Lynch stood on the steps, looking at these two young people he knew so well. Seeing their appearances at this moment, he couldn’t help but laugh.
"Looks like you’re doing well, Noel, Fern." He walked down the steps and gave them a hug under their surprised gazes.
This was a gesture Lynch rarely displayed. He usually just shook hands with people and seldom embraced them. Firstly, because hugging is a way of expressing closeness, and secondly, this gesture is not suitable for everyone.
But the Green brothers were different. Strictly speaking, they were Lynch’s "sons" because when the adoption papers were processed, he had to go through the Federation’s existing adoption procedure, which meant adopting children or elderly rather than just acknowledging them as younger brothers.
The Federation’s judicial process can sometimes be very rigid. In the beginning, it completely could have allowed Lynch to become a sponsor for those orphanage kids or recognize them as younger siblings. His willingness to shoulder these social responsibilities was his business, and the social services bureau shouldn’t have blocked him.
But the social services bureau told him that if he wanted to take these people out of the orphanage, he had to adopt them. According to the existing laws and interpretations used by the Federation, adoption only falls into two categories.
First, adopting children.
Some couples can’t have biological offspring due to physiological reasons, but they still want children. Adoption becomes their best option. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝙣𝙚𝙩
Of course, some people found opportunities within this. They would adopt a child almost every few years, thereby defrauding the government for special allowances. Some even turned this into an industry chain.
Regardless, the first type of adoption is when elders adopt adoptees as their foster children or juniors.
The second is adopting elderly individuals.
Such cases do exist: some genuinely wish to shoulder social responsibilities or compensate for certain emotional deficiencies. The Federation is never short of bizarre people.
The existence of such rules in the social services bureau suggests that someone must have taken such a case to court, prompting legislation.
Adopting the elderly isn’t always well-intentioned either. Some, like professional child adopters, adopt elderly individuals who are near death or suffer from severe illnesses. When these elderly individuals drop dead within the next few months, these adopters can receive a funeral fee and some additional subsidies or even insurance from the government.
With minimal costs, they can have the elderly’s bodies cremated through certain channels and then dump them somewhere without even preparing a grave.
Adopting the elderly is like a gamble, but one with high odds of winning.
Orphanages are not all welfare, nor are they all sunshine. Where there’s profit, it attracts attention, even if doing so will stain one’s hands with blood.
Not discussing these societal issues, adoption includes adopting children or accepting them as one’s elders, but never has one heard of adopting peers. Thus, the social services bureau offered Lynch only two paths to choose from.
Either he becomes these children’s daddy, or they become his daddy. As for age, that’s a different issue altogether.
With the principle of "if I’m not their daddy, who could be?", Lynch became these children’s "foster father" in legal terms. Naturally, this brought him closer to these youths.
Noel is the elder brother, slightly older. He’s wearing a finely crafted suit, with a red and off-white checked waistcoat, a blue starlight-patterned tie, and a long trench coat over it. A black jazz hat with a red ribbon under the hat band gives off a very spirited, competent, and vintage aura.
Fern is the younger brother, slightly shorter, dressed almost identically to Noel, only with some color differences. Noel’s clothes are dominated by darker and red tones, while Fern’s are darker and blue. Notably, his tie is a red-coated starlight-patterned style, the complete opposite of Noel’s.
Standing together, their seven-point resemblance reached nine due to these clothes.
Besides these, the most crucial was their demeanor. They no longer seemed like they were still struggling to adapt to their current life as when Lynch had left; they seemed to have adapted.
Lynch patted their arms, "How have things been in the city recently?"
Noel nodded, "Everything’s alright, no major problems. We have people keeping an eye on things every day."
Lynch was pleased with their responsible attitude toward work. While he was away, he couldn’t take care of the situation here, so he had to rely on them.
Lynch planned to send that guy Richard to Gafura. Since he loved money so much and wanted to work alone, Lynch would give him the chance to create his glorious life in Gafura.
Vera mainly handled the total flow of funds, and being a woman, also had to take care of children. Her personality wasn’t tough enough to manage those disruptive people for Lynch; only the Green brothers were suitable.
