I am a master in India

Chapter 336 Reaching Higher Levels

Muna is no longer the poor and naive boy he once was; his title now carries the word "Minister."

He has his own apartment in Lucknow, which Ron gave him.

As a key official in the state government, how could he not have his own residence in Lucknow?

He even hired a servant and assistant, who also came from their Harvey caste.

This is a basic tactic for Indian politicians; their confidants mostly come from the same caste or family.

Muna also has his own office in Lucknow. When he first sat behind Fu Jiamei's desk, he didn't even dare to touch the clean, reflective surface.

His daily work actually doesn't involve much; the Minister of Development for Underdeveloped Regions receives mostly grassroots officials from rural areas.

They came to Muna for only one thing: money!
The village roads need repairing, the irrigation ditches for the farmland need widening, and we don't have money to buy seeds.
All sorts of things, whether related to him or not, came knocking on his door.

Muna was initially flustered and didn't know how to handle the situation.

It was only after Ron's second uncle, Adiya, pointed it out that Muna realized that many things were not actually his responsibility.

As the Minister for Development of Underdeveloped Regions, he was responsible for developing special development plans and allocating special funds specifically for economically underdeveloped regions.

It sounds like they have a lot of power and are qualified to decide where the money goes.

But where does the money come from? Of course, it comes from the state government's allocation.

But Mayawati herself felt that she didn't have enough money to spend, so there was no government funding for her.

Without funding, it's impossible to formulate a specific development plan.

As a result, his position as Minister of Development for underdeveloped regions became a mere figurehead, lacking both funds and personnel.

More than a month into his term, Muna has accomplished nothing.

Fortunately, thanks to Ron's connections, a hospital is about to be built in Mirzabul.

This can be considered one of Muna's achievements, as he is, after all, the head of the constituency here.

With nothing else to do, Muna has recently decided to stay in Mirzabul to push forward the hospital's construction process.

Since Ron is going to New Delhi right now, we can take him along to meet with federal officials.

If we could get funding from New Delhi, that would be ideal, and Muna could try to arrange development projects for Pufancha himself.

He was excited and insisted on driving Ron himself.

Two days later, Muna drove the Cadillac SUV with the group to Delhi.

Finding the way was easy; he just had to follow the bus.

The highway was full of buses and jeeps heading to Delhi from the filthy land, each vehicle crammed with passengers, several hanging from the doors, and even a few clinging to the roof.

They were all leaving the filthy land and going to Delhi.

This scene is like people all over the world migrating.

Every time he passed a bus, Muna grinned, wishing he could roll down the window and yell, "I'm driving to Delhi! A luxury air-conditioned bus!"

He thought those people must have understood what he meant from his eyes.

However, whenever he got carried away with his success, Anil would pat him on the shoulder.

Although Muna became a minister, he still dared not provoke Anil.

He could easily sense what Anil was going to say, and he couldn't explain why, but it was a feeling, like the unspoken understanding between a pack of dogs.

He stopped the car, Anil moved to the right, and Muna moved to the left; they switched seats.

“Muna, you should get a car and a driver,” Ron said from the back seat.

“Sir, that Maruti Suzuki is very good.” He nodded happily.

He doesn't care what kind of car he drives, as long as it's a private car; he's still in the excitement phase of being a novice driver.

“Your status is different now; you can’t afford to lose face in India.”

“Yes, sir,” Muna replied softly.

He was in a dilemma; with his income, he simply couldn't afford a car.

If it weren't for the Maruti Suzuki that Ron gave him, he might have been the most shabby minister in Lucknow.

Do you like ambassadors?

"What, sir?"

“I will have Mayawati provide you with an Ambassador car, and you can find your own driver.”

“Sir.” Muna was so excited that she didn’t know what to say.

“Muna, remember this: you are now the minister of Uttar Pradesh. You have the power to make others obey you, and you must make them respect you, fear you, and never dare to look down on you again.”

"Yes, sir."

“Do you see Mayawati? She’s just a commoner. You can only help me more when you can do that.”

“I understand, sir.” Muna silently kept these words in mind.

Yes, he hasn't adjusted to his new role yet. He's a politician now, so he has to act like one.

It was already afternoon when they arrived in New Delhi. Muna, not having time to appreciate the metropolis's vibrancy, carefully opened the Cadillac's hood to try and cool it down.

Wow, it really lives up to its reputation as a luxury car. The colorful wires connect one part of the engine to another, and a black box with a yellow nut lies in the middle.

Steam kept spewing out from all sorts of mysterious pipes, and oil stains were everywhere. How mysterious and wonderful it all was!

Ron has a place to live in New Delhi; he bought a villa in a protected area, though he doesn't live there much.

After all, this is the capital of India. No matter how much you dislike it, you have to try to integrate and never isolate yourself from the political center.

Not only him, but the Su family also bought an apartment here.

The person currently residing in New Delhi is Vijay, the eldest son of Adiyah, Ron's cousin.

