Shadow Empire

Chapter 742 Three Articles and Smoking and People Who Can Afford to Play

The ashes rolled into the ashtray and scattered all over. Lance looked up at the two of them, then slowly sat back and said, "From now on, all the wine in Likalai State must be bought from me."

He put the cigarette to his lips and gently held it between his lips, then took a breath. The smoke, carried by the air flow, flowed into his mouth and into his lungs.

After turning a circle, it was spit out from his mouth as he exhaled.

It only took three or four seconds for the smoke to complete its mission.

The smoke that came out of his mouth was light, but the words that came out were heavy.

The liquor market in Likalai State is still very large. In fact, no matter which state it is, if the liquor markets of the entire state are piled together, it would be an astonishing tower!

Lance wanted to take over the entire state's liquor business. The ambition he revealed at this moment, as well as the calmness and composure he showed while leaning on the sofa, made both of them feel that he was fully confident in the conditions he offered!
The atmosphere was a little tense.

Smuggling liquor is still the most profitable business at present - if you ignore stability, it is not in terms of pure profit.

But the demand for alcohol is huge, just like the human trade business.

A girl can be sold for tens of thousands of yuan, and some particularly good girls are willing to be sold for hundreds of thousands of yuan.

But it's not every day that there are rich people like this who are willing to spend tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a slave.

It will take at least some time for these girls to get the toy, until the toy is broken, before they will consider buying the next one. This span is much longer than the span of "Bartender, another drink"!

Judging from the demand, market, and actual profits, the comprehensive profit of alcoholic beverages is still the highest.

Everybody needs a drink, in these damn Prohibition days!
Moreover, with the implementation of the new tax law, although people's wages have been increased to a certain extent, the money they can put in their pockets has become less than before.

They need a drink to relax.

The profits from alcohol are so huge that it has become the mainstay industry of all gangs.

They did have some objections when Lance asked to monopolize the sales of alcohol.

Zabry felt that he had a good relationship with Lance, so he couldn't help but ask first, "Mr. Lance, I don't mean to offend you, but you asked me to buy all the drinks from you. I don't quite understand."

Lance measured his body slightly, changed his sitting position, took a puff of cigarette, and folded his hands on his knees. "What aspect?"

Zabri continued to ponder, "I know you produce Golden Lion whiskey and some other wines. We also sell these wines, and the sales are pretty good."

Lance nodded slightly, "You made a successful choice. Our wine is obviously more cost-effective."

Zabry smiled a little, "Yes, but some people prefer cheaper drinks, such as grape juice or beer."

"They can't afford whiskey, they can't afford brandy, they can't afford...all the expensive alcohol!"

"Many of these wines are produced and sold in various places. If we buy them from you, will we lose some of the price advantage?"

"After all, even if the cost is the same, with the transportation cost, it will be difficult for us to continue to sell the 15 cent wine at the same price as 15 cents!"

Lance shook his head. "Not only do I produce my own beer, I am also the only alcoholic beverage supplier in Jingang City. I know the cost and profit of beer very well."

"Even if you add the shipping cost, you'll still make a profit if you sell it for 15 cents!"

He first pointed out that he was not the kind of person who was unaware of the specific business conditions. He also climbed up step by step from the bottom, and he knew what this market was like better than anyone else.

"Also, maybe you don't quite understand what I mean. If you ask about the local bar business situation, you will understand."

"There are many kinds of alcohol here, we are not the only one, but if they want to sell, they have to send the alcohol to me first, and then I sell it to local bars."

“To put it simply, if other wine merchants want to sell their wine, they have to give me enough profit.”

"It's the same over there. You may rely on some local wine merchants for some wine categories. That's okay."

"Let them come to me and I will give them the authorization to sell alcohol to you."

"The price won't change much, and it may even be more favorable."

"As our market begins to consolidate and competition becomes more intense, the price of alcoholic beverages is actually more beneficial to the sales terminals."

Zabry's head was about to explode. "Mr. Lance, please forgive me for not being very smart. I may not understand some of the things here."

Lance didn't blame him. After all, he had done so much cotton picking that his mind had fallen into a fixed state of mind.

When he uses his brain, he seems to have no other ability except popping his eyes out.

"Tell Mr. Marcus what I said and he will figure it out."

"If he still can't figure it out, tell him to come to me."

"I'll explain it to him myself."

Then Lance looked at the second-in-command of the Thorn Gang. The second-in-command was smarter than Zabri. He said thoughtfully, "Mr. Lance, do you mean that no matter whose wine we want to buy, he must hand over a portion of the profits to you first?"

Lance smiled a lot and looked at Zabry, "See, his explanation is not that accurate, but it's roughly the same."

