Shadow Empire

Chapter 170: Night Talk at the Pier and Signboard

At six o'clock, there are still many people working at the dock. Some ships arrive at Jingang Wharf at midnight, but they cannot stay here for too long and have to transport the cargo on the ship down overnight.

In addition, at night some terminals have to sort out and summarize the goods that were rushed to be unloaded during the day. Some of them may need to be restacked, some may need to be put into warehouses, and some will be sent directly on trains.

In short, there is a lot of work to be done in the middle of the night, and the wages offered at the dock are relatively high, around thirty-nine yuan.

The workers who remained at the dock in the middle of the night were basically immigrants and illegal immigrants. There were also a small number of local workers, but not many.

They would rather take lower wages than work in the middle of the night, which makes people more tired and uncomfortable than working during the day.

As soon as Lance got to the dock, someone greeted him. Most of the people here were wearing blue work clothes, and they were the only ones willing to work in the middle of the night just to earn a few dollars more than during the day.

Lance also kept greeting them, and a few people who were not wearing blue work uniforms took the initiative to greet Lance and asked if they could join Lance's office.

"It's not easy to do this. You know, they signed with my firm because they... don't have work permits or legal immigration status."

"They were not protected by unions before. In fact, only the dockworkers' union will provide them with some convenience now. In other places and industries, the unions still close the door to them."

"That's why I stand up and do some work that I shouldn't do. I hope each of us can have a good life and tomorrow."

"Rather than being in different classes and having different but roughly the same bleak futures just because we come from different places and have or don't have legal status."

"But you are all locals, you have your own work cards and social security numbers, and the union will not reject your application. You can do whatever job you want."

"If you come to my office, it will conflict with the local union."

Lance took out a cigarette and gave one to each of the people in front of him. Just this simple gesture made them feel flattered!

There has never been such a thing before... A big shot gave them cigarettes, and everyone lit them up happily.

More people gathered around.

"I dare not compete with the union for my job, they will break my head!" People laughed softly, but did not think it was true.

But Lance quickly continued, "I know what you are thinking. Someone mentioned this to me before, and I've been thinking about it recently."

“We may be able to do it another way, but right now we need to think about it.”

"Rather than this, I hope you will be interested in our soon-to-be-opened workers' club..."

"It has more activity experience halls, stress-relieving projects, and I even deliberately added some entertaining competitions. You will definitely like it when the time comes."

"and!"

He emphasized, and the whispers of discussion around him stopped. Lance stood in the cold wind, and his exhaled breath formed a cloud of water vapor under the light, which was then quickly blown away by the wind.

“We serve cheap alcohol!”

They didn't react at first, but then expressions of surprise appeared on the workers' faces. Isn't cheap wine exactly what they need most?
Someone asked impatiently, "Mr. Lance, will it be open all night?"

Lance nodded. "Yes, it's open 24 hours a day. And I promise you, only you and my people can go in. I won't allow anyone else to enter."

"This will cause outsiders to come to our docks and compete with our workers for cheap drinks and cheap food."

At this point someone in the crowd said, “The union can’t be so kind!”

His original intention was to say that Lance might be lying, but this sentence helped Lance a lot. He was still thinking about how to explain that all this was not given to them by the dock workers' union, but by him, Mr. Lance.

As a result, this questioner provided the most powerful assist!
He looked in the direction of the voice, then nodded and said, "I have to explain that I have contracted the Dock Workers Club, so I will be responsible for all these operations. The Workers' Union does not have any expenses, so you can rest assured."

"It's not like it's going to suddenly close one day because it's not making money, or open only once a week for some other reason or something like that."

“I believe you will be shocked!”

When the workers heard that it was not the union but Lance who did it, the doubting voice from before spoke again, "Mr. Lance, will you charge us?"

Although Lance didn't find this person, he was still very grateful to him. "Of course, but I only charge you for your consumption. Otherwise, even if I were the richest man in Jingang City, I couldn't afford more than 10,000 workers at the dock to come and have a few drinks every day."

"What I can guarantee is that I won't make any money from you. I know some people will say, 'Mr. Lance, are you really that kind?'"

"In fact, when we gather together, we are already a powerful force, and this power can be exchanged for money!"

"It's just that you can't monetize the power of your unity, but I have a way, and part of the money I earn will go into my pocket, and the other part will be used to subsidize it. Then you will see a completely different club."

In the distance, three cars slowly stopped on the inner road of the dock. One of the cars honked its horn, and Alvin got out of the car and stood beside it.

