Chapter 979: Eve of the Election and Unexpected News

"New Federation Center Helps Lapa's Economy Take Off!"

Lanse flipped through the newspaper in his hand, a smile appearing on his face. The person who took this photo used a low angle, making the sky Lanse's background, which made him look... tall.

It gave people a somewhat sacred feeling!

"What he holds in his hand is not just a simple set of keys, but a lighthouse guiding the poor and suffering people of Lapa toward happiness."

Lanse read this passage out loud, then put down the newspaper. "Written well."

Mayor Wei De, sitting on the other side of the table, laughed twice. "You have some popularity and fame in the country now. Some people have even asked me about you, asking if I know you or something."

Lanse had returned to the country a few days ago because the gubernatorial election for Indeno State was about to take place.

The election would end before the Saint Agriculture Festival, and in mid-November, the new governor's team would enter the state government to formally take over the work here.

There was still more than a month until the election results, and there wasn't much in Lapa that Lanse needed to worry too much about, so he returned early to meet with Mayor Wei De.

If Mayor Wei De could win, it would be a very important positive piece of news for Lanse.

This meant that Indeno State and Likarai State, two adjacent states, could be closely linked together, both being his territory.

There were still many liquor businesses in Indeno State that he couldn't get his hands on. These people—gangsters, the mayor—were all people on the side of the deputy governor.

Only after Wei De won could these people be cleared out of here, allowing Lanse to grasp these businesses in his hands.

Facing Mayor Wei De's praise, Lanse smiled and said, "Actually, such prestige is not that important to me. You know, compared to prestige, I care more about your election."

"Prestige, fame—as long as there is money, I can give you as much as you want."

Mayor Wei De did not refute this, because what Lanse said was the truth.

For example, the few most popular stars right now—because of the booming movie industry, they were known by more people and gained greater influence.

Of course, his own conditions were also good. He was handsome and even a bit pretty. It was said that in some upper-class social activities, someone had mentioned more than once wanting to spend a night with Gerald—a thought proposed by gentlemen.

One could imagine that Gerald's appearance was already enough to make the gentlemen of the upper class ignore the fact that he was male. Of course, this also had a certain relationship with the chaos of the Federation's upper class.

The imagination of people at the bottom is usually lacking.

The reason for the lack is not that their imagination is only so much, but that their understanding of the world is only so big.

For example, many people would guess whether those big figures changed partners every day. They would look at the young, beautiful girls standing beside the big figures and talk about the stories that would happen between them in a tone mixed with envy, jealousy, and sourness.

Or they would chat about scandals between celebrities, stories between some famous man and some famous woman.

Because their understanding of the world is just like this: men go to find women, and women go to find men.

They cannot imagine that sometimes those male big figures also go to find men, and some big figures will even take the initiative to lie on the bed and stick their butts up.

Their understanding of the upper class and the whole world is too low. They only know the things that happen around them and recognize them as common sense.

Some people want Gerald's butt, but there are also people who want to give their butts to Gerald.

Gerald's popularity among these people, besides his appearance, was also due to his fame and status.

Lanse had encountered some things before, like some hosts who would often take jobs privately.

Some of these hosts were not that good-looking, and their figures weren't necessarily that good, but they seemed to sell well, and the price wasn't low.

People weren't just buying a one-time enjoyment; more of it was enjoying the status of these people.

People like to see those public figures make humble gestures in front of them, like to see them bow their heads, or look up.

This would bring them a kind of pleasure from destroying beautiful things in people's hearts!

The two quickly ended this topic. Lanse took out a cigarette case and lit a cigarette. "How is the election going?"

Mayor Wei De nodded, a smile of everything being under control on his face. "Very good, I can only say."

"Judging from these two polls, people are more inclined to have me as governor."

The election of a Federation governor is through a direct vote by voters within the state, which involves many votes and many regions. Cheating is not impossible, just a bit difficult.

However, Wei De still had his advantages, which was that the adjustments he made in the economy were quite good, and the economic recovery in his own city was earlier than in other places.

His campaign team took this out as a means of campaigning, claiming to the outside world that Mayor Wei De was a good hand at handling the economy.

And in campaign speeches, Mayor Wei De constantly emphasized that after he took office, he would definitely pull up the economy of Indeno State quickly, create more jobs, and introduce more capital.

These were indeed very gimmicky and very popular among voters. After all, everyone hoped to have a stable and wealthy life.

The number of voters in the Federation is not large. It is not an easy thing to meet the Federation's almost harsh requirements to become a voter. So far, reports from non-official organizations mention that only 12% of the entire Federation are legal voters.

And among this portion of voters, there are some who are not interested in voting or elections.

