Chapter 115: New Policies, Uniforms, and Passivity

In early November, the election results were released. As everyone expected, the President won re-election with an absolute lead.

The "Federal Daily" celebrated the President's re-election with the front-page headline, "Another Great Victory."

But another mainstream newspaper, the "Federal Post," went head-to-head with the "Federal Daily" with the front-page headline, "The Most Shameful Election Victory."

The editor-in-chief stated in the report that this re-election was the most shameful midterm election in the Federation's history. It was not a victory of the people's free will, but a victory of the Social Party's despicable political tactics.

They used extremely vicious methods to snatch fairness, justice, and democratic freedom from the people's hands, telling them with bloody facts that in the eyes of the Social Party, everyone was just a pawn on the chessboard, not a player at the table.

The editor-in-chief wrote at the end, "If I were the President, I would write a resignation letter and submit it to Congress out of shame right now, instead of shamelessly holding a celebration for a conspiratorial victory in his villa."

The Federal Party's newspaper also reported similar news, denouncing the President for crushing the things Federal citizens were most proud of in the world and throwing them into the trash heap. The Federation was about to enter a dark hour...

But for ordinary people, who became President might not have a huge impact.

On the day the President successfully won re-election, the Presidential Palace press spokesperson announced several decrees the President had just signed, including the decree on total prohibition.

From this moment on, the Federation entered a state of total prohibition. All states had to stop the production, brewing, transportation, and sale of beverages containing alcohol, including fermented wheat juice.

At the same time, the newly implemented prohibition decree clearly stipulated that Federal Customs would stop approving customs declarations for alcoholic beverages. In other words, the Federation did not allow the import of alcoholic beverages.

The unprecedentedly strict decree suddenly left drunks in all states not knowing what to do.

At the same time, reliable news rumored that Congress was discussing the establishment of a new law enforcement agency specifically responsible for relevant inspection work.

They planned to draw elite personnel from the Federal Tax Bureau, the Federal Treasury, and the Federal Department of Justice to form a new law enforcement agency specifically for investigating and handling cases related to alcohol, drugs, and smuggling.

Once this news broke, the price of all existing alcoholic beverages in the Federation skyrocketed. Napo Wine Industry's market value also soared because it had stored a large amount of various types of alcohol!

Not just them, but other breweries and enterprises that had stored large quantities of alcoholic beverages saw huge changes in their market value.

The financial market was once again shaken by the alcoholic beverage industry, and countless hot new millionaires were born.

For the current Federation, alcohol was money!

It was just that the content that should have been highlighted was not so prominent in public opinion because of the election scandal.

In the morning, two trucks arrived next to the office. Lanse organized manpower to move the clothes off the trucks. He had rented a back-street warehouse in the back, and these clothes would be stored there temporarily.

They were all brand-new clothes—blue work uniforms, wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant. The fabric might be a bit stiff, not as comfortable as cotton or linen, but the key point was that they were durable and free!

The office was very busy. Lanse and Vaughn's relationship continued to warm up. On the docks, illegal immigrants and immigrant groups also began to divide into two parts.

One part was ordinary immigrants who found work themselves, and the other part was immigrants from the office.

To better manage these people, Lanse had Xiao En design a file and card. Everyone who registered here would have their own file.

When they worked, whose work card they used, where they worked, how much they were paid, and how they performed—these were all recorded in detail.

Lanse planned to turn passivity into initiative, no longer letting workers find work themselves, but taking the initiative to talk to people on the docks about dispatch issues.

These people were now independent from other immigrant groups, and they also began to get used to being dispatched and managed by the office.

This formed an excellent snowball effect because the office here could better help Federal citizens arrange work card rentals, and they just had to collect money on time every month.

So more people chose to deposit their work cards with Lanse. Also, because Lanse had more job opportunities to offer illegal immigrants, many illegal immigrants came from other districts every day, hoping to get job opportunities here.

Early in the morning, the area outside the office was already crowded with people. In the curious eyes of these illegal immigrants, there was some longing.

Many people hadn't bought a new piece of clothing since they arrived in the Federation months or even a year ago.

The exploitation and oppression of them by Federal society meant they had to plan the path for every penny.

As long as the clothes weren't torn and could still be worn, they wouldn't change them. Mending was just a matter of a few cents, but changing a set of clothes was something they couldn't afford.

