People in Terra, governing a weird little country

He has been waiting for this moment!

Ernst nodded and stated:

"Mr. Jeston, I am assuming that you are the manager of a commercial street in Kjerag. Sintreya, don't laugh. Who cares if it exists or not? Suppose you are Kjerag... Never mind. It's a bit strange. You are the manager of a commercial street in Columbia. The situation in this street is very complicated."

"It is simply divided into a pyramid. The bottom layer is ordinary vendors. They run businesses, pay taxes legally, and pay protection fees to gangs. The second layer is local gangs. They will collect protection fees from vendors, but will also help you maintain law and order in the neighborhood and pay tribute to you. The top layer is you. You have absolute force in this commercial street and can suppress vendors or gangs at will. But you have to compete with other commercial streets, otherwise you will lose the next manager election and have nothing."

"Now, the story begins."

Ernst paused, waited for Jeston to sort out his thoughts, and continued:

"One day, something happened in the commercial street under your jurisdiction."

"The protagonist of the incident is a store manager in your commercial street. He opened his store with 10 yuan of material costs and earned 100 yuan. 30 yuan was paid for rent, utilities, 20 yuan for taxes, 10 yuan for protection fees, and 40 yuan was left. He thought that was his hard-earned money."

"But suddenly one day, a strange merchant who had never seen him before opened a store next to his store. He was quite honest, or full of justice, and sold the same things for 50 yuan, so customers liked him."

"But the shop owner knew very well that his neighbors could not afford the water, electricity, taxes and protection fees at this price. He thought that his protection fee should not be paid in vain, so at this time, he contacted the local gang."

"The local gang was going to smash up the store, but before they could do anything, you heard about it."

Ernst stared into Jeston's eyes and asked word by word:

"If it were you at this moment, what would you do?"

Chapter 114 I will encourage him

"What would you do at this time?"

Jeston frowned. Just like last time, Ernst gave him a "short answer question" that looked like a "multiple choice question".

As a leader in Columbia’s business streets, what would I do if this happened in my district?

The first thing that came to Jason's mind was to investigate. He had to get to the bottom of the situation in that store!

According to the requirements given by Ernst, after paying the full amount of rent, water, electricity and taxes, he would definitely not be able to survive even if the store did not pay any protection fees at all.

Because he only sold it for fifty yuan, and the rent, water, electricity and taxes were enough to offset the income, not to mention the cost of the product which was ten yuan.

He suffered a net loss of these ten dollars!

No shop can afford such losses - not only is it impossible to make a profit, but it may even lose money.

Merchants are profit-driven, so there must be something wrong with the nature of this shop.

After confirming his actions, he said:

"Prime Minister Ernst, I think if I were the manager of this commercial street, I would prioritize investigating the background of this shop and where its owner came from."

Ernst nodded.

Jeston was right. For a superior, even if he possesses absolute military power, rash action is certainly not the best option. The correct way is to start an investigation immediately.

And Ernst was generous, he didn't care about the "time issue", that is, the investigation takes time, and the gang's actions may take place at any time, but Jeston did not react and try to stop the gang.

He continued:

"So, your investigation revealed that the owner of this store is indeed an outsider and is suspected of being a spy. What are you going to do next?"

Next?

Jeston was stunned, not quite understanding what Ernst meant. "Since we already know he's a spy, then next, I can just use force to suppress him and arrest the store manager, right?"

Ernst did not answer immediately, but asked meaningfully: "Are you sure?"

As we all know, the least confident moment for a person is when a teacher or interviewer asks you "Are you sure?" after you have given an answer that you think is correct.

Jeston was no exception. He was instantly shaken and immediately changed his answer:

"No, I'll just let the local gang handle it. There's no need for me to do this kind of thing myself."

Ernst still kept smiling and asked again: "Are you sure?"

Jeston hesitated, then nodded slowly.

He couldn't think of anything wrong with this approach. The gang was planning to take action anyway, and it had nothing to do with him. Even if the managers of other commercial streets behind the spy store wanted to investigate, he could just ask the gang to hand over a small leader to take the blame. The managers of other commercial streets were doing shameful things, and they certainly wouldn't want to make a big deal out of it. How could he lose anything?

