Chapter 1072: The President is not a person

The President is not a person.

The President is also a person, who says he isn't? But the President is certainly not an ordinary person. When Lanse said this sentence, it meant that he himself was actually not an ordinary person either.

Under Lanse's lead, Barbara subconsciously followed him into this large room in the Vice President's manor.

When one of the doors of the hall was pushed open by the servants here, a more real and vivid upper-class society appeared before Barbara.

She had seen many people here, in newspapers, magazines, and even the latest television programs.

Every time they appeared, it represented some change regarding the Federation's policies; they were truly big shots.

But looking at their appearance, they seemed to be very familiar with Lanse?

"Aha... Lanse!", not too far from the door, a person who looked to be over fifty, slightly bald, and still wearing a big beard, turned to see who had come in and saw Lanse.

He immediately ended his conversation with the person beside him, shouted Lanse's name slightly exaggeratedly, and then took the initiative to walk over.

Barbara also knew this gentleman. Was he some high-ranking official in the Federal government? She couldn't quite remember, but he was definitely a high-ranking official, no mistake.

The slightly bald gentleman shook hands with Lanse. His gaze lingered on Barbara for a moment, then moved away.

Although Barbara was indeed very beautiful, in this world, there were countless beautiful girls. These girls were not only beautiful but also very young.

Of course, there were also those about the same age as Barbara, and those older than her.

This is the benefit of power. No matter what you want, as long as it exists in this world and you can afford the price, then you can get what you want.

This is also why so many people tirelessly pursue power, wealth, and status.

This world will only show its most beautiful side to the strong, and show its most cruel side to the weak, especially the weakest at the very bottom.

From such a perspective, this world is also a guy who bullies the weak and fears the strong! There was something in the bald man's gaze. Lanse looked at Barbara. "Help me get a glass of wine; I want to have a drink with Mr. Rick."

Barbara immediately knew that this was Lanse's way of telling her to keep a little distance. She immediately let go of the hand holding Lanse's, then looked at the "Mr. Rick" Lanse mentioned. "Sir, do you need a glass?"

Mr. Rick nodded as a matter of course and said, "Of course, how could I refuse Lanse's request to have a drink?"

"Please help me get a glass too, Madam."

Barbara lifted her skirt a little as a response, then turned and left, walking toward the waiter holding a tray in the hall.

In fact, if they wanted anything, they just had to raise their hands slightly, and someone would come over immediately. But this was a banquet centered on socializing, not some pure enjoyment; one always had to provide some relatively private space for some people.

"You did a beautiful job this time. If there are similar opportunities, I hope you will remember me."

Mr. Rick's face was full of that kind of smile that was as if he had said it or hadn't said it. Lanse knew what he was talking about—the Hope Mining harvesting incident manipulated by President Edward.

So much money, hundreds of millions, Lanse only got less than ten percent, and almost all the rest was distributed to others in Senator Cleveland's camp.

The simplest way to maintain these people well is to let them fill their stomachs so that they won't consider looking for some food elsewhere to satisfy their appetites.

Mr. Rick's job was to provide some international affairs response plans under the Secretary of State; he could be considered a senior international affairs consultant.

If one were to say such a job is very important, it is actually not that important. After all, the person who can finally decide whether to use the strategy he provides is not him.

But if one were to say he is not very important, he obviously is a bit important again. He needs to constantly provide plans that are helpful to Senator Cleveland's side for the President and the Secretary of State, so that Senator Cleveland and these people can obtain some benefits from it, or occupy an advantage.

It sounds like... just as mentioned above, the person who makes the final multiple-choice question is not him.

But this involves another matter, which is that whether it is the President or the Secretary of State, they don't have that much time and energy to deal with every single thing personally.

They might have a lot of work every day, which of course includes playing golf and some socializing, so during their working hours, they cannot handle every task personally.

Eventually, these tasks will be issued to those who can provide solutions, such as Mr. Rick, in the form of consultation.

He will provide a plan that is favorable to the Senator and then submit it. If there are no major problems, the Secretary of State or the President will choose it directly, rather than discussing anything.

They don't have that much leisure time.

At the same time, he can also pass some news to the Senator and them, which is also an important part of his work here.

Lanse didn't know how much money he had shared, but thinking about it, it certainly wouldn't be too much, but it wouldn't be too little either, just like his work and responsibilities—neither high nor low.

But for him, it must be a large sum of money. Even if it was only four or five hundred thousand, or seven or eight hundred thousand, it was still a large sum of money.

Judging from the expression on Rick's face, he was still thinking about the next opportunity; he was very satisfied with his income.

He didn't let go of Lanse's hand, and Lanse also understood what he meant.

