Shadow Empire

Chapter 232 Five Dollars of Intelligence and Choice and Jack

Where can I get wine?

Several old men looked at each other, and one of them shook his head. "I'm not sure about that. The prohibition on alcohol is so strictly enforced now. Who knows?"

Not only did he know about it, he had also been there. If he had had some money in his pocket, he would have gone there often.

There are more girls in Lans' bar. These young girls exude fiery youthful vitality. Just buy them a drink... Do you think they will go with you?

No, they flirt with you.

But even if it was just flirting, for these old men it was one of the reasons why they didn't want to leave this world!
So, they knew where the bar was, but the reason they didn't tell me was because of this middle-aged man who spoke with a very orthodox Federal accent.

Just hearing this accent can imagine his life -

Living in a lower-class federal family, the father should be a working-class person, and they will have some special language habits when speaking, which will affect their family members.

He must have attended an ordinary school and received a very ordinary federal education, and the methods and ways he expressed them were like this.

He didn't have the Imperial accent, the kind of accent a real immigrant should have, and his eyes didn't look like a real immigrant.

The most important thing is that no one has ever seen this person.

The middle-aged man shrugged. "Okay, I'll look elsewhere, but anyway..." He took a deep breath. "I feel much better after talking to you. I'll come again tomorrow. I found that talking to you is more effective than seeing a psychiatrist."

The old men naturally agreed with a smile, and the middle-aged man thought that he should first get acquainted with this group of people and then suggest inviting them for a drink.

Given the poverty of these old men, they certainly wouldn't be able to refuse this, and by then he would know where the nearby bars were.

He glanced at the remaining bread and said, "I have to find a job. I have some bread left for you."

He ate it by plucking it with his hands. This is how people here eat bread, so it is relatively clean.

The old people all expressed their gratitude. Of course they had no objection to having free bread.

After watching this guy leave, the three old men looked at each other.

One of them, a bald old man with gray hair and large age spots on his face, stood up with the help of a cane and said, "It's my turn this time."

The other two old men looked envious and jealous. The three of them were good friends and had agreed that when they discovered something, they would take turns to report it.

This is fair to everyone. If your information is not as much as others, then it can only be said that God does not want you to get too much without any effort, that's all!

The old man happily got on the bus with his crutches. About ten minutes later, he arrived at the central area of ​​the Imperial District.

This place has become a little more prosperous in the past two years.

As soon as he got off the bus, he saw Bolton sitting in an open-air cafe on the corner of the street, and walked over quickly.

"Good morning, Mr. Bolton." The old man took off his fisherman's hat, put it in his palm and pressed it against his chest.

Bolton nodded. "Good morning, sir. Do you have anything to say?"

The old man spoke out the information he had obtained without hesitation, "Someone is asking if there is a bar nearby."

As he spoke, he described the middle-aged man's situation, then bent slightly and gave a flattering smile.

After listening to this, Bolton took out a wad of money from his pocket, and the old man's eyes almost lit up!
He had already thought about how to spend the money next. He could go have a drink with the young girl who had always said that she liked his maturity. Maybe she really loved him and was willing to leave the bar with him.

This way he can also get a room in a hotel. Although he doesn't know if his thing can still survive the battlefield, he thinks it will be no problem.

The little money that's left over can be saved and used to eat well throughout the month, with an occasional slice of smoked ham or something.

Bolton took out a five-dollar bill from the stack of money and handed it over. The old man took it with a smile and continued to look at the stack of money.

But he didn't get the second one, because Bolton put the money back into his pocket.

He looked at the old man's stunned expression and explained, "You are the fourth person to tell me this. Logically, I should not give you money. We said that only the first three pieces of intelligence are valuable."

"But since you ran so far, I'll still give you five dollars."

"You'd better be faster next time, otherwise..." He curled his lips and took a sip of coffee, "Would you like a cup?"

The old man looked at Burton, then at the coffee, and finally shook his head. "No, don't bother, Mr. Burton. Although it's only five dollars, it's very good for me."

"Can I ask the first person who got this information how much he took from you?"

Bolton put down his coffee cup, pursed his lips, and let the remaining coffee on his lips roll into his mouth. "Fifty dollars."

"Fuck!" the old man cursed in a low voice. The fifty dollars originally belonged to him!
He took a deep breath, "That guy said he would come again tomorrow..."

Mr. Bolton watched him cross his legs and put his hands on his waist. "Then you have to run faster tomorrow."

Eventually the old man left. To him, the current Lance family was much better than the previous gangs. Not only did they not make things difficult for them or ask them for money, they also gave them money, although it was not much.

But this is indeed much better than before. He has no interest in making things difficult for anyone, nor does he dare to do so.

