Shadow Empire

Chapter 236: Sharing the Money, the Priest, and the Second Bank Run

In the morning, all the members of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce gathered at Lance's place because today was the day to divide the money.

In fact, they did have some concerns before. After all, is it really reliable to invest so much money?
But throughout the whole process, Lance brought some representatives to negotiate and sign the contract together, which made them completely relieved.

After all, they can check the Liji Group themselves. They don't believe that such a huge company would work with Lance to defraud them of such a small amount of money.

And Lance himself has also invested a lot of money, which makes people feel more at ease!

I have to say that ordinary people who have not experienced rounds of bombardment from scammers during this period are really too simple and honest.

Of course, Lance didn't lie to them.

Now, it's time to harvest. Although there may be some deviations from Lance's predicted plan, they are no longer dissatisfied with being able to double the return in more than two months.

The location was in the Cathedral of Saint-Neuer. Maybe it was a bit vulgar to talk about money in front of God, but Lance also expressed his piety to God - a check for two hundred dollars.

The priest put the check into his arms with a smile on his face. Sometimes their actions do make people doubt whether God really exists and who is the real God!

Soon the cathedral was full of people. As the largest church in the Empire, St. Nayet Cathedral could accommodate more than 300 people. But at this time, not only was it full of people, but the aisles were also full of people. There were at least 500 people.

When it comes to sharing money, they are willing to bring their families along. This may be the first "investment" and return they have ever encountered in their lives, and they will definitely take it very seriously.

Perhaps it was because he had collected two hundred dollars on behalf of God that the priest felt a little guilty. He was using his work to repent for his mistakes. He was helping, maintaining order, and chatting with parishioners.

When most people arrived, Lance asked the priest to close the door, but the priest not only did not leave, but stood back behind Lance.

This made Lance feel a little confused, but he said nothing and allowed him to stand there.

At this time, people's beliefs have not been harmed by the impact of Internet information. They still firmly believe in the existence of God and abide by the doctrine.

Having a priest on his side actually strengthened the credibility of Lance's words.

Erwin pulled a chair for Lance, and Lance sat on the podium under the statue of God. There was a small round table next to him with a notebook, some coffee and pastries on it.

Lance raised his hand and pressed it lightly, and the noisy cathedral suddenly became quiet.

“I have communicated with Roger (the elder of the Chamber of Commerce) and other representatives before, and the Liji Group has no intention of honoring our contract.”

"I have talked to lawyers. If they insist on doing this, even if we go to court and win, we are no match for them."

"Even if they put in all the profits from tearing up the contract and paid more, they would try their best to make us not make even a penny from this contract and even lose a lot of money."

"This is the capitalists' method. They see us as a challenger. When they do this, the conflict between us and them is no longer about how much benefit the contract can bring to us or them."

“It’s the attitude of an interest group facing challenges.”

"So they will do everything they can to drag us down in this lawsuit. I can already foresee the possibility that they will fabricate and forge evidence and witness testimonies. This is normal."

"So after some communication, I have talked to Jonathan, the vice president of Parkway Bank, and we mortgaged the contract to the bank for 2.75 million."

"Now, the money is in my hands..."

Many people in the church stood up in an instant. They looked at Lance with burning eyes, and some even shouted Lance's name.

Lance continued to raise his hand and press lightly to make them quiet down again.

"In fact, I think this contract will eventually bring us more than 3.5 million in profits, but because of them, we lost a lot of money."

"I'm sorry about that."

"I didn't expect the capitalists in the Federation to be so greedy. They were so greedy that they would reach out and plunder even though they knew they were in the wrong!"

As soon as Lance finished speaking, someone shouted, "It's not your fault, Mr. Lance, you have done everything you can!"

Soon people all agreed. Although it was a bit... regrettable not to make more money, doubling the profits made them very happy.

Moreover, money is only truly valuable when it is in your hands, isn't it?
Lance nodded. "I have tried hard on this matter, but there is no possibility of recovery, so I no longer hold out hope. I called you here today to share the money with you."

He picked up the notebook on the table and said, "This records the total amount of investment by each of you. According to calculations, your rate of return is 220%..."

Before Lance could finish his words, the priest behind him shouted "God" and made a gesture.

Lance looked back at him strangely, and the priest immediately smiled, tilted his head slightly, and bent his waist, as if to say that he would not speak again.

Lance retracted his gaze and opened his notebook. "I will now call out your names according to your ranking. Those who called out your names will come to me and I will give you a check. You can go to the bank to get your principal and profits."

