Shadow Empire

Chapter 433 New Contract and One Dollar Club
On Thursday morning, Luca, dressed neatly, stood outside the office building of the Ligi Group and breathed a sigh of relief.

This kind of monopolistic group company still brought him a lot of pressure.

There are always many interesting things happening in the Federation, or things worth observing.

If you go to the countryside and find an ordinary, uneducated farmer, ask him what he thinks of the Liji Group.

He would say all the dirtiest words he knew in his life at this moment to "praise" the shameless behavior of the Liji Group.

They are not afraid of the Ligi Group at all, and may even unite to fight against these interest groups that monopolize the channels between farmers and markets.

But if you find a highly educated middle-class person in a big city and ask them what they think about the bad behavior of the Liji Group.

Then they will politely say that this is all normal business behavior and may not comment further on it.

The higher the level of education and the higher the social class, the more cautious people are towards capital and they dare not even express their true opinions.

The more you know, the more afraid you are.

Sometimes it is difficult to say whether you have gained or lost money by exchanging your courage to fight injustice for knowledge.

Luca is a middle-class man. His calves are shaking a little now and he actually doesn't want to come.

But if he didn't come, there was a high probability that he would have no future in his life.

He didn't care in the past when everyone was not doing well, but now, William has become a city councilor and a "celebrity" in the family, and people have started to revolve around him.

Because of Lance's relationship, Jack has established certain connections with the top customs officials, and it won't be long before he can make further progress.

Not to mention Patricia, who is a nobody in the family, but because she is Lance's girlfriend, she is the focus of people's attention even if she does nothing.

Barbara is going to be an actress now, maybe she will become a big star someday.

Movie actors and opera singers are just like each other. As long as there are people who support them and are willing to spend money, they will become famous.

Everyone is working hard to improve themselves because of William and Lance. If he does nothing, he will become a shame to the family.

He had to prove that he was not a waste.

He mustered up his courage and stomped his feet with his briefcase. The nails of his newly bought leather shoes made a crisp sound on the marble floor. He raised his head, held his chest high, and walked into the office lobby with his briefcase in hand.

The almost mirror-like marble floor reflected the magnificence of the place. In order to reduce the price of wheat by 15 cents per barrel, they even threatened to kill the farmer.

But here, they spent tens of thousands of dollars on the decoration and maintenance of the ground.

A woman in business attire finished her conversation with the person next to her and walked towards him with a smile, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"gentlemen?"

Luca took out a business card and handed it over, just as he had practiced in front of the mirror. "I'm the manager of the Garden Trading Company. I want to place an order for some grain."

The female manager was stunned for a moment, "Hello, it's a pleasure to serve you!" She shook hands with Luca, took his business card and took a look at it.

A pair of beautifully crafted business cards costs about three to four dollars for a hundred pieces, which is already very expensive.

The hot stamping and the hot stamping pattern make the whole business card look very high-end. She suddenly discovered that there was a faint scent of perfume on this business card, so maybe its price is even higher!

If a company manager can spend four or five dollars on a hundred business cards, the company must be quite large.

While inviting Luca to sit aside, she inquired, "Mr. Luther (pseudonym), your company should not be on the East Coast. I have never heard of it."

She asked someone to bring two cups of coffee, and at the same time asked about the company Luca worked for, she really had never heard of it.

It would be really funny if the other party had heard of it. This company has not been registered for less than a month.

Luca explained with a smile, "We are a new multinational company, you know, recently..." He used an "you know" expression so that he didn't need to explain too clearly, which might lead to mistakes.

The female manager will then think of the most suitable and least error-prone option and take it over.

The female manager really showed a look of sudden enlightenment, "Are you specialized in Tanfit trading business?"

"It's a good deal indeed. So what can I do for you?"

These were all she could think of: profiting from war, which was the most suitable way of plundering for capital.

Under normal circumstances, you want to sell something worth one dollar for three dollars, four dollars or even five dollars.

Others will just treat you like a fool.

But in war, supplies are in short supply. Let alone five dollars, even if it's ten dollars, as long as you have it, there will always be someone who wants it.

This unequal trade is causing the wealth of the countries along the Tanfit Road to be lost rapidly. What they lack is not just food, but everything else!
This is how war works. No matter whether the battlefield is on one's own territory or not, both sides will suffer losses, the only difference is whether it is more or less.

There are now many trading companies in the Federation that are delivering supplies to Tanfit, and the federal government has actually discussed the possible risks of doing so.

But in the face of huge profits, capitalists will not take that little risk seriously at all.

Moreover, even if there are risks, they are within their tolerance range.

