The time slowly pointed to seven o’clock. Councilman Williams looked at the slightly empty living room with a not-so-good expression on his face.
James, Arthur, Lance, William, and a few other people did not even fill a tenth of this living room.
When the grandfather clock struck seven “dings,” everyone’s eyes focused on Councilman Williams.
Tonight, Councilman Williams himself had a gathering. With the mayoral election getting closer and closer, he definitely needed to put some effort into this.
He had invited many politicians and wealthy people from the Bay Area to come over, saying it was just a normal get-together to catch up, but everyone knew that this was an act of “siding.”
Once Councilman Williams became the mayor, he would naturally break away from the Bay Area interest group.
He couldn’t become the Bay Area’s dog, or rather, there was already a potential conflict between his and the Bay Area’s interests.
This sounded a bit incredible. They were originally one group, so why couldn’t they be one group after he became the mayor?
In fact, this was a question of leadership. Of course, the leadership here was not about who would lead, but who would lead whom.
Councilman Williams had his own interests and political demands. He could not be led by the Bay Area.
And the Bay Area also had its own interests and political demands. If the interests of both sides were consistent, then their relationship would be relatively harmonious.
But that was not very likely. Lance knew that Councilman Williams planned to continue to start the construction of the New Port District and the New Bay Area, and to promote the New Port Terminal to take on a part of the business volume of the Golden Port Docks.
In fact, including those people in the Bay Area, all the ruling class and privileged class of Golden Port City knew that the construction of the New Port Terminal was very necessary.
It was just that the construction of the New Port Terminal would inevitably affect the interests of the old Golden Port Docks, and most of the people here had many interest connections on the Golden Port Docks.
This was just a microcosm of a conflict of interest, just like the situation when some ancient dynasties faced reforms.
Everyone knew that reforms would bring new hope to the decaying country, but they also knew that reforms would harm the interests of their own families.
Between the hope of the country and the interests of the family, they would often choose the interests of the family, not the hope of the country.
This kind of problem and contradiction will always exist, and will continue to exist as long as there are interest relationships.
Today’s gathering could be said to be a statement, a prelude to siding.
Those who came to participate in Councilman Williams’s gathering would have to fully support Councilman Williams and his family in a series of subsequent issues of urban reform.
And those who did not come would firmly stand with the Bay Area and continue to defend their interests.
A new war was about to begin, but now it seemed that Councilman Williams’s side was at a disadvantage.
After another five minutes, no more people came.
In fact, many of them had promised to come, and had said many nice things, such as taking the city’s reforms to heart and being willing to support Councilman Williams to complete his policy ideas.
But when the news of Charlie’s silencing came, they seem to have changed their original ideas and did not plan to come over.
The butler hurried over, leaned over to Councilman Williams, and whispered for a moment.
From his serious expression, it was clear that this was definitely not good news.
After hearing this, Councilman Williams laughed twice. Although it was a laugh, everyone could hear the anger in his laughter.
The butler returned to the corner and stood, while Councilman Williams stood up. “Alright, it seems they are not coming. Let’s go to the dining room.”
Arthur at the side couldn’t help but ask, “Is it because of the traffic jam on the road?”
This was indeed a very stupid thing to say, but Arthur might have been doing it on purpose.
James glanced at this stupid younger brother, then looked at Councilman Williams. He actually wanted to know the reason too.
Councilman Williams was silent for a few seconds before saying, “They are holding a grand party in the Bay Area. They all went to the party.”
This was what the butler had just said. All those who had received an invitation and said they would come, but ultimately did not, had all gone to the Bay Area’s party.
They were using this method to convey a message that they did not accept some of Councilman Williams’s plans and proposals after he took office.
This was a protest, but…
Lance looked at Councilman Williams. He could feel that for this old man, this was more of a declaration of war!
Councilman Williams snorted angrily, glared at his younger son, and then led the way into the dining room.
Arthur walked at the very back. There were no other negative emotions on his face. He had indeed done it on purpose, hoping that his old man would not misunderstand his meaning.
A large long table was set up in the empty dining room, and the table was filled with all kinds of delicious food, all of which was steaming.
It was originally expected that at least forty or fifty people, or even fifty or sixty people would come, so the chefs in the manor prepared ingredients for a hundred people and made food for sixty.
This way, even if the number of people who came exceeded their expectations, the food could be kept up at any time.
But now it was obvious that it was not that there was not enough food, but that there was too much!
Looking at such a large table with only these few people, Councilman Williams stood there for a while, and then said, “Change to a smaller table. We don’t need so many seats.”
