The witches rejected this plan, and the result of the compromise between the two sides was that the federal enterprises provided technical guidance to help the witches build factories and train workers, while the witches ensured quality and quantity while completing the subcontracting orders from the federation at a low price. Although the witches don't make much money from subcontracting orders, they can expand their trading partners after they have factories and qualified workers. Even if countries have trade barriers, it is still difficult to resist the impact of Waite goods. The prosperity of business has brought more wealth to the witches, but also more burdens to ordinary people. Therefore, in Merida, the capital of the country, prosperity and gloom can coexist. Magic gives witches the confidence to sustainably exhaust their resources, but they always have to give people some hope - such as the hope of starting a family and a career, so that the cattle and horses will work harder. The extreme gender ratio, the social atmosphere in which men are completely objectified, and the huge material rewards for giving birth to boys have made men the reference standard for women's ability and social status: marrying a man is glorious, and giving birth to a boy represents liberation from the hardships of life. Therefore, "starting a family" is the goal of most ordinary women in Waite. In the hope of giving birth to a boy to change their lives, they remain emotionally stable even if they endure shocking exploitation. Most of the men introduced from the federation were assigned to the Ixtapa district, which was once a concentrated area of immigrants. The immigrants required lower wages than the locals and were down-to-earth and capable, so they were regarded as role models by managers and rewarded to many men. The bad thing is that these federal men did not receive any education on male ethics. After they got married, they found that although Waite appeared to have a high male status, he had actually become a tool in the hands of the witches and was not even considered a human being. They are also regarded as an invasive species by the local men in Waite, and have long suffered hostility and isolation. Coupled with the conflicting values and anger at the degradation of their male self-esteem, their dissatisfaction with Waite has deepened. Finally, it was the economy that ignited the powder keg.
This year, the witches targeted a large project tendered by the federal government. In order to win the bid, they worked hard to reduce costs and construction period to create a "miracle." The price of the "miracle" was naturally paid by the workers. Their wages were cut, but the intensity of their work increased. Originally, the workers could tolerate these additional charges, but under the instigation of their husbands from the Federation, they decided to go on strike. They set up a rights and interests committee, demanding that the factory increase their basic salary by 20%, adjust the daily working hours to 10 hours, and guarantee at least two days of paid leave every half month. The factory responded by laying off a large number of employees and introducing labor from poor areas, forcing them to use their biggest bargaining chip - their husbands, which alarmed the Waite Survival Company to intervene in the negotiations. "Does Miss Longueville think that these poor people's efforts will succeed?" asked Dias. Anne shook her head: "It's difficult. The managers clearly want to divide and win over a group of people, so our family's charity event, the Holy Fool's work-for-relief and free medical care, and the men's voluntary activities appeared in the Ixtapa district on the same day. For another group of people, the managers were prepared to resolve the issue violently. The grassroots soldiers of the Security Militia were unable to fight, but the officers and their personal soldiers still had the power to suppress them. The strategy of using men as bargaining chips was bold, but they didn't understand the Waite Survival Department. This sector is so prominent because they hold the ‘male pricing power’ and they will not tolerate any challenge to their core power by people from Ixtapa.” Corneille and Dias looked at each other. Dias wanted to say something, but Corneille crossed his fingers, indicating that there was no point in arguing. The values of the Federation don't work here. "Will not conducting military activities in the capital affect social stability?" asked Cornell. Anne replied: "It might be possible in the Federation, but in Waite, there is no grand narrative of country, ethnicity, gender, politicalism, or religion. What maintains people's common imagination is magic and the king of the forest. Because of the lack of common imagination, people have little empathy for strangers and will not take action for them. " Dias whispered, "The only way to break the impasse is to ask the federal office in Waite to intervene. In theory, after Waite is incorporated into the federation, it should also abide by federal laws." "I don't have time to think about them." Anne showed a bitter smile on her face: "I went to check the material distribution point set up by the family and found that the atmosphere there was terrible. People are filled with anger, and our family's bad reputation can easily be exploited by those with ulterior motives and turned into a weapon to attack us. The Longueville family has never accepted subcontracts from federal companies, and the new plan to reduce wages and increase labor intensity has nothing to do with our family."
