The Insignificant Power
I need some advice!
The mayor, standing on the podium, rubbed his temples. "Our city is seeing more and more unemployed people and worse and worse public security. It is said that some serious crimes have occurred in the surrounding cities. If we cannot stop this situation, the city we have built over decades will return to the primitive era!"
Everyone knows that destruction cannot bring prosperity, only construction can. However, the current situation has forced some people to go in a direction they do not want to take.
If one can have food and clothing without committing crimes, and still have some followers, the vast majority of people in this world would still prefer to be a good person.
However, the mayor's words also made some people frown, because they had just donated money not long ago, and now the mayor had gathered them together to talk about how to save the city, giving the impression that he wanted to squeeze more money out of people's pockets.
This feeling is unpleasant. Nobody likes being blackmailed, even if the blackmailer is the undisputed ruler of the city.
There was no other sound in the silent room. The mayor looked at the people with hopeful eyes, hoping they could come up with a solution to the problem, but clearly, his hopes were a little too optimistic.
No one spoke. Everyone remained seated like gentlemen, watching the mayor on the platform. They were like decorations placed there to make up the numbers.
The mayor's expectation gradually faded. His gaze swept across the faces of the people, who mostly avoided eye contact with him, but he still couldn't get the answer he wanted.
This meeting was destined to be a failure. In fact, this was foreseeable on Wednesday. When Lin Qi pulled out 100,000 yuan, many people had to pull out even more money, and they felt like they had been robbed.
Whether they investigate afterwards or not, some people may eventually conclude that Lin Qi was not a "plant" arranged by the mayor, but they were still robbed.
A few years ago, they could easily come up with 30,000 to 50,000 yuan anytime, anywhere; back then, everyone had plenty of money.
Life is tough for everyone right now, and it's really difficult to come up with 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. Everyone is feeling the pinch.
The purpose of the mayor's gathering here again is clear to everyone in this room. They know what the mayor wants, but they are unwilling to compromise again, at least not this time.
Endless compromises will only lead the mayor to blindly and misjudge his influence, when in reality people are not that dependent on him, and they already have a "role model".
On Monday, the stock price of the Listoan Group began to plummet, which many people took as interesting news. Sometimes, the presence of such a dominant Group Company in a city is not a good thing for other smaller companies.
Because the upward channels are essentially semi-closed, the City Hall prioritizes giving a large amount of policy support to this dominant local pillar enterprise, rather than supporting the development of small and micro enterprises.
Only when this group collapses will most companies receive new opportunities and favorable policies. So they have been watching the joke unfold, seeing the Listoan Group's stock price plummet. Some have even sold their Listoan shares, hoping to push it off the cliff.
This is one of the reasons why people were willing to spend money on Wednesday. People witnessed the terrible power of the City Hall. Just by making a public statement, the stock of the Listoan Group began to plummet. It is said that even some announcements issued by Neo and the Board of Directors could not change this fact.
Secondly, the downfall of Listoan benefits the city's businessmen, who can acquire the Listoan Group's assets at low prices, which is equivalent to making a large profit. Therefore, even if it's difficult, they will still contribute money to support the mayor's actions.
However, the situation is now somewhat different. Neo has publicly stated that he intends to close Listoan's operations in Sabine City and move the headquarters to a Conservative Party stronghold in the Neighboring State.
The mayor of the capital city in the Neighboring State also stated on Friday night that he would try his best to bring in external forces to help their city overcome this difficulty. They also promised the public that if the Listoan Group could reach an agreement to set up operations in their city, the Listoan Group would provide their city with no less than 3,000 jobs.
This is just the beginning. By next year or the year after, they will provide more than 5,000 job opportunities, which has made the citizens of the whole city cheer.
In fact, in the context of today's era, people's needs are really simple: not to starve to death and to have a job, especially a job.
A job represents a stable life for the whole family. A job is a necessity. At times like these, nothing is more important than employment opportunities, absolutely nothing.