The butler immediately had people come and change the table. They moved the food from the table to the dining cart, then dismantled the large table and replaced it with a small table, and sent each dish to the small table individually.
Although it was called a small table, it could still seat more than twenty people, and it was still a bit spacious.
As for the extra food, it was highly likely to become the dinner of the manor’s servants. They were in for a treat today.
“Sit anywhere,” Councilman Williams instructed, and he himself sat at the head of the table.
Lance chose a relatively rear position to sit. Although his strength was very strong, in a political occasion, a gangster really couldn’t be on the main stage.
Arthur sat next to him, ranking even further back than him. This kid knew his place very well. He never fought for anything.
The butler and the servants began to serve each of the gentlemen at the dining table. He personally served Councilman Williams, while the others were served by the maids of the manor.
Their main job was to serve the gentlemen food, and to pour them wine or do other services within their ability.
In such a solemn and serious occasion, no one would really stand up to reach for those dishes that were out of reach.
They would tell the maid next to them what they needed, and then the maid would help them put the food on their plates.
If it was a family banquet, with only their own people, then they could do without maids, making everything seem more casual and friendly.
But for a formal dinner, these people were needed.
The butler poured wine for Councilman Williams. His fingers held the stem of the wine glass, but he did not pick it up.
Looking back on his life, this small problem was not a problem at all, but he was still a little emotional.
The others were also ready to pick up their wine glasses, waiting for him to give a speech.
“I don’t know what to say, actually,” he began, and everyone’s attention was focused on him.
“I really want to say some tolerant and generous words, for example, that I forgive them, or find some reasons for them not to come.”
“But these words can’t convince you, and they can’t convince myself. They are demonstrating to me, even coercing me!”
“I will not say those tolerant words. I will let them know how foolish their choice is!”
“To our wonderful tomorrow!” he raised his wine glass, and the others followed suit.
Lance also raised his wine glass and said along with everyone, “To tomorrow!”
Then he took a sip.
High-quality wine can add a lot of color to dinner. This was obviously not the cheap stuff that Lance sold.
It must have come from a top winery in the world. A bottle like this would cost at least a few hundred dollars or more now.
So far, many people actually don’t understand, what on earth did Prohibition prohibit?
It is said that liquor companies like Gold Label Liquor have already started investing in factories overseas, and then they will find ways to smuggle these liquors back into the country.
Prohibition, in the end, prohibited the poor from drinking.
From another perspective, Prohibition did indeed play a role. It made the poor drink less and be able to work better.
Everyone put down their wine glasses. Councilman Williams motioned for them to start eating. The dinner was indeed very rich. The maids constantly cooperated with the butler, getting food for the guests, or listening to their requests and putting their favorite dishes on their plates.
“The mayoral election will start soon. Before that, we need to warm up in advance. Although we all know that the possibility of my winning is very high, we cannot be careless about possible accidents.”
His tone was still mixed with dissatisfaction with those people in the Bay Area, those former old friends. The people present also nodded one after another.
“I’m not worried about the election situation in the Empire District and the Port District…” he looked at Lance, and the others also looked at Lance.
Some people didn’t know Lance very well, they had only heard of him. After all, a gangster who could face the Kodak Family head-on was unique in Golden Port City.
And he had already done it, and nothing major had happened. The Kodak Family seemed to have given in, and there had been no reaction so far.
Just this was enough for them to take Lance seriously.
Lance nodded and said, “I can ensure that only your campaign posters are in these two districts.”
“In addition, I can also handle the Summuri District.”
Handling the propaganda problem of three districts, plus the place where James is currently, and some forces in the city center, he could actually take down many areas in Golden Port City.
This was also the reason why he had the strength to assert that he could win the election before the election. He had already taken half of the eleven administrative districts. For the other half, except for the Bay Area and the Starlight District, which might be more difficult to handle, the others were not a problem.
He looked at Lance. “I’ll need you to help a lot with this.”
Others might think that his “help a lot” referred to Lance putting in effort in the three districts he mentioned, but Lance heard the meaning behind his words.
He nodded very solemnly and said, “I will.”
Then he talked about other people’s affairs, hoping that their factories and workers could support him, or hoping that these politicians could be with him during the election.
“I’ve been thinking about one thing lately!”
After talking about the most basic things, he decided to say something substantial. “Once the Navy is stationed in Golden Port, then Golden Port will become one of the safest ports in the northern hemisphere.”
“I predict that more ships will dock here at that time, including some countries on the Tanfit continent.”
“Their freighters will also dock and resupply here.”
