Chapter 723: Are You Looking Down on Me?

Everyone knows how to choose between a pound of gold and a pound of scrap iron.

It was just that Lanse hadn't expected Director Du Ke to stand so clearly on his side, but after thinking about it seriously, he felt that this was exactly where Director Du Ke was smart.

He was making a favor in a practical way.

He wanted to show this clear bias toward Lanse so that everyone would know that he had played a major role in Lanse's victory.

Only in this way would the small circle behind Maple Yuan remember this favor.

If he had smoothed out the relationships behind the scenes or done the favor in a way that no one could see, Maple Yuan could completely deny it when he went to find him.

Sometimes people feel that politics and politicians are nakedly shameless, not because their level isn't high enough, but because the goals they want to achieve require them to be so naked.

Richard snorted angrily. He didn't nominate himself, but instead nominated the Dream Distillery Company.

That was the distillery company managed by the President's cousin.

Richard knew very well that nominating himself wouldn't make him the rotating chairman, so he directly nominated the company with the strongest apparent strength here.

He had already reached some agreements with the President's cousin privately; he would nominate the other party, vote for them, and fully support the Dream Distillery Company to become the first rotating chairman.

And what the Dream Company needed to pay was to let Richard and his Gold Label Liquor become the first rotating executive committee units of the industry committee.

Furthermore, they were to refuse to let Lanse and his Golden Lion Liquor become an executive committee unit.

It was a transaction without any losses, so the representative of the Dream Distillery Company agreed immediately.

Watching the votes on their side increase, a smile appeared on the face of the Dream Company's representative.

He hadn't put those small companies in his eyes at all; in other words, he didn't think that after he was nominated for rotating chairman, these people would choose anyone else—wouldn't they be fools if they did?

He had also heard that the people behind these distilleries didn't want them to get involved in the conflict between Golden Lion Liquor and Gold Label Liquor, so now that there was an extra choice that would allow them to "avoid the war," he would definitely be elected with a high vote.

Seeing that they were only two votes away from winning, the Dream Company's representative already had a winning smile on his face, preparing to decline modestly and then accept the position.

"I choose Mr. Lanse," Zhaier said.

Everyone in the room was stunned. Their gazes fell involuntarily on Zhaier, and Richard couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Zhaier, may I ask why?"

Zhaier had already considered all the problems he might encounter over the past few days, and he wasn't flustered at all. "There are many reasons."

"First, Mr. Lanse is the initiator and promoter of the entire plan. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be able to sit here today."

"Secondly, I have often felt in recent years that with the changes in my age—as I grow older—I can no longer keep up with the development and progress of this society and this era."

"I noticed that we are all old men. I have never worried about whether we have the mature ability to manage the committee well."

"However, I worry about whether we have the ability, like Mr. Lanse did when he proposed this plan, to find some more outstanding paths that transcend our era and our vision, and to find a direction for our future."

"So I think Mr. Lanse is the most suitable person to be the rotating chairman. Regardless of the reason, he is the most suitable!"

The statement was standard, but it also explained well why he voted for Lanse; it made sense.

Richard pursed his lips and said nothing, then looked at another person who hadn't voted yet.

Under his pressing gaze, that person also chose to cast his vote for Lanse.

Richard couldn't help himself again. "Mr. Zhaier's explanation I can accept, but can you tell me why you want to vote for Lanse?"

That person first laughed twice. "First, I need to remind you, Mr. Richard, that who I vote for is my freedom, not yours."

"Secondly, you are not qualified to ask me for the reason why I want to do this."

Richard's complexion became very bad. Some of the cooperation plans he had negotiated with the Dream Company were based on the premise that the Dream Company could become the first rotating chairman.

Now, it was just... he looked, it was just two votes away. How could this be?

Why was it like this?

He didn't understand. He looked at the three people who hadn't voted yet. He knew that he couldn't show such a naked, ugly appetite now.

However, he kept this person in mind. Once he became the executive committee, he would find a way to fix these people.

But before that, he needed to maintain his image. "I'm sorry, I overstepped."

"I forgive you, although your apology isn't very sincere."

"Don't you want to know why?"

