The two consecutive losses of liquor shipments made Luigi feel that someone was targeting him.
If his goods couldn’t enter Golden Port, he would become a joke among the forces in the Republic of Aldra.
Those rival gangs that he once looked down on, or those with whom he didn’t have a good relationship, would soon be able to obtain huge profits by smuggling liquor to the Federation, but he would not have such high profits!
Golden Port was always one of the most popular places for all smugglers. It had a very strong logistics capacity, and the local gangs were of an astonishing size. They could consume a shocking amount of liquor.
And then distribute this liquor throughout the Federation!
It wasn’t that other places didn’t need smuggled liquor, it was just that the price of smuggled liquor in those places couldn’t go up.
This was like two girls who both relied on the help of kind-hearted people to live in this society. Perhaps the two girls were similar in appearance, figure, and even substance.
But one was a high-class call girl. Every time she repaid a kind-hearted person with her warmth, she could get $10 or $100 or even more in aid.
And the other was just a fast-food joint on the side of the road. Even the kind-hearted people wouldn’t stay for too long and would just give her $3 or $5.
Both needed the help of kind-hearted people, both had the same enthusiasm, but in the end, it could result in a profit gap of dozens or hundreds of times. This was what Luigi was most unwilling to see.
Sending goods to other places not only required him to arrange for people to expand the market, but there was also not much profit.
The gap between him and other gangs would be widened in one trade after another.
In this place, Yalan, money was everything!
This place cared more about money than other places!
As long as you have money, you can have everything.
You can sleep with any woman you see, you don’t even need any coercive means, just show your money power.
You can quickly establish a huge force by spending money. You will become a frequent guest at the dinner tables of the country’s top figures, such as the president and the prime minister.
Money is omnipotent. In some places, people even jokingly call banknotes “God,” and different banknotes are “God wearing different clothes”!
People need to eat, but many people here can’t fill their stomachs.
If it weren’t for the fact that Yalan is in a tropical region, perhaps just the winter would be enough to kill many Yalanese people.
So here, there is no problem that money can’t solve. When others are developing rapidly and Luigi’s development speed is slow, then he might become the target of others.
He thought it over and over, and in the end, he could only think of one person who could possibly do this, and that was Lance!
He had only offended one person, Lance. Before this, the thought of this matter made him furious. He picked up the phone and dialed the number Lance had left.
This kind of international long-distance call required multiple relays. By the time he could hear the waiting tone from the Federation, several minutes had already passed.
The call was quickly connected, “This is the Wanli Firm.”
“Is Lance there?”
“Who is this?”
“I am his friend, Luigi!”
The person on the other end of the line was not Lance. Luigi could still recognize Lance’s voice.
“Wait, I have to ask him if he’s willing to talk to you.”
Luigi held a pipe, lit the tobacco in it, and sat there smoking.
On the other side of the receiver, Elvin knocked on the door of Lance’s office and poked his head in, “It’s a call from Luigi. Do you want to take it?”
Lance raised his eyebrows, “Which line?”
“Line two.”
He nodded, and Elvin closed the door.
He picked up the phone, pressed the “2” button on the phone, and the call was immediately connected.
“I hear you’re looking for me?” His words were very impolite, without even a greeting. For this kind of person who didn’t keep his word, Lance had never had a good temper.
Luigi couldn’t help but ask after hearing Lance’s voice, “Was it you?”
Lance changed his sitting posture, “What did I do?”
“My goods!”
“And my f—king men!”
Luigi was about to roar!
His nephew had died, and in two separate incidents, he had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods.
It was mainly the loss of this liquor that made him feel the pain. His nephew, his subordinates, as long as he had money, countless people would be willing to risk their lives for him.
The locals of Aldra, the people of other countries in Yalan, as long as there was money, they were willing to do anything.
As for his nephew, that was even simpler. He could spend money to find a few more girls for his brothers. As long as he found enough, wouldn’t he have as many nephews as he wanted?
But the key to all this was how much money he could get!
Money was the real reason for his anger.
Lance was silent for a moment, then, slowly, with a somewhat playful tone, he asked, “Do you have any proof?”
The moment this sentence was said, Luigi actually understood. It was Lance who did it.
And Lance had said it deliberately. He wanted to make Luigi understand that his goods were lost and his men were gone because he had offended him, not someone else!
“How dare you?”
“Lance!”
Luigi suddenly roared, not at all like the easy-going person he was when they first and last met.
Lance moved the receiver away from his ear. When his voice had quieted down again, he brought the receiver back to his ear.
“We need to talk, Lance!” After a burst of anger, Luigi finally calmed down a little.
Lance had a look of disdain on his face, but he still said, “Aren’t we talking now?”
