Chapter 1086: Lobbyist

Lobbyist. "Have you met Lansi?"

The senior agent supervisor entered his friend's house, put his hat and handbag on the shelf specifically used for placing these at the door, and then walked into the living room.

Just entering the living room, he heard his friend ask such a question.

This made the senior agent supervisor feel a bit... he didn't know how to describe it, a bit uncomfortable.

"Yes, we have already met.", he looked around, "Only you?"

His friend was about the same age as him, two years older than him, also married, and had three children, a relatively typical middle-class family.

Federal middle-class families are now actually not very willing to have too many children, because the cost of raising these children and giving them some better education is very high.

For example, various private schools, elite-style education.

As possible beneficiaries of this set of things, they know better than ordinary people what they need to pay if their children want to maintain such a life and still have the opportunity to go higher.

Two children, three children, is already the limit. If there are more, they cannot afford the expenses of the children.

His friend shrugged, "They moved to another community. You should remember, we went to see it together before."

"My god?!", the senior agent supervisor couldn't help but exclaim, "Are you talking about the house we went to see together the year before last?"

"You bought it?"

"How much money?!"

They had seen a detached house in another middle-to-high-end community before, with three floors above ground and one floor underground, larger than this house, with a net usable area of over six hundred square meters, including the basement.

There was also about two hundred square meters of private use area outside the house,

The developer does not restrict them from doing anything on this land; whether they want to lay down a lawn, do a little gardening, dig a swimming pool here, or build a court or something, it is all allowed.

The developer has no mandatory conditions or requirements here. Every house is separated by a distance, the privacy is very good, and the roads and facilities within the community are also very complete—

When they were looking at this house, they discovered that there was actually a supermarket in the center of the community, a "community supermarket," and if they had any needs, they didn't need to go buy them in person.

They only need one phone call, and the staff at the community supermarket will prepare the things they need and then deliver them to their home.

Everything there is very good, and the residents living there also belong to the middle class who are in the stage of social advancement, moving closer to the upper class.

In short, it is a very good choice; the only drawback is that the price is not cheap, requiring about forty thousand dollars.

Forty thousand dollars is already an astronomical figure for ordinary people; an ordinary worker would have to work for a hundred years, without eating or drinking, to have this much money.

The year before last, it was also because of this price that they were deterred from the idea of buying a house in that community.

But this year, the senior agent supervisor's friend bought it.

Facing his friend's inquiry, he wore a look of reserved showing off on his face and said in a tone that seemed not to care much, "Sixty thousand dollars."

"They originally wanted sixty-three thousand dollars from me. I talked to them for a long time, and finally, they agreed to sixty thousand."

"But I must spend five thousand dollars in their community supermarket within three years."

"My god!" the senior agent supervisor looked at his friend in disbelief, "Sixty thousand dollars?"

"It went up by that much?"

His friend brought over some food and wine, "You know, wages have increased a lot now, and the war tax has also been abolished. People can earn more income. The price of a house in such a community is not just a simple number."

"It's purchasing power!"

This is a term he recently learned. Using some fresh words makes one seem very high-class, which is also a characteristic of the middle class; they always feel, and hope, that they can walk at the forefront of the times.

"Actually, the money you need to pay is the same as what you paid in the past, in terms of income."

"Before, you needed a hundred years of income; now it still requires a hundred years of income, so its value hasn't changed with the currency; it is constant."

"When I need to sell it later, it will still be worth two lifetimes of an ordinary person."

Hearing this, the senior agent supervisor felt a bit envious, "You really are a lucky guy. Did you get a raise recently?"

His friend smiled, smiling somewhat "mysteriously," "No."

"Then how...", the senior agent supervisor couldn't help but want to probe. Actually, this is a very private question, but their relationship is indeed good, which is why he could ask it.

If it were someone else, he definitely wouldn't ask like that; it would be too impolite.

His friend handed him a glass containing some wine and then clinked it against the glass in his own hand.

After the two drank some wine, his friend said, "You know, life has many choices and many opportunities."

"Choosing an option that helps our future development is very important."

"My work basically hasn't changed, but I now have an extra income, and it's not a small amount."

"It provides me with about eight thousand to ten thousand dollars in income every year."

Hearing this, the senior agent supervisor already vaguely realized that this extra income must have a certain connection with Lanse.

He didn't speak immediately but was thinking. His friend didn't urge him either, just drinking wine while eating the things on the table.

