Darkstone Code-Chapter 975 - 973: A New Situation

While Lynch and Catherine were discussing education issues, the President was also sitting with his key confidants and staff members to discuss this topic.

The atmosphere was quite harmonious. After a half-year of smooth transition, key positions in the Federation Government had been filled with their own people. The President truly had the country in his own hands.

The cold air blowing from the air conditioner made the room pleasantly cool. Gentlemen surrounded the President, either sitting or standing, focusing their attention on him.

"...Moving forward, we have three directions: education, healthcare, and social security!"

The President’s tone was not relaxed. At this moment, the door opened, and everyone turned to look as Mr. Truman entered with a briefcase.

"The road was a bit congested," he said, offering an excuse for being late.

The President glanced at his watch, "It only takes fifteen minutes from your place."

"But the road was a bit congested." He found a seat, and the President did not pursue the issue further since it was just a tardiness.

He took the coffee handed to him by the staff, said thank you, and then asked, "Where were we?"

"We were just talking about the three major reforms. We have to choose one path," the President remarked firmly, clearly not joking.

The Federation’s three major reforms are education, healthcare, and social security, all fraught with issues that urgently need to change.

But with so many interests entangled within, any change would not be easy to accomplish and might even provoke attacks from those whose interests are harmed.

Seeing that Mr. Truman had nothing to say, the President continued from where he left off, "Every President before us has talked about these issues, but none have managed to solve them."

"Perhaps we can be the first to do it. History will remember us."

"What we need to do now is to choose one, put it on the chopping block, and think about where to start..."

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat oppressive. No one spoke, and the President felt a bit disappointed, though it was within his expectations.

Behind these three systems are the interests of numerous capitalists. If he touches these issues, there is bound to be resistance.

He is the President; when he’s done, he can just leave, but others have a long way to go. What will they do in the future?

His gaze lingered on each person’s face for a moment, but those who were usually very perceptive pretended to be deep in thought, as if unaware of his scrutiny.

Finally, his gaze landed on Mr. Truman.

"If we must choose, let’s choose education," Mr. Truman offered his response, surprisingly aligning with the President’s own thinking, which brought a smile to his face.

He no longer looked at anyone else, keeping his focus on Truman. "Tell me, why did you choose education?"

Mr. Truman took a sip of his coffee, "Because that’s the only one we can tackle!"

"Education groups are different from healthcare and insurance groups; the biggest difference is that changing some educational rules won’t touch the core interests of the education group."

"They may be unhappy with our actions, but they won’t do anything excessive. There’s no need to destroy a city over a fly."

The so-called education group now engages in more than just monopolizing knowledge, which is a relatively superficial business. They essentially run networks and form a ’gang’.

It seems incredible how education groups are linked to gangs, but that’s precisely the case. For example, the Saint Harmony Alliance is perhaps the largest interest group in the field of education.

What do they want?

They want people to care about alumni status, aspire to become Saint Harmony candidates, and, by attending Saint Harmony School, establish a rich and reliable social network before even graduating.

This is why so many parents are willing to spend a fortune to send their children to prestigious schools. Even if these schools are reluctant to admit donor students, they will find ways to get their children in.

This ’product’ offers higher profits and more terrifying influence than monopolizing knowledge, while its negative effects are minimal.

People never resent the elite institutions of the Saint Harmony for not admitting their children; they only blame their own children for not being excellent or wealthy enough. They don’t consider it a problem with the school!

How terrifying is that?

Even the healthcare group can’t compare to this. At least people curse healthcare groups, but few do the same for education groups.

Therefore, changing the education system won’t actually impact the interests of those educational groups.

Public universities sell knowledge, whereas private universities sell the secret of success. They’re not the same!

Everyone in the room knew this well, but they were unwilling to be the first to step forward. Mr. Truman stood up, reminding the President of the day he stood in his office, expressing despair and indignation over the country and the capitalists.

