Chapter 1187: Careful

Life has many crossroads. As long as you don't stay at the crossroads and continue to go down, no matter which one you choose, you have to bear the feedback of the choice you made.

Good, or bad.

Governor Wei De sat in the car and looked at the pedestrians on one side of the road, thinking of many things in his mind.

He thought of the years he spent in Jincheng Port, thought of the Wei De family because of his choice, from a local small family, rapidly growing into a "governor family", and they have the opportunity to realize the opportunity to control power here for a long time.

From the moment he was born, every choice he made was on the right route. He believes this time is also, and will always be correct.

As for the others... let the wind take these away!

When Governor Wei De's motorcade returned to the manor, several cars that had not been seen were parked in the manor.

Governor Wei De looked twice more, stood by the car for a while, and then returned to the building of the manor.

The butler quickly greeted him. "Old master, guests are visiting."

"Who?", he said while handing his coat to the maid beside him, and then took off his

"Some... businessmen, they say they want to see you."

Governor Wade curled his lip, "They could have come a bit earlier, before this matter spread."

"Or they could have come a bit later, after all the flying dust had slowly settled to the ground."

"But instead, they chose to come at this very moment. How truly interesting!"

The butler straightened his slightly messy collar, saying as he did so, "Then, would you like me to have someone throw them out?"

Governor Wade looked at himself in the cloakroom mirror, his hand gripping the sleeve of his shirt as he gave it a tug, "Throw them out?"

"Why throw them out? I will go see them and see what they want to do."

The butler stood by his side with a composed expression, following him step-by-step toward the reception hall.

The moment they approached the reception hall, the other attendants in the manor immediately pushed open the doors, and the three people sitting inside stood up at once.

"Your Excellency, Governor," they addressed Governor Wade.

Governor Wade raised his hand in a slight gesture, nodding with a smile—this was merely the most basic etiquette. His gaze swept over the three young men one by one, confirming they were all people he did not recognize, after which he walked over to his sofa and sat down.

"Everyone sit and speak. That you were able to find your way here shows you have at least some capability, and I have many things to do lately, so let us minimize the unnecessary chatter and get to the purpose of your visit."

The three young men looked at each other, and one of them, who appeared to be the oldest, said, "Mr. Governor, I heard that to supply goods in Denuozhou, one must first obtain your consent."

"We are legitimate businessmen, so we came here to pay you a visit and, incidentally... express our sincerity."

As he spoke, he pushed out two large suitcases from beside the sofa. They looked about the same size as ordinary suitcases, but an ordinary suitcase might only be ten or twelve centimeters thick.

However, the two suitcases they brought were at least fifteen centimeters, perhaps seventeen or eighteen centimeters thick.

It looked like they were just a bit thicker, but they could hold quite a bit more.

"What is inside?" Governor Wade asked.

The young man in the lead did not touch the suitcases. He was very clear on the procedure for meeting Governor Wade here. He glanced at the butler, who walked over, lifted the suitcases with some effort, placed them on a small cart nearby, and then opened them.

The moment the suitcases were opened, the butler's eyes went blank for a brief moment. He then turned and pushed the small cart over; it was filled with money.

Twenty-dollar bills filled every corner of the suitcases. Governor Wade casually picked up a stack—one hundred brand-new twenty-dollar bills, totaling two thousand dollars.

There were at least... he made a rough estimate... fifty stacks of such bills, or perhaps more. Calculating based on fifty stacks, that would be one hundred thousand dollars.

Two suitcases, two hundred thousand in cash—brand-new, twenty-dollar bills smelling of printer's ink.

Although he had seen a lot of money, when two cases of cash appeared before him in this manner, he was still somewhat... tempted.

His gaze fell upon the three young men, "I don't quite understand what you mean by this."

The leading young man smiled with pursed lips, his face full of ingratiating smiles, "This is just a meeting gift, Your Excellency, Governor."

"We can transport about five million in goods here every month. Our profit is two or three million, and we can give half of that to you."

"I heard that this is the rule here."

Governor Wade lit a cigarette, watching the man with a playful expression, "You know the rules very well..." He rubbed his chin, "But it is a pity, I cannot accept your kindness. Before I call the police, take your money and leave here."

After saying this, he shook his head and stood up, "I don't know where you heard those rumors, but I can only tell you that I never take dirty money. I didn't take it before, I don't take it now, and I won't take it in the future."

