Chapter 683 The Lively Pier

Compared with the chaotic United States, Australasia currently appears to be much more prosperous. ♦✎

Of course, prosperity here does not refer to the size of the economy, but to people's happiness index and economic mobility.

With the impact of infrastructure construction, there is no shortage of jobs in Australasia. Even more than 20% of the jobs are unsaturated, and a large number of immigrants are needed to fill job vacancies.

This has undoubtedly promoted the economy. Asia's entertainment industry has developed rapidly under the prosperous economy, and the World Cinema City created by Arthur has become a veritable world movie holy land.

Of course, the main reason is to take advantage of the fact that other countries are in economic crisis. During the economic crisis, the impact on movies was unparalleled.

Because it is impossible for people to use their own food money to buy movie tickets, this also means that movie theaters have almost no income, except for those wealthy people who will choose to patronize.

Obviously, rich people don't go to the movies very often. After all, they also have their own jobs and lives.

This slowed the development of film, and a large number of European and American film industries quickly migrated to Australasia.

There are currently more than 200 film companies registered in the World Cinema City, more than half of which are foreign film companies from Europe and the United States.

The influx of a large number of film companies has increased the annual film production in Australasia from about 150 films per year five years ago to 400 films per year now.

Although the approval rate of movies is only 5%, a full 290 movies were released last year.

In addition to the patriotic films shot by the national government, there are also a large number of sitcoms, horror films, cartoons, romance films, heroic films, etc.

The annual Sydney Film Festival also attracts much attention. Winners can not only enhance their reputation, but also receive higher salaries for their work in the coming year.

Although the Sydney Film Festival's awards are not yet global, the films participating in the selection are only screened and filmed in Australasia.

But judging from its current influence, the Sydney Film Festival should be the most standardized film festival in the world with the largest audience.

Because Australasian films have sold well into Europe and America. Without the impact of the economic crisis, the income from the film industry alone would be enough to feed a large population.

It is worth mentioning that the Disney Company, which was originally supposed to be born in the United States, also followed the trend and moved to Australasia.

There is no way, the economic environment in the United States really cannot support film companies, even animation companies like Disney.

Children in the United States can't even afford to go to school, let alone spend expensive movie tickets to watch an animated movie.

This also allowed Mickey Mouse, who was originally supposed to be born in the United States, to be successfully born in Australasia and became a popular animation character among Australasian children.

Arthur is still happy to see the birth of these children's animations. After all, education should start from childhood. Cultivating the patriotism concept of Australasian children from an early age is much more effective than influencing them when they grow up.

Because of this, many children's films in Australasia have begun to add some propaganda and education about patriotism.

This also allows the film's approval rate to continue to increase, at least not letting the film company's year's hard work go to waste.

Compared with the film industry, which is still booming only in Australasia, newspapers and magazines are developing relatively rapidly around the world.

Because the biggest difference between newspapers and magazines compared to movies is that the cost of visiting newsstands and magazine bookshelves is almost very small. This is also a way for people to understand the outside world, which can relax their mood and not be too depressed.

Compared with the expensive cost of movies, an occasional visit to a newsstand or magazine bookstore is the normal life of most ordinary people in Europe and America.

This has also allowed another industry to develop rapidly, that is, the public library industry born in the United States.

According to a survey by the American Library Association, since the outbreak of the economic crisis, the number of new book borrowers has continued to grow every year,1 exceeding 2 million.

This seems to be good news for the library industry, but the increasing demand for borrowing books is also a burden for those public libraries. After all, books are subject to wear and tear, and accidents cannot be avoided during the borrowing process.

But looking at the unemployed Americans who almost depend on books for their livelihood, does the library association have the courage to reduce the frequency of borrowing books by these Americans?

You know, there are unemployed people in the United States who openly claim that it is the library that keeps them from going crazy or committing suicide.

If reducing the frequency of borrowing books by these people causes them to go crazy or commit suicide, then sooner or later the responsibility will be passed on to the library association.

With no other choice, the Library Association can only grit its teeth and persist while waiting for support from the government and the outside world.

The situation in Europe is not much different from that in the United States. Because of the increasing number of unemployed people, high-consumption industries are facing continuous shrinkage.

