Chapter 956: Serial Numbers and Continued Escalation

At a little past six the next morning, the Lapa youth woke up from his sleep.

His mother had risen even earlier and had already prepared lunch for him.

Poor people did not eat breakfast in the morning; they weren't necessarily hungry anyway, and the plant fibers they had eaten the night before had not yet been fully digested.

Therefore, the prepared meatballs were for the youth to eat at noon; he needed to work outside all day to earn money to support the family.

Being born in Lapa, perhaps he really had done too many bad things in his past life.

The youth packed the food, greeted his mother, and left home.

He specifically went to the riverside to take a look; there were indeed two tables there, and some slogans written on them, though he didn't know exactly what they said, but there was no one there now.

He thought he could only come back at noon; these Federation people were truly lazy.

In the morning, he still went to the Federation construction site. Now, the Federation construction site needed a large number of workers, which was good news for him.

For all the poor people in Lapa who needed work and a stable life, it was good news.

He arrived very early because he had worked here yesterday and was considered an acquaintance by the workers, so the foreman called his name directly.

He entered the site with the other workers and even saw the workers he had worked with yesterday.

"You left right after getting your pay yesterday?" The person working alongside him was a young man in his twenties, but he looked like he was in his thirties.

Lapa's sun and poverty were the greatest killers of the poor, causing them to age; of course, hunger and malnutrition were as well.

The youth nodded. "What else?"

"Where else could I go?"

"Do they need people to work at night, too?"

His partner shook his head. "I don't know if they need people to work at night, but I know you can't just leave like that."

"Listen, today after you get your wages, take five dollars and give it to the foreman."

The youth was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what he meant.

Because he never slacked off, his partner liked him and didn't want to change to a partner who would cut corners.

The youth's distraction was seen by his partner as a "short circuit"; he might not understand why he still had to give money to the foreman.

So he continued to explain, "Look, there are only so many jobs at the construction site, but there are many people waiting for work."

"He doesn't have to choose you; after all, you have no relationship with him. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

His winking expression looked a bit funny, but what he said was indeed very important.

"You give him five dollars, and you have a connection with him. If he wants this five dollars tomorrow, he will definitely look for you again."

"You give him five dollars every day, that's one hundred and fifty dollars a month. It doesn't look like much, but there are at least four or five hundred workers here."

The youth gasped. "Four or five hundred, how much money would that be?"

The two looked at each other, and in the end, neither could calculate exactly how much money that was, but it was certainly a very large sum.

However, the youth took these words to heart. He realized that the partner opposite him was not deceiving him or doing anything else; this was also a kind of education, social education, and it was more precious than simple academic education!

The two worked all morning. At noon, they had a half-hour break. After eating the lunch they brought from home, the two worked up a sweat again in the afternoon until they finished at six in the evening.

The moment the bell for the end of the workday at the site was rung by the foreman pulling the bell rope, the spines of everyone, bent by life, slowly straightened.

There were also a few more smiles on people's indifferent or somewhat pained faces.

They finished their last bit of work and began to line up to receive their money.

The youth followed his partner's advice. After receiving his money, he rolled up five dollars and stuffed it into the foreman's hand.

The foreman looked at him with a half-smile and nodded slightly. "Come earlier tomorrow."

The youth immediately smiled, revealing his somewhat yellowed teeth. "Goodbye, sir, see you tomorrow!"

The foreman nodded with a smile. "See you tomorrow."

Just as his partner said, five dollars wasn't much, but when gathered together, it wasn't little.

The youth ran fast. He was already hungry; having worked all day and only eaten one meal, he could persist until now thanks to his "youth."

When he ran to the riverside, there was no one lining up or processing anything there; instead, there were quite a few people around observing everything happening here.

This was different from the scene he had imagined. He was stunned for a moment, hesitated, but finally walked up to the table.

"I want to ask about that identity card thing." His voice was not loud. When facing these foreigners, he felt an innate sense of inferiority.

And he had heard that these foreigners, especially the foreigners wearing red armbands, were very barbaric and cruel. Not only did they use private lynching to deal with those who didn't follow the rules, but it was said they had also killed some people.

This might also be the reason why some people were unwilling to come over; they were afraid of these Federation people.

Whether it was the rumors that they drank blood and ate people, or the things about them using whips to lash or kill others, it all made people feel uneasy and fearful.

"You want to process an identity card?" A Federation person sitting behind the table, bored, suddenly became interested. "Can you tell me why you want to process one?"