There are many headlights on the dock that can illuminate everything here. Lance nodded after seeing him and turned to look at the workers who surrounded him.

"My friend who came to pick me up has to go. If you are interested in the new club that is about to open, you will be able to see some of its progress recently."

He said goodbye to the people around him and left.

"I thought you would be back later." Erwin smiled after receiving Lance's call. He had been under too much pressure these days.

Although he was fully responsible for all family affairs when Lance was away, he still hoped that Lance could be here so that he could feel at ease.

There are some things he has absolutely no idea how to do. It's not that he is not smart enough, but that he has no experience.

It’s like a boy who goes on a date with a girl for the first time. Maybe for him in the darkness that night, the most despairing thing in the world is the zipper and brass buttons of the girl’s jeans!
He could do anything, but he could do nothing!
Irving has not experienced this, he needs a process of growth.

But this era is not the girl who can accompany you to grow up, from being ignorant and immature to mature.

It's a bitch. If you don't do it well, it won't say "Honey, you should do this", but will kick you away and shout "Next".

Lance got into the car and took out a wad of money and handed it to Hiram and Lawn, "Go buy them some coffee, we need them, come back when you're done and have them deliver it themselves."

A little over a hundred bucks, at least, both of them nodded.

These dock workers will be Lance's real wealth after he comes to this world. Many people regard the "first pot of gold" as the first money earned by anything.

But for the more mature Lance, in his understanding, the first pot of gold does not refer to simple wealth, but to the power that can allow him to settle down here and have the confidence to face some things!
Money is everywhere, but power is rare.

"Leave a car for them," he ordered again, and then the two cars left quickly.

Hiram and Laun found a coffee shop outside the dock. It couldn't really be called a coffee shop, it was just a small shop with two sleepy employees.

It is very likely that they are a couple, in the early stages of the germination of capital. If they can survive, they will begin to move towards the early stages of the germination of capital and start hiring workers, and then the next stage will be the exploitation of workers.

But before that, they exploited themselves.

The doorbell made the couple stand up quickly and alertly. Hiram shook his hair and took out the money in his hand.

They had asked before they came, and they knew that there were about two hundred people working at the dock tonight. There were seven docks in the entire Jingang Port, but he obviously didn't need to deliver to every dock.

Sometimes sending gifts won’t make them feel grateful. It is only when the “class difference” is shown that they will be moved, thankful, and grateful.

"Two hundred cups of coffee, not the best, not the worst, delivered to Pier 3, how much?"

The couple didn’t react at first, but soon realized that this was a big business!

The wife took a pen and drew on the draft paper for a long time before she said, "Twenty dollars, sir." "Do you have donuts?"

"Yes, but not much. But there are a lot of beef burritos..."

A pile of burritos in the kitchen, with some vegetables, a little beef and chicken mince, is the favorite food of dock workers.

Hiram had eaten this, it cost fifteen cents each, and because it had beef and chicken cubes, it was considered a meat dish.

He used to eat it maybe once a week, but now…

He turned around and glanced at Lawn, who also had an indescribable look in his eyes, "Do you want one?"

Laun nodded, and he turned to look at the boss, "Two hundred plus two beef burritos, how long will it take to make them?"

"How much more money is there?"

The two of them calculated until they were sweating profusely, and finally they came up with the answer of forty yuan. As for the extra two?
Just take it as a thank you to them for taking care of the business here.

Ten minutes later, the workers at Pier No. 3 received hot coffee and hot beef burritos from other workers with looks of disbelief on their faces.

Rather than the physical warmth brought by hot coffee and hot burritos, what they care about more is the warmth in their hearts...

Elsewhere, in the car, Lance asked, "What's the situation now?"

Erwin sat in the passenger seat, staring at the vehicles on the road and said, "Sam is sure it was us who did it. He said he'll wait for you to come back and talk to you."

"Lisa and the others are hiding in Valley City as you said. I told them not to contact us unless something unexpected happens."

Lance nodded after listening, "Very good, Sam is not important, what is important is the mayor's attitude."

"We'll know the mayor's attitude tomorrow."

"How many grapes did you buy?" After a short break, Lance asked the question that concerned him most.

Erwin was a little embarrassed. "The current grape suppliers are not willing to sign orders too far in the future. At most, they are only willing to sign orders for grapes that will be on the market in May."

"how much is it?"

Erwin was stunned for a moment, "Ninety-nine dollars."

