Chapter 549: New Team

Time slowly pointed to seven o'clock. Councilor Williams looked at the slightly empty living room with an unpleasant expression.

James, Arthur, Lanse, William, and a few others—they didn't even fill up one-tenth of this living room.

When the grandfather clock emitted a total of seven "clangs," everyone's gaze focused on Councilor Williams.

Tonight, Councilor Williams himself also had a party. With the mayoral election getting closer, he definitely needed to put in some effort in this regard.

He had invited quite a few politicians and wealthy people from the Bay Area over, saying it was just to casually connect and build relationships, but everyone knew this was a form of "choosing sides."

Once Councilor Williams became mayor, he would naturally sever himself from this interest group in the Bay Area.

He couldn't become a dog of the Bay Area, or rather, his interests and those of the Bay Area already had the possibility of conflict.

This sounded a bit incredible; they were originally one group, so why, when he became mayor, could they not be one group?

Actually, this was a question of leadership. Of course, the leadership here didn't mean who was to lead, but who led whom.

Councilor Williams had his own interest demands and political demands; he couldn't be led by the Bay Area.

And the Bay Area also had its own interest demands and political demands. If the interest demands of both sides were consistent, then the relationship between them would be relatively harmonious.

But this was unlikely. Lanse knew that Councilor Williams intended to continue launching the construction of the Xingang District and the New Bay Area, and push the Xingang Terminal to shoulder a portion of the New Jincheng Terminal's business volume.

Actually, including those people in the Bay Area, all the ruling classes and privileged classes of New Jincheng knew that building the Xingang Terminal was very necessary.

It was just that building the Xingang Terminal would inevitably touch the interests of the old New Jincheng Terminal, and most of the people here had many interest connections with the New Jincheng Terminal.

This was just a microcosm of interest conflict, just like the situation of some ancient dynasties facing reform.

Everyone knew that reform would bring new hope to a decaying country, but they also knew that reform would damage the interests of their own families.

Before the hope of the country and the interests of the family, they would often choose the interests of the family, rather than the hope of the country.

This kind of problem and contradiction would always exist, and would continue to exist, as long as interest relationships existed.

Today's party could be said to be a form of statement, a prelude to choosing sides.

Those who came to participate with Councilor Williams would inevitably have to fully support Councilor Williams and his family on a series of subsequent issues regarding urban reform.

And those who didn't come to participate would firmly stand with the Bay Area and continue to defend their interests.

A new war was about to unfold, but now it looked like Councilor Williams' side was falling into a disadvantage.

Waiting for another five minutes, no more people came.

Actually, many of them had promised to come, and even said quite a few nice things, like putting the reform of the city to heart, and being willing to support Councilor Williams in completing his governance philosophy.

But when the news of Chali being silenced came, they seemed to have changed their original thoughts and didn't plan to come anymore.

The butler walked over hurriedly, leaned over to Councilor Williams' side, and whispered for a moment.

Through his serious expression, it could be seen that this was definitely not good news.

After listening, Councilor Williams laughed twice. Although it was a laugh, everyone could hear the anger in his laughter.

The butler returned to the corner to stand, while Councilor Williams stood up. "Alright, it looks like they won't be able to come. Let's go to the dining room."

Arthur couldn't help but ask from the side, "Is it because of a traffic jam on the road?"

This was indeed a very stupid sentence, but Arthur might have been doing it on purpose.

James glanced at this stupid younger brother, then looked at Councilor Williams. He actually also wanted to know the reason.

After Councilor Williams was silent for a few seconds, he said, "They are holding a grand party in the Bay Area. They all went to attend the party."

What the butler just said was this matter. Everyone who received an invitation and said they would come, but ultimately didn't, all went to attend the party in the Bay Area.

They were using this method to convey a message: they did not accept some of the plans and schemes Councilor Williams had after taking office.

This was a form of protest, but...

Lanse looked at Councilor Williams. He could feel that for this old man, this was more of a declaration of war!

Councilor Williams snorted angrily, glared at his youngest son, and then led the way into the dining room.

Arthur walked at the very back. There were no other negative emotional expressions on his face. He was indeed doing it on purpose, hoping his old man wouldn't misunderstand his meaning.

The empty dining room was set up with a large long table, and the table was filled with all kinds of delicacies, all of which were steaming hot.

It was originally expected that at least forty or fifty, or even fifty or sixty people would come, so the chefs in the manor prepared ingredients according to the scale of one hundred people and made food for sixty people.

This way, even if the number of people exceeded their expectations, the food could keep up anytime, anywhere.

But now it was obvious that it wasn't that there wasn't enough food, but that there was too much!

Looking at such a large table with only these people, Councilor Williams stood there for a while, then said, "Change to a small table. We don't need so many seats."