Anne cleaned her house very well, and this was not even worth listening to for Corneille. He asked: "Where is your guard?" "Not enough, at least not enough to make me feel safe." "Can it be stopped early or moved to a safer area?" asked Gao Naiyi. Anne was vague: "This is my personal investment to improve my image. I also face competition within the family. If I'm cowardly, it will cause a chain reaction." Corneille looked at Dias, who hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, help Miss Longueville. Eh, the ring?" Anne took out a ring inlaid with a purple-red gemstone: "This is the medium for the summoning magic exclusive to the 'Devil' domain. I can urgently summon the person wearing the ring to my side. This is just a temporary safety measure, so the ring I gave Mr. Corneille will automatically destroy itself after activating it once, and the temporary contract will be terminated." "Well... OK," Dias said, "Pierre, what do you think?" "I am only worried about you," replied Corneille. "I feel underestimated by you." Polly said unhappily, "There are so many guards here. Don't worry, unless I die, no one can threaten His Excellency the Duke." Corneille turned to Anne and said, "Ms. Longueville, if you and Dias were in trouble at the same time, I would definitely give priority to rescuing Dias... If you can accept this premise, let me serve you once." Anne agreed. Summoning magic is a magic that requires chanting a spell. As she chanted, gorgeous pink patterns spun around the ring. She grabbed Corneille's right index finger and put the ring on it. Corneille saw a black vertical pupil opening on the surface of the purple-red gemstone inlaid with the ring. Dias covered his chest with his hands. For some reason, he felt a little uncomfortable when he saw the ring on Corneille's hand. "There's something weird about this," Polly muttered. "Hopefully it won't be used." Anne checked the time and said goodbye to Corneille and the others in a hurry. This scene was recreated through magic in a house in the Ixtapa district. "The Longueville family is known for its insolence, and Anne Geneviève Longueville is the most insolent of the family. She must be taught a lesson." A turtle dove paced on the balcony, speaking in human language: "Back then, you were framed and expelled from the realm of 'justice', and replaced by foreigners. The Longueville family was one of the main promoters." The shadows of five witches spread on the wall. They were all wearing black robes and mirror-smooth masks. On their chests, there were patterns of white scales and bleeding weights sewn on them. The leader replied to Turtledove: "There is no need to talk about the past. Now we are just the 'White Order' - a terrorist organization ruled by you. You pay the money and we do the work, that's all." "Well, the advance has been paid. I wonder if Corneille will have any influence on the plan?" "If your goal is to kill Anne, then Corneille is a big problem. His undefeated record against extraordinary people has lasted for seven years." "'Undefeated'? That means he sometimes evens out his opponents to a draw," said Turtledove. The witch of the "White Order" said coldly: "Why do you have to play dumb with me? What I can understand, you can also understand: Corneille's political stance was that of a royalist, but in the supernatural system, he was an apostle - a supernatural being favored by the goddess Hathor and granted divine power. Hathor's magic ensured that Corneille still had a chance to escape even in an unfavorable situation. His sword 'Flying Lion' and shield 'Suliana' are both divine weapons. The content of Minerva's blessing on the former is unknown, and there is no information on Hathor's blessing on the latter.
Using actual combat to test his cards would involve too much trial and error cost and too many uncertainties. So, I can't promise you anything. Do you want a refund?" The turtledove froze, and the person controlling it held urgent consultations with other financiers: the Longueville family had offended many people just by monopolizing magical knowledge and copyright infringement, and by snatching men and hoarding them. Therefore, they secretly joined forces to prepare to attack the Longueville family. They were behind the riots in the Ixtapa district. Their goal was to put all the blame on the Longueville family, and it was very easy for them to achieve this. The Longueville family will not sit idly by and wait for death. They will definitely send core family members to spend money to eliminate the disaster. This is a method that the Longueville family has often used in the past. At this time, we can use the terrorists to deal a heavy blow to the Longueville family. If we can cause a large-scale bloodshed and death of civilians in the area, this sweet blood-curdling steamed bun will make the Longueville family's public opinion situation worse. At this time, although there were many forces in the Ixtapa District, none of them could help the Longueville family: the Survival Department was negotiating with the Rights Committee; the Public Security Army was preparing to attack and control the men in the Ixtapa District; the guards of the Male Management Department only had their mission goals in mind; the Holy Fool Church was too busy to come... But Anne dragged Corneille into the plan, adding uncertainty to the plan. "Try it." Ten minutes later, Turtledove spoke again: "Our people will start a riot to distract the Longueville family guards, and you will find a way to deal with Anne and Corneille. The same result would result from ruining her charitable activities, undermining her prestige, and exacerbating the conflict within the Longueville family over the succession." "no problem." At 9 o'clock in the morning, Dias began his first male duty in his life: he sat on the sofa in Room 41, and Corneille's three subordinates and Polly stood in the four corners, watching the women entering the room together. From Waite's female perspective, "male obligation" is a social welfare that allows female residents who settle in the city, even if they are destined to be single for life, to have fond memories of their time with men. In specific implementation, unmarried female residents in the city are scored and divided into levels according to several criteria, including work enthusiasm, loyalty, age, health, and appearance and figure. The higher the level, the higher the quality of the men who come to leave beautiful memories on a weekly basis, and the more services you will unlock. Dias is a duke from a foreign country with a certain social influence, and the Male Management Department will not make things difficult for him. Therefore, those who come to Room 41 are all well-educated, high-quality ordinary women, that is, the servants of the witch. They have been promised by their master to guarantee marriage. But who doesn't want to leave good memories with a handsome guy? During the 30-minute time limit, they sat on the sofa, maintaining an appropriate social distance with Diaz, chatting enthusiastically but politely, or playing card games. Diaz was a little nervous at first. He imagined a passionate story in his mind where a strange woman did strange things to him, and then Corneille came and punched him one by one to save him from the crisis. However, every woman he received was very normal. They spoke well, dressed neatly, had a positive attitude, and were good at playing cards. This made him feel relaxed and he gradually talked more. Even a shy person like me can accomplish this, so why does Miss Longueville find it difficult and shocking? Dias thought to himself. Considering Anne's possible call, Corneille stood outside the door and witnessed another scene: most of the women were eager to attack the men after entering the room, and the male guards in the room would not care as long as the actions were not too rough. Moreover, women with normal looks and figures only account for a small proportion. More women, when viewed from a distance, look more like men with fat faces and a somewhat unkempt appearance. As they smiled and hugged the boys in their arms, like frogs catching their prey, the screams of the victims were soon replaced by other sounds. Corneille's intelligence recorded an unverified rumor: In order to solve the problem of labor shortage, the witches of Waite used magic or potions on ordinary women to make their physical fitness closer to that of men. The price is that the victim's appearance will partially become masculine, becoming ugly due to being out of place, his personality may become irritable, and his life span will be shortened.
