Chapter 98: Morning 3 Evening 4

On Capitol Hill, Song Ya, who had made an appointment, applied for a temporary certificate, and passed through one checkpoint after another under strict security before arriving outside the office of Federal Congressman Underwood in the Capitol.

People in the corridor were chatting in low voices, or carrying thick documents, all walking in a hurry, no one was interested in his identity as a singer, even if they took a second look.

"Isn't this the heartland of America?"

Song Ya was thinking, "Come in, Senator Underwood is waiting for you." The thirty-year-old white man who led the way pushed open the door and let him in.

"Thank you, Mr. Stamp." Song Ya thanked him.

"Just call me Doug."

The capable Douglas Stamp is Underwood's most trusted assistant and think tank. When Song Yachu saw him, he misunderstood him as an agent of the Internal Revenue Service or the FBI. The kind of person who stares and observes the other party with cold eyes, and only wants to see through your falsehood.

In the Capitol where nine members of Congress and one senator can be hit by a brick, the office of the newly appointed Underwood Congressman is not big. The door is a small office, a female clerk sits in front of a typewriter, and then there is a simple The reception room and waiting room are just a few sofas, and there is a door at the end, which should be where Underwood works. The door is currently closed.

Wait a moment, Doug asked Song Ya to sit down on the sofa, knocked on the door, put his head in and said, "APLUS is here."

"Let him in!" Underwood's angry voice came out.

Song Ya stood up again, followed Doug and walked in.

In addition to Congressman Underwood, there were three black men and one white man sitting around his desk. At this moment, they all turned their heads to look at him.

"Hey, welcome to our star kid from Chicago." Underwood stood up and held out his hand with a smile.

"It's an honor to see you again, Mr. Underwood." Song Ya hurried forward to shake hands with him.

"You all know each other?" Underwood pointed to the four guests.

Song Ya could only recognize the two black people on the left, both of whom were Baptist pastors, and one of them had cooperated with Mira in promoting de Klerk, and had a great influence in the black community in South City. Leeson, and the other is the pastor of the church near the house in the former South City, the male god of Aunt Susie, named William.

"Hello, Pastor Allison, hello, Pastor William." Song Ya shook hands with them first, "Hello, hello." Then he shook hands with a black and a white who he didn't know on the right. Doug moved a chair, and he went to sit Down.

"Alexander, you haven't been to my church for a year?" William complained to him.

"Uh, this year is too busy, Pastor William, I will go, Connie asked him to be his child's godfather." Song Ya could only deal with it with words.

"Young people don't like church these days," Allison mumbled, before getting down to business.

Song Ya didn't understand the purpose of Underwood putting herself in, so she could only sit aside and wait.

After listening for a while, I roughly understood the purpose of the four people coming here. The black man on the right is the worker representative of the bus company, and the white man is the attorney representing the bus company. Because of the recent deterioration of public security in Nancheng, the bus drivers organized a strike and demanded Reduce shifts on dangerous road sections during the day and cancel some night shifts.

The two priests on the left are representatives of the residents of Nancheng, so they naturally disagree.

"The law and order in South City is getting worse and worse, and there are more and more poor people. If you agree to cancel the bus service, Congressman Underwood, our church will not endorse you next time you vote." Allison warned.

Song Ya knew that this was a very serious warning. "Endorsement" was originally an accounting term, meaning the transfer of bill rights, and was later extended to a political term. It probably means that an opinion leader expresses trust to a certain politician and calls for people to be influenced by him. Voters support.

There are a lot of people in Nancheng, the trade unions are not strong, and the gangs can't show it on the surface. Only religious leaders have the ability to appeal to voters, so the pastors in the slums are the targets of politicians. Underwood's endorsement will have a great impact on his future elections.

"Come on, Pastor Allison." Congressman Underwood's face didn't change, but he must have been a little flustered. He kicked the ball, "How can I manage this matter, the Chicago city government..."

"You can manage it, you have great energy, everyone knows it." Alison didn't like this.

Senator Underwood turned his gaze to the two on the right.

"Our bus drivers have expressed their demands very clearly." The union representative said, "Some shifts, especially night shifts, are gambling with their lives. Last month, a bus came back and found two bullet holes beside the fuel tank. , Two weeks ago, one of our workers was injured by some boys in the car, and the case has not been solved yet.”

"I'm going to contact the local police and have them..."

Congressman Underwood's words were interrupted again, "We don't count on the police anymore. Now our appeal is very simple. We go to work to earn hard money, and we don't come out to play our lives." The union representative said.

"well!"

Congressman Underwood sighed and looked at Song Ya, "APLUS, you are also a child of Nancheng, right? Give me some advice."

"how……"

Song Ya didn't expect the other party to mention his name, "I'm still in high school..." He played the old tricks with ease.

