Chapter 70: Mayor West's Code
After half a day of intensive lab work, Stewie successfully completed the production line modifications and formula adjustments.
Then Chris arranged another meeting with Mayor Adam West and informed him of the new multi-tier pricing strategy, asking him to prepare for expanded promotional activities and distribution channels outside Rhode Island.
Because with the reduced concentration of dragon's blood compound in the standard formula, their daily production capacity had skyrocketed to eight million bottles—eight times their previous output.
However, to maintain supply for his own power base, Chris still had Stewie keep one production line running at the original one ten-thousandth concentration ratio to supply his family members and criminal subordinates with the premium formula.
"How much liquid capital do we currently have in the operating account?" Chris asked.
Mayor West, who'd been drafting new marketing plans at his desk, heard Chris's question about the finances and immediately pulled out a thick leather-bound ledger. It meticulously detailed all income and expenses since the factory's opening—even including Brian's biweekly payroll deductions for his various "unauthorized sample acquisitions."
"From initial sales until now, excluding the dividend payments for Meg and myself, plus all necessary operational expenses, you personally have approximately eight million dollars in liquid assets at your disposal," Mayor West explained, adjusting his reading glasses. "Without negatively impacting normal production operations, I can allocate an additional two million dollars for new ventures."
Chris accepted the ledger and carefully examined the various expenditures, genuinely impressed to discover that his uncle had been remarkably honest and transparent. He hadn't embezzled anything or cooked the books.
Chris glanced at Mayor West with visible surprise and noticed that the mayor's eyes were slightly evasive, showing subtle signs of nervousness or insecurity.
This made Chris scrutinize Mayor West more carefully with growing suspicion. Could there be some hidden expense or special item I haven't discovered yet?
But Chris methodically reviewed the accounts again, using his computer-like enhanced memory to cross-reference each line item against his expectations. He found absolutely no discrepancies or problems.
Mayor West seemed to notice the analytical intensity of Chris's gaze. He sighed heavily and said with clear frustration, "The accounts are completely clean—I promise. I just want to know when you're actually going to authorize my dividend payment. That $1.3 million is what I legitimately earned as a ten percent shareholder. You're not planning to screw me over, are you?"
"Huh?" Chris suddenly looked up, staring at Mayor West with genuine confusion.
The factory's finances had always been handled by Mayor West as the managing partner, and Chris had simply assumed the man had already withdrawn his share whenever he wanted.
But now, hearing this complaint, it seemed Mayor West hadn't taken a single unauthorized dollar from the company accounts. He'd been strictly adhering to proper corporate governance and financial regulations.
This was absolutely nothing like the Mayor Adam West that Chris remembered from the show—the man who'd once spent $50,000 in taxpayer money building a giant statue of himself made entirely out of Silly Putty.
As if reading the obvious confusion in Chris's expression, Mayor West smiled slightly and explained his philosophy, "The money I waste and squander comes from state and municipal government appropriations—taxpayer funds that are just sitting in budget accounts anyway. I might as well use those funds to build entertaining things for myself and the community.
But the money in this factory represents my legitimately earned dividends from a private business venture. Of course I have to receive those funds through proper corporate channels and documented distributions. Otherwise it would be a violation of proper business procedures and financial regulations."
Hearing this surprisingly principled explanation, Chris looked at his uncle with bewildered silence. He genuinely hadn't expected that Mayor West operated according to his own bizarre but internally consistent code of ethics!
"You know, you could just spend those government appropriations on actual public welfare projects instead," Chris suggested. "Like building proper rest facilities for bus drivers. That way, citizens would be even more grateful to you, and you'd actually accomplish something useful."
Chris suddenly remembered what that bus driver had mentioned when he'd taken public transportation, and immediately offered this constructive suggestion to Mayor West.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing Chris say this, Mayor West actually laughed heartily—a genuine, knowing laugh.
"Do you know the old political saying, 'People don't fear scarcity, they fear inequality'?" Mayor West asked rhetorically. "If I spend municipal funds building rest stops for bus drivers, then shouldn't I also invest in upgrading fire stations, hospitals, post offices, police stations, homeless shelters, public schools, and so on?
State and municipal appropriations are strictly limited by annual budgets, but the funding needed for comprehensive public welfare infrastructure is essentially infinite. As soon as I open that Pandora's box, endless applications and requests will flood my office from every municipal department and special interest group.
So, to avoid creating that administrative nightmare for myself, I might as well just use that discretionary budget to create some entertaining and ridiculous things that make me personally happy. At least that way, I only have to please myself."
"That's..." Chris was genuinely speechless. He recognized that what Mayor West was saying was essentially sophisticated sophistry and rationalization—but he honestly didn't know how to effectively refute the underlying logic.
