A Long One and a Short One-Choose the Longer

Lin Qi had just returned home in the morning when the maid told him that Mr. Ferral had called him and asked him to call him back as soon as possible.

This was one of the biggest inconveniences of the pre-mobile communication era: if a person didn't stay in a specific place, no one in the whole world could find him!

Lin Qi quickly called Ferral back and explained the purpose of Lin Qi call.

The mayor has already submitted Lin Qi's application form to join the Federal Progressive Party. Lin Qi doesn't need to do this himself; the Federal Progressive Party Development Office will handle these forms for him.

Also, around Wednesday, which is the day after tomorrow, the Federal Progressive Party State Office will send someone to Sabine City to meet with Lin Qi. Members like him, who are recommended by a city mayor and join the Progressive Party, will receive higher-level treatment.

The development commissioner will talk to Lin Qi about his impressions of the Progressive Party, whether Lin Qi has any suggestions for the Progressive Party, and whether he needs any help from the Progressive Party.

Ferral told Lin Qi that he could say anything, but he absolutely could not ask for help, as that would not be a good thing.

Many new members of the Progressive Party are unaware of this. When they talk about the difficulties they face in their business or work, some of which the Progressive Party can solve, they start to ask for something in return after they have resolved them easily.

It's not the kind of malicious, endless demands; they're just telling you, "We've helped you, so shouldn't you give some help to others—some other Progressive Party friends—if you can?" This method can easily integrate a person completely into the whole, but sometimes it has problems; not everyone likes this kind of "dedication."

In addition, there will be a charity auction in the state on Saturday night to raise funds to address part of the city's unemployment relief subsidies, which Lin Qi has been invited to attend. Next Monday, Lin Qi will also set aside time for a consultation meeting at the City Hall to discuss how to revitalize the city.

Lin Qi did not refuse any of these activities, and carefully recorded the time. The higher a person's value in society, the less they can guarantee complete independence.

Many people think that becoming wealthy should bring a lot of freedom, and in some ways that is true. But sometimes it can also be very restrictive, because the development of various aspects of society requires these people to offer their ideas or make their own contributions.

People who have a lot of money and do nothing but play all day long do nothing. Such people don't exist in this world or any other world.

Various meetings and events cannot be missed. Sometimes, even the ladies and gentlemen of Upper Class get very tired. Moreover, this dual mental and physical fatigue is much more tiring than the simple physical fatigue of manual laborers.

At that moment, Lin Qi suddenly remembered what Catherine had said that day: the so-called Upper Class might just be spent chatting and dining.

The next day, Tuesday afternoon, Lin Qi drove to the place he had arranged to meet with Lunite to visit his factory.

He had met this guy at a previous party to explore potential collaboration opportunities, which is why Lin Qi came here.

He believes that as the situation in the Federal worsens, many things will be relaxed, including employment-related laws.

People were starving, who cared about laws or not? Earning money, buying food, and filling their stomachs were the most important things! As soon as the car stopped, Lunite and his secretary rushed over, refusing Lin Qi's driver to open the car door for him, and personally opened the door for Lin Qi.

If his current situation weren't so precarious, how could a factory owner possibly make such a move? "Thank you for coming to pick me up in person..." After getting out of the car, Lin Qi straightened his clothes, extended his hand, and shook hands with Lunite. Compared to his composure, restraint, and strong confidence, Lunite seemed like an insignificant supporting character in some story.

He was slightly hunched over, not bowing, but definitely not straight either. He didn't want to appear "flattering," but he wasn't assertive enough either—a man wavering back and forth.

"Of course, I'm already very happy that you came. So, shall we take a tour of my factory?" he said, leading Lin Qi into the factory.

The factory covers about forty acres and has three workshops and a warehouse. This type of factory is very common in industrial areas. Perhaps to give Lin Qi a "lively" scene, all the workers in the workshops were present today, and they were all wearing clean work clothes and working diligently.

Lunite probably assumed Lin Qi was a young man with little social experience, thinking that since he had never been to the factory area, he wouldn't understand how foolish Lynch's actions were.

In fact, whether they are sewing workers or doing heavy physical labor, their work clothes can never be clean. This is especially true for assembly line workers, whose high-intensity work and higher pressure make them not care whether they get their clothes dirty.

