Shadow Empire

Chapter 406 Daily Family Gathering
Standing outside the casino, Salifo looked at Alberto and Francisco walking out of the room, and a smile appeared on his face.

If these two people did not follow him out and remained inside, then he would have to consider leaving Jingang City.

He could fight against the Cassia family, but he couldn't fight against anyone else.

The Kodak family may not be that powerful in his eyes, but they do have a lot of money and can mobilize some political connections.

These relationships and this money will enable the Cassia family to end the war as soon as possible.

You don't even need to think about it, you can understand that they must be in the same group!

But now there are still people standing on his side, so he has the confidence to continue to cause trouble for these people!
"They want us to let go of our hatred with just a few words. This is absolutely impossible!"

"Alberto, we need to form an alliance and fight them together!"

"Otherwise, with only one of us, we may not be their opponent."

Alberto nodded, "Besides, I have an ally who is interested in taking them down, maybe we can sit down and talk."

Salifu was a little curious. Anyone who dared to be "interested" in the five major families in Jingang City would not be an unknown little character. "Who is he?"

"Lance!"

"Okay, I get it... no problem, that's it, see you then."

Lance hung up the phone. It was Alberto who called. He had rejected the Kodak family's mediation. At the same time, the Tita family was also very opposed to this matter. Now the two sides have united together.

But to fight against the two traitor groups and the Keane family whose position is still unclear, they need some external help.

This foreign aid is Lance.

This is not a small matter. It cannot be explained in a few words on the phone. We need to sit down and negotiate in detail. This is related to the issue of how to distribute the benefits after the success.

Only after we sit down to talk and reach a consensus, can we start taking action.

Lance walked to the mirror, adjusted his clothes in front of his reflection, then left the room with his hat.

"Call me if you have anything, you know the number!", he looked at Erwin, who nodded.

He was going to attend a gathering of the Lawrence family. On the one hand, the big families in the Federation often had a tradition of getting together every once in a while, and on the other hand, it was because William was about to run for city councilor.

Although he has no chance of losing in all aspects, this is still a very important matter for family members. They need to let William feel the power of the family!

Many people who don't know much about the Federation have always heard rumors about the "independence" of Federation people and Federation families, such as "Federal people will move out of their homes when they graduate from high school at the age of 18" or "Federal people will work part-time to earn their tuition and living expenses after going to college."

In these rumors, it seems that every federal person and federal family is independent, hardworking and excellent, but is this really the case?
Of course not. Moving out of home after graduating from high school simply means that parents can no longer afford or are unwilling to continue to bear the cost of the child's subsequent life.

They can continue to live in their parents' house unless they pay a living expense to their parents.

Otherwise, they will be required to live on their own, or at least not continue to add financial burden to their parents' lives.

The same is true for college students who have many part-time jobs. Not everyone can have their family give them a large sum of money after paying their college tuition so that they can enjoy their college life without worries.

Most college students have heavy student loans, which have drained their families' short-term finances. If they don't work part-time, they won't be able to get more financial help from their families.

On the contrary, the upper-middle classes, especially the upper class, who are supposed to represent federal society, are completely the opposite of the federal people in the rumors.

They will live in a large manor and try their best to arrange for each child to be with them. Even if the children want to go out and live independently, the elderly will still be reluctant to let them go.

Family relationships are always related to the amount of wealth. The richer the family, the more harmonious the relationships, and the more reluctant family members are to leave each other.

Who the hell would want to leave a multimillionaire grandfather and go out to live a hard life on their own?

On the contrary, the poorer the family, the more indifferent and independent the relationships among its family members.

When your grandfather is in debt, you just want to stay away from him!

The Lawrence family was not a lower-class family, but a typical landlord class. Their wealthy life meant that they might not live together like those wealthier families.

But they still get together every once in a while.

As Patricia's boyfriend and William's "political partner", it is obviously necessary for Lance to participate.

Erwin nodded, "You told me your number, have a good night!"

Lance smiled and said, "Thank you. You should also consider this matter."

After he finished speaking, he put on his hat and left the company.

The fleet of 20,000-dollar luxury cars looks different, and the traffic on the road changes because of their influx.

Lance first picked up Patricia and Lawrence and his wife, and then they came to Barbara's big villa together.

Although they were severely ripped off by the scam group and the debt problem was solved by Lance, except for the loss of some cash which was indeed heartbreaking, it had not yet reached the stage of serious damage.

