Chapter Summaries

The Old King urged Nagaril’s rulers to preserve political independence by cooperating with the Federals while developing the country and waiting for a future chance to reclaim sovereignty. After the meeting, Federal officials questioned Provincial Governor Drag, who planned to portray himself as the one who persuaded the Old King to support Galil’s appreciation.

• Provincial Governor Drag reflected on how the Capitulation Faction could remain useful to both Nagaril and the Federals by serving as a bridge between them.
• A Provincial Governor admitted that Nagaril could not defeat the Federals and said he had sent relatives and students to study in the Federation.
• The Old King urged the rulers to learn from the Federation, develop Nagaril, and prepare for a future opportunity if the Federation and Gefra went to war.
• The meeting ended with the Old King storming out and falling on the steps, while observers smiled at the apparent display of anger.
• Two Federal Government employees entered Drag’s hotel room to question him about the meeting, and Drag chose not to verify their identities.
• Drag told the Federal officials that he had persuaded the Old King to support Galil’s appreciation and negotiate collective purchases of Federal Sol, while emphasizing his own role.

Drag reported to Lin Qi that the meeting had ended without discussion of the banks, while Lin Qi focused on the rapid infrastructure work and visited his Cement Factory. At the factory, Lin Qi learned that workers were manually crushing materials amid heavy dust and that some tools had gone missing, leaving the production operation dependent on road construction and supervision.

• Drag told Lin Qi that he had tried to persuade Old King but had forgotten to bring up the banks, and Lin Qi said Drag had proved his value.
• Lin Qi watched Nagaril's construction progress and reflected that projects there faced little opposition from residents.
• Lin Qi traveled with Sergeant to the Cement Factory, where old machines and manual labor kept production running until the new equipment could be transported in.
• Neil told Lin Qi that heavy dust had been troubling him and that the factory's dust-suppression equipment had not yet solved the problem.
• Neil reported that nearly fifty sledgehammers had gone missing on the first official workday, but the remaining workers were mostly honest aside from occasional slacking.

Lin Qi explained to Neil how capitalists used competition between worker groups to undermine worker unity, then proposed applying an intensified version of the method to the Natives. Neil understood the plan and recognized its effectiveness, while Lin Qi noted that such disorderly competition could also harm capitalists.

• Lin Qi taught Neil that workers resisted exploitation through unity and capitalists weakened that resistance by dividing workers into competing groups.
• Neil recognized that his former factory’s workshop competitions had bred hostility among workers and helped prevent them from agreeing during the closures.
• Lin Qi proposed dividing the Natives into at least three teams, redistributing wage deductions as prizes, and using short and long scoring cycles to intensify competition.
• Lin Qi proposed allowing each team to nominate workers for dismissal if more than half its members voted against them.
• The Vice Manager showed admiration and fear as Neil considered Lin Qi’s plan, and Neil remarked that it was both ruthless and effective.

Lin Qi discussed labor unions and road-building logistics with Neil, then left after warning him about dust and arranging for new machinery to arrive. Meanwhile, Gardon faced Simon’s son and a woman claiming to be Simon’s family, and the confrontation ended when he kicked their puppy.

• Lin Qi told Neil that labor unions could balance workers’ and capitalists’ interests, then asked about production capacity and output.
• Neil explained how workers could use wooden rollers to move heavy machinery inland, and Lin Qi told him to prepare for the cargo ship’s arrival around the tenth.
• Lin Qi warned Neil to avoid dust or wear a filter mask, then left and passed wealthy homes embroiled in disputes over impostors claiming ownership.
• Simon’s son and a woman claiming to be Gardon’s mother demanded that Gardon surrender Simon’s estate and threatened legal action.
• Gardon kicked their small puppy, and the woman screamed and rushed toward it.

Gardon drove Simon’s original wife and her son from his home after they demanded Simon’s inheritance, and the son’s attack on Simon’s gravestone revealed a murderous streak. Worried they would use their foreign identities to challenge him during a sensitive political period, Gardon invited Akumali to dinner and resolved to prove himself worthy of the inheritance.

