Darkstone Code
Chapter 152 - 0151 Donations and Food Coupons

Chapter 152: 0151 Donations and Food Coupons

The fact that Mark represented the Mayor by investing in the Interstellar Trade Company might be hard for some ordinary people to understand, but in fact, it’s quite normal, because there are still some things happening that many ordinary people may not have even heard of.

Some jokingly say that each federal election in Bail Federal, at the very last second, marks the birth of a new consortium, and Bail Federal has a history of more than three hundred years since its founding, with a total of fifty-two presidents.

Why fifty-two? Because some presidents accidentally fell and suffered fatal injuries while going downstairs, or were swept into the sea by the wind while fishing by the seaside, or...

In short, some people just aren’t that lucky, but that’s normal; that’s life, isn’t it?

Besides these rather unlucky presidents, behind every other president, there is basically the shadow of a consortium, such as the more well-known "Jerry & Dais" in the Federation, a typical consortium born from a president.

This consortium has supported three politicians to their glorious moments on the Federal historical stage, and precisely because they nurtured three presidents, "Jerry & Dais" has never encountered any trouble for over a hundred years.

No one knows when they might appoint a new president for the Federation, who would be the fourth president belonging to their group.

Oh, by the way, these three presidents were, respectively, the son of the founder of "Jerry & Dais," his grandson, and the grandson’s son. They are a family!

The political forces and capital forces sometimes clash like fire and water, but sometimes they are indistinguishable, and that’s Bail Federal, the land of sweet freedom!

In this light, the Mayor’s investment in the Interstellar Trade Company seems less shocking, especially since it was his nephew Mark who carried it out. Lynch believes that if any problems arise, Mark will immediately stand up and apologize to society.

Because he did these terrible things behind his uncle’s back, and his uncle, the Mayor, would never easily forgive anyone who violated the law and rules, even if that person was his nephew.

If these terrible things don’t happen, if the Interstellar Trade Company manages to remain profitable in a relatively suitable way, maybe in the future, Lynch and his company could also become part of a certain consortium. Of course, the Mayor can’t be President; the focus would be on his superior or his superior’s superior.

At this point, Lynch is already past the age of cynicism; he doesn’t feel offended. Instead, he sees it as a good thing. After Mark’s investment, he can let Mark handle those challenging tasks.

No one is more suitable for this role than him. Many people think Mark represents the Mayor, and they have to solve problems themselves even if there’s trouble, rather than troubling Mark, because troubling Mark is equivalent to troubling the Mayor. But Lynch doesn’t see it that way.

Everyone knows that when Mark represents the Mayor, Mark’s appearance means the Mayor’s stance. He doesn’t even need to say anything; he just needs to stand by his side!

Skipping over this tiny matter, Lynch met with the Mayor the next day. It was a charity event, strictly speaking, it was. The local social elites of Sabin City were basically all present.

The number of people wasn’t too many, a few hundred. The upper circle of a city with a population of 800,000 could only accommodate these few hundred people. And among them, almost half to a third were there only because their male or female partners had the opportunity to enter this hall; they themselves did not have this capability, making the actual number in the upper circle even smaller.

Lynch sat in a slightly rear position. His age, his career, and his wealth were not enough for him to sit in the most prominent central position in the front row. However, sitting in the back also had its advantages, allowing him to observe the subtle actions of the well-dressed ladies and gentlemen in front.

The theme of this evening’s charity event was to help some unemployed people through their current difficulties through donations. Sabin City’s unemployment rate had already reached a frightening figure of sixteen percent, and cases of people starving to death had emerged.

This was not a good sign; City Hall, or rather the Mayor, utilized personal energy to suppress this news, but he also realized that the situation had genuinely reached a point where political power needed to be mobilized.

In fact, people have starved to death every year; homeless people die from heat in summer, freeze to death in winter, and occasionally starve to death as a normal occurrence.

A few years ago, there was even a tragic report about homeless people attacking wild dogs, only to be overwhelmed and eaten by the pack of wild dogs, sparking a brief social discussion. After the discussion, people no longer paid attention to this group.

Many people, when interviewed by reporters, would express the same opinion: homeless people have hands and feet; they can work to support themselves. Even scavenging could allow them to live well enough, but they chose to beg, so they are not worthy of sympathy.

However, this time it was not a homeless person who starved to death, but an unemployed elderly person living alone.

