Astronomy Teacher Did His Part

After a brief but warm greeting, Mr. Adelaide took his seat at the head of the conference table.

It's hard to imagine that a Chief of Staff without any real official position, who merely holds the title of a member of the Progressive Party and serves other politicians, could have such a high-handed attitude or status.

He sat at the head of the conference table, not as State Senator Mr. Green, not as Mayor Landon of Sabine City, and certainly not as Lin Qi, but as a Chief of Staff without any official position.

However, no one was surprised, because the governor trusted his Chief of Staff very much, and many State Government policies actually came from the governor's Think Tank.

Sometimes the truth doesn't feel as real as people imagine, because sometimes what the governor says, his attitude, his stance, and his expression when facing the public are all pre-planned by these people, and the governor is just carrying it out.

This is not to say that the governor does nothing; he is not a puppet. It's just that his staff are very capable and can lighten his workload considerably, which gives people reason to respect Mr. Adelaide.

A key figure who can directly influence the governor's attitude! "Thank you all so much for coming here in this bad weather. I am truly grateful!" Adelaide said with a smile. His voice was gentle and not sharp. He spoke slowly, and each word was pronounced clearly and completely.

Different places have different accents, and some words have unique regional pronunciations, but Adelaide's speech didn't have any of those. Every word he spoke was so standard that he could be a broadcaster.

It's hard to dislike someone like that, especially since he's so polite.

"The situation we are facing right now is like bad weather outside the window. Starting this month, all local governments across the state will begin distributing Food Stamps, but we are still facing a huge shortfall!"

"The average unemployment rate across the state has exceeded 13 percent, and the unemployment rate in some individual cities is even higher. From some data I've obtained..." he said, unable to suppress a laugh, "On the contrary, places with less industrialization are actually more resilient in the face of severe economic recessions!"

This is a phenomenon that people have only recently come to realize: after people have concentrated excessively in cities, some towns, especially some agricultural towns, are not so affected by the problem.

Every household has its own land and livestock. Their lives haven't changed much from the best times of the past, and even now, in the worst times, their lives remain the same.

Self-sufficiency has become a new proposition, and some people believe that this approach can alleviate some of the burden. However, this obviously erroneous statement was quietly suppressed before it could gain traction.

"We've been keeping an eye on the secondhand goods exchange program in Sabine City, and I must say this method is really good!" He took some documents out of his briefcase, said "sorry", and then put on his glasses.

He tilted his head back slightly, keeping a distance from the documents in his hands, so that he could see them clearly. "We conducted a survey. We asked some ordinary citizens who participated in the auction and had purchasing experience what they thought of this transaction. Their answers were very gratifying."

"They bought what they had always wanted and that was essential to their lives for less money, and by doing so, they saved some money that they could invest in other expenses, thus easing the burden on their lives!"

Adelaide took off her glasses. "Almost everyone thinks so, Landon. You did a fantastic job on this!"

The mayor nodded, his expression unreadable, while Andrade continued, "I believe that a tree will not bear only one good fruit, which is why we are sitting here. Your Governor needs you to speak your minds freely; perhaps salvation lies hidden in the collision of these ideas."

"A tree (apple tree) will not produce only one good fruit" is a Federal proverb, often used to describe a series of good things or a hopeful expectation.

The mayor didn't speak, but just looked down at the notebook in front of him, very seriously. Lin Qi didn't speak either; it wasn't his turn to speak now.

The fact that these two people didn't speak didn't mean that others would remain silent. This was a good opportunity to get acquainted with the governor, and if some of their ideas could be put to use, they would have even made it onto the governor's side.

The number of capable people in this society is unclear. For example, Asier, the new manager under Lin Qi, is not only capable but also has special qualities, but his situation was not good before he met Lin Qi.

Having ability is one thing, but having a stage to showcase that ability is another. Many people often have the former, but not the latter.

If they have the opportunity to contact the governor, it's like having a stage.