• Gardon kicked Mengxi, killing the puppy, then ordered Simon’s original wife and her son out of his house.
• Simon’s son kicked Simon’s gravestone over and threatened Gardon before leaving with his mother.
• The butler restored the gravestone and arranged for workers to guard the courtyard.
• Gardon asked the butler to invite Akumali to dinner, believing the impulsive cadre would be easy to direct.
• Gardon considered how Simon’s family could use the political climate and their foreign status against him, then vowed to prove he was the most suitable heir.
• Akumali arrived at Gardon’s home with two younger brothers, and Gardon welcomed them warmly.

Gardon manipulated an impulsive Youth Party cadre into targeting Mr. Simon’s wife and son by framing them as foreigners threatening his inheritance and the jobs he provided. As the cadre set out armed, Mr. Simon’s wife mourned Mengxi, whose ashes she held at the hotel.

• At dinner, Gardon told the cadre that Mr. Simon’s original family wanted to take his factory, house, and money, and the cadre promised to handle the problem.
• Gardon told his butler that the cadre would act to prove his resolve, and that he would stop supporting the Youth Party if it failed to help him.
• The cadre dismissed his assistants, returned alone to the jungle base, and retrieved a police pistol and more than a dozen bullets to kill the mother and son.
• At the hotel, the lawyer advised Mr. Simon’s wife and son to seek Mr. Lin Qi’s approval for their inheritance lawsuit.
• Mr. Simon’s wife sat grieving over Mengxi’s ashes after the dog died despite the pet doctor’s efforts.

Simon’s wife and son planned to claim his inheritance with their lawyer’s help, and the lawyer urged them to seek Lin Qi’s support and treat him with respect. After leaving them at the hotel, the lawyer recognized a drunken local as a possible murderer but assumed the hotel would keep his clients safe.

• The lawyer reminded Simon’s wife that he had warned her to keep her dog leashed, then redirected her attention to claiming Simon’s inheritance.
• The lawyer proposed persuading Lin Qi, a powerful young shareholder overseeing commercial development in Mengwu Province, to support their inheritance claim.
• Simon’s wife and son reacted with disbelief at Lin Qi’s youth and wealth, while the son dismissed his achievements as the result of family connections.
• The lawyer warned them that Lin Qi came from an ordinary family and demanded that they show him respect, then arranged to seek a meeting for the next day and told them to stay in the hotel.
• The lawyer encountered a drunken local outside the hotel and later recognized the man’s gaze as that of a murderer, but concluded that the hotel would protect Simon’s family.

Impulsive Cadre tracked down the young man connected to Simon’s inheritance and shot him in a hotel lobby before escaping. Lin Qi received the report and learned that the shooting was tied to an inheritance dispute involving his friend Simon.

• Mr. Simon’s wife complained about the hotel’s limited videotape programs, while her son left to seek some excitement.
• Hotel staff stopped Impulsive Cadre from entering because he was a local man they did not recognize and he could not identify the people he sought.
• The young man suspected Impulsive Cadre had come for him after hearing the word “inheritance,” and Impulsive Cadre recognized him from his reaction.
• After a lawyer’s words made the young man step back, Impulsive Cadre shot him in the shoulder and fled the hotel.
• The Police Chief reported the shooting to Provincial Governor Drag and Lin Qi, who learned it was connected to an inheritance dispute involving Simon.

Lin Qi advised small investors on profitable ventures in Nagaril, including building communications networks and opening literacy schools. He also revealed that the schools could transfer graduates’ labor contracts to him, leaving the investors to bear the risks while he acquired trained workers.

• The Police Chief asked Lin Qi whether he would support a foreign mother and son in their inheritance dispute, and Lin Qi said he knew Gardon but could not vouch for strangers claiming to be relatives.
• Lin Qi returned to the salon and resumed advising the small investors who had gathered there.
• Lin Qi proposed that investors build inexpensive utility and communications networks, then sell them to him or expand them with bank loans.
• Lin Qi suggested opening Literacy Schools, using students’ labor contracts to cover education costs and qualifying for Federation subsidies.
• Lin Qi offered to buy the contracts of graduates, while privately recognizing that this arrangement would shift risks onto the school operators and give him access to trained laborers.

Lin Qi confronted Gardon about his role in the failed assassination and criticized the clumsy plot. Gardon had come seeking protection and insurance for his property, but Lin Qi's questioning left him struggling to reveal his purpose.

