PDLP Chapter 40 The Eternal Bottom 3
Chapter 40 The Eternal Bottom 3
What does it mean that "the issues between us haven't been resolved yet"?
Eunice looked at Clarissa with a puzzled expression.
Then, he turned to look at Meng Ran.
seriously.
He was completely unaware of his own arrogance.
Or rather, he's gotten used to it.
In his view, given Meng Ran and Xi Ya's status and social class, it was already a favor that he was able to step in and appease them. What more could they possibly want?
"Gentlemen, now that I've resigned, I won't get involved in your association's affairs."
Meng Ran chuckled and glanced at Clarissa, then picked up the file bag in her hand and walked towards the counter not far away.
They hadn't even taken two steps.
Then I heard Clarissa and Eunice talking loudly.
However, it soon came to an abrupt end.
Eunice said, "Let's talk in the office," and stormed off angrily.
Meng Ran also took the opportunity to turn his head and exchange a glance with Clarissa.
He waved.
He gestured for her to go to the association to do some serious business first.
She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Watching her and Dahl's figures disappear into the police station entrance.
Meng Ran leaned over the counter at the registration desk and handed Jimmy's settlement agreement to the policewoman sitting inside: "This is the victim's letter of forgiveness. He says it was all a misunderstanding and he will not pursue the matter further."
The policewoman took the documents.
Looking down at the contents, she suddenly said, "My name is Megan Cole, badge number 787044."
"Meghan, that's so elegant..." Meng Ran hadn't expected her to introduce herself and instinctively complimented her, but he quickly realized something was off and asked in surprise, "You also have the last name Cole?"
Cole is a white surname that originated in England and flourished in Ireland.
Therefore, most people with the surname Cole in the United States are descendants of immigrants who came from Ireland during the Great Famine in the 19th century.
Of these, only two or three hundred people, known as "Cole," reside in Detroit. Most of these people come from the same village and still maintain social circles.
Meghan was often taken to related gatherings by her elders.
But she had never met Meng Ran.
This puzzled Megan, who felt that with Meng Ran's appearance, she would never forget him if she had met him even once.
"Your documents show you're from Detroit. What's your father's name?" Megan looked up at Meng Ran, who was leaning over the counter, and asked curiously.
Meng Ran thought for a moment before replying, "I take my mother's last name. Her name is Eileen Cole. Do you know her?"
As mentioned before, Meng Ran had no impression of her mother's relatives at all. It wasn't that she had lost her memory, but rather that she had never heard her mother mention them, let alone had any dealings with them.
"Eileen?" Megan frowned, trying to recall.
She felt the name sounded familiar, but she just couldn't remember it.
So she took a business card out of her breast pocket and handed it over.
"This is my private number. My father's name is Sean, and he's the commander of this branch office. You can go back and ask your mother if she knows him."
"She passed away many years ago." Meng Ran took the business card.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Megan immediately gave an apologetic look.
"It's alright," Meng Ran smiled and shook her head. "Can I tell you my age?"
"21." Megan said, standing up and waving the settlement agreement in her hand. "I'll go in and report to the sheriff. With this, your friend shouldn't need to pay bail."
"Thank you." Meng Ran nodded in thanks.
After Megan had walked away, he couldn't help but ask another Black policewoman who was in charge of reception, "Excuse me, what's the precinct commander?"
"The commander is the boss of this precinct." The black policewoman rolled her eyes at him, seemingly thinking that Meng Ran had asked a stupid question.
"Wow~~" Meng Ran was a little unsure of what to say.
So, everyone here has a powerful background?
Just an ordinary person?
That makes sense, because the more "traditional" a trade is, the more intricate the relationships become.
In contrast, the situation for American internet companies is currently better, and ordinary people still have a chance to succeed.
Thinking of this, Meng Ran couldn't help but start pondering Howard again.
What's this guy's background again?
Eunice was formerly a municipal public servant.
What about Howard?
Could it be?
…………
"Howard is not a public official; he is the husband of Jennifer, a board member of the BlackRock Environmental Justice Foundation North America Fund."
"To put it simply, his wife is the association's biggest financial backer."
Half an hour later, Thea walked side by side with Meng Ran, her hands in her pockets, and began to introduce Howard's situation.
"What is the primary task of the first project team?"
"Previously it was brownfield assessment and remediation."
Brownfields are land that has been contaminated by industry or commerce, such as abandoned factories or old residential areas.
The corresponding terms are "green space" and "black space".
Green space is easy to understand;
Black soil is even more polluted than brown soil, and is clearly "highly toxic".
Due to the massive loss of industry and population, Detroit has large areas of brownfield wasteland.
The government and some foundations have been pushing forward with brownfield remediation projects in order to make these lands valuable.
The role of NGOs is twofold: on the one hand, they are responsible for research and testing, and issuing independent third-party assessment reports; on the other hand, they directly undertake the restoration work.
Of course, whether there was any fraud involved is unknown.
"However, it seems that Howard's focus has shifted to Ford and GM," Thea added as they walked.
She continued, "Last time we protested on the Rouge River, Clarissa said that Ford and GM donated a large sum of money to Project One, saying it was to promote some green projects."
"The question is, what can Howard do for Ford and GM?" Meng Ran frowned in thought.
"Perhaps it's also brownfield remediation? Especially Ford, their Rouge plant has caused the most brownfields in the entire Wayne County." Thea shrugged.
Seeing that she didn't understand, Meng Ran didn't ask any more questions, but instead opened the system panel.
At this point, he possessed 2 [Basic Intelligence Cards]; 2 [4 Million Level Streaming Cards]; 1 [Photography Genius]; and 1 [Hidden Account].
After a moment's thought, he immediately activated the [Basic Intelligence Card] on Howard.
Instead of asking Thea, ask the system.
Maybe, like last time, there will be some surprise?
[Intelligence gathering in progress...]
Intelligence 1: Due to the aftermath of the economic crisis, BlackRock's special fund has reduced its funding, and Howard's wife Jennifer faces the risk of being laid off.
Howard advises Jennifer to seduce her boss, Anthony, to keep her job. Jennifer's attempt fails, but she unexpectedly meets a director of the Agapé Foundation.
"..." Meng Ran clicked his tongue.
Very good, as expected of a system based on Western NGOs, the first piece of intelligence is always from the lowest level.
[Intelligence 2: Howard recently discussed with Eunice the requirement that all unpaid interns in the association's project teams participate in secondhand item recycling work, mainly involving used electronics, old clothes, and other similar items.]
"What do you mean?"
"Is there a ulterior motive, or is it simply an attempt to exploit cheap labor?"
Upon seeing this intelligence report, Meng Ran blinked rapidly. His intuition told him that things weren't that simple. But looking at the content alone, there seemed to be nothing illogical.
[Intelligence 3: GM is about to advance its "Zero Waste Factory" plan, with Howard's Association Project 1 deeply involved and assisting.]
"Zero-waste factory..."
Upon seeing this vocabulary word, Meng Ran felt as if she had grasped something.