Sometimes life is very tolerant—look at those people living in the Bay Area, driving convertibles with beautiful girls, cruising on the coastal highway.

Sometimes life is also very cruel—look at these illegal immigrants and you'll know.

But who wouldn't long for new clothes?

"Everyone come over and help out." Lanse greeted them, and soon more people came to help. They moved the clothes from the trucks to the warehouse. Once they were mostly moved, Lanse had them gathered together.

There were at least two or three hundred people here, extending from the alley by the road to the street. Some passersby curiously ran over to see what was happening.

Mo Lisi moved a chair for Lanse, letting him stand in a higher place so more people could see him.

"All workers who have files in the office, as long as you have worked for a month, you can receive a set of clothes from here—one top, one pair of pants, and two pairs of gloves."

Exclamations erupted in the crowd. Someone shouted loudly, "Mr. Lanse, do we have to pay for these clothes?"

Lanse told them loudly, "You don't need to pay a single penny!"

"But I also need to tell you, these are your work uniforms. As long as you are working, you must wear them. I will arrange for people to check!"

"If anyone is not wearing them while working, I will consider whether you can find a job here next month."

"Federal people don't like us. They think we are poor, lowly, humble, ugly, and even thieves and criminals. They look at us with the eyes of criminals."

"We don't accept such baseless accusations. Perhaps changing into a set of clean and neat clothes won't make them change their views on us overnight."

"But at least, we must make ourselves look clean and neat, not giving them an excuse to attack us in terms of appearance."

"We can't become perfect in a short time, but at least we are changing!"

Then someone shouted, "What if the clothes are worn out?"

Lanse looked at the person who shouted, "If you can wear the clothes out, bring them back, and I'll have someone give you a new set!"

Someone couldn't wait, "Mr. Lanse, what are we waiting for? Let's distribute the clothes!"

Lanse signaled Xiao En to register, then stood to one side.

Xiao En had a clever mind; it was indeed a waste of his talent to do these things. A few tables, a few staff members, and then people came over to receive clothes with their work cards.

During this time, someone tried to receive an extra set and was discovered. Not only was the set he received taken back, but his work card was also canceled!

In other words, he would not be able to get job opportunities here, and his original job opportunity would be transferred to someone else.

Those who didn't meet the requirements for receiving them looked at this side with great longing, then processed work cards and looked for suitable jobs.

In just one morning, over a thousand sets were distributed. There were still some people who hadn't come to receive them or didn't know about this, but Lanse believed they would know soon.

From the second day on, a very strange phenomenon appeared in the Port District: those illegal immigrants looked more formal than local workers, at least in terms of dress!

They had unified uniforms, and the nameplates on their chests had their file numbers in the office and their names.

On the back was printed the name of the Wanli Labor Office, the address, and the phone number. Of course, this wasn't important.

The Dock Workers Union discovered this situation immediately. Their sense of smell on the docks was incredibly keen. The president called several people in charge over directly.

The president was named Shi Diwen. He was thin and also wore a high-end suit with a flashy tie.

He was the first to arrive in the conference room, standing by the window, looking at the workers in unified uniforms on the docks in the distance, thinking about something.

As others arrived in the conference room, he returned to his seat and sat down.

A few minutes later, he glanced at his watch and stopped waiting, "Let's not worry about those who haven't come yet. Does anyone know what's going on with those people?"

"Some people have already called me, asking if we are organizing unified work uniforms and when they will be issued. Why don't I know about this?"

Wo En raised his hand. Shi Diwen looked at him, "You know?"

Wo En nodded, "I talked to you about it last time. Did you forget?"

Shi Diwen was stunned for a moment. His eyes were a bit blank. Wo En reminded him, "Donations."

His eyes suddenly had focus, "Yes, I remember now, that..." He lowered his head, his brows locked, looking like he was constipated.

Wo En continued to remind him, "Lanse."

He looked up and pointed at Wo En with a relieved look, "Yes, Lanse, that's the name. So these people are all illegal immigrants?"

Wo En nodded, "I'm afraid that's indeed the case."

Shi Diwen had a headache, "This is a bit troublesome. Quite a few people called me just now. Listening to them, they hope we do the same."

"But we don't have this plan currently!"

Unified work uniforms are easy to say, but this damn thing costs money!

Who pays for this money?

The union?

Or the capitalists?

Or the workers themselves?

Damn it, what is this Lans doing, making the union so passive!