The atmosphere in the room was a bit stiff.
Francisco’s maternal family was not a significant source of support; Paul’s wife was just an ordinary Summuri woman.
She had no prominent background and naturally couldn’t offer her son any help in the struggle for power.
The only one who could help him was Alberto.
Now, there was one more: Lance.
“You are my Uncle Lance!” A sixteen-year-old youth’s thinking ability had actually already reached an adult level.
It was just that they hadn’t experienced some of society’s harsh beatings, and were lacking in experience and worldly wisdom.
He wasn’t so foolish as to think that these relatives of his all had his best interests at heart.
Lance nodded slightly. “Then am I qualified to sit here?”
“Yes!” After Francisco firmly said this word, his aura seemed to have risen a little.
Lance looked at these people. “I’m not here to argue with you. Paul helped me, and I can’t watch you bully his child.”
“And I believe that if these things get out, you, and the surname Paul Pasoretto, will all become a joke in Golden Port.”
The others had varied expressions. Some didn’t care; anyway, no matter how they fought, the position of family head would not fall to them. But some nodded in agreement with Lance’s point of view.
Paul had just died, and these people were in a hurry to bully Francisco. If this matter got out, it would indeed be a family scandal.
At this moment, Vittorio, who had been silent all along, struck a lighter. A loud kerosene lighter, with a ding. Everyone looked at him.
He took two puffs of his cigarette and placed the lighter on the table. “This is an internal matter of our family, Mr. White, although what you’ve said is very reasonable.”
“But would you be willing for others to interfere in your family’s internal affairs?”
He held the cigarette in his hand, leaning on the edge of the table. “Even if he seems to have a very suitable reason.”
Vittorio’s tone was calm, not aggressive. This kind of person was much harder to deal with than those who only knew how to shout.
Alberto spoke up at this moment. “Paul said that if we run into trouble, we can find Lance.”
“Now is the time we have run into trouble. I don’t think his appearance here is unreasonable.”
Paul indeed had had more communication with Lance for a period of time, and Lance did indeed owe him a favor.
When he had wanted to protect Lance back then, some of these people had also objected. They thought it was unnecessary to offend the mayor for a small character, although the mayor didn’t have much of a presence.
But Paul had still done it, so it was possible that he had indeed said such words.
Vittorio pondered for a moment. “Paul has already left us. I have no way to verify the truth of what you’ve said, but for his sake, you can be here, but only this once.”
“I hope you can respect the traditions of the Pasoretto Family. Only this once!”
With him saying this, the others no longer accused Lance of needing to leave.
No matter when, no matter where, strength is the fundamental reason for people to listen.
Even if a homeless person shouts on the street with a megaphone, you, walking past him, will not care what he is saying. You won’t even remember a few keywords.
But if it’s your boss, or a socialite, a political figure, a celebrity, then even if they are not talking to you, you will be able to remember most of what they said and firmly remember those keywords.
They are all people, but just because of the difference in “strength,” they receive different treatment.
This society has always been so realistic, so direct. Only those who are unwilling to wake up will pretend not to know these things.
Lance nodded and continued to sit.
Vittorio was Paul’s paternal uncle. In other words, he was Paul’s father’s biological brother, which also meant that he once had a chance to become the family head.
Every person in power actually can’t avoid this kind of situation. That is, he will definitely think that his children love each other, that their family members love each other.
They deliberately ignore the selfishness and greed of human nature. Perhaps when these superiors are alive, and when the heir has mastered the power, they will not reveal their ambitions.
But once the superior dies suddenly, and the heir has not accumulated enough power, things will become troublesome.
Just like now.
Vittorio’s power in the family was considerable. After all, he was Paul’s paternal uncle, and their relationship was quite good since childhood. At the same time, he controlled a lot of people.
The greater his contribution to the family, the greater his threat to Francisco.
No one else spoke, and Lance didn’t continue to say anything, just sat quietly.
After a brief silence, Vittorio said with a smile, “Let’s not let our guests feel bored by our silence.”
“The Cassia Family intends to end the war. They are willing to compensate us with some neighborhoods, and at the same time, the family’s current situation is also very bad.”
“We are seriously short of manpower and need to replenish some from our clansmen as soon as possible.”
“Paul left too hastily, leaving us with a lot of trouble. And with Cisco in his current state…”
He looked as if he was all for the family, not mentioning his own interests. “It’s difficult for him to gain the trust of the family’s business partners. Actually, I think Zaccaro was right just now.”
“Cisco, you are too young. When our partners see you on the other side of the table, there’s a high probability they won’t cooperate with you.”
“Who would talk about a business worth hundreds of thousands or millions with a child?”
“They will doubt whether you understand what business is, how to make money!”
“If we lose this part of the business, it will definitely be a heavy blow to us.”
