Chapter 1159

For this lunch, Mayor Williams invited some famous chefs. Anderson (the old chef who was blown up by shit) himself actually wanted to come, but his body now doesn't allow him to do these things.

Working in the back kitchen all year round, Anderson's body also had some problems. It is very difficult for him to cook by himself now.

In fact, he had these problems a long time ago, in terms of joints, but the symptoms were very mild before, and now they are beginning to become serious.

Age will eventually make every young person convinced, in terms of physical health and athletic ability.

This is actually a very cruel process, because everyone has possessed a young body, but eventually they will lose everything.

For them in the past, easy running and jumping, when they are old, they can only watch young people do that. They lost the ability to control their bodies, and eventually they will lose their lives.

Now the best chefs in Jincheng are Anderson's apprentices and apprentices' apprentices. They have inherited 70% or 80% of Anderson's cooking skills, and a small part of the unique skills, he only taught his son and daughter.

In fact, it's not anything special, it's the formula of spices.

Every chef will have a set of top-secret formulas belonging to themselves. These formulas determine their status in the catering industry and are absolute secrets!

Hearing Mayor Williams say that this meal was for Lans, so even the current general manager of Anderson Chain Restaurant, can also be said to be the president, came in person.

It was the manager of the restaurant before. He has now become the largest shareholder and president of Anderson Chain Restaurant.

He served Lans those good-looking and delicious food, and sincerely thanked Lans for everything he did for the prosperity and stability of Jincheng.

"You are very popular!", Mayor Williams's tone sounded a bit sour, "More popular than me!"

Lans smiled, "Because they can see, my kindness to them."

"We are different. I can do nothing, as long as I don't do things they hate, they will like me."

"But you are different. You have to do things. As long as you do things, there will be people who like you, and there will be people who hate you, so we are different. Comparing this has no meaning."

He paused, "Is Arthur not coming back now?"

Mayor Williams nodded, he let James pour some wine for Lans, "He lives his life in Jinzhou, which is also what his mother hopes."

He said and paused, and then said in a slightly mocking tone, "Upper class, you know."

Arthur's wife's father is a high-level member of the Social Party, his status is certainly higher than Mayor Williams, but who is more real in terms of actual power is hard to say.

This is like a party committee member, who has a high status in the party, but in terms of actual power, they may not have much more than Mayor Williams.

James explained on the side, "He is very relaxed there, no one manages him, so he is not very willing to come back."

"If he comes back, with us here, his days won't be that easy."

Lans curled his lips, "Understandable, the thing every child wants to do most after becoming an adult is to stay away from their parents and family and go to the outside world to break through."

Mayor Williams continued Lans's words, "Until they fall with a head full of bags, and then slowly grow old, they start to truly miss their home."

He waved his hand, just like driving away flies, "Don't talk about this little bastard. During this time, I have been thinking, isn't it going to be the Saint Agriculture Festival soon?"

"Maybe we can go to the farm to spend the festival together?"

If there is no invitation from Lans or others, Mayor Williams and the others are not convenient to go. After all, that side is someone else's home to them, not theirs.

Visiting is no problem, but on such an important festival as the Saint Agriculture Festival, it seems a bit inappropriate, so if someone can invite, that is obviously the best.

Maybe he is really old, Mayor Williams began to miss those days living on the farm.

In fact, he didn't live on the farm for long, the family farm gradually turned into a city little by little, but that period of his life and everything was deeply engraved in his memory.

People miss the past not really missing that era, they miss themselves when they were young, themselves in memory.

They can't go back to the past, but they can go through some methods to re-experience what they experienced when they were young, to find that familiar feeling, as if they haven't really grown old!

When he was dancing around the bonfire with those farmers and farm women on the farm, in a trance, he seemed to have returned to his childhood, when he was ten or so, at that time he was also like this, around the bonfire.

Facing Mayor Williams's expectant eyes, Lans agreed, "I will make a call to the farm later, you can go over anytime, in fact."

Mayor Williams joked with Lans before, saying he wanted to spend his old age on the farm. Now it seems this is not a catering statement, he really wants to do so.

"I will let them prepare a house for you, you can live there, and the train also passes there, travel will be very convenient."

"When you want to go over, just go and live for a while, they will definitely welcome you."

Mayor Williams seemed to be immersed in the things Lans described. After a while, he sighed and said, "This is really great, thank you very much for your support!"

