The whole affair last time had alarmed the company headquarters’ board of directors. Besides earning a huge amount less in profit, they had also fired some of the people from the evaluation department.
This was clearly due to these staff members’ insufficiently detailed observation of future agricultural product price trends, inaccurate assessments, and insufficiently bold deductions!
If they had known from the beginning that the price of grapes was going to skyrocket, would they have encountered so many troubles?
No!
They wouldn’t have had any trouble, wouldn’t have needed to sue anyone, and they could have made even more money by virtue of their precise grasp of the market!
The general manager’s words made the vice president think of that high-multiple penalty. “I remember the board of directors discussed that we are not allowed to sign contracts with excessively high penalties.”
He was hinting, was this contract in violation of the board’s decision?
If it was, then they would hold the manager who signed the contract responsible.
Many people would think… an employee of a company, although given the title of manager, is essentially still just an employee.
Even if she is held responsible, how much of the loss can she make up for?
If you only look at it from the perspective of making up for losses, it indeed can’t make up for much. But what the capitalists have always wanted is not “making up for losses.”
They don’t expect to get back what has already been lost.
The purpose of holding someone responsible is to create a tragic example for the other employees of the company.
You see, someone disobeyed and caused the company a huge loss. Now she can’t even afford pants.
If this person could be driven to suicide, that would be even better, as it would have a greater effect!
Capital is always cold and impersonal. If dipping bread in human blood and eating the dividends of death is something people find unbearable…
Then putting the corpse directly into your mouth is the lower limit of an enterprise.
The general manager quickly explained, “This contract complies with all the company’s rules and regulations.” If there was a problem with this contract, he would also have to bear joint responsibility, and he didn’t want to.
The vice president was silent for a moment. “Send me the information of that person or whatever company. I’ll have someone check it.”
Soon, the names Lance White and Luther Buffin entered the vice president’s eyes. He hung up the phone and contacted a friend of his in Golden Port.
A monopolistic channel distributor like the Liji Group has friends everywhere.
As long as there are supermarkets in this area, and people living there, as long as they need agricultural products, then even if they don’t order goods from the Liji Group, they will maintain a good relationship with them.
Running a capital enterprise is never a simple matter.
The person on the other end of the line quickly answered the phone. After a simple exchange of pleasantries, the vice president turned the topic to his purpose.
“There’s a matter related to Golden Port. I’m not very familiar with the situation there. Perhaps you can give me some help?”
His friend also knew that this was the main topic. He said cautiously, “I’ll do my best to help you.”
He picked up the paper with the names recorded on it. “There are two people here, one named Lance White, and one named Luther Wood.”
“I want to know who they are, and if there’s anything special about them.”
“Lance White?”
The vice president caught a hint of surprise in the other party’s tone. “You know him?”
His friend pondered for a moment. “In Golden Port, I only know one person named Lance White, and that is the leader of the ‘Lance Family’.”
The vice president asked a little cautiously, “This family you’re talking about… isn’t a gang, is it?”
In the Federation and even the world, “family” is a very broad concept.
A gang can also be called a family, a capital group has a family, a political interest group has a family, and even fucking country farmers have a family!
So he had to first figure out what kind of family this “Lance Family” was.
His friend said in agreement, “Yes, a gang, entrenched in the Empire District and the Port District. You can think of them as a very large and successful gang.”
“And this Lance is very young. He has a very strong hand. Everyone says he is a formidable character.”
He also mentioned one or two actual events related to Lance to prove his point that Lance was a person of note.
But the vice president suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
A… gang leader?
Alright, although many cities’ underground order is indeed controlled and operated by gangs, from the perspective of the country’s upper echelons, gangs seem a bit… insufficient.
“As for the Luther Wood you mentioned, I don’t know this person. I can’t provide any information.”
The vice president’s mood had changed a lot at this time. “Thank you for your help. I think I know what to do.”
“I’m planning to buy a yacht recently. I can put it at the Golden Port docks then. If you need to use it, you can take it.”
The two chatted about some ordinary topics for a while and then hung up.
For the vice president, the most famous gangs in Golden Port were the Five Families. If Lance and the Lance Family were just a gang, then finding the police was obviously not as effective as finding a gang.
He knew people from the Kodak family: Bandy, Gory, and Bandy’s son, Fleming.
Fleming had graduated from Golden State University. The headquarters of the Liji Group was in Golden State, and the children and family members of most of the board members were also students at Golden State University.
Golden State University belonged to the Elite University Alliance. The concept of the “Elite University Alliance” was proposed by a senator and was previously called the “Human Elite Alliance.”
Later, because some people thought that this name might cause misunderstandings and had some sensitive political connotations, the word “Human” was removed.