But Ernst's next words shattered his fantasy of perfection.

He said slowly:

"So, because the gang attacked, smashed the store, and beat up the store manager, the store closed down a few days later."

"However, a few days later, news about gang members in a shopping street in Colombia wantonly smashing up stores also made the headlines. Because safety was not guaranteed, fewer and fewer tourists came to your shopping street to shop. Because your performance was too poor, you failed in the next shopping street manager election. Your status as shopping street manager was taken away by someone else, and you have nothing since then."

"Game over. Mr. Jeston."

Ernst calmly told the ending. Jeston's face was full of disbelief.

His lips trembled, but he couldn't speak.

Because this outcome is very reasonable. Allowing the gangs to do it can indeed achieve the purpose of expelling the spies who disrupt the market, but the problem of disorderly public security will also be exposed. There are so many commercial streets in Colombia and the competition is so fierce. No customer with money in his pocket would be willing to go shopping in a commercial street with chaotic public security.

If this continues for a long time, the decline of the commercial street will become inevitable, and his resignation will be a natural consequence.

But what else could he do? Would he do it himself?

Perhaps seeing what Jeston was thinking, Ernst immediately added: "You can be sure that he is an outsider, but he is only suspected of being a spy, and there is no solid evidence. If we suppress him directly, there is no doubt that expelling foreign investors and making the commercial street market exclusive is also a very bad thing."

Jason was completely stunned.

It's not okay to let the gang do it, and it's not okay to do it yourself. Are we just going to leave this spy alone? Just watch him disrupt the market order? Watch him force the surrounding merchants to stop doing business?

Jeston couldn't understand it. It was just a small business. Why would it be so troublesome to deal with it?

But after a lot of puzzlement, he suddenly realized that since his answer did not satisfy Ernst, then his job was not...

"Mr. Jeston, you're accepted."

Ernst stood up with a smile and, in front of Jeston's astonished gaze, extended his hand to him.

"But I'm not..." Jeston was still a little confused.

But Ernst shook his head: "No, I am already satisfied that you can give this answer."

It is already very good to know to investigate first, think twice before acting, and realize that when doing such bad things, it is best not to implicate yourself so as not to leave any handle.

The way to be an official is to think of danger, change and retreat. Jeston is aware of two of them. At least in the position of Prime Minister's Guard, he is already competent.

Jeston stood up excitedly and shook Ernst's hand.

He really wanted this job and was extremely grateful for Ernst's appreciation.

But in the midst of his excitement, that question still lingered in his mind.

Before leaving the office, he looked at Ernst deeply, his eyes full of admiration.

He knew that Ernst must have an answer. Although, as he said, the answer might not be unique, he must have an answer that was better than his own.

"This is the gap between me and Prime Minister Ernst."

"In the future, I will have a lot to learn in Kjerag!"

Jeston left the office, and now only Hinterea and Ernst were left in the room.

During the interview, Xinteleya did not speak, but she also witnessed the entire interview process and was also thinking about the question raised by Ernst.

To be honest, her thoughts were very superficial, even more superficial than Jason's.

After hearing the topic, her first reaction was - isn't the store owner destroying the market?

Just like the knight competition, originally, the knight competition organized by the Business Federation was for retired knights who were living in poverty. The main focus was also a fist-to-flesh fight, and the martial arts of the knights that could only be seen on the battlefield in the past. The selling point was passion and violence, with a touch of blood.

If you must say it, it is just like the Roman Colosseum in the history of the earth.

But later on, some unknown genius suddenly invented "spectacular knight competition".

That is, abandon those bloody competitions that may make people feel physically uncomfortable and are not suitable for children and women to watch, and instead let a group of handsome men and beautiful women go on stage, wear armor that is more beautiful than defensive, hold swords and spears that are more beautiful than piercing, use martial arts that are more fancy than practical, and match Originium skills with special effects more than attack power, and have a real-life fashion show on the stage.

Such "competition" is simply an insult to the sanctity of the word "competition".

However, it really became popular, not only being liked by the general public, but also becoming popular abroad, and eventually gradually replaced the original form of knight competition.

