Shadow Empire

Chapter 178: Small talk, second debt collection and family dinner

Lance drew his attention back from the homeless man, "I talked to Blue. We have to force them to take action first."

He paused, "The preparations for war remain unchanged. We will fight those who are not prepared. Our chances of winning are very high, but we must also be prepared for the possibility that they will suddenly strike first."

"Once they are pushed into a corner, they might just take action."

Lance asked Alvin to look for several bar locations, which were not too far from the Red Dog Gang bar, just one or two streets away.

Logically speaking, competing for customers with the Red Dog Gang's bar is not an easy task.

Alcoholics are not only obsessed with alcohol, but also with the drinking atmosphere. Once they get used to the environment of a bar, it is difficult to get them to change the place to drink.

The Red Dog Gang's bars have been in business for a long time, and their customer base is steadily increasing, so it is a little difficult to compete with them.

And with the two bars being so close, there will definitely be direct competition, but Lance believes they have a big advantage because they have cheaper alcohol.

Maybe for the same glass of wine, if Lance and the others pay five cents less, it would only make those people waver, but if they pay ten cents less, they would definitely come over!

Compared with the familiar environment and atmosphere, it is obviously more important to be able to have two drinks for the price of one drink. What does a drunkard care about most?
How much alcohol they can cram into their veins, of course!

The car drove back, and Lance and Erwin went to meet a gunsmith at night.

Alberto had talked about this with Lance before. If they wanted to develop on a larger scale and in a more orderly manner, then it would be best if they had their own "talents".

Occupations like gunsmiths, mechanics, and auto mechanics seem to have nothing to do with gangs or families, but they are precisely the core talents for the development of a gang.

There is no need to discuss in detail the role of the gunsmith. Just like the bearded man on Alberto's side, he can maintain and adjust the guns, and even restrike the rifles.

Although more times of re-rifling will lead to a decrease in accuracy, who the hell cares about that?
Several guns, dozens of guns, and even submachine guns were fired at the same time, shooting at their faces, and I don’t believe that the shot would miss!
But what the gunsmith brings is a permanent solution to the threat of ballistics.

There are also mechanics and auto repairmen who can help a gang modify vehicles, modify machinery, make traps, bombs, and even do something else.

Especially for some sensitive things, although they are being sold outside, it is hard to tell whether those selling them are fishing.

And you never know if they will sell out your information for more money, so don't imagine that the people in this underground world are too rosy.

There are indeed characters like chivalrous thieves here, but there are more people who betray their integrity for a little profit.

They can sell dangerous goods to you for money, and they can also sell you as a commodity to others for money.

The gunsmith I was meeting was a refugee from the Empire. He couldn't find a suitable job after arriving here, and now makes a living by helping people forge iron sheets.

In fact, forging iron sheets is a skilled job, but the hammering and banging seems to require no technical skills. But when they really try, they can't do anything well.

Many people knew that Lance was looking for a gunsmith, someone who at least knew the principles of guns and could modify them independently.

As for maintenance, it is actually not very important. For a dynamic social organization like theirs, the shelf life of a gun is only from the time it is obtained to the time it is used in combat, unless someone does the follow-up processing.

Otherwise, they can only be sold at a discount to the bearded man, or put into a bag and thrown into the bottom of Angel Lake.

Lance doesn't have any connections in other places or in the black gun market, unlike some big gangs, who would sell their guns on the black market in another city within a day after they ran out of them.

He doesn't know such a person and doesn't have such channels. Even if he gives all the discounts to the bearded man, it will still be a big loss.

There was nothing wrong with the gunsmith's skills, at least Lance couldn't see any problem. He easily dismantled the McGregor 1212 semi-automatic pistol that Lance gave him.

Each part was laid out on a table, and he pointed out several that were badly worn and others that were clearly not from the same gun.

It is possible that the parts were disassembled and reassembled, or it is possible that it was replaced after being damaged. Overall, it is given a barely passing rating.

Looking at his skillful movements, Lance was full of expectations for him. Of course, whether it would work or not still depended on the bearded man's inspection.

When I got back home, many people had already returned. They were either sitting or standing in the living room. They would not rest until Lance came back. Only when they saw Lance coming back did they feel relieved.

Two girls helped Lance take his coat and hat, and someone handed him a cup of hot cocoa. He walked over to the sofa and sat down.

The others came over, "How much money do we have in our account now?" Lance looked at Erwin.

Erwin gave a number, "Close to fifty thousand."

"So little." When others had not yet or had already shown an expression of "so much money", Lance gave them a completely different statement.

