Chapter 2050 Ambition

"Capitol Hill," Xiao O'Hei looked at the familiar sunshine, beach and city in front of him, looked at the white sails on the sea, and then thought about the highland less than 100 feet high, the building with a thick The historical imprint, the majestic architecture, and everything inside once again feel like a world away.

"Feng, are there two opposing factions in your company?" He did not answer Feng Yiping's question, but asked another question.

"There should be some. Some executives will be more conservative and some will be more radical. However, this is not comparable to the problems you face,"

Feng Yiping knew that he was talking about the "donkey" and "elephant" parties on Capitol Hill, that is, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

"This is one of the things I have the final, irrefutable say in my company,"

In American politics, there is no one with such power.

"In my company, whether it is conservative or radical, in the final analysis, it is just a matter of means. And many times, the means can be flexible. Whether it is conservative or radical, it actually doesn't matter. It is not absolute. What matters is The point is, to achieve the goal,”

"This is not the pressure I put on them, but a goal that they will achieve spontaneously, because only by completing the target tasks can they get corresponding rewards, and can they secure their current position or go further,"

Xiao Aohei looked at Feng Yiping in surprise. Obviously, Feng Yiping understood his question very well.

"You are right. This is indeed very different from the problems I face. On Capitol Hill, many things are absolute. I am a Democratic Party, so I can only have one position and be consistent with my Democratic colleagues,"

"This kind of consistency is absolute. Even if it is some controversial views, if our party decides to support it, I must support it,"

Feng Yiping smiled, "That's understandable, isn't it? After all, you received strong support from the party during the election process,"

"Yes, I understand too," Xiao Aohei nodded, "It's just that I don't understand it very much now. You can also imagine that the problems faced by a country are naturally much more complicated than those faced by a company. ,Right,"

"But you know what, my colleagues on Capitol Hill, when it comes to dealing with the issues they face, whether they're domestic or international, it becomes a simple binary, yes or no,"

"Do you know how ridiculous this is? I think only those elementary school students will think that things in the world can only be right or wrong, or only good or bad."

"Only when we are in school, when we take an exam and do a true-false question, we can solve the problem by choosing right or wrong, but they also treat such complex domestic or international problems as true-false questions,"

"Abortion is either for or against; gun control is either for or against; health care is either for or against...,"

"Do you know what's even more ridiculous? Now they don't even ask whether they are right or wrong. Just because the other party supports it, we must oppose it. In fact, they don't even think about how to solve those problems."

"Or, a lot of energy is put on some trivial issues. Those issues that are really important and need to be solved urgently are put aside and ignored."

"I feel that this kind of multiple-choice question is no longer a battle of political opinions, but a battle of political forms. Either you are with us or you are against us. There is no other choice."

Feng Yiping listened quietly and did not interrupt.

On these issues, especially as a foreigner and a citizen of a country that does not have a close relationship with the United States, it is really difficult for him to express his views at this time.

In fact, sometimes, just listening quietly is enough.

"Here," he handed Xiao Aohei a bottle of Yunling beer and touched the bottle with him.

"Thank you, I like this beer the most," Xiao O'Hei took a big sip, "You know, I just took office a few days ago, and I learned such a lesson,"

"That was a proposal sponsored by a Republican congresswoman. She wanted to investigate an election fraud in a state. I felt that it was right and necessary to investigate this issue, so I voted in favor."

"It's just such a simple thing, but do you know the result?"

"Very bad?" Feng Yiping said.

"I faced repeated bombardments from my party comrades. They even thought that I was being coaxed into betraying my party,"

"But I have only been in office for a few days,"

"Now, you wouldn't do that, would you?" Feng Yiping asked.

"Of course I have to be more cautious now," Xiao O'Hei shook his head helplessly, "I drafted some innocuous and inconsequential bills with some conservative colleagues, and I also have more time, and Colleagues have a drink or play a round of cards,"

"But even at times like this, I can't let down my guard. As you know, my colleagues and I have been going from campaign to campaign. In these campaigns, we can say that we are always on guard. Never criticize or attack our opponents in a friendly manner,"

"Now, this seems to have become the instinct of many people. You know, even within the party, you will face competition. Therefore, even when communicating with colleagues in the party, I must always pay attention not to Leaving people with material that may be used against me in the future,"

“The overall feeling is that I haven’t done much, but it’s been extremely hard.”

Judging from the situation Feng Yiping has grasped, Comrade Xiao Aohei's words are somewhat incomplete.

After he was successfully elected to the U.S. Senate, he faced more than just hardship.

For politicians, some routines seem to be universally applicable.

After O'Hei Jr. was elected to the Senate, his previous book, "Dreams from My Father," was re-released and quickly climbed onto the New York Times bestseller list.

It is expected that the book will bring him at least more than a million dollars in profits.

The phenomenon of chickens and dogs ascending to heaven when a person attains enlightenment actually happens in the United States.