"But I advise you not to keep the money in Jinda Bank after you get it. I don't want to talk about Mr. Chobaff... You know, I don't like to talk about others behind their backs."

"But since he followed the mayor, he has been spending money like crazy. I am worried whether the money is his own or belongs to the depositors."

The members of the Chamber of Commerce didn't care too much about the news at first, but when Lance said this, they vaguely realized that something was wrong.

Because they had heard before that Mr. Jobaf had invested in a railway and two factories, spending a total of five or six hundred thousand.

Adding on some gossips I heard from time to time, Mr. Jobaf may have spent millions in the past six months!
There is no consensus on how much money Mr. Jobaf has, but the consensus is that he has at least one million.

Now think about it carefully, if he has already spent the one million, then how much money does he have left, and how much money does he have left?

Roger (the old man of the Chamber of Commerce) couldn't help but stand up, "Mr. Lance, do you mean... Mr. Joebaff's bank might be in some danger?"

Lance directly denied it, "No, I didn't say that. I'm just worried. After all, it's not easy for you to make money."

"The money in the bank could be your life savings, or even the savings of two or three generations."

“I trust them more than bigger banks like Parkway and Broadcom.”

"I'm not saying I don't support Mr. Jobaf and his cause, I just want my money to be safer."

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. First, Mr. Roger, you invested four thousand... dollars, so you will get nine thousand... dollars."

Lance signed a check and said, "I'm not going to give you the remaining thirty-three points. I hope you don't mind."

Roger didn't even need his crutches anymore, he strode up to the podium, respectfully took the check from Lance's hand with both hands, and looked at the number and Lance's signature on it.

His beard trembled with excitement. "Mr. Lance... I don't know what to say..."

"This is our family's life savings. I never thought it would become so much so quickly. You've made me have some problems with my understanding of the world!"

Lance smiled and said, "Hopefully they're good questions, not bad ones."

Roger nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes!"

"I hope you will inform me next time when there is a good project. It is so satisfying to make money with you!"

A family has saved four thousand yuan in their lifetime. Is that too little?

It sounds like it is just the total salary of a person without food or drink for ten years, but in fact, it is not easy to save this amount of money. And it is not a small amount of money. It can buy two single-family houses, three small apartments, and two mid-range cars. It... is the dream of many ordinary families!

But now, a lifetime savings has doubled in less than three months. Perhaps this is why capital and finance, like deadly poison, can still be attractive!
When you start to taste the wonderful flavor it brings you, it means you can no longer live without it!

Making quick money is as addictive as making glue, and the pleasure it brings is countless times more intense!
Seeing Roger was about to say something, Lance rolled his eyes and said, "The people behind you want to eat you alive right now, you'd better go back and sit down!"

The person behind him gave an embarrassed smile, and his eyes were indeed about to pop out of his head, and the cathedral was filled with happy laughter.

This money is the profit after deducting 10% "share" and 5% "membership fee". No one can be dissatisfied with this profit.

"Next, sir, let me see, your total investment is 770 dollars. I have to say that you missed a chance to make a fortune."

"Here is your 1,694 yuan. I hope it can heal the wounds in your heart!"

Lance signed a check and handed it over. The gentleman took a deep breath, said thank you, and then took the check excitedly, as if he was getting married for the first time.

It was an exciting session, people followed the order spontaneously, Lance distributed money very quickly, and he read out each person's name and told everyone how much money he invested and how much return he got.

People will envy those who have invested the most, such as Roger. After all, more than 4,000 yuan suddenly became 9,000 yuan, which is enough for them to move to Priscilla and find a nice middle-class community to live in.

In fact, buying a house is also the obsession of federal people. They hope to move to a better house, make friends with better neighbors, and develop more connections.

The first thing many federal people do after making money is to change to a community that helps their work, rather than another one.

Of course, for the lowest class in society, enjoyment may be more important than buying a house, because they have no ambition to make progress, and enjoyment is their biggest pursuit in life.

The whole process lasted for more than two hours. When the last gentleman took the check for four hundred and forty dollars from Lance with a bit of embarrassment and vowed to bet it all on it next time even if he had to sell his house, the whole money-sharing meeting was over.

In fact, Lance still has a profitable business, but now, he needs the whole situation to ferment a little more.

"I know you're all getting impatient, so... go to the bank and cash the check. But I still say that it's best to keep your money in a big bank. The recent economic situation is a bit strange, and we have to take precautions."

