Chapter 407

When people reach the middle class, most will ponder this question—

What, exactly, is wealth?

Is it money, or is it the commodities squeezed out of human resources through layers of labor exploitation?

Everyone will have a different opinion on this question, but everyone has a common understanding, which is that wealth is not born out of thin air; it requires people.

As for how wealth actually works, most people only have a vague idea and are not very clear.

At this moment, Lance’s proposition that “money that doesn’t flow is stagnant water” gave these people something to think about, as if some parts of their minds that they couldn’t figure out before suddenly became clear.

This feeling is very comfortable, especially for these not-so-stupid smart people.

Thinking, and solving problems through thinking, is a very addictive thing. The dopamine it brings can even exceed the pleasure that cigarettes can provide.

But there is a prerequisite: you have to be smart. Otherwise, you will only feel frustrated and eventually depressed.

So I myself can’t feel this kind of pleasure. If you want to know what kind of pleasure it is, it’s probably like—

That feeling is like… after sleeping on a night at the beginning of winter, having breathed in dry air all night, your nose is a bit stuffy when you wake up in the morning. You pick it with your finger and dig out a large piece of booger that is dry in the front and mushy in the back!

Your breathing instantly becomes clear, and the pleasure of the large turbine intake quickly filling your lungs with air!

They were also discussing in low voices among themselves. Deans, sitting relatively at the front of the table, suddenly asked, “Does this mean we should increase our investment in the farm side?”

The Lawrence “family business” was those farms, and how to sell these agricultural products. These were what he was mainly responsible for now, so he would be more sensitive.

The others looked at him. He said, “Lance’s words have given me some ideas.”

“The war will cause a sharp decrease in food production, but the world’s demand for food will not decrease, so the price of food will only get higher and higher.”

“No one knows how long the war will last. If we can add some more farmland, whether it’s to turn it into wealth or to consider its political value, it is clearly very appropriate.”

The others, after listening, also agreed with his idea, including Lance.

“A good idea. Perhaps this will give the Lawrence family a few more high-ranking officials.”

These were actually very simple principles. They quickly made a decision: each household would invest a little money, and then continue to enclose land, continue to reclaim wasteland, and continue to grow food.

The rich get richer; this is the principle.

They get access to some information earlier and can afford to take a bigger loss to try once.

What limits ordinary people from crossing classes is never their level of education, nor is it whether they are sensitive enough to opportunities.

In fact, there are also some ordinary people who can see opportunities, but they do not have the capital to seize them. They have no money, or they cannot bear the consequences of failure. This forces them to only watch the opportunity slip away, instead of taking the first step towards success.

What limits them is the unbearable consequences of investment or business failure. This is what seals them forever in the group of ordinary people.

Even if ordinary families have this information, they cannot come up with a large sum of money to invest in agricultural products. Even if they have it, do they dare?

One failure, and the efforts of several generations may be in vain. They can only continue to maintain the status quo.

Under the increasingly sharp scythes of the capitalists, they do their best to pass down the assets of several generations, and then wait for the birth of a child who can change the family’s destiny.

Deans did a simple calculation. “We can expand by another two to three hundred hectares of land, but it’s a bit troublesome to get this done. We might need the state land office to solve it.”

For such a large-scale land use, it is certainly impossible to get approval directly from the surrounding cities. This has to be approved by the state government.

Of course, the trouble with this matter is only that it needs to be run, not that it cannot be done. It’s just that the process is a bit long and slightly troublesome.

This kind of land is very cheap. They will only charge some symbolic fees, but the Lawrence family must ensure that this land is used for growing crops and that enough farm workers are hired.

For any level of government, as long as it can provide jobs, they will not make things difficult for these farmers.

Once the new land is reclaimed, seeds are planted next year, and by autumn, they can harvest countless material and political wealth, and then decide whether to continue to expand the farm.

Patricia, sitting at the girls’ table, was not yet like Emily. She had already noticed that at the men’s table, Lance and William had become the core of the discussion.

Thinking of this, the smile on her face became warmer, because she also felt that she was the core of these women.

The direct effect of power is not only on those who hold the power; their relatives can also enjoy it.

After dinner, everyone said their goodbyes and drove away. They basically all lived in Golden Port, so going home was not too far, still within the city.

“When you win the election, I’ll give you a villa like this.”

