Win-Win

In the Federal, who can influence government decisions?

An ordinary Federal citizen?

Are they well-known activists who are enthusiastic about social issues? Are they scholars and experts in their respective fields? No, none of them. The only people who can truly influence government decisions are capitalists, and big capitalists at that.

Lin Qi's single sentence sparked a flurry of speculation, especially considering he was currently residing in the Provincial Governor's house; their relationship was no longer simply one of "friendship." Just as people hoped Lin Qi would say more, a door to the conference room opened, and everyone spontaneously fell silent and returned to their seats.

The mayor stood inside the door, a little nervous. Not long ago he was the Police Chief, and now he was the mayor. This change in status made him feel a little lost, but mostly nervous.

He didn't know if he could satisfy his superiors. Lin Qi, Drag, being mayor wasn't a job he was familiar with. He couldn't use a baton to whip people into doing things his way. He didn't even have a baton! Before entering the meeting room, he tugged at the hem of his clothes with both hands to make them look neat and wrinkle-free. Unfortunately, he couldn't wear a belt right now, and he felt a little uncomfortable when his hands touched his empty waist.

Looking at the dense crowd outside, he took a deep breath and stepped into the conference room. This would be the first test he would face after becoming mayor.

The moment he entered the conference room, he saw Lin Qi. He seemed to want to greet him for a moment, but Lin Qi's earlier words had taken effect—"I will also be there that day. You must pretend you don't see me and speak according to the script I gave you, understand?"

Of course, he remembered. He quickly shifted his gaze from Lin Qi and walked to the podium on the steps of the conference room. He used to watch the mayor stand here from below, but today he was standing here himself, which was a very special feeling.

The crowd that had made him feel somewhat pressured just moments before suddenly became less intimidating after he climbed the steps, which was quite strange.

"Good morning, friends from all over the world, dedicated to helping Nagaril escape poverty and develop its economy and industrial base..."

"I am very happy to meet you all here. This is the first time I have met you all since I became mayor."

"Some of you may already know me, and some may be unfamiliar with me. First, let me introduce myself. My name is ' Afule Ang '. You can call me by my full name or by my name, Avrean."

It was only recently that Lin Qi realized that the "A" in the names of people like Asier Afule Ang was not actually a real name, but a modal particle that reflected their class characteristics.

Only ordinary commoners and people of Lowly People standing would add the meaningless modal particle "Ah" to their names. The current mayor, the former Police Chief, although from a small clan, was an insignificant member of a minor branch of that clan, and could hardly be considered part of the Ruling Class. This is why he was thrown into the position of Police Chief, a lackey.

He could only be considered someone with a slightly better background, someone who stood between ordinary people and the Privileged Class. That's why his name contained the particle "A," which roughly means "that guy" or something similar.

Throughout Nagaril People culture, class is an inescapable divide; they have even integrated class into people's lives and into their names.

Ordinary people and the Lowly People are a group of people who are discriminated against from birth because their names make them lowly.

On the contrary, it was the nobles, the rulers, and the great clans.

They do nothing, not even wear clothes or display their aristocratic features, yet people hold them in awe simply by uttering their names.

This is a distorted country, but they themselves don't seem to think so.

Lin Qi was very familiar with what he was about to say, even without looking at the script. He had an unparalleled ability to speak without a script and knew his writings by heart.

An Old Gentleman who specialized in writing once told him that the job of a writer is to organize fixed words in different but regular orders according to different environmental factors.

It sounds simple, but it's actually very difficult. Sometimes, you have to study a single word in a document repeatedly for a long time. This gave Lin Qi a deeper understanding of writing.

The entire article was roughly about the mayor expressing deep regret for the recent unrest and for the victims and their families. These were all very high-sounding words. The newly appointed mayor handled it quite well and quickly adapted to his new job.

You could tell that his emotions were calming down, and he was becoming more natural, which was a good sign.

After saying some meaningless things, he began to talk about specific measures.

"... First, considering that you have come from all over the world to help Nagaril develop, our government should give you some encouragement and rewards. We plan to reduce the business tax to seventeen percent!"

The first preferential policy instantly ignited the passion of the people in the meeting room. Originally, Nagaril's business tax was as high as 45 percent, and there were many additional taxes, but the Ruling Class was not included in them.

The Ruling Class exempts people from taxes for various reasons, and foreign businesses are "not profitable." The real business tax is aimed at those merchants who have risen from the common people and are on their way to success.

With only so much food in one pot, the rulers and third rulers would do everything they could to protect their rights, and taxation would become their most powerful weapon.

Many private businessmen and potential nascent capital markets have been crushed by heavy taxes.

The business tax has now dropped to 17%, which is about 10% lower than the Federal variable tax rate of around 30%, which is quite surprising.

Looking at the expressions on people's faces, Alefon suddenly had a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on. These foreign gentlemen in the room seemed to be nothing special after all. Just because of a single sentence from him, they could be happy or sad.

They are not as scary as people imagine; on the contrary, they are quite weak and their emotions change depending on his attitude.

But when his gaze fell upon Lin Qi, the unpleasant feeling that had arisen instantly vanished. He revealed a humble expression, just like the barking hunting dog he kept when he came home, with a fawning look in its eyes.

"Gentlemen, please be quiet. Furthermore, investments and production related to infrastructure within my jurisdiction will be fully tax-free!"

"This is also a way of repaying everyone for traveling thousands of miles (risking enormous unknown risks and traversing countless distances) to help us realize our beautiful vision of becoming wealthy."

Lin Qi nodded slightly, and he led the applause. The people also clapped enthusiastically in response to Lin Qi's applause.

Infrastructure companies are completely tax-exempt, and Federal businessmen have countless ways to prove that what they are producing is for infrastructure purposes.

Even if they can't do that, they can set up an infrastructure company to "buy" their own products cheaply and then resell them at normal market prices. They have plenty of ways to do it anyway.

The history of Federal economic development is essentially a struggle between labor and capital, between capital and government, and between money and taxes! It's brutal, yet fascinating.

After the new mayor and the others had calmed down a bit, he coughed slightly and continued to read out some of his policies, "Secondly, we will establish a 'Government Office for Foreign Investment and Joint Ventures (including but not limited to)' to help foreign companies settle in the local area more quickly, obtain various permits, and invest in production."

"In this process, as long as the companies meet the standards we set, they will be able to receive some of our conveniences and even subsidies."

The new mayor smiled slightly, "Although it's not much, it's our way of expressing our gratitude and appreciation for everyone's help!"

People spontaneously applauded again, briefly but enthusiastically.

"Third, given the negative impact of this chaos on society, especially on foreign investors, the Mengwu Province will implement a comprehensive gun ban, and will assign dedicated police to the places where you invest locally, as well as selectively issue Gun License to some security-related businesses, in order to strengthen the protection of investors' personal and property safety!"

"Please believe that we have always regarded you as our best partners, even as our family. There is no hatred between us. More than anyone else, I hope that you can invest here and make money here. At the same time, I would like to bring up a word: win-win!"

Win-win is the core idea Lin Qi envisioned for this meeting. It cannot be said that it is entirely about providing convenience for investors and forcing the mayor to completely betray Nagaril's interests, which is actually even less in line with Lin Qi's ideas.

Win-win is a great concept. Investors want to make money, and Nagaril wants to develop. The more money investors make, the faster Nagaril's economic development and industrialization will be. People can clearly see Nagaril's daily progress.

Their lives improve rapidly, which makes them feel lost. What they receive is different from what they believe, so they seek verification and eventually see the truth.

In order to help them see the truth of this world more quickly, is it too much to artificially speed things up a little?