"Without a license, it is illegal brewing. I will arrest the person who sells it, and I will also arrest the person who buys it!"

He leaned back on the sofa with a smile on his face, but he would not let anyone underestimate him. The representatives of Zabri and the Thorn Gang did not even dare to breathe.

The pressure that came like a wave of fire made them bear a weight that others could hardly imagine!
“I did this to completely stabilize the alcohol market in Likalai State.”

"The alcohol market is too chaotic, with alcohol from out of state constantly coming in and disrupting local alcohol prices."

"And some inferior wineries use industrial alcohol for blending, producing a batch of wine that is harmful to the human body."

"People who drink it are prone to various problems, including loss of sight, hearing loss, paralysis, and even death."

"In order to ensure our own interests and the interests of our customers, it is imperative to regulate the market."

"Only wine producers authorized by me can produce and sell their wine. This is also for the consideration of each of us."

"Of course you can refuse. I am not a dictatorial tyrant who forces you to accept all the requirements and rules I put forward."

"This includes other gangs, or capitalists who are also operating, and we can refuse them."

“But those who reject me will not be allowed to sell bootleg liquor in Likalai State.”

It was so domineering that Zabri and the second-in-command of the Thorn Gang fell into silence.

But they couldn't deny that there was a grain of truth in what Lance said.

The two looked at each other and both felt that they had no say in the matter, and then mentioned that they would go back and discuss it with everyone.

Lance did not stop them and forced them to make a decision immediately, saying they could refuse.

You can even stay in Likalai State without leaving the state, as long as you don't buy or sell alcohol.

“Besides these three rules, there are no other rules.”

"I will not ask you to provide me with a share of your income, nor will I ask you to do anything for me. Everything will remain the same, except for three new rules."

"Talk it over with your leaders and cadres."

"If you're not in a hurry to go back, you can go to the casino or hang out at a local bar. I'll make arrangements for you."

The two had already gotten what they wanted, even a little more, so they didn't stay any longer and stood up to say goodbye.

After Lance signaled that they could leave, the two quickly left with their thoughts on their minds.

After Erwin sent them away, he returned to the office and asked, "Will they agree?"

Lance asked back, "Do they have the right to disagree?"

As he spoke, a reserved smile appeared on his face. They had no right to refuse.

He paused, "Have you prepared what I asked you to prepare?"

Erwin nodded and said, "It's ready. When do you want to use it?"

Lance glanced at the calendar on his watch and said, "Two days later, have someone deliver the stuff over there."

Erwin stood up, said "I'm going to do something" and left the room.

He came to the safe, signed, and then pushed a cart out of the safe and into the parking lot. Erwin had two more captains recently. He had never chosen a captain before. When he encountered something, he would just look for whoever was free or on duty.

But as things became more and more complicated, he also needed some people who could work for him wholeheartedly.

The two young men are his fellow villagers. They are considered to be very smart among the team leaders and are not stupid. They have both attended high school.

For the Imperials who came to the Federation, high school was the limit of what almost all ordinary people could reach.

As for higher universities, there is no need to even think about it.

For example, universities with "royal" or "aristocratic" titles only accept students with aristocratic backgrounds, and some ordinary universities also only recruit elites and privileged classes.

Although there are some universities that enroll civilians, their tuition fees can prevent more than 90% of civilians from entering.

In fact, the Federation is similar to the Empire in this respect, except that they replaced "aristocracy" with "upper class", and the elite class and privileged class with "middle class".

There is no essential difference, but the federal government has one good thing: they provide student loans to civilians.

Although, barring any unexpected events, borrowers will need to spend decades repaying the loan, at least they have the opportunity to go to college and change their destiny.

The two young men are named Carl and Walker, both of whom are great young men.

"Help me get these things to the car."

The two guys followed behind Erwin with their respective men. The carts were full of suitcases and were very heavy.

They need two hands to lift them.

"What's in it?" Walker was a little curious and shook it down.

Erwin glared at him, "You don't need to know, it's good stuff anyway."

The young people didn't care much, it was just those things, and after loading the car, Alvin asked Walker to take people to follow the car to ensure that the things in the car could be smoothly delivered to the newly purchased villa in Maintenon.

And Reims will take the evening train to Maintenon.

Attorney General Terry cooperated with him very well, and the state police also supported him very much. Regardless of whether they were doing it for Senator Cleveland's sake or not, at least Lance was the biggest beneficiary of this incident.

He can't just say nothing.

And Dell is doing well there. It seems that he is getting along well with his new colleagues. Dell will be very busy at work for a long time to come.

