Blackstone Code

Chapter 232:

At 8:30 PM, an ordinary citizen, whom we shall call Mr. Citizen, dragged his weary body home and pushed open the door.

The cramped room no longer inspired him to muster the courage to change his situation as it once did in his youth; he had begun to feel increasingly numb.

"You're back?" Asked his wife, busy in the kitchen, where a slightly nauseating smell was emanating. Too tired to respond, Mr. Citizen merely grunted in reply and slumped down on the worn-out sofa.

A small section of the sofa had collapsed because one of the springs inside had broken, which soon affected the other springs. Eventually, that spot became an unwelcome place to sit, occupied only by Mr. Citizen's wife or their not-too-heavy children.

After the city hall reissued food stamps this time, people noticed a few problems. It was difficult to exchange the stamps for solid food at relief points; the previously criticized rock-hard food had been replaced entirely by liquid food.

It looked like something that had just been excreted, packed in tubes. Eating it was simple: just soak the whole tube in hot water for a while.

Then squeeze it out of the tube, like squeezing out excrement, onto a plate, and then eat it.

Many people were not used to this new food, but the city hall's explanation was that there were too many unemployed people, and the population affected by unemployment was too large. With extremely tight finances; they couldn't afford to let everyone eat their fill and eat well.

Of course, if they used two or three food stamps, they could still exchange them for the previous solid food, but this was clearly not cost-effective.

The women in households would squeeze it onto baking sheets, then press it down with an oiled cup bottom, turning the excrement-like substance into round cookies.

After a while in the oven, the moisture evaporated, leaving behind a solid food resembling cookies.

This nicely solved the texture issue. Next, they just needed some inexpensive potatoes, tomatoes, or some green vegetables and a handful of wheat flour to make a thick soup, which could get them through lunch or dinner.

The family sat under the dim light, absentmindedly eating this not-so-tasty dinner.

Mr. Citizen's wife couldn't help but ask, "How was it today?" She probably just felt that everyone being silent during a family meal made the atmosphere heavy. She could swear she only disliked the silence, not that she intentionally wanted to provoke her husband.

Mr. Citizen's frustrations erupted once more at that moment, as they had several times before. He suddenly stood up, glaring angrily at the foolish woman who dared to challenge his status and authority.

Perhaps it was the son's gaze from the side, Mr. Citizen did not take it further this time. He just said, "Ruining my appetite," and left the dining room, heading to the living room instead.

He turned on the TV. Perhaps watching TV was one of the few pleasures left for him and families like his.

Fortunately, the city cable company had waived the mandatory service fees for this period—both TV and phone services were actually free, provided that users subscribed to these services for a certain period. Some were three years, some five years. For ordinary families, paying a monthly fee for TV signal access and getting a free TV in return was a great deal, so many joined in.

However, phone service was different. Communication fees were charged in real time, so besides paying the basic fee for using the communication line, users also had to ensure a minimum monthly usage fee, which was a significant expense.

Most families didn't need phones for work or daily life, so not many installed phones. But TV was different; everyone loved watching TV, and in these times, they couldn't do without it.

Just as Mr. Citizen was about to watch a sports program, he was surprised to find it had been replaced by another competition. He cursed under his breath. Nothing seemed to go right these days.

He had spent the day looking for work, begging younger people, but still couldn't get a job.

He felt like a dog that anyone could kick, and now back home, he had to endure his wife's mockery. He couldn't even enjoy watching TV.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. A violent and destructive emotion began to quietly surface from deep within him, growing rapidly without his awareness.

His eyes started to redden due to rising blood pressure. He had an urge to grab a knife from the kitchen and make all those who made his life miserable regret being born.

But at that moment, his intense and raging emotions paused briefly. His attention shifted to the TV screen.

Those young girls dressed more revealingly than his wife were running on the screen, dashing across the field. Watching the sensual scenes on the screen, his emotions quickly began to calm down.

The destructive feeling unwillingly retreated back into his heart, waiting for the next opportunity.

The young bodies on TV made Mr. Citizen vaguely feel their delicate, smooth texture and the refreshing scent, even through the screen.

His focus intensified, and he even laughed during the girls' collisions, making a few professional comments.

Most of the time, his eyes were on the ball. Although he had never worked in sports, he considered himself a professional when it came to watching games.

When his wife and child walked into the living room, they expected a tense atmosphere, like a tomb or an imminent volcanic eruption.

To their surprise, Mr. Citizen had a smile on his face.

"This kind of competition is really…" Suddenly snapping back from the game, Mr. Citizen noticed his wife and child standing nearby. He immediately felt embarrassed and tried to find an excuse for why he was so focused on those girls, "It's really too vulgar. God, how can they air this on a free channel!"

Free channels were the basic service from the TV company. Paying the basic fee allowed access to these programs, while better or restricted shows were on paid channels, where the best programs were.

Mr. Citizen reached out to change the channel, but his wife stopped him. "You were very focused just now. Maybe I would like this program too?"

Having a program that could calm her enraged husband was already a blessing for the wife. She didn't want to switch channels and risk getting scolded or even beaten for any reason.

If letting him watch a few more of these shameless women could smooth over the evening's troubles, why would she refuse?

Thus, the family of three, in some strange turn of events, seriously watched the sensual game, and after lights out, their life became a bit more harmonious.

Families like this were not few. The next day, there was a huge social reaction in Sabin City. Many people called the TV company, asking when they could watch the second match and whether this was a sporadic exhibition or a regulated league.

Behind all these inquiries was a demand for more broadcasts and new content for such competitions!

The TV station leadership immediately held a meeting. It must be noted that airing this program was something Lynch had arranged through Mark's connections.

Indeed, he paid to get the game on TV, but he obviously wouldn't do so again.

The huge response improved his relationship with the TV station. If the TV station wanted to continue getting broadcast rights from Lynch, they would have to pay.

However, their proposed amount didn't satisfy Lynch, so the Athletes' Association received the news that day—a sport not listed under the Athletes' Association had emerged, with decent viewership and public support.

Sabin City TV wanted to buy the broadcast rights from the Athletes' Association and offered a reasonable price.

Sabin City TV and the Athletes' Association had always cooperated, spending millions annually on various competition broadcast fees.

The Athletes' Association was astonished upon learning this and immediately launched an investigation. They then sent a negotiation team to talk to Lynch.

They wanted to incorporate Lynch's team and competition, bringing the women's professional rugby match under the Athletes' Association's jurisdiction.

Lynch had foreseen this from the start. This was his goal: to negotiate with the Athletes' Association about the share of broadcast fees and promotional resources.

Running a club was not much simpler than managing a company. Despite being a closed industry, competition within was fiercer and more ruthless than in open industries.Please vote for this novel at /series/blackstone-code/There are advance chapters available nowAccess will be granted 24 hours after the donationTier 1: 7 Advance chapters Link

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