Chapter 91

Vaughn is easy to handle because he is only a vice president.

Watching him put the check into his pocket, Lanse knew the union wouldn't trouble him in the short term, but if he wanted to solve this problem, he had to do it as soon as possible.

Complaints, once blocked, are not vented but accumulate, eventually forming a qualitative change.

If you and your partner go shopping and you pass a snack stall you like and ask if they want a bite, they tell you no.

But after you buy a portion for yourself, they not only demand the first bite but a huge one at that.

Dissatisfaction, irritation, and resentment—these emotions will accumulate.

You might not express anything on the spot, but one day, these things will become the sharp sword that stabs into the other's heart during an argument!

The dock workers are the same; now that the union has appeased their emotions, they won't feel that everything has gotten better; in their hearts, they will only think, "You guys got lucky this time, but next time, it's hard to say."

So, other methods must be found.

Lanse immediately had some good ideas in his mind: "Does our union have any working-class sports competitions, like ball games?"

Vaughn found Lanse particularly pleasing to the eye at this moment and didn't feel he was an enemy of the union, so he immediately replied, "We used to have them, dock worker baseball games; we had three teams in total, but it was discontinued after being held a few times."

Talking about this, Vaughn had a lot to say: "The venue issue is easy to solve, but the workers are working most of the time; they are already exhausted after a day of work, and making them compete is somewhat inhumane."

"Besides, the capitalists won't allow them to take leave to train as they please; they will be warned."

"Lanse, we found through research that if you want to make the competition interesting, the participants must be released from work, which wasn't our initial plan."

There was one more thing he didn't say: the prizes for the competition had no appeal either.

Lanse nodded and said "a pity," but he didn't continue on about what was a pity.

"In any case, we are friends now, Vaughn. If there are any... voices in the union that are not quite understood, you must tell me in time. Federal workers and immigrant workers are both at the bottom of society; there is no need for us to tear at each other."

Vaughn also agreed with this point of view: "Your point is very correct, and I support it, but not everyone understands."

"However, I will try my best to convey your views to them. As for how much I can do, I can only say I will try my best."

The time was about right, and Lanse waved to the waiter: "Pack twelve more iced coffees, then send them to this gentleman's office. Remember to use extra cups or something to hold some ice cubes; it's too hot."

He said this while paying three dollars: "The rest is all tip."

The coffee shop at the dock entrance wouldn't have a very high consumption level; iced coffee is ten cents a cup, and twelve cups are only one dollar and twenty cents. Adding what Lanse and the others consumed, it was only one dollar and seventy cents in total.

Being able to earn one dollar and thirty cents for one trip, the waiter was so excited he wished he could kneel down and kiss Lanse's shoes!

Vaughn hurriedly and politely declined: "No need, really no need, Lanse."

Lanse grabbed his hand: "I know you're worried that some people will say I'm trying to bribe union staff; you can tell them you bought it."

"I didn't have him do this to please you, just purely because I feel you also need humanitarian care; it's too hot!"

Who could refuse such kindness?

Vaughn looked at Lanse and liked him more the more he looked: "Then I thank you on behalf of my colleagues."

Lanse shook hands with him: "If there's a chance, I'm also willing to meet your colleagues. I have other work this afternoon, so I'll leave first."

Vaughn saw him to the door, and after watching Lanse go, he found the waiter from before: "Add a burger, double beef; I didn't eat enough today."

He watched the waiter standing still: "He paid three dollars; don't tell me the remaining money isn't enough!"

The waiter looked at him for a few seconds, the tip of his pen almost poking through the order pad: "It's enough, sir."

"Then what are you still standing there waiting for?"

After coming out of the coffee shop, Elvin started the car. It was too hot; even in the shade, it was still very hot inside the car.

"Did you reach an agreement?", Elvin asked while opening the driver's door. "What's the cost?"

"Four hundred dollars a month, plus a series of messy extra expenses, but I think these expenses are worth it."

He took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat: "This damn weather; the weather station said it would cool down these two days."

Elvin drove the car into the traffic and teased casually: "The weather station's only job is to deceive the public, pretending there will be good weather, and then letting us believe it."

The weather station during this period was not accurate at all; of course, this might also have something to do with the geographical location of New Jincheng.

The climate change by the sea is always rapid, and relying solely on observations and records from previous years to infer the climate is obviously not very scientific.

The sweltering heat made people not want to talk, and Lanse was the same, but before he shut his mouth, he gave Elvin a task: "Find out who is reporting us and the illegal immigrants."

Some people are enduring the high temperature, but some are enjoying air conditioning.

