“The Liji Group?”
The general manager sat behind his desk and looked at the middle-aged man in front of him. He found it hard to imagine how destitute this guy used to be, and now he was actually talking to him about the Liji Group’s commercial insurance.
His gaze swept over this middle-aged man constantly. If you didn’t consider his attire, you could hardly see any connection between him and the word “success.”
But looking at that set of purely handmade clothes, the word “success” seemed to be written on his face.
The manager was also a little confused about whether he was successful or not.
But in any case, he would not offend a possibly successful person who had no vested interests with him.
Ennio’s father nodded. “Yes, the Liji Group.”
The manager thought for a moment. “It should be done by the Adelong Commercial Insurance Company. Adelong and the Liji Group have been cooperating for many years.”
The owner of the Adelong Commercial Insurance Company was named Adelong. He was a very intelligent man. His business acumen was very flexible, just like his bottom line.
His flexible skills and bottom line allowed him to have many friends. Many insurance people looked up to him as a role model and were constantly striving.
He had been observing Ennio’s father’s expression. “Are you looking to cooperate with the Liji Group?”
“Is it convenient to disclose?”
“Who do you work for now?”
Ennio’s father smiled. “I don’t work for anyone…” he paused for a moment, “Do you know any supervisors or the like from Adelong?”
The manager’s expression changed slightly. He sized up Ennio’s father again. “I don’t understand.”
He really wanted to say something about industrial espionage, but then he felt that it probably wasn’t like that, because this information could be found out by others. It wasn’t some top-secret information.
And whether it was the Adelong Insurance Company or the Liji Group, they would have to disclose the flow of this part of the funds in their financial reports.
But in the end, he still decided to introduce a colleague to Ennio’s father.
Whether they were salesmen or supervisors of an insurance company, they were competitors, but also colleagues, and possibly even friends.
“If there’s any good business, remember to take care of me!” This was the manager’s request. His hand was resting on the telephone receiver.
As long as Ennio’s father nodded, he would immediately dial this number and introduce him to this manager from the Adelong Insurance Company.
In fact, there was a very interesting, even magical, phenomenon in the Federation.
The upper-class people did not believe that the lower-class people would be honest and trustworthy in everything. They always felt that the lower-class people would be cunning and shirk their responsibilities.
And the lower-class people would generally believe that those big shots would absolutely not break their promises. They felt that even without the constraints of a contract, the big shots would keep their promises, because they were big shots.
A big shot represented correctness, represented direction.
But in fact, it was the exact opposite. The group that truly kept their promises was the middle and lower classes.
Perhaps it was because “credit” and other such “moral wealth” were among the few things they could take out.
They were not like those super-rich people, who had countless money, or a high social status, or other material things.
The value of the rich did not exist in themselves.
But for the poor, they themselves were their value, their core value.
And their excellent qualities were one of their few assets, which included keeping their word.
The more they valued credit, the more they would adhere to their beliefs. On the contrary, those big shots in high society…
Even if you signed a contract with them, as long as they felt it was inappropriate, they would tear up the contract. They might not necessarily be able to keep their word, because excellent qualities were not the way they demonstrated their value.
In the manager’s view, Ennio’s father was still within the range of “creditworthy.”
Ennio’s father nodded. Although he couldn’t think of any future matters in which he could take care of this manager, he still nodded and agreed.
Soon he got a contact number. When saying goodbye to the manager, the manager still wanted to get to the bottom of it.
He thought there might be a big business opportunity in this, but Ennio’s father did not reveal a single word.
A little later, he contacted the manager from the Adelong Insurance Company, in his office.
“So… is there anything I can do for you?”
Ennio’s father was performing even better now. In the manager’s office, he had discovered that “showing off” was not a very difficult thing, so he was now performing even more calmly.
He even crossed his legs and took the initiative to light a cigarette, saying in a relaxed manner, “I want to check the insurance situation of the Liji Group.”
The manager from Adelong looked at him as if he were looking at a fool. “This is a commercial secret, sir. If you’re here to ask about these things, I think you’ve made a trip for nothing…”
“How much money will it take for you to talk?” Ennio’s father interrupted him.
The manager was taken aback for a moment. “Sorry, what did you just say? I didn’t hear you clearly.”
Ennio’s father flicked his cigarette ash. “I’m asking, how much money will it take for you to lift your ass from that chair and then put what I want in front of me?”
He was starting to get a little excited, and he really liked this way of talking. “$500 enough?”
The manager understood, but he was a little confused. “I don’t understand…”
“$1,000?”
The manager shook his head. “Before I ask you to leave…”
“$2,000?”
Ennio’s father was actually starting to sweat a little. He only had $2,000 on him right now, but he had to keep shouting. Lance had said that as long as it was a problem that could be solved with money, it wasn’t a problem.
This gave him an indescribable thrill. He was experiencing the joy of being a boss. He looked at the manager with a stunned expression, chewing on his cigarette.
The movement of his teeth made the cigarette bob up and down. “Or maybe, $3,000?”
The manager fell into a silence. After about ten seconds, he said softly, “I’ll have to bear a lot of responsibility.”
“$5,000!”
“I have my professional ethics!” This was the manager’s last resistance.
Ennio’s father shook his head. “You are a respectable person. You have your bottom line, but I believe that not everyone has a bottom line.”
He was about to stand up as he spoke. The manager suddenly slammed the table. “Deal!”
He was panting a little. “But no one else can know about this.”
Ennio’s father nodded.
Soon the manager came over with a file box. As a manager, he had the right to access these materials. In fact, it wouldn’t have cost this much to find someone to look through these materials.