"Private middle school in the north of the city, a good school, and a good environment. He has long since lived in the south city." Pastor William knew him well, and he seemed to follow Aunt Susie's words.

Song Ya was embarrassed and looked at Underwood.

"You can freely express your opinion from the perspective of ordinary residents." Underwood waved at him, "COME ON! No one here will blame you for saying the wrong thing."

"Well……"

Song Ya thought about it in her heart. The current situation is not like the last time when Kenneth was arbitrated. Neither Old Joe nor Pablo could be offended. The driver's union has nothing to do with him.

"The law and order in Nancheng really needs to be improved." He said first.

"Everyone is working hard on this." Congressman Underwood replied.

"Then, emmmmm...there are many poor people in Nancheng, many families have no cars, and they can only rely on public buses for travel. I used to take them often. If there are no buses, many poor people who are inconvenient to travel can only take risks and find ways to get around. money to buy a car..."

Song Ya's words were nodded affirmatively by the two pastors, and the union representative was not happy, "It's inconvenient for them to travel, we have to fight with our lives."

"You're exaggerating," Mr. Underwood complained.

"It's nothing to say, if you don't agree, go on strike, and the union and its family members will no longer support you, Congressman Underwood." The other party also warned.

"Hey!" Pastor Alison was so angry that he rapped and ran out, "You can't be like this~ Your driver group is also from Nancheng? I know, many of you also live in Nancheng, I know."

"So? We didn't cause the law and order problem. Your pastor didn't do a good job of educating people."

"What can we do, young people, especially boys as old as APLUS never go to church, only women and old people come to hear sermons..."

On both sides, you and I agitated.

Listening to their quarrel, Song Ya's thoughts drifted away. He said that rapping seemed to come from the rhyming and rhythmic long speeches of black pastors when they preached. Like MC Hammer, who won the Grammy award before, his rapping style was influenced by the The pastor's influence is deep.

"Calm down, calm down." Congressman Underwood opened his hands, and managed to shut up both sides, "APLUS, what can you do? Doug?" He lay on the chair and looked at Song Ya and Doug.

Doug shrugged and said nothing.

"Your driver's focus is on personal safety, right?" Song Ya suddenly remembered a Chinese idiom, and when he had an idea, he nodded and looked at the two pastors, "The number of buses in Nancheng cannot be reduced..."

After receiving affirmative gestures from Allison and William, he said, "Isn't that very simple? Under the principle of not reducing the total number of bus trips, we can adjust the routes and the number of departures... In this way, I have stayed in Nancheng for ten times. A few years, as far as I know, after public school is over, students who missed the school bus have to wait too long for the bus. That line is safe, and the gangs will not make things difficult. We can reduce the number of trips on dangerous roads and increase The frequency of that line. There is also the bus that many poor people have to wait for half an hour or more after buying discounted goods before the supermarket closes. It can also be moved from the dangerous road to increase the frequency of that line..."

He talked eloquently, "There are other routes that can solve the practical difficulties of the residents, and gangs on those routes are not easy to fight, because there are women and children sitting next to their homes. Such a move, it seems The total number of shifts remains the same, and Pastor Allison and William can explain to the residents of Nancheng when they go back, but the number of night shifts and shifts on dangerous roads has actually been reduced, and the personal safety of drivers is also more assured.”

After finishing speaking, the two groups of people who were arguing just now fell silent at the same time, bowing their heads and calculating gains and losses.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! APLUS!" Councilor Underwood clapped his hands and laughed, "That's why I asked you to participate in the discussion! How about it?" He looked at both sides, "On this basis, we can talk about a solution ?"

The union representative and the lawyer looked at each other and nodded. The two pastors naturally had nothing to say. Women usually do the picking up of children and shopping for discounted goods, and these are their main audiences.

"You performed very well today, no wonder Claire praised you on the phone." Underwood sent the four of them away, and came back to put his arms around Song Ya's shoulders, "Why did you come here?"

Song Ya looked at Doug, and Doug stood up tactfully, but Underwood signaled no need, "Doug is the person I trust the most, so just say it."

Song Ya talked about the obstruction of the local councilors in the acquisition case.

"Uh..." Underwood rubbed his chin, "Small matter." He looked at Doug, "Did you hear what APLUS said just now?"

Doug nods.

"You help him with this," Underwood said.

That night, Doug rejected the invitation of Song Ya French Restaurant and chose to meet in a remote simple restaurant.

"Can you get a loan at the local First Bank of New Jersey?" he whispered.

"Okay, I'm just thinking about taking a loan..." Song Ya also answered in a low voice.

"How many?"

"I don't know yet, it depends on the acquisition..."

"At least two million, the more the better."

After Doug said this, he dropped the money for his simple meal and got up to leave.