Conquering the world from the Kaiser's driver

"I...I really don't know...I don't know how to express my gratitude to you! Woo...Woo..."

As Harvot spoke, his eyes became moist and he began to sob softly. Lin Shangzhou didn't expect that he would be so excited that he cried.

Lin Shangzhou pulled his hand out, walked over to him, held his shoulder and comforted him: "Okay, okay, this is obviously a happy thing, how can you cry... Be happy..."

"If you want to repay me, then study hard and make those who rejected you regret it in the future."

With Lin Shangzhou's comfort, Harvot wiped away his tears with his sleeves, looked up at him with a resolute look, and nodded vigorously: "Yes! Mr. Fritz, I will!"

“That’s not bad…”

Lin Shangzhou smiled and patted his shoulder. Then he thought of something. Havot just mentioned titanium. Titanium is needed to make ether communicators and magic troops. It seems that titanium is an extremely important resource in this world.

He asked Harvot, "Harvot, you just said that titanium is needed to study the etheric communicator, right?"

Harvotte nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Fritz, titanium is an indispensable substance for studying the ether element. Both the ether communicator and the equipment used by the magic force use titanium."

"But titanium is difficult to refine now. Except for the military industry serving magic forces, high-purity titanium metal is rarely found elsewhere. Even a small amount of titanium that has been leaked out is a failed product of military refining, mixed with various impurities, and has very low research value."

A bitter look appeared on Harvot's face. For a researcher like him who had no investors, studying titanium and ether elements was a very difficult task.

"Even so, the price of this low-quality titanium metal is very high. I spent more than half of my savings to buy the titanium I used for my research from a businessman."

At the end, Harvot sighed deeply, but he was more happy and expectant in his heart, because he had already received investment from Lin Shangzhou, and he believed that with the investment he would be able to buy titanium of higher purity.

But what he didn't know was that Lin Shangzhou's total assets were only a few hundred thousand marks... If he knew this, he might be a little disappointed.

Lin Shangzhou nodded slightly. He understood what Havot needed now - he needed high-purity titanium.

"So, as long as I can provide you with high-purity titanium, your research will be able to go further?"

"Ah."

Harvot nodded vigorously and said, "As long as I can get titanium metal with a higher purity, I can assure you that I can make the performance of the communicator several times better than it is now. At the very least, it can make calls without any luck."

His words were full of confidence, and Lin Shangzhou had no doubts about it. He was very happy to see that Harvot was so confident.

"So how much money do you need now to carry out the next step of research?"

Lin Shangzhou asked. He was mentally prepared for Havot to ask for a high amount of marks. If it was too high, he wouldn't be able to pay it. Then he would need to find Louis to get him involved in the investment.

After thinking for a while, Harvot said to Lin Shangzhou: "If you want to ensure that I can carry out the most basic research, I will need at least 30,000 to 50,000 marks. But if you can give me more than 50,000 marks, then I can guarantee you that I can make a breakthrough in two months."

(Ah... it's so damn expensive...)

After hearing such a price, Lin Shangzhou's mouth began to twitch constantly. He had to use a smile to cover up his embarrassment. At least 30,000 marks...

Although his novels had been sold from Strasbourg to Berlin, and from Berlin to the whole of Germany in the past few months, earning him hundreds of thousands of marks, he was still a little reluctant to pay 30,000 at once... That was 30,000 fucking marks...

Fortunately, this amount of money will not have any impact on Lin Shangzhou's life after it is given out, so just give it away. At most, he will feel bad for a while.

What he lost was money, but what he gained was the friendship of a scientist and future support from the military, which was simply the most profitable thing!

Thinking of this, Lin Shangzhou suddenly had an impulsive idea: So much has been given out, why not grit his teeth and give a little more to allow Havot to buy titanium with higher purity?

Although titanium is strictly controlled by the government, it may be possible to buy titanium that is inferior to that used in military applications.

As soon as this idea came up, it was confirmed in Lin Shangzhou's mind. Anyway, he didn't have much need to spend money. Although canvassing for votes in the mayoral election would cost money, he didn't plan to canvass for votes, so there was even less place to spend money.

He gritted his teeth and said to Harvot, "Harvot, how much does the purest titanium metal available on the market cost?"

When Havot heard Lin Shangzhou say this, his eyes suddenly flashed with brilliance. He thought that Lin Shangzhou wanted to give him money to buy the best titanium.

Harvot said excitedly: "Mr. Fritz, it will cost at least 100,000 marks."

"The only titanium with a higher purity than this is in the magic troop's equipment. However, that is military titanium and will never be leaked. Even if the magic troop's equipment is updated, the old equipment will not be leaked but will be sealed up."

(It’s such a waste of money… I should go find Louis…)

Shocked by the high investment, Lin Shangzhou gave up the idea of ​​investing alone. It would be better to find a partner, otherwise he really could not afford such a huge expenditure.

When he wanted to tell Havot to wait a moment, Lin Shangzhou suddenly noticed something: the magic force's equipment contained the highest purity titanium, and the equipment had been updated.