He looked at these people and said, "I have never denied the existence of the federal dream, but I don't like it because it is not as beautiful as people promote it."

"All federal dreams are reserved for those who are prepared, such as a salesman who sells fishhooks and becomes the chairman of a listed company, or a wealthy man who sells onions and becomes the founder of the largest restaurant chain in the eastern region."

"For example, insurance agents who become major shareholders of insurance companies by selling insurance, or some people we are always familiar with."

"We were never given any background on them, how they got the loans from the banks, how they knew the senators and the president."

“They only told us that they once worked at the lowest level of society and then became big shots, and told us that this is the federal dream!”

Morris suddenly interrupted, "I've heard the story about the insurance salesman. The insurance company he worked for was owned by his father. He was just doing an internship in the family business."

Lance pointed at him, "Don't tell anyone outside, they won't believe this!"

The young people couldn't help laughing, and they felt it was ridiculous and unbelievable.

Maurice has a good relationship with Ennio, whose father has always dreamed of realizing his federal dream by being a salesman.

If there was anyone who was the most direct victim of the Federation dream, it was Ennio’s father, but even now he seems to be doing that job.

But compared to his previous fanaticism, he seemed to have become a little more rational after being beaten up by Will.

Lance took a sip of the hot cocoa. It was very sweet, no less than a donut. "I don't deny that some people succeeded, but they are only a very small minority."

"If we want to be respected by others, we must have something."

"Power, status, wealth, and our weapons."

"You think 40,000 yuan is a lot, but I think it's very little, because it's our income for the past six months. With so many of us and the business we run, it's only this little!"

"But it doesn't matter, it will multiply soon!"

He looked at Erwin and said, "Leave five thousand for emergencies, and go to the bank to get two more checkbooks. We'll need them soon."

"There's also cash, and we need to make a budget. The second batch of wine will be delivered soon, so don't be too short of cash by then."

Luigi didn't care whether it was cash or check, he wanted cash more than checks, and the people of Aldera didn't care whether the money was dirty or not, as long as it was real.

Lance then talked for a while about the idea of ​​how to identify "who is the agent", because the bar will be opening soon, and he also heard that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Hazardous Materials will be starting work soon, and he has to let everyone know this.

"...It's not that easy for these agents to catch us. The most important thing is to prevent them from getting any solid evidence, so it's particularly important to deny them entry into our bar."

Lance lit a cigarette and crossed his legs. Everyone listened to him. "Morris, you've seen the most people of all of us. How do you think you can tell if a knocker on the door who has never been in is an undercover agent?"

Morris scratched his head. He was not really sure. He hesitated and said, "He should be very nervous?"

The others looked at Lance, waiting for an answer, but Lance shook his head, "Look, if you're the doorman, you and your bar are done."

Morris chuckled, "I'm not good at this, but why?"

Lance explained, "We sell alcohol to drunks. In other words, we are engaging in criminal activities. We are a criminal group."

"Do you think that a drunkard, even if he knows what he wants to do and what we are doing, can easily face us, members of a criminal organization he has never come into contact with?"

When Lance said this, everyone suddenly felt very clear! Yes, they couldn't act relaxed, and it was normal for them to be nervous.

Even before they joined the Lance Family, when they encountered people who looked difficult to deal with, they would become a little nervous and found it difficult to face them calmly.

And those ordinary alcoholics are just alcoholics. They will also be afraid of criminal organizations. It would be strange if they were not nervous when they go to an unfamiliar bar for the first time!

Seeing them react, Lance nodded and said, "It looks like you all understand. This is what I want to teach you."

"On the contrary, those new faces who come here for the first time not only seem to be very relaxed, but also want to pretend to be very familiar and very self-acquainted. There must be something wrong with them!"

“When you come across this, take note, remember what they look like, and then reject them.”

"We can make less money from a drink, but we absolutely refuse to ruin our bar and our drinks just to make a few more cents!"

Derisi raised his hands in the corner, "If we think something is wrong with them, can't we do something to them?"

Lance shook his head. "No, they are law enforcement officers. We should not do anything to them unless we are prepared."

"If they keep coming to harass us, then remember what they look like and we'll find a way to find him."

He also talked about some of the problems that a bar would have to face after opening, such as the problem of drunkards, or the problem of customers fighting in the bar, and some others.

The popularity of the Workers' Club in recent days has led them to mistakenly believe that it is a super large bar, but it is not.

The composition of the guests in a bar is much more complex than that in a workers' club. What is a workers' club?
We are all workers at the dock. You know me and I know you. Even if a conflict really occurs, at most we will fight each other for a while and then continue doing what we should do.

