Darkstone Code

Chapter 1267 - 1266: Don’t Ask Me About Such Trivial Matters

"What are you looking at?" The deputy officer of the Prime Minister asked as he looked at the Prime Minister standing by the window, unable to hold back his curiosity.

He had been standing there for a while; like an old man, it was not suitable for him to sit or stand for long periods. Adjustments needed to be orderly and regulated.

The Prime Minister’s deputy officer was the son of his sister’s husband’s brother’s son, with no real blood relation, but a rather close relationship.

The position of deputy officer, which lacked any definitive responsibility, allowed great freedom in selecting candidates. Most of the time, people chose those they trusted.

The Prime Minister paused for a moment, came back to his senses, returned to his desk, held onto the armrests of the chair, and slowly sat down.

"I’m thinking about the current weather and the issue of food scarcity."

He didn’t mention anything about the aristocracy; those words were too shocking, and even he couldn’t bear the consequences of them spreading now.

Currently, the aristocracy, which supported him in overthrowing the Imperial Family, demanded more power. He couldn’t help but recall Lynch’s words—

"Money or power, you can only choose one!"

Yes, that’s the Federation’s system; either you become a capitalist, or a politician, and whichever you choose requires a certain level of compromise.

This ensures the Federation’s political scene is, to some extent, cleaner than that of Gafura. Moreover, both sides must offer some benefits to ordinary people to contend for more interests.

This is vastly different from Gafura, where the aristocracy’s reach is excessively long.

They already possess significant power, yet they now want more money. This society isn’t their playground, nor can they manipulate it at will.

While talking to his deputy officer, the Prime Minister sowed a thought, a seed within his mind.

After abolishing the Imperial Family’s power, he would seek to strike against the aristocracy.

Of course, before this, he wouldn’t show his intentions, just like with the overthrow of the Imperial Family. He needed some people to help him; he needed to unite these people to make everything possible!

The trial of the Eldest Prince was the most concerning thing to the public lately, besides the new round of trade negotiations with the Federation.

According to official statements, Gafura planned to import some grain from the Federation to ease people’s anxiety about the food supply shortage.

People strongly supported such action by Gafura’s Prime Minister’s Cabinet: after all, compared to filling their stomachs, other matters became less important.

The weather was getting colder, and people were getting hungrier. Hunger wasn’t just a problem for one country; it was a global issue.

The dramatic climate changes dealt a destructive blow to some plants. Perhaps, after just a few winters, some plants would completely vanish from this world as if they never existed.

Of course, this wasn’t absolute; perhaps they would also adapt to better face this world.

Gafura’s people were not eating enough, and the Federation’s people might not truly be well-fed either.

The effect of the Great Depression hadn’t completely dissipated. Although the employment rate had improved compared to years ago, it still was not close to its peak.

In mid-November, the Federation released its third-quarter data, showing an unemployment rate around nine percent, significantly better than the peak of twenty percent!

From the perspective of economic growth and infrastructure, the Federation had developed quite well this year. The President has recently been smiling all the time.

He always greeted people cheerfully; some said he was the most down-to-earth President in the Federation’s history, close to the people.

Others felt he lacked presidential vigor and struggled to exert any pressure on other leaders in foreign diplomacy.

Opinions varied, but no matter what one said, it was hard to harbor animosity against a President who appeared amiable.

Everyone had their job. The President’s duty was to appear on TV and fill people with confidence for the future.

After a televised event ended, the President returned to his estate.

Soon, the Governor elections would begin, with the air of campaign fervor at its peak in each state, coupled with the arrival of New Year, ensuring an exceptionally lively biennial event.

This time, the President also supported a gubernatorial candidate. Being informed by high-ranking committee members within his party, he was pleased to do this.

At the scene, he said a few words, earning himself a good deal of face.

The job of being President was actually easier than people imagined. Even those with limited abilities could fulfill this role; after all, they just needed to listen to smart people summarize things for them, then decide to sign or not sign.

He changed into casual homewear, sat on the sofa, and turned on the TV, asking the butler if anyone had called him.

He was always thinking about that matter. He couldn’t make Gafura’s Emperor call to express gratitude, but having Gafura’s Prime Minister call shouldn’t be a problem.

This scene would inevitably be written into both history books and political history.