"When there are good projects in a while, I will let you know."

He then announced the disbandment, and led by Roger, each of them lined up to shake Lance's hand and thank him for everything he had brought before leaving.

Even though they were eager to exchange the check for cash at this moment, no one left early.

The priest standing by felt his scalp tingling and got goose bumps all over his body because all this was too "ritualistic".

If he hadn't witnessed the whole process with his own eyes, he would even think that Lance was the master here, or even a patriarch or something like that!
When the last person left, the priest couldn't help but come over and said, "Mr. Lance..."

Lance packed up his notebook, then looked at him curiously, "What's going on, Father?"

"That's right, Mr. Lance. If I want to join your...Imperial Chamber of Commerce, is that okay?"

Lance showed a matter-of-fact expression, "Of course, Father, you have served us in the Empire District for so many years, we have long regarded you as our family. On behalf of the Empire Chamber of Commerce, I welcome you to join us."

The priest was overjoyed and took the initiative to shake Lance's hand, "Then your investment next time..."

"It will be here soon!"

The priest shook his hand vigorously, "God just told me that you can use this for free anytime and anywhere in the future!"

This was an interesting priest. Lance did not refuse his kindness. “Please say hello to God for me and thank him for his generosity.”

The priest didn't know whether God was generous or not, but Mr. Lans must be generous. He laughed happily, as if God had really sent down an oracle, and he couldn't stop laughing.

Lance had greeted Jonathan before, so when a large number of people came with checks, the bank did not stop them from exchanging them. Instead, they actively cooperated with them to open accounts at Parkson Bank.

Although some people withdrew some cash, most people still deposited the money in Parkson Bank.

These more than 500 new customers are also Jonathan’s “achievements”.

This matter soon began to spread within the Empire Region to a limited extent, because the money in the hands of these investors did not entirely come from themselves.

Some of the braver ones even borrowed money from relatives and friends. Now that Lance has fulfilled his promise, it is time for them to fulfill theirs.

When the relatives and friends of these people saw them return with the agreed interest and principal, everyone showed a surprised expression.

In fact, some people didn’t think about getting the money back when they lent it out, but not only did they get the money back, but they also got a lot of interest, so they became curious.

Curiosity drives the world forward. Their curiosity may not change the course of history, but it will make them ask their questions.

Where did this money come from?
When the news that "the Chamber of Commerce can make money, and make a lot of money" quickly spread, those merchants who had not participated before began to ask if they could join.

Lance has a very strict rule that three members can only recommend one non-member to become a member every two years. In other words, if they give the opportunity to others, it means that their relatives will have no chance.

They are not sure what the Chamber of Commerce can do in the future besides making money, but they have realized that the importance of the Chamber of Commerce may be more than just making money.

This made some people regret it terribly. If they had known earlier, they would have joined. It was only five dollars a month...

In addition to this news, rumors that Mr. Jobav's Jinda Bank might have problems also began to spread.

Don't underestimate the sociability of these people. Soon, the old men on the street used various channels to calculate Mr. Jobaf's investments over the past six months, which amounted to about 900,000 yuan.

There are many people among the public who know that Mr. Jobaf was blackmailed. When processing this information, they will add some subjective opinions, and they may think that the amount of blackmail will be huge.

After all, he was Mr. Jobaf, and it would be a bit unworthy of his status if he extorted less.

Thus, a news that "Jinda Bank might be in deficit" began to spread within the Empire Zone.

This news actually did not have much impact on the federal people, because the federal people would not deposit their money in such a private bank with obvious regional characteristics.

The only people who would actually deposit money here are the people of the Empire.

Now, their money seems less safe.

Mr. Jobaf found out about this at the end of April. His assistant is not with him now. He has recruited a new federal person, who is said to be a graduate of a famous university in the alliance, in his thirties, and has some connections in Likalai State.

This guy was not from the Empire and did not live in the Empire area, so he could not tell Mr. Jobaf the news quickly.

By the time he found out about this, a large number of people were withdrawing money from the bank again.

When he learned the news from some people, his expression became more murderous than before.

The mayor's experience made him begin to truly accept people like Mr. Jobaf, so Mr. Jobaf also participated in some deeper decision-making.

His aura and temperament were changing. Through analyzing some rumors, he knew who was behind it.

He thought for a while, picked up the phone and called Lance.

"We need to talk..."

(End of this chapter)