The salespeople below could also access these materials. Maybe $500 would be enough to make them compromise.
Just as this gentleman had said, not everyone has such high moral standards and bottom lines.
Soon he found some things Lance wanted from these insurance policies.
All materials that were stored for more than two weeks and were flammable would be insured, but the insured value was not high.
They would not invest too much in insurance for these agricultural products with low profits, and it was not so easy to cause irreparable losses at the docks.
There were water hoses and pumps everywhere. They could quickly extinguish a large fire.
So about seventy percent of the Liji Group’s warehouses were uninsured.
“I need to verify this news. I can pay you $2,000 first.”
He took the envelope out of his pocket and placed it on the table. “After I have confirmed this matter, the remaining $3,000 will be sent to you.”
The manager looked at the $2,000 in his hand and showed a satisfied smile. “I look forward to our next cooperation…”
Forty minutes later, Lance had these materials in his hands and also had someone send over the $3,000.
One must have integrity.
At night, a large number of workers in blue uniforms entered the docks. This should have been a very normal thing, but many of the workers on the docks looked at these people with strange eyes.
Because they didn’t recognize any of these people, these people might be a bit off.
Someone reported this to the security guards, but the security guards ignored them. They reported it to the management company. The management company sent someone to take a look and then quickly left.
Since they didn’t care, the workers no longer cared either.
A group of people came to a warehouse. A guy with a small box in his hand picked the lock a few times, and the door opened.
Inside, there was a mountain of agricultural products…
After the Harvest Festival is the peak period for agricultural product trade. A large number of agricultural products and fruits have been harvested, and then comes the long winter.
Various enterprises need to start storing agricultural products. If they wait until winter comes to store them, the price will be much higher than now.
So now almost all the warehouses are filled with a large amount of goods. These goods will not stay here for too long, three to five days, at most a week before they are pulled away.
At the same time, this place will be filled with new agricultural products until winter truly arrives.
The general manager of the Liji Group had just finished his social engagement. He sat back in his chair with a hot towel on his face.
He was on the phone with the head office.
“We must be vigilant and guard against them sabotaging. We have already arranged for a specialist to connect with you. At that time, this case will be handled by the specialist.”
“Whether it’s litigation or other means, we will not be afraid of them.”
“The company’s public relations expenses each year are not for nothing!”
The general manager was a little worried. He worked in Golden Port, and he knew very well what the situation in Golden Port was now. “If they use some… extreme means, what should we do?”
“Extreme means?”
“What extreme means can they use?”
“Kidnap you, or kidnap our employees?”
“Or block the company’s main entrance and prevent us from working?”
When he said these speculations, the vice president almost couldn’t stop laughing.
“Come on, they’re just a gang. They can’t do anything to give us a headache. Can they move all our warehouses overnight?”
As he spoke, he burst out laughing again. “If they are really that formidable, I would actually look up to them.”
His laughter gradually subsided, his tone carrying some disdain, contempt. “Just a bunch of gangsters, nothing special.”
“And even if it’s a gang’s method, we also have the ability to solve them. You have to believe in the company, believe in the board of directors.”
The general manager was silent for a moment. Although he felt in his heart that the vice president was being a bit arrogant, he still decided to, as he had requested, believe in the company, believe in the board of directors.
“I understand. I will pay attention to their actions, but I will not intervene.”
“If there are any problems, I will notify you.”
The vice president was very satisfied. “Very good, just like that.”
“In addition, we need to adjust the prices of some grains and the like, and no longer ship them out on a large scale.”
The general manager was a little curious when he heard this. “Why?”
The vice president’s voice dropped a little. “The Dantra Republic’s delegation and the Secretary of State’s talks did not go very well. There are reports from some channels that the talks may break down.”
“Do you know what it will bring us if the talks break down?”
The general manager had drunk a lot of liquor, and his mind was a bit slow to react. “I don’t quite understand.”
“The world’s situation will become more tense, the price of grain will continue to rise, and the president’s cabinet may also include grain in the important strategic resources. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Once it is included in the list of important strategic resources, its price will rise again, and the price on the Tanfit continent will be even higher.”
“We can… you know.”
Yes, by selling these things to the Dantra Republic through third-party channels. For the capitalists, the country comes after the interests. The interests are always the first priority.
The general manager immediately agreed after hearing this. “I will have them control the types and prices of the goods shipped out…”
The two chatted about some other topics and then ended the call.
The next morning, while the manager was still sleeping, the phone kept ringing.
He opened his eyes with some impatience and looked at the phone with a look of annoyance. “Fuck, what fucking time is it?”
He rubbed his aching head, squinted, and picked up the phone, his face full of annoyance. “It’s only… 6:40!”
“General Manager, it’s not good, something has happened at the warehouse again…”
A chill ran up his spine. He sobered up in an instant, sat up straight, and got out of bed. “What happened?”
He held the receiver with his shoulder. He didn’t even have time to take a shower and started to change his clothes.
“Those crops… have been splashed with a lot of waste engine oil, waste paint, and the like.”
“Fuck, fuck!”
“I’ll be right there.”
Twenty minutes later, he appeared in the warehouse. The warehouse was filled with a pungent smell. He looked at the barley in front of him, which was completely unsaleable, mixed with waste engine oil and other things, and couldn’t help but pace back and forth at the door with his hands on his hips.
“What’s going on, why is it like this?”
He looked at the person in charge of this warehouse and scolded loudly, but the person in charge said nothing.
After venting his temper for a while, he calmed down. “How are the other warehouses?”
“Also, call the police immediately!”
(End of chapter)