"Finally, I can take a breather."
In the May Meeting office, Houston breathed a long sigh of relief, looking depressed but somewhat relaxed.
The past two months have been as difficult as living in hell for him.
The economy completely collapsed, unemployment soared, and violent cases occurred frequently. On several occasions, large-scale group activities broke out on the streets, and even the action departments under the May Party were forced to take to the streets to suppress them.
It can be said that this society is just a little bit away from completely stopping and collapsing.
But fortunately, the foundation accumulated over decades saved his life and extended the collapse time to more than a month.
Subsequently, the operation in Iraq was also a great success. The rise in oil prices and the overwhelming media propaganda finally stabilized social expectations and stopped the trend of continuing to slide into the abyss.
Of course, the situation is still not optimistic.
Countless factories have shut down and gone bankrupt, social and economic activities have severely slowed down, and prices of daily necessities have generally increased. In some states, there has even been an extreme shortage of supplies in supermarkets.
For the May Party and for this country, the bleeding from the arteries has indeed stopped.
But how to promote wound healing and return to a healthy state is the biggest challenge.
Looking at Houston's expression, the assistant on the side also sighed, and then said:
"We have a chance to breathe, but this is only temporary."
"Our opponents have taken advantage of this opportunity and started running wildly to plunder what originally belonged to us. If we don't take countermeasures as soon as possible, it is very likely that we will directly fall into the dilemma of 'slow suffocation'."
"But we don't have the ability."
Houston said in a low voice.
"We have absolutely no way to fight them now."
"Look at their strategies, from finance, to infrastructure, to basic living security, and even arms exports."
"I even suspect that they have been waiting for this day for decades, just waiting to seize the opportunity of our laxity and play all the cards in their hands."
“Everything went so smoothly, it was impeccably smooth.”
"indeed so."
The assistant nodded in agreement and then said:
"But maybe we don't have a chance?"
"What they can do, we can do too."
"Infrastructure can drive their economic development, and it can also drive our economic development."
"How can it be!"
Houston interrupted the assistant mercilessly, then frowned and criticized:
"Are you stupid? Their situation is completely different from ours. There are significant differences in terms of national geographical environment, resource environment, and population environment."
"They can build railways, should we also build railways? They build road transportation networks, should we also build road transportation networks? They build bridges, but we also want to build bridges. Where can we build them? The Grand Canyon??"
"This is not the same thing at all. Our population is too small. Investing in infrastructure construction is simply not worth the gain. It will not only fail to promote economic development, but will further narrow our survival channels."
After a pause, Houston continued:
"Besides, we don't have that much money."
"It is impossible for the state governments below to agree to such a plan."
Hearing this, the assistant shook his head and replied:
"No, they will definitely agree."
"What's the meaning?"
Houston asked confused.
For a moment, he couldn't figure out what his assistant was thinking.
Although he is reliable most of the time, under some special circumstances, he always comes up with some strategies that make him jaw-dropping.
It cannot be said that those strategies are completely useless, it can only be said that most of them are paths that have never been imagined.
If you take that route in this country, you are truly making a fool of yourself with your own life.
Looking at Houston's suspicious eyes, the assistant did not flinch at all, but looked at him calmly and said at the same time:
"The infrastructure I'm talking about is not infrastructure that completely plagiarizes China's strategies."
"Of course, we could build bridges and build roads, but like you said, that doesn't make sense."
"All we need is a key point to stimulate the economy, and that key point doesn't lie with us, it lies with them."
"Or to put it more bluntly, we should export a value: what they can do, we can do, and we can do better."
"Only in this way can we fundamentally boost national confidence and restore the vitality of the financial market."
"You know that finance is the backbone of our country. If finance fails to recover, then we will really fail to recover."
"Understood."
Houston's eyes lit up.
“So, you’re saying that infrastructure is just a cover, and that it’s essentially a propaganda operation?”
"That's understandable."
Houston leaned back in his chair. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly asked:
“Will Congress support this strategy?”
"We're already financially strapped right now, and I doubt it would be very difficult to get their support for a, um, billboard-style project like this."
"No, they will definitely support it."
The assistant said firmly.
"Because, it must be part of the strategy."