He had known Ron was coming and was waiting at the villa early on. "Ron, I heard the new chief minister is quite difficult to deal with?"

“Biyadav was even worse; he was greedy and tyrannical.”

"I really don't understand why we have to deal with that lowly person. I heard she even wants a cut from our cement factory?"

“There’s nothing I can do, Vijay. It’s a political issue. You have no choice in Uttar Pradesh.”

“I feel that woman is unreliable. It’s her first time as chief minister, so she must want to meddle in every business.”

"Don't worry, we have the power to restrain her, she won't dare to do anything reckless."

"That's true. This is India, where there's more room to maneuver. Especially in New Delhi, if you get to know the high-ranking officials here, you won't have to be afraid of that commoner."

“Speaking of New Delhi, come here, let me introduce you to someone, Muna!” Ron beckoned.

“Sir.” He stepped forward.

“This is Muna, the leader of our Progressive Party. I brought him here to broaden his horizons. Vijay, you should help him get to know the officials in New Delhi.”

“Oh, I’ve heard. The Progressive Party, is that right? Good. Don’t be afraid, we’ll be family from now on, you’ll be a member of the Sue family.” Vijay became warm.

He knew Muna's background, of course; he had only been Ron's servant before.

However, now that he has been thrust into the spotlight, Vijay naturally knows what to do.

With the example of Mayawati, the untouchable chief minister, what does it matter if she deliberately tries to win over a Shudra?

Ron rented an apartment for Muna in New Delhi so that he could stay there in the future.

As a state government official, I sometimes need to travel to New Delhi on business.

Like the chief minister, who spends several months here each year, they even have their own official residence.

Ron didn't rush to get an electricity license from the Ministry of Energy when he arrived in New Delhi. Instead, he first met with an old friend, Mo Daxian.

Alas, Da Xian is also having a tough year; he has once again been ostracized from the core circle of Gujarat.

After the BJP won the election last year, he fully supported Patel's bid to become Chief Minister, and he spent a long time advising him.

As a result, his old rival, Vaghaila, harbored resentment upon seeing this, believing that Modi was inciting the core members of the BJP to deliberately distance themselves from him.

So, Vaghaila went all out and, in the latter half of last year, took half of the BJP's legislators to a resort in Taunggyi.

He threatened them, saying that unless Patel was removed from office by the party and appointed as chief minister, he would be dismissed.

Otherwise, they should leave the BJP with their entire team and overthrow the current government.

The party leadership had to intervene, and Vajpayee was sent to Gujarat to broker a peace agreement.

Ultimately, Patel was asked to step down and instead support Suresh Meta, the third candidate chosen through a compromise.

As punishment, Modi was expelled from Gujarat and sent to New Delhi ahead of schedule; he was originally supposed to take office this year.

Not only that, but his former ally Patel also developed a rift with him because of this incident.

In short, Master, your career has been going poorly lately, and you're not having a good time either.

But New Delhi isn't without its advantages; it's the headquarters of the BJP, where he interacts daily with a range of national leaders within the party.

Ron's visit today was a pleasant surprise.

When he met an old friend in a foreign land, the old immortal rarely showed a smile.

“Mr. Suer, it’s been six months since we last met.”

"That's right. I heard you've been having some trouble lately?"

"That's how politics is; you don't always have a smooth road."

"If you ask me, you need to step into the limelight and not really think of yourself as a secretary behind the scenes."

"On stage?"

"Yes, under the spotlight. How can a politician stay out of the public eye for too long?"

"But...I..." Master Mo suddenly hesitated.

"What, haven't you thought about running for office? Are you planning to be a secretary for the rest of your life, writing articles for others?"

"That requires the support of the Party," the immortal murmured.

"Isn't the headquarters of the BJP in New Delhi? You can contact all the high-ranking officials there."

"It's still too early," said Master Mo, who felt he lacked the necessary qualifications.

"Good morning?" Ron chuckled. "I'll introduce you to someone another day. His name is Muna. He's only in his early twenties and is already a minister in Uttar Pradesh."

"What?" The immortal's beard trembled with shock.

“Didn’t Singh tell you? A new political party has been formed in Uttar Pradesh, the Progressive Party. He is the party leader and is involved in the coalition government of the state.”

Ron told him Muna's story, and the sage was very excited; this was a path he had never imagined.

Fame should be sought early, and the same principle applies to politics.

"By the way, what brings you to New Delhi this time?"

"You know, I'm planning to invest in electricity and mobile communications, which are crucial for India's development, aren't they?"

Yes, so.

"It's about licenses and permits."

"I think I can help," the sage nodded.

"Hey, do you know anyone in New Delhi?"

"The Ministry of Electricity and the Ministry of Transport are both run by minority parties, and they are allies of the BJP."

Tsk, not bad, Ron will get to know officials from the Department of Electricity and the Department of Transportation again.

(End of this chapter)