“Currently, our Golden Port Docks’ carrying capacity is almost full. If we don’t expand the existing docks, we will soon experience an overload situation.”
“This is not conducive to the development of the docks, nor to the development of the city. So I plan that after I take office, the first thing is to continue to build the New Port Terminal.”
Lance had no opinion. James and Arthur naturally wouldn’t say much.
William sat on the side, glanced at Lance, and also didn’t speak.
In fact, whether to continue to build the New Port Terminal had no conflict of interest with him. In fact, restarting the work could provide more jobs, which would actually benefit him in these matters.
Those at the bottom don’t care if he facilitated this or not. In short, after he was elected as a municipal councilman, people had more job opportunities.
Just say, was it the right choice or not!
The others, more or less, had something to do with this matter. One of the wealthy people from the Bay Area said, “Mr. Councilman, the construction of the New Port Terminal can bring benefits to the city, which has already been demonstrated.”
“At least I personally support the continued construction of the New Port Terminal very much. I’m just not sure how to contribute my strength in this matter.”
This seemed like a meaningless piece of nonsense. Are you ready for the reconstruction?
How is it arranged?
But in fact, the meaning behind this sentence was asking about the redistribution of benefits.
If a capitalist wants to contribute to the city’s infrastructure construction, he is definitely not really trying to serve the people. He wants to put the money from the people’s pockets into his own.
Councilman Williams nodded slightly. “They will give up at least half of the profits. I will have an effective communication with them on these issues in the near future.”
The “they” he was talking about referred to the investors behind the mayor. These people, after seeing the huge profits of the Golden Port Docks, had, under their promotion, had the mayor preside over the construction of the New Port Terminal.
At that time, the carrying capacity of the Golden Port Docks was actually not too high, so doing so at that time was undoubtedly a provocation, a signal of war, which was what led to the subsequent series of events.
Now the shares of the New Port Terminal are basically still in the hands of those failed capitalists. If Councilman Williams really wants to rebuild the New Port Terminal, then the first thing he has to do is to ensure that the promoters on Councilman Williams’s side can also obtain huge profits from the New Port Terminal.
Who the fuck would do something that doesn’t make money?
They’re not philanthropists.
Whether it’s politicians or capitalists, even a gangster like Lance is seeking more profits, so it’s better to make this matter clear from the beginning.
At least it can avoid future conflicts and disagreements.
Councilman Williams also nodded in considerable agreement. “I will talk to them during this time. They will make concessions.”
“This money has been rotting in these projects for so many years. No matter how powerful they are in other cities, in Golden Port, they have already recognized our strength, so you don’t have to worry about this.”
“You can come over together when we talk.”
“If there is no problem with this, then we will continue to expand the city circle,” the butler cut his steak for him. He ate while talking.
“Continue to expand to the new north direction. I intend to have Golden Port City annex Creek Valley City, but it will definitely not be possible to do this in the short term. This will be promoted as a long-term goal.”
Everyone who heard him say this was slightly stunned, and then their gazes all shifted to James.
James also tasted the meaning in this sentence. Although he had some indescribable emotions, he still maintained his etiquette, nodded slightly, and smiled.
Councilman Williams’s sentence, to put it bluntly, was that he intended to pass on his power.
Otherwise, even if he served two terms, it would be impossible to annex an independent city in eight years.
And this matter also needed the approval of the state government and even the federal government. One less city meant many fewer positions, and the federal government might not agree.
So even if Golden Port City really annexed Creek Valley City in the end, it would not be during Councilman Williams’s term.
Each mayor has his own policy ideas and ambitions, not necessarily in a single line of succession. If there is someone who can inherit his ideas and actively promote this matter, then it must be his political heir.
Currently, the only person who meets this condition is James.
This is the reason why the poor get poorer, the rich get richer, and the president’s son is still the president!
Everyone at the table was full of interest in the future they described. This also meant that the future scale of Golden Port City would be larger, and more benefits would flow into the city.
And they, these people attached to the Williams family that created all of this, would get more!
Although there were not many people at the dinner table, the atmosphere was very enthusiastic.
These people who came might have some trepidation, but they felt more excited. They gradually realized that when they betrayed the mainstream and were also betrayed by the mainstream, the benefits they would get would be far higher than those who joined this interest group later.
Most of the time, risk and return are directly proportional.
After dinner, everyone chatted for a while, and then they all took their leave. But Councilman Williams asked Lance to stay behind.
For him, Lance was now irreplaceable, absolutely the core of the core of his entire plan!
(End of a Chapter)