However, low-consumption entertainment industries such as newspapers and magazines are constantly growing, and the newspaper and magazine market around the world is also expanding invisibly.

In the bargain-hunting operation during this economic crisis, Arthur also acquired several European and American newspapers and media.

It is more important to grasp public opinion. Whether it is in Australasia or Europe and the United States, mastering public opinion can always give Arthur an advantage and have the initiative on something.

The current royal family consortium owns multiple newspapers in major European countries and the United States. These newspapers apparently belong to different owners. This is also convenient for Arthur to conduct publicity without raising suspicion.

Coupled with the major media in Australasia, Arthur can be regarded as one of the world's largest controllers of public opinion and can easily convey his ideas to the world.

1. Los Angeles, California, USA. ̴x̴.̴c̴o̴m̴

"Ai Li, we have to leave early today. If we go late, we won't be able to grab the fruit." The strong man in the house said to his wife who was busy beside him while adjusting his clothes.

"I know, Tom. Didn't you say what relief policy the government has enacted? Why do we still go to grab those rotten fruits?" The woman named Ally looked confused, but the movements of her hands were not affected by her words. stop.

"Who knows? Maybe you can only ask God about this question. It may take some time for the policy to be conveyed. Don't worry, dear, we will be fine." Tom quickly comforted his wife, and then took the whole family to a nearby store. pier.

Although it was a relatively cold morning, the dock at this time was very lively. It's not that there are any attractive activities here, but every once in a while, rich people will throw their leftover food and rotten fruits and vegetables on the pier, and these ordinary people living in the city will go crazy. Grab it, it looks quite spectacular.

The rich laughed and said that these poor people were attacking the food of vicious dogs. Some people even threw rotten food at the poor like targets, which in turn aroused the poor's joy and gratitude.

Taking Ellie and his daughter to the pier, Tom first found a place with fewer people, and then quietly waited for the rich man to arrive.

During the long economic crisis, the poor and rich in Los Angeles have reached a tacit agreement and will throw away their unwanted food and rotten fruits and vegetables here every few days. This is also what the rich see as relief for the poor.

As for why it was thrown on the dock? In fact, fresh food, fruits and vegetables will be transported to the dock every once in a while, and then loaded on trucks and transported to the homes of the wealthy.

When the rich people take stock of fresh food, fruits and vegetables, they just throw away the things they don't want. This is why so many poor people gather.

Some poor people even frantically chased trucks, but after being threatened with guns several times and even killing several people, they changed from chasing trucks to following behind trucks to pick up vegetable leaves that might fall.

"I'm coming!"

Someone suddenly shouted. Tom immediately stood on tiptoes and looked around. Sure enough, he saw the transport ship that was about to dock outside the pier.

The transport ships are coming, which means those rich man's trucks are coming too. What is transported on the truck is the food that these poor people yearn for, and it is also what these poor people are waiting for.

"Ellie, let's split up. I'll go to a crowded place, and you'll see if there's any chance here." Tom said to his wife.

Hundreds of poor people were gathering in the center of the pier, looting food. It was obviously unwise to let your wife join the looting team.

After all, the scale of the pier is not too big. Hundreds of people looting can easily cause a stampede, which is a casualty that the poor cannot afford at all.

There are no words between the poor and the rich. With the arrival of the rich's cars, a large number of rotten vegetable leaves, rotten fruits and moldy food were thrown directly on the ground of the dock.

Tom didn't care if it was something he didn't even look at at ordinary times, he stretched out his hand and snatched it into his basin.

The other poor people around him were not to be outdone, each one became more ferocious than the other, like wild dogs guarding their food.

"Mom, look, these people are grabbing garbage!" Suddenly a little girl shouted in surprise from the car, which reminded Tom of his own daughter, who was also so innocent, but her current status and life have changed. Very different.

"Alice, what's so interesting about those wild dogs?" The lady in the car pulled up the curtains of the car window and said to her daughter with disdain on her face.

"But aren't they humans too?" the little girl asked curiously.

"Alice, you have to understand. Those who can contribute are humans, and those who do not contribute are just animals." The lady patiently explained to her daughter, while quietly waiting for her things.

Yes, the arrival of the noble lady is not to accept those cheap fruits and vegetables. As a rare wealthy family in Los Angeles, the lady's goal has always been high-end jewelry, perfume and red wine, so this trip was just a coincidence.