After all, it was not them who were going to Tanfit to discuss business, but their employees and partners.

So now we can often see some people taking out loans to buy supplies and going to Tanfit. As long as they can successfully find a buyer, they can make at least a profit of one cup, and no one can refuse this.

Luca opened his briefcase and took out a document. "We need these things..."

The female manager's eyes began to light up as soon as she picked up the document. They, the staff, could also get some commission from the orders.

The company will give them a minimum price. The minimum price does not mean the low price of the goods, but the minimum price to ensure the company's interests.

The portion that exceeds the reserve price is the part from which they can get commission.

This is indeed a good job. People with ability can earn tens of thousands of yuan or even more every month, while people without ability can only get a basic salary of around 40 yuan.

Seeing so much demand and huge quantity, the female manager was tempted. If this deal could be done, this year's profit target could be exceeded!

At the same time, she also appropriately proposed the idea she wanted to verify, "This will require a lot of money, Mr. Luca."

Luca showed him a bank draft of $500,000. The female manager's breathing became a little rapid. She asked Luca to wait for a moment and went to bring the coffee.

When she bent down and placed the coffee cup and coaster in front of Luca, Luca suspected that this woman was seducing him.

Because he saw a little bit.

Luca is not a virgin who has never seen women. After he graduated and entered society, he had several girlfriends.

But that's how people are.

Even if I show you something openly, you may not like it.

On the contrary, those things that are hidden and occasionally revealed can arouse people's interest.

The female manager noticed Luca's subtle change, and she sat back down opposite Luca with a smile on her face.

"Choosing us is definitely your best decision!"

"We have all these things, and the price is very suitable. We can raise these supplies for you anytime and anywhere."

Luca nodded modestly, "So Liji Group is my first choice. I have a request. Our ship will load the goods in Jingang City, so I hope the goods can be stored in Jingang in advance, which will make it easier for us to load the goods."

This was naturally not a problem, and the female manager did not refuse.

Liji Group also has a transit warehouse in Jingang, and it is right on the dock!
More than half an hour later, the two parties signed an agreement. Garden Trading Company paid a 20% deposit and prepared all the grain before October 20. The balance was paid and the grain was shipped after the inspection on the 21st and 22nd. The price of both parties was slightly higher than the market price, but it didn't matter.

Lance smiled with satisfaction after reading the entire contract. Luca couldn't help but be curious, "What are you going to do?"

Lance put the contract in the safe. "They provided a product that did not meet our requirements. Of course, we have to seek compensation from them."

Luca shook his head. “I don’t understand this. Will they give money?”

Lance closed the safe and shook his head, saying, "They won't pay me, but they will pay the bank!"

Jonathan and Parkway Bank would certainly love to help Lance and his team make more profit from the lawsuit. Ordinary people have basically never won a lawsuit against the Liji Group.

It is not a win in the legal sense. As long as someone has real evidence, they can win the lawsuit against the Liji Group. However, winning does not mean that they can really get a winner's ending.

Luca didn't know what Lance was going to do, and he wasn't interested in asking further. "The Holy Farmer's Day is coming..."

Lance looked at him and he continued, "Perhaps Patricia hasn't told you yet, but we go back to the farm every year to celebrate the Holy Farmer's Day."

"You are Patricia's boyfriend, you can also go back with us."

Speaking of this, Lance was indeed interested. He also wanted to see what the life of the federal landlord class was like, and wanted to experience the life of the landlord class.

"It depends on the situation. I'll do my best."

"Next you can go and inspect those transnational trading companies. Next we will also have transnational trade."

"Trade with Tenfit and even Naxia (the Empire's sector)."

Luca was a little worried, "I might not be able to do this well..."

He had never been involved in such multinational trading companies and transnational business, so it was normal for him to be worried.

Lance smiled and said, "I didn't do that before I became the head of the family, but haven't we succeeded?"

"Luka, the essence of youth is that we have the opportunity to make mistakes. Don't waste your youth!"

"Of course, if you feel you can't handle it yourself, you can find some assistants to help you. Such high-level talents should be easy to find nowadays."

The domestic economic depression is visibly developing, and the financial sector, which has been mythologized in recent years, seems to have hit its ceiling after the outbreak of the war.

There is a sense of lifelessness in the economic development of the entire country, with no new growth points and no new directions.

Some people have predicted that they will be in big trouble, but more people are still advocating that the Federation will become the fastest growing economy in the world.

Those who say these things are either really standing too high up and cannot see the generally low wages for workers and the heavy social and family spending.

Or, it's really bad!

