A Downpour

In September, the weather is no longer so dry. Although it is still a bit hot, there is already a hint of chill in the wind.

With two new branch offices established and achieving impressive transaction volumes, Lin Qi began instructing Richard to prepare for Secondhand Goods Auction the state capital. As Interstellar Trade Company appeared more frequently in the public eye, Lin Qi amassed a great deal of wealth and prestige.

"Adelaide is the governor's Chief of Staff and also a relative of the governor..."

Sitting in the mayor's car, the mayor was explaining to Lin Qi the situation of the person they were going to meet next, and also giving Lin Qi some things to pay attention to.

The better Lin Qi's business performed, the more it proved the mayor's policies were successful.

The more successful the mayor's policies are, the more influential he will be within the state's Progressive Party, and some have suggested that he has a chance to run for governor.

This kind of opportunity is not available to every mayor. The vast majority of mayors will not get such an opportunity. They will most likely serve as State Councilor or members of Congress until retirement. Some may not even get those opportunities and can only get a party position.

Promoting a politician to run for governor is no easy task, and it requires countless resources. Therefore, apart from those who are very confident, neither the Progressive Party, the Conservative Party, nor the Socialist Party, which is often forgotten, will consider nominating anyone else to run.

The mayor may get this opportunity, but only if the policies, ideas and practices he implements can effectively help Sabine City and the state do better than others in the face of economic difficulties, and his policies can also lead the direction of the entire Federal.

Only in this way can his enormous prestige and media exposure compensate for his most important shortcoming—he is not a member of the Saint and Harmony Society!

Therefore, he now relies heavily on Lin Qi, and the two of them rode together in his car to attend a small exchange meeting, which was hosted by Adelaide, the governor's Chief of Staff.

It wasn't just Sabine City that was facing these problems; all the cities in the state were. The governor's Think Tank got to work, searching everywhere for solutions and trying to find some that might work.

The reason they didn't do this before was because they believed their own minds could come up with the right solutions.

The reason they're doing this again is because they've discovered that their brains aren't as good as they thought.

The move from Adelaide to Sabine City was at the governor's behest, as the secondhand goods auction system implemented in Sabine City has proven to be a good policy – backed by a professional survey.

People often see people conducting surveys on the street with questionnaires, and they even receive small gifts for answering questions. These are operatives from professional survey agencies. Each street questionnaire is worth at least fifty cents, and sometimes one or two dollars (depending on the target group).

So the governor wanted to know if the mayor of Sabine City, or his friend Lin Qi, had any other, more constructive ideas.

"... Adelaide was born into a Saint Believer family and has a strong faith, although he often does things that are devoid of faith!" The mayor made a casual, slightly sarcastic remark, revealing that he didn't think much of Adelaide.

After his sarcastic remarks, the mayor's tone became slightly somber. "He is a very cunning man. He has the appearance of a pastor, but don't be fooled by his appearance. He is a cunning fox."

Lin Qi found it amusing. "No offense intended, but between you two, is it...?" He shrugged and made a small gesture with his hands to let the mayor understand his meaning.

The mayor admitted with some embarrassment that this was the effect of "value." Lin Qi had this value, so they became very close and could talk about some more personal topics.

But if one day Lin Qi becomes worthless, they will be like strangers outside a car window again, able to see each other but not looking at each other.

"He once suggested that I skip my current job and go directly to the State Senate. This wasn't some kind of constructive advice; he just wanted his nephew to do my current job!"

The mayor's face broke into a smile as he spoke, "But I won this round!"

He didn't mention the price he paid for winning this game, but it must have been very heavy.

He went on to talk about some of Adelaide's habits and details, and repeatedly warned Lin Qi not to believe that bastard's nonsense, that he was a fraud.

Actually, everyone is a liar. Some people are still naive, while others have even fooled themselves. As for those who are stuck in the middle, they are still struggling.

The meeting was held at a manor on the outskirts of Sabine City. The manor was owned by Mr. Green, a Progressive Party member of State Senator, who volunteered to host the event when Adelaide was coming to Sabine City.

