America 1982

Late at night, Jeff was lying on the bed in the bedroom, looking through the information that Martin had given him. After Jessica put all the children to sleep and kissed them goodnight thoughtfully, she returned to the bedroom, and then she saw her man’s back. Exaggerated tattoo, she covered her forehead in pain, stood by the bed and looked at Jeff for a while, then hesitantly said:

"Jeff, we need to talk."

Jeff put down the information: "Yes, we need to talk. Martin told me that my best result is fourth place in the party, and I need more support from party votes. Before Zach left, he thought of a way, He said that he could plan a competition and set the championship prize high enough to attract everyone to participate, but the only requirement for signing up was that the contestants must be Democrats and promise to vote for me in the party primary. , he is staying with Allen tonight and is going to choose one of several alternative competition plans. You should give us some opinions. What do you think of the ugliest chest hair contest, canned chickpea eating contest, ankle wrestling contest, and beach high heels? Sprint racing, which one is more attractive?”

"Jeff, I'm not talking about your election..." Jessica said with a sigh.

"Ring ring ring~~" Before Jessica could finish speaking, the extension phone next to the bed rang. Jeff reached out and pressed the hands-free button. Before he could speak, his two smart best friends came over there. Excited voice:

"Jeff, we have an idea! Combine the two competitions of eating canned chickpeas and ankle wrestling into one. Allen and I just came up with the idea together. The two of us lay down in the living room of Allen's house and stretched out our feet to wrestle. Allen's mother, Melissa, helped us as the referee, but at the beginning, Allen was killed by me with one hit. Guess why he lost the event he was best at? He is the strongest among the three of us. Good at ankle wrestling!”

"Let me tell him! Because Zach farted the smelliest and loudest fart since the birth of Florida! As soon as I straightened my back to exert my strength, I felt a ball of gas hit my face, and then I passed out! Allen then rushed to say on the phone: "Later I found out why he farted so exaggeratedly, because he ate the fried chickpeas prepared by my mother and drank two cans of chickpeas taken out of the refrigerator. Ice cold Coke!”

"Think about it, if we have a chickpea ankle wrestling competition, there will definitely be..." Jessica stepped forward and hung up the phone directly, looking at Jeff, who was originally full of excitement and eagerness to try: "I said, Let’s talk, Jeff!”

Jeff looked at his wife with a blank look on his face: "But... Zach and the others haven't finished talking yet. Don't you think this competition is very interesting? Do we still have canned chickpeas in the refrigerator at home?"

As she spoke and was about to pick up the phone to call back, Jessica pulled off the phone line: "The competition is very interesting. I think the three of you will definitely win the championship, second and third place. Jeff, I support you in hosting this competition. There is only one Condition, you have to withdraw from the election.”

Jeff was stunned for a moment and asked in disbelief: "What did you say?"

"I said, I want you to withdraw from the election. I don't want to live the life I have now. I want to go back to the way it used to be, with four children, you, and two dogs. Every day you go to fix the water pipes, and after you finish your work, you go to the school to do volunteer work. In the evening The life of a family sitting in the living room watching popular dramas." Jessica pursed her lips and stared at Jeff and said seriously.

Jeff saw his wife's serious expression and sat up from the bed: "Life now is no different from before, except that there are a few more people. I understand. I will go to the furniture store tomorrow to order two larger sofas, ensuring that all Everyone can sit comfortably on the sofa, I..."

"It has nothing to do with the sofa! Look at you, look at your messy tattoos, your home that looks like a military base, and that bad guy wearing an American flag bandanna who has ruined all the bitches in the neighborhood. Dog!" Jessica sat helplessly next to Jeff, looking up at the photo of herself in high school wearing camouflage uniforms practicing shooting in front of the two of them in the bedroom:

"And this ugly photo, this is not my life, this is not our life, Jeff!"

Jeff rubbed his face and sighed: "Jessica, I also feel that this kind of life recently makes me a little... not used to it..."

Jessica's eyes suddenly lit up, staring at her husband expectantly, but the next second, Jeff put down his hands and said to his wife seriously: "But Tommy, Martin, Marcus and everyone on the election team , are all working hard to help me seek opportunities to be elected, and each of them is busy for me. I can't hide and be lazy."

"And those veterans who are like my father, remember, I promised them that I would go to Washington to seek justice for them. This is my responsibility as a candidate."

Jessica roared angrily: "No! That's not your responsibility at all! That's what Tommy and Martin made you think. It's not your original dream at all. Do you remember why you ran for the election in the first place? You and Zach, Allen wants everyone to believe that the earth is flat, remember? You were replaced by Tommy, Martin and others! Those veterans are not your father! You are you, Jeff LaVine, you are just a The logistics soldier who is responsible for loading and unloading musical instruments in the National Guard Military Band! You are just a plumber who is good at repairing various pipes! You are just a good neighbor in the eyes of the neighbors! What Tommy and Martin brought to us is not what we want at all Life!"