Looking at the old man's departing back, Bolton, based on some recent events, could actually guess that it was the Viper Gang that was planning to attack Lance's bar.

He spent a short while weighing the pros and cons in his mind, wondering whether he should tell Lance the news truthfully.
He asked himself if Lance would know if he didn't tell him.

The answer is obvious, Lance must have known the news through other channels.

And now that Lance has fallen, his days may not be any easier.

The Viper Gang might not necessarily value him so much, nor might they necessarily give him the treatment he has now.

On the contrary, Lance still "respected" him so much that he allowed him to continue working for the family, which not only gave him status and respect, but also gave him more income.

Rob's death made him very sad, but he did not dare to seek revenge. He was afraid of pain and death.

He said to himself in the bathroom mirror, "You are a coward!", but in the end he could only accept this title.

Although he also hated Lance for being so merciless, and hated that idiot Rob for doing something else but betraying Lance.

But in the end, it all came to an end, at least for now.

He needs a better life, a better future, a higher status, and more power!

Pava is the root that determines everything!

He took out a cigarette and lit it. The originally clear sky suddenly became overcast. With a loud spring thunder, a thunderstorm began to fall within a few minutes.

Thunderstorms are very common near the seaside in spring and summer. Perhaps a gust of wind will blow a large number of rain clouds over from the sea, and rainfall will occur immediately.

But this kind of rainfall does not last long. The heavy rain, like God pouring down from the sky with a basin, not only washes away the dust in the air, but also the dust in people's spirits and souls.

Ten minutes later, the sun smiled again, its rays of light once again illuminated the world, and Bolton stood up.

His shiny brown leather shoes stepped on the small amount of water on the side of the road, splashing the water to both sides. His slightly wet trouser legs did not become an obstacle to stop him from continuing to walk out.

He walked to the public telephone booth, put in a two-cent coin, and dialed Lan Si's number.

"Lance, a lot of people are asking about the location of our bar. They might be from Brinton..."

"I see……"

Lance put down the phone, not surprised.

As the mayor's dog transferred from other places, Brinton must bite people to show his value.

To be a dog, one must have the awareness of being a dog. Whether he likes it or not, he must show his loyalty to his duties.

"Call Morris over..." Morris was not there. He went outside. Now, in addition to Bolton, Lance also had Morris monitoring the situation in the entire imperial area.

Two or three young men wearing red armbands patrolling the streets can often be seen. They are called the "patrol team" and Morris is in charge of them.

These people not only have to maintain order on the streets, but also collect some intelligence.

Because Lance did not charge any fees and did not force people to join the Imperial Chamber of Commerce, merchants throughout the entire imperial region now maintain a good relationship with the Lance family.

They are more willing than anyone else to let the Lans family continue to operate for a long time, because as long as no fees are charged, it means they can get more profits every month!
Who would complain that they earn too much money?

They would also take the initiative to tell Morris's people some of the intelligence they obtained.

Two lines, one visible and one hidden, firmly control all matters, big and small, within the empire.

Even if someone was arguing, as long as Lance wanted to know why the argument happened and what the outcome was, someone would deliver the detailed information to him.

"Go ask if anyone knows Fides. It would be even better if they know the Viper Gang."

Erwin stood up from the couch, "Are we going to war with them?"

Lance leaned back, "Of course, he's planning on attacking us. We can't just wait until the bullet hits us before we fight back."

"Besides, Erwin, the rules have been messed up. As the conflict between locals and outsiders escalates, we no longer need to abide by many rules. Everything has returned to the initial stage, where only interests matter!"

After Alvin left, Lance left the company and went to the racetrack. Today was horse racing day.

Horse racing is also a very popular sport in Jingang City, because it not only brings more wealth to the rich, but also brings some diversion to ordinary people.

The racetrack sells horse racing tickets, and if you guess correctly, you can win a prize.

With so many ways to play, there are always people who fantasize about getting rich overnight and participate in a sport they don’t actually understand at all.

More than half of the people at the racetrack have never ridden a horse, and 99 percent of them have never owned a horse of their own.

Their love for horse racing and horses is simply because these things can bring them financial income.

After Lance parked the car, Ethan opened the door for him. At this tense moment, he would most likely not come out alone. Not only did Ethan come, but Madore also followed him with three veterans.

He came here because this was the place where Lance and Jack had agreed to meet. When he arrived at the racecourse, it was already crowded with people.

At a glance, it was almost full of people. They were holding "Horse Racing Guide" or "Horse Racing Newspaper" in their hands and exchanging their opinions in groups of three or five. There was still more than an hour before the race.

They have to make a decision before the start, which is not an easy thing for everyone, because for those dream chasers, as long as they are not betting on a single game, there is almost no margin for error!

Lance soon saw Jack at the place he had agreed to meet.