The butler immediately had people come to change the table. They moved the food off the table, put it on a dining cart, then dismantled the large table, replaced it with a small table, and sent each dish separately to the small table.

Saying it was a small table, it could still seat more than twenty people, and it was still a bit spacious.

As for the excess food, it would very likely become the dinner for the servants in the manor. Today they were in for a treat.

"Sit wherever you like," Councilor Williams instructed, sitting in the main seat himself.

Lanse chose a relatively back position to sit. Although his strength was very strong, in a political occasion, gangs indeed couldn't really be brought to the table.

Arthur sat beside him, his ranking even further back than his. This kid knew his positioning very well; he never fought for anything.

The butler and the maids began to serve the gentlemen at each dining table. He served Councilor Williams personally, while the others had maids from the manor beside them.

Their main work was to pick up food for the gentlemen, and pour wine for them or do other services within their capabilities.

On such a solemn and serious occasion, no one would really stand up to reach for the dishes they couldn't reach.

They would tell the maid beside them what they needed, and then the maid would help them put the food into their dining plates.

If it were that kind of family banquet, where everyone was their own people, then there would be no need for maids, making everything appear more casual and friendly.

But formal dining required these people.

The butler poured wine for Councilor Williams. His fingers were pinched on the stem of the wine glass, but he didn't pick it up.

Looking at his entire life, actually, this small problem didn't count as a problem at all, but he was still somewhat emotionally stirred.

The others were also prepared to pick up their wine glasses, waiting for him to give a speech.

"I don't know what to say, actually," he opened his mouth to say, and everyone's attention was focused on him.

"I really want to say some tolerant, generous words, for example, that I forgive them, or find some reasons for them not coming."

"But these words cannot convince you, nor can they convince myself. They are demonstrating against me, and even coercing me!"

"I will not say those tolerant words. I will let them know how stupid their choice is!"

"For our beautiful tomorrow!" He picked up the wine glass, and the others followed suit.

Lanse also picked up the wine glass, and followed everyone in saying, "For tomorrow!"

Then he took a sip.

High-quality wine could add a lot of color to the dinner. This was obviously not the cheap stuff Lanse sold. It must have come from a world-class winery. Such a bottle now cost at least a few hundred dollars or even more.

Up to now, actually, many people didn't understand: Prohibition, what exactly did it prohibit?

It was said that companies producing alcohol like Gold Label Liquor had already begun to invest in building factories overseas, and then they would find ways to smuggle this alcohol back into the country.

Prohibition, prohibition, ultimately it prohibited the opportunity for the poor to drink.

From another aspect, Prohibition did indeed play a role. It made the poor drink less, and be able to work better.

Everyone put down their wine glasses, and Councilor Williams signaled that they could dine. The dinner was indeed very sumptuous. The maids continuously cooperated with the butler, picking up food for the guests, or listening to their requests, placing the dishes they liked into their dining plates.

"Soon the mayoral election will begin. Before this, we need to preheat in advance. Although we all know that the possibility of my winning is very high, we cannot not guard against accidents that might occur."

His tone still contained dissatisfaction with those people in the Bay Area, those former old friends. Those sitting also nodded one after another.

"I am not worried about the election situation in the Imperial District and the Port District...", he looked at Lanse, and the others also looked at Lanse.

Some people didn't know Lanse very well, only having heard of him. After all, a gang that could face the Koda family directly was also unique in New Jincheng.

And he had already done it, and there hadn't been any major events. The Koda family seemed to have retreated, and up to now, there hadn't been any reaction.

Please... you.... bookmark_(!)

Just these things were enough for them to take Lanse seriously.

Lanse nodded and said, "I can ensure that there are only your campaign posters in these two districts."

"Also, I can handle the Sumuli District side as well."

Handling the propaganda problem of three districts, plus the place where James was currently, and some forces in the city center, he could actually already take down many areas in New Jincheng.

This was also the reason why he had the strength to assert that he could win before the election. He had already taken down half of the eleven administrative districts. As for the other half, except for the Bay Area and the Starlight District which might be a bit difficult to handle, the others were not a problem at all.

He looked at Lanse, "This matter still needs your help a lot."

Others might think that the "help a lot" he said referred to letting Lanse exert effort in the three districts he mentioned, but Lanse heard the meaning outside his words.

He nodded and said very solemnly, "I will."

Afterward, he talked about other people's matters, hoping that their factories and workers could support him, or hoping that during the election, these politicians could be with him.

"I have been considering one thing recently!"

After chatting about the most basic things, he decided to say something substantial. "Once the Navy is stationed in New Jincheng, then New Jincheng will become one of the safest ports in the Northern Hemisphere."

