Chapter 843: Arthur

"Lanse, I heard that this movie of yours made a lot of money, is that right?"

At the dinner table, Arthur asked Lanse a question.

Mayor Williams glared at him, "Do you think you're being polite?"

"Asking Lanse a question like that?"

Asking others about private matters like income is a very impolite behavior.

If Lanse were just a small-time character, asking wouldn't matter; after all, small people have never had dignity or personality.

But Lanse is no small-time character. Mayor Williams turned his head to look at Lanse, "Don't pay him any mind."

Lanse was actually quite happy to answer this question. He first said "It's alright" to Mayor Williams, then nodded and said, "You could say that, yes."

"After deducting various costs, I made over two million from this movie, and it even won awards."

The Jury Grand Prize at the end of last year was awarded to *Surprise Attack on Jincheng*. Whether in terms of artistry, narrative, or some of the new technologies used in the film, it was the undisputed number one.

Plus, the Federal Film Committee is full of Lanse's people, so it swept all the major awards.

The Art Committee was furious that Lanse had registered the Film Committee in advance, so they set up a "Federal Film Art Jury" and held their own awards ceremony; *Surprise Attack on Jincheng* received nothing.

This was like a very clear battle, a struggle, attracting quite a bit of focus and attention.

But in the end, nothing much came of it.

Lanse could establish a Film Committee, and others could establish other film industry committees.

Lanse could make his own movie win awards, so other private organizations could prevent him from winning.

But regardless, the fact that this movie made a lot of money is an indisputable fact. More people started negotiating cooperation with Wanli Distribution Company; they also wanted to get a share of the box office rather than selling at a fixed price.

A single movie pushed the film buyout system toward extinction and directly facilitated box office revenue sharing becoming the mainstream.

Major production companies are all establishing their own distribution channels, but before they can solve the accuracy of revenue sharing and have a way to constrain box office reporting, it is unlikely they can compete with Lanse's distribution company.

Hearing Lanse mention such a large sum of money, Arthur couldn't help but gasp.

Currently, the commercial assets in the family are mainly managed by Arthur and his mother—nominally.

In reality, there is a mature team doing this; they are just nominal presidents or board chairmen and the like.

It is evident that Arthur seems to want to make something of himself.

Mainly because James is doing quite well now, and Mayor Williams, in order to ensure the Williams family has a successor, has been constantly raising James's social status and influence.

James becoming increasingly "excellent" only highlights Arthur becoming increasingly useless.

People have already started making such comparisons, although it wasn't instigated by Mayor Williams or James; it might just be spontaneous.

Compared to the excellent James, Arthur spends his days lingering in various entertainment venues, constantly changing girlfriends, constantly squandering; people all say he is the shame of the Williams family!

Originally, he didn't care much; anyway, he didn't need to do anything in this life, but his mother hoped he could pull himself together.

Mayor Williams's young wife is a very insightful person. She might not have a high level of education, nor did she come from those prominent families, but she has worldly wisdom; she is not the kind of empty vessel without knowledge.

She told Arthur that Williams is the mayor, and this doting old father will eventually die. Once he dies, all the power in the family will fall into James's hands.

If Arthur cannot show his own value, will James be like Mayor Williams, unconditionally tolerating him, or even indulging him?

Very clearly, no.

This also made Arthur realize the truth that his old man actually cannot hold on for many more years.

For this reason, he even secretly wiped away tears for a whole night, and the next day he got up as if he were a different person, starting to consider the future—

However, it didn't last long. By the afternoon, he felt he had thought too much, was a bit tired, wanted to relax, and then once he went out, he didn't return until midnight.

But in the end, there were some changes. He now wants to do something, wants to ensure that when Mayor Williams returns to the embrace of God, he and his mother won't have too miserable a life in the days that follow.

Thinking it over, he really doesn't know how to do business at all. The only things he can think of that he knows are opening bars, opening strip clubs, and watching movies.

If he went to open a bar or a strip club, perhaps Mayor Williams would die even faster, out of anger.

So he ultimately cast his gaze toward making movies.

It can make money, and it has great influence, and Lanse is also in this line of work. Taking advantage of the time while Mayor Williams can still look after him, he is striving to become independent, which is why there is this question today.

Even without today's family banquet, Arthur would have gone to find Lanse after a while.

Hearing Lanse mention such a large sum of money, Arthur was clearly even more interested.

"If... I also want to shoot a movie, what should I do?", he asked full of anticipation.

Lanse glanced at Mayor Williams, and the latter just laughed twice; he understood in his heart.

"I'll give you a phone number. You go find the current person in charge of the production company. He has scripts on hand, then you pick the actors, and then find a place to shoot it."

