After almost everyone had left, Senator Cleveland called Lance and Tom to his reception room.
The study was a very special place. Before Lance had shown that he could be taken seriously by Senator Cleveland, be seen as an equal, it was unlikely that he would be allowed into his study.
The reception room was actually not bad either, with a few sofas, a small bar, and a very nice environment.
“You heard what we were just talking about. I have a few things to explain to you.”
Senator Cleveland took out a cigarette. Tom immediately lit it for him with his silver lighter. He took a puff and slowly exhaled, “The war is the will of Congress. To advance this goal, anyone, anything, that tries to stop the war from coming will be crushed.”
Lance nodded. In fact, his meaning was to tell Lance to go ahead and do what he wanted, that Congress would back him up.
But this kind of talk could only be believed… ten percent. Any more than that was not credible.
It wasn’t that they wouldn’t do so, wouldn’t crush those who tried to stop the war from breaking out, but that after everything was over, Lance might become a used tissue, crumpled up and thrown into the trash.
So how to do it, and to what extent, he would have his own balance.
“Second thing, the Department of Defense will have a cost estimate out soon. This cost estimate will definitely be higher than we imagined, but this does not mean that all this money has to be used. Do you understand what I mean?”
Lance nodded. “Everyone gets a share.”
This answer made Senator Cleveland stunned for a moment, and he immediately burst out laughing.
He had drunk some wine just now, and his mood was more volatile, and also more frank. He pointed at Lance and looked at Tom. “You see, some people are really born smart!”
Although he was shaking his head, everyone could see that it was an expression of appreciation. “Since you are clear, then you should also understand what I am going to say.”
Lance nodded again. “I will flexibly adjust my work strategy based on the actual amount that can be used.”
This made the senator smile again.
The cost might be two or three hundred million, but the actual funds used for the construction of the military base might only be 60%, at most 65%.
Of the remaining funds, apart from some flexible money, the rest had to be distributed to layers of officials.
It wasn’t that their hearts were black; this was just the norm.
Those senators, congressmen, the top politicians of the Federation, their annual salary was only two or three thousand dollars, but any one of them owned property, cars, stocks, bonds, anything of value.
It could be tens of thousands of times, hundreds of thousands of times this number!
This money would not be generated out of thin air. Some was political donations, bribes, and some was directly diverted from certain links.
The politicians of the federal government did not care about the process in the middle; they only cared about the results.
As long as the result was that the money was spent and the matter was done, then they did not care, and the people would not care either.
How much could be saved, that depended on how capable they were.
As for their eating manners?
The gentlemen never cared about this, because eating manners are for others to see, and those mud-legged dogs are not qualified to see.
“Last thing, don’t cause too much of a scandal. I hear you’re planning to use a large number of refugees. The ‘attributes’ of these people are a bit special.”
“Even if something happens, you have to suppress it at the first opportunity. It can’t be allowed to spread. Do you understand what I mean?”
Lance was not a fool. Of course, he wouldn’t say so. “Make people keep their mouths shut.”
Senator Cleveland was very satisfied. Lance was very smart, quick-witted, and his bottom line was also flexible. He admired such a young man very much.
In his position, he had come into contact with almost all of the most outstanding young people in the Federation, but most of these young people could not be used.
Either their minds were not flexible enough, very rigid, or they actually had a fucking moral bottom line!
Come on, this is the political arena. Who the fuck still has that kind of thing as a moral bottom line?
It’s not to say that you can only be a politician by abandoning your moral bottom line, but to be a politician, a politician who can decide the future of the country, the formulation and release of every policy, while benefiting one part of the people, will inevitably greatly harm the interests of another part of the people.
If you stop the promotion of certain policies because it hurts the interests of some people, then this country does not need to develop.
From their point of view, as long as the beneficiaries are more than the losers, then this is definitely a policy worth promoting. As for whether there will be a moral risk, that is not important.
Lance had gained his approval on all three important issues. The smile on his face also grew. “Bruney will be fully responsible for this aspect of the work. You can have more contact with him then.”
“He has a good network in the Department of Defense. There are already a few candidates for the commander of the garrison, and his relationship with them is also not bad.”
“You can get to know the garrison commander through him, and with us old guys around, no matter who it is, they will more or less give you some face.”
“Are there any other questions?”
Lance shook his head. “No more, Mr. Senator.”
Senator Cleveland nodded, stood up, holding the armrest of the sofa. Lance also stood up. “These things will be implemented soon. You can start preparing in advance.”
“If you have any problems, call Tom. If he can’t solve it, I will ask about it.”
“Then… that’s it.”
He did not shake hands with Lance, but just nodded. He quickly left the room.
