Today is the last day of Mayor Williams’s ultimatum. He asked Lance to come over mainly to discuss some of the next steps.
Since there was no room for resolving the conflict between the two sides, he would not consider trying to persuade them.
As a former member of the Golden Port City Bay Area interest group, he knew very well the greed of these people.
Even if he satisfied them now, they would make more excessive demands in the future. They would test his bottom line, find it bit by bit, and then force his bottom line to retreat further and further until they were satisfied.
Mayor Williams would not waste time and energy dealing with these greedy people. After encountering these problems recently, he was also reflecting and studying.
Through his observation of the performance of the previous mayor during his term, he realized that you should never talk about cooperation with people who can’t get enough.
So now he needed Lance.
Mayor Williams closed the door and sat down on the sofa next to the businessman. He had an easygoing smile on his face.
Although he had come on the last day of the deadline, at least this was also a kind of statement.
Supporting early and supporting late were both support. As a ruler, he had to learn to look at problems with more tolerance.
“It’s him. We have some work matters to discuss.”
“What, do you know him?”
The businessman quickly shook his head. “No, I don’t know Mr. Lance, but I had the honor of seeing him once from a distance.”
As he spoke, he paused, his mind spinning frantically. At this moment, he had already realized that Lance’s appearance at City Hall was definitely not a simple, isolated event.
During this period, they had also been guessing how Mayor Williams would ultimately handle the issue of the industrial district demolition. Would it be tough, using connections and the law, or would he use some other method?
Now it seemed, he knew.
Lance.
That was the standard answer!
His heart began to beat faster, so fast that his chest felt a little tight. But the good news was that he was sitting here now.
Mayor Williams smiled and changed the subject. “Let’s not discuss things that have nothing to do with us. Let’s talk about the replacement subsidy. You should have read the replacement subsidy policy issued by City Hall. Do you have any other requirements for these?”
The businessman shook his head. “No, it’s very good. I’ve never seen such a suitable policy…”
Outside the door, Lance walked out of the main entrance of City Hall. The young men standing on the side of the road in groups of three and five immediately dropped the cigarettes in their hands.
Some passersby also stopped when they saw Lance, and some even took off their hats.
The weather was very cold. This scene was also very funny, because when those people took off their hats, their not-so-neat hair, exposed to the air, began to steam.
There were more people who supported Lance than opposed him, because Lance had set up several relief stations in the Empire District, the Port District, and even the New Port District.
The poor could go there to receive food and some winter clothes, some canned beans that were about to expire, some whole-wheat bread filled with fruit and vegetable fiber left over from juicing, and a small amount of ground beef and a piece of butter.
Many of these things were from the bottom of the warehouse. Some supermarkets, if they couldn’t sell them in the winter, would dump or destroy them.
The cost of reprocessing them was far higher than directly destroying them, but Lance had bought these products that were about to expire and then distributed them to the poor for free.
The clothes were provided by a special company. They were all second-hand or even third-hand old clothes.
Although they were old clothes, at least they were clothes, which could allow people to live through the cold winter.
It is unknown how many poor people could live because of these things. Lance’s status and influence among the poor were constantly rising.
Even ordinary people, who might not like his identity, were very affirmative of his actions.
The rich didn’t care about the life and death of the poor, but a gangster boss was helping them. This was fucking hilarious!
Someone took off his hat and bowed to Lance in the dead of winter. Lance also took off his hat in response. Being a polite person is a basic quality of a human being. Although the hat would not be completely taken off, the gesture was enough.
The people watched him quickly get into his luxury car, not at all jealous, just a little envious.
The convoy slowly started up, and the people on the side of the road continued to walk towards their destination.
“To the docks.”
The convoy began to accelerate. Thirty minutes later, the convoy arrived at the docks.
There were more people on the docks who knew Lance, whether they were local workers, immigrant workers, or refugee workers.
They would stop their work and watch the convoy. The convoy arrived at the office building of the longshoremen’s union without any hindrance.
The secretary saw Lance’s convoy through the window and ran into Mr. Vaughn’s office. “Mr. Lance is here.”
Vaughn was looking at a document from the Federal Longshoremen’s Union. His mind was full of the matters on the document. He looked up slightly, his gaze looking at the secretary from the gap between his forehead and the frame of his glasses.
After about four or five seconds, he finally reacted. “Lance is here?”
“Go make a cup of coffee.”