After all, Chris had never been seriously involved in actual governance or politics. He didn't really understand how to effectively mobilize public enthusiasm or navigate bureaucratic systems.
If he were somehow elected mayor, Chris's instinctive solution would be to ask Stewie for technical help—have him create some advanced intelligent robots to directly replace most public service jobs, then systematically address other infrastructure issues through automation and technology.
However, Chris also intellectually recognized that this approach was far too simplistic and naive—which was precisely why he was working to establish his own independent power base in the first place. Eventually, he'd have the resources and authority to properly handle various public welfare issues on his own terms.
But right now, in this moment, he genuinely couldn't offer Mayor West any practical political advice that would actually work within the existing system.
However, Mayor West noticed Chris's troubled and conflicted expression. He correctly guessed that there might be some specific personal reason behind this sudden interest in building bus driver rest facilities.
So he said diplomatically, "Of course, there are other legitimate ways to spend taxpayer money on public welfare facilities without creating political complications for me or setting dangerous precedents."
"Really? What method?" Hearing that there was actually a practical solution to this problem, Chris became immediately curious and attentive.
"Did you successfully become student council president at Adam West High School?" Mayor West asked.
Seeing Chris nod in confirmation, Mayor West wasn't surprised at all. After all, the school was literally named after him, and he still paid careful attention to major and minor events happening there—particularly anything involving his nephew.
"So here's what you do," Mayor West explained with a conspiratorial smile. "As long as you unite the student body to launch a formal public initiative or petition—get signatures, maybe some media coverage—then I can officially approve municipal funding for the bus driver rest stops as a direct response to constituent concerns. It becomes designated as special remediation funding in response to a documented community need.
That way, it's not me arbitrarily deciding to spend money on random projects. I'm responding to legitimate public demand expressed through proper civic channels. No one can criticize me for it."
"Wait—it's really that simple?" Chris asked with genuine surprise.
"It's exactly that simple!" Mayor West's eyes conveyed absolute sincerity and certainty.
What Mayor West didn't realize, however, was that Chris's surprise actually stemmed from recognizing that this method was the exact same excuse he'd impulsively fabricated to reassure that bus driver weeks ago.
But he'd never genuinely expected that his random improvised explanation at the time would turn out to be a legitimate and practical solution!
After confirming that he could actually fulfill the small promise he'd made back then, Chris nodded decisively. "Okay, after I officially take office next semester, I'll organize my classmates and launch a proper public initiative with petition signatures."
"That works perfectly. Actually, you could even gather those students and launch the initiative right now if you wanted," Mayor West suggested. "As soon as I see it covered on local news—Channel 5 or the Quahog Herald—I'll approve the funding immediately."
As long as it didn't create administrative headaches or political complications for him personally, Mayor West was quite willing to do his nephew this particular favor.
Of course, this decision certainly had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that his father-in-law Carter Pewterschmidt had specifically told him to support Chris's business ventures and keep the family informed of his activities.
Definitely not related to that at all.
Seeing that they'd finished discussing these miscellaneous administrative matters, Mayor West prepared to address the truly serious business at hand. His expression shifted to complete seriousness as he asked pointedly, "So... can I please have my $1.3 million dividend payment now?"
Seeing Mayor West's rapid shift from political strategist to eager businessman, Chris responded with mild exasperation, "How about this—you create a formal plan to distribute dividends to all shareholders on a twice-monthly schedule. My share and Stewie's share should be deposited together into one account. You should be able to find my bank account number through municipal records, right?"
Chris technically had a bank account—opened by the original Chris Griffin years ago—but he'd hardly ever used it himself. He genuinely had no idea what the actual account number was or even which bank held it.
But fortunately, Mayor West was the sitting mayor of Quahog with access to all municipal databases and records. As long as someone was an official resident of Quahog, it was remarkably easy for him to access their private financial information through various official and semi-legal channels.
Hearing Chris's distribution arrangement, Mayor West nodded with visible joy and relief. After all, it had been almost two full weeks since the factory had started generating serious revenue.
"So, do you want to personally withdraw your accumulated earnings right now?" Mayor West asked hopefully.
Chris thought carefully about his strategic plans and realized he still needed Mayor West's continued assistance and political connections, so he directly instructed, "Actually, I want to reinvest this money immediately. I need your help processing the business licenses and permits for opening a gym, and I'll need you to help scout and secure a suitable commercial location."
"No problem at all," Mayor West said immediately, pulling out an official notepad and expensive fountain pen. He began carefully recording Chris's specific requirements. "Should the business be registered under the Debuff corporation umbrella?"
"Absolutely. This is an essential component of my broader business blueprint," Chris confirmed. "I need this gym operation to help me build legitimate community influence and establish a respectable public presence."
Then Chris explained his complete strategic vision to Mayor West in detail, asking for his experienced political and business advice on implementation.
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