• Gardon came to the Provincial Governor's Residence to meet Lin Qi, who invited him in while reading the newspaper.
• Lin Qi recognized that Gardon's quiet, deferential manner was an act and said they both knew about the previous day's shooting.
• Lin Qi explained why the hotel assassination had been a foolish plan and told Gardon that he had made a mistake.
• Gardon admitted his mistake, shaken by Lin Qi's pressure and reminded of how his father, Simon, had acted around Lin Qi.
• Lin Qi asked Gardon why he had come, while Gardon struggled to ask for protection and insurance for his property.

Lin Qi advised Gardon to hire local workers and defend his business by showing the public how many jobs it supported, while arguing that investment could help Nagaril prosper. Gardon and other heirs began hiring on a large scale, and the chapter ended with an unusual public meeting about sanitation.

• Lin Qi told Gardon to recruit workers so the public would have a reason to support his business against foreign rivals.
• Lin Qi explained that his investments aligned his interests with Nagaril’s development, changing Gardon’s view of foreign businessmen.
• Gardon thanked Lin Qi, then left to put his advice into action.
• The next day, Gardon and other local heirs began hiring workers from the public across their factories.
• Two days later, wealthy locals and influential ordinary people gathered outside City Hall to discuss sanitation.

Nagaril’s mayor confronted the city’s sanitation crisis and announced a plan to reward residents for collecting dry garbage, which would be burned to generate electricity. Lin Qi’s profit-driven scheme offered a practical way to clean the city while supporting its power needs.

• The mayor revealed that more than twenty-four thousand people had died from sanitation-related diseases, but many attendees dismissed the deaths as divine punishment.
• The mayor ordered residents to maintain sanitation and threatened to expel those responsible for streets that failed inspection starting the following January.
• Attendees protested that the rules were unreasonable and difficult to enforce until the mayor silenced them.
• The mayor announced that Lin Qi and Federation merchants would buy burnable dry garbage for one Galil per pound to use as fuel for electricity generation.
• Lin Qi viewed the payment scheme as a way to motivate residents to collect garbage while addressing the city’s waste and electricity shortages.

Lin Qi returned from Nagaril to the federation to watch the Sabine City club play in the preseason final and review its finances. The club had earned 370,000 in a year, and a championship win could push its earnings above 400,000.

• Lin Qi left Nagaril after three months, where cleaner streets and the new Thermal Power Plant had marked the city's recent changes.
• Lin Qi traveled by liner to the federation, saw submarine cables being laid, and then took a train to Benlit for the preseason final.
• Kane and Coach Manson met Lin Qi at the station and brought him to the club bus, where he met the new women's team Captain.
• Lin Qi asked Kane about the club's finances, and Kane reported 370,000 in annual earnings, with more than 400,000 possible if the club won the final.

Lin Qi reassured Kane that he would not be fired and agreed that they needed to formalize Kane’s employment. The preseason final began in a packed Benlit stadium, where the commentators drew attention to Lin Qi’s arrival in the VIP stand.

• Lin Qi remembered that Kane and the club had never renewed their contract, and Kane and Coach Manson worried that Lin Qi might replace him.
• Lin Qi explained that the informal employment arrangement made Kane’s salary harder to claim as a tax-deductible expense, then agreed they should sign a contract.
• Kane explained that the female players had gathered because the club was playing away, and Lin Qi left without responding to the female Captain’s apparent advances.
• The next day, the mayor invited Lin Qi to the finest stand at Benlit’s packed Ball Field for the preseason final.
• The Three Bastards joked about the match and their pay, then drew the crowd’s attention to Lin Qi’s arrival in the VIP stand.

Bentley's mayor explained his plan to use sports to draw residents away from the city's fashion culture, while Lin Qi watched the Interstellar Club dominate its rugby match. The chapter ended with the crowd celebrating the team's victory.

• Bentley's mayor and Lin Qi emerged from the tunnel as the commentators joked about them, and Commentator Three used lip-reading to reveal that Lin Qi had noticed the free tickets.
• Bentley's mayor told Lin Qi that he hoped sports investment could change local attitudes, explaining that he had given complimentary tickets to bars and other venues where gay men gathered.
• The Interstellar Club overwhelmed its opponent from the start, forcing the opposing team to make an early substitution.
• The match remained one-sided, and the crowd grew increasingly excited as spectators cheered and waved their shirts.
• The head referee blew the final whistle, and the stadium erupted in celebration of the Interstellar Club's victory.