In order to appease these useful members who make society run normally, or in other words, continue to create wealth for the witches, those adult men with low scores are rewarded to them once a week as prizes. Perhaps, the fate of these men is also a warning to those local men who have negative and lazy thoughts and refuse to cooperate with the Men's Management Department. As for Dias, the simple and beautiful male duty experienced by a foreign duke will be the best embellishment of this project full of "human glory" and "humanistic care". According to common practice, the propaganda agencies should be preparing to take action, thought Cornelius. As expected, Corneille saw reporters nearby. They were waiting nearby to interview those whom Diaz had "served". By noon, they would probably interview Diaz as well. They are columnists for the Mérida Newspaper, the largest local newspaper, and today the newspaper came out in full force, divided into four teams to record four events that happened simultaneously in the Ixtapa district. The Longueville family is the second largest shareholder of the newspaper, so the newspaper is very concerned about Anne's charity public relations show and sent a whole team to follow up on Anne. Waite's charity show inherited the style of the old empire. First of all, it was a spectacular entrance performance: amid the exclamations of the onlookers, Anne converted her magic power into fire magic and released it. In a very short time, she reshaped the fire magic and turned it into a staircase. When she walks over the steps, they will be processed for the third time, transforming them into a Waite's passenger pigeon, a symbol of peace. The pigeon will circle in the sky, leaving behind a beautiful pink heart pattern and disappearing. Just like that, she gracefully walked down the steps from a height of about 24 meters and came straight to the onlookers. A woman holding a child fell to the ground in fright. She gently helped the child up and took out a piece of candy and put it in the child's hand. Anne cleared her throat and began her speech, but she was interrupted after just a few words. A fat, ugly woman came on the scene and vented her anger with personal insults. Anne's expression turned serious. She stopped the guards and the servants of the Longueville family and waited patiently for them to finish their scolding. She extracted the accusations contained in their low-information sentences and refuted them one by one using rhetoric. However, rhetoric is no match for personal attacks. The woman relied on cursing to maintain her momentum, and even made Anne cry. She was proud of having won the scolding, but she saw that the people around her who should have stood on the same side as her looked at her unkindly. Anne's debate was not to win, but to clear the stain of the Longueville family and enhance her personal image. Although, when everyone is full of resentment, they all fantasize about a noble lady being humiliated and slapped in the face by people like themselves, but when they really see a beautiful, gentle, and tender-looking lady being humiliated in an unreasonable and barbaric way until she sobs, they feel sympathy in their hearts—— If you can defeat this young lady with reason, we will all stand by your side. Bullying a young girl with swearing will only bring shame even if you win. The simple compassion of the working people won half of Anne's war. The woman fled in panic. Anne sobbed as she took the package from the waiter and showed the supplies she had donated to the Ixtapa district: Food that is not expired or adulterated, second-hand clothes without patches, and clean drinking water... Even in the relatively less poor district of Ixtapa, these things can still be called "gifts" and win applause from the people. The little girl who had been given candy before stretched out her dirty little hands and handed the handkerchief to Anne. She knew nothing about this show, but she just couldn't bear to see her older sister cry. Anne took the handkerchief, cried and laughed, hugged the little girl, and pushed the show to a climax. The senior editor of the newspaper industry exclaimed: "Even if it were put on a charity gala, this play could be the finale. Considering that she is only 16 years old, Miss Longueville's acting skills are amazing." Another reporter chimed in: "I think that was not acting. The person arranged by Miss Longueville didn't have time to appear on stage. She was really scolded and cried by the young man who suddenly appeared. She had to temporarily modify the script and finish the play." The editor was stunned for a moment: "Who are you? I have never seen you in the newspaper office. How did you know?" The reporter smiled, unbuttoned his clothes, revealing a pattern of white scales and bloody weights: "Because the one who made her cry was my accomplice."