He pointed out, “The correct operation of society needs the elites of human society to control the direction. The Federation should concentrate its efforts on cultivating a group of elites who can lead the Federation to glory and truly realize the Federation Dream of all the people of the Federation.”
Under the leadership of this senator, some famous universities in the Federation joined the Elite University Alliance to cultivate elites for society.
What’s interesting is that these elite university alliance schools, when selecting students, do not completely look at their learning ability or grades.
More often, they look at the recommendation letters in their hands.
Perhaps for the ruling class, the so-called elites, naturally, refer to their children.
The vice president had met Bandy twice at some activities organized by the school.
Bandy was very enthusiastic about Fleming’s studies and would take out a large amount of funds every year for Fleming to organize various activities at the school.
Although Fleming went to Golden State University, an elite institution, in the eyes of the real “elites,” he was just a moneybag, a lackey.
Because of this, the vice president got to know Bandy, who was handing out business cards everywhere, and came to know of the Kodak family.
A wealthy, violent gang organization.
He always bragged that in Likalai State and Golden Port, there was nothing they couldn’t do. And he did know that some people had solved some problems through Bandy, so the vice president also believed that this time’s problem, they could also solve.
He directly called the general manager. “Go and have a talk with those people. It’s best if you can reach an agreement. If you can’t, you don’t have to be too polite to them.”
“We do not accept any fraud or coercion. If they want to sue, then let them sue.”
“In addition, find out why that wheat sprouted.”
“If necessary, I will make a move.”
Hearing the vice president say this, the general manager naturally had no other concerns. “I know how to handle it, Mr. President.”
After ending the call, he made a call to the docks. “Bring that Mr. Luther here. I will talk to him personally.”
At this moment, Luca was still standing on the docks very uneasily. The delivery receipt in his hand was clutched tightly, and the contract was also in his briefcase.
Those people were obviously very flustered. He roughly knew what Lance had done, but he didn’t know the specifics of how it was done, or what the result would be.
But now it seemed that it was very successful.
This gave him more confidence. “The higher-ups said I could load the ship before 2 PM. I’d like to ask, can I see my goods?”
At this moment, a staff member corrected his words, “Mr. Luther, before you have paid the final balance, this wheat is not yet your property.”
Luca seized a small loophole, “Are you trying to breach the contract?”
That person fell silent. Undoubtedly, they were very likely to breach the contract.
Just at this moment, someone suddenly walked over. “Mr. Luther, the general manager wishes to speak with you personally.”
Luca hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. He then got into the car arranged by their company and arrived at the Liji Group’s office building.
The ground that could reflect his shadow made him a little dazed. The moment he stepped into the lobby, a beautiful blonde woman appeared in front of him.
She looked to be in her late twenties, wearing very professional business attire, and also a pair of black-rimmed glasses.
This did not affect her appearance. On the contrary, it added an impulse to profane her. She had a smile on her face and bowed slightly. “Mr. Luther, I am the manager’s secretary. The general manager has been waiting for you in his office for a long time. Please come with me.”
Luca was still very reserved and polite in front of a beautiful woman. He nodded slightly, tidied his attire, and followed her towards a separate elevator.
His attention was completely focused on this female secretary’s butt. It was very round, very full, but not exaggerated.
The aesthetic of the Federation people had not yet evolved to the point of needing an exaggeratedly large butt. They appreciated a more natural beauty.
The secretary could also vaguely feel the fiery gaze from behind her. The more it was like this, the more fiercely she swayed her hips.
“Fucking hot.”
Luca licked his lips. He could take on two at once now, at most three.
His eyes were fixed on the butt in front of him. When this butt stopped, he didn’t even react in the first moment and almost bumped into it.
Feeling the faint sense of pressure from behind, the secretary rolled her eyes. She knocked on the general manager’s office door. “Mr. Luther is here.”
“Please come in…”
Luca entered the office and saw the general manager sitting behind his desk at a glance. He took a deep breath and walked over.
The general manager came out from behind his desk, shook his hand at the side of the desk, and then had the secretary send in two cups of coffee.
It was morning now, not afternoon. No need for pastries.
Without waiting for the general manager to speak, Luca spoke first. “I was at the docks just now trying to pick up my goods, but your company’s people kept talking about other things. Did something unexpected happen?”
The general manager had been observing this “Mr. Luther’s” expression. He suddenly said, “Don’t you know what happened?”
Luca showed a brief expression of surprise, hesitation, and suspicion. But it was precisely this brief, perhaps instantaneous change, that was caught by the general manager.
He was even more certain that this Mr. Luther and Lance were definitely connected, or even the same group of people.
Thinking of this, he leaned back in his chair, his expression also becoming more composed.
He carefully sized up the guy in front of him. He was very sure that this person should not be a gang member.
He didn’t have that street feel that gang members have. On the contrary, he gave off a feeling of a middle-class waste.