Thinking of his daughter made Tom feel dazed for a while, but he was at a disadvantage in the ensuing fight.

By the time Tom reacted, most of the food on the dock had been taken away by others, and the rest was indeed moldy and inedible.

Shaking his head helplessly, Tom quickly stood up and went to find his wife. Now we can only hope that Aili can get more food to ensure that their family will not go hungry in the next few days.

The dock was very busy, and no one noticed that in a house not far from the dock, a businessman who didn't look like an American was looking at them with a smile.

After returning home, Tom and Ellie hurriedly packed up the food they picked up today, simply processed the food that was still edible, and divided it into many portions in detail to ensure that there was something to eat at every meal so that they could persevere. Another robbery a few days later.

As the pieces were divided, Aili became a little impatient. Looking at the food in front of her that she was not willing to eat at all, Ellie lost her energy and said very frustrated: "Tom, when can we eat normal food?"

Tom was silent when he heard this.

No matter how confident he was in the government, no matter how much he loved the government, he still couldn't give any answer to Ellie at this time.

The economic crisis has lasted for more than a year, but the current situation of American civilians has not changed at all.

President Hoover's relief plan has begun to be implemented, and the Hoover Dam will be built soon.

This looks like it will radically improve America and make it what it was before the economic crisis. But only the real American people understand that nothing has changed in America since President Hoover took office.

No matter what the reason was, it really frustrated Tom, who was once a soldier, and his firm patriotism began to waver.

Boom, boom, boom!

As a knock on the door rang, Tom and Ellie looked at each other, a trace of surprise and joy flashing in their eyes.

Could it be that President Hoover's relief plan worked? Has anyone come to their aid?

When they opened the door, they found an unfamiliar face. Tom guarded his wife behind him a little defensively, and asked very cautiously but slightly expectantly: "Who are you?"

"Are you Mr. Tom?" The visitor did not answer Tom's question, but looked at Tom with slight interest.

Tom nodded and looked at the person with cautious eyes, the meaning of the inquiry was self-evident.

"Mr. Tom, please introduce yourself. You can call me John, or you can call me Hahn." The visitor smiled and said, "I'm here to tell you some good news. Maybe it can change your current life."

Tom and Ellie were both a little disappointed when they heard that the person who came was not here to rescue them. But hearing this guy named John say he could change their current lives, a spark of hope flashed in their eyes.

"How can you help us?" Tom asked.

The guy named John didn't answer in a hurry, and said to himself: "If I remember correctly, you should be a soldier during World War I, right?"

Tom became more cautious when he heard the visitor talk about his experience of serving in World War I.

The war ended not long after he entered the battlefield. Tom, who had not made many meritorious achievements, naturally would not regard his military career as an honor, and naturally would not brag to the outside world.

In addition, they moved to Los Angeles a few years ago, far away from their previous rural hometown, and it was even more unlikely that any neighbors would know that Tom had served in the military.

This also means that the people in front of me are either American officials or people with ulterior motives.

But will American officials keep asking like this? I'm afraid not necessarily. This also means that the answer is likely to be the second one.

"Sir, who are you?" Tom asked calmly, while he quietly took his wife close to the wall where the shotgun was hanging.

John naturally saw Tom's every move. In order to prevent unnecessary accidents, John smiled and said: "Don't be nervous, Mr. Tom. I don't have any ill intentions, and my purpose is simply to change your current life situation.

Perhaps my previous self-introduction was not thorough enough. I am a Democrat, and my current job is to investigate and help some Americans improve their current situation.

Please rest assured that no matter what my purpose is, our interests are obviously the same, which is to find ways to improve the current situation of American civilians so that people like you, Mr. Tom, can afford to eat. "

"Democrats?" Tom didn't completely believe John's words, but his defensive movements stopped.

"Yes." John said with a smile: "To tell you the truth, we are planning a demonstration for the early release of retirement subsidies. The people covered are veterans like you, Mr. Tom. This is why we know, Mr. Tom, you identity reasons.

We have summoned tens of thousands of veterans to participate, and I believe the government will not remain indifferent in the face of tens of thousands of people marching. Mr. Tom, what do you think? "

Just one update today.