But in a bar, someone might draw a knife or even a firearm, and these are places where the risk is greatest.

If someone dies in a bar, it will be more difficult to run, and Lance doesn't want that.

In one night, Lance taught them a lot of useful tips, including how to deal with some emergencies. As the number of bars and business venues increased, it was impossible for him to personally manage every venue.

Ultimately, it is these people who are in charge, and even when the family business becomes bigger in the future, they won’t be able to be in charge of so many venues alone, they will have to pass on the experience, just like a real family!

The next morning, Lance took some time to go to Johnny's bakery. He was much thinner than when Lance saw him in December.

His arm has healed and he is no longer in a wheelchair and has started working.

When he saw Lance pushing the door open, his eyes flickered a little, and then became... silent.

Hiram stood by the door and turned the "Open" sign over to "Closed". There were two people standing outside the door. No one would dare to barge in if they saw this.

"Lance...can you..."

Before he could finish his words, Lance shook his head, "No."

"You know, friendship is friendship, and debt is debt. We have to distinguish between these two."

"If you want to catch up with old friends, then give me the money and I'll invite you to sit in the barbecue restaurant next door for a while."

"But if you think I can waive or charge you less, I'm sorry, that's not possible."

"Don't make it hard on me, Johnny. I don't want to do it, but don't force me."

In the end, Johnny had no choice but to return to the small room, close the door, and take out an aluminum box full of banknotes from somewhere.

He gave most of it to Lance, who counted it and handed it to Hiram.

"It seems like you have no intention of eating, so see you next month, Johnny!" Lance simply pinched his hat to show that the etiquette was in place.

Hiram opened the door and the two of them quickly went out, leaving Johnny alone.

He looked at the small aluminum box in his hand, not knowing what to say. He only had less than six hundred yuan left.

He definitely can't make 400 yuan a month, and he won't be able to pay it back next month.

This made him feel a little uneasy, but... he had no other choice!

The fat daughter and her boyfriend hiding behind the door watched everything happening silently. They wanted to do something, but they could do nothing.

Johnny returned to his room, hid the iron box, and sat on the bed in a daze.

After a while, he heard the quarrel between his daughter and her boyfriend coming from his original bedroom, and Johnny vaguely knew what they were quarreling about.

Because of debt.

If Johnny couldn't pay back the money, he would have to sell his house, but he would only get about two thousand dollars at most from the sale of the house, and he still owed Lance four thousand dollars.

In other words, even if he sold the house, there would still be a gap of 1,700 to 1,800 yuan, which would most likely affect their storefront.

If they even lost their storefront, he and his family would be truly finished.

After thirty years of hard work, everything ended up being lost because of some minor accidents.

His daughter's boyfriend was planning to leave. In the past two months when Johnny injured his arm, he had already learned all the techniques and processes. He was now confident that even if he couldn't do as well as Johnny, he wouldn't be much worse.

This is also what Johnny is most reluctant to see, and the reason why he is unwilling to teach his apprentices!

The greater the price these people pay, the more they will leave once they learn.

It's like an endless loop.

There was no way Johnny would let them learn his craft for nothing, or at very little cost.

The more the other party pays, the more they will be at odds with Johnny.

Perhaps this is why many craftsmen let their apprentices marry their daughters. Only in this way can they have a common interest.

The ice and snow outside the door could not cover up the noise of the quarrel between the two, and soon the quarrel turned into verbal abuse. After a while, the fat daughter's boyfriend slammed the door and left with his things.

Johnny, watching all this happen, sat there as if he had lost his soul.

It has been snowing recently, so the gathering outside St. Naye's Cathedral on Saturday has been temporarily postponed. Lance asked Alvin to find a new suitable venue for the gathering. This kind of gathering has very general meaning and effect, and cannot and should not be cancelled due to weather reasons.

And he went to see Patricia with some gifts.

The girl was originally very angry that Lance didn't come to see her during this period, but after hearing William say that Lance had a hard time too, she forgave him.

Now the whole family knows who Lance is and his career, but everyone has different ideas.

William saw this as an opportunity. He had already talked with the Federalists during the state party convention, and he planned to run for alderman in the Empire District, hoping to get the support of the Federalists.

The Federalist Party was very interested in his idea and said that as long as he did not ask the Federalist Party for money, the Federalist Party was willing to send people to support him.

He really needed to talk to Lance now.

Emily (Patricia's mother) also wanted to meet Lance. After all, she had only seen this kind of "gang boss" in the news, and she didn't think Lance was that scary.

Instead, he is more humble, polite and humorous than most people!

As for Patricia, her mind is a bit confused...

(End of this chapter)