The final result is that the retired knights became unemployed again, and knight competitions evolved into what they are today, with the majority of knight competitions being for entertainment purposes, while knight competitions that test strength have become "more strenuous performances", with fake matches emerging in an endless stream.

In the past, such competitions could only be seen in a few infected arenas or underground black competitions.

Wait....what's wrong?

Hinterea seemed to realize something and looked at Ernst.

Ernst didn't have the ability to read minds, so he didn't know what Xinteleya was thinking just now, but when Xinteleya looked at him with surprise and confusion, he more or less guessed what Xinteleya wanted to ask.

"You want to know what I would do?"

Ernst said:

"I will encourage him."

Chapter 115 People-oriented

"I will encourage him."

Ernst said as a matter of course.

Xinteleya was understandably surprised.

Ernst was not surprised by her reaction. In fact, he was also surprised when he first heard a senior talk about this story in his previous life.

For a person who disrupts the market, even knowing that he might be a spy, the government not only does nothing, but actually encourages him?

He still clearly remembers the senior's answer: "That's how Western elections work. Votes are more important than anything else."

At this moment, Ernst told Xinteleya these words, along with the insights he had accumulated over the years.

He won’t talk about others, but our Sunshine Rainbow Little White Horse is one of our own.

"Xintelaiya, have you noticed that this story is actually a game of chess?"

Seeing Xinteleya's confused expression, Ernst was silent for a moment, then reacted.

"I'm sorry, the meaning of fighting chess is that it is assumed that the big scales eat the small scales, the small scales eat the shrimps, the shrimps eat the plankton, and the toxins of the plankton can kill the largest big scales."

"Based on this principle, do you find anything wrong?"

Xinteleya frowned and thought about it, and soon gave an answer: "Because there are no plankton in this triangle?"

Ernst nodded and asked in a persuasive manner: "Yes, on the surface, there is indeed no, but in reality, is there really no?"

Recalling Ernst's answer to Jeston and her own analogy with knightly competition, Hinterea immediately realized where the "plankton" that seemed to be missing in the question was.

"You mean, residents? Yes, residents of Commercial Street!"

Ernst affirmed with satisfaction: "Yes. It's the residents, or the term I prefer, the people. The people living on this commercial street."

"They are customers, store owners, gang members, and managers themselves. They are at the bottom of this pyramid-shaped power structure and the most neglected group of people. But without them, the store will not have performance, the gang will have no members, and the manager will have no one to manage. They are the real foundation of this pyramid."

Ernst looked at Xinteleya, guiding her step by step, and said slowly:

"And they are also plankton that can poison the big scales."

Although Ernst knew very well that under the social conditions in Kjerag, to become famous would be like Chen Rui cosplaying as Lei Huang - being neither a human nor a human, this did not prevent him from using the knowledge and skills he had learned in his previous life to build Kjerag.

Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. It’s a very simple truth.

In modern times, it has a more well-known summary term - people-oriented.

Based on the most basic people.

"Xintelaiya, please listen to my question again. I said - but suddenly one day, a strange merchant who had never seen him before opened a store next to his store. He was quite honest, or full of justice, and sold the same things for fifty yuan, so customers liked him."

"Because customers like him, I will encourage him. Because 'like' contains support."

Ernst Road,

"From the perspective of a high street manager who needs votes to survive, there is only one thing he needs - votes!"

"Customers like conscientious stores where they can buy something for 50 yuan. In this case, as a manager with absolute force, what I have to do is to take all the credit for the store manager's work."

"I have absolute force. I will encourage this store, stand up for it and support it."

"If the gangs dare to resist me, I will purge them. It's just a black glove. As long as I can be re-elected, there are many people willing to work for me. I can also use this opportunity to gain praise for clearing out the evil forces that have been entrenched for many years, and by the way, cultivate a more loyal force."

"The store owner rebelled against me, but so what? I am doing something for the greater good. Everyone wants something that is good quality and cheap. Moreover, there is only one store, and the only people affected are his neighbors who sell the same goods. At most, it affects the industry of this one product, but how much of my shopping street does this product occupy? How many people do they represent? For the sake of my support rate, a small sacrifice is not worth mentioning."