At night, the mayor had just finished a social gathering. He was a little tipsy as he sat in the car, looking at the colorful city. He wasn't as ambitious and heroic as described in novels. He didn't have many thoughts at all.
He only felt that this was trouble, a big trouble.
At this time, the sky was completely dark, just like the city's current situation. It was shrouded in despair.
Most of the time, people thought that mayors were better than state legislators or city councilors. At least they had actual power, instead of voting to create a collective power.
But only they knew that when things were going smoothly, they would be happy to be the mayor. But in the current situation, even if a mayor had great ability, it was difficult to do well.
Some things couldn't be changed by human power, just like the economy that was constantly declining.
Every day, he looked at the rising unemployment rate, looked at the homeless people wandering around the streets because they couldn't find a job, looked at the gap that was getting bigger and bigger, and felt a deep sense of powerlessness, as well as physical and mental exhaustion.
The car slowly came to a stop. The moment it stopped, the insignificant loss of strength made him feel slightly nauseous. He patted his cheeks and got out of the car.
He rejected the driver's offer to help him and returned home. He sat on the sofa and heaved a sigh of relief.
The maid at home brought over a glass of iced water. He took a sip, dispelling the slight drunkenness in his body. He asked casually, "Is Ferral back?"
Ferral and the other staff lived in the same neighborhood as the mayor. They even lived in the house next to the mayor's. At any time, as long as the mayor needed them, they could rush over to serve him.
The maid nodded. "I saw Mr. Ferral's car come back around seven."
"Tell him to come over. I'll wait for him in the study."
The mayor drank the remaining half of the glass of iced water. He felt a lot more energetic. He supported his body to stand up and walked into the study, a little tired.
He sat on the chair and waited for Ferral's arrival. At the same time, he was thinking about something. He was a little dazed in a daze. When he woke up again, Ferral was already standing in front of him.
"When did you get here?"
He took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of his eyes. He wasn't sure if he had eye boogers, but he had to maintain his dignity.
Ferral waited for the mayor to tidy up his appearance before raising his head and answering, "I've been here for a while. I saw that you were resting just now, so I didn't want to disturb you."
The mayor smiled, but it was a very forced smile. Then, he let out a sigh and said, "I met Neo tonight. His attitude was very ambiguous."
Recently, there was a rumor circulating in Sabin that Mr. Nio, the CEO of Cristoyan, was actively contacting the Conservative Party. In some private occasions, he affirmed some of the Conservative Party's policies in recent years. He believed that these policies had allowed the Bailey Federation to be ahead of other countries.
In this country, everything could be confused. Gender, loyalty, love, hate, but only political stance could not be confused.
Neo could tell everyone that he had fallen out with the mayor while also expressing his determination to remain loyal to the Progressive Party. This was a problem between him and the mayor.
However, now that Neo's views had started to change, the mayor had to figure out whether Neo was trying to put pressure on him or if he really had other ideas.
Unfortunately, he didn't manage to find out. Neo had been avoiding this question from the beginning. In fact, this also allowed the mayor to make a preliminary judgment. He was still making a choice, and at the same time, he hoped that both parties would give him some bargaining chips that would make him more inclined.
Hateful businessmen! Hateful capitalists!
There were tens of thousands of people working directly or indirectly for Cristoyan. If Cristoyan announced that they were leaving Sabin and the state to move to the Conservative Party's territory, it would be the biggest failure of the mayor's tenure in Sabin.
What was even more frightening was that under such circumstances, if ten or twenty thousand people lost their jobs all of a sudden, the entire city would instantly fall into hell.
Furthermore, Neo had purposely spread rumors recently. When the time came, everyone would blame it on the mayor. They would think that the mayor was the one who forced Neo to leave, causing everyone to lose their jobs and their lives.
The angry citizens would be enough to cut off his political career. Neo had made up his mind to force the mayor to bow his head, but he had neglected another problem.
Cristoyan wasn't the only one who could bring down Heng Hui. Many people had worked together, and some of them were as big as Cristoyan's economy. Why would these people be willing to let the Cristoyan Group swallow the best part of their economy?
Even if the mayor agreed to it, the mayors, councilors, and even governors of other districts wouldn't agree to it. This caused the matter to become a dead end.
