Chapter 200 Entrusting the Orphan

"The youth employment rate in the South Side is among the lowest of any Black community in all of Illinois. They can't find work."

"The factories have moved away, and the service jobs in the city center are too far from the South Side. Public transportation takes two hours each way."

"And your power generation facility happens to be the type of work that allows people to make money without needing to sit in a downtown office. So, you can go to him with the answer." Governor DeWine patiently guided Mu Xin.

"You said he was a legislative assistant at the State Legislature twenty years ago. How old is he now?" Mu Xin asked.

"Fifty-eight? Maybe fifty-nine. I'm not entirely sure." Governor DeWine thought for a moment and said.

"How many people can his church hold?" Mu Xin continued to ask.

"The main sanctuary has about three hundred seats, but Isaiah's Sunday service is never just one session. He holds three sessions every Sunday, and the total number of congregants exceeds one thousand."

"Every Easter and Christmas, he rents out the community activity center next door, and four thousand people crowd onto the street to listen to his sermons." Governor DeWine gave an exaggerated figure.

"So, votes aren't the source of his power; trust is." Mu Xin sighed.

"You catch on quickly." Governor DeWine said approvingly.

"You can give me his Chicago phone number now." Mu Xin said.

"Isaiah doesn't take calls from anyone he doesn't know. His church office landline has an answering machine, and every day there are dozens of messages from City Hall, local media, and strange donors. He doesn't return a single one."

"However, I can fly to Chicago myself tomorrow to see him and tell him that a young man from China wants to do something in the South Side, and that this person is worth meeting." Governor DeWine said lightly.

Mu Xin was stunned for a moment again, then asked, "Why are you going in person?"

Governor DeWine leaned back in his chair, his gaze shifting from Mu Xin's face to a panoramic map of Ohio on the wall.

"Mr. Mu, I am about to retire." There was no regret in Governor DeWine's tone when he said this.

"A few days ago at a Columbus Chamber of Commerce luncheon, I almost collapsed. The doctor told me that if I want to spend more years with my family after leaving office, I had better start learning to say no now."

"There are three states of retirement for politicians. The best one is having a retirement project that keeps you busy enough that your schedule is still full, just without anyone calling you to beg you to approve documents."

"The middle state is having no project but still having some connections left outside. The worst state is when you are no longer a politician, and everyone forgets you." Governor DeWine's tone was very calm.

"My public policy academy was given by you, so after I retire, I won't need to go around looking for people just to stay busy."

"But I still have three children..."

"I am introducing Isaiah to you not as an act of charity, but because I am finding a future safety net for my family." Governor DeWine said very directly.

"Governor," Mu Xin stood up, "what time is your flight to Chicago tomorrow?"

"Seven in the morning. I should arrive at the entrance of his church around 10:30. By that time, he should have just finished his morning staff meeting." Governor DeWine checked his schedule and said.

"Then I'll go to Chicago tomorrow too. If he's willing to see me after he sees you, I can be there in ten minutes." Mu Xin said.

Governor DeWine nodded, "You are very good at timing things."

"The rules of the game in the South Side—I'll tell you a few things now that you won't find in any book."

"First, in the Chicago South Side, you are an outsider brought in by a local."

"Who brought you determines how the South Side community leaders view you in the first minute. Being brought by Isaiah—that endorsement is top-tier in the South Side."

"But it also means that if your fund has any issues, the investigation won't just look at you; it will also reach him. So, he won't let you run into any problems."

"Second, all community funds in the South Side must pass through two hurdles before they can be implemented."

"The first is the local ward representative, and the second is the coalition of civil organizations in the ward."

"So there are some things you must do in person. The community activity centers in the South Side don't trust proxies."

"Third." Governor DeWine paused, "Don't go around saying you're from China."

Mu Xin frowned slightly; this was a bit hard for him to accept.

"I'm not asking you to deny your identity," Governor DeWine explained, "but to rephrase it."

"Your self-introduction should be that you personally dismantled a fentanyl network in Ohio, and that your town was once poisoned by gang members."

"Don't use your nationality as your identity; use what you've done as your identity. You have to give them a story they can translate first."

"Fourth, the political infighting in Chicago is more than an order of magnitude more complex than in Ohio."

"But political infighting in Chicago happens between branches within the same party. The Mayor of Chicago, the Illinois Attorney General, and the Governor of Illinois—all three are Democrats, but the degree to which they undermine each other within their respective jurisdictions is more intense than fighting the Republican Party."

"When you work in the South Side, your community education foundation will, at some point, be dragged into the tug-of-war between these three factions, whether you like it or not."

"The place you are going to is the Obama Foundation, not Chicago City Hall. Your fund is intended as a preparatory pool for the Obama Foundation; you cannot let yourself be distracted from your already limited resources by getting caught up in local political infighting."

"If one day someone from the Chicago Mayor's office comes to you wanting you to do a project in the South Side that is outside the scope of your fund..."

"You must kick the ball to Isaiah. He has held his own in the South Side for nearly thirty years; he knows better than anyone how to handle this mess for his partners."

Mu Xin went over every point Governor DeWine made in his mind. "I've taken these four points to heart."

"You had better have really taken them to heart." Governor DeWine stood up.

Mu Xin didn't reply, just nodded.

Mu Xin opened the door and walked out. The corridor was quiet. He walked to the elevator and pressed the button, but the elevator didn't respond.

He looked at the flickering floor display above the elevator door and suddenly realized that this State Legislature building was an old structure from the last century; it was time for a renovation.

A new Governor taking office is the best time for a renovation, the perfect time to butter someone up.

Casting aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Mu Xin sent a message to John:

"Change the itinerary for Chicago. Don't go to the South Side first. Find a hotel in the city center and wait for my notification. I need to see someone first."

"Do you need me to arrange personnel?"

"I'm seeing a 'pastor.' Normal security level will suffice."

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