"In previous speeches, the president has already mentioned the need to boycott Chinese products and build our own basic industry."
"That means we have to start this strategy from the most basic aspects."
"You can submit this proposal and I believe it will be passed soon."
"Understood."
Houston nodded slightly, then he took out a cigarette from the drawer and brought it to his mouth.
The flames flickered and smoke slowly rose.
He frowned, deducing more details in his mind.
This is indeed a good strategy, but where exactly do you start and which industry do you start with?
It must be both practical and topical enough to cause sufficient discussion in this country and even the world.
Build an airport?
No, the current airports across the United States can no longer be said to be sufficient, but even a bit redundant, and the economic value is really poor.
Build a bridge? You can’t blow up the Golden Gate Bridge and rebuild it again, right?
Building roads?
Highway projects obviously don't make much sense unless it's rail
High-speed rail?
Houston perked up.
He looked at the map hanging on the wall, and a bold idea came to his mind.
Maybe it’s time to repair the high-speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco
A few days later, by the Hudson River in New York.
Houston stood nervously among the crowd, his eyes fixed on the president who was making preparations in the distance, and his hand had already been placed on the holster on his waist.
In fact, he also knew that the probability of an unexpected situation was very small, but there was no way around it. This speech was so important that even though he had participated in countless similar actions, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
——
After all, not long ago, the president was attacked during a public speech. Although he was not seriously injured, and the person who hit him with a prosthetic leg was duly punished, this incident has become a roundabout incident. A stain that will never pass.
Even that brand of prosthetics have been enthusiastically sought after, and many ordinary people with no physical disabilities have rushed to buy them, clamoring to hit the president on the head during his next public speech to show support for the veteran.
Today, there were indeed quite a few people at the scene with prosthetic limbs. The security personnel cleared the area several times before finally driving these people out.
Even if the rest are not all supporters, at least they will not be extremists.
Thinking of this, Houston breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, the president not far away suddenly waved to him.
He quickly stepped forward and stood aside with a humble expression, waiting for the other party to speak first.
"Houston, you did a good job this time."
“Both the planning itself and the organization of this event showed your ability.”
"If you can continue to maintain this level in your future work, I believe it won't be long before you can go even further."
After hearing the president's words, Houston quickly raised his head and replied:
"thank you, sir."
"This is not due to me alone, but"
"Okay, no need to say this."
The president waved his hand to interrupt him, and then continued:
"This time, we have received support from several investment institutions in advance and are fully prepared in terms of funds."
"At the same time, the various state governments involved in the project have also clearly expressed their support."
"It can be said that the difficulty of the project has been basically eliminated, and what is left is the specific project management work."
"So, I propose that from now on, the May Council will take over the project."
"You are responsible for the project, and at the same time, you will also receive the benefits of project completion."
"If this project can be made into a successful model, you know what I mean."
A look of excitement that could not be concealed appeared on Houston's face. He nodded solemnly and replied:
"I understand, I will arrange everything!"
"I can rest assured that."
The president sighed and then said:
"Actually, you did much better than Paine."
"He faced much easier situations before you, and yet he screwed it all up."
"And you, in such an environment, can help me recover my losses more than once, which is really rare."
"You are working very hard, and you should know why it is so hard."
"Now, Paine is still retiring in Texas. Maybe you should talk to him face to face about some things."
Houston looked solemn, he already understood what the president meant.
But before he could answer, the president on the side had already straightened his tie and stepped onto the podium.
In an instant, the scene was filled with noisy sounds.
There were cheers, boos, screams, and loud questions, but most of all, there was the hum of discussion.
Houston couldn't hear the discussion, but he could guess what they were saying without even using his brain.
"Is this plan serious? Is it really necessary to build a high-speed railway?"
"What good does building a railway do to us? Why not give the money so we can buy bread?"
"Will the state government support it? I hope they don't become slaves to the federal government."
"I don't want railroads, I just want jobs."
"If the railway is built, there will be jobs."
That's all.
Houston shook his head subconsciously, feeling secretly contemptuous.
In fact, he knows that what these people care about is nothing more than bread for breakfast and steak for dinner.
The country is on the brink of crisis, but they still turn a blind eye and see no sign of unity.