Either stupid or bad, it has to be one of them.

Two days later, Vaughan (President of the Dockworkers' Union) called Lance and said that the penalty from the Hazardous Materials Administration had ended and the workers' club could reopen.

Naturally, this is also what many workers are looking forward to.

There are many underground bars in the port area, but the prices of drinks in underground bars are obviously higher than those in clubs. Although the difference is only ten or twenty cents, it is enough to make it a bit unaffordable for the workers.

Fortunately, the Hazardous Materials Administration chose to unblock the Workers Club, and it can now continue to operate.

"I heard that the Federation of Trade Unions scolded you?" Lance asked with a smile.

This news also came from the workers' union. The Labor Federation wanted to launch a larger-scale strike, but Vaughn not only did not cooperate with them, he also suppressed the strike at the dock with Lance and the local police.

This made the Federation of Trade Unions very angry. Although Vaughn later submitted a report, telling the Federation of Trade Unions why he did this, and with the intervention of former President Coaster, Vaughn eventually retained his position as branch president, but was reprimanded.

Vaughn didn't care at all about Lance's "opening up old wounds". "I'm increasingly feeling that the union is changing, Lance."

"They always want to use workers to fight for power and profit. I am not a very upright person. I am not against using struggle as a means, but they always have to take into account the fate and situation of the majority of workers."

“They are becoming more and more like politicians.”

Lance quite agrees with this point of view, "When you hold the power to decide the fate of some people, or even quite a few people, no matter what job you did before, now you are a politician!"

Vaughn asked back, "What about you?"

“Are you considered a politician now?”

Lance nodded, "When they need me, I'm a politician and I do what politicians do."

For example, repression.

He didn't say it, but Vaughn could understand.

They both laughed a few times, even though the joke wasn't funny.

Vaughan quickly changed the subject, "Now the workers are looking forward to the club reopening. I don't think you should give up on them."

"I didn't think about abandoning them, it's just that I wanted to get out of the union framework."

He lit a cigarette and said, "Unions are not popular, so we have to do this without the unions."

"I was going to say that if the union likes you and you don't want to continue serving the union, then you can follow me."

Although Vaughan does not look like a working class person, he has been working at the docks for many years. He knows a lot of people from all walks of life and has a certain influence among the working class.

Whoever the next union president is, it won't have an impact on what Lance does on the docks.

Vaughn thought about it for a while and didn't agree. "If they really force me to go to the last step, then I will. Now I feel that I am more valuable in the union."

"Anyway, the workers on the dock now really hope that you can reopen the club as soon as possible."

After hanging up the phone with Vaughn, Lance called Derisi over and said, "The workers' club on the dock can be reopened. Go and make the arrangements."

"Also, have you printed the cards I asked you to print last time?"

Derisi nodded, "It's already been printed."

Now Derisi is in charge of all matters related to the bar. He controls the Lance family's temporary warehouses throughout the city and the transportation of alcoholic beverages, including work related to the bar, which is basically handled by him and some of his subordinates.

He then asked someone to bring a sample over. It was a card about the size of a palm, with a steel stamp and some anti-counterfeiting logos on the back.

The cards are printed according to the months, from one to thirty-one, or thirty.

You only need to pay one dollar to get such a card, and you can get a drink discount at most once a day.

Depending on the type of alcohol, the discounted price ranges from five cents to fifteen cents.

If you only consume the most basic bomb beer, it can deduct five cents, which is also the choice of most workers.

This also means that after paying one dollar, they can save at most one dollar and fifty-five cents a month, and they can also get a bargain from Lance.

But in fact, Lance believes that they will not only taste the lowest-grade liquor, they may upgrade their consumption slightly and taste whiskeys that cost about 25 to 30 cents.

Then he got a ten-cent discount, so that they could drink a glass of strong whiskey with the money that they could only use to buy beer in the past. He believed that the workers would definitely not refuse this!
By this calculation, they can spend one dollar per month to get a discount of three dollars.

With the monthly expenditure on alcohol slightly increasing, the alcohol we enjoy has become of a higher grade. How can alcoholics tolerate this?
It may seem like this doesn’t make much sense, but in fact this dollar goes a long way!
Even if some people don't drink every day, they will still pay a dollar and become a member of the "One Dollar Club".

Because they own this card, they will have a closer connection with the Lance family, and because they spent this dollar, they will enjoy the respect that comes with high-end services!
They will identify with the money, and with Lance and the Lance family.

Identity is always the most terrifying thing, because once you agree with something, even if it is outrageous, you will feel that "it should be like this"!
(End of this chapter)