On Thursday morning, a well-dressed Luca stood outside the Liji Agricultural Group’s office building and let out a heavy breath.
This kind of monopolistic corporate group still put a lot of pressure on him.
The Federation was always a place where many interesting or noteworthy things happened.
If you went to the countryside and found an ordinary, uneducated farmer and asked for his opinion on the Liji Group…
He would, in that moment, utter every dirty word he knew in his life to “praise” the shameless actions of the Liji Group.
They were not at all afraid of the Liji Group and might even unite to fight against these interest groups that monopolized the channels between farmers and the market.
But if you were in a big city and asked a well-educated middle-class person for their opinion on the vile actions of the Liji Group…
Then they would euphemistically express that this was all normal business practice, and might not even offer any further opinions.
The higher the level of education, the higher the social class, the more cautious they were towards capital, not even daring to express their true opinions.
The more you know, the more you fear.
To trade the courage to fight injustice for knowledge, it’s sometimes hard to say whether it’s a gain or a loss.
Luca was a member of the middle class. His legs were trembling a little right now. He didn’t really want to come.
But if he didn’t, he most likely wouldn’t amount to much in his life.
Before, when no one had much of a future, he didn’t really care. But now, William had become a municipal councilman, a “red-hot figure” in the family. People were starting to revolve around him.
Jack, thanks to his relationship with Lance, now had a certain connection with the higher-ups in customs and would be able to advance further before long.
Not to mention Patricia. She was a transparent figure in the family, but because she was Lance’s girlfriend, even if she did nothing, she was the focus of people’s attention.
Barbara was going to be an actress now. Who knew when she might become a big star.
Movie actors, like opera singers, as long as someone was promoting them and willing to spend money, they would definitely become famous.
Everyone was working hard, improving themselves because of William and Lance. If he did nothing, he would become the shame of the family.
He had to prove it. He was not a waste.
He mustered his courage, stomped his foot while holding his briefcase. The nails of his new leather shoes made a crisp sound on the marble floor. He raised his head, puffed out his chest, and walked into the office lobby with his briefcase.
The almost mirror-like marble floor reflected the splendor of this place. To lower the price of a barrel of wheat by fifteen cents, they had even threatened to kill farmers.
But here, they had spent tens of thousands on the flooring and its maintenance.
A woman in professional attire ended her conversation with the person next to her and walked towards him with a smile. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Sir?”
Luca, just as he had practiced in front of the mirror, took out a business card and handed it over. “I am the manager of the Garden Trading Company. I would like to order a batch of grain.”
The female manager was taken aback for a moment. “Hello, I’m very happy to be of service to you!” She shook hands with Luca, took his business card, and glanced at it.
A very exquisitely made business card. This kind would cost about $3 to $4 for a hundred, which was already very expensive.
The gold stamping and the gold-stamped pattern made the whole business card look very high-class. She suddenly noticed a faint scent of perfume on the card. Perhaps its price was even higher. A company manager who could use a business card that cost $4 or $5 for a hundred, this company’s scale must not be too small.
She invited Luca to sit down on the side while probing, “Mr. Luther (alias), your company should not be from the East Coast. I haven’t heard of it.”
She had someone bring two cups of coffee, while also asking about the company Luca worked for. She really hadn’t heard of it.
It would be truly funny if the other party had heard of it. This company had been registered for less than a month.
Luca smiled and explained, “We are a new multinational company. You know, recently…” he used a “you know what I mean” expression, so that he didn’t have to explain too clearly, which might lead to errors.
This female manager would then fill in the blanks with the most appropriate, least error-prone explanation.
The female manager indeed showed a look of sudden realization. “You specialize in trade with Tanfit?”
“It’s indeed a good business. So what can I do for you?”
This was all she could think of: war profiteering. This was the most suitable form of plunder for capital.
If, in normal times, you wanted to sell something worth $1 for $3, $4, or even $5…
Others would only treat you as a fool.
But in wartime, with a shortage of supplies, forget about $5. Even for $10, as long as you have it, someone will want it.
This unequal trade was causing the wealth of the countries on the Tanfit continent to drain away rapidly. What they lacked was not just food, but everything else. War is like this. Regardless of whether the battlefield is on your own soil, both sides of the war will suffer losses, just a matter of more or less.
The Federation now had many trading companies that were transporting supplies to Tanfit. The federal government had actually already talked about the risks that this might bring.
But in the face of huge interests, that little risk would not be taken seriously by the capitalists at all.
And, even if there were risks, they were within their acceptable range.
After all, the ones who really had to go to Tanfit to negotiate business were not them, but their employees, their partners.