Lance also quickly left this room. At this time, the sky had become a little gloomy, with a light drizzle falling. The luxurious villa looked particularly charming in the rain.
Almost all the places that could be seen in the vicinity were various luxurious buildings hidden in the plants. There were figures moving in the streets and alleys.
Those people standing at the street corners in raincoats were observing everything here.
“You’re in luck, I have to say, Lance.”
Tom, while driving, said with a smile, “Of course, it also has something to do with your ability. One cannot do without the other.”
He knew very well that this job of building a military base would definitely not be completely handed over to Lance. He would get a part of it, but just this part was enough for him to get a lot of profit.
The most crucial thing was not the profit issue. He could take this opportunity to connect with the people from the Department of Defense, with the military, and develop his own network of relationships.
This was what Tom was most envious of.
Because as a senator’s aide, he actually couldn’t really develop his own network of relationships, and he couldn’t even develop one!
If Senator Cleveland knew that he was secretly contacting other senators, or contacting other government officials, then he would definitely be on guard against Tom, and eventually marginalize him.
And other senators would also be unlikely to become friends with someone else’s aide and develop them into a link in their network.
Including those officials, it was the same. They could clearly face Senator Cleveland directly, so why would they go and be friends with his aide?
But Lance was different. He couldn’t be considered the senator’s man, so he had more freedom than Tom.
If anyone needed Lance, if they were to go to the senator, it might be very troublesome. It would be better to deal with Lance directly. So Lance, on the contrary, could get in touch with more senators, government officials.
He was freer than Tom in some aspects, and much freer!
If it were an ordinary person, Tom would not be jealous, because they might not develop that well.
But with Lance, he was envious and jealous. He had personally watched this marginal character, who was initially just at a banquet, develop step by step into a person who was valuable even to the senator.
His growth was very fast, so fast that he was now too late to even be envious and jealous.
It could be foreseen that if he did this beautifully this time, then he would enter the eyes of other senators and officials.
When they had projects that could cooperate with Lance next time, they would continue to look for Lance. Lance’s network would also be truly consolidated and expanded.
And what about him?
Tom, who was driving, suddenly felt a little lost. Although being a senator’s aide was indeed a high and powerful position, everything he had now was dependent on the skin he wore—the senator’s aide.
Without this skin, what would he have left?
If he no longer worked for Senator Cleveland, would those senators and officials he knew still see him?
Would they still have contact with him, or even talk about cooperation?
He didn’t know.
Or rather, he knew, but he pretended not to know.
Perhaps one day in the future, the Senate would recommend him to work in a certain department, or even recommend him to work in the state legislature, but at that time, how long would he have to wait?
The light rain fell on the car window. Lance’s success made him as confused as the rainy day outside where the road was invisible. The rain and fog covered the direction forward.
Lance did not expect Tom to think so much in such a short time. He said with a smile, “This is also thanks to you for helping me communicate and coordinate with the senator. My success is also a part of yours, Tom.”
Tom looked at Lance through the rearview mirror. “You’re really good with words. I’m not praising you, just stating a fact.”
The light rain gradually became heavier, pattering on the roof of the car and the windshield. Tom, who was driving, had no intention of continuing to talk. The carriage was very quiet.
It wasn’t until the vehicle stopped at the entrance of the hotel that Tom turned his head and said to him, “We’re here. You’d better go back and prepare for it recently. If there are any problems, give me a call.”
Lance didn’t know why his mood had suddenly become low, nor did he have the idea of necessarily enlightening him. “Okay, I see. I will.”
After getting out of the car and watching Tom’s car leave, he shook his head slightly and returned to the hotel.
The matter of coming to New Golden City this time was basically done. He hadn’t expected some unexpected joys.
He knew that these gentlemen of the Federation were very sweet. From another perspective, they were actually also capitalists, political capitalists.
They used politics as a bargaining chip, as wealth, to cash in and trade for huge benefits.
He had heard a joke before that said that for a war to end smoothly, you first had to fill the stomachs of these people.
As long as their stomachs were not filled for a day, the war would not end for a day.
It seemed that this was indeed the case.
Lance booked a train ticket back for the evening, but had Lawn and his men stay behind, because he knew that he would be meeting that Mr. Thurray again soon.
There were no accidents on the way back. For a big client like Lance, who had booked an entire luxury carriage, besides offering the best service, it was impossible for the railway operating company to make Lance feel the slightest bit uncomfortable.
The journey was uneventful. It was already three days later when he returned to Golden Port City. It felt much more comfortable to be back here. After all, it was his own territory.
As soon as he got out of the car, Councilman Williams had Arthur come over to invite him.
Along the way, Arthur asked a lot about everything in New Golden City.