This made Luigi silent for a moment, “I don’t need you to apologize to me or anything. The two shipments of liquor together are worth more than $500,000. You give me a cost price, $350,000.”
“I won’t hold the deaths of those people against you. After the money is received, I will arrange for someone to send you another $400,000 worth of goods, and the problems between us will be written off.”
“You don’t owe me, and I don’t owe you.”
“If you touch my things again, I won’t be polite!”
He originally still owed Lance $800,000 worth of low-priced liquor, but because he didn’t want to sell it to Lance at a low price and wanted to seek greater profits, he refused to continue supplying Lance at a lower price.
This was what had caused the originally good relationship between the two sides to suddenly deteriorate.
Listening to the other party’s outlandish words, Lance said with a sneer, “You’re thinking too simply, Luigi.”
“You have destroyed our friendship and also made you lose this business route.”
“Now we are not in an equal relationship, understand?”
“If you want to regain my friendship, you have to pay a higher price, not just give me what originally belonged to me as if it were charity, as you are doing now.”
“If you don’t understand this, then find someone who does and ask them how to seek my forgiveness!!”
Lance’s tone was also a bit fierce, “Before I nod, I guarantee that as long as I know it’s from you, not a single bottle of your goods will enter Golden Port!”
He hung up the phone without waiting for Luigi to say anything.
He sat at the desk and thought for a moment, then strode to the window, opened it, and shouted outside, “Mador?”
“Here!”
Soon, Mador came to Lance’s office, “Boss, you were looking for me?”
Lance pointed to the chair opposite, “Sit down and talk.”
After Mador sat down, Lance said, “How is the situation in the Empire recently?”
Mador was stunned for a moment when he heard this question, then sighed, “It’s getting worse and worse. Now those rebel armies have come to their senses and are starting to band together again, but it seems that their annihilation is only a matter of time.”
The nobles were very disappointed with them and were no longer planning to or had already stopped funding them.
Without the support of the nobles, lacking funds, lacking supplies, it was already very difficult for them to organize any threatening counter-attacks or offenses.
They could only stay where they were and wait for the result of being annihilated!
Of course, they did indeed get a lot of things in the war, a large amount of land, real estate, but these things, as long as the nobles didn’t nod, were simply worthless!
The funds in their hands were being depleted bit by bit, yet they had no way to get new funds. They could only wait for the end to come in torment!
In this situation, many people had completely given up resistance and had started to flee overseas.
During this period, someone had also contacted Mador. He had done quite well among those who had fled overseas, and someone wanted to come and seek refuge with him.
“Boss, some people from my hometown want to come over. They want to ask if we still need people here.”
Lance looked at him, “Are they reliable?”
“I don’t want people we can’t trust ourselves. You can bring all the friends you know over, but you have to guarantee that they will only have a positive impact on the family business.”
“If they cause us trouble, or do things that are harmful to us, you have to be responsible.”
The meaning of his words was very clear. If Mador wanted to be a guarantor, and if they messed around after they came, Mador would also be implicated.
If it were before, Lance would not have said this. At that time, Mador’s family had not yet been brought over, and he could not be said to have settled down in the Federation.
Now his family had also been brought over, and they were living very well. Everything was very stable.
In this state, what people are most afraid of is change. Sometimes, in order to be stable, they can even make some concessions or even sacrifices.
When he found that doing something might have unpredictable consequences for him and his family, he would become very cautious.
He didn’t answer immediately but thought for a moment. Faces flashed through his mind one by one.
After more than ten seconds, he finally nodded and said, “I can guarantee it!”
Lance let out a noncommittal “hmm,” “Just right, I also have a mission that I originally needed you guys to do. Now is a good time to test your friend’s ability.”
“In the Republic of Aldra in Yalan, there is a Summurian merchant named Luigi.”
“I don’t like him. Do you understand what I mean?”
Mador nodded repeatedly, “I will arrange for them to go to Aldra and bring back a gift you like before they come, Boss!”
Lance was very satisfied with his understanding of his instructions, “I will have Mello give you a sum of money, including providing all necessary equipment.”
“Solve those problems. I’ll be waiting here for our new family!”
“I’ll go prepare now, Boss.”
Lance nodded as he watched him leave.
In fact, the conflict between him and Luigi was already irreconcilable. Even if he didn’t indirectly admit that he had done it, in the end, Luigi would also determine that it was he who had done it!
He didn’t know if Luigi had offended anyone recently, but he knew that here in Golden Port, he should have only offended himself.
So the best way now was to replace him, with other partners or ordinary people. The problem could be completely solved at once.
What Lance didn’t know was that after Luigi hung up the phone, he called Paul again. Now the atmosphere on Summuri Island was the same as the friction between the four countries. It was about to catch fire, and there were simply not that many people who could be mobilized to the outside.
