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Chapter 234: The End of an Era and Rebirth
A little later, Lynch had dinner with the mayor.
Interestingly, two months ago, if Lynch wanted to have a meal with the mayor, he would have to wait a long time to get his turn. But now, he could easily meet the mayor anytime and anywhere, and even cut in line to sit down and chat or have a meal together.
Was this due to Lynch’s charisma, his knowledge, his virtues, and all his excellent qualities? No, it had nothing to do with those qualities. It was because he had money, and because his development was now linked to the mayor’s political agenda. They had become a community of interests, and it was those interests that made these miracles possible.
It was a very ordinary dinner. They didn’t dine out but chose to eat at the mayor’s home. Dining out wasn’t a smart move at this time; who knew if a hidden reporter somewhere might create a big news story? For instance, putting the partying mayor and a homeless person freezing and starving on the same page didn’t need any compelling words to make people think of many anger-inducing things.
To avoid such problems, the mayor specifically invited Lynch to his home for a meal. It was an ordinary family dinner, but the dinner itself was not so ordinary.
"I heard from Mark that you’re going to split your company. Will this affect some of our upcoming... plans?" The mayor asked bluntly. After Mark told the mayor about the meeting, the mayor decided to ask Lynch.
He wasn’t worried about the money issues; as long as he was in his position, it would be easy for Mark to get rich. For example, recently, Mark had been negotiating with the City Hall about public transportation.
The bankruptcy of the public transportation company was still affecting the city’s citizens’ travel. No company was willing to take on this responsibility, but Mark stepped up at this time. He was willing to take on this responsibility, and the City Hall, to thank Mark, was willing to squeeze out some subsidies from the already tight budget to cover the operating losses of the public transportation company. They also granted them some tax exemptions.
To show that there was no backdoor deal, everything was transparent and visible.
The mayor wasn’t worried about how Mark’s business was going; he was only worried about whether his policies would be affected.
Lynch patiently explained the situation to him in a way the mayor could understand.
"After the company splits, we’ll have professionals doing what they do best, which can provide more job opportunities for society. Let me give you an example..." He paused, and the mayor listened attentively without interrupting him.
"Currently, I have about 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 each city would require hundreds to thousands of workers per city.
"And that doesn’t include the later operational and management staff, whose numbers will only increase. And that’s just one company.
"The auction company and the current parent company, we’ll also need warehouses, whether we rent others’ or build our own. All of this can provide more job opportunities for society."
The mayor seemed to have understood some of it and asked a more pointed question, "You've expanded the scope significantly; can the funds keep up?"
Lynch shook his head, "There's no problem in that regard. If this were a few years ago, I wouldn't have done it. Just the cost of the land alone would have been enough to bankrupt me, but now..." He smiled and moved a bit away from the table as the mayor’s chef brought out the cooked steak. He didn’t continue, but the mayor understood the situation he was referring to.
As the destructive power of the financial crisis spread, the first to be hit was real estate transactions. With capital flight and a continuous decline in social vitality, urban living standards became unbearable, and many people were fleeing the cities, much like they had flocked to the cities from the countryside a few years ago.
The demand for real estate was continuously decreasing, and the volume of real estate transactions hit new lows every week. A sluggish real estate market naturally led to falling house prices, similar to stock market principles—transaction prices became coordinates on the trend graph, and the lower the trend, the more significant and faster the price dropped.
Getting a piece of land now was much easier than before. The mayor, managing the city, was well aware of this.
The mayor felt a bit more relieved knowing that these matters wouldn't affect his policy initiatives. He had been troubled by recent issues for quite some time.
In a good mood, he said, "The ideas you mentioned to me last time already have a foundation for implementation, and we have made some breakthrough progress."
This was a small reward for Lynch. The mayor mentioned a name, a young man making waves on the diplomatic stage. Interestingly, this young man happened to be the president's son.
Some international events had yet to reach the domestic audience, but that day was not far off.
During an international conference, this young man encountered some unfriendly individuals who mocked him using his father, the President of the Baylor Federation. The gist of their taunts was that it was ironic for an isolationist supporter to send his son to an international meeting. Was it because the president succumbed to domestic political pressure to compromise, or was it that his son was stabbing him in the back?
It was a very malicious jest, and people were keenly watching the scene. However, the young man made an incredible statement: "Every era has its own choices. We cannot impose the mistakes of one era onto individuals. But as a son and as a young diplomat of our nation, I will strive to prove to everyone that everything the Baylor Federation has lost, everything our President has lost, and everything we have all lost, I will win back for us all!"
His words were powerful and forceful, his determination resolute and unquestionable, setting him apart from all previous diplomats of the Baylor Federation.
Those diplomats usually evaded such malicious taunts or provocations. Even if things escalated, they would elevate the issue to a national level and engage in some verbal sparring before moving on.
Rarely did anyone respond directly, and never with such a starkly different attitude. It became clear to everyone that the Baylor Federation's international policy had undergone a significant change.
Meanwhile, the vice-chairman of the Progressive Party had successfully reached some international cooperation and strategic agreements with other countries. All of this hinged on the current president of the Federation stepping down.
The shift in the Baylor Federation's stance already gave significant recognition to these international community members. They'd nearly forced the President of the Baylor Federation to step down. If they continued with their unreasonable demands, they would only push the Baylor Federation into opposition.
Now that the external stage was set; it was a matter of unifying domestic awareness and social attitudes to complete the final step.
Currently, there was significant public discontent with the president. Politicians and the media had managed to shift all blame onto the president, and the public was happy to accept this.
Many people privately knew that the social unrest and economic decline weren't directly caused by the president. He didn't have the power to single-handedly destroy the nation.
But everyone preferred to think this way because it meant the fault wasn't theirs but the president's.
After all, isolationism was born out of societal demand. The mistakes had already been made, so let someone capable of bearing this responsibility take the fall.
The more united people were in hating the president, the more united society became. With the second round of voting on the president's impeachment imminent, many groups spontaneously gathered outside the Bupayne Capitol to support those brave enough to challenge authority.
Many believed this would be a turning point in the history of the Baylor Federation.
However, Lynch was not as optimistic as the average person. The Baylor Federation's economy was fundamentally built on international capital seeking refuge from war. It was these investments that led to unprecedented financial and economic prosperity.
Now that these investors had left and wouldn't return just because of changes in the Baylor Federation's international policy, it could take three to five years or even longer for the Baylor Federation to return to how it was before.
The pace of future developments would surprise everyone—not because it would be fast, but because it would be extremely slow.
"Once these issues are resolved, we will fully open up free trade to a certain extent," the mayor said while enjoying a delicious steak, touching on one of Lynch's key interests.
Lynch picked up on the nuances, repeating, "To a certain extent?"
The mayor put down his knife and fork, nodding. "Some experts and scholars within the party believe that large-scale wars won't break out again within the next ten years. The nature of warfare might shift from military to economic conflicts."
During this world war, economic warfare began to draw people's attention, especially in the later stages. Countries found that large-scale bombardments of commercial and industrial cities yielded more long-term benefits than bombing front-line positions.
The Progressive Party's leadership feared that fully opening up international trade might bring in international predators to a country with no experience or resistance. So, they decided to open up trade only to a certain extent.
"And what about me?" Lynch asked curiously. "How do I obtain international trade qualifications?"
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