Politicians can still have a count in their hearts as to where the most voters are in each region. They just need to firmly grasp a few core voting bases, and it won't be too difficult to win.

"If there is anything you need help with, tell me." Lanse took the initiative to speak, expressing his willingness to help.

It wasn't that he was currying favor with Mayor Wei De, but that he didn't want his investment to go down the drain.

He didn't take the losses in campaign funds to heart; the key was the favors he invested, which could not be measured with money.

When a person has enough wealth, they will find that money is really just a string of numbers; on the contrary, favors are more important.

Mayor Wei De naturally wouldn't refuse. "Exactly, since you brought this up, I have a few small problems I need your help with."

Lanse signaled for him to continue. This was not the time for mutual modesty. Being able to solve some small problems now could gain more chances of winning when voting.

"Some people...", he placed his hands together with fingers crossed on his thighs. When he said this, he spread his hands, revealing a helpless expression, but quickly crossed them again. "... they have some objections to me, an outsider, running for governor of Indeno State."

Lanse interjected, "Politicians?"

"No, no, no, just some ordinary people with a certain social influence," Mayor Wei De quickly added.

Dealing with politicians, Lanse's help actually wasn't that great. Politicians are divided into camps, three parties, and there are factions within the parties. Behind every politician who can get on stage is often a faction, a whole bunch of people.

So dealing with politicians can only use political means; these are the rules of the game.

However, dealing with ordinary people, using Lanse was obviously more suitable.

Mayor Wei De briefly described his trouble to him. Because he himself was from Jincheng, he was an outsider to Indeno State.

Now that his voice for winning was high, this made some relatively old-fashioned and conservative locals have opinions.

They believed that letting an outsider become the governor of Indeno State might destroy some local traditions and also make everyone lose face.

Clearly they weren't lacking qualified politicians, yet an outsider won. This could only show they weren't united enough.

These people were relatively old and could be considered local gentry. They still had some influence on ordinary people.

Mayor Wei De had talked to them privately, discussing whether they could put this matter down through some back-door deals, but was refused.

They refused to negotiate with an outsider, let alone compromise with him. They just wanted to call on people to oppose Mayor Wei De winning the gubernatorial election in Indeno State.

"... that's roughly the situation. It's not very appropriate for me to take action myself. After thinking about it, only you are more suitable to do these things."

The Lanse family, after all, was not a local native gang. They didn't have that many intertwined interest relationships in the local area, and there were no concerns when doing things.

Lanse didn't consider it for too long before agreeing.

Then Mayor Wei De gave him a list, on which were the photos of three guys, as well as their personal information and so on.

"Three old men." Lanse looked at Wei De after getting the document.

Wei De nodded. "That's why they are so stubborn."

After Lanse briefly looked through it and didn't see anything special, he put the document away. "I'll handle this matter." Next, they chatted for a while about where Mayor Wei De needed Lanse in the campaign, such as Mayor Wei De needing Lanse's manpower to help, as he wanted to give speeches in other parts of the state.

Although there was already television, television hadn't reached the point of popularity yet. Most people's understanding of elections was through newspapers and public speaking activities.

To gain support from more people, Mayor Wei De and the deputy governor were ready to run non-stop throughout the state for the next month or so.

Running to six cities in five days, or seven cities, was no longer a very tight schedule.

He himself had a mature campaign team, but this team was still missing some relatively "flexible" people.

People who had no direct relationship with him and could handle some things he couldn't come forward for through criminal means when necessary.

Lanse didn't refuse any of these and agreed to them all.

After meeting Mayor Wei De, Lanse returned to New Birmingham, which had become the Lanse family's base in Indeno State.

Before the motorcade entered the city, one could see many smuggling cars coming in and out.

These smuggling cars could almost be seen through at a glance—

They were almost all old secondhand cars that had been modified, all with curtains, making it impossible for people to see what was inside.

And there might be some marks related to gangs on the surface of the car, like signs or something.

On the road from outside the city into the city, such vehicles could be seen everywhere, which also showed that Lanse's business was very hot right now.

When the motorcade stopped downstairs at the company, when Lanse saw Erwin in the office, the two hugged hard.

They had been separated for half a year this time, and the two hadn't seen each other for a long time.

They had been together for many years. Lanse and these cadres in the family, as well as some combat team leaders, had been together for a very, very long time. They were like family!

"Let me see, you look much more mature, and you've grown a beard!", Lanse looked at Erwin's current image with some surprise.

He had actually grown some beard, which made him look... Lanse didn't know how to describe it.

Erwin laughed twice. "At first I was always too busy to organize my face and beard, then I simply didn't deal with these things, which instead made me look much more mature."

He put his arm around Lanse's arm. "How long are you staying this time?"

