It’s often like this in life: we are always struggling in dissatisfaction, searching for direction after getting lost.
It isn’t until the moment we see the light again that we realize the happiness we wanted, we actually possessed it a long, long time ago.
It’s just that in the process of struggling and getting lost, we lost that happiness.
But some things always require a choice—a choice of self, a choice of human nature.
Perhaps many years later, they will still recall the words they chatted about on this day, recall the story that made Alberto laugh until he cried.
It’s just unknown what kind of mood they will be in at that time.
“Do you need my help with Cisco’s grandfathers and uncles?” Lance asked.
Alberto understood his meaning. Lance was asking if he needed help getting rid of these old fossils.
The existence of these old fossils was an obstacle to Francisco grasping the family’s power. They would do their best to prevent him from mastering the actual power of the family. Getting rid of them would make everything much simpler.
Alberto shook his head. “I want to leave these people for him, as a coming-of-age gift.”
“And…” Alberto’s lips curled up, but this expression was definitely not a smile, “I am, after all, not a member of the Pasoretto family. The only one who can decide their fate is Cisco.”
Lance pursed his lips. This was a typical ignorant thought. “I thought you were as young as me, that your thinking would be a bit more progressive.”
Alberto laughed at this. “This is tradition…”
“Tradition is not always good. If tradition was always good, why would science need to advance?”
“Isn’t that a very typical example of being ‘untraditional’?”
Alberto shook his head and didn’t continue to discuss this issue with him. He knew he was no match for Lance.
“The things that needed to be said have all been said. I’m heading back. You should also get ready.”
Lance stood up. Alberto also stood up and gave him a hug. Then the two separated and left in different directions.
Sitting back in the car, Lance shook his head slightly. Sometimes Alberto seemed quite fashionable, but on some issues, he was very old-fashioned.
In his view, the simplest thing to do now was to quickly build up Francisco’s prestige, and then use these matters to resolve the dissenting voices in the family and quickly unite the family’s strength.
Whether it was for self-preservation or for external expansion, at least it would provide a good foundation.
As for returning to Summuri Island to fight against the four major families of Summuri Island?
He hoped he could still come back alive to realize the dream he once had.
In September, with the results of the municipal councilman election just over twenty days away, the election activities in Golden Port became a little more frequent, but only slightly.
The outcome of the municipal councilman election was basically decided from the very beginning.
Most politicians would have done basic investigations and groundwork when they ran for municipal councilman. They would not choose to run in administrative districts where no one knew them. They would only run in places where they had the best chance of winning.
Just like William. He lived in Priliccia, but he was running for election in the Empire District, not because the election situation here was simpler and clearer, but because his chances of winning were the greatest.
It could even be said that he had locked in the victory from the very beginning, which was why he had come.
Even the election for the lowest-level municipal councilman required a considerable amount of funds. If these people could not lock in the victory in advance, their investors, or rather, the people in their party, would not divert resources to them.
During this period, William was running around the Empire District every day, still promoting his set of theories. If you didn’t know he was only running for municipal councilman, some of the issues he raised were presentable enough for a presidential election, such as solving the education problem.
Undoubtedly, his probability of winning was very high. On the other hand, Mr. Jobav was already in a state of withdrawal from the election. His campaign office had been disbanded because he could not afford the campaign funds.
A person like him running for election relied entirely on his own financial support. He had no supporters, no investors. Once his own funds had problems, the entire campaign process would be immediately cut off.
The loopholes in the bank were getting bigger and bigger, and the siege from other banks also made him exhausted. He was about to be unable to hold on. How could he possibly come up with the money to continue to launch a campaign offensive?
William would become the municipal councilman of the Empire District with an absolute advantage. At the same time, there was another matter that required Lance, and that was “handing out money.”
With the children chasing and running, Alvin smiled and grabbed a large handful of change and threw it towards them.
The children screamed and chased after the coins, carefully prying them out from the cracks in the bricks or from the ground, holding them tightly in their hands, and thanking Lance and Elvin for their generosity.
Every time he saw this scene, Lance would feel very relaxed. A small gain could make them show a satisfied smile. These pure smiles, without any impurities, could also infect others.
A homeless man mustered up his courage and walked towards Lance’s side. Before he could get close to Lance’s car, he was stopped by someone.
“I have a few words I want to say to Mr. Lance,” he said to the others.
Lance looked at this homeless man, who looked a little familiar. He nodded, and he was allowed to come over.
“Make sure both of your hands are in our sight, otherwise we might misjudge!” people said to him. He didn’t dare to act rashly, ensuring his hands were hanging by his sides.
“I seem to have seen you before,” Lance said, sitting in the car and looking at this very clean homeless man.