"I will not allow you to conduct illegal business in Denuozhou just because you intend to give me money."

"If your business is legal, I welcome you to do business here; it can drive employment and increase job positions."

"But if you intend to conduct illegal business, then as soon as I discover it, I will call the police to arrest you. Do you understand?"

He paused after speaking, his gaze lingering on the faces of the three young men for a moment, then he pointed at the two suitcases with the hand holding his cigarette, "Take your things and leave here, before I change my mind!"

The three young men seemed very embarrassed. They quickly packed up the suitcases and left under the guidance of a servant.

"Arrange for some people to keep an eye on them and see whose people they are," Governor Wade said, then tore off his tie and walked toward the inner rooms.

He had a premonition that these three people might have been sent by Lans, or by the Socialist Party.

The simplest way to make him yield was to impeach him.

Impeaching him required reasonable and legal grounds; one couldn't just remove him because the chairman of the Socialist Party committee felt his existence would affect the Socialist Party's power struggles in the Assembly.

Such a reason would not hold water, and even if they were shameless enough to propose it, the two houses would not pass it.

The people proposing it might be shameless, but the State Assembly here cared about face. They still had to "survive" here for a long time; they could not do such a thing.

Therefore, a high-sounding reason that everyone could accept—a suitable excuse—became the key to impeaching him.

Accepting bribes and using official power for money-power transactions was a charge that the simple voters of the Federation could least accept.

The politicians they elected were riding on their heads and defecating; they could not stand that.

Governor Wade knew very well that the more critical the moment, the less he could afford to make mistakes easily.

Once the situation stabilized later and he could play both sides, he would dare to accept money from anyone.

Because by then, even if the Socialist Party hated him deeply, they would still have to maintain basic decency to ensure they didn't lose the last Senate seat.

He arrived at the back of the manor, where the members of the Wade family were gathered; he had given them notice in advance.

Whether it was his children, his siblings, or his siblings' children, in short, everyone in the Wade family was here.

They watched as Governor Wade walked in and sat at the head of the main dining table, everyone's gaze fixed upon him.

It was because of Governor Wade's decisions that the Wade family had grown very powerful. Relying on the power in Governor Wade's hands, they had begun to form a Denuozhou interest group belonging to the Wade family, with the Wade family at its core.

It could also be called a strong local financial group.

Using policies and various methods, they forcibly seized industries and shares from selected capitalists.

For a governor, as long as he could control the situation, be ruthless, and make some sacrifices for the family's growth, the Wade family could certainly handle everything here!

For example, they recently acquired a very large local factory in Denuozhou by using the power of the state government.

They first investigated the factory and found many areas that violated state laws, such as pollution issues, job arrangement issues, and so on...

They found over a dozen existing problems, some of which were ambiguous—the kind where it might be okay, or maybe not, but then again, it might be.

In the past, a simple public relations effort would have sufficed, but once the Wade family set their sights on this factory, these problems became major issues.

The state government even held several hearings for this, and after various social forces intervened, the state government finally issued a super-high fine to the enterprise, as high as fifty million!

Although the enterprise appealed repeatedly, it was useless; Governor Wade had resolved everything.

In the end, they had no choice but to sell their factory, worth tens of millions, to the Wade family for less than three million.

After taking over, they found a flimsy excuse, claimed they had completed the rectifications, and after a specialized state government working group came to inspect and confirmed the rectifications were complete, production was immediately resumed.

In reality, they had done nothing; the pollution was still being discharged where it should be, the job positions that were missing were still missing, and everything was unchanged from before, except for the ownership of the equity.

Such practices were not uncommon in Denuozhou, but Governor Wade was very clear about one thing: those who hog all the benefits do not necessarily end well, so he had also recruited a group of people to surround him.

Just as is happening in Likaila State, a silent massacre is constantly being staged.

It's just that Lans and his people still want some decency, and they aren't that nervous. Lans almost controls everything in Likaila State; as long as he doesn't nod, those enterprises find it hard to gain any space to survive.

This is where they differ greatly from the Wade family. After all, they are outsiders, and the resistance here is strong. If they don't use political power to intervene forcibly, they might not achieve their desired goals.

They are painting the town red with blood here just to firmly control everything, so that the Wade family won't be a "shooting star family" and can stand tall on this land for a long time.