The two walked to the sofa and sat down. Lanse crossed his legs, looking very relaxed. "I'm not sure. I hope to leave after Mayor Wei De wins."

"In case there is any sudden event, I can handle it in time."

He paused. "How is the situation with Jinbiao Liquor Industry?"

"I heard their assembly line has been rebuilt."

After Jinbiao Liquor Industry was burned down by Lanse and the others last time, it took three or four months to rebuild. Lanse hadn't heard about the subsequent matters.

Erwin explained, "Now Jinbiao Liquor Industry has stopped selling whiskey to the market. They only provide these liquors for the soldiers."

The Lanse family's approach made Jinbiao Liquor Industry feel some crisis. After all, in the end, they were just businessmen doing business, not professional gangsters.

Under such circumstances, the board of directors of Jinbiao Liquor Industry finally gritted their teeth and gave up the market inside Indeno State.

However, there was gossip saying they were actually shipping to other states.

Listening to Erwin talk about the development here, Lanse couldn't help but walk to the window and look outside.

Diagonally across the road was the "winery." The winery was large, because more than half of the gangs in the entire state would come here to stock up, which also brought some benefits to the entire New Birmingham city, so the mayor pretended not to see them selling liquor so openly.

The Hazardous Materials Management Bureau, because they had been instructed by the State Prohibition Committee and had transferred a batch of not-so-firm agents over, these people were also fed full. Now the entire city was peaceful.

Lanse could see those cars entering the warehouse area of the winery one after another, and then the workers moved the liquor onto those cars.

After moving almost enough, they would close the car doors, then pat the roof of the car. The vehicles would soon leave the factory area, leave the city quickly, and drive in the direction they came from.

Everything was orderly, even somewhat pleasing to the eye.

This was the scene with the most characteristic atmosphere of this era: workers, factories, and business!

Yes, business!

Lanse turned his head. "Are there any other gangs coming to provoke us now?"

Erwin shook his head and said, "After we had a few fierce fights, they stopped."

Now there is a realization in the Federation's southern underground world: don't mess with the Lanse family if you have nothing to do.

These people are all crazy!

If you mess with members of other gangs, you can still resolve the conflict through, for example, negotiation.

But if you mess with members of the Lanse family, then one must die.

Either you die, or they die.

But if they have people die, then it is endless. So in the end, you still die.

More than one gang has proven this point, from Jincheng to Indeno State.

Lanse asked about some other things, such as the sales situation of the Sumuli people's brandy here.

When talking about this issue, Erwin suddenly patted his head as if he remembered something. "Look, I almost forgot an important thing."

Lanse turned around and looked at him with confusion. "What?"

"I arranged for some people to try to sell whiskey to South Yaan State. The quality of whiskey there is far inferior to what we have in hand, so I think our liquor can open up the market there."

Lanse nodded while listening, and even lit a cigarette for himself. "And then?"

"Did you encounter trouble?"

Erwin shook his head. "I did encounter some trouble, but that's not what I want to say."

"Among the people I sent over, someone knows Christopher. He said he saw a guy over there who looked like Christopher, and seemed to be the person in charge of the Sumuli people over there."

Lanse was stunned. "He's back?"

Erwin also had some confusion. "I don't know. I haven't heard anything about him, so I couldn't confirm if this news was true, so I didn't tell you."

"If you hadn't asked about this, I might have forgotten it soon."

Christopher had changed his name. Deep down, he was still a bit afraid. The things Lanse did made him feel a bit crazy and terrifying.

A small character actually handled the entire Jincheng, and even handled the entire Likarai State!

Honestly, he was a bit scared.

If it weren't for Leonardo insisting that he be responsible for the liquor sales situation in the Federation, he wouldn't have been willing to return to the Federation even if he were beaten to death!

So in order not to attract the attention of Lanse and these people, he didn't use his real name, but used a fake name, Camilo Bianchi.

The people who traded with him didn't know about this, so no one discovered that the "leader" they had been trading with was actually Christopher.

"Arrange for a few more people who know him to go over and check. Since there is such a possibility, don't ignore it."

"If it really is him..."

Lanse took a puff of smoke, looking at the busy porters in the factory across the road, and slowly exhaled the smoke from his mouth. "Then pull him out, I want to kill him myself."

Alberto was a very important person to Lanse. If it weren't for Alberto's support, there wouldn't be the current Lanse family.

In gang fights, some live and some die, which is normal.

Alberto went to Sumuli Island to avenge himself and died. Lanse would definitely avenge him. This is just a normal vendetta.

What really made him feel angry was that he sent someone over to ask for Alberto's body, and this son of a bitch not only didn't give it, but also killed the person he sent.

This feud is completely settled, and no one can help!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 980 =====