Shadow Empire

Chapter 1024 New Year's Day and Federal Experts
Every interest group is constantly expanding outwards, and the Lawrence family cannot forever guard only their farm.

As this yet-to-be-exposed interest group continues to grow, they will also have more demands for benefits.

Only in this way can they maintain at least a relatively prominent position within this interest group.

Controlling transportation in Licale, effectively monopolizing the market, and controlling pricing power may only be their first step.

After they took control of the industry, Lance could roughly imagine that they would soon begin to interfere in the overall agricultural sector of Likale State.

Lawrence Farms, as the largest farm in Licarle, bar none, is dominant in this regard.

They can acquire high-quality farms everywhere, and continue to expand the area of ​​Lawrence Farm's headquarters, eventually forming a behemoth here, and gradually expanding outwards to generate enormous influence.

The gentlemen Governor Terry introduced last night actually wanted to do something similar to what William had told him: they also wanted to be the absolute number one in their respective fields and then form a trust group to firmly control their industry.

In the end, the residents of the entire state of Likalai were provided with food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, from breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon, dinner in the evening, or some late-night snacks.

From the clothes they wear, the shoes they wear, the bus they take or the car they ride in, to the television they watch, the newspapers they read, and the places they work...

Everything related to their lives and work comes from this interest group; this is the ultimate form of monopoly.

People may not be aware of the world they live in; they may not even realize it, but they are directly or indirectly connected to everything here.

This is also why the federal government finds it difficult to clean up those factional areas; the local interest groups have such terrifying control over the area that they are not afraid of any federal measures.

At the dinner table, Lance and William chatted about other things. The elders in the family hoped that he could visit the farm whenever he had time, to which Lance simply replied that he would definitely go if given the opportunity.

After breakfast, Rowling followed Lance, who was about to leave. Just one glance from her was enough for Lance to know that she had something to say.

“Honey, let me talk to her first.”

He kissed Patricia, and neither Patricia nor Lance noticed the fleeting look of envy and jealousy in Rowling's eyes.

The girl, who grew up under her father's abuse, appears cheerful and sunny on the surface, but deep down, she is different from ordinary girls who grew up in normal environments.

Lance is taking Patricia and Ace out for some fun today. It's the first day of the new year, and Golden Harbor City, as one of the more well-known tourist cities on the East Coast, will definitely be hosting some celebrations.

For example, at the Golden Harbor Casino, they organized all sorts of events that resembled... gatherings.

Morris allowed ordinary people to set up stalls in the plaza outside the Golden Harbor Casino, whether selling homemade food or setting up stalls similar to those in an amusement park, and all they had to do was register; there were no fees involved.

This is definitely a very lively place. Lance heard from Morris that most of the stalls had been booked several days ago, and the newspapers had also reported on it.

The population of Jin Gang City is still growing rapidly, and it is said to have reached 2.6 to 2.7 million.

The completion of the new industrial zone has led to the relocation of more factories to Golden Harbor City, and Mayor Williams has shown considerable courage in attracting investment.

With subsidies, tax reductions, and policy support, factories sprang up like mushrooms after rain, appearing everywhere overnight.

As factories proliferate, so do job opportunities, attracting more and more young people and laborers from surrounding cities to work here.

It's not just Creek Valley City that's being drained by Golden Harbor City—to be precise, Creek Valley City is now experiencing a labor force return phenomenon.

Valley City has many film studios, which need a lot of extras. Some extras will suddenly become famous after appearing in a few movies.

In the eyes of these young men and women who yearn to become big stars, this is the typical federal dream. Although they don't know what they will have to pay for it, everyone is joining in one after another.

Therefore, strictly speaking, Jin Gang City can no longer drain the "blood" from Xi Gu City.

On the contrary, Jinxing City, another city to the west of Jingang City, began to be drained of its resources by Jingang City.

Some young people from Venus City began to move to Golden Harbor City in search of better job opportunities. These newcomers greatly enriched the population of Golden Harbor City and increased its population significantly.

Mayor Williams has already begun considering the next steps. He wants to lay a solid foundation for James before he takes office, so that James can quickly get started and develop rapidly, gaining the full support of the local people.

Because there are more and more people in Jin Gang City now, this year's New Year will be much more lively than in previous years.

That's why Lance wanted to take Patricia around the city today. Patricia rarely goes out anymore; she's been taking care of Ace all the time.

In this respect, Lance does owe a little, but only a little.

Patricia took Ace's hand and led him outside. They waited for Lance in the car, while Lance and Rowling went to the small room next door.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Lance asked.

Rowling took a small gift out of her pocket and gave it to him. "You came home very late last night, and I was already asleep, so I couldn't give it to you. This is my New Year's gift to you."

Lance looked at the beautifully packaged little gift box in his hand, and accepted it with a smile while observing Rowling's expressions.

Her eyes, her expression, and some of her little gestures.

This made him realize that there might be a little trouble.

He said "thank you" and asked, "Can I open it now?"

"Of course, why not?" she said, sounding expectant and excited.

Lance opened the small gift box slowly. Fortunately, inside was just a tie clip, a pair of cufflinks, and a pair of collar buttons—very standard "gentleman's accessories."

These accessories don't look flashy; instead, they appear quite mature and sophisticated.

"Do you like it?" Rowling asked.