So now you could often see some people taking out loans to buy supplies and go to Tanfit. As long as they successfully found a buyer, the profit would be at least double. No one could refuse this.
Luca opened his briefcase and took out a document. “We need these things…”
The moment the female manager picked up the document, her eyes began to shine. These staff members could also get some commission from the orders.
The company would give them a base price. The base price was not the low price of the goods, but the base price that guaranteed the company’s interests.
The part exceeding the base price was the part from which they could get a commission.
This was indeed a good job. A capable person could earn tens of thousands or even more every month, while an incapable person could only get a basic salary of about $40.
Seeing so many demands and the huge quantity, the female manager was moved. If this deal could be made, this year’s profit target could be exceeded.
At the same time, she also appropriately proposed the idea of verification. “This will require a large sum of money, Mr. Luca.”
Luca showed a bank draft for $500,000. The female manager’s breathing became a little rapid. She asked Luca to wait a moment and went to get the coffee herself, swaying her hips.
When she bent over to place the coffee cup and saucer in front of Luca, Luca suspected that this woman was seducing him.
Because he saw a little something.
Luca was not a young virgin who had never seen a woman. He had had several girlfriends after graduating and entering society.
But people are like that.
What you can see openly, you may not necessarily like.
On the contrary, what is hidden and occasionally revealed is more likely to arouse people’s interest.
The female manager noticed the subtle change in Luca. She sat back down opposite Luca with a smile on her face.
“Choosing us is definitely your most correct decision!”
“We have all these things, and the price is very suitable. We can gather these supplies for you at any time.”
Luca also nodded reservedly. “So the Liji Group is my first choice. I have one request. Our ship will be loaded in Golden Port, so I hope the goods can be stored in Golden Port in advance, so that it’s convenient for us to load the ship.”
This was naturally not a problem. The female manager did not refuse.
The Liji Group also had a transit warehouse in Golden Port, and it was right on the docks. Half an hour later, the two sides signed an agreement. The Garden Trading Company would pay a 20% deposit. By October 20th, all the grain would be ready. After the inspection on the 21st and 22nd, the final payment would be made and the goods would be loaded onto the ship. The price was slightly higher than the market price, but these were not important.
After reading the complete contract, a satisfied smile appeared on Lance’s face. Luca couldn’t help but be a little curious. “What do you plan to do?”
Lance put the contract in the safe. “They provided products that did not meet our requirements. We should naturally seek compensation from them.”
Luca shook his head. “I don’t understand this. Will they pay?”
Lance closed the safe and shook his head. “They won’t pay me, but they will pay the bank.”
Jonathan and Parkway Bank would definitely be very happy to help Lance and his crew get more profit from the lawsuit. Ordinary people basically never won a lawsuit against the Liji Group.
It wasn’t a win in the judicial sense. As long as a person with real evidence sued the Liji Group, they could win. But winning did not mean they could really get a winner’s ending.
Luca didn’t know what Lance was going to do, nor was he interested in probing further. “The Harvest Festival is coming…”
Lance looked at him. He continued, “Patricia probably hasn’t told you yet. Every year for the Harvest Festival, we have to go back to the farm.”
“You are Patricia’s boyfriend. You can also come back with us.”
At the mention of this, Lance was indeed a little tempted. He also wanted to see what the life of the Federation’s large landowning class was like, and also wanted to experience the life of the landlord class.
“We’ll see. I’ll do my best.”
“Next, you can go and investigate those multinational trading companies. We will also have multinational trade next.”
“Trade with Tanfit, and even with Naxia (the continent where the Empire is located).”
Luca was a little worried. “I might not be able to do these well…”
He had never been in contact with this kind of multinational trading company or multinational business before. It was normal for him to be worried.
Lance said with a laugh, “I had never done it before I became the family head, but haven’t we already succeeded?”
“Luca, the essence of being young is that we have the opportunity to make mistakes. Don’t let your youth down.”
“Of course, if you feel you can’t handle it yourself, you can find some assistants to help you. This kind of high-level talent should be easy to find now.”
The recession of the domestic economy was visibly developing. The financial sector, which had been mythologized in recent years, also seemed to have hit a ceiling after the outbreak of the war.
The country’s economic development had a sluggish feeling. They couldn’t find a new growth point, nor did they have a new direction.
Some had already predicted that they would encounter a big problem, but more people were still touting that the Federation would become the country with the fastest economic growth in the world.
The people who said these things, either they were really standing too high and couldn’t see the generally low wages of the workers and the heavy social and family expenditures…
Or, they were just plain bad.
Stupid, or bad, they had to be one.
Two days later, Vaughn (the president of the Dockworkers’ Union) gave Lance a call, saying that the punishment from the Bureau of Hazardous Materials was over, and the Workers’ Club could reopen for business.
