Darkstone Code
Chapter 149 - 0148 Choose the longest between one long and one short

Chapter 149: 0148 Choose the longest between one long and one short

In the morning, when Lynch just got home, the maid told him that Mr. Ferrari had called and asked him to return the call as soon as possible.

The era without mobile communications was really inconvenient, if a person didn’t stay in a specific place, the whole world couldn’t find him!

Lynch quickly returned the call to Ferrari, who explained the purpose of his call.

The mayor had already submitted Lynch’s application to join the Federation Progressive Party, things that didn’t require Lynch to do himself—the Federation Progressive Party Development Office would handle these forms for him.

At the same time, around Wednesday, the day after tomorrow, the Federation Progressive Party state office would send someone to Sabin City to meet with Lynch. Members like him, recommended by a city mayor to join the Progressive Party, would receive more advanced treatment.

This development special envoy would talk to Lynch about his impression of the Progressive Party, discuss whether Lynch had any suggestions for the Progressive Party, and if there was anything he needed help with from the Progressive Party.

Ferrari told Lynch that he could say anything but must not ask for help, as that was not a good thing to do.

Many new members of the Progressive Party didn’t know this, and discussed some problems they faced in business or work, some of which the Progressive Party could solve. After solving them casually, they would begin to seek repayment.

Not the malicious, endless demands; they simply told you, "We’ve helped you, so shouldn’t you do what you can to help some other Progressive Party friends?"

In fact, this method could easily integrate a person with the organization, but sometimes it could have problems, as not everyone liked this "dedication."

Moreover, there would be a charity auction event this Saturday evening to raise funds to solve some city unemployment subsidy issues, and Lynch was invited to attend. Also, Lynch had to make time for the inquiry meeting at City Hall next Monday to discuss how to invigorate city development with everyone.

Lynch did not refuse these activities and recorded the times carefully. The higher a person’s value in society, the less they could ensure complete independence.

Many people thought being wealthy meant being very free; in some ways, this was true, but sometimes it wasn’t, as various aspects of social development needed these people to propose ideas or make contributions.

The kind of people who have lots of money and do nothing all day but play simply don’t exist in this world or any other.

Various meetings and activities could not be missed, and sometimes the ladies and gentlemen of high society felt tired, the mental and physical fatigue being more exhausting than the mere physical exhaustion of manual laborers.

At this moment, Lynch suddenly recalled what Catherine said that day, suggesting that perhaps upper-class society was just about chatting and dining.

The next day, on Tuesday afternoon, Lynch took a car to the agreed place with Lunit to visit his factory.

They had met previously at a banquet, where Lunit sought potential collaboration opportunities, which was also why Lynch came here.

He believed, as the Federation’s situation worsened, many restrictions would be loosened, including those related to employment laws.

People were starving, so who still cared about legal matters? Making money, buying food, and filling the stomach were the most important things!

When the car stopped, Lunit, with his secretary, quickly came up to greet him and declined Lynch’s driver’s help to open the car door, choosing to do it himself.

Unless his current situation was precarious, how could a factory owner make such a gesture?

"Sorry to trouble you to personally greet me..." Lynch said after getting out of the car, adjusting his attire, and reaching out to shake hands with Lunit. Compared with Lynch’s composed restraint and strong confidence, Lunit seemed like a minor character in some story.

He slightly bent his body, not bowing but not standing straight either. He didn’t want to show "flattery," yet he wasn’t assertive enough, a man indecisive and wavering.

"It’s my duty. I’m very glad you came. Isn’t it time for a tour of my factory?" As he spoke, he guided Lynch into the factory.

The factory was approximately forty acres, with three workshops and a warehouse. Such factories were very common in the industrial area. Perhaps to show Lynch a "bustling" scene, today all the workers were present, wearing clean work clothes and diligently focusing on their tasks.

Lunit probably assumed Lynch was the kind of young man without much social experience, thinking Lynch had never been in a factory district and therefore wouldn’t understand how foolish his actions were.

