Chapter 135: The Wisdom of Johnson's Family - Part 2

"Because you hired hippies to lower costs, and hippies are a group recognized by society as difficult to control. In this situation, even if they have the right to vote, the senators won't pay attention to you because they don't believe you have that kind of influence."

"But I'm different."

"I don't use MXG descendants because many of them don't have the right to vote."

"I don't use African Americans because they won't vote with me."

"I only use my own people!"

"Because only they are the ones who will be influenced by their own kind!"

"And if you had hired these people from the beginning, like me, then I believe that the officer who emphasized the economy would have promptly arrested the traffickers and troublemakers before you even knew about it!"

"Then throw them to the prosecutor!"

"The prosecutor will file charges immediately!"

"They will make you feel their sincerity fully!"

When these words appeared, Ethan felt deeply impressed by Thomas, or the grandfather he had never met!

To make the employees you hire influence who gets elected?

This...

Is this something an illiterate person could think of?

The direction involved is not business at all, but politics!

At the same time, Ethan had a new doubt, "But Thomas..."

"How can you guarantee that they will vote with you?"

"And..."

"Your way of hiring... won't it reduce the orchard's profits to the freezing point?"

When these words appeared, Thomas burst into laughter.

He patted Ethan's shoulder and then led the way down the hill.

Returning to the loading point for the navel oranges, he shouted to the folks resting inside, "Are you comfortable in there?"

"Comfortable—" came the uniform response.

"Then can you get to work?" Thomas shouted again. "If you don't work now, we might not be able to send out thirty trucks before dark! I want to pay you overtime, but I'd rather you go home for dinner!"

After these words appeared, the workers immediately sprang out.

"Don't rush us!"

"We're coming!"

As they grumbled, a man in his sixties handed Thomas a straw hat.

"Put it on, Thomas, it's too sunny."

Thomas took it with a smile and thanked him, saying, "Oh, you're always good to me."

Then, he casually asked, "By the way, if I remember correctly, we've known each other for thirty years?"

This statement made the old man pause for a moment, then asked, "You were born in 30, right?"

"Yes."

"Then we've known each other for forty-six years." The old man smiled, "However old you are this year, we've known each other for that many years, because before you were born, I was already working with your father."

"Oh right! I forgot about that!" Thomas 'suddenly realized', slapped his forehead, and said, "You watched me grow up! Then you watched my child grow up!"

"Yes, yes..." The old man nodded with a smile, and then turned his gaze to Ethan, "Time flies, Thomas, when you were young, Thomas, you were still a child, and in a blink of an eye, little Ethan has become a celebrity."

"However, even if time flies, we are still the same as before... Thomas, if it weren't for your father helping me, my family might have starved to death on Black Thursday, but now, my grandson has joined the army... and you are also a good person. After so many years, when many farms are already using mechanical tools, and many orchards are reducing their manpower, you still want to hire us..."

"Your Johnson family are all good people..."

As the old man reminisced about the past with emotion, Ethan began to look around.

When he realized that the workers working in their own orchard were all elderly, with the youngest being at least forty years old, Ethan suddenly understood why Thomas could guarantee that these people would vote with him, and he also understood why Thomas's orchard only made three to five thousand dollars a year.

Because not everyone in America can enjoy government relief!

Not everyone wants to roll in the mud, live aimlessly, for their whole life!

There are still people who want to get married and have children, and there are still people who want to escape poverty!

When Thomas, or the Johnson family, extends a helping hand to these people, they will naturally be grateful!

Maybe when they vote each time, they don't know if the person they're choosing is good or bad, but they are also very clear that as long as they vote with Thomas, their lives will definitely not change!

And this...

For ordinary people, it is already the true and best choice!

After a brief conversation with the old man, Thomas returned to his work position.

Ethan picked up a cloth bag, hung it around his waist, and went into the woods to pick navel oranges.

Whenever a worker saw him, they would greet him with a smile and ask why he had come to help.

To this question, Ethan would always smile and say he had some free time, and with his response, the workers' faces would also show envy. As they worked, they would complain about how disobedient their children were, and express their envy that Thomas was lucky enough to have a daughter in college and a son who could earn money...

By around four o'clock in the evening, all thirty trucks were loaded with navel oranges.

The workers bid farewell to Thomas with waving hands, and Thomas waved back with a smile.

When he turned his gaze to Ethan again, he also said, "Ethan, I may not have an education, but I know one thing. The most valuable thing in our family is this one hundred acres of land."

"As long as the land is there, our family can never be poor."

"So I don't care about making more or less money. As long as the money earned each year is enough for expenses, with a surplus, that's enough."

"My father once told me, it doesn't matter if he doesn't get rich, as long as the land is there, the next generation will always be prosperous. I didn't go to school, I don't understand management, but that's okay, as long as I don't invest the money I earn randomly, but continue to buy some land, and at the same time ensure that this land is not left idle, then the next generation will have a chance."

"So, I've been telling you guys, if you want to go to school, then go to school. If you don't want to, then work with me in the garden. As long as we continue to manage like this, our family will eventually produce someone willing to study and with a head for business."