Every family member has their own career, which is something they couldn't do before, but because of Governor Wade, the family is developing at an astonishing speed.

Everyone has their own career, everyone profits from the family's growth, and they have stronger cohesion.

They know who brought about the huge changes for the family, and they know that the family's development cannot be separated from Governor Wade's support, at least in the short term. They respect and honor Governor Wade from the bottom of their hearts.

The moment he entered, everyone stood up to show their respect until he sat down again.

"I called everyone here this time, and some of you may already know the reason. We have had some disagreements within the Socialist Party, and now we have some rifts."

In the entire huge dining room, only his voice could be heard; everyone else was watching him, and his voice even produced some echoes.

"Our foundation here is too weak. If we didn't have so many conflicts with Lans, we could still rely on the Socialist Party."

"They would provide us with the time, power, and everything needed for development."

"But we have developed some problems with Lans that are difficult to resolve, and Lans has more connections in the Socialist Party than we do, so it is difficult for us to continue relying on the Socialist Party."

"I know some of you think what I'm doing isn't very good, and that the Socialist Party is still reliable, but I don't think so."

"The Wade family is a great family, and we standing on this land should not rely on external forces."

"External power belongs to others. When the master of that power wants to help us, we can use it."

"But once he decides not to help us, we will lose that power!"

"We should rely on the power in our own hands. Only when we master power ourselves can others not dictate our fate."

"The Socialist Party, the Liberal Party—they can have whatever they want, as long as they pay the price."

"If they want to be like before, paying nothing and just telling me to do it, and I have to do it and do it beautifully to satisfy them—those days are over!"

"This period, especially the recent period, until February or March, is a very important time for us. It represents the process of Denuozhou breaking away from the Socialist Party's control, and of course, it won't become a toy for the Liberal Party."

"It will become the foundation we hold in our hands, the root of the Wade family's growth, so I hope that during this time, you won't run around and won't cause trouble."

"Even if some people take the initiative to provoke you, you must tuck your heads in like turtles for me. After this period, we will go and take our revenge!"

"Stop all businesses that might be suspected of being illegal, and find a way to appease those crowds that are causing trouble, even if it's only temporary."

"I don't want anything to happen during this time that makes things difficult for me. If someone hasn't done their job well..."

His gaze was like a knife, lingering on everyone's face, "Then I guarantee that if you make me very unhappy, I will make things difficult for you!"

Denuozhou is not a place of peace and prosperity; there are many problems here too.

Not just here, even in Jinzhou, there are many people with problems.

Workers' problems, residents' problems, work problems, income problems, social environment problems...

Almost everyone has problems; it's just that some people can endure them silently, while others need to vent. These people will appear on the streets holding placards, or even commit some extreme acts.

It wouldn't be a problem if this happened at other times, but if it breaks out during this phase—the phase where the Socialist Party is giving him trouble—it is very likely to become a means for the Socialist Party to attack him.

He needs to give a reminder here; he knows that these people in the Wade family, especially some of the young ones, are a bit arrogant now.

They feel the family is powerful, powerful to the point of being reckless. He must warn these people and bring their feet back to the ground.

Everyone felt that he was not joking, and people immediately nodded frequently, indicating their agreement with his requirements.

"Alright, having said so much, you must be hungry. Let's eat!"

As he spoke, he picked up the silver knife and fork placed in front of him. After he prepared a piece of steak for himself, cut it, and put it in his mouth to chew, the others began to use their knives and forks. The entire dining room was filled with the sound of cutlery clashing.

A cousin sitting next to Governor Wade asked while dining, "How will they deal with you?"

Governor Wade shook his head, "Looking for trouble for me, that's all. So don't mess around lately; it's best to do nothing until the trouble is resolved."

"Like, I heard there's a strike going on over your way?"

His cousin nodded. He operated a factory, which they had also forcibly seized, so naturally, there were some historical legacy issues.

These historical legacy issues hadn't been resolved well, and now a group of retired and semi-retired workers were causing trouble. It is said they were also planning to hold a strike and demonstration to fight for their rights.

Governor Wade's cousin intended to use gangs to suppress this group of disobedient old men, but now, it seemed they couldn't be treated so crudely.

"If the money to solve the problem isn't much... just give it to them."

His cousin took a deep breath and nodded, "I know what to do."