What’s a good wedding gift for Lance?
Admiral Miles spent the whole night pondering this question.
Logically, he didn’t need to cater to Lance’s feelings.
He was an admiral in the Federation’s navy, the commander of this naval base, the supreme commander. His status surpassed ninety-nine percent of the people in this country!
And what about Lance?
Just an ordinary gangster boss.
The gap between them was so vast it was hard to describe in words. One was in the gutter, and the other was high up in the sky!
But even with such a huge gap, Admiral Miles still decided to give Lance a small gift.
First of all, Lance had done a good job. He had also read the newspapers from the past few days. People called him “an iron man with a gentle heart,” which was a bit embarrassing.
Every time he thought of this title, however, he felt a faint sense of pride. The image he had in the public’s mind was different from those fools.
In addition, Lance was very good at getting things done. According to his methods, without affecting the daily meals of the soldiers, he could save about a million in kickbacks every month.
That was nearly ten million a year!
He had even specially sent someone to do a price investigation, and the facts proved that Lance had barely made any profit from it. In the audit of some of the menus, he might even face a loss.
A person who would rather lose money himself than short him his money, and who wouldn’t compromise on the quality of the naval soldiers’ food—how could you hate him?
And in the future, there would be many things that required Lance’s assistance, so Admiral Miles, after thinking it over, finally decided to give Lance the first watch he had ever owned.
When giving a gift, it doesn’t have to be brand new. You can also give someone your most cherished possession. This is more meaningful than buying something from a store to give to someone!
That watch was a gift from his grandfather when he enlisted. The price was not very high, about two hundred dollars at the time. It had been out of production for many years, and on the second-hand market, it would probably cost around 3,500.
It wasn’t extremely valuable, but its significance was extraordinary.
Two colonels arrived with the gift and Admiral Miles’s greetings. It was inconvenient for them to stay long, so Lance took the initiative to have a brief exchange with them outside the St. Naye Cathedral.
“The General wishes you a happy wedding. This is the first watch of his life. He hopes this watch can help you remember every moment of your happy life!”
Lance glanced at the watch, which had signs of use but was well-maintained. He nodded and took it in his hand. “A very fine gift. I like it very much, and I am very grateful for the General’s blessing.”
“Please thank His Excellency the General for me. I will visit him in a couple of days.”
As he spoke, he put the watch back in its box, then extended his hand and shook hands with the two colonels. “I don’t know how to address you.”
The two colonels looked at each other and felt that there was no problem in telling Lance their names, so they introduced themselves.
“Thank you for making the trip for me. It seems you can’t stay?”
One of them nodded and said, “Yes, we have other missions later.”
Lance turned his head and beckoned to a young man beside him. He whispered something in his ear, and the young man quickly ran off.
Lance turned his head and said with a smile, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Since you have other missions, I won’t keep you. If you have a vacation and can leave that place, feel free to come and find me anytime. As a local of Golden Port City, I will show you its beauty.”
The two agreed. Just as they were about to leave, the young man quickly ran back, holding a briefcase in his hand, which seemed to contain something.
Lance took the briefcase and handed it over. At the same time, he took a step forward and lowered his voice a little. “Some new cigars. I hope they can help you pass the boring time.”
“It’s nothing expensive or sensitive.”
To avoid a bad influence, he had even specially used a briefcase.
As long as these two colonels were not stupid enough to open it and tell others that they had received something from Lance, then everyone would only think that there were some important documents inside.
Seeing that they were still a little hesitant, Lance directly placed the briefcase in their hands and said sincerely, “Let’s be friends!”
The smiles on the two colonels’ faces, which were different from their official ones, were very human and very personal. “Thank you.”
Lance shook hands with them in farewell. The two colonels quickly turned around, got into their car, and left.
In the car, one of the colonels opened the file. Looking at the bright yellow case inside, a long, flat wooden box, he couldn’t help but whistle.
He recognized this brand. It cost over a hundred dollars a box, with only eight sticks.
When he opened a box to look at the cigars inside, his entire movement suddenly stopped.
The colleague who was driving asked, “What’s wrong?”
He tilted his head and glanced, then slammed on the brakes, almost causing a car accident.
Besides the four cigars in the cigar box, there was also a stack of twenty-dollar bills, which looked like two thousand dollars.
