After an hour-long battle between man and pig, the wild boar, riddled with hundreds of bullet holes, finally crashed to the ground.
[TL Note: Hundreds of Bullets 😭😭] “Are you alright?
You’re not going to ask me to write your eulogy right now, are you?” As soon as the wild boar took its last breath, Ernst rushed to Kevin’s side.
When the wild boar was in its death throes, it charged at them like an out-of-control pig-shaped missile.
Ernst dodged it with a dive and a roll, but Kevin wasn’t so lucky.
Lying on the ground, he gasped for air, his chest heaving violently, looking like a tired husky after demolishing a house.
“Good thing the wild boar didn’t have much strength left, otherwise I would have lost my life here today.” Seeing Ernst make a safe gesture, the others in the distance also breathed a sigh of relief and stopped their approach.
“Come on, let’s go see our spoils.” Helping Kevin up, they went to the wild boar’s side.
Up close, the skin was clearly peeled back, and blood flowed everywhere.
The scene was like something out of a horror movie.
“Ha, what a big fellow, too bad we can’t transport it out.” Paul was still excited, and directly stood on the wild boar’s body.
“It’s alright, just mark the coordinates, and I’ll have someone come transport it later.” John didn’t want to give up this bragging right and planned to find someone to transport it back to show off.
At first, Ernst thought it was around 300 kilograms, but after a closer look, he agreed with John’s earlier assessment.
With this physique, it wasn’t an exaggeration to call it the Schwarzenegger of the wild boar world; it likely exceeded 350 kilograms.
“Let’s rest a bit, and then we’ll head back home.” The sun was already high, and his watch showed it was past eleven o’clock.
Everyone had been out for over four hours.
However, Ernst knew John didn’t want to go back for lunch, but rather wanted to quickly find someone to transport this big fellow back.
With all the gunfire earlier, there were hardly any large creatures left nearby; these animals were much more sensitive than humans.
But that might not be the case for long.
John was afraid that if they delayed, the gray wolves would ruin their trophy, as their noses were even keener than dogs’.
After a rest, some food, and a few beers, the group returned the way they came.
Back at the farm, Ernst first took a hot shower.
When he arrived at the dining room, everyone was already there.
“Is there no one willing to wait for me?” The dining table was set with simple steaks, pan-fried cod, vegetable salad, as well as fruit and soup.
“Ernst, this is your home.
It’s your problem for making us wait for you.” Picking a random seat, Ernst first took a bite of cod and drank a glass of beer.
“Tell me, why did you ask me to come back this time?” Ernst came back because Sylvie requested it when he inquired about Jason.
And on the third day after his return, the younger generation of the Arlington Family in Tulare County gathered at Whitney Farm.
It would be strange if there was nothing going on.
Paul put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth, and after a glance at John, said, “I plan to run for Tulare County Supervisor.” Ernst understood; this was about attracting investment.
The local government divisions in America are at three levels: state, county, and city.
The state government is the highest level of local government, responsible for enacting state laws, managing state affairs, and providing important services such as education, transportation, health, and medical care.
The county government is responsible for managing specific areas, providing infrastructure and public safety services.
They are like regional stewards, with their primary task being regional security.
As for the lowest level, the city government, it is responsible for managing urban affairs, such as road maintenance, waste disposal, and urban planning.
Paul is currently the Mayor of Visalia.
Although it sounds impressive, in reality, he is just a figurehead.
For cities like Visalia, or rather, most cities in America, there is usually a city council composed of four or five people, and a mayor is elected from among them.
Then comes the interesting part: the city is not managed by the mayor, but by professional staff hired by the mayor, just like professional managers in large corporations.
The decision-making power is in the hands of the council, and the management is handled by hired professionals.
The mayor seems like a figurehead.
This is true not only at the city level, but also at the county and state levels, and even for the president.
However, this doesn’t mean they are truly figureheads.
One very important power they hold is the ability to propose policies — whether or not they pass the council is another matter.
“Our Arlington Family has always been a top family in Visalia, with members serving as councilors for a long time and several mayors coming from our ranks.” “But now it’s different.
Because of you, I feel our Arlington Family can take another step forward and expand our influence throughout Tulare County.” Money and influence — this is the core truth of American elections, and it becomes even more pronounced at lower administrative levels.
America has universal suffrage, that’s true.
Do you know how many times an American citizen votes and how many government officials they elect in a four-year period?
The answer will exceed many people’s imaginations.
First, there’s the president, that’s for sure.
Then there are members of Congress, senators and representatives, as well as governors, state senators, and state representatives.
Don’t think that’s the end of it, there are also counties and cities.
If you live in a big city like New York or Los Angeles, you also have to elect borough presidents and borough councilors.
Just for senators and representatives alone, the voting choices exceed six or seven hundred people.
And it doesn’t end there, because there are also some positions that require direct citizen vote, such as state attorney general, state treasurer, state judges, and the same applies at the county level.
If all votes are counted, an American citizen in a big city votes more than a thousand times within four years.
But these are elected positions.
If you wanted to review every candidate’s report, even if you looked at three a day, you wouldn’t finish in four years.
This leads to a situation where, in America, except for presidential and state-level elections, few voters pay attention, and their votes are essentially influenced through outreach and community engagement.
Take Paul, for example.
When he ran for mayor, he campaigned heavily on local issues and community engagement.
And the current Tulare County Supervisor, when he ran, he hosted community dinners and town halls to connect with voters.
So for city and county elections, name recognition and community connections matter tremendously.
Of course, America also has laws to regulate campaign contributions, so each person’s donation amount cannot exceed 5,000 US dollars.
Who does this benefit?
Of course, big business owners.
Because they have employees, which is a display of influence, that’s why you can see why big businesses are so important in elections, and why unions are so important.
Businesses help individuals reach the top, and the president gives back to businesses — a system of mutual benefit.
There’s also self-funding, and this portion of funds has no limits.
But what wealthy person would be foolish enough to risk everything to support an insignificant person?
It’s always corporations, because corporations can get tax deductions, which is like earning money for free.
Previously, the Arlington Family’s influence wasn’t enough, but after Ernst took over MGM, the situation changed.
Ernst could bring a large amount of campaign funds to Paul without spending an extra penny, further elevating the Arlington Family’s influence.