After all, those prohibition committees and local hazardous materials management bureaus are Lance's best tools to combat "dissidents".

He doesn't have to spend a penny, and the federal government has spent a lot of money to build the law enforcement system for his own use. Sometimes you simply cannot understand whether this is the advancement of the federal system or its failure.

In the afternoon, Lance went to visit William and Emily. Today was the weekend and they were both at home.

After hugging the couple, Lance took a few steps back and looked at William with a little confusion, which made William feel a little uncomfortable.

He kept looking for something out of place in himself and asked Emily for help.

Emily didn't notice anything wrong either, and they both looked at Lance at the same time.

"You seem to have gained weight."

"Wang Defa?"

"These are the most hurtful words I have ever heard in my life, no doubt about it!"

William took a few steps back in disbelief. He wanted to button up his suit as if to prove something, but in front of both himself and Emily's incredulous gazes, the buttons were not buttoned!
He really gained weight!

"I didn't feel anything at all!" He was still in shock of himself.

Emily seemed to have thought of something, her face turned a little red, "I'll pick out new clothes for you. I'll go get some drinks first. What would you like to drink?"

"Black tea!" Lance said and patted William's arm. "Okay, I just gained some weight."

The two of them came to the living room and sat down. William was still a little bit unbelievable, but soon he seemed to have thought of something and his expression became a little awkward.

You know, breast milk is very nutritious, whether it is animal or...

As long as the mother's nutrition keeps up, there will be a large amount of fat and protein in the breast milk, which is an absolute killer of weight!
Think about it, a newborn mammal can gain dozens of pounds in a short period of time just by relying on milk. William has only gained a little weight that is not so obvious, which is actually nothing.

Patricia is here too. She loves her little brother very much and treats him like a small animal.

When she saw Lance, she came over, kissed his cheek, and ran upstairs again.

"Thanks to her help here during this period," William explained. He thought Lance came to see Patricia.

Lance shook his head, "I just came to check on you. If you need anything, you can tell me. I'm going to Maintenon tonight."

"What are you going to do in Maintenon?" William subconsciously picked up the cigarette, then looked at Lance and asked him if he wanted one.

Lance glanced back at Emily who was brewing black tea, and motioned William to go outside to smoke.

Emily didn't like him smoking because she had to wash her cigarettes again after each one.

But as an old smoker, quitting smoking is not an easy thing.

If this matter could be done by someone else, Emily would have planned to find someone else.

Victor was just born, it’s impossible that his breath smells like cigarettes, right?
Coming out of the side door and standing in the yard, William took a deep puff of cigarette and seemed very relaxed.

"I heard that you have dealt with the Holy Bell Gang?" He is well-informed. Once he reaches a certain social status, someone will take the initiative to share with him the latest news that you don't know.

Lance nodded and took a drag on his cigarette, "He's dealt with me a few times. I'm not going to put up with him anymore."

William was thinking about something else, "So do you have any big plans?"

"Why do you ask?" Lance was a little surprised and curious. "What did you think of?"

William shook his head. "Actually, from my point of view, this place is very different from the Saint Bell Party. You can slowly free up your hands to deal with him instead of using such a big momentum."

"I think you are very anxious, so I made such a guess."

Lance did not deny it. He was silent for a while. "There's an idiot you don't know waiting for me to bring him back."

William sighed and didn't continue asking, "Be careful."

Lance nodded.

Then Lance went to see little Victor. Newborns do nothing but sleep and eat, so he only saw Patricia tormenting him.

The little baby made her motherly love overflow.

After dinner in the evening, Lance left as he had a train at nine o'clock.

In a blink of an eye, it was the evening of the next day. After a day of quick travel, Lance finally arrived in Maintenon.

Dale was waiting on the platform early in the morning.

When he saw the locomotive with only three carriages coming into the station, he knew that Lance had arrived.

Lance got out of the car and hugged him. The relationship between the two of them is now very good.

Interests are a wonderful thing. Even enemies can become friends under the influence of interests.

"I have already spoken to them, and they are all very willing to accept your invitation."

Once in the car, Dale took the initiative to tell Lance that one of the purposes of his trip was to meet with the people on the State Prohibition Committee.

They would definitely not refuse. After all, whether it was Lance himself or Congress, they would always have to bow their heads.

Lance was very satisfied with Dale's actions. He then asked, "Is there anyone who is so upright that he is unwilling to bend over backwards?"

"I don't want this joyful meeting to be made unpleasant by some people."

Director Dale shook his head. "Don't worry. There are indeed such people, two commissioners, but I did not invite them."

"The ones I invited are all people who can make friends with you!"

(End of this chapter)