Chapter 10: Counting or not counting

The room continued filling while Charlie waited.

People spoke quietly among themselves, some standing along the walls because there were no seats left. A few had brought children with them, and one old man near the back was already complaining that the chairs were too close together. Nobody seemed particularly interested in the argument over seating.

Biggie had settled beneath Charlie’s chair, occasionally shifting whenever someone stepped too close to his cart.

Charlie rested both hands on his wooden supports and watched the platform.

He still wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing here. He had never expected to find an election in Liangjing, much less one that was close enough to the political system he remembered from Earth to make him curious.

Back home, Charlie had followed politics more closely than most of his friends. He had watched presidential debates, listened to campaign speeches, argued about elections with Candace, and spent enough time around political commentary to recognize the basic shape of what was happening in front of him.

There were two candidates.

One was being described as right-wing. The other was being described as left-wing.

That didn’t tell him much about what either of them actually believed, especially in another world, but it gave him somewhere to start.

A man in a dark formal robe walked onto the platform carrying a rolled sheet of paper. The conversations gradually died down as he stopped beside the table and waited for the last few voices to fade.

"Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming."

A few people answered him.

The man glanced down at his paper.

"Tonight’s debate will be the final public discussion between the two candidates for Grand Administrator of Liangjing before the election in three days."

"Each candidate will have ten minutes for an opening statement. After that, they will have an opportunity to respond to one another directly. Questions from the public will follow, and the final fifteen minutes will be reserved for closing statements."

Someone near the back called out, "How long is this going to take?"

The man looked toward the voice.

"If everyone follows the rules, approximately two hours."

A few people groaned.

The speaker waited for the noise to settle before continuing.

"There will be no interruptions during opening statements. During the response portion, the candidates may challenge one another directly, but personal threats are prohibited."

Someone laughed.

Charlie wasn’t sure whether they found the rule funny or simply didn’t believe it would last.

The speaker rolled his paper back up.

"With that established, let us begin."

He turned toward the first side of the platform.

"Our first candidate has served in the Liangjing administration for twelve years and currently oversees several districts within the eastern region. His campaign has focused on public order, taxation reform, and strengthening the authority of the city government."

A few people applauded.

"Zhao Renguang."

Charlie straightened slightly.

The man from the poster walked onto the platform.

In person, Zhao Renguang looked less polished than the campaign image suggested. His dark robe fit well enough, though the sleeves had been rolled slightly above his wrists. He acknowledged the crowd with a small wave before taking his seat.

Charlie had expected someone who looked more like a traditional politician.

Instead, Renguang seemed almost casual.

The moderator turned toward the other side.

"Our second candidate has spent the past decade working within the Liangjing education and civil administration offices. Her campaign has focused on public welfare, expanded education, and reform of local taxation."

The crowd responded differently this time. There was still applause, though it was mixed with scattered voices from both sides.

"Shen Lihua."

A woman in a pale green robe stepped onto the platform. She acknowledged the crowd with a brief bow before taking the opposite seat.

Charlie studied the two of them. The labels suddenly made a little more sense.

The moderator returned to the centre.

"The candidates will now give their opening statements. Zhao Renguang will begin."

Renguang stood.

"Three things."

Charlie raised an eyebrow.

Renguang rested one hand on the table.

"People in Liangjing want to know three things. Can they walk home at night without being robbed? Can they afford to feed their families? And can they trust the government to leave them alone when they haven’t done anything wrong?"

The room became quieter.

"I think those are reasonable questions."

A few people nodded.

"We have spent years discussing complicated solutions to simple problems. We create committees to discuss committees. We collect taxes to fund offices that spend half their time discussing how to collect taxes."

Someone laughed.

"And while we do that, the problems remain."

Charlie felt himself sitting a little straighter. That was annoyingly effective.

He knew this style. It was the kind of political argument that took a complicated issue, reduced it to something ordinary people could immediately understand, and then forced the other side to explain why the simple answer wasn’t enough.

Charlie had heard politicians do it on Earth. He had done something similar himself in arguments, although usually without the political consequences.

Renguang wasn’t necessarily right. That was the part Charlie kept reminding himself of.

A simple explanation could be useful without being complete. A convincing argument could still leave out important information. Charlie knew that better than most people because he’d spent enough time arguing to recognize how easy it was to make a position sound stronger than it actually was.

