MWC – Chapter 135 Tribute

I AM DROPPING THIS NOVEL. IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE THEY CAN. IF POSSIBLE PLEASE SHARE THE LINK SO I CAN BINGE READ TOO.

In the private room of St. T’s Restaurant, the bright tableware and glass walls reflected a surreal, magical feel.

Across from Lu Ming sat Li Cangyou, the chairman of the North Gate Health Committee, a man in his sixties with short white hair, looking quite energetic despite his age. He was smiling bitterly, “Lawyer Lu, I’m just a few months away from retirement. Please, let me have some peace.”

Indeed, once the year-end elections concluded and a new seven-member committee was formed, they would appoint heads for various administrative agencies. Although Li Cangyou’s age and health would allow him to continue for a few more years, it was rumored that Committee Chairman Bucklow would be re-nominated by the Duke’s family, and Vice Chairman Zhang Zhenbang had recently caught the attention of Bucklow’s son, having been invited to watch horse races together. There were even rumors of a close relationship between Zhang Zhenbang’s daughter-in-law and young Bucklow.

Li Cangyou had a premonition that his political career was nearing its end, and he didn’t expect to encounter such a troublesome matter just before retiring. He continued to smile bitterly, “So, Lawyer Lu, you’re a few years younger than me. Let me call you brother. Brother Lu, please, don’t make things difficult for this old man.”

Lu Ming chuckled, “Brother Li, how could you say I’m making things difficult for you? Sometimes, bad things can turn into good ones, don’t you think?” Leaning forward slightly, he lowered his voice and whispered something.

Li Cangyou’s expression shifted between light and dark, slowly sinking into thought.

…

Under the bright sun, on the lawn area of Liberty Building, Lu Ming sat under a sunshade, sipping a drink through a straw and examining several forms, survey questionnaires, and circular graphs of voters’ political inclinations. 

Light footsteps approached from behind. A figure in a red elegant suit, light stockings, and high heels—it was Murong Xue, the campaign office manager. She had originally applied for a public relations position at Huaxia Garments. Seeing her resume, Pamela noticed she had once been a member of a famous eastern district legislator’s campaign team, albeit in a minor role, and recommended her to Lu Ming’s campaign office.

She gracefully placed a stack of documents on the small white round table under the sunshade, “Boss, these are from the law firm, needing your signature. Also, here are the latest newspapers with reports on the ‘Lemonade Girl Movement.'”

Lu Ming nodded, picked up the documents, quickly signed them. These included permission to open a fund account for Xiuxiu, requiring the law firm’s signature.

Not long after meeting with Li Cangyou, the firm, representing Xiuxiu, signed a secret settlement agreement with the health committee, meaning the agreement would never be made public. The health committee compensated 50,000 yuan, with Lu Ming personally adding 20,000, totaling 70,000 for Xiuxiu’s fund.

Additionally, the documents included an intention letter for the law firm and health committee to cooperate in establishing the “Lemonade Girl” charity health fund. The health committee would provide funds and solicit donations from the public to support free medical assistance for the poor, with the law firm overseeing and publicly disclosing the accounts.

This was Lu Ming’s suggestion to turn bad into good. With the social level now aware of the Lemonade Girl Movement, calling for social fairness, he suggested the health committee respond by establishing a charity fund, supervised by his law firm, thus turning a bad situation into a good one. Given the dispute between the health committee and his client was handled by his law firm, which sparked the movement, cooperation in the charity fund would improve the public’s perception of the health committee.

Of course, establishing a fund required retaining a portion of funds that should be submitted, needing approval from the seven-member committee or even a parliamentary vote. It was a complex matter. Li Cangyou agreeing indicated his unwillingness to step down, perhaps wanting to boost his reputation or create a mess no one else wanted to handle. Even in the worst-case scenario of being dismissed, it wouldn’t differ much from the normal trajectory.

After signing all necessary documents, Lu Ming picked up the newspaper with the Lemonade Girl Movement reports. Murong Xue stood by, glancing at the reports, feeling the movement’s sudden trend wasn’t simple but beyond her concern. It was beneficial to the boss’s campaign.

However, the boss handled all campaign decisions himself, making her position somewhat nominal. But, if they were to select a proper campaign office manager, she wouldn’t be considered. 

She remembered her first meeting with the boss on the day Pamela recommended her. The campaign office was then filled with talent, including a famous campaign expert who was the manager. On her first day, she observed the expert constantly advising the boss on what should or shouldn’t be done, which seemed to irritate him. Eventually, the boss straightforwardly told him, “You’re no longer the manager.” Pointing to her, he said, “She’s my manager now.”

The campaign expert, furious, asked why. The boss replied, “Because she’s pretty, and I find her pleasing to the eye.” Everyone was stunned, herself included, almost deciding to resign immediately.

