< Chapter 368 >
So, was this achievement something decent? Not really. It was a complete mess.
It was obvious. There was no way the result of pushing subordinates to show results could be decent. Rather, it was closer to a failure. The mechanically converted miles and feet were a complete disaster.
For example, the law for the 105 trillion business district was, ‘A district adjacent to or including a road with buildings used for business or industrial purposes within approximately 183m (600ft). Other buildings such as hotels and banks are not restricted as public buildings, and the frontage on one side of the road or both sides must be at least 300ft (91m).’ This was converted with a calculator, writing down even the smallest decimal points. It was almost mechanical translation.
And there was no way this would please Bush. It was obvious. How could something rushed out in a day satisfy a man demanding perfection? It would be stranger if a satisfactory result came out.
The reason they brought this result was that this man was truly staying put. Bush had pledged to stay for about three days and informed his secretariat, but from their perspective, it was indefinite until it was completed. So, this report itself was a protest, saying, ‘We can’t work because of you, so please go back.’
However, Bush wouldn’t grant that earnest and desperate request. Naturally, he received the reports in real-time and pinpointed the parts to be corrected. The reason Bush could immediately point out the parts to be corrected wasn’t because he was a genius, but because he was half Korean, familiar with the metric system. When a strange part was discovered, he could feel a strong sense of incongruity, which allowed him to immediately order corrections.
It’s troublesome for subordinates if the boss is neither incompetent enough to deceive nor easy to resist. And the worst is when the boss is competent. This is the same for any organization, whether it’s a company or a country.
It’s impossible to satisfy everyone, but it’s so easy to make everyone suffer. However, the fact that progress was being made was undeniable. Of course, he could do the same sitting in the Oval Office at the White House, but that was just a minor difference of opinion for Bush.
Naturally, voices of complaint arose. But he could ignore them as much as he wanted. Even if they tried to defend the situation elsewhere, the problem was that results were actually being produced. Even if it was a forced achievement.
That alone gave Bush a reason to stay here, and a justification was created. Of course, there were some morons. Naturally, if honey is shimmering in front of their eyes, any animal would want to take the beehive, even at the risk. However, those people had to return after Bush scolded them to work harder instead of wasting time flattering him. In fact, these people were more of an oddity.
That’s because Bush’s tendencies were well known. Before becoming president, he pushed forward with a moderately competent appearance and a kind image, but after taking office, he consistently acted arrogant and autocratic. Bush himself wouldn’t admit it, but he even had a hint of narcissism.
In any case, the important point was that his personality had changed like this. As a result, he didn’t trust anyone except the chief of staff. In other words, he was quite selfish. It wasn’t that he lacked altruism, but that altruism was strictly limited to the path he thought was ‘better.’
That might be the same for anyone, but in Bush’s case, even the common double standards were not allowed. In any case, flattery, not performance, didn’t work. If you wanted to catch this man’s eye, you had to bring results, even if they were lacking.
In other words, political maneuvering to steal someone else’s achievements and turn them into your own worked better. Of course, it’s too busy now to do that. After all, stealing someone else’s things is only possible when you have time.
So, all achievements were immediately reported.
No one wanted to face the unprecedented situation of being directly reprimanded by the president, the highest person in this country.
“Greece?”
Surprisingly, Bush, who said he would stay for three days, had to withdraw his decision himself.
-Yes, it’s flowing in a completely different form from what you predicted, Mr. President…
The chief of staff on the other end of the phone trailed off. From that alone, he realized that the situation was flowing more seriously than he thought. This was not a good thing. It was inevitable that the EU would weaken to some extent, but it wasn’t a good thing for the United States if the EU itself collapsed.
Of course, it would be a different story if it became anarchy at the national level rather than the EU, but no matter how much, there’s no way a global anarchy situation could arise. If such a thing happened, it would be World War III, which would end in an hour after it started. If nuclear missiles swept the Earth’s surface and all countries disappeared, wouldn’t that be anarchy?
-Anyway, I’ll tell you the details at the White House. It’s not a good situation. Of course, the United States won’t be harmed, but there’s always a chance.
‘Tsk, if I go back now, I won’t hear good things.’
It was the complete opposite. They must be holding a small celebration party, saying that he finally left. As Bush worried, the people above him wouldn’t say good things, but it didn’t matter. The person above them was Bush.
