Darkstone Code
Chapter 236 - 0234 The End of an Era and Rebirth

Chapter 236: 0234 The End of an Era and Rebirth

A little later, Lynch and the mayor had dinner together.

It’s an interesting phenomenon to mention: two months ago, if Lynch wanted to have dinner with the mayor, he had to wait a long time for his turn.

But now, he can easily meet the mayor anytime and anywhere, and can jump the queue to sit down and chat or have a meal with the mayor at any moment.

Is this due to Lynch’s personal charm, his knowledge, his character, and all his outstanding qualities?

No, it has nothing to do with those excellent qualities. It’s simply because he has money, and because his development is now tied to the mayor’s political agenda. They are in a community of interest, and it is the interests that are the key to achieving these miracles.

This was a very ordinary dinner. They didn’t dine outside but chose to eat at the mayor’s house.

Dining and drinking outside at this time is not a smart thing to do. Who knows where a hidden reporter might stir up big news.

For example, putting the leisure-loving mayor on the same page with the homeless people on the verge of freezing and starving to death on the street doesn’t need any strong language to make people associate it with many things that can incite anger.

To avoid these issues, the mayor specially invited Lynch to his home for a meal, an ordinary family dinner, but the family dinner itself is not so ordinary.

"I heard from Mark that you are planning to split your company. Will this affect any of our upcoming...plans?" the mayor asked bluntly. After Mark told the mayor about the meeting, the mayor decided to ask Lynch.

He is not worried about the money. As long as he is in his current position, for Mark getting rich is just a trivial matter.

For example, recently Mark has been negotiating with City Hall about city public transportation issues.

The bankruptcy of the public transportation company has been continuously affecting the travel of city residents. No company is willing to take on this responsibility, and fortunately, Mark appeared at this time.

He is willing to take on this responsibility. At the same time, to express gratitude that Mark was taking up this responsibility, City Hall was willing to squeeze out some subsidies from an already not very affluent budget for public transportation operation losses and offered them some degree of tax exemption.

To show that this process had no under-the-table transactions, everything was transparent and visible.

The mayor was not worried about how Mark’s business was doing; he was only concerned about whether the policies he was pushing would be affected.

Lynch patiently explained the situation to him in a way the mayor could understand.

"After the company is split, we will have professionals handling professional matters, which can provide more jobs for the society than now. Let me give you an example..." he paused as he spoke; the mayor listened intently and did not interrupt him.

"In the current situation, I have less than thirty partners in each city, and these people are enough to handle all the business."

"But after the split, just building a second-hand goods trading center in various places would require hundreds or even thousands of workers per city!"

"This doesn’t even include the later operating and management personnel, whose numbers will only be greater, and this is just one company."

"Auction companies and the current parent company, we’ll also need warehouses, whether rented from others or built by ourselves, all can provide more jobs for society."

The mayor roughly understood a bit, and he asked a more targeted question, "You have expanded the scale so much, can the funding keep up?"

Lynch shook his head, "There is absolutely no problem in this regard. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have done so. Just the anticipated land values at that time would have been enough to bankrupt me, but now..."

He smiled and leaned back a bit from the table as the mayor’s cook brought in the cooked steak. He did not continue, but the mayor understood the situation he was talking about.

As the destructive power of the financial tsunami spreads wider, the first to be impacted is real estate transactions.

Capital flight combined with continuously declining social vitality makes urban living standards unbearable, and many people are fleeing cities just as they swarmed in from the countryside a few years ago, now leaving despondently.

The demand for real estate continues to decrease, and transaction volumes create new lows every week.

The sluggish real estate market naturally pulls housing prices down as well, which is similar to the concept of stocks—the transaction price becomes a coordinate in the trend chart, and the lower the price trend, the more significant and rapid the price decreases become.

Acquiring a piece of land now is many times easier than before; as the mayor managing this city, he understands this point very well.

Knowing that these matters wouldn’t impact his policy agenda, the mayor’s face showed a lighter smile. The problems encountered in recent times had troubled him for quite some time.

In a good mood, he said, "The ideas you mentioned to me last time already have a foundation for realization. We have made some breakthrough progress."

This could be considered a small sweetener for Lynch. The mayor mentioned a name—a young man emerging on the diplomatic stage—and interestingly, this young man happens to be the president’s own son.

Some international matters haven’t been relayed back home yet, but that day isn’t far.

During an international conference this young gentleman attended, he encountered some unfriendly people who mocked him with his father, that is, the president of the Federation.

The implication was that an isolationist supporter actually let his son attend an international meeting—was it because of domestic political pressure forcing the president to compromise with the world, or did his son stab him in the back?

It was a malicious taunt; everyone was waiting to watch the show, but the young man said something unbelievable—"Each era has its choices; we cannot force the mistakes of an era onto individuals, but as a child of a father, a young diplomat of the nation, I will strive to prove to everyone."

"What Bail Federal lost, what the president lost, what we all lost, I will win back, for everyone!"

Powerful words, with an unwavering determination, his performance was entirely different from previous Bail Federal diplomats.

Some would avoid such malicious mockery or provocation, and even if it went too far, they’d only elevate the issue to a national stance and throw some verbal jabs to smooth it over.

Very few would directly respond, let alone with such a vastly different attitude. People quickly realized that the Federation’s international policy had undergone a huge change.

At the same time, the vice-chairman of the Progressive Party had successfully reached some international cooperative agreements and strategic intentions with several countries, with the premise being the current president of Bail Federal stepping down.

The Federation’s attitude shift gave significant face to these people in the international community—they had already tormented the president of Bail Federal into near resignation; if they continued to press, it would only push the Federation to the opposite side of them.

Externally, they were ready. Next, it was about aligning domestic awareness and social attitudes to complete the final step.

Currently, there’s significant dissent against the president in society; under the promotion of politicians and media, all the blame has been shifted onto the president, and people are happy to do so.

Many privately understand that societal turmoil and economic regression are not directly related to the president—that he doesn’t have the capability to single-handedly destroy the country so swiftly.

But everyone is pleased to see it this way because only by doing so can they prove it’s not their fault but the president’s.

After all, isolationism was born to meet societal demands; mistakes have been made, so those who can bear this responsibility should carry it.

The more people unite in their hatred toward the president, the more united the society becomes. With the second round of votes for the presidential impeachment nearing, many groups are voluntarily going to the Congress Building in Bupen to support the brave warriors who dare to challenge authority.

Many believe this will become a turning point in the history of the Federation.

But...Lynch is not as optimistic as ordinary people. The Federation’s economy itself is built on those international hot funds seeking refuge from war, which led to an unprecedented economic boom when they heavily invested in the Federation.

Now these people have left, and they will not return because of changes in the Federation’s international policy. Returning to how things were before may not be possible for three to five years, or even longer.

The upcoming development speed will surprise everyone—it’s not fast, but extremely slow.

"Once these things are over, we will to some extent completely open up free trade," the mayor said while enjoying a delicious steak, addressing one of the topics Lynch was most interested in.

Lynch, however, caught a hint of concern within and repeated, "To some extent?"

The mayor put down his knife and fork, nodded, and said, "Some research experts and scholars within the party believe that there won’t be a large-scale war within ten years, and the way of warfare might change from military to economic...."

During this world war, economic warfare gradually came into people’s focus, especially in the later stages of the war. Countries found that massive shelling of commercial and industrial cities yielded much more long-term benefits than shelling front-line positions.

The Progressive Party’s leaders are a bit worried that fully opening up free international trade might lead some international wolves into a country that lacks experience and resistance, so it’s only partially open.

"And what about me?" Lynch asked curiously, "How do I obtain qualifications for international trade?"