With a stage, would there be a lack of people to dance on it? People began to make inferences that they believed were helpful to the situation, some of which were indeed more plausible. For example, one guy suggested implementing a double taxation standard, or simply eliminating all taxes for the lower classes and only charging them insurance premiums.

This kind of statement might ease some people's emotions, but it's not of much value in terms of the overall situation.

There were a lot of ideas like these, some reliable and some not, and people had heated discussions about some of them. Throughout the process, Mr. Adelaide remained an observer and kept taking notes.

He did not show any clear inclination towards any particular viewpoint; he simply raised some appropriate questions.

The housekeeper had already come twice, opening the windows to dispel the smoke, and before we knew it, it was almost eleven o'clock.

Everyone in the room remained excited; they felt no fatigue and were oblivious to the passage of time.

After the discussion ended, Adelaide coughed lightly, and the lingering sounds of debate in the room instantly ceased, leaving it completely silent.

He glanced at the mayor. "You've been listening for so long, do you have any good ideas?"

The mayor shook his head. He wasn't angry with Adelaide; he had already heard these people say the same things before, and if there was anything useful to be gained, he would have used it already.

Adelaide wasn't surprised; he also thought these people were talking nonsense, but he didn't show it. Then he looked at Lin Qi sitting next to the mayor.

"Mr. Lin Qi, I noticed that you haven't joined our discussion from the beginning. Do you already have some well-developed ideas?" His words drew everyone's attention to Lin Qi.

Lin Qi remained unmoved by these potentially malicious glances. If these glances could make him uneasy, he would never have moved into the small room.

He smiled slightly. "Of course, Mr. Adelaide. In fact, I had already discussed with His Mayor some ways to resolve our current predicament."

He glanced at the mayor, who was also looking at him. Their eyes met for a second or two before Lin Qi looked away. "The mayor thinks my idea is a bit immature, but since you asked, perhaps we can take advantage of this place and opportunity to discuss it together and make these ideas more complete."

The somewhat malicious gazes softened, and the fierce black shadows disappeared, revealing the appearance of little white rabbits.

Adelaide watched Lin Qi with interest. In fact, when he learned that Mayor Landon's policies and plans came from a young man who was about to turn twenty-one, his first reaction was similar to that of others.

This young man must have had a close relationship with Landon, possibly being a relative or political successor, but after investigation, it was discovered that they were not related.

Now, he was amazed to see Lin Qi once again handle some atmosphere issues with his unusual sophistication, making those with hostile eyes at least restrain their malice.

If an old man had the ability to change other people's attitudes so subtly, he would find it normal, but Lin Qi is too young! So young that everything seems fake, or his youth is ignored.

Adelaide snapped out of her daze and nodded. "Maybe you're right. So let's hear what you have to say?"

Lin Qi smiled and began to talk about his ideas. He was very comfortable in this environment and atmosphere. Persuading others had been his only job for the past thirty years. This job had continued into the world and was not unfamiliar to him at all. On the contrary, he was even more adept at it.

"We all know that the decline of the real economy mainly stems from two problems: first, our goods have no market; second, our manufacturing costs are getting higher and higher!"

Those around him nodded in agreement. This was a problem that everyone knew and faced. Lin Qi continued, "As long as these two problems are solved, the company can obtain sufficient profits, the operation will become healthy, and we can continue to operate healthily without going bankrupt or closing down. People will have stable jobs and incomes, and everything will return to what it was before."

When he spoke of going back to the past, a brief look of nostalgia and reverie appeared in people's eyes. It was truly a good era, Golden Age.

Adelaide shifted his posture slightly; being older, he couldn't sit still like a young person. "We all know we need to solve these problems, but the question is how to solve them. Do you have any mature ideas?"

Lin Qi's smile became even more friendly. "When I was in school, my Astronomy Teacher told me not to let our vision be limited to the atmosphere by some mundane things."

"The simplest way to solve our current problems is to 'not limit our vision to the domestic market'!"