The feeling I had in my past life, that the position is a place where you can do anything, hasn’t changed, but at the same time, I thought it wasn’t a good place.
‘I can’t help it. I wanted to receive at least a proper draft.’
It was truly absurd. If a revised draft came out in three days, why would we need legal experts? However, humans are creatures that produce something when you squeeze them. A draft was impossible due to physical limitations, but the foundation could be prepared.
It would be a flimsy foundation that wasn’t strong or solid, but that alone was enough. It’s not like we’re digging up the foundation of traffic law, and all we have to do is change the units and apply them to reality. Therefore, once there’s a foundation, the rest is simple work. In other words, time on the ground will solve it.
In fact, this was more of a field problem than a legal one. They had to memorize the new rulebook. In addition, they would be tested on how to convert yard-pound laws to metric.
To be honest, in this case, it was better to wait for the field to get used to it, but even if God and Bush forgave such an act, the people would not. If the public authority is ambiguous when the people are already dissatisfied, the people will bite more than necessary. If that happens, Bush would be in trouble.
Naturally, what Bush was aiming for was ultimately to strike a proper balance. If the president’s power was cut down more than necessary, that would be terrible in its own way. The introduction of the metric system would be blocked by the people’s fierce opposition.
‘Anyway, if other things are urgent, I can’t help it.’
In any case, there was no loss from staying here. For example, in the case of speedometers. It wasn’t necessary to buy new ones. There was also a way to modify existing speedometers. Depending on the state, some were using products with dual notation from the beginning. Knowing this and recalculating the budget, the budget to be spent was greatly reduced. Originally, it would have taken at least a day to make a decision if I had been holed up in the office.
In fact, one of the reasons Bush tried to stay for three days was to test whether it would come up to that office properly. After all, the original history was like that, so I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. At this point, the world has been completely overturned, so it’s easy to operate loosely or become lazy because there’s only a year left, but Bush was not like that at all.
Whether it’s written in the history books that he was a terrible president or not, he didn’t care much about such things. If he was someone who cared about such things, he should never have done anything to turn the media into an enemy.
Bush was ashamed of the situation where he was being screwed over. After all, if you know the future to some extent and have taken various measures, getting hit hard in the back of the head is nothing but being an idiot.
“It’s difficult.”
What was difficult? Bush just left those words and returned to the White House.
***
“American-led privatization of water supply. That’s terrible.”
China was not dissected into five pieces, but instead, it was forced to submit to the United States for the time being. Just as Mongolia and the great powers did, this would not be permanent in the end, but for the time being, it would surely suck the honey out of China.
However, the thoughts of the American president, the vanguard of that plunder, seemed a little different. Rather than sucking China’s foundation or blood, he seemed to want to put a leash on it, and that leash was, of all things, the water supply.
The water supply was a field that was good at annoying people. Just declaring a water supply replacement due to the deterioration of the water pipes would lead to a water outage.
In the 21st century, it may not be very relatable to say water outage in a somewhat wealthy East Asian country, not a backward African country, but that’s only possible because all construction is completed in a day or two, and even if it takes 1-2 weeks due to safety issues, it’s quite annoying for civilians.
That’s only describing how annoying it is for citizens, and from the country’s point of view, it becomes quite annoying. Urban planning can change with just one water supply design. If urban planning changes, real estate fluctuates, and if real estate fluctuates, the private economy shakes. It was hard to find a leash that was stronger and more sophisticated than this as a leash for the large dog called the country.
“Greek bonds.”
Before Li Keqiang’s eyes was an official request document from the Greek government. It was long and long, but in short, it was a sound of ‘Please, please buy our government bonds.’
But who would buy these bad bonds? I was thinking of buying some to establish a friendly relationship, but looking at the domestic situation that eats up the budget like a hungry hippo, I didn’t want to turn even a penny abroad.
It was then. The direct line that I had earnestly prayed and prayed not to ring rang.
This direct line was connected to the White House in the United States. So, if the phone rang, there was only one person on the other end.
And in my experience so far, that phone has never betrayed Li Keqiang’s expectations.
-Don’t you want to buy Greek government bonds?
“This Yankee bastard?”
It was the same this time.