Three days is not a long time. In the grand scheme of a much longer life, it is but a fleeting moment.
Three days was also enough time for Mr. Thurray to figure some things out. When they got out of the car and felt the sunlight again, they felt as if their lives had been renewed.
The van, at this moment, was like a womb. He was the child who had just come out, unable to even walk properly.
For three days, he had not been able to stretch his body. Like a fetus, although he did not need to curl up in a dark corner, there was no place for him to stretch his body.
He had not stood up, always with his legs bent. So much so that after he got out of the car, he needed to hold onto the car door for a while before he could walk on his own, staggering.
Not long after, in a luxurious office, he saw Lance.
“Please sit,” Lance acted like a gentleman.
The well-fitting suit and red pocket square gave him a very special temperament. From his appearance, you couldn’t see much of a gangster boss’s ruffian air; he was more like a successful businessman.
Mr. Thurray held onto the back of the chair and walked to the front of it, then sat down.
“Mr. Lance,” he said in a low voice. A man has to face reality. Three days was enough.
He didn’t dare to look up at Lance, and Lance didn’t force him to.
“Smoke?” Lance asked.
Mr. Thurray nodded. Although he had lost his freedom for these three days and had no place to move, the people in the car had not forbidden him from smoking.
When the others were smoking, they would also give him one. At first, he refused, but later he did not.
When a person is in distress, they always need something.
“Thank you!” he said with sincere gratitude, then took the cigarette and lit it with a table lighter.
The mellow cigarette entered his lungs. The nicotine was absorbed, sent into the blood, and easily passed through the blood-brain barrier to act directly on the brain.
The secretion of dopamine and some other hormones made Mr. Thurray a little calmer.
“Can I ask a question?” he asked Lance, holding a cigarette in his hand, his posture slightly stooped.
Lance did not refuse. “Of course, you can.”
He took another drag on his cigarette, his eyes filled with some expectation. “Jordan, he… how is he?”
He and Jordan were good friends, but at this time, his asking about Jordan was obviously not because they were good friends.
He wanted to know Lance’s attitude towards them through this matter.
Lance showed a regretful expression and shook his head. “He’s dead. If you want to see him, you’ll have to go to the bottom of the lake.”
Mr. Thurray was silent. He squeezed out a smile, just a little, looking very bitter.
“No, no need, thank you.”
He took a deep breath and looked at Lance. “You’re looking for me because…”
Lance raised his eyebrows. His facial expressions were a little too much, because this was just a minor character. He didn’t need to hide his emotions or control his expressions.
“You had your friend come to find trouble with us, and now he’s fallen.”
Lance set the tone for the whole matter as soon as he came up. “You know, for gangsters, we have always advocated an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
“You were going to make a move on us. We solved the crisis, so now it’s our turn.”
“Mr. Thurray, you will die, and your family will also die.”
Mr. Thurray’s breathing stopped in an instant. He held his breath subconsciously. It lasted for more than half a minute before he couldn’t help but start breathing again.
He didn’t want to die, if possible, but now he had no right to make decisions for Lance.
Lance waited for him to brew his emotions for a while before saying, “But I also have a proposal…”
“What proposal?” This time he answered very quickly, which made Lance smile.
“It’s very simple. Transfer your fourteen movie theaters to me.”
“I will acquire all of them at a price of one dollar per movie theater. And you, besides getting fourteen dollars, will also get a chance to live.”
The fourteen movie theaters were his, his father’s, his grandfather’s, the entirety of three generations, and also the foundation of the family’s rise.
These were all priceless treasures!
Their locations were all good. The prices of those locations were still rising, and at the same time, there were no other competing movie theaters around.
They were doing an exclusive business in the region, the kind that could really make money.
Every year, these movie theaters could bring him hundreds of thousands in revenue. But now, they were leaving him.
Mr. Thurray did not want to agree. He was very resistant in his heart, but he had to agree, because he did not want to die even more.
Seeing him silent, Lance opened the contract he had prepared, then took out a fountain pen, unscrewed the cap, and placed it on the contract, pushing it over.
“You can take a look first. If you can accept it, you can just sign your name.”
“If you can’t accept it, you don’t have to sign it.”
Mr. Thurray smoked his cigarette and looked at the contract. He was in a daze for a while, and then he began to read.
It was written very simply on it. The land and buildings of the movie theaters were all voluntarily sold to Wanli Pictures for one dollar. After the handover, all rights to these movie theaters would be waived.
Mr. Thurray picked up the fountain pen. He was a little hesitant. He looked up at Lance. “You’re a man of your word, right?”