A smile appeared on the homeless man’s face. “Mr. Lance, in the winter, I accidentally got splashed with some water. You kindly gave me a sum of money and let me get through the cold winter.”
Lance immediately recalled. “It’s you!”
A smile appeared on his face. He then took out a cigarette and handed one over. “Do you smoke?”
The homeless man was somewhat flattered and took the cigarette with both hands. “Of course, of course…”
He carefully put the cigarette in his mouth and took out a match. At that moment, he suddenly felt a creepy feeling.
He had no choice but to slow down his movements, taking his hand out of his pocket little by little. It was indeed a box of matches.
Although he couldn’t see it, he knew that there must be many weapons pointed at him.
However, he had no complaints at all. After all, a great philanthropist like Mr. Lance indeed needed to pay attention to his own safety.
He struck a match. He was a little hesitant. Lance reached out and covered part of the cigarette tip. He quickly smiled and leaned forward, bending over to light the cigarette for Lance, and then lit the one in his own mouth.
“Mr. Lance, I don’t know how to say it. Your kindness has given me the strength to face life again.”
“I am ready to set out on the road again and plan to fight with life once more!” He smiled and turned his head slightly to exhale the smoke from his mouth.
“I’ve always wanted to face you in person and say ‘thank you’ to you. You gave me courage and a goal. I will not continue to be decadent.”
“After talking with you this time, I will soon leave this place to look for opportunities.”
Lance thought this homeless man was very interesting after hearing this. “What do you plan to do?”
The homeless man thought for a moment. “I plan to find a job as a sailor first, go around, see the wider world, and then save some money to find my own path.”
“I don’t know what kind of person I will become in the future, but no matter what, I will not stop again.”
“I will take the courage you gave me to open up my own life and world!”
Lance took a deep drag of his cigarette, then exhaled slowly. He nodded slowly and relaxed. “You have a heart of gold. I wish you success.”
He was thinking of having Elvin take out two hundred dollars and give it to him. “Don’t refuse. I don’t know what you will face in the future, but since I have inspired you, please accept a little help from me.”
“It won’t change your future. It will only equip your dream with sails, making you swim faster than we expected!”
The homeless man hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he did not refuse. “I’ll take it, Mr. Lance. I don’t know… what to say.”
“You are the best person to me in this world. I feel like crying right now.”
Lance raised his hand with a smile. “This is an exciting moment. I bless you. May I ask your name?”
“Maybe one day in the future, I might need your help, but I don’t know your name.”
“Marv, Marv Adams.”
Lance got out of the car and extended his hand. “Marv, I have a premonition that you will definitely become a successful person.”
Marv placed the cigarette by his foot. He held Lance’s hand with both of his and bowed.
“Stand up straight, straighten your back!” Lance looked at him. “You are a man now. You should stand up straight with your chest out to face the future. This is the demeanor a man should have.”
Marv was so excited he didn’t know what to say. He nodded repeatedly, tears dripping onto Lance’s hand. He let go of his hand and patted his shoulder. “Everything will be fine. I firmly believe this.”
He had fulfilled his wish before leaving. Not only had he personally thanked Lance for giving him the courage to face life again, but he had also exceeded his mission and received Lance’s encouragement.
It took a long while for his emotions to calm down. “Mr. Lance, thank you, thank you. I don’t know what else to say to express my current feelings.”
“I don’t have much time. I have to leave in the afternoon, so…”
Lance nodded. “Go, go and welcome your new life, which is also your new birth.”
Before leaving, he lowered his voice slightly. “Finally, there’s something I find a little strange. There’s a homeless man who doesn’t communicate with others, nor does he beg.”
“I found that he has been observing you and this place, and his crippled leg is actually not crippled. I don’t know… if he has any malicious intentions.”
“He’s over there.”
He was just about to turn his head when Lance grabbed him. “Don’t turn back, don’t look at him. I’ll make arrangements.”
Lance himself didn’t even look. If he looked at this time, it would only make that homeless man suspicious.
Seeing Lance treat his words with such caution, Marv had no other emotions besides being moved.
He had to say goodbye to Lance, because he was leaving with a ship in the afternoon. If it weren’t for the fact that he didn’t know when he would be back, he might have held it in for a while longer before coming to say these words.
He originally thought Lance wouldn’t communicate with him so simply, but he didn’t expect all this to be like a dream.
The weather was scorching hot, and his heart was even hotter.
He was going to take the courage and blessings bestowed upon him by Mr. Lance to face the whole world again.
Lance had someone drive Marv away. He didn’t even look at the homeless people’s side as he entered the company.
“That homeless man Marv just now told me that there’s a cripple in the homeless crowd who has been staring at us. Arrest him and see what’s wrong.”