"As an investor, this is actually just a very simple matter. Pick a script that isn't too bad, then choose a few actors the audience likes, and then shoot it and release it."

"Whether you made money or lost it, it's clear at a glance."

"Of course, you don't need to worry about any huge losses. Even if the box office isn't good, you can still recover a little bit."

Ending this small interlude, after dinner, the four of them came to Mayor Williams's study.

Arthur was busy calling the director.

"If he causes any trouble...", Mayor Williams sighed, "For my sake, just give him a little lesson."

Lanse smiled and nodded, "Rest assured!"

"It's just making a movie; the biggest trouble he can cause is getting the lead actress pregnant."

Hearing Lanse say this, everyone laughed, and the atmosphere suddenly became very relaxed.

When James brought the coffee, a very relaxed chat officially began.

The first to speak was William.

"Mayor Williams, you know, I will soon go to Hucheng to take office. Honestly, all of this is like a strange journey for me, letting me go to places I couldn't originally reach to experience everything there."

"I don't have much confidence in how to be an excellent mayor, and you are already the model of a successful mayor. I want to know, can you give me some advice and counsel before I take office?"

James was also listening seriously on the side, serving as a waiter while listening to them talk.

Mayor Williams tilted his head and thought for a while, "Actually, being a mayor is very simple. You only need to understand one point at all times."

"As long as you don't do things that are publicly illegal, in the city, your power is the greatest!"

"Just like the current President, he can do anything he wants to do, as long as he doesn't mess around."

"Even if he is a little bit excessive, people won't delve into his responsibility."

"The first thing you need to do after taking office is to replace the police chief."

"Law enforcement work is very important for maintaining the stability of the city. I heard the previous mayor was willing to take all his cronies with him?"

William nodded and admitted this point, "Thanks to Lanse."

Mayor Williams sighed, "That makes it even easier. You can directly insert people you think are suitable into those positions."

"I know you have quite a few brothers; you can consider these people."

"Don't care about what others say; in the end, the ones who decide whether you get re-elected are the local citizens."

Hucheng is not an industrial city; the power of workers is relatively weak, whereas the votes of ordinary residents are more numerous.

Pleasing the public is the most important work for these politicians.

"As long as you can get the support of more than half the people, there won't be any problems with the election!"

He also said some small details about how to be a good mayor, for example, which departments are very important, which departments are not so important, and how to handle the relationship with the city's upper-class society.

These are all extremely valuable experiences; if one is not a successor of the same lineage, it is highly unlikely that these experiences would be passed on.

And all of this is for Lanse's sake. Of course, James also learned a lot on the side, which could also play a big role in his future succession to Mayor Williams.

Of course, the biggest role is still Lanse.

When they had chatted enough, Mayor Williams took the initiative to bring the topic to the strike issue.

"I heard they contacted quite a few unions and are doing this, but the workers' opinions are not unified this time. You did a very good job."

"But I also heard that there will be another group of people joining this strike and protest."

Lanse lit a cigarette. He crossed his legs, sitting on the sofa very calmly and casually, leaning his body slightly, supporting himself with his elbow on the sofa, "What kind of people?"

"Some unemployed people."

Mayor Williams shrugged, raising his hand to gesture vaguely, "They claim that the current unemployment rate in the city has a direct relationship with your company, because those jobs were snatched away by those illegal immigrants, so these people have no work."

Hearing this, Lanse couldn't help but laugh out loud, "But in reality, the labor shortage in the city is constantly increasing."

Mayor Williams nodded and admitted this point. The outbreak of war has refilled the industrial system with diesel, and the high-horsepower engines have started roaring again!

The warring nations have stopped producing many daily consumables for ordinary people, such as soap, toilet paper, laundry detergent, and the like, all obtained through imports from the Federation.

The Federation's depression stemmed from overcapacity and market saturation. Now the international market has been opened up due to the war, and some experts believe this "sales boom" will last for ten to twenty years after the war.

This is a long period of positive growth. Some major financial conglomerates in the country even proposed the idea of letting the war continue indefinitely.

On one hand, it can consume the military power and renewable resources of various countries, while on the other hand, the Federation can independently maintain rapid economic growth.

The benefits of overseas war are simply too many, too many to count.

However, the Congress and the President's Office have not made any response to these proposals.

So attributing the fact that some people in the city have no work now to jobs being snatched by refugees and illegal immigrants is a very unfair statement.

Mayor Williams nodded and said, "So this time, it's not just a part of the working class that will participate in the strike and protest; there will also be some unemployed people carrying resentment toward society."

People without work certainly don't have any stable income. Living in the city is different from living in the countryside; every morning when you open your eyes, it's money.

