Every Person Had Their Own Little Schemes

The public was dissatisfied with the mayor, and the city's capitalists were equally dissatisfied. They were the group most unwilling to see social unrest, as social unrest meant their businesses would go down the drain.

The gathering held by the wealthy businessman was ostensibly to protect his assets and combat illegal activities, but in reality, it was likely driven by some underlying "ideas."

Lin Qi did not express his opinion, but stood quietly to the side. Although people were paying attention to him, it was clear that the focus of this gathering was not him, but the wealthy businessman.

He's not entirely right. Under Federal law, "breaking and entering" often refers to intrusion into non-commercial private property, that is, residence. In such cases, direct retaliation is protected by law.

However, whether a business premises fall under the category of "burglary" and whether intruders can be killed without hesitation raises some technical and ethical questions. Not to mention, when the wealthy businessman mentioned the purpose of his party, his argument was already untenable.

To kill those who robbed them of their property, they deliberately planted gunmen in the store. The jury would definitely not give these people a good look; they would consider it a premeditated murder.

The gunman might be acquitted, but the advocate could be convicted of murder, so no one responded enthusiastically to what he said; there aren't many fools here.

He spoke for a while, and seeing that the atmosphere was quite good, he began to address the main topic of the gathering. "Speaking of the recent problems in our city, there is someone who has some unique ideas. I wonder if you know Councilor Edward?"

Some people nodded. Councilor Edward was one of the state Member of the House of Representatives who had initiated several proposals on urban reform and frequently went out into the community.

What he was most proud of was his mastery of blacksmithing and logging skills, which he claimed he learned from blacksmiths and lumberjacks in order to experience the hardship of labor.

People at the bottom of society really like this, and he has some fame in society.

However, his scripts didn't really appeal to the Upper Class class, and frankly, a state Member of the House of Representatives, while impressive, was only limited to that.

As the wealthy businessman was speaking, someone knocked on the door, and it turned out to be Councilor Edward entered.

The businessman explained briefly, "I have exchanged many ideas and opinions with Councilor Edward these past few days. I think Councilor Edward is a person who is very enthusiastic about our lives and cares about our interests."

"Recent events have made me realize that we need someone to speak up for us!"

At this point, people finally understood the purpose of the gathering; it was actually a political act. Some people were very interested, and they indeed felt that what the wealthy businessman said was correct, and that nothing had changed so far.

Moreover, investing in politicians has always been a tradition. Politicians use capitalists' money to increase their influence everywhere. In return, once they gain power, they will use that power to benefit the capitalists who support them.

The most common measures are tax reductions and exemptions, as well as preferential local policies—these are all things that capitalists value.

Some people find this boring, like Lin Qi, who knows some deeper inside information: Councilor Edward and his potential supporters have offended the mayor, as well as those behind the mayor.

Regardless of whether they belong to a political party or a faction within the same party, they will inevitably harbor some minor conflicts with each other as a result.

That's understandable.

Resources are limited for any political party, even for large parties like the Progressive Party and the Conservative Party. The Socialist Party has once again been subconsciously forgotten.

Their resources can only be concentrated on a few people, and others have to fight for it themselves. One person who fights his way out from among thousands of low-level politicians has a certain chance of becoming one of those few.

The current mayor of Sabine City also earned his position through his own efforts, which is why he was able to catch the eye of some people and become a candidate.

Competition at the bottom is always brutal, whether for ordinary people, small business owners, or these "lower-level politicians".

The countless small circles within countless rooms make up the All Forms of Life of this society.

Amidst the bad news, there is one piece of good news: the Drinking Water Company and its employees have reached an agreement that, after a two-day water outage, the Drinking Water Company can guarantee two hours of limited water supply each morning and afternoon.

The agreement was reached because, after two days of strikes, the employees of the Drinking Water Company discovered that they themselves were also suffering from the effects of the strike.

The others indeed had no water to drink, but their own taps were also completely dry. After several rounds of intense negotiations, they reached a compromise.