This made the President trust Truman even more because he knew that apart from himself, he had no one else to rely on.

The President nodded, "I mentioned education reform in my inaugural address, and now is the time to fulfill that promise. I don’t want to be labeled as the ’liar President’ when I retire!"

"So, Truman, where do we begin?"

Mr. Truman didn’t hesitate much, "Start with lower standards."

"I thought you were going to say build more public schools." The President’s mood was relaxed, treating it as a joke.

While building a public school isn’t costly, maintaining one isn’t cheap, and not every city’s finances can support it.

The more advanced the school, the higher the expenses. Now, many states in the Federation have only three to five universities, and many cities have no public universities at all.

The inability to afford the cost is a significant issue. Building many public schools would put a heavy burden on the Federation’s finances.

Beyond that, sourcing teachers would also be an issue.

Mr. Truman shook his head, "There’s no need for that. We just need to expand current campuses to accommodate more students."

"Reforming elementary and secondary schools shouldn’t be too drastic, but for universities..." he paused, "we can encourage local governments and the private sector to cooperate, or offer support to those willing to establish private universities according to the new rules we set."

"For example...student sources."

"There are many who want to attend college but can’t afford it, like Lynch..."

The room erupted in laughter, some kind, others less so. Everyone knew Lynch was actually a good student, but because he lacked money and college insurance, he stopped after high school.

Even though he’s now attached to a Saint Harmony institution, anyone who knows him knows it doesn’t count as truly attending school.

That intrinsic sense of superiority made people laugh. They finally found an advantageous aspect compared to Lynch — they had attended university!

Mr. Truman was also laughing, "Education reform can garner more support for our political platform from the lower echelons of society, and in turn, help us select more talent for the Federation, who will then change the country!"

There was a glow on everyone’s faces, a glow filled with a sense of mission.

Once education reform succeeds, they will become an essential part of Federation history because each of them has contributed to the nation’s progress. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The President nodded, "For now, don’t reveal this matter; we need more time."

"This year’s budget has largely gone into the military’s pockets, and we don’t have the funds to launch this reform. Next year, or the year after, when the fiscal situation is more relaxed, it won’t be a problem."

"Besides, it requires more detailed discussion and research..."

This was normal, not a problem.

The tone for this education reform seemed to have been set. They didn’t even consider discussing healthcare or insurance reform because they knew those were impossible endeavors.

Instead of being hated or even retaliated against by capitalists, they’d rather discuss education issues which concern more people.

In the following days, the entire Federation was very calm. More and more people accepted Every Moment’s "offer." They borrowed money from Every Moment, used it to compensate for damages caused to Every Moment, and then paid off the loan in installments with interest to Every Moment.

It sounded a bit convoluted, but this special measure quickly led banks to adjust their personal installment calculation methods, adopting a system where paying off faster meant lower interest, and paying off slower meant higher interest, which had a bit of a miraculous effect at the time.

Besides these, two events stirred some nerves in early June.

The first incident was a conflict in Mariluo. Every Moment’s former backer, having lost the financial support of Every Moment, waged war against neighbors while still able to maintain its scale.

This wasn’t a gang fight, where a group on each side, across a street, shoots blindly from behind garbage bins.

Instead, this was war, real war, with over thirty thousand participants involved!

The peace in Mariluo was suddenly broken, causing great pressure on the border. Every day, Mariluo people sought to cross into the Federation for refuge.

However, the Federation’s current policy prohibits labor immigration, meaning they reject ordinary people from coming in any form.

Unless they have money.

Or skills!

It was also at this time that Sanchez, who had been absent for a while, reappeared in Mariluo, raising the banner of "Peace and Friendship" to recruit. His motto was to create a truly peaceful Mariluo, a country where Mariluoans and Malorians could coexist peacefully.

This seemed as ridiculous as saying processed dung would become delicious, but some believed it.

There are always dream-filled fools, aren’t there?