Chapter 277: Voting—Worth a Try

During his conversation with Herbes, Lynch learned that Herbes’ purpose in bidding was simply not to miss out on reasonable profits. He even admitted having enough channels to quickly offload these items.

Compared to the relatively advanced Federation in technology, many regions were still very backward. Although these machines weren’t new or cutting-edge, to some underdeveloped countries they were quite powerful.

After talking for a while, Herbes got up to leave. He planned to visit other places before choosing a suitable location to establish his bank’s Baylor Federation branch.

He told Lynch that York State was not a good place—lacking the right atmosphere. Even Eminence didn’t seem suitable to him because of its heavy political climate.

Next, he would head south to check the situation there. If the environment was better, Lynch might see him in the south later.

Putting this minor matter aside, Lynch wasn’t sure if he had gained or lost. Emotionally, he had spent over a million more, which was hard to accept. But before leaving the Baylor Federation, he had met an international banker, which didn’t seem like a loss.

These international bankers played an extraordinary role in international trade and even financial warfare. They were the real capitalists, without national or factional loyalties, acting solely for profit.

They could lend any country’s currency to anyone without asking questions, even if it was to dismantle a force or a nation. As long as the borrower could pay high interest rates, these bankers would lend money—even to those wanting to overthrow a country.

If Lynch stayed within the Federation, these bankers were useless to him. But if he left, they would be very valuable.

On the third day, Lynch and Mark arrived at a city hall meeting room. The date had been set long ago to show the government’s efficiency to the public.

This was to stop citizens from constantly complaining that the city hall was wasting taxpayers’ money supporting idle staff. They mocked government workers without considering how much they themselves paid in taxes.

Granted, they paid much more than the wealthy, but that wasn’t a reason to belittle government workers’ abilities.

Three days after the bank auction ended, the government publicly opened a bidding process.

The bank had raised about four million in total from the auction. These funds would compensate workers disabled and unemployable due to chemical injuries from the Liston Group.

But the money wouldn’t be paid out all at once. According to regulations, these people had lost their work and living ability, and most had been abandoned by their families.

Giving large sums directly could harm them rather than help, so a third-party agency was needed to manage the funds. This also prevented potential corruption in city hall or other government bodies. There was no fairer way than third-party fund management with government supervision.

So the government opened a public tender, sharing data like the total funds raised and the number of people to be supported. Bidders only needed to submit plans on how they would use the funds.

The successful bidder, meeting city hall’s needs, would manage the money under city hall’s oversight.

At 9:40 a.m., Lynch and Mark sat in the meeting room, dressed sharply. Mark’s young female secretary, about twenty-three or twenty-four and sweet-looking, sat nearby.

It was obvious Mark treated her poorly—her clothes didn’t fit well, and she couldn’t afford new ones. Lynch noticed she couldn’t even afford proper underwear—a pitiful girl.

Mark asked uncertainly, “Can we win the bid?” He had been confident before, but seeing so many competitors—at least twenty or thirty institutions—he felt differently now.

He’d thought this was just a formality, that few would show and he could just claim the bid and leave. Instead, the competition was fierce.

This was no surprise given the money shortage everywhere. Suddenly hearing about millions to be managed attracted even inexperienced bidders.

After Mark’s question, he looked at Lynch. Lynch’s smile calmed him a bit.

“We can win, right?”

Lynch shook his head, making Mark nervous again.

“No, you’re wrong. It’s not we, it’s you. I’m just here with you.”

Indeed, Lynch was not listed among the shareholders of the private equity fund. None of the companies in the fund’s ownership were linked directly to him.

Lynch controlled the fund indirectly through multiple shell companies with overlapping shares. Even if some thought it odd he was both bidding heavily and managing the funds, they found no illegal evidence.

When Ferrell and the mayor’s secretary entered, the noise in the room stopped.

The mayor’s secretary announced the bid’s purpose, methods, and evaluation criteria, then answered questions before collecting proposals.

Some bidders modified their proposals on-site to better fit city hall’s details. This was common; as long as they submitted before leaving, it was fine.

The session ended quickly. Lynch and Mark left the room, with Ferrell following.

Lynch sensed Mark disliked Ferrell but dared not show it. Mark quickly found an excuse to leave.

Watching Mark’s retreating back, Ferrell shook his head.

“I’ve told the mayor many times that some things should be handled by professionals, but he only trusts Mark.”

Ferrell had warned the mayor repeatedly that Mark was not a competent asset manager and might cause unknown problems.

But the mayor thought differently. Mark was his nephew and held great control within the family, like a little king. The nephew dared not disobey him, unlike professional managers.

Professionals sometimes had other ideas and might interfere with the mayor’s work to push policies that increased asset value.

Everyone wants their money to grow, but these managers were risky—they could improve or worsen matters, with the latter more likely.

Also, the mayor didn’t want to publicly disclose these assets as his own. They were discreetly under Mark’s name. Though many assets legally belonged to Mark, they were still controlled by the mayor.

Professional managers couldn’t do this. If the mayor put assets under their names, they might run off.

Because of these reasons, when Ferrell mentioned Mark’s flaws, the mayor only humored him.

Sometimes the mayor scolded Mark; other times he ignored it. Ferrell thought this wasn’t good but couldn’t convince the mayor—this was why Mark disliked Ferrell.

Why didn’t Mark push back?

Because the mayor hated interference in his decisions, especially from Mark.

After some reflection, Ferrell and Lynch left city hall.

As they walked, Ferrell said, “Many of the things you said in Eminence have spread. Some say you’re a radical at heart, but others defend you. How did you convince them?”

Lynch’s words in Eminence were indeed radical for the current domestic situation, but some defended him, even finding reasons—that he was young, and young people must be somewhat radical, or they wouldn’t be young at all.People seemed to accept this view readily, turning radicalism into the courage of youth, which actually boosted Lynch’s image.

Lynch just smiled and shook his head without explaining. Behind this was Mr. Wadrick’s comment, which became the final word on what Lynch had said.

Mr. Wadrick wasn’t protecting Lynch; he was protecting himself. At least for the time being, he couldn’t let these things affect him. After all, Lynch appeared at the event with his daughter. If he allowed certain remarks to spread, his opponents or potential enemies might seize the chance to twist Lynch’s words and attitude as Wadrick’s own, which would be dangerous.

When Ferrell showed curiosity, Lynch smiled slightly. “Maybe I’m just likable. You know, being handsome always helps!”

Ferrell looked helpless. “You know, sometimes the things you say make people want to punch you!”

“I know. You’re jealous!”