Sometimes people in the upper class don't have higher morals than people at the bottom of society, just like Mr. Rick not letting go of Lanse's hand at this moment, which meant "If you don't promise me, I won't let go."

Lanse nodded. "No problem. If there is such a good opportunity again, I will notify you."

"That's great!", Rick shook Lanse's hand twice before letting go. "If you are free next week, we can sit down and talk. Recently, there has been more work on the Secretary of State's side, and it has something to do with you."

Lanse's expression changed slightly. He thought of something. "You mean the problem regarding Yalan?"

Rick had an expression of "I knew you could guess it." "Yes, Ambassador Makan is negotiating with us, and ambassadors from two other countries are also communicating."

"You are an expert in this area now; perhaps you can provide us with some mature ideas."

This is also considered a kind of return, if Lanse can obtain benefits from it.

He didn't refuse and nodded in agreement.

At this time, he looked at Barbara not far away. Barbara immediately chose two glasses of wine from the waiter beside her and walked over.

In fact, she had just stopped the waiter and asked casually what these wines were and how they tasted.

People who can attend tonight's banquet are certainly not ordinary people. Although the waiter didn't understand why this lady would ask these nutritional-less questions, he didn't dare to leave.

He answered very patiently, while Barbara was obviously absent-minded. It wasn't until she saw Lanse looking at her that she said "Thank you," took the two glasses of wine, and walked toward Lanse.

Lanse took the wine from her hand and handed one of the glasses to Mr. Rick. The two clinked glasses. "See you later."

Mr. Rick also took a sip. "See you later."

As he said that, he put the wine glass on a nearby table. Someone would come to take away this unfinished glass of wine, then clean the glassware, then refill it with wine, and put it on the tray, to be carried around by those waiters again.

"Who is he?", after Mr. Rick left, Barbara couldn't help but ask.

Lanse told her roughly what he was responsible for, which made Barbara a bit confused. "The people you know are really complicated!"

"I think so too!", soon the second gentleman came up, almost the same process, Lanse greeted them cordially, then sent Barbara away for a while, privately thanking Lanse for taking them to make a fortune.

This kind of money is not small, and it is equivalent to picking it up for nothing. Although everyone knows that the person who finally decides to distribute the profits is Senator Cleveland, this benefit ultimately comes from Lanse.

Now Lanse's market is also very good. Showing appropriate goodwill helps them get closer to Lanse.

After a period of socializing, the area around Lanse gradually became quiet.

The core of tonight's banquet was still the representatives of the two countries, Slade and Dantra, and the President standing between them.

There were also some businessmen at the scene who contracted all the expenses for tonight, including wine, food, personnel arrangements, and such things.

Lanse and Barbara also walked to a place that was not so far out, listening to the President's speech.

"... War is a deep injury to the whole world. No matter why we broke out in war before, joined the war, now, it is over!"

"I have never longed for the arrival of peace so much, and I have also felt the preciousness of peace for the first time!"

"I am happy that our three parties could facilitate this ceasefire agreement in such a short time. This shows that we have all recognized the destruction and pain brought by war. It is time to end all this!"

He said, turning to take a glass of wine from his adjutant's hand, and raised it slightly. "I suggest, for the arrival of peace, let us have a drink together!"

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People at the banquet scene all raised their wine glasses one after another, shouting the slogan "Cheers for peace" with high spirits, and under the leadership of the President, they toasted together! The atmosphere was very good. After putting down the wine glass, the President took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth. Mainly because he had a beard, some wine might accidentally fall on his beard, making him look not so... elegant.

This was Lanse's first time observing the President at close range. He had a circle of sideburns, and the beard was dark brown, looking quite large in scale.

And he was very tall, with more oppressive power than what was shown in those newspaper photos.

To tell the truth, he looked more like... a general, rather than a president.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today our task is to relax and laugh to our heart's content. Please take care of yourselves, and I also hope you can enjoy this moment!"

"I still have some things to do, I need to leave for a while."

The President is the President after all. He couldn't really socialize with these people here. Everyone watched the President leave the hall, but some people knew that he just left the hall, not the house and the evening's activities.

Afterward, Lanse saw people around the President appearing in the hall from time to time, then finding some people, saying a few words to them in a low voice, and then taking them away.

Obviously, the President was continuing his socializing in another room, but these socializations were relatively private.

After a while, Lanse was chatting with a real estate developer. They were talking about the future real estate problems of the Federation when the President's adjutant came over and interrupted their conversation.

"Mr. White, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but the President wants to see you."

Lanse glanced at him and nodded, then apologized to the real estate developer who was chatting with him. "I might need to leave for a while first."

The real estate developer was not a fool either. He naturally knew why Lanse had to leave and what he was going to do after leaving.