Still, the man was good.

Renguang moved from crime to taxation and then toward the condition of Liangjing’s poorer districts. He spoke bluntly, occasionally making claims that Charlie thought were exaggerated, but there was usually some reasoning underneath them. He wasn’t simply shouting slogans.

When Renguang finished, the applause was loud enough that several people near the back started cheering.

Charlie didn’t join them. He wasn’t convinced but he was interested.

Shen Lihua stood when the room settled.

Her opening statement took a different approach. She spoke about the cost of Renguang’s proposals, the burden they could place on poorer families, and the difficulty of governing a city as large as Liangjing through simple solutions.

Charlie understood her position too.

She was basically arguing that government couldn’t treat every problem as if it had a single cause, and that policies which sounded efficient could create other problems once they were actually implemented.

That was a fair argument. Unfortunately, Charlie could already imagine how Renguang would respond to it.

Shen continued speaking.

"...and that is why we cannot continue treating every social problem as though it has one simple cause and one simple solution."

Renguang leaned toward his microphone.

"Can I respond to that?"

The moderator glanced at the timer.

"You’ll have your response period."

"I’m aware."

Shen Lihua gave him a small smile.

"Then perhaps you can wait."

Renguang leaned back again.

Charlie couldn’t help smiling. This was going to be interesting.

Renguang leaned back again.

Charlie couldn’t help smiling. This was going to be interesting.

The moderator gave Shen the remaining time for her opening statement, and she continued without looking at Renguang again. She spoke about food prices, the city’s poorer districts, education, and the way tax changes could affect families differently depending on their income.

When she finished, the moderator thanked her and announced the beginning of the response period.

Renguang stood almost immediately.

"You said my proposals are too simple."

Shen nodded. "Some of them are."

"Then let me ask you something. How many people have you spoken to in the eastern districts this year?"

Shen paused.

"Several hundred."

"Several hundred?"

"Yes."

Renguang smiled.

"That’s impressive."

There was something about the way he said it that made Charlie sit up.

"Because I’ve spoken to thousands."

A few people in the audience reacted.

Renguang continued before Shen could respond.

"They don’t want another explanation. They don’t want another committee. They don’t want someone telling them that their problems are complicated."

He spread his hands.

"They want to know whether they’re going to have enough money to buy rice next week."

Shen folded her hands on the table.

"And how exactly do you intend to solve that?"

"By making it easier for people to earn money."

"How?"

"By reducing the taxes that make it harder for merchants to hire people."

"That reduces government revenue."

"Then the government spends less."

"You can’t simply cut spending without affecting public services."

"Why not?"

"Because those services require money."

Renguang shrugged.

"Then stop paying for things that don’t work."

A few people laughed.

Shen’s expression tightened.

"Which things?"

"The things that don’t work."

"That isn’t a policy."

"It’s a start."

Charlie rubbed his chin.

Renguang wasn’t answering every question, but he kept dragging the discussion back toward something ordinary people could understand. Shen was trying to explain the machinery behind the problem, while Renguang kept asking why anyone should care about the machinery if the machine wasn’t producing anything useful.

Charlie had seen this kind of argument before. He knew exactly why it could be effective.

He also knew exactly how dangerous it could become if nobody forced the speaker to explain what happened after the slogan.

The debate continued.

At one point Shen accused Renguang of treating every government failure as evidence that government itself was the problem.

Renguang shook his head.

"I’m saying that when something isn’t working, you change it."

"And if your changes create another problem?"

"Then we fix that one too."

"That’s not governing."

"It’s better than pretending the problem doesn’t exist."

The crowd reacted loudly enough that the moderator had to wait before continuing.

Charlie was enjoying himself now.

For the first time since arriving in Liangjing, he felt strangely at home. Not because this world felt familiar but because arguing did.

Charlie watched Renguang lean toward the microphone again. There was something almost nostalgic about it.

"You keep telling the people that you alone can solve these problems."

Renguang shook his head.

"I never said I could solve everything."

"You imply it every time you speak."

"No."

He leaned closer.

"What I’m saying is that I can fix the things you’ve spent years failing to fix."

The crowd erupted.

Biggie suddenly let out a loud,

"OINK!"

Charlie turned toward him. The pig had lifted his head from beneath the chair.

Charlie stared at him for a second.

"...You heard that too?"

Biggie gave another smaller grunt. Charlie slowly turned back toward the platform.