Calling him old might not be accurate; he was just over fifty, not yet at the retirement age.

He originally had a job, but four months ago he became unemployed. He wanted to work but couldn’t find a job, and after his savings ran out, he starved to death on his own bed.

If it weren’t for his neighbors being affected by the stench, it might have taken a long time to discover this incident, so the Mayor realized that the matter could no longer be delayed. He had to come up with some solutions.

At this moment, the mayor stood on the podium, briefly mentioning the news with a very heavy tone. The celebrities sitting below were also very shocked, and some ladies even shed tears of sorrow.

Some were indeed shocked, but not everyone was truly sorrowful.

In fact, for these people, it was hard to imagine that an ordinary person could actually starve to death. Although the situation was not as good as in the previous years, it shouldn’t be this bad, right?

But the fact remained that many people were facing hunger and hardship, and they needed help from others.

In the Bail Federal, over the past three hundred years, there have been similar situations, and they have developed an effective method to solve these problems. At least, this is what seems to be the case for now, which is the distribution of food and supply coupons.

Initially, people provided monetary relief directly to those in need, but they quickly discovered that some individuals were falsely claiming the help, while others gambled or squandered the money and then reapplied for aid. Thus, monetary relief turned into food and supply coupons.

The donated property from the wealthy would be used to purchase large quantities of food and essentials, and then families in need could collect this aid.

It couldn’t make them wealthy, but at least it could prevent them from starving to death. This was the brink of what the Bail Federal could currently achieve, trying their best to prevent more people from starving.

The generous donations from every millionaire were not because they were truly altruistic, but because this was a charity gala, and all the donation amounts would be "returned" to these kind donors in the form of tax deductions.

At least there would be a full deduction, possibly even an excessive deduction, so this wasn’t a losing proposition. They might even make a little money, which was why those top millionaires were willing to participate in charity. They had so much tax to pay that any reduction was a victory.

However, the tax deduction from charitable donations also had an upper limit, and the arrangement wasn’t something the tycoons could decide on their own. Before attending the charity banquet, their personal accountants would inform them of how much would be most appropriate to donate.

Everyone seemed genuinely caring about those in need, and people generously contributed. Lynch also donated a hundred thousand dollars, which made many frequently glance at this ridiculously young guy.

Perhaps Lynch’s demeanor made him look like a "shill", so soon some people started a second round of donations, raising their donations from a few thousand or tens of thousands to at least thirty or fifty thousand, some even up to hundreds of thousands, unsure whether this was what the mayor intended.

But as long as there was even the slightest possibility, they couldn’t take the risk.

By the end of the charity gala, the mayor had raised close to fifteen million in donations, which to a large extent solved some of the current problems. According to the mayor’s closing remarks, over two hundred thousand hungry people in Sabin City would have their stomachs filled thanks to everyone’s kindness and compassion.

After the meeting, the mayor was ready to leave, as he had other matters to attend to. The issues this city faced during this time had him overwhelmed, and even though Mark made an absolutely profitable deal, it didn’t put much of a smile on his face.

Money could only satisfy material needs; he longed for power.

However, he still took half a minute to speak with Lynch, arranging him at the end, "I heard from Mark that he likes you a lot?"

The two shook hands and talked, while others couldn’t approach; this was the etiquette in social settings.

Lynch nodded, "I like Mark a lot too. He’s a great guy..." His words seemed unfinished, which puzzled the mayor and prompted him to get to the point quickly as he had a small closed-door meeting to attend soon.

Lynch then spoke the words that hadn’t been said, "Is it still too late to start a food factory now?"

The mayor was momentarily stunned, then couldn’t help but laugh heartily. He thought Lynch would mention something about Mark or the transaction from last night, but he was thinking about the fifteen million in "donations".

A young man with very unique and special vision and ideas, the mayor reaffirmed this thought again. However, he shook his head, "Mark certainly didn’t tell you he already has a food factory..." He hinted, "I have great hopes for you guys; you will become good friends!"

Lynch curled his lips, "That’s really a sad thing. As for Mark and me..." He chuckled, "I also believe we’ll become good friends."

The mayor patted him on the hand and left without saying more, which disappointed those who didn’t have the chance to talk to the mayor during the evening but then started to scrutinize Lynch closely. What exactly was his relationship with the mayor, and why did the mayor leave the last moment for him?

Some people began to try to reach out to Lynch, who then turned around and blended into the cocktail party after the charity gala.