After the Interstellar Club won the preseason championship, Lin Qi rewarded the team and promised support for injured athletes. He then hired the Three Bastards to use their sharp commentary against the incumbent governor’s opponents in the upcoming State Election.

• The Interstellar Club celebrated its preseason championship and received a certificate from the United Sports Association.
• Lin Qi gave Kane one percent of the club’s shares and announced a fund to provide jobs and support for athletes forced to leave professional sports because of injury or illness.
• Lin Qi met the Three Bastards at his hotel and told them he liked their commentary style.
• Lin Qi offered the Three Bastards thirty thousand dollars for two months to mock the incumbent governor’s opponents on television before the State Election.

Lin Qi advised Bennet City's elite to profit from Nagaril through its cultural influence rather than by traveling there, then returned to Sabine City and reunited with Ferral and the Green Brothers. He learned that the brothers had been protecting his warehouses and Family Workshop operations amid rising crime and limited police intervention.

• After the Interstellar Club's preseason victory, Lin Qi attended a celebration hosted by Bennet City's mayor.
• Lin Qi explained to local business figures that Nagaril-related culture, fashion, films, and merchandise would become valuable trends in the Federation.
• Lin Qi warned that people should identify harmful elements in unfamiliar cultures before adopting them.
• Lin Qi returned to Sabine City four days after the championship and found Ferral waiting at the station.
• The Green Brothers, Noel Green and Fern Green, met Lin Qi and continued overseeing his warehouses and Family Workshop operations.
• Lin Qi recalled that the brothers had faced troublesome families seeking to cheat his business, while police often ignored such disputes.

Lin Qi reunited with Noel and Fern, praised their work, and warned them to avoid openly illegal violence while protecting the business. He then rode with Ferral and asked about the election campaign, leaving Ferral’s own prospects unanswered.

• Lin Qi greeted Noel and Fern with hugs and learned they had kept watch over the city and fought people who resold the company’s supplies and machinery.
• Lin Qi showed Noel a painful pressure point and advised the brothers to make attacks appear to be accidents rather than deliberate crimes.
• Lin Qi promised to have Vera allocate company shares to the brothers and arranged to discuss other matters with Ferral later.
• Ferral told Lin Qi that his help had improved the election campaign and that the governor believed their chances were good.
• Lin Qi asked Ferral about his own prospects.

Ferral discussed the pressure of becoming Sabine City’s acting mayor as Lin Qi visited Mayor Landon, whose move to the House of Representatives was being arranged. The chapter ended with Landon explaining how he would take over for an ailing representative after a transition period and congressional hearings.

• Ferral explained that he would serve as Sabine City’s acting mayor for two years before stepping aside for a State Senator, and admitted he felt pressured by the city’s problems.
• Ferral drove Lin Qi to City Hall, where Mayor Landon greeted Lin Qi and praised his role in the club’s championship and the boost it gave citizens’ morale.
• Landon said he was considering promoting more investment in sports, and he invited Ferral to join their conversation.
• Lin Qi asked Landon about his next position, and Landon described the plan for him to assist an ailing representative before seeking the seat through legislative votes and congressional hearings.

Lin Qi met with Mayor Landon and Ferral to discuss the mayor’s resignation, plans to revive local factories, and Nagaril’s labor opportunities. He left Ferral with a business card and an offer to help his brother find work there.

• Mayor Landon told Lin Qi he was ready to leave office and devote himself to serving the country, crediting Lin Qi’s example.
• Lin Qi asked for information on daily-necessities factories so he could acquire several and restart production; Landon said to begin after Ferral’s inauguration.
• Landon warned Ferral that rivals would challenge his authority unless he produced visible achievements, and Lin Qi agreed to start with a preliminary factory investigation.
• Lin Qi explained that Nagaril was poor but offered profitable opportunities because its workers could be hired for little or no pay.
• Landon asked whether his nephew Mark could find work in Nagaril, and Lin Qi offered to help him and Ferral’s younger brother.
• Ferral thanked Lin Qi as he saw him out, and Lin Qi gave him his business card and said they were friends.