This was naturally also what many workers were looking forward to.
There were many speakeasies in the Port District, but the price of liquor in the speakeasies was significantly higher than in the club. Don’t look at it as just a ten or twenty-cent difference. This was enough to make it a bit unaffordable for the workers.
Fortunately, the Bureau of Hazardous Materials had chosen to unseal the Workers’ Club. Now it could continue to operate.
“I hear the general union gave you a good scolding?” Lance asked with a laugh.
This news had also come from within the workers’ union. The Federation of Labor wanted to push for a larger-scale strike, but not only did Vaughn not cooperate with them, he also suppressed the strike at the docks with Lance and the local police.
This made the general union very angry. Although Vaughn later submitted a report, telling the general union why he had done so, and with the former president Scott’s intercession, Vaughn’s position as branch president was retained, but he received a scolding.
Vaughn didn’t care at all about Lance’s “rubbing salt in the wound.” “I’m starting to feel more and more that the union is changing its nature, Lance.”
“They always think of using the workers to fight for power and profit. I’m actually not a very upright person. I don’t object to using struggle as a means, but they have to take into account the fate and situation of the majority of workers.”
“They are becoming more and more like politicians.”
Lance quite agreed with this view. “When you hold the power to decide the fate of some people, or even a considerable number of people, no matter what your job was before, then now you are a politician.”
Vaughn retorted, “What about you?”
“Are you also considered a politician now?”
Lance nodded in agreement. “When they need me, I am a politician, and I will also do what politicians do.”
For example, suppression.
He didn’t say it out loud, but Vaughn could read his meaning.
The two of them laughed twice, although the joke wasn’t very funny.
Soon Vaughn changed the subject back. “Now the workers are very much looking forward to the club reopening. I don’t think you should abandon them.”
“I have never considered abandoning them. It’s just that I want to break away from the framework of the union.”
He lit a cigarette. “The union is not likable, so this matter has to be done by shaking off the union.”
“I was originally going to say, if the union’s side finds you agreeable, and you don’t want to continue to serve the union, then you can work for me.”
Although Vaughn didn’t look like a member of the working class either, he had, after all, been at the docks for many years, knew many people from all walks of life, and also had a certain influence among the working class.
No matter who the next union president was, it would not affect Lance’s business at the docks.
Vaughn considered for a moment and did not agree. “If they really push me to the last step, then I will. Now I feel that my value in the union is greater.”
“In short, now the workers at the docks are very much hoping that you can reopen the club as soon as possible.”
After hanging up with Vaughn, Lance called Dracy over. “The Workers’ Club at the docks can reopen. You go and make the arrangements.”
“Also, the cards I asked you to print last time, did you print them?”
Dracy nodded. “They’ve already been printed.”
Now Dracy was in charge of all matters related to the bars. He controlled the temporary warehouses and liquor transportation tasks of the Lance Family throughout the city, including the work related to the bars, which was also basically handled by him and some of his men.
He then had someone bring over a sample. It was a card about the size of a palm, with a steel seal and some anti-counterfeiting marks on the back.
These cards were printed by month, from one to thirty-one, or thirty.
By paying just one dollar, you could get such a card, and you could get a discount on liquor up to once a day.
Depending on the different types of liquor, the discount price ranged from five cents to fifteen cents.
If you just consumed the most basic draft beer, then it could be deducted by five cents, which was the choice of the vast majority of workers.
This also meant that after paying one dollar, they could save up to one dollar and fifty-five cents a month, and could still take advantage of Lance.
But in fact, Lance believed that they wouldn’t just taste the lowest-grade liquor. they might upgrade their consumption a little and go for whiskey that cost about twenty-five to thirty cents.
Then they would get a ten-cent discount. This way, with the money they used to only be able to drink beer with, they could drink a glass of high-proof whiskey. He believed the workers would absolutely not refuse this. Calculated this way, they could exchange one dollar for a three-dollar discount each month.
With a slight increase in the monthly expenditure on liquor, the quality of the liquor they enjoyed would be a notch higher. How could the drunkards stand this? It might seem that doing this didn’t have much meaning, but in fact, this one dollar had a great effect. Even if some people didn’t drink every day, they would still pay this one dollar and become a member of the “One-Dollar Club.”
They would, because they owned this card, develop a closer connection with the Lance Family, and because they had spent this one dollar, they would enjoy the respect brought by high-end services. They would develop an identification with this one dollar, and an identification with Lance and the Lance Family.
Identification is always the most terrifying thing, because once you identify with something, even if this thing is very outrageous, you will still feel “it should be like this.”
(End of chapter)
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