Various roasted meats, pickles, vegetable salads, and so on; they sat cross-legged on the soft carpet in the living room, surrounding the coffee table, instead of sitting on chairs in the dining room surrounding the dining table.

This dining atmosphere seemed more relaxed and not so formal, so the burden of saying certain things was not so great.

It's like if you and your friend were in a very formal room and dressed formally to discuss a problem, everyone would appear very cautious.

But if it were in a restroom, it might seem very relaxed.

After about a minute or so, the senior agent supervisor asked, "What does Lanse's group need you to do for them?"

His friend shook his head, "You actually misunderstood a concept."

"This money might indeed have its source from Lanse White and his criminal group, but after this money has gone through layers of circulation, by the time it reaches my hands, it actually doesn't have much to do with Lanse White anymore."

"And the most critical point is, it's legal. Investment income, and the tax is also very low. If it weren't for the tax, my extra annual income would be at least ten thousand dollars."

"I am not one of Lanse White's people, and he doesn't have the ability to hire me. Actually... you know, I have always had contact with those people, work-related and privately."

The "those people" he spoke of, the senior agent supervisor knows, are some people in Congress, the group around Senator Cleveland.

Their momentum is very strong now, so many people are willing to cooperate with them and work for them.

On one hand, it is to obtain a bigger backer and visible power support; on the other hand, it is also because this group around Senator Cleveland is truly too generous!

As long as one follows behind them, there will always be some income. In the past few years, New Jincheng has had a large batch of wealthy people, and behind them, more or less, all have a connection with this interest group.

After all, every year, just from Lanse's side, there is over a hundred million in funds flowing in, and the other funds combined are even more.

Moreover, they have just harvested a wave of investors and used power to ensure that the capitalists behind them profit from improper business.

In short, this is a constantly expanding interest group.

Of course, these small characters don't know much about these things; they only know that as long as they follow people like Senator Cleveland, every once in a while they can get a benefit.

And it's continuous; as long as they don't do stupid things and are obedient, then there will definitely be income for them.

The senior agent supervisor's friend's own salary is only over two thousand dollars a year. In other words, after he defected to Senator Cleveland, his income increased fourfold. This kind of income is very hard for people to refuse.

"So, are you a lobbyist today?", the senior agent supervisor picked up a pickle and took a bite.

It was so sour that his sphincter contracted for a moment, then he picked up a piece of roasted meat with fat and stuffed it into his mouth, not feeling greasy at all.

His friend shook his head, "No, I don't count as a lobbyist in the true sense, because the purpose of inviting you here today is not just this."

"First, it's to tell you that I've moved. If you want to find me later, you have to go to my new house, and I will give you a new phone number."

"We have known each other for more than ten years. Now we have fewer and fewer friends around us, and I cherish the friendship between us."

"The second purpose is to talk to you in more detail about this matter. It's actually not very suitable to say on the phone; face-to-face is more convenient for us to communicate."

"Even if you are unwilling to defect, my advice to you is not to stand on the opposite side of this."

The senior agent supervisor immediately retorted somewhat stubbornly, "I am not standing on their opposite side!"

His friend had a helpless expression, "Come on!"

"We all know you are investigating Lanse White, and Lanse White is one of the core interest conveyors of this interest group."

"Don't tell me about doing things by the book. We have been participating in government work for almost ten years. When have you ever seen the federal government do things by the book?"

? C〇

His tone revealed very sharp aggression, and his face also carried a trace of mockery, "All along, the federal government has been a means, a path, a platform for certain people to control this country and the people, nothing more."

"Your so-called doing things by the book is just their personal idea. You, me, or others, how much have we really done for the people?"

"Think carefully, have we done more for the people, or more for these big shots?"

This sentence is absolutely a super killer move, immediately making the senior agent supervisor fall silent. He held his wine glass and drank two sips, his expression appearing somewhat off.

Because his friend said it very correctly; all along, they have actually been satisfying the things those superiors and key figures want to do, rather than really doing anything for ordinary people.

However, he still found it... not very easy to accept, "But if I defect to Senator Cleveland's side, can I do things for the people?"

His friend shook his head and said, "As long as you are in the federal government system, no matter which side you stand on, you won't do things for the people."

"The purpose of me telling you this is just to let you first figure out one thing: who you work for is equivalent to who you are taking sides with."