If he didn't accept Lanse's apology and didn't let Lanse leave, then he would be too stupid.

"I have gained a lot from chatting with you. Please go ahead, Mr. White."

Lanse shook hands with him again, then tidied up his attire, patted Barbara's hand, signaling her to wait for a while, and then followed the President's adjutant into the small door nearby.

After passing through a corridor that was not too long, he entered a room.

The President was sitting on the sofa, and he was still on the phone.

Seeing Lanse come in, he signaled him to sit wherever he wanted and didn't put down the phone immediately. "You write your thoughts into a report and have someone send it to my office. I don't have time to listen to you tell me through the phone or other ways."

"I also don't know when I will have time to deal with these, but the things you said, limited to what was just on the phone, I think are necessary and also very suitable."

"Specific things will have to wait until I see your report and discuss it with others before making a decision."

"I have things to do here, let's do this for now, we'll talk later."

He said, put down the phone, and took out his handkerchief again to wipe his big beard.

It could be seen that he was very satisfied with his beard and also cherished it very much.

It might be because he was afraid that when he spoke, saliva would overflow from the corners of his mouth or hang on his beard, making him look not so... elegant.

This might also be a problem that all bearded people have to face. If they accidentally dirty their beards, it is very difficult for them to discover it themselves, and they can only clean it actively over and over again.

The President had no intention of shaking hands with Lanse. As the nominal supreme ruler of this country, seeing Lanse alone was actually already giving Lanse great face.

"Jeffrey told me about your affairs and talked about your role in these matters. You are a very excellent person, Lanse."

"Is there any problem with me calling you that?"

Lanse shook his head. His sitting posture was relatively forward, his elbows pressed on his knees, and his upper body leaned forward slightly.

"Of course there is no problem, Mr. President. This is my honor!"

The President liked Lanse's answer very much. "They all say you are a person who knows how to speak. I didn't quite believe it, but it seems they were right on this point."

"You are very young and have a clever brain that doesn't match your age. What the Federation needs is young people like you."

"I believe you will become a role model for young people!"

He paused as he spoke. "Jeffrey told me before about awarding you a Golden Heart Medal..."

Lanse straightened his body. The significance of the Golden Heart Medal was extraordinary. It even represented a kind of political defensive power to a certain extent.

Having made significant contributions to the country, even if a lifetime Supreme Court Justice wanted to judge him guilty, they would need to consider the significance and value of this medal.

It might be a "get out of jail free card." In case he was arrested and they fabricated some evidence to deal with him, this Golden Heart Medal could also ensure that he would at most get a fixed-term imprisonment of thousands of years.

As long as it wasn't immediate death, there would always be a way to escape and be reborn, so he valued this medal very much, far from being as unimportant as he appeared in front of Senator Cleveland.

"I... don't know how to talk to you about this problem. I agree with Jeffrey's request in principle. Awarding a Golden Heart Medal is not a problem for us at all."

"You know, the cost of a Golden Heart Medal is only a few dozen dollars."

"But, Lanse, you are different from others."

"Your identity is very complicated, immigrant... oh right, you are considered a Federation person now."

"And then a gang leader, and still engaged in some criminal businesses."

"I know you have done a lot for the Federation, but if I award it to you, do you think... what will people think?"

Lanse didn't answer him immediately but thought about the purpose and reason for him doing this.

After about ten or twenty seconds, he slowly said, "I heard it can be awarded non-publicly."

"But there will be records!", the President pointed out another possibility of non-public awarding. "The manufacture and awarding of every Golden Heart Medal will have a record, because of what things, and to whom it was awarded."

"Some people will pay attention to these things, some are people on our side, and some are not people on our side."

"They will use this as a means to attack me, attack Jeffrey, and attack you."

"Once public opinion is driven, we will be very passive!"

Having said so much, it was actually to tell Lanse that the Golden Heart Medal was off the table.

As for why, Lanse believed that these things he said were not the real reasons.

Lanse didn't do too much trade-off and hesitation, and some smiles appeared on his face. "Since that's the case, of course, it's based on the interests of you and the Senator."

The President was a bit surprised, but soon there were more smiles on his face. He took the initiative to stand up, walked to Lanse's side, and pressed his hand on his shoulder. "I am very happy that you can think this way. This proves that you are a person with mature thinking."

"I will let them compensate you from other aspects. How about tax exemption?"

Lanse nodded with a smile. "Good, this is exactly what I need!"

The President laughed loudly after hearing it. He patted Lanse on the shoulder. "You will become an amazing person, Lanse."

A humble expression appeared on Lanse's face. "May your words come true, Mr. President!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1073 =====