He gestured to the side. "Those people would rather watch there for a day than come over to process this identity card."

"What about you?"

"Why is that?"

The youth scratched his head, somewhat shyly. "I heard that the construction site will prioritize recruiting people with identity cards in the future. I want a stable job."

The young Federation person behind the table was stunned. He looked at the youth twice more. "You are a lucky one."

"You need to tell me where you live, as well as your family situation..."

Soon, both sides began to seriously process this identity document. They asked many questions, including who else was in his family, how his father had died, and how he was currently helping his family survive.

Until the end, the young man looked at the registration card he had written, which covered more than half a page, and after repeating it once to confirm it was correct, his pen tip finally landed on the name column, and he asked, "What is your name, young man?"

"Juan, sir."

"Juan Ika."

The young man opposite him wrote his name in the name column, then took out a card and wrote his name and file number on it, along with some other things he didn't quite understand.

Then this card was placed under a machine. The person who helped him process the identity card stood up and pressed down hard. With a "click," the machine spat out the card.

He tore the card from the middle crease and handed one half to Juan. It had his name and various information on it, as well as a steel seal.

"Lucky kid."

The young man handed over the card. "Keep it safe. You'd better remember the number on it. If you lose it, it won't be that much trouble to process it again."

Juan held the card, looking at it over and over again. He vaguely had a feeling that this would be an opportunity to change his life's destiny.

He kept the card properly. "Sir, does this ten mean I am the tenth person to process it?"

The person processing it nodded. "Yes, you are the tenth. Cherish this number; it will bring you good luck."

Juan revealed some smiles on his face. "I think so too..." He paused and asked somewhat hesitantly, "Do I need to pay you a sum of money for it?"

The young man opposite him shook his head. "Money?"

"No, no need, little guy. You don't need to pay us any fees for it. You can leave, or watch from the side like them."

Juan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and a smile crawled back onto his face. "Then I'm leaving?"

"Yes, you can leave."

"Goodbye, sir." "Goodbye, Juan!"

Juan hopped and skipped back to his home. He told his mother why he only had twenty-five dollars today, and his mother highly agreed with the suggestion his partner had given him.

Although he had five dollars less every day, he had gained a job worth seven hundred and fifty dollars a month.

This money was enough for them to live very well here.

At night, he put the card under his pillow. Although he didn't really understand what this card meant yet, he just did it, and he had a dream.

In the dream, he went to the city center he had always wanted to go to, the wealthy district. When those people with eyes like dogs saw him and wanted to stop him from entering, he just showed his identity card and was able to enter.

This made him laugh out loud even in his dream, and that bizarre world also attracted all his attention.

On the other side, after the various stations withdrew, Lanse couldn't help but ask at night, "How many people processed their personal identity information today?"

Mastering the situation of the people here would allow for better management of these people, and mastering some of those who might be harmful to society and the new policies.

Lanse was not the ruler here yet, and he was not these people's father; he didn't need to take care of everyone's emotions, he only picked what he wanted.

This matter was being done by Roger with the cadres in the family. Roger's expression was slightly embarrassed. "Less than two hundred people."

Lanse divided the territory they controlled into three districts. There were at least two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand people in these three districts, but after a whole day, less than two hundred people had processed their identity information, which made Lanse a bit unable to understand.

He put down his knife and fork. "What is the reason for this?"

Roger also put down his knife and fork. "I heard them say that there are some rumors and slanders about us. Some people say that we process their identity information to treat them as food or some kind of resource, just like branding livestock with numbers."

Hearing such an explanation, Lanse couldn't help but laugh. "This is a manifestation of ignorance, but I believe many of them must highly approve of such rumors!"

Roger pursed his lips, revealing a helpless expression. "Although we have already explained."

"Actually, there are many other kinds of rumors like this, all unfriendly to us."

Lanse picked up his knife and fork again. "This shows that the local rulers have not done nothing. They have done it, just in places we haven't seen, but very effectively."

He took a steak from a dish on the table back to his own plate. What famine? It didn't exist here at all.

The fragrance emitted by the food was mouth-watering. Although Lapa was poor, the quality of the cattle and beef here was still very good.

Those who grazed might starve to death because they couldn't afford to eat, which was also a manifestation of an absurd society.

"Try your best to process it."

"After a while, they will understand the importance of these identity cards. Continue to do these things first, don't worry about whether it's done well or not."

He was worried that Roger felt he hadn't done this well and became more radical instead.

This matter didn't matter whether it was done well or not, because he had already heard that there wasn't much money left in the Lapa government's treasury.