But here, everyone is dressed in clean clothes, and they handle their work slowly and methodically, as if they were dealing with a work of art, not a commodity.

Lin Qi wasn't really looking at these people or their skill level; he was looking at the condition of the sewing machines.

Currently, the Federal Garment Factory uses the same semi-manual, semi-steam-powered industrial sewing machine used in the Lunite factory. It has a shift lever and four pedals, and manual pedaling is used to complete some more detailed tasks.

Only long-line sewing work uses steam power, which makes the workshop very hot. With a hissing sound of pressure release, hot air constantly leaks out from the steam pipes.

In addition to steam-powered sewing machines, there are also electric sewing machines, but those have low sales and usage rates.

The high cost of electricity is too much of a hidden expense compared to the cheap steam. A day's electricity consumption could buy enough fuel for a week's use, which is why steam-powered sewing machines are the mainstream.

As for the fact that it makes the workbench and workspace hot, that's not something factory owners consider at all; they never care whether the workers are comfortable while they're working.

"The machines are very new..." Lin Qi observed that the machines looked well-maintained and did not show any obvious wear and tear.

Lunite, though puzzled, nodded in agreement, saying, "These are all new machines updated two years ago; you could say they're indistinguishable from new ones."

Two years ago, business wasn't this difficult. He invested a lot of money in upgrading his equipment, but soon encountered problems such as reduced production, resulting in severe losses.

What he said wasn't an exaggeration. These machines have been used less and less since they were bought. At first, they could work one day and rest the next, but now they have basically stopped working altogether.

If it weren't to avoid being petitioned for bankruptcy, he probably would have applied to completely cease operations long ago.

After touring several workshops, Lin Qi arrived at Lunite's office, which was quite impressive, showing that he had indeed lived a good life in previous years.

The various exquisite, grand, and luxurious furniture and furnishings make this place resemble a CEO's office rather than a factory owner's office, which further highlights Lunite's current predicament and some minor comical situations.

Lin Qi sat on a separate sofa. Lunite's secretary brought him coffee, but he didn't drink it. Who knew when these coffee beans were from? Given the state of this factory, they probably needed to budget even for buying coffee beans.

Lunite looked at Lin Qi with an expectant face, hoping that Lin Qi could give him a positive answer, even if it was just some insignificant small orders, which would allow him to hold on for a while longer.

Many factory owners like Lunite face the same awkward situation: once they announce a complete shutdown and cannot resume operations in the short term, they violate the land use agreement they signed with the City Hall.

They will not only lose their factory land, but also all the real estate on that land. At that point, even if they can hold on for a while, they will be forced to declare bankruptcy under such a blow.

So even if these factory owners really can't raise the money, they have to borrow money or take out loans to keep operating every now and then, at least to get through these problems.

He looked at Lin Qi expectantly, Lin Qi naturally gave him some hope, "Do you have a recent issue of a fashion magazine here, or a newspaper?"

Lunite immediately looked at his secretary, who quickly said yes and found a fashion magazine from the month before last, which was full of nice clothes and accessories, all of which were the most cutting-edge items in the fashion world.

Lin Qi casually flipped through the magazine, then tossed it onto the table. "Can you make these clothes, bags, and accessories here?"

Lunite was somewhat surprised. He wasn't sure what Lin Qi meant by that, but he nodded nonetheless. "It's not difficult. My Blanket Factory is capable of making the accessories, and the clothing factory can make the clothes. They're not technically difficult; it's mainly about the innovation and concept of the design."

Lin Qi nodded noncommittally, "Use similar materials, select some of the most fashionable and trendy clothing styles, produce 100 pieces of each style first, and 1,000 pieces of each type of jewelry and bag. I'll give you a profit of one dollar per piece. Can you do that?"

Lunite picked up the magazine with a troubled expression, looking at the descriptions of fashion and designer accessories. These were products from major brands, and all of them had design patents. "If I produce these products without authorization, I will be held accountable, and may even be sued..."

Lin Qi just smiled and said, "Being sued won't bankrupt you immediately, but without this order, you won't last more than a few days."

"Would you choose to keep your business going and face lawsuits that may never happen, or would you choose to go bankrupt to uphold some principles?"

"I respect people with convictions, but I don't sympathize with them. What would you choose?"

"Mr. Lunite?!"