Shadow Empire

Chapter 197: Being Young is Good and Being a Guest
Eric used to have money, and sometimes he would deduct a little from the accounts he handled, so it was no problem for him to get one or two thousand dollars a month.

In addition, there will be some people who will take the initiative to give him some money, or he will use the same method as he did to Lance to extort money from some businessmen.

His uncle, or rumor has it, his father is the mayor, so sometimes he can act unscrupulously.

Only by showing such recklessness can he live up to the rumored identity.

In fact, Lawyer Orson knew everything, but he acted as if he knew nothing, which also contributed to Eric's arrogance.

Maybe he was uneasy at the beginning, but when he found out that he had done something bad and Lawyer Orson and the mayor didn't bother him either, he began to become more and more arrogant step by step under indulgence.

The mayor didn't care about it. Lawyer Orson would report most of the situations to him in a timely manner. This little money, including blackmail, was a trivial matter in his eyes. Sometimes he even indulged Eric's behavior.

All this also made the rumors spread more widely, and many people seemed to know about these things.

However, although Eric had many ways to make money, he couldn't save money.

The concept of consumption is directly proportional to income.

Those illegal immigrants working at the dock who earn sixteen dollars a month can save a few dollars a month if they can fill their stomachs and buy a new set of clothes every few months.

But shouldn’t those middle class people with significantly higher incomes each save tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars?

But the fact is that some of them are even burdened with a lot of debt!

As for Eric, he also couldn't save money.

The high income gave him a feeling that it was not so real.

Whenever I want to save money, I can save it quickly.

In addition, since he started pursuing Shayna recently, he has even less money in his pocket. Otherwise, he would not have extorted more than 10,000 yuan from Lance, which was originally Lance's dividend, to pursue the girl.

Now he has ordered the car, but he doesn't have enough money, and he is very annoyed.

While he was annoyed, he was also a little curious, "Can a few gambling tables equal the revenue of the entire nightclub?"

He found it a little unbelievable because he had never been involved in this kind of gray industry before, and it was basically Lawyer Orson who helped him solve everything.

For example, they would help him with all the legal documents, and he only needed to sign, and then they would deposit the money into the account designated by Lawyer Orson.

This is the first time that a project has anything to do with gang business.

Lance explained patiently, "In fact, its proportion is a little higher than we thought. Each gambling table can provide us with a minimum income of three hundred to five hundred dollars a day."

"Four gambling tables cost about a thousand dollars, which means at least 20,000 to 30,000 dollars a month."

"The revenue from all our nightclubs combined is not as high as the revenue from these four gaming tables."

"It's winter now, so not many people are out having fun. When summer comes, those few gambling tables can bring us 40,000 to 50,000 yuan or even more in revenue every month."

"Heller had been staying here all this time just for those gambling tables."

"Now that our gambling tables have been removed, we are already doing well if we can make a profit of 10,000 yuan a month."

The income last month was over 20,000 because those gambling tables were still “paying taxes” to the Kodak family at the time, and the taxes were not cheap, so half of them were taken away by them.

This was also the reason why the deal was not reached. Lawyer Orson wanted to lower the "tax rate", but the Kodak family did not agree.

It is understandable that they disagree. If the mayor says today that he wants to set up a few gambling tables and not pay taxes, or only pay 10% or 20%, then tomorrow there will be a large number of gambling tables registered under the name of the mayor, congressmen, state government officials or municipal officials.

If you collect taxes from them, it means you are not giving them face.

But if their taxes are not collected, the Kodak family will face new challenges.

How could a situation that had taken decades to stabilize be broken so easily by themselves?
Lawyer Orson talked to them a lot, including some subsequent developments, but failed to impress the Kodak family.

Not only did they not allow the casino to continue operating here, they also moved away all the gaming tables and gaming equipment.

Although the mayor did not show any obvious emotional changes after hearing this, Lawyer Orson and his secretary could sense that he was very unhappy!
So let alone the mayor, even if the governor comes, he must ensure that the governor's gambling table must pay 50% tax to the Kodak family, unless the other party has a legal gambling table license.

However, according to the considerations of the state government and Congress, they currently have no plans to continue issuing licenses in Jingang City. This is also related to the fact that the Kodak family has already opened up a network of interest transfer to Congress.

If they agree with this idea, their own income will decrease. This is not an endless market. There are only so many gamblers.

Even if they opened another hundred, the gamblers and the environment in Jingang City were so small that they would not get more income. Instead, they would have unpleasantness with the Kodak family.

Jingang City will basically not approve any more gambling table licenses. If you want to gain a foothold in this industry, you must listen to them.

Eric didn't know so many things behind it. His brain was not very good. Sometimes he didn't look that stupid, only because everything was done by Lawyer Orson.

He only needs to be responsible for a process that any fool can do, so he won't look too stupid.

“Is the gambling table really that profitable?”