Seeing the luxurious motorcade parked outside, Barbara hurriedly ran down from the second floor, holding up her skirt, and shouted to her father as she ran, "Uncle William is here."

The fat man took a deep breath and walked towards the door with his wife and daughter.

"I thought you would be a little later." He hugged William. The two brothers didn't have much to say. If they talked too much, they would seem strangers.

The two ladies simply greeted each other, and everyone's eyes were focused on Lance and Patricia.

Today Lance picked out a blue headband with pearls and shell hangers, a pair of amethyst earrings, and a beautiful gemstone necklace for Patricia.

Her skin was very fair, so she could match any color of accessories. Even though it was already evening and the light was not that strong, she still looked so radiant.

"Sister Barbara!" Patricia let go of Lance's arm and took the initiative to go over and put her face close to Barbara's. "You look so beautiful!"

Barbara smiled and flattered her, "When you didn't say anything, I thought it was some princess who came to our party!"

Her eyes focused on the jewels, then she took Patricia's hand and looked at Lance.

His father took the initiative to walk over and stretched out his hand, shaking Lance's hand, "Thank you for your help last time, otherwise I really don't know what to do!"

Lance shook his hand and patted his arm. "Don't be so grateful to me. This is just a simple thing for me."

"Whether it's troublesome for you or not, you helped us!"

"Thank you!"

Lance smiled and patted his hands, "We're all family."

After they let go of each other's hands, Lance said hello to his wife and Barbara, and the family walked inside.

In fact, almost all the members of the Lawrence family have arrived at this time. They also know what happened before, and they also feel how important it is for the family to have a strong character!
They had no chance before, but now, they seem to have such an opportunity.

"Let me give you a formal introduction..."

"This is Heather...", a blonde lady who looked to be in her fifties. She looked a little fierce, but she was very enthusiastic towards Lance and spoke very gently.

"This is Marianne..." Marianne is the youngest sister of their generation. She is not yet forty years old, only thirty-nine, but she herself said she is only thirty-eight years old, more energetic and younger.

“This is Bennett…” Barbara’s father is the eldest child, Bennett is the second child, also a civil servant and a lawyer.

"This is Deans..." Deans is the youngest boy among them. He is thirty-seven years old and works in the family business.

Although it is called a family business, it is actually a company that specializes in agricultural and livestock products. Every year, the Lawrence family’s farm has a large amount of agricultural and livestock products that need to be sold, and he is mainly responsible for these matters.

He introduced Lance to the official members of the family. There were eleven people in their generation and four people in the generation above them.

That is, their fathers and uncles’ generation. These people are not in Jingang City now. They are on the land passed down from generation to generation by the Lawrence family.

That is, taking care of crops and livestock on the farm. It sounds like... these people should be wearing cowhide overalls, a sweatshirt with many holes on their upper body, and a straw hat on their back, holding a handful of green fodder in their hands and standing in cow dung and horse manure to feed the livestock.

But in reality, they don't do it themselves because they simply can't.

It was a very large farm that also included a small section of river, and the fertile land was managed by a team of at least nearly a thousand people to handle daily work issues.

Grain, vegetables, fruit trees, and pastures.

They also have horses.

According to William, Patricia's grandfather, his father, had always wanted to breed several champion horses.

The four brothers are all members of the Federal Jockey Club, and their level is not low.

They have become accustomed to life in the countryside. Forcing them to come to Jingang City would only make them suffer. Besides, being in the countryside does not mean not enjoying life.

After removing the older generation and William's generation, there are more than twenty young people, and possibly more children.

Many people of Patricia's generation are married, so the number of people here today actually exceeds sixty.

They were still sitting separately at four different tables. There weren't so many people the last time Lance came. It was just an ordinary party, Barbara's birthday.

But this time, there were so many people that basically everyone who could come came.

Because William will most likely be the first person in the family to enter the "upper class". Once he succeeds in his election as a city councilor, the surname Lawrence will once again shine in this land!
People kept coming over to say hello to William and Lance.

The influence of the Lans family may not be so sensitive to those locals who are not natives, but for the real natives, it still has a great influence.

There is wine at today's party. It is normal for the landowner class to have their own inventory and storage of wine. Even in the constitutional amendment, it only mentions production, transportation, and sale, but not storage and drinking.

Although the Ministry of Justice added some more information, such as that the wine cannot be quoted publicly, this is now a private occasion, and as long as they can prove that the wine comes from the family's storage, the Hazardous Materials Administration will have no choice but to fight a lawsuit with them that they are unlikely to win.

