Ribs tapped his pen on the mahogany table and asked doubtfully, "70% profit? Can you guarantee the quality?"

Alfred smiled shyly and said, "Quality... who can guarantee it? Most of the houses that poor people live in have problems, and no one cares about them."

You can make money, but you can’t do things that go against your conscience.

"With tariffs so high now, let's not use concrete from China," Ribbs said. "Use regular concrete from Chicago, and the steel must meet ASTM standards. I don't want a high profit margin; 50% is fine! Can you do that?"

"That's a little difficult... I need to do some math!"

Alfred pulled a calculator from his briefcase and began typing rapidly.

Ten minutes later, he said with a worried look on his face, "If we use American products, the profit can only be 35%... If we use rebar manufactured by Dahua, the profit can be 50%."

"The steel bars manufactured by Dahua? Do they meet the standards?" asked Ribs.

Alfred said: "It meets the standards, but these factories are producing it secretly and without market supervision."

"Okay! Let's do it this way! We care about quality." Ribs said, "Go back and prepare the bid! I'll let you know when the project starts."

"Okay, boss!" Alfred stood up, bowed, and left the office.

Fox asked in confusion, "Brother, why aren't we making any money when the profits are so high? All the builders do this, and it wouldn't make a difference if we did it one more time!"

"Fox, think about it," Reeves said, "Inglewood is home to our guys. Many of our relatives and friends are there. We can't let our own people down!"

"Oh... Boss, you are so kind!" Fox sighed.

"This isn't called kindness, this is called vision!" Ribs said, "Learn from this!"

......

Ribbs quickly began to advance his public housing plan. He arranged a group of people to enter the Inglewood area to investigate and select a site.

Once the scale of the housing is determined, the specific plans and funds can be submitted to the parliament for a vote.

Reebok named this public housing program "Blue Roof Project" with the intention of providing affordable housing for the poor in Chicago.

This is certainly something that is welcomed, pleasing to the people, and will be spread around and celebrated by the whole world.

Everyone in Inglewood was smiling.

A construction worker with a beer belly waved his hard hat at the camera: "Fuck! Speaker Reeves is awesome! After dealing with the Daley family, he still thinks about us poor people!" A Latina single mother in a headscarf wiped her tears excitedly: "I heard that the new apartment will have 24-hour hot water and a children's activity center. My children and I are grateful to Speaker Reeves! Thank you government!"

The Chicago Tribune's front-page headline reads: "Caring for the people of Chicago! Speaker Ribbs launches the Blue Roof Project!"

Only after the investigation was almost complete did Reeves hold a formal press conference.

He stood in front of the podium in a suit, with the spotlights flashing like stars.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Reeves announced excitedly to the reporters, "The government will provide 2.5 billion US dollars for the Blue Roof Project!" The crowd immediately booed.

Liebs continued, "The Blue Roof Project will build 5,000 fully furnished apartments, equipped with 24-hour security and a community hospital. This will be the largest affordable housing project in Chicago's history and a milestone in urban renewal."

…

During the question-and-answer session, a reporter suddenly raised his hand and asked, "Mr. Speaker, a $2.5 billion budget is equivalent to 15% of Chicago's annual fiscal revenue. How will you ensure that the funds are not misappropriated?"

"Great question!" Ribbs said. "This large-scale housing project will be open to public bidding! All accounts will be published on the city government's website!"

Even if an open bidding was adopted, it would be easy for the Chicago Council Speaker to win the bid for the Black Rabbit Project, so Ribs was not worried.

Therefore, on the surface, Ribs was absolutely fair and just.

The press conference was still in progress, and Ribs patiently answered reporters' questions one by one.

At the Thorne Group headquarters in Manhattan, New York, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the 70th floor, Thorne was watching the live news footage thoughtfully.

In the past few days, his daughter Keshia has called him many times, asking him to find a way to enter the Chicago real estate industry.

She said that the current Speaker of the House, Reeves, was her man, and as long as the Thorne Group was willing to come to Chicago, she could bring the two together and make a fortune for both of them.

Seeing the 2.5 billion public rental housing plan mentioned by Ribbs, Thorne was also tempted.

Just then, the phone rang.

Thorne pressed the hands-free button, and Keshia's voice came: "Dad! Have you seen the news? My man Reeves has held a press conference on the Blue Roof Project!"

"Well, I'm watching!" Thorne said, "A 2.5 billion dollar cake is enough for a large architect to eat for ten years."

Keshia said, "Yeah! I wasn't kidding you, Dad! Come to Chicago soon!"

Thorne shook the whiskey glass in his hand, emitting a greedy smell of alcohol: "Help me to invite your man to dinner. The truffles and caviar in Manhattan should be worthy of the new Speaker."

"Okay! No problem! Just wait, Dad!"

After hanging up the phone, Keshia even danced with excitement!

Both Irene and Jennifer received a lot of preferential treatment because they were useful to Reeves.

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