In reality, whether they were sewing workers or heavy manual laborers, their work clothes could never be clean, especially for assembly line workers. The high-intensity work and pressure left them indifferent to dirty clothes.

But here, everyone wore clean clothes, slowly handling their tasks, as if treating art pieces, not products.

Lynch mainly came to look at things that were not about these people and their skills, but at the condition of these sewing machines.

Currently, the sewing machines used in Federation garment factories are half manual, half steam-powered machines from Sabin, with a lever and four pedals, relying on manual pedal operation to handle intricate details.

Only long-line sewing tasks use steam power, making the workshop very hot, accompanied by the constant hissing of pressure release, with heat continuously escaping from the steam pipes.

Besides these steam-powered sewing machines, there are also some electric sewing machines, but their sales and usage rates are not high.

The expensive electricity costs compared to cheap steam still make the hidden cost too high, and a day’s electricity consumption may be enough to buy a week’s worth of fuel, so steam-powered sewing machines are the mainstream.

As for them causing workbenches and workspaces to become overheated, that’s not something factory owners consider; they never care if workers are comfortable while working.

"The machines are very new...", Lynch observed that these machines seemed well-maintained, without any significant signs of wear.

Lunit didn’t understand but still nodded in agreement, "These were new machines updated two years ago, effectively as new."

Two years ago, business wasn’t this difficult, and he invested heavily in upgrades, only to soon face production cuts and severe losses.

His words weren’t exaggerated; these machines were used less and less after being bought, initially able to keep a day-on, day-off work schedule, but now nearly completely shut down.

If it weren’t to avoid having bankruptcy filed against him, he might have applied to shut down entirely long ago.

After walking around several workshops, Lynch went to Lunit’s office; it was apparent from his office here he lived well in previous years.

The exquisite, grand, and luxurious furnishings made it look less like a factory owner’s office and more like a CEO’s office, further emphasizing Lunit’s hardships and a touch of humor.

Lynch sat on a separate sofa, where Lunit’s secretary brought him coffee, which he didn’t drink — who knows when these coffee beans are from, as judging by the factory’s operation, they might even need a budget to buy coffee beans.

Lunit looked at Lynch with a face full of expectations, longing for Lynch to give him a positive reply, even if just trivial small orders, which could let him hold on a bit longer.

Many factory owners like Lunit face a similar awkward situation; once they declare a complete shutdown and can’t resume quickly, they violate their land-use agreements with City Hall.

Not only would they lose their factory land, but also all immovable assets on that land, and by then, even if they could hold on a bit, they would directly file for bankruptcy after such a blow.

So even if these factory owners really can’t scrape the money together, even borrowing or taking loans, also need to operate occasionally to at least muddle past these issues.

He looked hopefully at Lynch, who naturally gave him some hope, "Do you have any recent issue of a fashion-related magazine? A newspaper will do."

Lunit immediately looked at his secretary, who hurriedly said yes, and quickly found a fashion magazine from two months ago, full of pretty clothes and accessories all at the trendy frontier.

Lynch casually flipped through it, then tossed the magazine onto the table, "Can you make these clothes, these bags, accessories here?"

Lunit was somewhat surprised, unsure what Lynch meant by this, but he nodded, "It’s not difficult; for accessories, my blanket factory has the capability, and the garment factory can complete the clothes; technically, there’s no difficulty, mainly in design innovation and concepts."

Lynch nodded noncommittally, "Use similar materials, choose some currently fashionable and trendy clothing styles, make one hundred pieces of each one, one thousand pieces of each accessory and bag, I’ll give you one dollar profit per piece, can you do it?"

Lunit was quite troubled, picked up the magazine, and looked at the introduction of some fashion and branded accessories — all major brand products with design patents, "Without authorization, making these will hold me accountable or even sued..."

Lynch just smiled, "You won’t immediately go bankrupt if sued, but without this order, you can’t hold on for a few days."

"Do you choose to let your enterprise continue facing possible but unlikely litigation, or choose bankruptcy to stick to some principles?"

"I respect those with conviction, but I don’t pity them. What will you choose?"

"Mr. Lunit?!"