"I am also a good neighbor now and an excellent pipe repairman." Jeff could not understand his wife's anger, but he put his arm around his wife's shoulders as gently as he could and whispered comforting: "I will always be the person you said. "

Jessica leaned her head on her husband's chest and said slowly in a gentle voice: "I want you to do the same as before, lying in bed every night and telling me about the interesting things you did with Zach Allen and the others today. Things, instead of like now, telling me every day how miserable those veterans are, I want you to evaluate the food I cook at the dinner table just like in the past, instead of like now, you don't care at all about what you eat, just Concerned about what Martin said, Jeff, the life of a politician is not suitable for ordinary people like us. I think our two dogs..."

At the same time, in the office of Tucker Consulting Company, the conversation between Jeff and his wife was carried out verbatim by the telephone listening device in the bedroom, which was caught in Martin's ears.

The two staff members who were reporting work progress to him in the office also heard the conversation between Jeff and his wife. At this time, they looked at Martin, full of confusion.

If their employer decides to quit, then a lot of the work they are doing now can be considered useless. Of course, the other party will need to continue to pay the bills, but everyone can relax and no longer have to be so busy.

"Anyway, 200,000 yuan has already arrived in the account. If he insists on withdrawing from the election, the company can make easier money from this money." A subordinate said tentatively when he saw the tangled look on Martin's face.

As long as Martin agrees, everyone can call it a day and take a vacation. Both subordinates feel that Martin will not stop his employer's decision to withdraw from the election. After all, he has made two hundred thousand in two weeks and does not even need to participate in the party's primary election. , even any idiot would know to nod in agreement.

Martin picked up the phone and broadcast a call from Lance, a black man who was sleeping in Jeff’s pickup truck and serving as Jeff’s driver, bodyguard, and pet dog sitter: “Lance, this is Martin, Jeff is in bed with Jessica. I deceived you so much that you wanted to withdraw from the election. As the lifesaver who provided you, a retired homeless man, with valuable job opportunities, is there anything you can do in return for me in this matter?"

"You get up early tomorrow, first find a few veterans to guard near his house, let them see Jeff, be grateful to him, sincerely appreciate him as a veteran, tie him up, restrain him, and make him like some little Japanese Like the heroine of the movie, she uses moral shackles to tie her unique style to make him unable to move. If you mess up, I will send your pet dog that has killed the whole street bitches to be euthanized, and then I will interrupt you. Three ribs, your ex-wife who was furious because you stole the dog comes to reunite with you, that’s great.”

After the explanation, Martin hung up the phone, leaned his head on the back of the chair, imitated his boss Tommy and made a thinking gesture, clenched his hands into fists, tapped the back of the chair lightly, and quickly came up with another idea. He picked up the phone again and called Gina:

"Hey Gina, are you asleep? This is Martin, you're about to call Marcus and ask him what kind of clothes to wear to make a man named Stephen fall in love with you? I don't think that's a good idea, no. No, no, no, Stephen is not a liar. Of course he is a real rich man from California. There is just one problem. We don’t need you and Stephen to be a temporary partner because your sister persuaded Jeff to withdraw from the election. Do you understand? You can continue to read the newspaper now. I posted the job advertisement on the job. I wish you good luck. Unfortunately, I have to call Stephen to explain this matter clearly to him. In the next three days, I plan to introduce my half-sister to him. I hope I can I have the opportunity to have a billionaire brother-in-law, and I hope to become the uncle of several future billionaires, I..."

Martin heard the busy signal from the phone over there, looked at his two subordinates, and shrugged: "Gina was so angry that she hung up the phone directly. Paige used this similar trick to trick me into becoming the boss's bodyguard. I Now I understand how good it feels.”

"So, we still have to continue working?" The two men looked at Martin.

Martin gave a perfunctory smile: "Of course, we still have the opportunity to make more money, why not? We have to let Jeff continue to do what we think is right."

"What if, boss, your threats...no, I mean your attempts to retain him have no effect on Jeff and he insists on withdrawing?"

"Before my boss sends Page to kill me, I will let those angry veterans kill him." Martin took a deep breath and said to his subordinates unhappily. Then he suddenly thought of something and spoke slowly:

"Yeah, now I finally understand why there are always bizarre deaths of various politicians in the United States, because they refuse to listen to their bosses and do the right thing."

A university intern spoke matter-of-factly and said in a humorous tone: "Isn't this natural?"

"Do you know what the miller means?" Martin asked with his big eyes wide open.