Jack was wearing a flat hat and very formal attire today, because horse racing is an easy sport, even though all these people had to do next was wave their tickets and shout the horses' names.

However, they still consider themselves gentlemen, and even some high-end racetracks refuse entry to people who are not wearing formal attire.

So here, almost everyone wears very formal clothes.

Lance walked over and greeted them from a distance. When Jack turned around and saw him, he waved.

The two shook hands after they met, and he introduced Lance to the others, "This is my cousin Patricia's boyfriend. Maybe you have heard of his name, Lance White."

The people around him immediately understood and became more enthusiastic, shaking hands with Lance one after another.

Jack took the initiative to say, "We have something to talk about. Please excuse me for a moment..."

Naturally, the others would not stop them. The two men walked aside and Jack gave Lance a cigarette.

The two had met last time, so they were not too strangers. With cigarettes, a male social tool, they entered the social state without any frustration.

Jack was older than Lance, and he started with a topic that was familiar to both of them. "William has been actively participating in various family gatherings recently, and he always mentioned you. He said that you played an irreplaceable role in his career!"

"I'm honored that he said that. At least it makes me feel that helping him is worthwhile." Lance was not modest. He was modest depending on the occasion.

Jack continued, "I heard some of your stories, and I was a little surprised when William told me that you wanted to talk to me."

"Look, I'm neither a gang member nor the chief of police. It seems that my work in customs won't be of much use to you. After all, your smuggled liquor won't come in through customs."

He couldn't help laughing when he said this, the current Coast Patrol was fucking fake, but of course it wasn't their fault.

Nowadays, large-scale smuggling teams are equipped with heavy weapons, and if the coast patrol encounters them, they basically have to hold their breath on the bottom of the sea.

So don't expect the Coast Guard to be very responsible. Sometimes, if they really see something, they will just pretend not to see it.

As for the smuggling of those large conglomerates, even a small customs officer dare not investigate. For example, there are many contraband and smuggled goods in the warehouse at the Jingang City Wharf. Everyone knows about this, but who dares to investigate?

This is a minefield. If one person goes there, one will die. If two go there, both will die.

So the customs is in such an awkward situation now. Relatively speaking, it is not their turn to regulate smuggling that is not measured in hundreds of tons.

It was their turn to deal with smuggling, but they didn't dare to intervene. He didn't know what Lance might need to contact him about.

"Sooner or later the federal government will pay attention to customs issues, and then your work intensity and responsibilities will increase."

Jack smiled. He believed that this day would come, but in the short term, it was hard to say whether he would even have the chance to see it. "Let's hope so."

Lance then explained his purpose, "I signed a contract with the Liji Group before, and I bought 10,000 tons of grapes from them at a very low price."

Jack whistled, emphasizing the quantifier, "Ten thousand tons!"

"Yes, 10,000 tons." Lance continued, "You should know the current price of grapes. They grow very fast. They don't intend to fulfill the contract. They unilaterally tore up the contract and planned to sue me to prevent me from fulfilling the contract."

"I have now transferred this contract to the bank through some connections."

"A smart move, although you will lose a lot of money!" Jack knew this better than Patricia, so he could see Lance's decisiveness at a glance.

Before the contract got involved in any legal disputes, it was directly transferred to the bank. Then, if Lance breached the contract, the bank would have to assert its claim against the contract dispute with the Liji Group in order to avoid incurring heavy losses.

The conflicting parties changed from Lans and Liji Group to the bank and Liji Group.

Even though the Liji Group is a monopoly group, they still have to consider the consequences when dealing with banks.

This matter must be done sooner rather than later, because once a contract dispute arises, the bank's risk department will not agree to accept this huge contract, so Jack thinks Lance is a very decisive person.

After all, it may sound like a simple thing, but in reality, it represents a loss of hundreds of thousands or even millions.

Not everyone has the awareness to make the most correct decision in the shortest time.

At the same time, he was a little curious. "It may be a bit presumptuous, but I still want to know, how much money did you lose?"

Lance was silent for a while, about five or six seconds, "A conservative estimate is one million, maybe one and a half million or even more."

Jack took a deep breath and subconsciously glanced at the lottery ticket in his hand. Even if he won all the prizes, he would only make a profit of a few hundred thousand.

This is only if you are extremely lucky!

He suddenly understood why William was shaking again at the family gathering. No matter who has a big financial backer behind him, it is impossible to keep a low profile.

This also made Jack a little tempted. After all, Lance was dating Patricia and supported William's campaign, so there was a high probability that they would become a family, right?
Since we are a family...

Can I get some help from this too?
We are a family after all!

He showed a sad expression, but he couldn't hide the indescribable light in his eyes. "I'm sorry to hear the news. What can I do for you?"

(End of this chapter)