Lin Sizhi paused slightly, then continued: "Let me ask you, suppose a dictator who controls everything claims he has no private property, just like an emperor declaring he is frugal, 'only eight sets of clothes per season', would you find it touching or ridiculous?"

Qin Yao thought for a moment: "It would be ridiculous.

"Because for a dictator, he doesn't need any private property; the whole country is his private property.

"Power is something more valuable than wealth. Once he has absolute power, whether to acquire wealth depends solely on whether he wants to or not."

Lin Sizhi nodded approvingly: "Hmm? Not bad, you're smarter than I thought."

Qin Yao was a bit annoyed: "I'm not that dumb to begin with!

"But isn't this a completely different situation from our community?

"Fu Chen and Li Renshu, from any angle, are very far from being dictators or emperors, right? You can't use such extreme examples to argue this is a slippery slope fallacy."

Lin Sizhi explained: "Yes, the degrees are different, and they can't be compared.

"What I'm saying is that influence in the community, or even further, power, is also one of their invisible incomes. And this income is actually much more valuable than the visa time."

Qin Yao furrowed her brows: "They have influence, I get that, but where's the power?

"They can propose motions, but ultimately, implementation depends on voting.

"If it infringes on the interests of the majority, then the majority will definitely vote against it, and the motion won't be passed.

"Moreover, once they propose motions that infringe on the majority's interests, everyone will see their true colors, and they'll become like rats crossing the street, everyone shouting to hit them.

"At that time, the influence they've accumulated will dissipate into thin air; wouldn't it all be in vain?"

Lin Sizhi nodded: "Indeed, there's a possibility like what you said. But in reality, this issue is more complex than you imagine.

"How would a smart politician make such a low-level mistake?

"They would use subtle, almost unconscious means to effortlessly influence the majority's mindset, smoothly advancing whatever they want to do.

"You need to realize, obtaining power doesn't happen from 0 to 1 directly; there are intermediary states.

"Similarly, for a person to go from a nobody to a dictator deciding everyone's fate, it doesn't leap from 0 to 1 directly, but builds up bit by bit.

"As you might find it hard to understand, let me give a more concrete example.

"This morning, if we directly voted on choosing new members, how many do you think would unhesitatingly vote in favor of the 'young male doctor'?"

Qin Yao recalled seriously: "There should be... at most three or four votes, right? At the time, some clearly opposed the proposal, and there were many other options like chef, nurse, female doctor, etc. Even when I mentioned the special forces soldier, two or three people nodded.

"Most people neither opposed nor particularly favored the 'young male doctor' option.

"So, if we directly voted, these people might subconsciously first vote against this proposal and then discuss slowly."

Lin Sizhi paused again, and continued: "But by the evening, the votes changed to eight votes.

"Does this mean that between the morning and evening, everyone independently thought it through and suddenly and unanimously believed the young male doctor was better?"

This question stumped Qin Yao.

Because intuitively, it really seemed to be the case.

In the morning, people were expressing their opinions freely, but by evening, it passed with eight votes without much dispute.

"Lawyer Lin, are you suggesting that between morning and evening, many small groups discussed privately and had already reached a consensus, and the evening meeting was just a formality?"

Lin Sizhi shook his head repeatedly: "No no no, that's completely the wrong idea.

"What you mentioned about small groups colluding in private is possible, but not in this case.

"Because such collusion only leads to two or three different options, inducing greater controversy, making it unlikely to form a unified opinion.

"The fact that the evening's proposal proceeded so smoothly demonstrates that our community currently has only one relatively organized small group, which is the one Li Renshu belongs to."

Qin Yao was even more puzzled: "But that small group consists of at most three or five people, so where did the remaining four votes come from?"

Lin Sizhi smiled: "Good, we're finally getting to the crux of the issue.

"These four votes can be viewed as 'swing votes', meaning they were unsure which option to vote for. They might have thought the older male doctor was fine, or the female nurse or even the chef.

"But when it came time to vote, they weren't swinging anymore.

"To induce such a change in them doesn't require covert persuasion, which would be too overt and likely to arouse caution.

"Just a little guidance during the meeting can change their minds.

"They might even feel that choosing the young male doctor is their own inner thought.

"And this influence can also be understood as power, which is the invisible income our community organizers gain during each proposal discussion."

Qin Yao felt a bit dizzy: "I'm sorry, Lawyer Lin, I still don't get it. I didn't feel anything was amiss in the process when Li Renshu was hosting the discussion."

Lin Sizhi explained: "The proposal presentation, the choice of proposals, the order of discussions; these seemingly trivial steps can actually affect the discussion results.

"A simple question: why discuss three proposals together?

"Li Renshu's explanation is to save time, but in reality, we have plenty of time.

"Only the recruitment topic needs to be decided by tomorrow morning, while the Community Security Fund's supplementary rules and medical supplies regulations can be implemented five or ten days later, having no significant impact.

"However, binding these three proposals together for discussion yields an additional effect:

"The first two proposals are very comprehensive and align with the vast majority's interests, leaving no space for opposition, most likely passing unanimously.

"During the discussion of these two proposals, as no one opposes, Li Renshu can establish a 'temporary sense of authority', making people feel she has considered every aspect, and her words and choices are the best solutions.

"In this atmosphere, we began discussion on the third proposal.

"On top of Cai Zhiyuan's two original reasons, Li Renshu added a third reason: we must consider the new member's moral level, and the young doctor naturally has higher morality.

"Coupled with her prior authority, it becomes particularly persuasive.

"But now think, is it a statistically supported fact that older doctors are more likely to have medical ethics and moral quality problems? Even if it's true, is the deviation significant enough for us to have to consider it?

"Of course, I'm not saying older doctors are necessarily better, all discussions are just hypothetical possibilities, emphasizing the selection standard.

"Is it a single standard or a multiple standard?

"If it's a multiple standard, who decides the weightings between different standards?

"Li Renshu's words indeed have an element of 'following the trend', overall accommodating the majority's demands, but there's a significant ambiguity in these demands.

"In other words, if now Li Renshu wanted an older doctor, could she alter her rhetoric to also influence and implement a 7-vote agreement?"

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