"At that time, these lands will be able to maximize their value."

"And before that, these workers are our greatest wealth."

"Because they can help us keep these lands."

"I think this principle can also be applied to your company."

"Because your gaming company is not pursuing extreme profits now."

"I don't think extreme profits are necessary."

"Because when you can convert the jobs you give to society into usable voting rights, you are holding the sharpest weapon in our country's arsenal!"

"These expenditures will enable you to do better business!"

"If you can create a hundred such jobs, then you are an excellent entrepreneur."

"If you can create a thousand such jobs, then you will definitely be able to peep into the state legislature."

"And if you can provide ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even a million such jobs..."

Thomas stopped.

He smiled and didn't speak.

And Ethan sighed with emotion.

Because he knew Thomas was right!

The most valuable thing in the whole house was this hundred-plus acres of Silicon Valley land!

Compared with the continuous appreciation of real estate, all the crops on it could hardly be considered profitable!

Even if you deduct as much labor costs as you want, it's still not as good as the appreciation of the land!

So in this situation...

Preserving the land is indeed the best choice.

Next, it's just about making some money!

"Oh, Thomas... you're right..." Ethan nodded with emotion, "I admit, not consulting you on the factory construction was my biggest mistake..."

"Oh—my child—there's nothing wrong with that—"

Thomas opened his arms and embraced Ethan, patting his back, saying, "As I always say, everyone has their youth, everyone has their process of growth..."

"Before my father imparted these lessons to me, I also thought that cutting costs was a good way because it could help me earn more."

"Do you know how my father taught me this lesson?"

"It was because of something. I was dissatisfied with a worker because he had some disabilities, worked slower than normal people, but it was only slow, not lazy. He still worked very diligently. However, I felt it was unacceptable, so I fired him behind my father's back."

"When my father found out, he was furious. He grabbed me by the collar and dragged me to that worker's house. It was then that I discovered the weekly salary that worker earned was the only income for his family of five."

"Although they could survive on relief, stable work would allow them to avoid constantly scrambling for relief. Because a church doesn't distribute relief every day, only by constantly changing locations could they meet their living needs. At the same time, to eat, they had to keep queuing up with their family."

"When we give him a job, it's like giving him stability. His wife can find some odd jobs, and his children can help a little."

"But if I don't give them work, they may never get back on their feet."

"That day, my father made me apologize to them."

"I did as he said."

"I cried and begged them for forgiveness."

"And then, among the twenty or so people delivering goods to you now, two of them are his children. And his grandson, who is very smart and has good academic performance, I wrote him a recommendation letter and sent him to Huck High School. Apart from that, I didn't give them any financial assistance."

"That child is indeed raised by the whole family and is also the hope of their entire family."

"And you know, last year, when you and Evelyn made a big sale with 'Snake,' and I sent them some gifts to celebrate, what did those two brothers say?"

"They asked me, boss, since your child has become a well-known figure nationwide, will he start a company like Atari? If he does start a company, what kind of professionals will he need?"

"They want that child to choose the major you want when applying to college because they feel that following you will not be wrong..."

"Of course, I didn't answer them because I haven't read any books myself. I just told them I would definitely tell you about this when I have time..."

"It's because of these reasons that when you need a trusted driver, I can call this group of people for you."

"Thanks to my father, right?"

"If it weren't for his education, I think I would be worried about labor like everyone else."

With that, Thomas stopped.

He gently patted Ethan's back, as if reminiscing about the past, but more like sighing about the future.

And Ethan felt a twinge in his nose.

Before, when he visited Nintendo with Notebook, he was marveling at how Hiroshi Yamauchi was a winner in life.

Ask for anything and get it.

But now...

He seemed to have overlooked many people.

Sniffing, in this moment, Ethan felt some regret.

If he hadn't blindly followed the Atari model when building the factory, if he hadn't tried his best to cut costs, perhaps now... the situation would be much better.

"So, it's all too late, isn't it?" Ethan regretted.

He felt that Thomas had said so much, hoping that he would pay attention in the future.

And his words made Thomas throw out a question, "Oh Ethan—why do you think that? Why do you have such thoughts?"

"Because I've already recruited those hippies into the factory," Ethan said. "And fired a few 'troublemakers'."

"When these things have already happened, then we can only accept them, right?"

"..." This statement made Thomas stunned for a moment.

Then, embracing Ethan, Thomas smiled.

"Oh—child—there's a solution to everything—"

"There are no unsolvable problems in this world, only fools who want to procrastinate."

"If you want to solve the problem, you can do it now."

"???" This statement made Ethan look up.

As he stared at Thomas's face and cast a doubtful glance at him, Thomas didn't explain. Instead, he released his arms, took off a bunch of keys from his waist, and threw them over.

"Go help me move that Ford parked at the door."

At the same time, he also pointed to the twenty boxes of navel oranges left on the ground and said, "Then help me load them onto the car."

"I'll call Linda and tell her we won't be home for dinner tonight."

"Oh right, you also need to find a way to tell Evelyn that we won't be going back tonight."

"Because you're about to go with me on a trip."

"Come with me to receive the last gift your father left for you..."