So, was there really no way to change it?
In fact, that wasn't the case. Neo must have known about this too. His purpose was to get the mayor to fight for the best benefits for him and serve him with all his might. However, this was also impossible. If an outstanding politician became a hired thug for the capitalists, it only meant that the politician wasn't good enough. At the same time, his political career would come to an end.
This was a dilemma, and it had always been a headache for the mayor.
When he talked about this topic, he didn't expect Ferral to immediately come up with a solution. This wasn't something that had just happened today. He just mentioned it casually, like a depressed person who had the desire to vent for a short while. It would be fine after he finished talking.
The topic was put on hold. After pausing for a while, he brought up another matter that brought Ferral here. "How's Lynch doing today?"
Only then did Ferral's expression change a little. He nodded and described the scene at that time. This had already moved the mayor. As he calculated by himself, he asked, "How many people do you think Lynch will need to hire to serve him if all of this becomes a fixed pattern?"
He was afraid that Ferral would misunderstand him, so he added, "I mean if his business spreads across the entire state!"
Ferral frowned and calculated for a while. He then said with uncertainty, "Today, he hired about forty salespeople and several accountants. If you include the temporary workers who helped him set up the scene and the people in the warehouse, he will provide at least 200 to 300 jobs in a city."
"Adding up all the cities in the state …" Feral's face showed some surprise. "There are at least 5,000 jobs!"
It was a little too embarrassing to talk about 5,000 jobs in a state with a population of millions. However, the mayor still valued these jobs because he knew that Lynch's plan was not limited to this number.
He began to calculate. According to Lynch, the club he established could provide many more jobs. Coupled with some of his other ideas, the mayor was a little surprised.
If what Lynch said could be realized, he could at least provide no less than 10,000 jobs in the entire state, and no less than 4,000 jobs in Saibin City.
If a few hundred jobs were only enough to make the mayor take a second look, then 4,000 jobs could take care of at least 4,000 families. It would directly affect the lives of about 15,000 people, and indirectly affect the lives of about 10,000 people.
Lynch alone could affect the lives of about 30,000 people, and this was when he was not eye-catching. What if he was given a chance to take off?
The mayor could not help but fall into deep thought. At present, there was a consensus within the Progressive Party that they should not talk about economic development. Instead, they should solve the problems of the people's lives first. If they did not solve these problems, the Federation's good financial situation would be in danger of collapsing in an instant.
If the situation could not be reversed, there might be a farce of local financial bankruptcy.
The closer it got to a time like this, the more important the capitalists became. It was difficult for the politicians to provide direct jobs to the people, but the capitalists could.
They did not need to feed everyone until they were fat and healthy. As long as the people could hold on and the system could operate normally, everything would eventually turn for the better.
With that thought in mind, the mayor made up his mind.
The meeting with Neo at night made him realize that he could no longer rely on Neo. Even if he compromised, he could not rely on Neo.
Neo had forced him to lower his head for the sake of Neo. Even if he did, there would be an irreconcilable grudge between them.
The mayor did not do anything now because he needed Neo's help. However, once he had the ability to turn things around, he would definitely make Neo and Neo pay the price.
How could Neo not know about this?
No, he knew very well, but he still did it. This also meant that the compromise between the two sides would not last long. Soon, another matter would be used as a fuse to start the confrontation again.
"Help me arrange something. I want to meet Lin Qi," Lin Qi said.
After making up his mind, the mayor expressed his thoughts. Lynch might not be able to change the current situation, but he could provide some other ideas.
Looking at the businesses under Lynch's control, one could tell that he was a young man with a lot of ideas. If he could provide some ideas that could help them survive this difficult period, not only would the mayor not lower his head, he might even have the chance to give Neo a slap in the face.
As someone who was more familiar with Lynch, Filar was obviously a good middleman. Not only did the mayor and Lynch know each other, they even had a meal together. However, their "acquaintance" was only on the surface. If they wanted to discuss something more important, they would need a reliable middleman to act as a bridge.
Suddenly, the mayor felt that arranging for Filar to meet with Lynch was a good choice. At the very least, it would give him an additional path and an opportunity.
His mood suddenly improved and he felt a lot more relaxed. At the same time, he began to look forward to this meeting.