The other party shook his head blankly.

Martin smiled suddenly: "I understand now why I am a miller."

…

Stephen poked his head out of the hotel swimming pool, smoothed his wet hair with both hands, walked up the stairs, took a glass of mead from the swimsuit girl by the pool, and let the girl wipe the water off his body with a towel. He was stained and sitting by the pool, looking at Tommy who was still swimming in the pool:

"I heard from Jim that there are reporters at KeyBank investigating how it operates. Are you sure there won't be any problems?"

Tommy did not respond to him and insisted on swimming two rounds before climbing out of the swimming pool: "I arranged it. Let the shareholders behind you relax and reassure them. I will only let reporters investigate and I hope they can The results of the investigation are good for us.”

"Just such a serious thing, no, there is one more thing." Stephen laughed, took a sip of wine, and said to Tommy.

"I guess Bill is coming to Miami to help the Cuban woman campaign? And you and your father, as the big donors of the Democrats in Congress, also want to see how much that woman is worth your donation, and by the way, help Bill in Florida. Are you showing off your muscles here at the Democratic Party headquarters? After all, maybe the congressmen here don’t have to buy into Bill’s account, but they must buy into the Bean family, a long-established supporter of the Democratic Party.” Tommy said calmly with an expression that I had known for a long time. .

Stephen looked at Tommy in surprise: "How did you know Bill would come to Miami?"

"It is written in the newspaper that President Bush will come to Miami next week to support the Cuban woman who is the Republican candidate. Bill is working hard to integrate the factions within the Democratic Party and prepare for the next president. How could he miss this opportunity?" Tommy He looked at Stephen suspiciously: "I have told you many times to maintain the good habit of reading newspapers and watching the news every day."

Stephen drained the mead in the wine glass and motioned to the girl to get him another glass. Then he continued to explain to Tommy: "Let me explain in advance, I don't care who enters the House of Representatives. The fool Jeff you elected is more favored by the local party." It doesn't matter if she's a Cuban woman, but that woman's ex-husband is from the Kennedy family. You know that my old man, Pete, served as the Assistant Secretary of Health during the administrations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, so I'm going to sit at the fund-raising reception held by Bill for that woman. , write a check.”

Tommy clinked the glasses with him: "My only suggestion is that Bill's drinking party should be held after the party's primary election. That Cuban woman is finished. Even after the divorce, she still insists on using her ex-husband Kennedy's surname. I can’t save her, I’m telling you.”

"I will say, OK, let's get back to business. When are we going to the church to raise funds? This is the first time I have such a strong interest in religion." Stephen asked Tommy warmly after finishing the business.

Tommy put on a bath towel and wiped the water stains on his face: "Those female believers are far behind the girls in Hollywood. They only have a beautiful skin, but the skin is empty. You won't like it. So, except for The materials from my group, Jason and the guy from the Order of the Phoenix are all useless?"

"Production continued as usual. I had a chat with Mr. Turner about the general situation. He didn't think it was a big problem. If he didn't think it was a problem, I wouldn't have a problem. Anyway, it's his TV station that broadcasts it." Stephen said:

"He feels that the stunt you came up with is more exciting than the script. It only needs to delete some scenes that are too sensitive and cause controversy. It should be fine. He runs three TV networks and his connections in the FCC should be very deep. If the Australian Fox The networks can air shows like America's Most Wanted, so why can't Turner Network air the more inspiring The Apprentice."

"For example, Jason and Susie, while starting their own businesses from scratch, also did not forget to provide training and find job opportunities for illegal immigrants. This shows the willingness of Americans to help others."

"For example, that idiot Belt, his greenhouse cultivation training business allows farmers living in the bitter cold land of Washington State to grow the plants they want in the cold season, so that the people of Washington State can taste them in all seasons. Vegetables you’d like to taste, or other plants.”

"The only thing with a problem is your group. Mr. Turner and I both feel like helping a fool run for a seat in the House of Representatives is a bigger stunt than the first two, but man, you're fucking scary, front pigeon, veteran, neighborhood guy." It doesn’t matter, that’s fine, but the cult church’s self-sacrifice sermon cannot be broadcast. It doesn’t matter how many donations you raised or even left some in the foundation..."

"Wait until the election is over to film a plot and replace the church's donations with a visible donor?" Tommy sighed: "If you are willing to help me go to the Jewish neighborhood to attend a rally in three days, I will agree to cooperate with you. The script was reshot.”

Stephen said to Tommy seriously: "Very good, the plot is like this, you raise money for Jeff, work as a cowherd and sell yourself to fat ladies, and then those fat ladies donate a lot of money, I can personally help you select those Fat actors, trust me, Tommy, we are good brothers, I guarantee that every one I pick will be fat enough."