Lance nodded. "It's very profitable. If we put... six or eight gambling tables on the third floor, we can make several thousand dollars a night."

"Master Eric, there are no poor people who come to the nightclub to play. Winning or losing tens or hundreds of dollars is within their acceptable range."

Eric blushed a little after hearing this, and his body was heating up!
Earning thousands of dollars in one night?

He thought not simply about how much money he could make, but about how much he could accomplish with that money.

If his previous pursuit of Shayna was driven by his personal desires, then pursuing Shayna now is not only his own business, but also the dignity of his uncle the mayor!
This battle cannot be lost.

It’s just that the mayor’s statement was very subtle. He didn’t tell him whether there was a “degree”, but just asked him to do it and not lose face.

At this time, Eric had a feeling that "I have joined a big event for adults, and I am eager to play an important role to let the mayor uncle recognize my abilities."

While he was thinking about these things, Lance interrupted his thoughts with a smile, "But I think it's okay."

Eric looked up at him, his eyes confused for a moment, then he frowned, "Why?"

The smile on Lance's face had long since disappeared. "Because this is Jingang City, whether or not we can put up a gambling table depends on the Kodak family. Even if it is..."

He stopped talking halfway through, but everyone could hear what he was trying to say.

Even the mayor has to abide by this rule!

Eric slammed the table, his eyes turned unfriendly, "Even if it's what?"

Lance laughed a few times at this time, "Even if we don't put up the gambling tables, we can still make money."

"Although the competition is fierce now, we are the only nightclub in the Empire District. After deducting other expenses, we can still make 7,000 to 8,000 yuan a month."

"Including the other bars, 20,000 yuan a month is a very good income."

Eric's breathing quickened a little, and he knew that was not what Lance meant.

He had complicated emotions towards the mayor, but mostly respect, admiration, and fear.

In his mind, the mayor uncle has long played the role of a strict yet kind father. He would not allow a lower class person to look down on his mayor uncle like this!
"That's not what you mean, Lance!" His reaction didn't seem slow. "You think we are outsiders. This is your Jingang City. Even we have to abide by your rules, right?"

His emotions began to fluctuate as he thought about some of the recent times he had been targeted. Those people didn't give him any face at all, even though that damn rumor was already known to almost everyone!

They still didn't give him face, but instead banded together to deal with him, just because he was an "outsider" and this was their local territory.

He thought of his uncle the mayor, who was rarely talking to him about his troubles, about the troubles, tests, and even harms these ungrateful locals had inflicted on him! He felt a surge of anger in his chest!
Lance made a gesture of concession. He leaned back as far as he could and raised his hands, but only to his chest, shaking his palms outwards. "No, that's not what I meant..."

But the expressions on his face, his eyes, and his actions mixed together, clearly said "it's good for you to fucking know it"!
Eric slammed the table hard and stood up suddenly. His chest was heaving violently, and his eyes were fixed on Lance. "If we put the gambling table on now, when will we see the money?"

Lance continued to persuade him, "You'd better report to Lawyer Orson or the mayor. Your idea...is not very mature, Master Eric."

"Huh?" He said, as if he had heard something very funny. "Am I immature?"

He looked back at the lackeys who had also stood up. They all gave him an expression that said "you're awesome", which gave him a little comfort.

He turned and looked at Lance, "Do as I say."

Lance still didn't compromise, as if he really cared about Eric, "This will cause trouble. You know, the Kodak family is one of the five major families in Jingang. If they don't allow it, we can't put up a gambling table. This is the rule!"

Eric's anger reached its MAX level again!
He slammed his hands on the table, causing the heavy wooden table to shake. "They are not the mayor!"

The two men stared at each other, and Lance "retreated" from the gaze. He looked away, as if he had softened his attitude and compromised under Eric's sharp gaze.

"Okay, Master Eric, but if the mayor or Mr. Orson asks..."

He gave the answer Lance wanted, "I'm responsible!"

Lance respected his decision, which calmed Eric down a little, but only a little. Now he needed to vent, and Red High Heels was the best place.

He left with his lackeys, but he told Lance that he needed to see at least $15,000 in revenue in a week.

Because the car he ordered needed to be shipped from another city, the local cars were either booked or there was no ivory white one, so one needed to be shipped from the next state.

After he paid five thousand dollars in cash, he would need to pay the remaining amount of fourteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine when the car arrived.

Lance stood by the window and watched Eric leave with a group of lackeys. He shook his head slightly, what an idiot! He hoped that his mayor, who was both his father and uncle, would not get so angry that he had high blood pressure when he knew about this.

In the evening, after closing, everyone left. Lance called everyone and drove the truck directly to the Imperial District Police Station.

He has already informed Chief of the Blue Police Station, who will not come here himself, and the people from the police station will assist them in handling these matters.