Looking back now, it seems that things are not as simple as people initially imagined. Listoan may not be without a way out; they may have already found one, which is why the mayor and governor expressed their dissatisfaction with them.
The power of a role model is immense. Listoan's living experience shows people that if they want to resolve some of their troubles, the best way is to switch to the Conservative Party. Today, the Conservative Party is facing the same troubles as the Progressive Party, but they are easier to talk to.
People sat below the stage watching the mayor, and the mayor looked back at them. Finally, the mayor had to speak first, which made him feel as if he had been humiliated. "I need you to provide more jobs..."
"That's impossible, Your Excellency!" someone interrupted the mayor, and this guy also attracted everyone's attention.
Lin Qi couldn't help but look curiously at this brave warrior with a courageous heart. How could he interrupt the mayor during the meeting?
He was a young man in his early thirties, probably around thirty-two or thirty-three years old. He even stood up on his own initiative. It has to be said that he had a decent appearance, though of course, he couldn't compare to Lin Qi.
He was calm and not frantic, which showed that he knew what he was doing.
He looked at the mayor and continued to repeat what he had just said, "That's impossible, Your Excellency. I have a small metal parts processing plant that employs twenty-seven workers, and that's the largest scale I can maintain."
"Since the second half of last year, it has become very difficult for me to sell my products, but I have maintained the same scale and still pay my workers. Although some people may think it is unethical for me to pay them the minimum wage according to the Hourly Wage Law, at least I ensure that these workers can still receive a wage from me every month!"
"Since May this year, I haven't received a single penny of payment for three months. I can no longer afford to support the factory and the workers' wages. Let alone hiring more workers, if I can't find a way out before October, I will have to shut down my factory. So it's impossible for me to expand the number of jobs!"
"And!" His voice suddenly rose, sending a chill down the mayor's spine. He pursed his lips, staring at the young man, who continued, "And I believe that the current problems in Sabine City cannot be solved by simply increasing job opportunities. Our problem is that our products have no market. Your Excellency, the Mayor, and the State Government and Federal Government governments should be helping us find markets, not making us bear responsibilities that we shouldn't have to bear!"
These words sounded very high-sounding, at least in Lin Qi's eyes, and the others began to applaud, soon the applause was continuous, which made the mayor's face even worse.
In fact, many of the things he said were correct. If a company can't sell its products, it won't make a profit or get paid, and it won't be able to support its workers.
Asking factory owners and entrepreneurs to create new jobs at this time is no different from robbing them of their money. His words represent the truest feelings of many businessmen at this moment, and they would naturally support him.
The mayor looked at the young man and memorized his appearance, but the young man didn't seem to be intimidated by the mayor's "malicious" gaze; he wasn't afraid at all.
This inevitably led the mayor to speculate about something behind him, perhaps that he was part of an arrangement by Listoan and Neo.
The applause quickly subsided. They knew that if the applause continued for too long, it could make things worse. All they needed to do was make a statement, not confront the mayor.
Not everyone can leave this city, like the Listoan Group.
Moving to another city might allow them to escape some of their current predicaments, such as workers' wages, but the new city will have more intense competition and policy pressures. If they cannot influence the lives of most people like Listoan, they are better off not moving around.
The mayor pinched the bridge of his nose, raised his hand to gesture for the young people to sit down, and then apologized to everyone, "I overlooked the pressure you are under in this regard..." This was the most sincere apology he could offer, and everyone accepted it readily.
"So, does anyone have any suggestions? I'm not asking anyone to solve the problems that even His Majesty the President can't solve, but at least to alleviate the situation. Our situation is very bad!"
Faced with the mayor's inquiry, people remained silent. At this moment, whoever had a solution was making an enemy of all the capitalists in the Sabine City.
Looking around the silent meeting room, the mayor realized for the first time that some things were not as easy to resolve as before. His expression darkened, and as he scanned the room, he spotted Lin Qi sitting in the corner.
This reminded him of what Lin Qi had said during his dinner with Lin Qi last week.