Free Web NovelChapter 378: Chapter 178: The Season of Sowing
Their faces were youthful, their clothes a little cheap, and their eyes held a mixture of awe for City Hall and a longing for the future.
Behind them sat their parents.
Those workers, servers, and janitors with calloused hands were now wearing old suits, sitting ramrod straight, their faces beaming with unconcealable pride.
Leo Wallace stood in the wings backstage, adjusting his tie.
Ethan stood beside him, holding the list of award recipients.
"Fifty people in total," Ethan reported. "Each receives an award of twenty thousand US dollars a year, plus a full scholarship covering all tuition and living expenses for four years of college. We squeezed the funds from the surplus in the Revitalization Plan."
"What are the conditions?" Leo asked.
"The conditions are demanding," Ethan said, pushing up his glasses. "They must maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and they’re required to intern for at least two months every winter and summer break at City Hall or a related community organization. After graduation, they must return to Pittsburgh and work in the public service sector for at least five years."
"Good."
Leo nodded.
’This is exactly what I want.’
He was investing in the future minds of the city.
"Go on, Leo."
Roosevelt’s voice rang out.
"Go look those kids in the eye and tell them that you chose them."
"You must carve your mark into their very souls, right when they are at their youngest and most hungry for an opportunity."
"You must make them understand that it wasn’t God, it wasn’t luck, but you, Leo Wallace, who gave them all of this."
Leo took a deep breath and strode onto the stage.
The spotlight hit him.
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
Leo raised a hand, and the applause instantly died down.
He took the microphone and walked directly to the edge of the stage, sitting down at the spot closest to the students, as if he were an upperclassman chatting with underclassmen.
"Look at you all."
Leo’s gaze swept over the kids in the front row, his eyes filled with a touch of nostalgia and sentiment.
"I was once you."
"A few years ago, I was sitting in a classroom, staring at the words on the blackboard, but all I could think about was next month’s rent and a student loan I could never seem to pay off."
"That feeling... it’s like a huge stone on your chest, making it impossible to breathe. You’re afraid to get sick, afraid to rest, you’re even afraid to think about the future."
Leo paused, seemingly lost in the memory of those difficult years.
"So, I know better than anyone what a single check means to a kid from a low-income family."
"It’s not just about the money. It’s about dignity. It’s about hope. It’s the foundation that lets you stand tall and chase your dreams."
"I don’t want to see anyone else giving up on their education because of a lack of money. I don’t want to see anyone else lose their future to poverty."
"And that is the entire reason I created the ’Pittsburgh Future Leaders Scholarship’."
"I’m going to use this money to shatter the chains trying to drag you down into the muck. I’m going to use this money to pave your road to college and to the wider world beyond."
"I’ve read every one of your application essays. I’ve seen your transcripts. I understand the struggles you’re going through."
"I know who you are."
Leo said slowly.
"You’re Charlie. Your father worked in the steel mills for twenty years before he was laid off last year. You’re the oldest son. You were planning to become a mechanic right after high school so you could pay for your sister’s education."
The Black boy he had named stared, stunned, as his eyes began to turn red.
"You’re Susan. Your mom’s a cashier at the supermarket. Every day after school, you go help her stock shelves before you can go home to do your homework. You have straight A’s, but you were afraid to apply to your dream university because you couldn’t afford the tuition."
The white girl wearing glasses covered her mouth.
Leo rose to his feet.
"I know your struggles, because I live right next door."
"I’ve been where you are, staring at bills and feeling like the future was as hazy and unclear as the fog on a Pittsburgh winter morning."
"But today, that all ends."
Leo’s voice rose, filled with power.
"This scholarship is not a handout."
"This is a pact that the city of Pittsburgh is making with you."
"On behalf of this city, on behalf of the taxpayers, on behalf of your parents... I have bought out your future anxieties."
"From this day forward, you no longer need to worry about tuition. You no longer need to work those low-paying part-time jobs."
"You have only one mission: to learn."
"Go and read. Go study law, study engineering, study management. Go learn how to govern this country!" ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"Learn everything those elites know!"
Leo extended a hand, pointing toward the main entrance of City Hall.
"And then, bring what you have learned back here."
"Come back to this building."
"This city needs new blood. It needs new minds."
"In the past, the officials here got their jobs through connections, through family background. But from now on, this place will belong to you."
"It will belong to those who truly understand the people’s hardships and possess expert knowledge."
Leo’s gaze softened.
"I’ll be here, waiting for you."
"I will give you the best internships, the most rigorous training, and the greatest platform to succeed."
"I will personally teach you how to wield power, how to fight injustice, and how to make the seemingly impossible become reality."
The students in the audience looked up at the young Mayor on the stage.
In their eyes, Leo was no longer just an official.
He was an idol, a mentor, the god who had reached down and pulled them from the mire.
This adoration was fervent and unshakeable.
Leo walked down among them.
"Stand up straight," Leo said, patting a boy’s shoulder. "From this day on, you are a Pittsburgh Scholar. You don’t need to bow your head to anyone—except to the truth."
He handed a tissue to a girl who was wiping away tears.
"Don’t cry," Leo’s voice was both stern and gentle. "Tears don’t solve poverty. Save your strength for your studies. Use it to become stronger, to grind those who once looked down on you into the dust."
These simple words had more penetrating power than any grand political declaration.
They struck a chord in the most vulnerable corner of these young people’s hearts, the part that craved recognition.
In that moment, a seed called ’loyalty’ was planted deep within their very bones.
"Brilliant."
Roosevelt applauded in Leo’s mind.
"Leo, this is the very foundation of power."
"Laws can be amended, systems can be overthrown, but a debt of gratitude like this, forged when people are at their lowest, can never be fully repaid."
"You are embarking on a different path now."
"Governing this country, or even just this city, isn’t something you, Ethan, or Sarah can accomplish with just a few people."
"You need a bureaucracy that can penetrate every pore of society."
"Power requires recognition."
"And right now, you are personally shaping that recognition, starting from the very bottom."
"These children will grow up. They’ll become lawyers, engineers, and the officials who walk the halls of this very building."
"When they hold the city’s lifelines in their hands, there will be only one name in their hearts."
"You are still young, my boy."
Roosevelt’s voice was filled with boundless expectation.
"You have plenty of time."
"You have the patience to wait for this crop to ripen."
Leo looked up, his gaze traveling past the young, eager faces before him.
He saw Sarah in the wings.
The young Director of Operations and Administration gave him a slight nod, discreetly tapping the watch on her wrist, her eyes urging him to wrap things up. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Leo let his smile fade, almost imperceptibly.
’The sentimental part is over. Now, it’s time for the official proceedings.’
’Politics requires not only passion, but more importantly, precise control.’
He straightened up, adjusted his suit, and took a step back, returning to the center of the stage.
The award ceremony officially began.