This was the most money they had ever received!
In the past, they had also received money. Some sergeants who wanted to change posts, transfer, or be promoted had also tried to pull strings with them, but those people would at most give a few hundred dollars, which was already a lot.
They had never received so much at once!
The colonel in the passenger seat opened another cigar box. It was also four cigars and a stack of twenty-dollar bills.
“They all say Mr. Lance is very generous…” The colonel in the passenger seat took out a stack of money, and with his thumb, he flipped through the edges. The rustling sound of the banknotes, and the smell of ink, were intoxicating!
He squinted his eyes and enjoyed it for a while before saying, “I didn’t believe it before, but now I do!”
Although the colonel who was driving did not say anything, from the smile on his face, it could be seen that he also attached great importance to his friendship with Lance!
“He is a friend worth making!”
He made a judgment about Lance in his heart.
On the other side, Lance gave the young man a few instructions and then returned to the cathedral.
In the trunk of his car, there were many similar small gifts for emergencies.
For example, a liquor box with 5,000 in cash and a bottle of brandy, for example, a carton of cigarettes with half a carton and 4,000, for example…
Sometimes things happen very suddenly. For example, you invite a friend and need to ask him to do something for you. You only prepare one gift.
But who knew he would invite another very important person to come. This one gift would be very difficult to give.
So having a few more gifts in the car was a manifestation of Lance’s rich experience in another world, a precipitation.
“Hey, this area is not allowed to be approached now!”
Lance turned his head. Some homeless people nearby seemed to want to come over and beg for something. Lance’s men were driving them away.
“Let them come over,” Lance instructed. Today was a good day, even though he didn’t like these homeless people.
He took some loose change from someone else’s hand and casually threw it to the homeless people. Just as he was about to go back, he suddenly noticed a familiar gaze.
He stood there, half-turned, his gaze falling on the person leaning on a crutch, one of his legs obviously severely twisted.
One was standing, the other was stooped. The two looked at each other for a moment, and then Lance turned and left.
And the cripple, looking at the scattered banknotes on the ground, did not reach out to pick them up.
He glanced at the luxurious St. Naye Cathedral, at the powerful and noble people gathered inside the cathedral, watching them smile and greet Lance.
Suddenly, the cripple’s whole person seemed to relax. He silently turned around with his crutch. He just wanted to leave immediately.
Lance shook his head and returned to the open space outside the cathedral. Some people were already discussing the arrival of the two military officers.
They didn’t know that Lance actually had a certain connection with the military, and for this, they felt surprised!
In fact, what they didn’t know was that when they found that their news was already obviously lagging behind, they were already on the edge of the circle.
No one would remind them, if they didn’t go and work hard again.
Except for the people from the Bureau of Hazardous Materials who had not arrived, all the law enforcement departments in the entire city, some government departments, had all come.
And those councilmen, some were not invited by Lance, but were invited by William. He was using Lance’s influence to enhance his own status.
Lance glanced at William, who was socializing with some people at the entrance of the church, turned and walked towards Mayor Williams’s side.
They were the most important guests today, besides the military.
“You and Admiral Miles are getting along well,” Mayor Williams said tentatively. He seemed to know something, but in fact, he knew nothing.
He didn’t know if Lance and this Admiral Miles really had a friendship, or if they had a superficial connection on account of the senator.
Lance smiled, didn’t answer, and didn’t need to answer. Sometimes, not answering is more appropriate than answering.
His non-response did not cause any other emotional changes in Mayor Williams. He then brought the topic back to the wedding.
“Congratulations, Lance. You have completed an important stage in your life and are now moving on to the next.”
Lance said a sincere thank you. Although Mayor Williams’s experience was not very useful to him, it was his good intention.
Then he took the initiative to leave to receive other people. He was busy until the ceremony began, and only then did he have a moment of leisure.
With the cheerful and sweet melody of the wedding march, William took Patricia’s hand and walked to Lance’s side. “Now I give her to you.”
Lance nodded, took Patricia’s hand from his, and then came to the very front with her.
Under the officiation of the priest, they completed the wedding once again.
A large flock of white doves flew into the sky amidst the blessings, as if to wish the newlyweds a happy life in the future!
(End of a Chapter)