Luca cautiously shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The general manager’s fingers tapped on the armrest. “Let’s talk frankly. Is this Lance’s idea?”
Luca shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We are a company engaged in international trade…”
The general manager raised his hand, stopping him from continuing. “You know better than I do what happened to that wheat. If you can’t make the decision, let Lance talk to me. He’s the one who can make the decision.”
Luca continued to play dumb. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What happened to that wheat?”
“And, who is Lance?”
The general manager looked at Luca, who was unwilling to admit it. He spread his hands. “We cannot load the wheat onto the ship, but we will not give you the money either. If you want to sue, then go ahead and sue.”
“This is clearly a case of commercial fraud. You used despicable means to try to obtain a larger penalty, but I think you’ve made a mistake.”
In fact, regardless of whether this person was related to Lance or not, the final result was the same. Want to get the penalty?
Sue them!
This was also the simplest and most effective means for a capital group to deal with this kind of case. The Liji Group faced so many lawsuits every year that they had already become a kind of “litigation rogue.”
This term might not sound very good and might leave a bad impression, but this did not mean that they had a bad impression in the judicial department.
To make an impossible lawsuit possible, or to have a judge make a ruling in their favor, they had to find some underhanded tricks.
Bribery is illegal, but public relations is not.
And the difference between them is—
You give the money directly to the judge, and the judge announces a ruling in your favor. This is bribery, a crime of office.
But you give the money to a public relations company, and the public relations company gives the money to the judge through their own methods. The judge is persuaded, accepts their reasons, and makes a ruling in your favor. This is legal.
The Liji Group’s legal team had sufficiently reliable connections in most states, and using these connections, they could also influence states they were not familiar with.
The last time they failed was because their litigation opponent was an even bigger “rogue,” a bank.
So they had no way and could only admit defeat.
But this time, they had learned their lesson from last time.
The company’s legal team had already sent letters to the major banks, to remind them of the possibility of this new type of fraud, and on the other hand, they were also strengthening the construction of their legal aspects.
And they had already reported the case. Before the case was clearly tried, they could completely avoid facing the banks.
So the general manager was not worried at all. Even if they mortgaged the contract to the bank again, it was a question of whether the bank would accept it. After accepting it, if they wanted to collect things or money from them, they would have to wait until the case investigation was over.
This would take a long time. What if they could never catch the criminal?
Then they would just drag it on. Anyway, their wheat would not be delivered. At the same time, they had also eaten the 25% deposit. They had made money.
As for whether the bank would sue Lance, that had nothing to do with them.
Luca looked at the general manager’s nonchalant appearance and had no solution for a while.
But fortunately, Lance had told him that as long as he did what he was supposed to do, he wouldn’t be needed for the rest.
At this moment, Luca stood up, his face very serious as he looked at the general manager. “We will sue you.”
The secretary came in with coffee at this moment, but saw that the conversation seemed to be over.
She stood there with the coffee, a little at a loss.
The general manager gestured with his hand for him to leave. “Please.”
Luca turned and left. When he saw the little secretary, he even snorted lightly.
The secretary stood at the door and looked at the general manager. The general manager gestured for her to put the coffee down. “I can finish it.”
After leaving the company, Luca went directly to Lance’s office. He recounted what had happened at the Liji company and then looked at Lance with some trepidation.
After all, they had paid out $500,000 but had gotten nothing in return. The Liji company had decided to default on its debt again.
“You’ve worked hard. I will solve this matter. You can rest for a while, or go out for a walk.”
“Leave the rest to me…”
After Luca left, Lance dialed Jonathan’s (the vice president of Parkway Bank in Golden Port) number. “I have a contract…”
After listening to Lance’s description, Jonathan gave an unpromising answer. “This is not easy to handle. After we won the last lawsuit, the Liji Group sent a lawyer’s letter.”
“And just now, the head office called me and also talked about this contract.”
“The bank has issued a high-risk warning, so…”
“For such a large sum of money, if the head office doesn’t agree, I can’t approve it for you, although I’d be very willing to do so.”
If it didn’t involve a high-risk warning, then he could get it approved with a little effort.
But now that it involved a high-risk warning, it was very difficult to do this.
Although the bank had many bad debts every year, from their cautious attitude, this should not be the case.
It could only be said that where those bad debts had gone to was probably forever a mystery.
After listening, Lance was not discouraged. On the contrary, he comforted Jonathan. “It’s okay, Joe. I just wanted to take a shortcut.”
“Since they won’t let me take a shortcut, then I’ll have to do something that no one wants to see.”
Jonathan was a little worried after hearing this. “The Liji Group has a lot of power in the Federation. Perhaps I can help you arrange a meeting with a member of their board of directors?”
Lance directly refused. “They should be the ones to invite me, not the other way around.”
(End of chapter)