He looked at his desk and his office. There was nothing that needed to be tidied up. Then he took off his glasses and placed them on the table.
A few minutes later, the secretary knocked on the door and then pushed it open.
Mr. Vaughn immediately stood up from behind his desk and came up to him. He shook hands with Lance and invited him to sit down.
Lance hung his hat and trench coat on the coat rack and sat down opposite President Vaughn.
The secretary also timely brought a pot of hot coffee.
He glanced at the document on the table and asked casually, “Is there another activity on the general union’s side?”
President Vaughn shook his head, a look of dissatisfaction on his face. He handed the document directly to Lance. Lance frowned slightly. This meant that this might not be good news.
But it was for the longshoremen’s union.
He picked up the document and began to read it, his brow gradually furrowing.
The document mentioned that the Department of Defense and the General Longshoremen’s Union had had some in-depth talks and discussions. They hoped that a portion of the longshoremen could, when necessary, set out with the army.
For example, they might get a temporary military port on the Tanfit continent. In order to ensure the interests of the Federation, the military port would not be staffed by the local people of the Tanfit continent, but would all be staffed by the longshoremen of the Federation.
In addition to some other possibilities, for example, as the war progressed, the Federation would obtain more ports and supply lines outside the Federation’s homeland, and would also need more longshoremen.
So the general union hoped that the local unions could recommend some longshoremen who were willing to work abroad.
Lance put down the document. It was indeed not easy to do.
Although the document mentioned better treatment and benefits, the risks were also obviously greater.
These ports with clear military purposes were more likely to be attacked, and the workers working on the docks might also have to face the war directly.
And the so-called “recommendation” did not refer to a voluntary recommendation, but a mandatory recommendation of some people. This was fucking no different from forced conscription.
The Federation’s unions and the Labor Federation had already evolved into political organizations. It was not beyond Lance’s expectation that they would side with the federal government on these issues.
If they could get more power and status, but the price was to send their workers to their deaths, they would not hesitate at all!
“Although many times I know very well that this is a job!” President Vaughn shook his head. “But we can’t be so…”
He didn’t know how to word his inner dissatisfaction for a moment.
In the end, he couldn’t find a suitable adjective and could only end with a sigh.
After a while, he collected his emotions. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
Lance did not answer his question directly. “Do you know about the recent issue of the demolition of the old industrial district?”
President Vaughn nodded. “I’ve heard. The land prices over there are already unbelievable, and I hear they’re still going to rise.”
The land price was so high that the government couldn’t reclaim it, and the investors were not willing to spend money, so the demolition could not proceed, and Mayor Williams’s goal could not be achieved.
Many people were guessing which direction the situation would develop next. At this time, Lance suddenly asked about this issue. After he had answered, he understood that Lance was going to join in.
“This is actually not a simple problem. It is the first contest between the new mayor and the Bay Area interest group.”
“But it is also very likely to be the last!”
Lance paused for a moment. “The people in the Bay Area, many of them are shareholders of the dock management company, and I control 90% of the workers on the docks.”
“I want to replace it.”
President Vaughn’s eyes widened, and they kept widening until they couldn’t expand any further. His eyeballs were almost about to fall out.
“You… how can you do it?”
“How could they possibly transfer their shares to you?”
“This is a gold mine that can never be exhausted!”
Lance, on the other hand, appeared quite relaxed. “The police are my people, the prosecutor is my people, and even the judge is my people.”
“And I am the biggest gangster boss in Golden Port City. To be honest, I really can’t think of how I can lose!”
“You must be very clear about the dock management company. After all, you have cooperated with them for so many years.”
“Help me get a list of shareholders and their shareholdings.”
“In addition, we also need to win over a few of those shareholders to our side.”
“See if you have any good candidates.”
When Lance and Mayor Williams were discussing this matter just now, they both believed that their eating manners could not be too ugly.
In fact, there was a very good way to solve this matter. Lance would lead his men to their door and hold a gun to their heads, but doing so was not appropriate.
This would trigger the resistance of some neutral groups and make the entire city stand on the opposite side of the Williams family and Lance.
So they could be tough, they could make a move on a part of the particularly stubborn people, but overall, they still had to maintain within the rules, instead of completely destroying the rules.
After hearing this, President Vaughn fell into deep thought. He pursed his lips. “I’ll do it as soon as possible. When do you need it?”
“The sooner the better!”
(End of a Chapter)