Chapter 608: Commissioner
According to the knowledge Wayne learned at the Academy, America theoretically has an “entry quarantine mechanism.”
As per the Founding Fathers' original design, this was to prevent various plagues that had ravaged the Old Continent for years from entering the New World, avoiding a repeat of past events.
Foreigners entering through official procedures, including celebrities from all walks of life and formal laborers, were in principle required to pass this hurdle before the Federation would officially recognize their rights as “freemen.”
However, the situation in this era is well-known; what exists “theoretically” may not always be the case “practically.”
It had been too long since the last major plague outbreak, and America at this time mostly just went through the motions in this regard.
People from the upper echelons of various countries could often pass through without hindrance by having servants fill out a few forms on the ship in advance; wealthy individuals were also welcome in the New World, while ordinary Scholars and technical personnel genuinely needed to queue patiently and wait for various approvals.
As for non-technical manual laborers, they often encountered various problems, usually finding it very difficult to obtain official work permits; if they had no one to take them in locally, they could only “overstay illegally” and “do whatever they could.”
—This was an invisible benefit for local employers; many law-abiding but unskilled and unrooted foreign laborers were willing to lower their wage demands to quickly obtain work and residency.
In a sense, this was also a management measure that began “streaming” people of all classes from the source.
One cannot say it was “nominal,” but it was at least “completely different” from its original design.
Merlin’s title was “Deputy Captain of the Cathedral Guard.” Although he could not mobilize many people in the Cathedral at the moment, and did not have much influence when handling private matters in political circles,
his identity was indeed genuine, and its value was immeasurably higher than Wayne’s civilian “private Detective.”
So, splitting the difference, when Wayne brought him to City Hall, he easily secured authorization for the Detective Agency as a “Health Liaison Commissioner.”
The actual process was not too complicated:
Wayne knew the Mayor, and Merlin’s title carried enough weight; when the two requested a meeting together, the Mayor naturally did not mind taking some office time.
After hearing the general situation, the Mayor naturally asked if a plague investigation was necessary in the Dock Area now.
Wayne let Merlin answer, and Merlin, of course, stated that it was necessary.
Then the Mayor asked for specific details and learned that the Cathedral had already detected clues, and it was Tiriel himself who had ordered the investigation, even sending out Merlin, the Deputy Captain of the Cathedral Guard.
However, City Hall’s human resources were limited, and there were not enough official local residents living in the Dock Area; even if the Mayor was willing, he would certainly prioritize the public health of official residents in the city proper and could not waste resources on the Dock Area.
So Wayne, the enthusiastic public-spirited great Detective, stepped forward and said that their Detective Agency had capable and professional people who could assist City Hall in investigating the situation for free, and the Cathedral also had the same intention.
However, the situation in the Dock Area was complex, and the Detective Agency’s personnel had no official status, so the people living there might not cooperate with the Detective Agency’s investigation, which made Wayne a little troubled.
Finally, Merlin promptly informed the highest levels of City Hall about the potential risks currently existing in the Dock Area, to avoid accidental incidents causing greater impact on the secular world; Wayne guaranteed that he would not take advantage to gain illegal profits, and that the authorized identity would only be used for plague investigation; and the Mayor saved City Hall’s manpower, gaining a group of volunteers to help check the city’s health status for free.
As for the authorization from the City Health Committee… that was just a matter of Wayne taking a note to get a few officials to co-sign, which could be done quickly.
With people from the Church watching, such a matter was clearly unprofitable and not a long-term authorization, and it would not occupy City Hall’s budget or the manpower of various departments.
The officials were all shrewd individuals and, as expected, chose to give face to the Mayor and the newly appointed Bishop—all for the public interest of the citizens.
Wayne: “See? When you’re out and about, you have to earn your own status, right?”
But in the end, it was still because Merlin was not powerful enough.
If Tom Hagen were still around, such matters would probably have been handled in advance, and Wayne likely wouldn't have needed to “fight” for it.
...
Back at the workshop, Wayne had Doug inform a bunch of people to meet in the archive room that evening.
“Slingshot,” who had arrived early, appeared with a bandaged head and happily came over to Wayne with good news: “Boss, we finally sold all of today’s luncheon meat before closing time!”
This was a bit unexpected for Wayne, and he was pleasantly surprised, “Really?”
Since Wayne’s current focus for the “promotion team” was not on making money, but on asserting presence in the Sailor Gang’s territory, initially making the gangs understand that “the Detective Agency is not to be trifled with,” and only later formally establishing rules,
the luncheon meat currently produced by the workshop was mainly sent to the restaurant, and the promotion team only took a “small portion” each day; Wayne didn’t even require them to bring back unsold products, only that they establish a reputation first.
But the promotion team had only been selling for a few days and could sell out their daily stock, which indicated that luncheon meat indeed had a market foundation.
At least it proved that Wayne’s initial concept was not far off.
Hearing Wayne’s question, “Slingshot” felt a bit embarrassed: “Actually, it wasn’t entirely ‘official’ sales… many customers came after dark, and we gave discounts on some of them, according to the rules you set, Boss. That’s why they all sold out.”
Wayne wasn’t too concerned about this, his gaze shifting to “Slingshot’s” bandaged head, “Do the Sailor Gang still interfere with your stalls now?”
“Slingshot” shook his head: “We’ve fought with the Sailor Gang several times these past few days. Yesterday, when we were closing up, they even arranged for people to block the road halfway; we even pulled out our lever-action rifles then. Today, they finally don’t dare to come anymore.”
After speaking, he pointed to his head, “The bandage is something we deliberately put on today; the injury isn’t actually that serious. It’s just to warn them, to show that our anger hasn’t subsided yet, and if they dare to come today, we’ll definitely continue to fight back. And it also implies that as long as they don’t kill us, we’ll definitely keep coming every day.”
Hmm...
Is the “promotion team” a bit too spirited now…? No, no, stall promotion really isn’t our main business…
However, this deterrent effect was indeed what Wayne wanted. The Dock Area was such a large place; even if all the Detective Agency’s people were deployed as volunteer police, they certainly couldn’t cover everything.
The feasible method truly was to adopt the gang’s approach: whoever dared to cause trouble, they would deal with them, and the rest would still depend on their “awareness.”
So Wayne patted “Slingshot’s” shoulder to encourage him: “Good job. And starting tomorrow, you won’t have to be so passive anymore; just leave one or two people to mind the stall.”
“Then our other team members don’t need to go?” “Slingshot” hesitated slightly, “If the numbers are too small, I’m worried those Sailor Gang members will continue to cause trouble…”
“No.”
Wayne smiled, “Starting tomorrow, you can begin ‘door-to-door sales’ in batches. After fighting with the Sailor Gang for so many days, do you want to visit their ‘headquarters’?”
“Slingshot’s” eyes instantly sharpened: “Can we?”
“Of course. We have already obtained authorization from the Cathedral and City Hall.”