After he was elected to the Senate, Michelle, who worked at the University of Chicago Hospitals, also received a promotion. She was promoted to vice chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Although the hospital tried its best to clarify that this was not a favor to Little O'Hei or Peanutton, everyone knew that this position seemed to be specially created for Michelle.

Now that the position has been promoted, the salary will definitely change - it will be doubled.

But that's not all. The boards of directors of many companies have extended an olive branch to Michelle - after all, no matter how good a lobbyist is, they may not be as good as a few pillow blows.

According to tradition, such an olive branch, the spouse of a senator, can definitely come next.

This means more income - after joining the board of directors of a company, in addition to receiving a high salary, you can also receive stock options in the company...

Therefore, when he entered Capitol Hill, he gained not only hard work, but at least financially, they were much better off. I heard that Michelle was now considering buying a luxury house in Chicago.

"Feng, I am becoming more and more aware of the importance of the media. Do you know that as long as you have sufficient funds, buy enough space, and run a few slanderous advertisements, you can turn a hero into an opponent?" People who are disloyal to the country,”

"This is true. One of my colleagues, a Vietnam War veteran who was a third-degree amputee, was accused by his rivals of supporting the government and ultimately lost the election,"

"Regarding this, I think you need to strengthen your ties with Silicon Valley," Feng Yiping made a suggestion. "You see, Silicon Valley actually has an increasingly important say in related fields."

"I know this. NEXTDOOR helped me a lot during my election campaign," O'Hei said. "I think Facebook can also play a big role in the future."

“It’s not just social products, but search is the same,” Feng Yiping added. “Think about it, if people search for your name on Google, the results that come out below will all be positive and complimentary. You're bound to get more support,"

"If the results are mostly negative, maybe my original supporters will change their minds," O'Hei continued, "You are right, I should really pay attention to this issue,"

“As for how much financial support Silicon Valley can provide you in the future, it goes without saying,” Feng Yiping said.

"I understand," O'Hei said.

Of course he understands that there are many rich people in Silicon Valley.

The key is that although there are shortcomings and demands of one kind or another, people in Silicon Valley are always more reliable than those on Wall Street.

"Feng, although I have some thoughts about the current situation, I can't always make up my mind. What do you think?" he asked proactively.

Like the previous question, this was also a personal question for him, so Feng Yiping said there was no need to avoid it, "You know, I am not familiar with politics, but if I understand correctly, the most important point in electoral politics is It’s about winning over voters,”

"Then, from this perspective, there is nothing wrong with having more contact with voters, listening to their voices at close range, taking every issue seriously, and finding ways to solve some of the common and urgent problems. "

After hearing this, Xiao Aohei immediately leaned over excitedly, "You think so too?"

"I think so too. Next, I want to return to Illinois more often, attend more public meetings, listen more to the demands of voters, try to stay away from the unnecessary battles on Capitol Hill, and try to do as much practical work as possible,"

"After that, we can properly participate in some international hot-spot issues, such as the Iraq issue," he said.

"I think you have thought very comprehensively and this plan is very feasible," Feng Yiping affirmed.

"Just speaking from my personal experience, I have a little suggestion,"

"Feng, don't be humble, I'm all ears," Xiao Aohei said.

"Actually, my current success is due to the monograph I published, "Blue Ocean Strategy." It can be said that the widespread reputation that book won for me was the reason why my subsequent entrepreneurship, especially in the United States, was so smooth. One of the main reasons for

"You just mentioned to me that you are writing your second book, "The Audacity of Hope," so I think you should spend more energy on writing this book well and getting it published. Being on the New York Times bestseller list allows more people to understand you and your views and support you,”

"You are very right," said O'Hei. "It seems that it is very necessary for me to spend more energy on writing this book. I think this will also bring an additional benefit. Our college loan should be I can pay it off earlier, hahaha,"

"I think that's definitely not a problem. Come on, do it." Feng Yiping raised the beer bottle.

…………

They didn't end the conversation until the sun went down, the crowds on the beach dwindled, and some lights in the hotels in Honolulu and on the beach came on.

On the way to the parking lot, Xiao Aohei said with unfinished meaning, "Feng, I hope you can arrange more time in the future and communicate more with me. You know, every time I talk to you, I will gain a lot."

"I can't guarantee the harvest, but I can guarantee that I will be an excellent listener. If you have anything to say in the future, you can talk to me, an outsider in the political circle," Feng Yiping said.

For some of the bitter things Xiao Aohei vomited today, he really couldn't find the right person to talk to.

The people on his team are definitely not suitable, and he cannot allow team members to be negatively affected by him.

It is not appropriate to talk to Michelle about some issues, because those words may weaken his dignity as a man.

Feng Yiping, an outsider, is really a good candidate.

"Feng, I have always wanted to say that I am lucky to have met you," said little O'Hei.

"In the American political circle, I am lucky to meet someone like you who wants to do something practical for the people. Haha, I have always been relatively lucky," Feng Yiping said.

"Haha, I think so," O'Hei said after a slight hesitation, "For example, the desk I have in the Senate happened to be the one used by Kennedy."