Renguang was still speaking, but Charlie was barely listening anymore.

He couldn’t sit here anymore.

Charlie pushed himself upright.

The wooden supports shifted beneath his hands. One slipped slightly, and he caught himself before his knees gave out completely.

The movement drew several heads in the audience toward him.

Charlie ignored them. He was already thinking about the argument. He needed to say something.

The moderator noticed him standing.

"Sir?"

Charlie raised one hand.

"I have a question."

The moderator frowned.

"You’ll have an opportunity during the public questions."

"I know."

"Then please sit down."

Charlie glanced at Renguang. The candidate was looking directly at him now. Charlie hesitated for half a second before shaking his head.

"No, I really need to ask this."

The moderator’s expression hardened.

"Who are you?"

"Charlie Kirk."

A few people laughed. The moderator did not.

"Mr. Kirk, this is a formal political debate. You are not one of the candidates."

"I noticed."

"Then sit down."

Charlie rested his weight against one of the wooden supports.

"I’m not trying to become a candidate."

"You’re interrupting the debate."

"I know."

"Then why are you still standing?"

Charlie glanced toward Renguang.

"Because I think he’s getting away with something."

The moderator sighed.

"And what exactly is he getting away with?"

Charlie pointed toward Renguang.

"You said you’d lower taxes."

Renguang nodded. "I did."

"On everyone?"

"On the people of Liangjing."

Charlie narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Okay. But when you say everyone..."

Charlie tilted his head.

"Counting or not counting the people who don’t pay taxes?"

There was a brief silence.

The moderator immediately stepped in.

"That is not an appropriate question."

"Why?"

"Because it is deliberately nonsensical."

"No, it isn’t. It’s actually pretty important."

He shifted his weight against the wooden support.

"If someone doesn’t pay taxes, then lowering their taxes by twenty percent doesn’t actually change anything for them."

A few people in the audience began murmuring.

Charlie continued.

"So when he says he’s lowering taxes for everyone, I want to know whether he’s counting people whose taxes are already zero."

Renguang leaned toward his microphone, still smiling.

"That’s a fair question."

The moderator looked increasingly irritated.

"Guards."

Two men near the side of the hall immediately stepped forward.

Charlie sighed.

"Right. That was probably coming."

One guard reached for his arm.

Charlie didn’t resist. He had already learned that trying to fight his way through a room full of people while barely able to stand was probably not a great strategy.

As they escorted him toward the exit, Charlie glanced back one last time.

Renguang hadn’t returned his attention to Shen.

He was still watching Charlie. Their eyes met for a moment. Then the doors closed behind him.

The rain started almost immediately.

Charlie stepped beneath the roof outside and adjusted his grip on the wooden supports while water began running down the street. The heavy doors behind him muffled the noise from inside, but the crowd was still loud enough that he could hear people shouting through them.

He stood there for a moment, watching the rain.

"Well, that went well."

Biggie waddled out after him and immediately shook himself.

A spray of water hit Charlie across the legs.

Charlie closed his eyes.

"Of course."

Another cheer rose from inside.

Charlie turned toward the doors.

Someone near the entrance shouted over the rain.

"RENGUANG WON!"

Charlie smiled. He hadn’t agreed with everything Renguang had said. Some of his arguments had been far too simple, and Charlie could already think of several holes in them. But that wasn’t really the point. Watching him argue had reminded Charlie of something he’d been missing since arriving in Liangjing.

He missed debating.

He missed sitting around with Candace and arguing about politics until neither of them could remember what the original disagreement had been about.

Charlie leaned more heavily against the wooden supports.

"God, I’d love to debate that man."

Biggie gave a low oink.

"Exactly."

Charlie glanced down at him.

"Now we just need to figure out how we’re getting home."

Biggie had already moved toward the edge of the roof. He lowered his snout toward the ground, sniffing around the puddles until Charlie noticed what had caught his attention.

The groceries were sitting inside the cart.

"At least you remembered those."

A sudden shadow passed over them. Charlie looked up. Something was descending through the rain.

For a second, all he could make out was a large piece of cloth floating above him. Then the shape became clearer.

A parachute. And hanging beneath it was Zhao Renguang.

Charlie stared upward.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

Renguang landed a few steps away, released the lines, and gathered the parachute as though this were a perfectly reasonable way to leave a political debate.