Lans shook his head and did not continue to deepen this topic.

Lunch went very happily. Saying it was talking about what interests, it was actually more like a small gathering between family or friends.

James performed very steadily. In the second half of lunch, Mayor Williams rarely spoke, and James was chatting with Lans.

The thinking of young people and old people is indeed not on the same level. James seems more radical in some considerations of urban development.

For example, on the issue of illegal immigrants and refugees, Mayor Williams's idea is to continue to maintain the current state and not discuss the issue of legal status with them.

But James feels that this matter should be promoted, reducing illegal immigrants and refugees, and turning them into federal people, which only has benefits for the development of the entire Jincheng, not bad.

And Mayor Williams may still hide the old farmer's set of enslavement ideas in his heart. These illegal immigrants and refugees are the best source of cheap labor.

They are not worth money.

Many people think that slavery and enslavement are inhumane, but this matter cannot be completely considered that slave owners are not good.

As the private property of slave owners, they won't really be bored and kill a few of their own slaves. If they really want to do this, they carry weapons to the wild to find escaped slaves, why do they have to spend money to buy them back, and then kill them, is it because they have too much money?

In the slave-owning South, slave owners would cherish their private property more. After all, without these slaves, the farmland calculated in hectares would not be managed by anyone.

And they would also issue meager wages to slaves.

Manage food, can eat full.

Manage wear, although not very good, maybe someone else wore it, but at least they won't freeze in winter.

Also issue wages.

This is much better than the treatment of those refugees and illegal immigrants working now!

When people's thinking changes, people like Mayor Williams reflect a supportive attitude on the issue of exploitation and use of these illegal workers.

Give little money, and then use it hard!

On the contrary, letting them become legal labor will only increase the labor cost of Jincheng, which is not good for the development of the city.

As someone who watched Jincheng develop from a small town to such a huge scale today, Mayor Williams knows how many slave skeletons are buried under this city!

Use those cheap slaves to do the most dangerous work, the most arduous work, and if they die, bury them on the spot. A city rises from their corpses.

The more slaves, the faster the city's construction. Even today, he thinks it is the same truth.

Use lower costs to develop the city faster, this is the future of Jincheng!

But letting illegal immigrants and refugees fully enjoy what ordinary workers should enjoy, Jincheng loses its development potential.

Yes, potential, these illegal immigrants, refugees, are the development potential of cities. Others only use one thousand to clean up a piece of open space.

But in Jincheng, one thousand can let these people build you a house!

Of course, James feels that if they can be given some hope, they can stimulate more of their subjective initiative and exert more power.

There are many other different points of view like this. However, although James has his own ideas, when dealing with those more serious government affairs, he still tends to be conservative like Mayor Williams.

After one o'clock in the afternoon, Lans got up to say goodbye. Mayor Williams's energy was obviously insufficient, and he kept yawning.

People are like this when they are old. They sleep very little at night, will be awakened before dawn, and then start to get sleepy in the afternoon.

At the same time in another city, Dai Wen bit a cigarette and came behind a priest.

The priest's attention at this time was all focused on a few little boys. Of course, he might not want to do anything, just watching these choir little boys practice the program.

Because the Saint Agriculture Festival is coming soon.

The church will hold the church's Saint Agriculture Festival activity one day before the Saint Agriculture Festival begins. These young and cute little boys will praise the glory of the Lord in the cathedral.

As for why the harvest festival like the Saint Agriculture Festival can also be related to the Lord, this can only show again that the Lord is omnipotent. The church says that because of the Lord's permission, the autumn can bear fruit.

If the Lord does not allow it, there will be no edible fruit in the world.

This is basically something all religions will do—hook the great power of nature with their source of faith. Even children in the stomachs of pregnant women are called "gifts given by the Lord" by some, hoping that her husband is also a devout believer.

By the way, it is best to hope that "Lord" is not the abbreviation of someone.

"Can we talk?", Dai Wen suddenly spoke, which made the priest shiver violently.

He looked back at Dai Wen standing not far behind him with shock and anger, and took his hand out from under the cloak, "Wang Defa?"

"Who are you?"

"Why are you standing here?"

"We are not open to the public today, you'd better get out of here before I call the police..."

The priest looked at the stack of money Dai Wen took out from his pocket, and he suddenly fell silent for a while. To be honest, now whether he speaks or not, it is a bit awkward.

He wanted that money.