"It's very simple, because I think Mr. Zhaier is right."

Some people let out laughter; whether there was mockery or sarcasm in that laughter was a matter of opinion.

Richard's face became a bit flushed, hot, and swollen. He calmed himself down, stared at the two of them for a while, and then looked at the third person. "How about you?" "You aren't going to vote for Lanse too, are you?"

The person being stared at by him wasn't afraid of him at all. Everyone had people behind them; although some had higher status and some had lower status, they weren't easy to mess with if they banded together.

Facing Richard's provocative words, he didn't falter either. "You are right; I also vote for Mr. Lanse."

"As for why, because I'm happy to!"

Richard's face was already so ugly it couldn't be uglier. He looked at another person, and that person pursed his lips. "I also vote for Lanse, and I refuse to answer any of your questions."

The representative of the Dream Company already had a calm face. He glanced sideways at Richard; the outcome could no longer be changed.

Joseph also looked at Lanse in shock, as if... he couldn't understand why Lanse could convince these small factories to vote for Lanse even while staring at the relationship with the President behind the Dream Company.

However, this was destined to be a secret; no one would tell them why all this was happening.

Lanse looked at the last person who hadn't voted. His voting didn't actually have any practical significance, but he still asked, "Who do you intend to vote for?"

That person was also very sensible. He also knew that with the outcome already decided, voting had no value other than offending people.

!

If he voted for Lanse, Richard and the Dream Company would think he was Lanse's person, which might affect him and the company behind him, and the people behind the company.

If he voted for the Dream Company, would Lanse, who had already obtained the status of rotating chairman, deal with him?

So he directly raised his hand. "I'm not interested in these; I abstain."

A very appropriate choice; no one could find fault with him.

A smile appeared on Director Du Ke's face again. "It seems everyone is willing to let Mr. Lanse be the first rotating chairman. Lanse, do you have anything you want to say?"

Lanse nodded. "Since Director Du Ke asked, then I'll say a few simple words."

"Because I mainly live in New Jincheng, I can't come here very often, so I plan to establish a professional team to be responsible for the work within the committee."

"We may need to negotiate with Congress, the Department of Defense, and the military on some issues at any time, so I hope that at least two rotating executive committee members can be stationed in New Jincheng."

"We are an industry-based committee. We must also show our contribution to this industry, set standards, and prevent liquor adulterated with industrial alcohol from appearing on the market."

"We have the obligation and the power. This is a responsibility, and I hope everyone can take this job seriously."

"Because establishing an organization requires expenditure, I thought that the four companies that contribute the most capital will automatically become the first executive committee members."

Director Du Ke listened to his general idea. He very much appreciated that Lanse had considered all these things in such a short time, and it was also very appropriate.

Especially this matter of "buying" executive committee units—they would definitely invest quite a bit of money.

Like the Dream Distillery Company, if they didn't get the rotating chairman position, and if they couldn't even get a rotating executive committee position, where would the President's face be put?

If Lanse arranged a few more shills...

Director Du Ke couldn't help but laugh. He really wanted to know what other tricks Lanse would play, but he interrupted him anyway. "You can discuss these things separately later. Since you have a result now, there are a few things you need to pay attention to..."

After he finished reading some precautions, he took the initiative to stand up. "I'll leave the remaining time to you. If you have any needs, you can call me. You all have my business card."

"Then my work is finished. Goodbye, gentlemen!"

He left with his things. Lanse then stood up, walked to the head seat where Director Du Ke had been sitting, and stood with his hands supporting the table and his body leaning forward.

He looked at Joseph. "Joseph, my friend, set an example."

"Actually, I didn't want to run for rotating chairman, but you all supported me so much. I also hope that you can support me in this matter just as you did before."

"Don't let me down!"

Mr. Joseph couldn't sit still at this moment. He just hadn't expected that Lanse would really sit in that position.

Now he had lifted a rock only to drop it on his own feet.

He squeezed out a smile. "I... will contribute 100,000."

This money was already quite a lot, but Lanse wouldn't be satisfied.

"Are you looking down on me?"

"So you gave me such a number?"

"Hmm?"

(End of chapter)