"Lance!" Jack (customs inspector) walked over quickly, waving his arm and holding a wine glass. The others who originally wanted to come over and chat with Lance stopped temporarily.

With the continuous strengthening of the coast patrol, the customs situation is getting higher and higher.

The businesses that can really make a lot of money are always written in the criminal law, including smuggling.

The first hurdle that smugglers face is inspection. They have to open the boxes and sample the goods. It is said to be a random inspection, but it does not have to be random.

So Jack's status in the family also improved.

Lance clinked his glass with his. There was no waiter here to come over with a tray to take away the glasses when necessary.

The two of them walked to the side naturally, "Is your cooperation with McCock going smoothly?"

Lance nodded, "It's okay, he is a contented man."

McCock nodded. "He's a smart man. He didn't change his car or his house. If you hadn't told me, I would have thought you didn't continue your cooperation."

Whenever McCock caught smuggled liquor, he would sell it to Lance. It wasn't that he didn't want to sell it to other people, but he didn't know how to communicate about it.

You can't just run up to someone and say, "Brother, I have a batch of smuggled liquor, do you want some?"

On the contrary, Lance paid him readily and it was safe, and he also knew the secret of his selling inspected goods, so he would not cut off contact with Lance until there was no other change in him.

"The worst thing about doing this kind of business is meeting idiots, and McCock is definitely not that kind of person."

"How have you been lately?"

"Customs is becoming more and more popular now. I heard that many people are starting to look for ways to get through customs. Have you made some money too?"

They naturally didn't hide these things when they talked about them. Jack nodded and said, "Yes, people come to me with gifts and checks every day, but I don't dare to accept them."

"Why?" Lance asked. He vaguely felt that this was related to Jack's initiative to come to him.

Jack licked his lips, "My superior is a bit stubborn."

Lance raised an eyebrow, "What can I do for you?"

Jack glanced at his family in the distance, picked up his glass and took a sip, "Do you know anyone at customs?"

Lance shook his head and said, "I don't know them. Our goods used to go directly through customs, so I don't have any connections with the customs."

“Can your problem be solved with money?”

“If money can solve it, then I can solve it.”

Letting Jack take another step forward is a very good choice regardless of whether Lance wants to get involved in the smuggling business in the future.

Jack shook his head. "I don't know. I just think this guy is a bit old-fashioned."

Lance thought of James, "Give me his name, I'll ask James, maybe he can solve it."

"Serena Williams?" Jack was very sensitive to the name, "I didn't know you knew each other!"

He looked at Lance, his eyes sparkling.

These local Aboriginal people have their own social networks, and they already know that Councilman Williams is running for mayor and has no other competitors.

In addition, Serena Williams, also known as James, will also announce his participation in the election on September 1st, running for the position of municipal councilor of Jingang City.

The era is coming when two generations of father and son will firmly control Jingang City.

Although it seems like only four years, after four years Congressman Serena Williams will gradually gain a lot of power, and this place will become their back garden!

Lance didn't know any of this news. Of course it wasn't because Congressman Williams didn't tell him, but they didn't publicize it.

Only a few relatives knew about these things, and some of their relatives happened to be related to the Lawrence family by marriage, so the news was passed on.

"Is it weird that I know James?"

Jack's face was full of smiles. "If he can help me, this matter can be easily solved."

Lance thought about it, and he and Jack walked into the house, found a phone, picked it up, and dialed James' number.

"I have something to ask you. Are you familiar with customs?"

"customs?"

"Of course I am familiar with them, and we deal with them often, but if you want to cause trouble for them, you'd better find Arthur."

"Arthur is now in charge of the family business. If he knows those people better than I do, whether you want to cause trouble for them or give them money, Arthur is the best candidate!"

As soon as Lance opened his mouth, James roughly knew what was going on. These were the only two things that made Lance call him.

“I don’t have his phone number.”

"Please remember this..."

Jack watched as Lance called Arthur again, and Arthur patted his chest and promised to help him get this done. Jack suddenly became a little excited.

He has actually been stuck in this position for five years.

There has been no progress in five years, and it will be even more difficult to make progress in the future. Unexpectedly, a phone call from Lance gave him hope. How could he not be excited?
"Lance, thank you for your help. I promise that no one will open the boxes for inspection when your goods pass through customs in the future."

"Those things are in my hands. They are all exempt from inspection!"

(End of this chapter)