Lance nodded slightly. “You can ask around.”
Mr. Thurray was about to sign. He seemed to have many options, but in fact, if he didn’t want to die, there was only this one choice, and there was no choice.
Lance reminded him, “I will let you go, but if there is a next time, and I can’t find anything of interest on you.”
“Then we won’t meet again. They will deal with you directly.”
“Do you understand?”
Mr. Thurray nodded, then with the butt of his cigarette between his teeth, he quickly signed his name on the contract, and at Lance’s request, he also pressed his handprint in some key places.
Lance glanced at it, and a smile appeared on his face. “I will arrange for someone to send you back, and by the way, to handle the change of ownership of these movie theaters.”
“Mr. Thurray…”
Mr. Thurray was in a daze for a moment. “Yes, I’m here.”
“I hope this is the last time we meet.”
He nodded vigorously. “I hope so too!”
He still had money, and a lot of it. Whether it was to start over or to just lie flat, it was enough for him to live a carefree life.
In fact, he had not been pushed into a desperate situation. When people realize that they still have a way out, it is very difficult for them to make extreme choices.
Lance had someone send him away.
After solving this matter, he turned his attention to the chaotic docks and the New Port District. The influx of more refugees was causing the public security of Golden Port City to continuously decline.
The bad news was that, as he had considered, too many refugees had gathered in the New Port District, and the prototype of a gang had already begun to breed.
Some people who were unwilling to starve to death began to huddle together for warmth. They robbed others of their food and wealth, and then used it to fill their own stomachs.
At the same time, some people who did not want to be harmed also began to huddle together. They often consisted of a dozen or even dozens of refugee families as a unit.
They would select some young, strong men from within the family to serve as their “guards” to protect them.
This was actually two gangs, one that was willing to do anything to survive, and one that was just for self-preservation.
It was not enough for police cars to patrol there all the time. Chief Bruce had even complained to him that some refugees would deliberately commit crimes to be arrested, with the purpose of going to prison.
Although the environment in prison was not good and it was very hard, at least there was a free lunch that could keep them alive!
So the public security of Golden Port City would visibly become very bad!
There were always some shops on the street that were suddenly robbed. The robbers, after robbing the shop, would not leave, but would wait for the police to come, and then lie on the ground with their hands behind their heads, waiting to be sent to the perfect “shelter.”
Now the cost and budget of the Department of Defense had not yet been finalized. Even Lance had no good solution.
At the end of the first week of August, the public security of Golden Port City became even worse. Even the Starlight District and the Bay Area had some refugees.
Many people in the city were getting tired of these refugees, and the confrontational emotions were still constantly rising.
And at this very moment, the plan from the Department of Defense came down.
Congress had approved their 370 million cost estimate, including the cost of temporarily renovating the New Port Terminal, for the purchase of machinery, and all other first-phase expenses, but not including the part for the construction of the naval shipyard.
Those that were needed for construction were personally participated in by the Department of Defense and went through another budget.
In short, the budget was approved. The next step was to enter the “sprint” phase.
Major General Grayson immediately called Lance and told him that he could start to act.
Lance immediately went to register a construction company, and then through the connections of the Lawrence family, he quickly filled some key job positions. Then they began to recruit people.
Lance gave a portion of the job opportunities to Boni (the refugee teenager). This would help him to gain a firm foothold in the refugee community more quickly.
The other part was selected on the spot by the people from the Wanli Labor Introduction Agency. When those refugees knew that there was a big project, half of the New Port District was boiling!
With the initial project fund of 20 million transferred into the account, Lance had never been so confident!
As soon as he opened his mouth, it was 20,000 workers. His amusement park and the Golden Casino were also going to start construction. These were all big projects that would last for a long time, at least a year or more!
With so many job positions, it wasn’t just the refugees who were boiling and looking for job opportunities.
Even the locals and immigrants were also inquiring about whether there were suitable job positions for them.
Every day, the Wanli Labor Introduction Agency was crowded with people. Even the road was blocked. Cars passing through here had to take a detour, otherwise they could only be blocked in the middle of the road by the dense crowd!
Lance’s recruitment of people was very fast, and they were working while recruiting. People could already see workers constantly working on the wasteland on the north side of the industrial district.
They quickly removed the things that affected the leveling, such as trees, rocks, and the like.
Then they ensured that the ground was roughly flat, and then began to dig or pour according to a simple design drawing.
The entire area was a bustling construction site, and it also exuded an atmosphere of prosperity.
(End of a Chapter)