Hiram’s cold was much better, just a little nasal. At least he wouldn’t do that disgusting thing anymore.
He nodded, took a few men, and went out the main door.
At this time, someone at the door was distributing money to these homeless people, one dollar per person, enough for their living expenses for a week.
Of course, they didn’t distribute money every day, only once a week or two.
Distributing it too frequently would make these homeless people even more unwilling to work. If they were willing to work, Lance could actually arrange for them to work.
However, most homeless people find it difficult to return to work. They are already used to this rhythm of living without labor.
To have them accept the exploitation and oppression of the capitalists is a bit unrealistic.
The cripple was also in line to receive money. If everyone else came to get money and he didn’t, it would seem very unreasonable.
So he also stood here, slowly moving his steps.
When Hiram came out of the house with his men, he just glanced at him and didn’t pay much attention.
There were often these people standing in groups of three or five at the company entrance, smoking or chatting. It wasn’t every day that there was a firefight or some work to be done. Most of the time, they were actually quite idle.
They were observing the homeless people. As the line moved forward, Hiram and his men also found their target for this time, and then walked towards the cripple.
The cripple watched these people walking towards him. He was vaguely uneasy, but he didn’t think he had been exposed.
He just continued to keep his head down, standing in line, pretending that nothing had happened.
It wasn’t until the moment Hiram raised his hand that he realized they were really coming for him.
The next second he took off running. Hiram and his men were also close behind.
The cripple’s leg was no longer crippled; he was running fucking fast. The distance was being pulled away little by little, but this was the Empire District.
There were indeed people on the road who would take the initiative to get out of the way, but there would also be young people who would suddenly pounce on the cripple.
The cripple lost his balance at once and fell heavily to the ground. He struggled, trying to reach into his coat. Hiram directly took out his pistol.
The guy who had tackled the cripple quickly rolled to the side, followed by the sound of a gunshot, and the fragments that shattered and shot at him, stinging with pain.
The cripple finally became a dead cripple, but Lance also found out who he was—the young gunman from the assassin duo.
The older one had been killed, and this younger one had escaped. He had been looking for an opportunity to assassinate Lance, not just for the mayor’s bounty, but also for revenge.
But assassinating Lance was not a simple matter. With Lance being attacked multiple times, his security forces had been upgraded by more than one level.
Most of the time when he went in and out, measures had already been taken around him. If there was any slight movement, the gunmen on the houses might open fire.
Many of these gunmen were professional soldiers. Their marksmanship was definitely not comparable to that of ordinary gang members.
Although he wanted to avenge his relative, he did not have the will to sacrifice his own life.
It was just that he didn’t expect that before the plan was even implemented, he had already been exposed.
This matter did not cause any discussion, but the homeless group outside the company was dispersed, and at the same time, a few more high points were added.
A few days later, Lance called McCock out. Alberto had already gotten the route of the Cassia family’s smuggling.
When he met McCock before, he was just an ordinary coast guard captain, nothing special.
But this time they met, his spirit and appearance were completely different from before.
He exuded a confidence, ease, and casualness from the inside out. Except for a little restraint when facing Lance, he actually looked like a different person from before.
“I hear your son has already reported to the university?”
McCock’s expression was a little unnatural. Lance didn’t explain, just maintained a smile.
He nodded and took off his sunglasses. “Yes, he has already reported to the university.”
The money he got from Lance’s side solved all the troubles in his life.
However, he was very low-key. He didn’t spend extravagantly, just changed to a slightly better second-hand car and rented a better house. These were all within his spending power.
At the same time, he also applied for a student loan, so that his son’s university tuition also had a clear source, all of which could withstand inspection.
It seemed that this money had not changed his life, but in fact, it had changed a lot.
When a person has thirty or fifty dollars, or even a hundred dollars in their pocket at all times, that is a change.
When he and his family are completely unconcerned about those suffocating student loans, that is a change.
He was planning to have a few people move to other places to live, so that this money could be taken out little by little and used openly.
A coast guard captain, with a higher spending power than ordinary people, is that normal?
Confidence can make people blind. Lance didn’t want him to be a blind person, so he gave him a small reminder. Everything was still under control.
“I envy those students who can go to university. After they graduate, they will have a better social foundation, unlike us, who can only gain advancement by fighting with others.”
He took a small sip of his coffee. “I have something I need your help with. There’s a smuggling boat coming over. They will take this route…”
Lance handed over the route with some coordinates recorded on it. He couldn’t understand it, but he was sure McCock could.
McCock glanced at it. “You want me to arrest them?”
Lance shook his head. “I want you to sink them to the bottom of the sea…”
(End of chapter)