Roughly speaking, it means working two fewer hours per week, a 3.5% increase in monthly salary based on the hourly rate, and three more days of paid vacation per year. That's about it.

The workers were contentedly enjoying their legal strike holiday; they weren't in a hurry to go back to work, as they wanted to help other striking groups.

Perhaps seeing Lin Qi standing alone to one side, Councilor Edward, who had just finished a conversation, walked over with a wine glass in his hand.

Lin Qi is currently a highly regarded businessman in Sabine City. In this turbulent era, it is already quite difficult for any business to operate without making a profit, let alone making a profit. It is something that can be said with pride.

But Lin Qi's company not only didn't lose money, it made a fortune every week.

What's even more incomprehensible is that while most ordinary people have a negative view of capitalists, many people are grateful to Lin Qi and his businesses.

Even the mayor sometimes needs to leverage Lin Qi's influence to promote certain things, not to mention their plans to collaborate with Television Station and telecommunications companies to launch Live Broadcast and telephone auctions! If these things were to actually be implemented and become a reality, everyone would feel that a terrifying monster is being born.

The outside world's valuation of Lin Qi's company is close to meeting the standards for going public. If they can maintain their consistent success at the auction in the state capital, more companies and individuals will invest in Lin Qi.

Receiving Lin Qi's help is almost equivalent to indirectly gaining the attention, or even assistance, of those behind him.

"You didn't bring a female companion?" Edward walked up to Lin Qi and didn't look down on him because of Lin Qi youth.

Lin Qi turned around and nodded slightly in greeting. "I don't have a girlfriend yet. You know, people like us always feel like we don't have enough time, let alone time to date."

He swirled the wine in his glass, causing the liquid inside to move slightly. "Maybe I'll think about these things when I'm thirty."

This was a very ordinary opening line. Edward and Lin Qi clinked glasses. "What do you think is our problem right now?"

This is a very general question. Lin Qi thought for a moment, "Communication."

If both labor and management could calm down and sit down to communicate, instead of expressing their demands through radical means such as a major strike, perhaps the problem wouldn't have escalated to this point.

But every problem has two sides. Perhaps they had tried this before but failed, so strikes have become a common tactic because only in this way will capitalists be willing to listen to what the workers have to say.

However, this major strike is far greater than any previous one in terms of scale, impact, and destructive power.

Councilor Edward pointed at Lin Qi with the finger holding his wine glass. "You're absolutely right. Communication—so far we haven't seen any effective channels of communication. Appeals and speeches can't change anything."

He was implying that the mayor's actions were pointless, and it certainly seemed that way.

As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face. "I am different from Landon and his ilk. They are either academics (the Saint and Alliance) or elite politicians (from prestigious universities). They don't know what the people really want."

"And I..." He took a step back, making some gestures with his hands. His body language was very rich, which made his words seem more infectious. "I come from an ordinary Elementary School, an ordinary middle school, and an ordinary university. I know what those people want because I came from among them."

This statement is actually invalid, because those who are truly "they" cannot afford to go to university. Those who can afford university are at least Middle Class, at the very least! He then changed the subject, "I am quite familiar with the branch president of the union. In the next few days, I plan to talk to them about solutions to the labor-management conflict. If you have any needs, you can perhaps bring them up during the negotiations."

This is how he attracts people: he talks to the union branch president face-to-face about the strike, where many people are eager for it to end immediately and for work to resume. Councilor Edward has a firm grasp on their needs, and his bargaining chips are very strong.

However, this bargaining chip wasn't very effective with Lin Qi, because he didn't have many workers under his command; he only had a large group of partners! Moreover, he never forced anyone to work hard; his attitude was "take it or leave it." His own interests were always more effective than any urging in motivating people. Money was more effective than a whip!

Lin Qi shook his head. "I'm glad you thought of me, but I don't have those problems on my end yet."

Edward was somewhat disappointed, but that was all. He didn't expect to gain everyone's support from just one gathering; if he could, he would have been president long ago.