The people around all nodded in agreement with his view. Even Lance thought Vittorio was very correct.
The Pasoretto Family had a large amount of smuggling business, and medicine business. These were all done in cooperation with different gangs and forces from different countries.
As the heir of the family, Francisco would definitely have to meet with these organizations, sit down and talk, to ensure that there would be no changes in the cooperation between the two sides.
But this kind of business, profitable, but very risky business, who would talk about it with an older child?
He couldn’t establish his authority at the negotiating table, so it would be very difficult to establish his authority in the family.
In fact, even if he were a few years older, as old as Lance, twenty years old, that would be enough.
But it was this age gap of a few years that made him very awkward now.
Alberto said from the side, “I will accompany him.”
Vittorio laughed twice. “You can’t represent the Pasoretto Family, Alberto.”
“You have to remember, your surname is Corti, not Pasoretto. People want to see the one in the Pasoretto family who can make the decisions, not the guy next to him.”
Lance looked at Francisco. At this time, he should say something, but Francisco, facing his smiling “grand-uncle” and his not-so-polite “uncle,” seemed a bit stage-frightened.
He was a little afraid of these people.
Vittorio also glanced sideways at Zaccaro. “Don’t scare him…” He glanced at Zaccaro, then looked at Francisco. “How about this, the reconstruction work of the family will be handed over to you, but those businesses you can’t handle, I will be in charge of.”
Before Francisco could object, Zaccaro couldn’t help but raise a different opinion. “On what grounds are you in charge?”
He slapped the table. “Many of the family’s businesses have always been under my charge. If we’re going to talk, it should be me who goes to talk.”
For a vibrant social group, funding is also of the utmost importance.
After all, this job is a life-and-death game. If the money is not paid on time, the thoughts of those below will change.
The Pasoretto family’s smuggling business had always been in the hands of the family head. If Paul hadn’t died so early, then he would have taken Francisco with him to talk business in the subsequent time.
Let him gradually understand how the family business is negotiated, and introduce those business partners to him, gradually becoming his own network of connections.
But now, he had left so early, and Francisco was still so young. He had no advantage in this aspect at all.
Alberto obviously realized this. He glanced at Lance. Lance leaned back. The two of them sat next to Francisco, one on the left and one on the right.
Now Francisco was like a wall, covering up their communication process.
“Do we fight for it or not?” Alberto asked in a low voice.
Lance retorted, “How are you going to fight for it?”
“If you speak up now, they will definitely let Cisco go and talk.”
“Do you know what the bottom line of these businesses is?”
“Do you know what the bottom line of these people is?”
Alberto’s face was grim. “I don’t even recognize all the people.”
Not to mention Francisco. He was still in high school. Paul had originally planned that after he turned eighteen, he would let him attend university while also getting involved in the family business.
And now this.
“If Cisco goes to negotiate these businesses and doesn’t do well, it might affect his status and authority in the family.”
“Since they want to seize power, let them do it. We’ll just keep one or two of the best bars.”
“But we can’t let one or two people get all the benefits.”
“Cisco has so many relatives. I don’t think it’s too much for each person to be responsible for one item.”
Alberto’s eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face. “You are indeed smarter than me.”
The two of them sat up straight almost at the same time. But soon Alberto turned his head and whispered to Francisco for a while. The young man had also heard their conversation just now and had no objection to it.
He coughed. The gazes of the others were all focused on him. Nominally, he was still the family head.
“What Grand-uncle Vittorio said just now is indeed true. I don’t know the family’s partners, nor do I know how to negotiate these businesses.”
“If I go to talk, I will definitely make a mess of it, so…”
He paused. Zaccaro was a bit on edge. “You’re not thinking of handing over all these businesses to him, are you?”
Vittorio tapped the table twice with his knuckles unpleasantly. “Zaccaro!”
Zaccaro looked at him. “What, you still want to scare me?”
Just as Francisco was about to explain, Lance pressed down on his arm, shook his head slightly, signaling him not to speak for now.
Vittorio also felt that he had lost face. “This is Cisco’s decision. He is the family head now, and you are not.”
“It is because there are people like you in the family that Mr. White is here.”
He was implying that Zaccaro was the one bullying Cisco, which made Zaccaro laugh with anger. “You’re so fucking shameless.”
“I don’t care. Anyway, I am against handing over all the business to him. Who knows if he will harm the family’s interests?”
“If you guys think he’s reliable and hand over all the business to him, I’ll quit the family.”
The surrounding people were suddenly in an uproar. Quitting the family was not a joke, but the fact that he had said this meant he had no intention of taking it back.
Lance released his hand. He could speak now.
Francisco said, “Actually… I think if we let Grand-uncle Vittorio do so much work alone, he will definitely be quite tired.”
“So I thought about it. We are a family, one family. We all have to bear the responsibility of the family.”
