannot be refused.
For example, by exchanging some goods from other countries for raw materials that the Federal government cannot manufacture or does not have locally, it is difficult for ordinary individuals or companies to operate large-scale international trade, apart from such unavoidable foreign trade policies.
This brings us to a special office in the Conservative Party President's cabinet government— the International Trade Approval Office. This office is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the Department of Defense also has overlapping management authority, which shows how vigilant the country is about foreign trade.
This office decides what goods can be exported and what goods can be imported each year.
For someone like Lin Qi who wants to run an export business, it's basically out of the question in the short term; there's no possibility of it, and he doesn't even have the chance to try.
The mayor's brows slowly furrowed, then tightened, causing wrinkles to form between his eyebrows, making them appear raised and giving him an imposing, dignified air.
In fact, this feeling mostly stems from his title, His Mayor.
If the person frowning is a homeless man, he may not be met with respectful gazes, but rather with curses and a shoe sole that may be smeared with phlegm.
"I need to inquire about it, but the chances are slim, at least in the short term, unless there are changes in international affairs policies."
He quickly concluded that many people had proposed to engage in international trade, but with the World War just ended, no one knew whether an accidental border clash would reignite the flames of war across the world.
Therefore, we still need to wait and see for a while. However, the Mayor did not tell the truth. The senior members of the Progressive Party have already concluded that the World War has basically come to an end.
It's not that everyone has become more civilized; it's that most of the participating countries have fought to the point of madness. They no longer have the capacity to continue fighting unless they truly want their countries to perish.
In the current global context, war is essentially about testing a nation's overall strength. Once that strength is gone, they can't even afford to produce bullets, so what's the point of fighting? However, the Conservative Party, which has built its isolation policy on some success, doesn't see it that way. Perhaps they share the same view as the Progressive Party, but thanks to the peace that isolation has brought to the Federal and the political benefits it has generated, they are unwilling to abandon the policy before fully realizing its political potential. Therefore, it will need to continue for some time.
As for the internal situation, things have actually loosened up, but this loosening will absolutely not be known to ordinary people. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Conservative Party president is constantly criticizing some of the Progressive Party's "fallacies" on television, and the Progressive Party leader is also saying on television that the Conservative Party president is a pig. In fact, the two parties do have some consensus on a certain level.
Oh, I forgot again. There's also the Federal Socialist Party, but it doesn't matter. They're used to being forgotten, and sometimes newspapers just say "two parties" instead of "three parties."
If the Mayor really wanted to do this, it might not be impossible. However, he used his personal connections to do this for Lin Qi, but he didn't get much in return. He didn't think it was a suitable choice.
Sometimes politics is a very troublesome thing, but sometimes it is very simple, so simple that it is just a matter of comparing size.
Lin Qi wasn't too surprised by this conclusion. He continued cutting his steak with an elegant demeanor and said in a casual tone, "If I can obtain Free Trade rights, I can solve the employment issues left behind by the Listoan Group after its departure."
He put a piece of tender, juicy beef into his mouth, and as he chewed, the juices splashed everywhere. It felt wonderful. "Maybe there will be even more. We can bring the unemployment rate down. I also believe that the more things are like now, the more willing people are to work. What do you think?"
It goes without saying that if there's a suitable job... or even an unsuitable one but one that pays, everyone is willing to do it, no matter how tiring or dirty it is.
Having a job at least provides income and allows them to make a living. If they lose their income, the wealth they have accumulated over the past ten, twenty, or even several generations will evaporate in an instant.
It's cruel, but kindness can't save the world.
"Are import and export businesses really that profitable?" the mayor asked, somewhat alarmed. If import and export trade could bring such huge profits, then this might become a key policy for the Progressive Party to cleanly and decisively defeat the Conservative Party. All it would take to implement an open policy would be enough; it seemed far too simple.
Lin Qi smiled, a smile that sent chills down the mayor's spine. The smile on the face of this young man, whose hair was slicked back with wax to make him look more mature, but who was actually only twenty, was very similar to that of some of the big politicians and capitalists he had met before—a smile that revealed a kind of contemptuous understanding of people's hearts and the world.
But these smiles used to only appear on the elderly; now, they appear on a young man old enough to be his son.
Lin Qi put down his knife and fork, picked up a napkin and dabbed the juice from his mouth. The smile on his face hadn't faded from the beginning; in fact, it had become clearer and clearer.
He placed his hands on the two corners of the table, leaned back slightly, and stretched his upper body. He was about the same height as the mayor, but slightly taller. His current posture gave the mayor a surprising sense of pressure.
"This is related to the second problem I'm facing. Would you like to hear about it?"
The mayor silently put down his knife and fork. He reached for his wine glass to take a sip and ease the inexplicable tension, but when he saw the bright red liquid that looked like blood, he withdrew his hand and nodded. "Perhaps I'll be interested."
"I plan to change the current employment method, no longer accepting minimum working hours and other standards, and turning employment into cooperation..." Lin Qi's words made the mayor's brows furrow tightly again.
The 《Minimum Wage Law》 has been in effect for many years and is revised annually according to price levels and then made public. All business owners, factory owners, and any employers who hire others to work must abide by this law.
Each worker must work no less than 60 hours per week, but no more than 72 hours.
If the factory or workplace arranges for less than 60 hours of work, wages shall be paid according to the hourly wage in the employment contract for the effective working hours, and wages shall be paid according to the 《Minimum Wage Law》 for the other hours.
In other words, if a factory hires a worker but doesn't let him work, it still has to pay him 《Minimum Wage Law》 every month.
If the work exceeds 72 hours, overtime pay will be paid. Currently, the minimum overtime pay standard in the Bayer Federation is 120% of the normal working hours, which is the minimum standard.
Overall, this greatly protected the legitimate interests of workers. When the bill was announced and passed by Congress, the entire Working Class and lower-middle class were overjoyed. Some people even took newspapers to their factory owners and business owners and read the contents of the bill to these despicable capitalists in person.
People say this law protects the working class, but in reality it also protects capitalists, which is another matter.
Since the enactment of this law, many people have used huge fines and bankruptcy to prove that it is an inviolable bottom line. There is a "punitive sentencing/penalty standard" guideline in the judicial system of the Bayer Federation.
When a court deems it necessary to impose a severe punishment on someone so that society will realize that certain mistakes cannot be made, it will invoke this standard. What would normally be a fine of 10,000 yuan could become a fine of one million yuan.
For example, a sentence that would normally be only one year is suddenly increased to five or ten years, and the purpose of doing so is to punish and set an example.
Lin Qi's words made the mayor nervous. One wrong move could trigger a series of events, from workers' marches and protests to mass demonstrations, and eventually riots.
It's important to understand that while people at the bottom of society may indeed be pitiful at times, they often do things that make people angry. For example, they tend to blame their misfortunes on social injustice and the unfriendliness of others, rather than looking for problems within themselves.
Lin Qi will trigger this trait in them; they will believe that their unemployment is due to the inaction or even persecution of capitalists or politicians, which will then cause another uproar.
Before Lin Qi could finish speaking, he interrupted Lin Qi, "Your idea is dangerous, Lin Qi. If you're not careful, you could make a big mistake, and even if I were willing to help you, I wouldn't be able to."
"There are some things you can try, and even if you fail, people will forgive you because you are a young person."
"But there are some things you can't touch, no matter how young you are or whether it's intentional or not. If you do touch them, you will become a sinner!"