What would happen to such stupid lambs if they were not led by a wise shepherd?
Maybe, it will quickly degenerate and become a piece of loose sand.
While he was deep in thought, the president's speech had already begun.
".Yes, the crisis has come to an end for the time being."
"Here, I can proudly tell my people that with our joint efforts, this financial crisis that could destroy any country in the world has stopped in front of the Statue of Liberty."
"The economy is improving and the financial market is recovering. Although we still face short-term problems of rising prices and lack of jobs, I believe these problems will be solved soon."
"--However, before we can get through this completely, we have to ask a question."
"What is the cause of this difficulty?"
"There are many answers to this question."
"Overheated real estate, overly aggressive financial industry, hollowed-out industry, lack of factories, workers, and infrastructure."
"Every answer does have a certain degree of rationality."
"But if we explore deeper, we have to admit a helpless and infuriating fact."
"We are being kidnapped."
As soon as these words were spoken, the people below the podium immediately fell silent.
They seemed to have never heard such a point of view.
Kidnapped?
Who were we kidnapped by?
The great United States of America will also be kidnapped?
The president looked at the people's reaction with satisfaction. Then he continued to look at the prompt board and said:
"Perhaps, you already have doubts in your hearts."
"Perhaps, you would like to ask: Who kidnapped us?"
"Then, now, I'm going to give you the answer."
"People, my dear countrymen!"
"Go and take a look at where the products that are necessary for daily life in the supermarket come from!"
"Go and take a look at those ships that are constantly flowing on the river, where they are going!"
"Go and look at the faces of the passengers on those passenger planes that fly halfway around the world!"
"Go and take a look at who the shareholders are in the company you work for!"
"There is only one answer."
"China."
"Yes, they have infiltrated every aspect of our lives."
"If you are a housewife, then for every dinner plate and knife you buy, $10 or more of profit flows to China."
"If you are an employee, then every output value you create must be distributed to China's shareholders."
"Not just you, your daughter, your wife, your husband."
"It's not just business, in fact, every coin you spend will be divided by them!"
Hearing this, the crowd below instantly became excited.
They may have been vaguely aware of the connection between China's economy and them in their past lives, but no one has ever said it so frankly in public.
And now, the person telling this fact is the president.
Then the authenticity cannot be doubted.
For the first time, they realized that their connection with China had actually reached this deep level.
Obviously, this financial crisis must be related to them.
In an instant, a sound like a roaring mountain and a tsunami sounded.
A smile appeared on the president's face, and then he raised his hand to make a downward gesture and continued:
"Of course, we are tolerant."
“We are not only tolerant, we are also rational.”
"We know that if the world wants to develop, exchanges and cooperation between countries are inevitable."
"So, we allow them to do business here and are willing to provide them with corresponding conveniences."
"--but they shouldn't do everything."
"There are some things that we should do ourselves."
"So, starting from today, we want to take back what belongs to us!"
"We want to produce our own kitchen supplies, we want to form our own companies, we want to build our own railways!"
"We don't need their so-called 'help', even if we only rely on ourselves, we can definitely do it!"
"And the high-speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco will be our first war!"
"This war will be participated entirely by ourselves, and it will not have any Chinese elements!"
"There is no smoke or flames of war here, but it will be equally intense."
"Once we fail, we will be doomed."
"But... we will definitely win!"
Once again, the place erupted into a frenzy of enthusiasm.
The initial discussion had been completely replaced by cheers, and even Houston's face showed an excited look.
This is indeed an inspiring speech.
Once it is broadcast, the effect of this project will be infinitely magnified.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile.
At this time, a large ship passed by on the Hudson River.
The whistle sounded, which seemed to bring this speech to the strongest movement.
Everyone was drawn to the ship—that was all part of the plan.
The people marveled at the powerful sense of power displayed by the giant ship, and their confidence in the high-speed rail project has also risen to the extreme.
——
However, at this moment.
A strong wind blew across the Hudson River.
The gust of wind took away the mask covering the giant wheel.
The next second, Houston's expression changed drastically.
Because, after the mask came off, four characters were clearly revealed under the mask.
"Zhenhua Heavy Industries".
(End of chapter)