This is not to say that he hasn't seen this money, but that this money is too much.

They are all large-denomination banknotes of 20, and they look like at least 40 or 50, which is several hundred or thousands!

Although the priest can also get some benefits through his position, for himself, but who would think that such benefits are too many?

"I want to donate.", Dai Wen pulled out five, 100, and then stuffed them into the hood behind the priest's cloak.

The priest didn't feel humiliated at all, and there were more smiles on his face, "God will have mercy on his devout believers, your good deeds will be watched by him, and you will get his protection."

Dai Wen took out a few more banknotes, "And I have some questions I want to consult with you."

The priest looked at the choir's practice again, gave his assistant pastor a look, and then took Dai Wen to his office.

The huge office is very luxurious, with a height of at least ten meters. A small suffering statue of the Lord hangs behind him, watching everyone in this room from top to bottom.

"What can I help you with?", the priest invited Dai Wen to sit down, and his face was also full of smiles.

In fact, it is not an easy thing for the cathedral to get money, because there is not only one clergyman here, there is a whole team here, adding up to more than 20 people.

Every account will have relatively clear records. It is not that they cannot get money from this, for example, the priest thinks the stained glass of the church needs to be replaced with new ones.

He finds someone to change the glass, and the person who changes the glass will falsely report some costs, reporting the glass that is 2 per piece as 2.5 or 3 per piece.

But not more, because everyone knows the price of this thing very well. If you get a little less, it will be his extra benefit.

But if you do too much, the people above will be very disgusted.

Generally, cathedrals will have vertical management of the church. On the contrary, those small churches, maybe the kind with only one priest, are the places where you can really get money.

How much the believers donated is only up to them, and no one cares where the donated money went.

So he is very interested in the money in Dai Wen's hand.

"Do you know this woman?", Dai Wen took out two photos and handed them over.

One is the photo of Roland's hidden wife now, and one is when she was young, taken near the year she got married according to his investigation, very beautiful, mainly because the breath of youth is very strong.

The priest just took a look and nodded and said, "I know her, her wedding was presided over by me."

At that time, he was not the priest of the cathedral, but just a priest of an ordinary small church, which was also the time when he made the most money.

At that time, he was very stupid. He thought that going to a bigger church could get more money, so he gave the money he had saved for so many years to the people above.

They did collect money and do things, very reasonable, but after he really came here, he found that he was tied up after coming here.

Perhaps after some years, he will drag everyone into the water to be more comfortable, but obviously it is not like this now.

Dai Wen took two 20-denomination banknotes and placed them on the corner of the table. The priest looked at the two banknotes and suddenly hoped that this person could ask a few more questions!

"Do you know her husband?"

The priest nodded, "Of course I know, I said, the wedding was presided over by me at that time."

Dai Wen put two more banknotes on it, "You should have presided over many weddings, why do you remember them, and you show it so clearly, with a deep memory."

The priest recalled, "Because they were the only couple I presided over who had no wedding guests. They only had two people, brought 1 over, and said they wanted to get married."

"I advised them to change a day and invite friends from home, but they refused."

"So I have a deep impression, and that was one night. No one gets married at night, except them!"

Dai Wen put a few more banknotes on it. Maybe it has something to do with him saying so many words, which made the priest more interested. He must say the next question more detailed!

"Do you remember what this man's name is?"

The priest thought for a while, "My memory is a bit blurred for such a long time, I have to think about it seriously."

He looked directly into Dai Wen's eyes. Dai Wen put the small stack of money in his hand on it. The priest's face was full of smiles, just like when he was praying and bathed in the glory of the Lord, he smiled from the heart!

"I don't know what his surname is, but I know he is called Roland. That woman calls him Roland, and he also let me call him that."

Dai Wen nodded, and then took out some photos from his arms, a total of 8, including Roland's photos when he was young, which were found from his college student album.

There is also a photo taken recently, which was obtained by Lans through the relationship of the newspaper office from the original film in the hands of the reporter. Except for these two, the other 6 are all other people. They may be a bit similar to Roland in some directions, but they are not Roland.

The priest studied for a long time, and he himself became a bit uncertain. Dai Wen did not urge him.

Maybe he felt that he had used too long a time, so long that he was a bit embarrassed, he smiled awkwardly and explained to Dai Wen, "Maybe the time is too long, my memory is slightly faded."

"There are two people here who look like him, but I can't distinguish which one it is..."

(End of chapter)