After the two buses arrived at the City Hall, a large group of people came into the City Hall, and the mayor had already prepared to receive them early.

When he saw the Governor's assistant, he ran over at the first opportunity and shook hands firmly with the Governor's assistant.

The Governor's assistant is also a Socialist, and there is gossip that he will consider running for Governor after the Governor's term ends.

The Socialist Party has strong political power in this state, and many people regard New Jincheng as the most shining fruit of the Socialist Party's economic reform in the central part of the Federation, so the next Governor will definitely still be a Socialist.

There are only a few Socialists in the state qualified to run for Governor, and the Governor's assistant is one of them.

Regardless of whether he can make it, at least it's not wrong to have a good relationship with him now.

Mr. Lawrence stood on the side and also participated in the reception work, but he was just an inconspicuous small character and didn't even have the qualifications to introduce himself to the Governor's assistant and his entourage, so he could only stand on the side.

The mayor and the Governor's assistant have a decent personal relationship; New Jincheng is the largest city in the state and also the place with the best economy in the state, so it has a very lofty status in the state government.

As the mayor of this city, he is naturally not comparable to those small cities.

After the two shook hands, the Governor's assistant began to introduce other personnel to the mayor, starting with church personnel.

Although God didn't say people couldn't drink alcohol, He didn't advocate drinking much.

In recent years, the church has been pushing for abstinence and prohibition behind the scenes. Some extremist sects within have modified or deleted the original meaning, eventually forming a force pushing for prohibition, while simultaneously providing strong faith and moral basis and support for prohibition.

Next are some members of the abstinence association. The Governor's assistant introduced these people quite grandly. These people might look inconspicuous, but they have close relationships with the federal upper class.

For the upper class, prohibition is a grand sociological experiment, and any experiment will have a sponsor, then connecting all parties.

They took on such a role, from a city councilor in a remote area to the Presidential Palace, they could all reach.

Moreover, this force is no longer limited to prohibition; they can also push for the prohibition of other things.

The mayor shook hands cordially with everyone and greeted each other, and the group then began to follow the process to visit the prosperity of New Jincheng.

It's hard to say about other things, but in terms of prosperity, New Jincheng is definitely beyond reproach.

However, these people were also very dissatisfied with the bars and taverns everywhere in New Jincheng. One of the ladies said to the mayor: "If people used the time spent on alcoholism and drunkenness on work and study, our work efficiency and the country's education level would be greatly improved."

"They not only wasted money and time on meaningless things but also caused violence and crime due to alcoholism."

"Alcohol's harm to humanity is far greater than other things; prohibition in New Jincheng is imperative and must start as soon as possible."

Regarding this, the mayor couldn't see any different emotional changes, just kept saying good.

In fact, the various economic benefits brought by alcoholic beverages every year are also amazing, but now the whole country is prohibiting alcohol, and this is something that the upper level is concerned about. A small mayor doesn't have the ability to oppose it.

The team stayed here for two days, completing the visit to New Jincheng by visiting some old photos and the modernized dock.

On the morning of the Saint Nong Festival, under the gaze of people from all walks of life, the Governor announced in the state government that the state would join the Prohibition Alliance, and from this day on, alcohol would be completely prohibited!

The whole state was in an uproar!

But a large group of people also fell into carnival!

As the manufacturing, selling, and transporting of alcoholic beverages are regarded as serious criminal acts, the entire state's alcoholic beverage industry seems to have fallen into a desperate situation?

Why would a declarative sentence become a strange interrogative sentence?

Because storing, holding, and drinking are not crimes!

In other words, the price of the large quantities of alcohol hoarded by various forces before began to skyrocket!

The copper-label whiskey that had already been sold for nearly two dollars on the market rose directly to nearly three dollars. It seemed that the increase was not very high, but you have to know that its lowest price was only sixty cents.

When it slowly rose some time ago, it always maintained a price within one dollar, but now, it has risen to three dollars!

In the bar, a glass of copper-label Napo whiskey now costs thirty-five to forty-five cents, and many people can no longer afford it.

So there is a new business in the bar: beer mixed with whiskey, only nineteen cents, and the sales are very good.

Of course, these bars have all been transferred to underground bars. In New Jincheng, besides the skyrocketing price of alcohol, the basement began to skyrocket.

In various remote places, there appeared the phenomenon of people gathering; they were all drunkards who came smelling the alcohol.

Perhaps for the government, the tax revenue or other direct or indirect income related to alcoholic beverages has decreased, but for these people selling alcohol, the era of super-profits has arrived!