Lance shook his head slightly. Looking through the rearview mirror, Erwin thought that Lance thought it was too expensive. But before he even said he could try to bargain, Lance told him, "Buy as much as you can. Mix some cash in. Don't pay all by check."

"Two-thirds checks, one-third cash"

"If they accept the low-price contract, we can give them an extra five dollars per ton."

"I didn't quite understand..." Erwin was a little unsure whether what Lance said was the same as what he understood.

"We can give them... a price of 105 yuan per ton, but they can't write 105 yuan in the contract, they have to write a lower price."

"That way they can pay less tax and we can get more cash in."

If you spend one hundred dollars to process a matter worth one hundred and twenty-five or even one hundred and thirty-five dollars, the tax bureau can pretend not to see it. However, it will be a headache for the tax bureau if they really want to check every penny.

But you spent a hundred dollars to do something worth a thousand dollars, that’s a bit too arrogant!

The pre-tax income you reported is not enough to support your consumption. Where does your money come from? Have you paid taxes? Have you concealed your income or evaded taxes?
Lower the price in the contract, for example, to 85 yuan per ton, and Lance will give a legal income of about 70 yuan, and the rest can be paid in cash.

When the time comes to investigate, if it is reasonable and legal, the tax bureau will not take the initiative to investigate unless someone deliberately causes trouble for him.

But if you only earn tens of thousands of yuan this month, but buy grapes worth hundreds of thousands of yuan...

Now Erwin understood, but he was also a little curious, "Are these grapes really worth it?"

Lance was also looking at him through the rearview mirror, a little smile on his face, "It's worth more than you think!"

The power of drunkards is infinite, and they do need to brew wine themselves.

And he was very sure that this was just the starting point of its price, far from its end point, and it was not even the starting point, but only the beginning!
The two cars quickly merged into the city's traffic and then disappeared in the rhythm of the city.

The news that "Lance is back" quickly spread around the dock. After all, those lucky people at Pier 3 each got a nice cup of coffee and a beef burrito.

Thirty points, is that too much?
It’s not a lot, but it’s definitely not a small amount, which is enough to make many people envious.

The workers at Pier No. 3 who had benefited from the event kept bragging to others about how delicious the coffee Mr. Lance had prepared and how tasty the beef burritos were.

Even though they knew that this stuff came from the small shop near the port, they just thought it was delicious!
Someone has revealed the reason why it is so delicious - as long as it doesn't cost money, it is delicious, but it still makes people envious.

The workers at Pier No. 3 also "support" Lance more, although of course the word "support" may not be accurate.

At the same time, news about the upcoming reopening of the dock workers' club and the availability of cheap drinks began to spread among the workers.

There were many people paying attention to the dock, so Sam was still sleeping in the morning, and the ringing of the phone woke him up. It was Booker calling, "Mr. Sam, Lance is back."

Booker is out there preparing to pick some more girls recently. Sam has talked to him about this. It might be difficult to deal with Lance, so they have to be prepared for both situations.

But Sam didn't really think that Lance would fight him to the end. We are all working for the mayor. Why are you more noble than me?
At this time, he got up in a daze, tidied his appearance, ate something, and went to the phone.

Soon the call was connected, and a voice different from Erwin's, cleaner, more resolute and confident, sounded in the receiver, "This is Empire Nightclub."

"Is that Mr. Lance?"

"it's me."

Sam shifted his sitting position and lit a cigarette, "Mr. Lance, I hope you can return Lisa to me. She is very important to me and my business."

"You should know……"

Lance didn't give him the chance to continue, because no matter how much he said, it was useless.

"I don't know where Lisa is. If you have evidence, you can come find me."

"No matter who you go to, I'm going to say this: I don't know where Lisa is, and I'm not interested in where she is."

"But, Sam, you have to remember one thing. Your people injured my people. I will settle this account with you."

He finally got the check back that Sam had sent him, and the man was stopped before he could drive away.

When he heard Lance's firm words, he was suddenly shaken, but after thinking about it, he realized that apart from Lance, there was no point or necessity for others to do so!
Lance's attitude was very tough, so he softened a little, "Lance, I don't want to bring this to...his side."

"I will certainly lose face then, but you will also make him very angry. We should be friends..."

Lance interrupted him again, "Mr. Sam, I have no interest in being your friend, and I'm feeling a little nauseous."

"I will find you, but I must also warn you if you dare to send a girl from the Empire, whether you tricked her, bought her, or whatever, into your red high heels."

"I promise, I'll take it off your sign and stick it in your eye!"

(End of this chapter)