Since he was born, he had always been in Golden Port City and had not been to the outside world. He also knew that the surname Williams was not very useful in the outside world.
And he was the kind of person who would sometimes be stupid, so he had always been in Golden Port City.
People all said that New Golden City was the core of the Federation. He also really wanted to go and play, to have a look.
Lance answered briefly. When he heard that there was actually a 200-meter-tall building in New Golden City, his eyeballs almost popped out!
He wanted to go and see.
The car soon stopped outside the Williams family manor. Councilman Williams was standing at the entrance of the manor’s building to welcome him, a smile on his face.
After the two shook hands, Councilman Williams held his arm and welcomed him into the room.
Lance knew the purpose of Councilman Williams’s visit. After the two sat down, they thought quietly for a while. They needed to think before they spoke.
“This time you went to New Golden City…” Councilman Williams’s gaze at Lance was also a little strange. It was clearly he who had known Senator Cleveland first, but now it seemed that Lance’s relationship with the senator was even better.
He didn’t know how to express his feelings, but he knew that what he needed to do now was to cooperate more closely with Lance.
If in the past there was still a “superior-subordinate relationship” between the two sides, then now, this situation no longer existed. They were equals.
Councilman Williams also had his own connections and channels to find out some news. This news might be a little delayed. After all… this was not directly from the senator’s mouth. He also wanted to know what was going to happen in this city.
Because he was about to become the mayor of this city.
According to the past rules, around October to November, the old mayor would start to hand over his work. In December, Councilman Williams would take office and be fully in charge of the daily work of City Hall.
It was already about to be August now. There wasn’t much time left before he took office. He had to know before he took office whether this was a “trouble” or not.
“I hear a war is about to start?” he asked tentatively.
Lance nodded. “It’s clear that Congress has a strong desire for war.”
The economy was constantly declining, and class conflicts within the country were frequent. If nothing was done, it might trigger some unpredictable large-scale political events.
War seemed to have become one of the few, yet just right, opportunities to export contradictions, plunder benefits, and return everything to its initial value.
Hearing Lance’s answer, Councilman Williams was a little worried. “Will it affect us?”
In fact, it was affecting him, not “us.” But he used this word at this time to make everything seem to have something to do with Lance.
Lance did not expose his little trick. After the garrison, many things here would definitely change, especially when the war broke out, everything would be in service of the war.
Lance shook his head. “To be honest, I’m not sure. But they say the war will be far from the Federation’s homeland. As long as the flames of war don’t burn here, then for us, there won’t be much of an impact.”
Councilman Williams shook his head slightly. “This kind of thing, who can say for sure?”
He paused for a moment. “Is there anything you need my cooperation with?”
Lance must have brought back a mission from his trip to New Golden City this time. Lance did not hide it. “There’s a high probability that they will build a military base on the open space in the industrial district, and at the same time, they will requisition the New Port Terminal as a temporary military port.”
“I’ve taken on a part of the work, and there might be places where I need your cooperation.”
Councilman Williams nodded. “If you have any needs, give me a call.”
His contact with Lance would only become more frequent in the future, so there was no need to say too much at once. Besides wanting to know some news for sure, what he wanted to know more was how high of a position Lance already had with Senator Cleveland, and what kind of news he could know.
Now it seemed that in the eyes of that senator, Lance was much more important than him, the future mayor.
After Lance returned to the company, he called the director over. “I have something I want to discuss with you.”
The director was a little nervous.
Usually, when a boss says he has something to discuss with you, it’s probably not a good thing.
He sat up straight. To be honest, he liked this job very much. He had a high salary, and it was a career he loved.
At the same time, with the explosion of The Mystery of Angel Lake, he had also become a well-known figure in the film circle as a producer.
He didn’t want to lose this job, because if he did, he would lose not only his salary, but also his status, influence, and even his dreams in this industry.
His attitude was very humble, almost to the point of having his hands on his knees.
Lance waved his hand with a smile. “Don’t be so nervous. It’s not a bad thing.”
“That money, I got it back.”
Seeing his confused expression, Lance added, “The money from the Colgan Cinema, I got it back.”
The director nodded after hearing this. “That’s good news. How much did you get back?”
“Based on the broadcast situation of other cinemas, it should be at least over a hundred thousand, right?”
As he spoke, he became excited. “So our box office revenue this time will exceed one million. This is definitely a major event!”
“A major event that can be recorded in the annals of history!”
The first movie with a box office of over a million, and he was the producer. The thought that in the future, all those in this industry might get to know him through this matter, he was instantly thrilled!
And this thrill also made him give a heartfelt compliment, “Mr. Lance, you are truly a remarkable person!”
(End of a Chapter)