He looked at Charlie.

"Come inside."

Charlie pointed toward the doors behind him.

"I just got thrown out."

"I know."

"Then why would I go back?"

Renguang glanced at the rain.

"Because you’re getting soaked."

Charlie looked down at himself. His sleeves were already damp, and water was beginning to collect around the feet of his wooden supports.

"I need to get home before that big ass— my master starts tweaking again."

Renguang laughed.

"Then I’ll have someone take you."

"I’m fine."

Renguang looked at the supports, then at Biggie, who had wandered directly into a muddy puddle.

"You’re standing in the rain with a pig and two pieces of wood."

"That’s a fair point."

Renguang stepped closer and caught Charlie by the arm before he could start arguing again.

"Come on."

Charlie allowed himself to be guided beneath the covered entrance.

"Seriously, I can’t stay long."

"You don’t have to."

"I mean it."

"I believe you."

"And I need to get back."

"You will."

Charlie glanced at him.

"Why are you being so helpful?"

Renguang smiled.

"Because I’m curious."

"About what?"

"You."

Before Charlie could ask what that was supposed to mean, Renguang raised a hand.

Five guards appeared from beneath the entrance. A carriage rolled up behind them. The guards immediately began loading the groceries inside while two others approached Biggie.

Biggie took one look at them and backed away. One guard managed to get his arms around Biggie’s middle.

The pig squealed.

The second guard grabbed him from behind, and the two men for some reason began struggling.

Charlie watched them for a few seconds.

"He’s heavier than he looks."

Renguang stepped in to help. Between the three men, they eventually managed to get Biggie into the carriage.

The pig settled down almost immediately.

Charlie shook his head.

"Traitor."

Renguang laughed and held out a hand.

"Come on."

Charlie took it and climbed inside.

Once everyone was settled, the carriage door closed and they set off through the rain.

For a while, nobody spoke.

Charlie sat opposite Renguang with the wooden supports resting beside his legs. Biggie had taken up most of the space next to him and seemed completely unconcerned with the journey. Every so often, he gave a quiet oink.

Renguang kept watching Charlie.

After a few minutes, Charlie finally gave him a look.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I’m thinking."

"About?"

"I’ll tell you tomorrow."

Charlie leaned back against the carriage wall, slightly caught off guard.

He hadn’t expected that answer.

The carriage turned onto another street, and Renguang glanced through the window before looking back at him.

"You’re not from Liangjing."

Charlie hesitated.

"No."

"Where are you from?"

"Somewhere far away."

Renguang smiled.

"I thought so."

Charlie narrowed his eyes.

"You still haven’t answered my question."

"Which one?"

"Why you’re interested in me."

Renguang considered him for a moment.

"Most people at those debates do one of two things. They cheer or they complain."

He gestured toward Charlie.

"You interrupted."

Charlie smiled.

"I had something to say."

"I figured."

The carriage continued through the rain.

Charlie found himself wondering what exactly Renguang wanted from him. The man didn’t seem hostile, and he hadn’t asked many questions. If anything, he seemed more interested in Charlie’s reaction to the debate than in Charlie himself.

That was probably what made him more difficult to understand.

By the time the carriage reached the manor, Charlie could already hear shouting from inside.

He closed his eyes.

"Oh my god..."

Renguang looked amused.

"You know that voice?"

"Unfortunately."

Charlie climbed out of the carriage, using the wooden supports to steady himself. The moment his feet touched the ground, the master’s voice thundered from inside the manor.

"CHARLIE, YOU BUM! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE AND COOK, GODDAMMIT!"

Charlie stood there for a moment.

Then he looked at Renguang.

"I really have to go."

Renguang nodded toward his carriage.

"You should stay at my residence."

Charlie shook his head.

"I’m good."

He turned toward the manor.

He had only taken a few steps when Renguang called after him.

"Until tomorrow, then."

Charlie stopped.

"Tomorrow?"

Renguang was still smiling.

Charlie opened his mouth, ready to ask what exactly that meant, but another shout came from inside.

"CHARLIE!"

Charlie closed his eyes.

"Never mind."

Charlie watched Renguang disappear into the rain before looking down at Biggie.

The pig was still sitting comfortably in the carriage.

"You better start moving before the master jumps me again."

Biggie oinked.

Charlie grabbed the cart.

"Let’s go cook for this fatass."