Periodic bills, various expenses, and even if you do nothing, there are some expenses that need to be paid.

These people who are unwilling to work and are dissatisfied with their current life situation are full of resentment toward society.

They won't think this is their own problem; they will think this is society's problem, the country's problem!

They join the strike and protest activities, which may trigger a series of unpredictable consequences.

Mayor Williams said another thing, "And I heard that the Labor Federation attaches great importance to these measures of yours. They will invite many reporters on the day of the protest."

"Domestic ones, foreign ones, all of them."

Lanse didn't know about this matter yet. He frowned, knowing what Mayor Williams meant.

"If there are so many reporters, wouldn't it be hard for you to make a move?", William looked at Lanse and said the "standard answer."

Lanse did not deny it, "It seems they have used their brains."

With so many domestic and foreign reporters here reporting on this big protest, if the Lanse family's gang were to disperse the crowd or stop them through violent means, once reported, in order to maintain the Federation's image, they would certainly need to handle this matter.

Even if they don't catch Lanse and throw him into prison, at least they have to let some important characters under him stand trial in his place.

They are using this method to restrict Lanse from making a move.

Mayor Williams's expression was also a bit solemn. Once the strike and protest start, if it cannot be resolved quickly, it is inevitable that the state government and Congress will think he is incompetent.

Ordinary citizens think a mayor has no ability, and they can only continue to think so.

But for the high-level officials of the Federal government, if they think a mayor is unfit for office, then very soon this mayor will find a reason to resign in disgrace.

Lanse and Mayor Williams belong to the same interest group. If Mayor Williams needs to resign in disgrace, in case a mayor who doesn't cooperate well with Lanse is elected, or one is parachuted in, it could potentially bring some trouble to Lanse.

This is not impossible. You must know that the Labor Federation is preparing to establish a Labor Party. They are transforming their influence into political power. It is not impossible that they would consider pushing a Labor Party figure to become mayor with all their might.

This is a very typical series of schemes. Either Lanse follows the union's requirements now, disbands, or lets the union enter his labor agency.

Or he will face a big strike and protest, and it's during wartime, so Mayor Williams's chair will become very hot, and he won't be able to sit on it.

William also frowned. Although this matter won't fall on his head, he also has to put himself in the mayor's role to think about how to respond.

Mayor Williams did not show any anxious expression, just remaining calm. This is the way of an old politician.

Even if the poop is already poking out, not only can he sit still, but he can also let the waiter bring another portion of macaroni.

After considering for a while, Lanse took a puff of his cigarette and threw the butt into the ashtray, "I'll solve this matter. I guarantee they won't be able to protest."

William immediately became interested, because in his thinking, there was no good way to stop this protest.

Because the thing called strike and protest is a basic right granted to the public by the Constitution.

The Federal First Amendment is about the public being able to speak freely, express opinions freely, and organize strikes, protests, and other activities freely.

So even if the Federal government knows they are going to do this, besides arranging for the police to clear the protest route for them, rearranging the city's road traffic, and protecting the safety of them and the onlookers, there is actually nothing they can do.

This is also one of the reasons why the Labor Federation is constantly growing, because it cannot be stopped, and this method is very lethal.

Before there is any way, they can only sit and watch the Labor Federation constantly become like a new big mountain.

Mayor Williams and James were also curious about the method Lanse thought of.

Although Lanse didn't hide it, he didn't explain it in such detail—

"The methods to solve problems are always just those few: compromise, trade, or spear against spear."

"As long as it's not us making a move ourselves, then wouldn't it be fine to change to a group of people to stop them?"

Mayor Williams nodded slightly; he had already thought of it, "That's a good method."

Although William already had some guesses, he hadn't fully confirmed it. Of the four people in the room, only James was still confused, unable to understand what Lanse was talking about in a short time.

This is not to blame him; he has experienced a little less, and he has never encountered someone who doesn't play by the rules like Lanse, so his thinking is always one step slower than Lanse's.

Seeing that there was a solution to this matter, Mayor Williams had a few more smiles on his face. He chatted about Lanse's son.

He even laughed and said that if James or Arthur could have a daughter in the future, he hoped Ace could marry a girl from the Williams family, making the friendship between the three families even more unbreakable!

Lanse did not agree to this, but he did not oppose it either. Future matters, who can say clearly?

Returning to the manor at night, Lanse made a phone call, asking someone to find Carl (refugee Carl, not the gang leader of New Birmingham).

Very soon, Carl appeared in front of Lanse.

He was wearing the same iron-gray overcoat, red double-color cuffs; it really looked like the real deal.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 844 =====