Indeed, it was the first time ever!

A call made from the Main Island to Gafura, with the highest leader expressing thanks personally.

Facing Gafura’s people, the Federation always unconsciously lowered its head, especially since this place was once genuinely just a dumping ground for Gafura’s exiled prisoners.

Moreover, with the first batch of Federation immigrants almost all coming from Gafura, the two non-adjacent countries had an incredibly subtle relationship.

The origin of lowering their head indicated the Federation had entirely shed Gafura’s influence here, becoming a genuine, standalone nation with no ties to Gafura!

This was a tempting prospect for every leader.

And this would be realized during his tenure. He eagerly anticipated this phone call and was ready with a recording device.

At that point, he’d "accidentally" let it leak, letting more people hear Gafura’s Prime Minister express gratitude to him!

Thinking about it made him slightly excited.

However, unfortunately, the butler didn’t have the answer he wanted, "Not yet... sir."

The President momentarily felt deflated. He waved his hand, "Notify me immediately if there’s a call."

He spoke while turning on the TV; after all, the President was human too, and he needed time to rest and entertain himself.

The First Lady had been busy with her foundation lately, capitalizing on the cold weather to solicit a lot of donations from the capitalists supporting the President. She and a group of officials’ wives undertook fundraising and assistance activities across the regions.

He was alone, feeling very relaxed.

Just after the TV was turned on, the butler coughed quietly. The President muted the TV and looked back at him, "You’re so close to me; you shouldn’t have a cold, right?"

The deeper meaning behind his words was "If you caught a cold, kindly get away from me now," which was understandable given that colds were high-risk deadly diseases, very unfriendly to older people.

"Certainly not, sir..." The butler smiled a little, not taking it as an insult but as a mode of conversation between friends.

Only between friends would calling each other "fool" not be offensive because that’s what friends do.

The butler and the President were childhood companions, with the butler’s father having served as a butler to the President’s father, a legacy handed down through generations.

The two were more like brothers, even more so than the President’s actual brothers could reassure him.

He looked at the butler, "So what matter is so pressing that you must interrupt my TV time?"

"Although I am President, I need to relax!"

Quickly, the butler provided him the answer, "Director Bonny..." Seeing the President’s confused expression, he immediately explained.

"He’s the Bupen FBI’s Director, not the Director General, but the local Director there..."

"Someone reported that You’Er Mei is suspected of indirectly engaging in escort services, which was reported by someone. The local police transferred the case to the FBI; they’re unsure if it should proceed..."

The President’s initial response was "This still needs my input?" But then he realized, "Whose property is You’Er Mei?"

If the FBI Director was cautious, the shareholders of You’Er Mei must not be ordinary.

Indeed, the butler provided an unexpected answer—

"Mr. Lynch’s mother, sir."

Lynch was assisting the President in getting Gafura’s Prime Minister to yield; although this wasn’t about yielding, the President and those who knew about it all felt it was.

Just thinking about this gets them excited, so anything related to Lynch is sensitive during this period.

That included people connected to Lynch.

Frowning, the President questioned, "They’re engaging in flesh trading under the guise of other services?"

His tone was filled with incredulous surprise, believing that with Lynch being so wealthy, his mother wouldn’t be too poor to resort to such trade.

Then the butler explained, "No, after exercising, people have an opposite-gender massage relaxation session to relax all their muscles."

"Sometimes... some offerings might slightly border on inappropriate."

The President directly asked, "Do they truly engage in such acts?"

The butler shook his head again, "No, as far as I know, at least in the gym, they don’t do such things, there’s a standard in place."

After hearing this, the President waved his hand, "Then ignore such complaints. These sorts of things occur every year; some people just feel bad seeing others making money."

"And even if at strip clubs the men slide... into the... brick... it wouldn’t be considered escort services, let alone here where there’s no substantial action."

The President lowered his voice slightly, "Inform them they can investigate, but let’s not wrongfully accuse any legitimate businessman, none of us want to witness that!"

"If there’s nothing else, I’m off to watch TV."

The butler shook his head, "No other matters, then I’ll step out for a bit, should anything arise..."

Turning back towards the TV, the President said, "I’ll call you, hurry up and go; you’re wasting a lot of my time. It’s movie night today!"