If he could get the magic army's equipment, he wouldn't have to spend money on inferior titanium.

To ordinary people, this must be an almost crazy idea. After all, the equipment of the magic troops can be said to be the top priority. How could it be possible to get it? Are you going to rob the armory?

Of course Lin Shangzhou would not rob the armory, he had Cecilia.

Cecilia is the deputy captain of the Storm Troopers. She must be able to get the old equipment of the magic force. Isn't the titanium used in military industry better than the inferior titanium that has leaked out?

However, Lin Shangzhou just thought about this idea. He felt that his relationship with Cecilia was not good enough for Cecilia to give him the old equipment of the magic army.

Although the two had an agreement, it was just an agreement. Before he became prime minister, Cecilia and he were just ordinary friends.

(What if she could use the etheric communicator?)

Lin Shangzhou thought to himself that as a soldier, Cecilia must know the importance of communication equipment. If she saw the advantages of the ether communicator, she might agree to give the old equipment of the magic force to Havot for research.

After thinking about it, Lin Shangzhou said to Havot: "Havot, I can get you some old equipment from the magic army, but you need to wait."

"Of course... huh?!"

Harvotte nodded, then realized something was wrong.

Old equipment from the Magic Force?!

He looked at Lin Shangzhou in shock. He was surprised and suspicious of Lin Shangzhou at the same time. He suspected that Lin Shangzhou was just writing him a blank check again.

"Don't be so surprised, I know someone."

Lin Shangzhou said to him with a chuckle, and then continued: "But before that, I will give you 50,000 marks for research. You need to make your equipment perform better than it is now, otherwise there will be no way to convince others."

Harvot looked at Lin Shangzhou who was smiling at him and swallowed his saliva. The words "I know someone" had a great impact on him. Moreover, the fact that Lin Shangzhou offered 50,000 marks at the beginning also dispelled his doubts.

"Of course... Of course! I promise you that by December I will be able to improve the performance of the communicator several times, so that he can use it directly."

Harvot patted his chest and assured Lin Shangzhou.

"very good."

Lin Shangzhou nodded with satisfaction. If Cecilia was still unwilling to take the old equipment after seeing the performance of the communicator, then Lin Shangzhou would have to wait until after the election.

But he also doubted whether Cecilia's words of "loving him" were true...

(Um…will they fall in love with each other over time?)

This thought popped up in Lin Shangzhou's mind.

Afterwards, Lin Shangzhou took Harvotte to the bank and wrote him several checks. It was too dangerous to take cash directly, so he could only write checks.

Next, Lin Shangzhou waited for Harvot to bring him good news. As for the mayoral election? He didn't care about it. He would just go with the flow.

.

Chapter 103 Daily Life and Election Results

On November 11, one day before the mayoral election, Lin Shangzhou sat leisurely on the sofa in his home, enjoying a wonderful day off. Other mayoral candidates were now busy with their final canvassing, trying to persuade some wavering voters to cast their votes for them.

In the past month, Lin Shangzhou did not carry out any canvassing activities except publishing relevant news in the Workers' Daily. He preferred to work at the grassroots level. In the past month, he visited almost every poor family in Strasbourg to check whether the government subsidies were in place. In addition to the poor families in the city, he also went to the nearby towns and villages to inquire about the living conditions of the farmers.

He would occasionally visit Harvotte to check on his research or go to the machine shop to see how the union was doing.

All in all, the past month has been a busy month for him.

Lin Shangzhou carefully looked at the newspaper in his hand and silently read the article advocating to vote for a certain candidate. The pie in the sky was good, but he didn't think that the candidate would really fulfill his promise after taking office.

"How can you who are busy canvassing for votes know what the people want? Humph, you are just political animals."

With a sneer, Lin Shangzhou closed the newspaper and threw it on the table.

At this time, Letitia came out of the kitchen with two apples in her hand. She walked to the sofa and handed an apple to Lin Shangzhou. Then she picked up the newspaper and sat on the single sofa to read.

After that awkward morning, Letitia spent a day to calm herself down. She still had a lot of time to spend with Lin Shangzhou in the future. What would she do if she continued to be troubled by that incident?

So the next day she returned to her original state, and her relationship with Lin Shangzhou remained the same, or maybe a little closer.

After seeing the canvassing article, she asked without even looking up, "Fritts, is it really okay for you not to canvass? This is a mayoral election. If you become mayor, won't you be able to serve the people better?"

Lin Shangzhou explained: "There is no need to canvass for votes. I don't care about the position of mayor. If I really become mayor, it will cause some unnecessary trouble."

The trouble he mentioned was attracting the attention of Berlin. He didn't want to be exposed to the Chancellor's vision before he got enough support, not to mention the Chancellor's racist nephew. If he knew he was doing so well, he might do something shameful.

"Well…"

Letitia curled her lips under the cover of the newspaper, then put down the newspaper and said to him: "Okay, I was thinking that if you could become the mayor, my salary would be a little higher."