Lance nodded. These things didn't seem expensive, maybe twenty or thirty dollars at most, but he found it hard to say something as cruel as "I don't like them."

His behavior made Rowling very happy, and she took a step forward, "Can I hug you?"

Lance looked at her and finally nodded in agreement. "You are my sister, why would I refuse your reasonable request?" He used two key words here to remind her.

One is "younger sister," and the other is "not excessive," but it seems she didn't "receive" this signal.

She hugged Lance tightly, and took a deep breath, "Thank you, thank you."

After a while, about seven or eight seconds, she let go, her face flushed.

Lance patted his pocket. "Sorry, I didn't prepare a New Year's gift for you."

She said with a smile, "You've given me the best New Year's gift!"

Lance was stunned for a moment, then he was speechless. He knew what she meant by "the best New Year's gift," but he didn't know how to handle this girl and his feelings for her.

He lacks experience in this area.

He pursed his lips. "I'll make it up to you." He paused for a moment. "I'll go out with them now."

Rowling didn't stop him. "Okay, brother, have fun!"

Lance nodded, smiled, and turned to leave.

He didn't know if this would be a new problem; it was possible, but it wasn't.

As Patricia got into the car, she asked curiously, "What did she talk to you about?"

Lance took out the small gift box. "She prepared a New Year's gift for me."

Patricia stared blankly at the small gift box, then a look of panic crossed her face. "I forgot to prepare gifts for them..."

As the "mistress," she was bound to give small gifts to the servants who worked for Lance in the manor—a tradition she had completely forgotten!

Lance smiled and reassured her, "I'll have someone prepare it, don't worry. Everyone will receive a little something to please them at dinner."

The convoy then slowly started moving and left the manor.

The streets were crowded on the first day of the new year. The closer you got to the city center and the more you went to the Golden Harbor Casino, the more pedestrians there were, and the more lively the roadside became.

Lance hadn't paid attention to the changes here for a while, and he noticed that more and more televisions were appearing in the windows of some electronics stores along the roadside.

Previously, a TV might have cost two or three thousand yuan, but with the rapid advancement of technology, a TV now only costs five or six hundred yuan.

And there is a further downward trend. People may not realize it yet, but perhaps it won't be long before television, a luxury appliance that ordinary people can only watch from outside a shop window while shopping, becomes common in every household.

The numerous stalls at the Golden Harbor Casino made this the liveliest place today, bar none. Lance took Patricia to eat a lot of snacks and play some fun games.

The whole day was filled with laughter and joy.

Meanwhile, in the Republic of Germany, two businessmen from the Federation, accompanied by the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Commerce, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, are inspecting a factory under construction.

Many people from the Federation are now investing in the Republic of Jede. As the richest country in the Asia-Pacific region, bar none, its economic situation is far superior to that of other countries; it's simply on a different level.

Furthermore, the market here is already mature, the workers' income is very stable, and every household has a certain amount of savings.

These deposits only need to be stimulated by certain external conditions to become their consumption, instantly activating a larger commercial market.

Investing here is much better than going to poor places like Lapa or Makan, and the results are much faster.

Since August or September of last year, with the promulgation of the strictest federal "arms export restriction order", the Republic of Germany has been seeking a solution.

Their weapon inventory is too high. If they were to completely replace it with new equipment, it would cost them a lot of money, and they have nowhere to dispose of the weapons that are replaced.

So they've been buying up standard federal bullet casings, refilling them with gunpowder, and then attaching bullets so they can continue using them.

However, this was not a good solution. Around October, their intelligence personnel discovered that some problems had arisen during personnel changes at a federal military factory.

Two designers or engineers on a bullet production line were sued by the military factory where they used to work, who demanded a large sum of money in compensation.

It's obvious they can't come up with the money, and if nothing unexpected happens, they'll most likely end up in jail.

At the behest of the President of the Republic of Germany, a German spy posing as a lawyer met with the two men and explained his purpose to them—

The Czech Republic is willing to pay this huge sum of compensation for them and will reach an out-of-court settlement with their former military-industrial companies to help them avoid imprisonment.

What they need to do is help the Republic of Germany build an assembly line capable of producing standard bullets.

This seemed like unexpected good news to the two engineers, who agreed almost without hesitation.

After paying a settlement of approximately 12 million, the two engineers from the Republic of Germany traveled from the Federation to the Republic of Germany under the guise of a vacation and met with the president himself.

After some negotiations, they finally agreed on a series of plans to build the production line locally.

Once the military factory is built, for every bullet produced here, the two men will be paid a patent fee of three cents (Federal Sol).

And it will improve in the future due to factors such as currency devaluation.

This contract would be an absolute super contract for ordinary people, because the president of the Republic of Germany told the two men that the bullets they produced would be dumped in eleven countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

These countries are all facing similar problems and internal strife to varying degrees, leading to a surge in bullet consumption!

Furthermore, they also need a large stockpile. Preliminary calculations indicate that the bullet market in the Asia-Pacific region is around one billion rounds, which translates to a market of approximately 300 million rounds.

In addition to a stable salary, the two engineers will also receive a bonus of at least 30 million, as specified in the contract. If the bonus is less than 1 billion, the final payment will be based on the 1 billion bonus.

With such great offers, the two of them certainly wouldn't refuse!
(End of this chapter)