"I heard you often get into fights?" Lynch suddenly asked.
The brothers exchanged a glance. Noel ultimately decided to tell the truth, knowing well that in this city, nothing could be hidden from Lynch.
"Yes, Mr. Lynch. Some people took our raw materials and machinery and sold them off. If we don’t do something, soon everyone will mimic them, and your business will run into problems."
Lynch nodded, "You did well; I won’t blame you. It’s just that your methods have some issues. Come, let’s talk while we walk. It’s a bit cold here."
Fern carried Lynch’s suitcase, glanced at the Senior Soldier not far behind, and caught up with Lynch and Noel in a few steps.
"In the Federation, intentional injury is a felony. Regardless of the severity of the consequences you cause, the jury won’t side with you. So you can’t confront them so directly."
"But physical collisions are different. For instance, if you ’accidentally’ ran into those people while running..." Lynch pressed a spot on Noel’s waist, causing him to bend over, struggling to recover his breath.
This was a move Lynch had learned in the little room. A truly ruthless person wouldn’t use fists against others’ hardest bones but would also control their destructiveness.
"See, I didn’t even use much force. Remember this spot, when you use your shoulder to hit someone here during a fast run, there’s a high chance they might experience a spleen rupture, and you..."
Lynch shrugged, "Just happened to bump into a passerby on the street while in pursuit. Any other accusations, I’ll have a lawyer arranged to help you or your men handle them. But remember, we’re businessmen; we don’t do illegal things!"
Noel finally stood up straight after several deep breaths, not entirely upright though. The intense pain from a moment ago turned into waves of cramp-like aches, making every breath hurt.
It was getting better, but if he straightened up completely, the pain was still present.
He nodded, sweating coldly, "Yes, I understand, Mr. Lynch."
Lynch patted his shoulder, "Scientists tell us that pain can very effectively help us transform events into memories. I hope you remember this."
As they spoke, they reached the roadside, still some distance from Ferrari. Lynch stopped, taking back the suitcase from Fern’s hand, looking at the two brothers, "Let me say it once more. We are merchants; we don’t do illegal things, but this world encounters many accidents every day."
"Street chase injuries, car losing control, falling objects, accidents happen daily. I have enough financial power to prove to society that accidents are just accidents. But I can’t reverse right and wrong, making people indifferent to criminal acts. Do you understand what I mean?" he slightly tilted his head, looking at the two half-grown kids.
They nodded together, "Yes, Mr. Lynch, we understand."
"Great, I’ll have Vera allocate some company shares to you. You’re about ready to have your businesses now!" He paused, giving the two brothers some time to digest these words, "Mr. Ferrari and I have some personal matters to discuss. I appreciate you coming to pick me up, giving me a sense of homecoming. Let’s talk about other matters tomorrow or the day after."
Saying this, he opened his arms and hugged the two youths again, then they parted ways, with Lynch getting into the car by the roadside.
Once seated and the car door closed, isolating him from the outside temperature, Lynch instantly felt much warmer.
The car had already started, with Ferrari personally at the wheel, his expression focused, like a true driver.
But he’s ultimately not a true driver, and he’s soon to become the city’s mayor.
"How’s the campaign going?" he asked casually while taking off his hat and gloves, which made him feel bulky.
"The issue isn’t severe. Thanks to your help, the situation we’re facing is much better than before. The Governor is very pleased; they believe the opportunity is significant."
A substantial portion of the merchants Lynch hosted in Mengwu Province came from Sabin City. These merchants start to reinvest in production there, prompting banks to somewhat loosen their attitude towards them. Additionally, with Lynch’s help, Jinhuo is willing to issue an extra batch of start-up credit loans for them, which indirectly improves the situation in Sabin City and throughout the state.
Even in dire situations, people can’t perceive changes if things worsen, since the situation is already terrible. But even a slight improvement would immediately be noticed.
Because there, even the tiniest improvement is like light piercing into the Abyss!
The polls are the most direct feedback. It can’t be said that victory is certain, but winning shouldn’t be difficult.
Lynch curled his lips and then focused his attention on Ferrari, "And what about you?"