"I expect that there will be more ships docking here by then, including some countries on the Tanfeit Continent."

"Their cargo ships will also dock here for supplies."

"Currently, the carrying capacity of our New Jincheng Terminal is almost full. If we don't expand the existing terminal, it will soon appear to be overloaded."

"This is not conducive to the development of the terminal, nor is it conducive to the development of the city. So I plan that after I take office, the first thing is to continue building the Xingang Terminal."

Lanse had no opinion, and James and Arthur naturally wouldn't say much.

William sat on the side and glanced at Lanse, also not speaking.

Actually, whether to continue building the Xingang Terminal had no interest conflict with him, and even restarting work could provide more job positions, which could instead allow him to benefit from these things.

Those at the bottom didn't care whether this matter was promoted by him. In short, after he was elected as a municipal councilor, people had more job opportunities.

You just say whether it was chosen correctly or not!

Others, more or less, had some relationship with this matter. One of the wealthy people in the Bay Area said, "Councilor, the construction of the Xingang Terminal can bring benefits to the city, which has already been demonstrated."

"At least I personally strongly support the continued construction of the Xingang Terminal, but I am not sure how to contribute my strength to this matter?"

This seemed to be a meaningless piece of nonsense. Have you already prepared for reconstruction?

How is it arranged?

But actually, the meaning behind this sentence was asking about the problem of interest redistribution.

If a capitalist wanted to make a contribution to urban infrastructure, then he definitely didn't really want to serve the people; he wanted to put the money in the people's pockets into his own pocket.

Councilor Williams nodded slightly, "They will give up at least half of the profits. I will communicate effectively with them on these issues in the near future."

The "they" he said referred to the investors behind the mayor. These people saw the huge profits of the New Jincheng Terminal.

Under their promotion, the mayor presided over the construction of the Xingang Terminal.

At that time, the carrying capacity of the New Jincheng Terminal was actually not very high, so doing so at that time was undoubtedly a provocation, a signal of war, which was why a series of subsequent events occurred.

Now the shares of the Xingang Terminal were basically still in the hands of those capitalists who had already failed. If Councilor Williams really wanted to rebuild the Xingang Terminal, then the first thing he had to do was to ensure that the promoters on Councilor Williams' side could also obtain huge profits from the Xingang Terminal.

Who the hell would do something that doesn't make money?

It's not like they are philanthropists.

Whether it's politicians or capitalists, even gangs like Lanse were seeking more profits, so it's better to make this matter clear from the beginning.

At least it could avoid contradictions and unpleasantness later on because things weren't clear.

Councilor Williams also nodded quite approvingly, "I will talk to them during this period, and they will make concessions."

"This money has been rotting in these projects for so many years. No matter how powerful they are in other cities, but in New Jincheng, they have already realized how powerful we are, so you don't need to worry about this matter."

"You can come together when talking."

"If there is no problem with this matter, then we will continue to expand the urban circle." The butler cut beef cubes for him, and he said while eating.

"Continue to expand toward the new north direction. I intend to let New Jincheng swallow up Xigu City, but it definitely can't be done in a short time. This will be pushed as a long-term goal."

Everyone who heard him say this was slightly stunned for a moment, and then their gazes shifted to James.

James also tasted the meaning in this sentence. Although he couldn't quite say what emotion it was, he still maintained etiquette, nodded slightly, and was full of smiles.

To put it bluntly, Councilor Williams' sentence meant that he intended to pass on the power.

Otherwise, even if he served two terms, it would be impossible to swallow up an independent city in eight years.

And this matter also needed the consent of the state government or even the federal government. Losing a city meant losing many positions, and the federal government might not agree.

So even if New Jincheng really swallowed up Xigu City in the end, it wouldn't be during Councilor Williams' term.

Every mayor had his own governance philosophy and ambition, which might not be inherited in one continuous line. If someone could inherit his ideas and actively push this matter, then it must be his political successor.

Currently, the only person who met this condition was James.

This was the reason why the poor became poorer, the rich became richer, and the president's son was still the president!

Everyone at the table was interested in the future they described, which also meant that the scale of New Jincheng in the future would be larger, and more interests would flow into the city.

And they, these people who attached themselves to the Williams family who created all this, would get more!

Although there weren't many people at the dining table, the atmosphere was very warm.

These people who came might have some anxiety, but more of them felt excited. They gradually realized that when they betrayed the mainstream, and were also betrayed by the mainstream, the benefits they obtained would be far higher than those who joined this interest group later.

Most of the time, risk and return are directly proportional.

After dinner, everyone chatted for a while, and then bid farewell one after another, but Councilor Williams kept Lanse behind.

For him, Lanse was now irreplaceable by others, and was absolutely the core of the core of his plan!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 550 =====