Once their money was used up, contradictions would soon appear. At yesterday's meeting, he heard that Diego had already slammed the table with the ministers, hoping that the ministers could also take out some money to alleviate the upcoming financial difficulties.

But it was clear that these ministers didn't intend to weather the storm with Diego. They might all have some ideas of their own, but it didn't exclude that some people would lean towards Diego.

If Diego were just by himself, he would have been overturned by the ministers long ago, so some ministers should be on his side, but didn't express their stance immediately.

In fact, whether they expressed their stance or not was not very important. Lanse would continue to support the expansion of anti-government armed forces, making the fighting between them more intense.

He wouldn't let the anti-government armed forces win and really drive Diego out of Zhuolan, nor would he let Diego expand to the point of being able to solve the anti-government armed forces.

They would always be at a level of equal strength, letting them consume constantly, and constantly strengthen the consumption. Only in this way would it be more valuable to him and to the Federation.

Albert, sitting on the other side of the dining table, couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Lanse, can I know what your next plan is roughly?"

Lanse thought for a while and didn't refuse his request. After all, part of the work in this matter needed the Economic Cooperation Agency to contribute.

"Through the relationship of some friendly people, I learned that there is not much money left in their treasury."

Mr. Albert nodded. "Yes."

"I plan to unite with banks, including the federal government, to give them some loans."

"Give them loans, support them in using the loans to strike at those anti-government armed forces."

Albert revealed some confused expressions. "But I heard that they have a lot of wealth in federal banks. Not long ago, these accounts deposited a total of more than 55 million federal sols of funds."

The money he mentioned was the money from selling grain. Lanse nodded and said, "Yes, it's not that they don't have money, but that money is their own money, not the country's. Can you understand what I mean?"

"If it were you, Mr. Albert, now the Federation needs you, would you cash out all your wealth and donate it to the country?"

After Albert heard this question, he was stunned for a while, then smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry, I might not be able to be that great."

Lanse curled his lips. "Coincidentally, these rulers can't do this either. Of course, I'm not mocking you, Mr. Albert."

"I'm just stating a fact."

Albert hurriedly raised his hand. "Yes, I can understand what you mean, Mr. Lanse."

"But doing this..."

Lanse continued to enjoy his steak and beef. "The federal government will talk to them about some political matters. I'm not sure how they will talk about this aspect."

"The bank side will definitely demand more economic benefits. I heard, just heard."

"Some of them are interested in buying shares in the Lapa National Bank."

Mr. Albert revealed an understanding expression. The war of capital against capital was always hidden in very deep places. What the Federal Bank wanted might not just be buying shares in the Lapa National Bank, but directly annexing it.

They wouldn't care that much about annexing a small private bank. What they wanted was the central bank, the bank with ruling power in this region.

12 million population. After this matter is over, the population might fall to within 10 million, but it is still a populous country.

These labor forces have huge potential in wealth conversion. They will not give up this financial market.

Perhaps it still looks very barren now, but what about ten years later, twenty years later, or even half a century later?

The expression in Albert's eyes changed slightly. Lanse smiled and said, "As for me..."

He chewed the beef in his mouth. In the process of being bitten and crushed by his teeth, the meat juice and fat were squeezed out, fully mixed, and emitted a very fragrant beef and milky smell.

"I will lease the areas we currently control. Of course, the term will not be too long. After all, our ultimate goal is to take it down."

"So when that time comes, I need to manage this place more conveniently and continue to set an example for Congress."

He didn't say it in such detail, but Albert had already been able to associate some things. He could only reveal an expression of amazement and admiration. "You are truly a genius!"

Lanse responded modestly, "Thank you for the compliment!"

Although some people would process the identity information card in the next period of time, the number of people was always small, adding up to only a few hundred people a day.

This was really too little for this region where two or three hundred thousand groups lived, but Lanse could afford to wait.

Because a new batch of aid from the Federation had arrived.

More weapons and ammunition, Lanse wanted to increase the intensity for the Diego government.

More anti-government armed forces were rising, attacking cities and seizing land. If Diego didn't make changes, his influence would soon be limited to Zhuolan and nearby areas.

He clearly didn't want this result to appear, so in July, the second expansion of the army began.

Diego and those ministers didn't know how they discussed it. They would expand the army to 200,000 and obtained a large amount of weapon aid from the Republic of Jiede.

Diego even claimed in a public speech that they would regain control of at least half of the territory before December.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 957 =====