Sitting in the car, Lance said this to William while smoking a cigarette.

Ingesting alcohol will have a strange chemical effect on people’s reaction to nicotine. The effect of nicotine will be more obvious, but the resistance will also be higher.

To put it simply, the satisfaction from smoking will be more obvious, but the effective time will also be shorter.

Because under the influence of alcohol, the blood flow will increase, and the metabolic rate will also be faster.

William had said a few words when he was leaving, that if he had a big house, next time he could invite everyone to his place for such a gathering.

Lance could see that he also had a bit of vanity. It’s impossible for a person to have no vanity.

It had always been Barbara’s family hosting such gatherings. Even though they were not the highest-ranking in the family, in people’s minds, they would still feel that they were very high, because they had always been the “hosts.”

So while sitting in the car, Lance said this directly.

William had also drunk a lot. He hadn’t reacted yet, but Emily couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of villa?”

Lance took a drag of his cigarette. “Bigger than his, in the Empire District. After William wins the election, he can go there to live at night.”

William rubbed his temples. “Is it Jobav’s villa?”

Lance nodded. Then William began to introduce Mr. Jobav and his big house to Emily.

The development of a city has always been an outward expansion. If one pays attention, one will find that in some cities with a relatively fast development speed, there will be some obviously unreasonable villa clusters in the city center.

There are actually quite a few such cities in the Federation, and Golden Port is one of them. The development speed is very fast.

Decades ago, the Empire District was still a suburb of the city. Now it is right next to the city center.

In the future, it will inevitably become a part of the city center, so there are also many villas in the Empire District.

Mr. Jobav’s villa is the best of them.

Listening to William’s introduction, Emily felt a surge of energy throughout her body.

“I hope you can win the election tomorrow!”

“This way we can also host such a gathering as hosts…”

Lance spent the night at the Lawrence’s. The process was naturally extremely comfortable. Patricia was a very obedient girl. After everything was over, Lance held her naked and slept for a night.

Actually, to say how comfortable it was, it might not have been that comfortable. After all, sleeping alone is truly comfortable. With two people, it’s a bit difficult to find a good position. You always have to consider whether you will affect the other person.

The next morning, Lance had the breakfast prepared by Emily before leaving.

Luca seemed to be very concerned about the matter he had discussed with Lance. He appeared at the company early in the morning.

Lance was now a little impatient to see Mr. Jobav go bankrupt. Only when he went bankrupt could Lance quickly take over the bank’s building and transform it into the new company headquarters.

Lance and Luca entered the room together. Lance had someone send in two cups of coffee.

“Do you know the Liji Agricultural Group?”

Luca nodded while stirring his coffee. “I know them, and I’ve dealt with them. I don’t like them.”

“The Liji Group are the greediest wild dogs. Because we have our own supermarkets and shops, our dependence on them is not that great.”

“For some farms that mainly rely on the Liji Group for consignment, they are completely at their mercy.”

From having cooperated with them once, Lance knew that this company was no good samaritan.

As long as it was beneficial to them, they would use any means, and they didn’t care whether it was legal or not. Their main principle was that as long as the profit was sufficient, there was no bottom line.

The Lawrence family was a large landowning class in Likalai State and must have been harassed by them.

In fact, most of the large landowning classes in the Federation now have their own sales channels. The ones who are really made difficult for are the small and medium-sized farm owners.

Besides being obedient, they don’t have many good options.

Lance gave Luca a cigarette. “They have some issues with me. I’ve always wanted to teach them a lesson, but I’ve been very busy lately and haven’t had the time.”

“Since you know them so well, then you go and set up a company. Follow the way you used to deal with supermarket sourcing, and then require them to deliver the goods at the Golden Port docks.”

“Note, you need to fill in a large enough penalty for breach of contract.”

Luca didn’t expect to have such a big surprise right after “joining.” He swallowed. “How many years in prison will I get?”

“Why would you think that?” Lance asked with a laugh.

Luca explained as if he were talking about something everyone knew, “That’s the Liji Group. Everyone knows that they would spend a hundred dollars to save one.”

“I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I’ll definitely be in trouble after they get angry.”

Lance smiled and reassured him, “No one will go to jail for this. As long as you don’t leave Golden Port or even Likalai State, I can guarantee your safety.”

(End of chapter)