"What do you an, Mr. Ren?"
"Literally."
The other party was stunned for a long ti, savoring his attitude.
The manager of the supply and marketing cooperative asked sowhat hesitantly, "Are you trying to expel us?"
Ren Zhong continued to smile brightly, spreading his hands, "Expulsion sounds unpleasant; it’s just that you’re not particularly welco here. Besides, haven’t you all already packed up and moved away? You’re having a pretty good ti in the Satellite Town of ngdu City, aren’t you? Why cling to the remote Starfire Town?"
The canteen manager jumped up, "That’s our business! Ren Zhong, you don’t have that authority! No one in Starfire Town has that authority! Our household registration is still in Starfire Town; we are legal citizens here!"
The supply and marketing cooperative manager turned to Ma Dafu, "Mayor Ma, we understand Mr. Ren’s attitude. What about you?"
Ma Dafu shrugged and replied frankly, "There’s nothing I can do; I’ve been sidelined. Now, it’s Mr. Ren who calls the shots in town."
The supply and marketing cooperative manager angrily said, "Nonsense, only citizens can sideline you; the outcasts don’t even have voting rights."
The canteen manager also angrily said, "Anyway, according to Source Star laws, we have the right to return to our place of registration, and we have the right to enjoy the tax revenue here."
Clap, clap, clap!
Ren Zhong clapped his hands and nodded, "Your performance is quite impressive. I feel like giving you a thumbs up. Yes, I can’t kill you, nor can I truly stop you from enjoying your legal rights. But don’t you rember? Back then, you promised Yang Bingzhong to turn twenty thousand Starfire Town outcasts into commodities in the voting. I have the recorded conversation from Yang Bingzhong."
The canteen manager said, "So what? It’s a legal right granted by the Association; we’re just exercising our power. Do the outcasts have the right to say anything?"
Ren Zhong nodded, "Their mouths may not qualify, but I’m afraid the guns in their hands do."
"Ren Zhong... are you threatening citizens?"
The canteen manager widened his eyes, seemingly in disbelief.
Ren Zhong shrugged, "I’m just analyzing so potential accident scenarios, that’s all."
Over there, the supply and marketing cooperative manager cald down a bit, "In the beginning, we didn’t really hide this matter from the outcasts. As the census was approaching, the outcasts had an idea. But they didn’t dare..."
Ren Zhong: "Things are different now. Back then, they didn’t dare, nor could they do anything to you because you were Yang Bingzhong’s lackeys. Yang Bingzhong was covering for you. But now, you’re not qualified to be my dogs. I won’t instigate others to deal with you behind your backs, nor am I threatening you. I’m just not interested in going the extra mile to protect your safety. I still abide by the law. However, I suspect that if you do return, the outco won’t be pleasant. Right?"
The supply and marketing cooperative manager took a deep breath and added, "Mayor Ma. Starfire Town cannot lack citizens. There are many institutions in town that need managent. Most importantly, even though Starfire Town is still a First Level town, it only requires a base of one hundred citizens to exercise voting rights. But there must be a hundred people. Otherwise, the town cannot operate."
Ma Dafu smiled and waved his fingers, and an electronic docunt appeared in front of the five citizen representatives.
It was the special permit issued by the Source Star Business Association to Starfire Town.
Ma Dafu pointed to the clauses inside and explained, "As you can see. The eighteen thousand outcasts in Starfire Town have received a special permanent residence permit from the Association’s higher-ups. Additionally, the town includes myself, Ma Xiaoling, Mr. Ren, Wang Zhaofu, Sun Miao, Ju Qingng, and seven citizen scriveners. We will also be awarding citizenship to the outcasts based on their contributions in the war, with a quota of one hundred. So, the town currently has one hundred and seven citizens. You need not worry about voting and managent positions."
"This..."
Just ten minutes later, this negotiation, which was completely unequal in power, ended in a harmonious atmosphere.
After seeing off these harbingers of doom, Ren Zhong and Ma Dafu selected the citizenship list together.
In fact, he felt rather complex.
He was not worried that outcasts entering the citizen class would get out of control.
He would have to, according to the unwritten rules of Source Star, require each person accepting citizenship to sign a twenty-year maximum-level long-term contract with him.
This was his authority.
Not using such power would be too abnormal, unnecessarily raising suspicion.
At the sa ti, Ren Zhong also thought that once these people entered the citizen class, it ant they would completely sever ties with their past lives, invisibly drifting apart from the outcasts in the town, going from comrades-in-arms to strangers.
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