Lin Shangzhou smiled and said, "You can pay back the debt slowly, don't worry, and I've already given you a raise, why are you still thinking about raising your salary? If you raise it again, your salary will be higher than mine."

Thanks to Letitia's hard work (actually it was because Lin Shangzhou was too lazy to handle official business), her weekly salary was increased from 18 marks to 25 marks by Lin Shangzhou, which is already higher than most people.

Letitia looked at him enviously and said, "You make thirty or forty marks a week, and your novels can bring you at least a few hundred marks a week. No matter how high my salary is, it can never be higher than yours, huh."

After saying that, Letitia rolled her eyes at him, picked up the apple and took a big bite.

While chewing an apple, Letitia was thinking about other things. Since money had just been mentioned, she thought of the investment that Lin Shangzhou had told her about some time ago. She remembered that Lin Shangzhou had funded a scientist to conduct research. At that time, she was busy helping Lin Shangzhou with official business, so she did not ask in detail. Today, she thought of this matter again, and she wanted to find out what the investment was and how much money it cost.

"Fritts, what does the scientist you mentioned earlier research? How much money did you invest in him?"

Letitia asked curiously.

"The scientist was researching the 'Ether Communicator', a type of communication equipment. As for how much money I invested..."

Lin Shangzhou smiled mysteriously, then clenched his right fist and raised his left index finger to make a 10 towards Letitia.

"10?"

Letitia looked at Lin Shangzhou's hand in confusion. After a while, she reacted and looked at him in shock.

"10 marks?!"

"Uh-huh, 10 marks."

Lin Shangzhou nodded. He gave Havot another 50,000 marks at the end of October. The fact that 50,000 marks were spent in just one month was enough to show how expensive ether research was. It was indeed true that only the country could carry out the research. It was indeed difficult for an individual to conduct proper research without stable investment.

If he didn't know Cecilia and had the possibility of obtaining titanium for military use, Lin Shangzhou estimated that it would not be long before he would go to Berlin to find Louis and get him involved in this extremely expensive project.

Louis's money is more durable than his.

Letitia stretched out her hands and counted one finger at a time from her right hand to her left hand. After she finished counting all ten fingers, she looked up at Lin Shangzhou with a shocked look and asked, "You just gave him 100,000 marks like that?"

"That's 100,000 marks!!!"

As she spoke, Letitia suddenly thought of something very bad. She said to Lin Shangzhou in a fierce voice, "Aren't you afraid of being cheated by him?! We don't understand their research. What if he didn't do any research at all and was just cheating you? What if he cheated you of all your money?!"

Lin Shangzhou was very happy that Letitia cared about him like this. He replied, "Don't worry so much. Have you forgotten that I go out every Friday? I go to see his research. He is indeed doing this research, so there is no need to worry about him running away with the money."

"Hmph... All right..."

Seeing that Lin Shangzhou was so confident in such a stranger, Letitia was very unhappy. She crossed her arms and turned her head away sullenly.

"Anyway, it's your money that was cheated, not mine, so I don't feel bad."

Lin Shangzhou shrugged and picked up another newspaper on the table and started reading.

On November 11, voting for the mayoral election officially began. Voting lasted for two days, and the results were announced on the evening of November 3.

The Minister of Finance was elected as the new mayor of Strasbourg with 39% of the votes. The remaining three candidates received 20% for the former mayor, 16% for the unknown councilor, and 25% for Lin Shangzhou.

Lin Shangzhou expected and wanted to see the result of losing the election, but his second place in the vote rate was beyond his imagination. He expected that his vote rate could exceed 10%, but he knew it would reach a staggering 25%.

After the results were announced, some people were naturally happy and some were sad. After the city council meeting ended, Lin Shangzhou followed the crowd in sending his congratulations to the new mayor, and then left the city council and returned to his home.

Not long after returning home, he heard a knock on the door. After opening the door, he saw Louis standing behind the door, smiling and saying to him, "Long time no see."

.

Chapter 104 Reasons for Voting

Lin Shangzhou narrowed his eyes and looked at Louis standing in front of him, raised his eyebrows and said, "What good news did you bring me this time?"

He said, taking a step back to make way for Louis.

Louis curled his lips and pretended to be unhappy and said, "Look, you said it as if I can't come back to see you."

As he spoke, he walked into Lin Shangzhou's home. This time, he put on slippers before entering the living room. When he entered the living room, Louis greeted Letitia who was sitting on the sofa, then put his arm around Lin Shangzhou's shoulders and said, "Fritts, how was the result of the mayoral election?"

Lin Shangzhou shook his head slightly and said, "I got 25% of the votes, which means I came in second. I didn't get elected."

Hearing this news, Louis breathed a sigh of relief. He took back his hand and said to Lin Shangzhou, "It's good that you didn't get elected. If you really got elected, it would be troublesome."

He let Lin Shangzhou try to run for mayor just to add to his resume and to better convince other people in the party. If he was really elected, there would be trouble. Fortunately, he was not elected.