“So… why don’t each of you be responsible for one business?”
Francisco said these words a little nervously. Everyone was taken aback for a moment. Vittorio and Zaccaro looked unwilling. One business?
They wanted it all.
But before they could object, those who were originally on the fence, watching the excitement, all quickly praised this choice.
“This is a good proposal. This way we can stabilize the family and the outside business as soon as possible, and then refocus our energy on rebuilding the family, dealing with Dover, and restoring the family’s glory.”
Originally, these people were just here to go through the motions. They didn’t expect to have a little bit of participation now. Who could refuse the benefits delivered to their hands?
With the first person supporting and agreeing, there was soon a second, a third.
In a short while, most of the people had expressed their agreement.
At this time, whether it was Vittorio or Zaccaro, if they raised an objection, they would actually be opposing the others, destroying the private interests these people would get from these businesses.
When their actual interests were not harmed, they didn’t care who made things difficult for Francisco. It had nothing to do with them anyway.
But when these things were related to their interests, if someone wanted to take away the benefits they already had in their hands, they would not stand for it.
Even if it was Vittorio or Zaccaro, if they wanted to truly gain the ruling power of the family, they also needed the support of these people.
Otherwise, it would go back to the original problem. If you can’t get the whole family, why not just leave the family and start a new one yourself?
Originally, this was a trap set by Vittorio for Francisco. He definitely wouldn’t be able to handle it well, which would damage his prestige as the legal heir.
Then he himself would step in and bring things back on track. He would get both practical benefits and continue to push up his family authority. A win-win.
But he didn’t expect that Francisco would actually solve this problem this way. It seemed that no one had gotten any benefits, and he had also lost control over these matters.
But in fact, when he was in a weak position, the fact that Vittorio and Zaccaro did not continue to become stronger was the biggest “good news.”
The surrounding brothers and sisters were all saying this was a good idea. Vittorio could only smile and nod. “Indeed, it’s not bad.”
He didn’t mean it.
“Then this matter is settled.” Alberto hammered it home. A smile appeared on the faces of most of the people.
Even if most of the profits from these businesses had to be handed over to the family, they could still get some for themselves.
Even if Vittorio was not satisfied, he could only nod. The same was true for Zaccaro.
Skipping over this issue, Vittorio said again, “The Cassia family has contacted us, hoping to have peace talks as soon as possible.”
“The Mayor has been abandoned. The Five Families should not continue to be in chaos. The Kodak Family also holds a supportive attitude.”
“What do you think?”
His gaze was once again locked on Francisco.
Some said to refuse the peace talks, because it was the Cassia family that had caused them great harm.
But some also believed that now was a good time for peace talks. The family was severely damaged. When Dover left, he also took some people with him. Although they were only marginal personnel, the family’s strength had indeed been reduced by more than half.
Continuing the war was not friendly to them. The most important thing to do was to rest and recuperate, to restore the family’s strength as soon as possible.
After those who wanted to express some opinions had finished expressing their views, Vittorio threw the problem back to Francisco. “Cisco, you have now inherited the position of family head. This matter still needs you to make the final decision.”
Zaccaro glanced sideways at Vittorio. This old thing was really not a good person. But this matter was beneficial to him. He turned his head to look elsewhere.
Actually, everyone knew this question was very difficult to answer.
If Francisco were to say “reconcile,” then the relatives, friends, and brothers of those who had died before would be dissatisfied with this un-prestigious Francisco.
If it were someone else, for example, Paul, everyone would accept his choice due to Paul’s family prestige.
But Francisco could not suppress these people.
It was like a superior joking with you about your old scars. Even if you were very uncomfortable in your heart, you would pretend to be magnanimous and laugh, and even call the other party “you are so humorous.”
But if the person doing this was someone with no status in your heart, then I’m afraid you would not show a smile next, but would directly turn hostile.
But if Francisco said to continue the war, then they could use the reason that they couldn’t draw out enough manpower to have Francisco find a way to recruit a batch of men to continue the war.
But how could he recruit many men?
People would doubt whether he could do everything a family head should do. Before he proved himself, not many people would join his banner.
He refused to stop the war, but let the subsequent situation become a mess. This would again damage his authority in the family.
This was also a very difficult question to answer.
And now he had Alberto by his side. It was possible that they were planning to use this method to consume the strength in Alberto’s hands.
Alberto was also thinking about how to answer. Francisco’s eyes were a bit erratic. He had no ideas of his own, which made some people in the family even less optimistic about him inheriting this position.
Just at this moment, Lance said in a voice that was not loud, but that everyone could hear clearly, “We don’t need a truce. A blood debt can only be paid in blood. We will fight them to the end!”
Vittorio looked at Lance, then at Francisco, and asked with a smile that wasn’t a smile, “Can your words represent Cisco’s decision?”
(End of chapter)
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