It was Pamela who calmed her, explaining much about the boss. Now, she understood the boss didn’t agree with the expert’s advice, preferring a different approach, but used a ridiculous excuse to fire him.

She thought he was as shameless as her previous lecherous boss who used to harass her frequently. Recalling past events brought a cloud over Murong Xue’s face.

“We need to start working on political donations. It would be too embarrassing to lose money while running for a council seat. I’ve already lost 20,000 yuan on Xiuxiu!” the boss suddenly muttered as he stood up.

Murong Xue sighed helplessly. Was the 20,000 yuan for Xiuxiu considered part of the campaign expenses?

“Prepare the car, we’re going to Wind Bao,” the boss gestured.

Murong Xue quickly picked up the slightly bulky walkie-talkie to have the car brought over.

…

Wind Bao had become a recognized gathering place for most of North Gate’s merchants at some point. The club not only increased its membership but also elevated its level significantly. The second-floor club rooms were no longer limited to just rooms 8, 88, and 888. Instead, over a dozen club activity rooms had been established, allowing multiple groups of merchants to gather simultaneously.

Today, Room 6 hosted over twenty businessmen, all prominent supporters of the Grand Duke Party in North Gate’s business community. However, Lu Ming was in the adjacent Room 7, casually chatting with Wen Liangyu.

“Qianxing, it’s all thanks to you. I never thought I’d see Wind Bao like this. Even when my father was around, it wasn’t this bustling!” Wen Liangyu said with heartfelt emotion.

Lu Ming smiled and nodded towards the next room, “Is Dong Wenquan giving a speech?”

Wen Liangyu sighed, “Yes, isn’t it necessary to go through the motions? Giving political ideology speeches and making promises to the donors. You’re the only one who doesn’t show any face to the donors.”

He then handed over a check and a piece of paper. “Here, this is yours.”

Lu Ming only took the note, passing the check to Murong Xue sitting beside him. “Deposit this later.”

Political donations had a dedicated account in the campaign office and could only be used for the campaign.

Murong Xue knew the boss often took unconventional paths but never broke the rules he was supposed to follow. She took the check, her eyes widening in surprise. “Ah…” she gasped softly.

The amount on the check was staggering. 

Lu Ming glanced at her, “You, I should demote you from being the office manager. You look so inexperienced. Next time, see if Brother Four can get this much for me.”

Wen Liangyu smiled wryly, “It’s not up to me. There are many who want to support Qianxing.”

Murong Xue, familiar with the boss’s temperament, didn’t feel reprimanded. She couldn’t help but look at the check again, counting the zeros. One million yuan—it was more than enough for the Eastern Sea district’s council campaign.

Lu Ming turned his attention to the note, which listed the donations. 

He frowned slightly, “What does Fila Petroleum mean by donating 300,000 to me? They don’t have any business in North Gate, and I don’t know their people.”

The largest donor was Rabi Fila, Vice President of Fila Petroleum, and the youngest son of the current head of the Fila family. Fila Petroleum, one of the empire’s three major oil companies, was a super company with assets exceeding ten billion.

Twenty years ago, the empire had its first ten-billion company, and even now, a ten-billion company was considered top-tier.

Wen Liangyu smiled, “I don’t know either. Maybe they see great potential in you, Qianxing. It’s an investment in the future.”

Lu Ming continued reading, “Hmm, Century Pictures, Gao Jingtai, 50,000 yuan. Chairman Gao is quite considerate.”

Although Century Pictures’ headquarters weren’t in North Gate, Lu Ming had saved his life, making this donation a form of repayment.

Lu Ming then laughed bitterly, “My brother Liu really doesn’t want to live comfortably.”

Liu Laocai donated 50,000 yuan, almost his entire year’s dividend from the New Era Mall. Considering all his expenses, this amount was impressive.

Lu Ming shook his head, “There should be a donation limit!”

Like a certain Western country, current political donations had no limits on individual contributions or total donations. Even when that country had limits, there were super committees that found legal loopholes, bypassing individual-to-candidate limits by pooling funds collectively. Later, the country’s Supreme Court ruled that donation limits were unconstitutional, abolishing them.

As he spoke, Lu Ming continued reading. Wen Liangyu’s donation totaled 65,000 yuan, rounding off the numbers nicely.

Lu Ming shook his head, “You all end up broke from being friends with me!”

Wen Liangyu laughed, “How could that be?”

Indeed, his social circle was expanding and improving, bringing closer his father’s lifelong dream of legitimizing their business. All these changes began after meeting this younger brother.

“Alright, Brother Four, I should get going! Need to check on Elder Qing.” Lu Ming stood up.

“Okay, come by often when you have time,” Wen Liangyu stood up to see him off.