On the contrary, the four major families were constantly recalling family members from all over the world, asking them to fight for the glory of the family.
The Pasoretto family, as a relatively famous branch in the Federation, was naturally also among those being recruited, but Paul had refused.
The Pasoretto family, which was almost completely independent, would definitely not agree to be recruited. At that time, these people would be fighting and dying, while those people would be sitting back and enjoying the fruits. On what grounds?
The family faction behind Paul gave him another choice. If he was unwilling to bring the “children” back to Summuri Island to participate in the just war, then he had to come up with at least $5,000,000!
This $5,000,000 was for hiring others and buying military supplies. You can’t just not provide men and not provide money, can you?
But he also refused to be extorted, which led to his current bad reputation. Many people said that now that he had money and status, he had forgotten the fact that Summurian blood flowed in his veins.
Luigi’s situation was similar to his. In the past, he hadn’t done very well on Summuri Island and was dispatched, or rather, exiled to the Republic of Aldra.
Now that his business was starting to pick up, those people wanted to have ideas about him again.
In fact, he and Paul were the same. The Summurian people, the four major families, and those politicians had proposed a concept, a saying, in the early years: “The resources of Summurian Island are limited, but the world is infinite.”
The general meaning is that there is no more living space for them on Summurian Island. If they don’t want to become the bottom of society, then they shouldn’t f—king compete with others for living space on Summuri Island.
The so-called “outward expansion,” from the perspective of the actual ruling class of Summurian, was more of an outward dispatch, a sending away, definitely not any hope that they could make a name for themselves in the international community.
When they were looked down upon before, they were kicked away. Now that they are needed, they are being kidnapped in various ways. Many Summurians who have already taken root outside are unwilling to go back.
It’s just that those who can be as resolute as Paul are still a minority.
So Luigi and Paul, because of these things, still had something to say.
“I need some of your help, Paul.”
Luigi, as the leader of the currently most powerful Summurian gang in the Republic of Aldra, was indeed on par with Paul in “status,” so he didn’t need to be so careful and polite when speaking.
Including recently, he had been having a lot of headaches, “First tell me what it is. I may not be able to help you. I’m also in a mess myself right now.”
Luigi was in no mood to ask him why he was in a mess. He was only thinking about his own affairs, “I have a little conflict with Lance…”
He explained his little conflict with Lance, “I need you to be a middleman, to help us mediate.”
“It’s just a matter of money. I’ve already talked to him. I can make up the $800,000 worth of goods at cost price.”
“I have already made a great concession. Even in the future, if he still wants to get goods from me, I can give him a price that he can’t get on the market!”
“It shouldn’t have turned out like this between us. We need a middleman.”
Luigi had not considered sending gunmen. It was just that he was not sure if the gunmen could get rid of Lance, so he planned to talk to Paul first.
If Paul could step forward to help him and Lance talk, then he wouldn’t have to take the risk.
Assassination is indeed a very useful means, to physically solve an enemy, but if it is a failed assassination, then it is absolutely the worst situation.
Paul frowned throughout the process of listening to him talk about his little conflict with Lance.
“I’m not sure if I can persuade Lance. I can try, but not now.”
“We have some big things to do during this period. After we’re done, I will definitely make an appointment with him as soon as possible.”
“Don’t worry, I will keep your matter in mind.”
Paul’s reputation on Summuri Island was not good, but among these Summurians who had gone out, it was still very good.
Hearing him say to wait, Luigi did not continue to insist, “No problem, I will wait for your good news.”
“Your trouble, is there anything I can help you with?”
Paul refused with a smile, “You can’t help with these things, but thank you for your kindness anyway, Luigi.”
“Believe me, the problem between you and Lance will be properly resolved!”
The two chatted for a few more sentences about some matters on the island, and then ended the call.
After putting down the phone, Paul rubbed his temples. Mueller came in with a tray and tea, “Do you want to rest for a while?”
He placed the things in front of Paul. Paul shook his head slightly. He still had a lot of things to deal with. Only by standing in his position could one know how difficult it was to be the head of one of the Five Families.
He picked up his teacup and took a sip, letting out a sigh of relief, “I heard Dover got drunk and was sent back again?”
There was obvious dissatisfaction in his tone. He hoped that Dover could pull himself together, inherit his father’s will, and become his right-hand man.
Not… a waste that no one in the family likes!
Mueller sighed with a blank expression, “With those people around him, he drank until he was unconscious and slept until just now.”
“He just woke up, took a shower, and then went out again.”
Paul was also speechless when he heard this. He sat in a daze for a while, “Forget it, let him be.”
“This is what I owe their family!”
Soon, he was buried in his work again.
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