As the car approached the manor, a sudden downpour began, which lowered the temperature and brought a refreshing coolness to Lin Qi was dressed in his finest attire.

Actually, his back was almost soaked with sweat, but in order to ensure that the wearer would not lose face due to sweat, they would do some "tricks" on the vests of summer formal wear. It was always the vests that were wet, but it would not affect the formal wear.

The timely rain cleaned up the air, but the driver's experience might not have been so good. Everything in the rain became a little blurry, and the car slowed down considerably.

About ten minutes after their scheduled arrival time, the two arrived at the manor. The manor's butler immediately had someone escort the two guests, Lin Qi and Mayor Landon, to their private rooms to rest. He also reminded them that due to the heavy rain, the exchange meeting had been postponed to 9 p. m., and they had about forty minutes to rest.

The unexpected heavy rain might have left them in a bit of a mess, so this time isn't really for them to rest and get some sleep, but rather to deal with some problems they need to solve.

For example, if your clothes get wet, there are maids in the manor who can help you dry them.

For example, if their leather shoes are covered in mud, the servants can quickly help them remove it.

Even mud stains on socks or slightly dirty cuffs can be fixed before the meeting begins.

In fact, even if these problems are not solved, no one will say anything, and no one will sing in an operatic tone in front of people, "Ah ha, look at that idiot's ass, is it mud or poop on it?"

But people always want to save face, especially on important occasions.

After Lin Qi and the maid arrived at the guest room, the maid asked if he needed help cleaning some of his clothes. After thinking about it for a moment, Lin Qi took off his tuxedo and looked at it. There was no dust or rainwater on it, but his trouser legs were a little damp, though not noticeably.

He changed his shoes, had the maid clean the mud off them, and then sat in the room enjoying some snacks, a cup of fragrant coffee, and some newspapers.

Ten minutes later, his leather shoes were returned. The servants wiped off the dust, re-oiled them, and polished them with lambskin to make them look brand new.

For the rest of the time, Lin Qi was reading the newspaper or watching TV. Around 8 p. m. was the peak time for TV ratings, and many people would choose to lie on the sofa at this time, eating cheap, fatty, and sugary treats, pursuing a rare spiritual enjoyment.

Lin Qi casually browsed a few channels, but didn't find much content related to the current situation. On the contrary, several institutional sections of the "《Transaction Newspaper》" unanimously raised the exchange rate risk of various War Bonds, indicating that the situation was deteriorating very rapidly.

Many people may feel that since they did not buy War Bonds, this matter has nothing to do with them. If they only look at these things as isolated events, they will obviously not be wrong.

The question is, how many isolated events exist in this world, and how many of them can truly be completely isolated?

It's difficult!

Lin Qi walked to the window. In the distance, the earth and sky blended into one color. In the heavy rain, it was impossible to distinguish where the sky ended and the earth ended; they were both pitch black, swallowing all the light.

At 8:50, the butler personally knocked on the door and informed Lin Qi that the exchange meeting would be held later in the manor's conference room, and arranged for someone to guide Lin Qi there.

As Lin Qi walked through the long corridor, he noticed some oil paintings hanging on the walls. He didn't know much about oil paintings, but he could tell that they weren't cheap.

Art resonates because true art is itself an expression of emotion.

It's clear that Councilor Green is more than just a congressman; he's also very wealthy.

In the conference room, after exchanging greetings with the Lin Qi, the two sat in the front row, because they were the main characters today.

At 9:01, very precisely, as the second hand slid past 59 seconds and the minute hand moved forward a fraction of an inch, the conference room door opened again, and a smiling, silver-haired man walked in from outside the room.

He was dressed in relatively simple clothes, and from the outside, he seemed more like a teacher than a politician; there wasn't much in common between the two.

One is to educate people, to tell them the necessity of pursuing truth and to teach them the methods.

One is to use words to fabricate stories to satisfy one's own interests.

But they were contradictory yet intertwined in this one person. Mr. Adelaide, as the mayor said, was like a pastor or a teacher, someone who could put people at ease.