Everyone was familiar with Lance and greeted each other in a friendly manner when they met. They even moved the gambling tables and gambling equipment out of the evidence warehouse separately and piled them outside the warehouse of the police station.

There were a dozen police officers helping out, and Lance gave them an envelope filled with ten-dollar bills.

He knew a deputy sheriff here, who was Blue's assistant. He handed the envelope to the other party and said, "Give it to everyone. Each person will get twenty dollars. I can't let you help for nothing."

"After the night shift, go get something nice to eat, have a drink, and take something home..."

The deputy sheriff squeezed the envelope and smiled. He held the envelope in his hand and said something hypocritical and polite, "Mr. Lance, you are too polite. There is no need to be so polite. Police-civilian cooperation has always been our tradition."

Lance has never been afraid of hypocritical people. He smiled and said, "Yes, this is our little token of appreciation, helping each other."

"Then... on behalf of everyone, thank you for your generosity!"

Lance patted his arm and smiled without saying anything.

Soon the gambling tables and gambling equipment were loaded onto a truck and transported to the outside of the Empire Night nightclub in the dark.

It was already past three o'clock, almost four, and the streets were quiet.

The nightclub was also full of our own people - Lawyer Orson did arrange some staff, but those staff were mainly responsible for administrative work, not night shifts.

These hard, tiring and low-income jobs are all done by Lance's people.

Soon, they rearranged the gaming tables and equipment and simply cleaned the controlled house, including the gaming tables and equipment.

Looking at the brand new chips, although they are not chips exclusive to the Kodak family, they still exude an incomprehensible charming luster.

"We're short some dealers."

Lance picked up a brand new box of playing cards and dealt six cards. It was a very common blackjack. "Morris is familiar with this. If you can find a professional dealer, go find one. If you can't find one, it doesn't matter."

"There is no trick to blackjack. The dealer always has an absolute advantage."

The dealer always deals the cards last. He can make a detailed analysis based on the specific situation on the table. As long as he can make a tie, he can go directly to the next round.

If you can win one or two, that’s pure profit!
Lance did it simply a few times, and the young people who gathered around him understood it roughly. They tried it themselves and found that it was indeed the case.

Gambling and liquor smuggling are the two most profitable things in this era.

The green velvet of the eight gambling tables and the colorful chips seemed to glow fluorescently under the hanging lights. Lance had a small pile of chips in his hand, which he was cutting back and forth skillfully.

He seemed to be thinking about something, calculating something, but it was not so obvious.

After a while, he came back to his senses and said, "Let Morris contact the local gamblers and tell them that we are reopened."

Morris had been hanging out in various underground casinos in the Empire District since he was a child. He knew where to find these gamblers and also knew that those people were of higher class.

After solving this problem, there is only one last link left in the whole plan that needs to be implemented - make Ms. Kailu shut up!

The next morning, Accountant Kailu arrived at Empire Night Company on time. She was invited by Lawyer Orson from a well-known accounting firm in Jingang City.

In fact, Lawyer Orson and the mayor all have their own dedicated accountants. These accountants are very proficient in their business, but they do not work outside because they know a lot of secrets and it is impossible for them to be randomly thrown into a nightclub to work.

Ms. Kailu has nothing to like or dislike about this job. It is just a job and she does what her employer asks, that's all.

When she came today, she found that the door to the third floor, which had been vacant, was closed again and seemed to have been cleaned.

She didn't have any intention of finding out the truth because that was Lance's job.

Whatever he wanted to do, as long as he wanted a budget, he would eventually have to submit the plan to her.

Ms. Kailu doesn't take the manager Lance very seriously, he is just a member of the lower class of society.

She had heard of Lance's name, but she was not very scared because she knew what Lawyer Orson and the firm behind him, as well as the mayor hidden deeper, represented.

If she was hurt, Lance would not only hurt her, but would also be a provocation and harm to Orson and the mayor behind him.

Moreover, the accounting firm she works for will also stand up for her. It is a firm that has connections in the Bay Area!

That's why she's so tough at work, she's not afraid of Lance at all!
It was a boring day's work, but she kept persisting because of the decent salary.

The life of the middle class is not as good as people imagine. They only show their fatigue when there are no outsiders around.

The family had various loans and bills to pay, and even though they could afford such spending, she still felt it was too much.

She hadn't seen Lance the whole day, but that was normal. The nightclub's business would not change much with or without this manager.

At six o'clock, she packed her things, locked some documents in the safe, and drove away.

When she returned to her home in Pricia, she was somewhat surprised to see a car at the door that was not hers or her husband's. Was someone coming?
It might be my husband’s colleague, who sometimes comes over to play.

Ms. Kailu opened the door with her bag on her back. She took off her shoes and put on slippers while asking, "Honey, is anyone coming to visit?"

“I saw the car at the door!”

Soon her husband's voice came from the house, "Yes, dear, your colleague is here to visit you..."

(End of this chapter)