"Now you are standing on the side of your Director Luo Lan, but do you know whose side Director Luo Lan is standing on?"

"Do you know why they want to deal with Lanse White and other gangs?"

"In the past so many years, gangs have always existed and have helped us manage those places in the federal underground that we can't see clearly very well. Do you think they really have no value at all?"

Federal countries all have such problems; power is difficult to penetrate downward, just like the federal government's power can only be maintained at the federal level, and the state government's power can only be maintained at the state level.

Because the cities below are decided by the mayor; even the governor may not be able to bypass the mayor to change a city's development policy.

Further down, it is the same; a mayor's words may not be as effective as a town mayor's, and a town mayor's words may not be as effective as a sheriff's.

But whether at the federal level or in those rural places, gangs can dominate. They can coordinate places that upper-level power cannot interfere with very well, letting everything be executed according to the federal government's wishes.

Suppressing strikes, suppressing those workers and farmers who attempt to cause trouble, or even cutting off traffic, besieging some farms, burning their crops, killing their livestock, and forcing them to do things they are unwilling to do.

Can you let the army do these things?

Can you let the police do these things?

Obviously impossible; the federal government still wants to save face, so only gangs can do these things.

This is a complete ruling system. Maybe the current gangs are a little bit out of control, but overall, they are still needed.

The senior agent supervisor was not speaking at this time. As a frontline worker, he actually knows these things very well, but now he is highly valued by Director Luo Lan. If he leans toward Senator Cleveland, it would make him feel that he is letting down Director Luo Lan's trust.

Watching his good friend fall into a state of entanglement, the owner of the house clinked glasses with him again, "I'm not asking you to make a choice to lean toward us, but that you shouldn't take sides."

"I have a suggestion: if you are unwilling to take sides, then the best way is to quit your job and change to another one."

"With the work experience you have now, I can help you introduce other better jobs."

"This way you won't be in a difficult position."

After hearing this, the senior agent supervisor instinctively shook his head. Go to other places to work? What kind of good job could it be?

He is actually quite satisfied with his current job and income; not only is the income not low, but he also has power and influence.

He actually thinks highly of the future development of the Federal Investigation Bureau; it will become a very powerful authority department within the federal government.

In its early stages of development, it is exactly the time to "invest."

And even if he went to work elsewhere, would he have to face the same troubles? He doesn't know.

Seeing that the senior agent supervisor still hadn't expressed his stance, his friend wasn't in a hurry, "We are good friends, good friends of more than ten years, so I speak more directly. If you don't like to hear it... you still have to listen to me."

This sentence made the senior agent supervisor unable to help but show a smile, "You really are an unreasonable and overbearing person!"

They clinked glasses again, "I am not overbearing, nor am I unreasonable, it's just that we have been friends for so many years, I don't want one day you to suddenly... leave me, leave this world."

The senior agent supervisor had already raised his wine glass and put it down again, "Is it that serious?"

"I am a senior supervisor of the Federal Investigation Bureau, a senior management member!"

His friend said somewhat disdainfully, "Don't forget, several presidents in the past have been assassinated. How do you think you compare to the president?"

Just as the senior agent supervisor was about to retort, his friend said again, "Listen to me first. What you are going to move against is not just a gang, a gang leader, but an interest conveyance with hundreds of millions of funds behind it."

"By dealing with Lanse White, you offend not only Lanse White and the people of the Lanse family, but also those who can get some benefits from these hundreds of millions of funds. In every aspect, there may be hundreds, thousands of people."

"And they all belong to those with relatively high status. You know, if their status wasn't high, they wouldn't be able to share this money."

The senior agent supervisor couldn't help but ask, "Including you?"

His friend said bluntly, "Including me."

"If you cause my extra annual income of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to go down the drain, I will definitely be angry with you."

"We are friends, I will only be angry."

"But what about those other people?"

"They are not friends with you. Have you considered how they will deal with you?"

"Everything you have will leave you. You will lose these, your family, relatives, wife, children, and it may include your and their lives!"

"I don't want such a day to come, so when they mentioned this matter, I took the initiative to take on this task."

"Take my advice, you are not their opponent, Luo Lan is not their opponent, including those behind Luo Lan, they are not their opponent either!"

"You are just on the 'outside', you haven't truly understood the 'inside', so you don't know at all what kind of 'monster' you are facing!"

(End of chapter)