Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 173: The Big Purchase: Bullet Production Line, Engine 1710, Las Vegas Opens

Al Capone looked at Fang Wen coldly.

In his life before entering prison, he had dealt with all sorts of people, but only two types of people could state their purpose so directly.

One type is the arrogant person, who believes they have the ability to control everything.

One type is those who have the upper hand and are confident they can win.

He didn't know which category the unfamiliar Easterner in front of him belonged to.

“You think I would cooperate with you?” he asked.

Fang Wen smiled and replied, "I'm not sure. I first learned your name in Shanghai. One of your men came to sell a batch of goods, but the goods were lost and he was injured. I brought him back."

Because there were prison guards present, Fang Wen used the word "goods" instead of "weapons."

“You mean that kid Jimmy?” Alcapon’s expression softened. “He mentioned you. I can hear about your business.”

“No rush. Let’s talk about you first.” Fang Wen began to try to take the lead in the conversation.

He said, “You’re not in a good position right now because the situation in Chicago has spiraled out of control since you were transferred to this prison. Also, you’re bankrupt because of tax issues. If you don’t find a good business to solve your financial problems, I think you’ll have even bigger problems after you get out of prison.”

Fang Wen revealed a stark reality: even gangs bound together by shared interests can crumble because of those same interests.

Al Capone has gone bankrupt due to his large amount of illicit income and huge tax penalties.

He had no money to support his own gang, nor any incentive to keep other Chicago Mafia members in check.

This is why he took the risk of sending his men to Shanghai in the Far East to expand the arms business.

But clearly, that attempt also failed.

Having his hand exposed, Al Capone immediately lost his arrogance.

He frankly admitted, "Yes, I have nothing left. I might even have to sell the copyright of my autobiography to a publisher after I get out. If your business can help me save it, I would be very willing."

As he spoke, he looked at the guard and added, "If your business requires confidentiality, I can ask him to leave for a few minutes."

"There's no need for secrecy; my business is legal."

Fang Wen smiled and began to explain the casino business in Las Vegas.

Al Capone immediately realized the opportunity.

He analyzed, "This is definitely the best business for me. No capital required, legal, and it can be scaled up quickly. You're a genius."

But the next minute, he thought of something else.

“This isn’t something a genius can do. You must have solved a lot of problems and have people willing to patronize your business. I’d like to join your business.”

He readily agreed.

But this is not Fang Wen's only purpose in coming here.

Fang Wen continued, "I have some more interesting business opportunities, but I need 10 minutes to keep it confidential."

Al Capone looked at the guard, and the two exchanged glances before he replied, "If a tired guard who's off duty finds $300 at Pier 39 at 5 p.m. tomorrow, he'll be very happy."

“No problem, he will get his wish,” Fang Wen replied.

The guard, who was standing ramrod straight, turned and left the room without hesitation.

Because he only had 10 minutes, Fang Wen stated his requirements directly.

“I want two Allison V-1710 engines, a complete oil refining unit, a team of technicians, a bullet production line, and a cargo ship from San Francisco to Southeast Asia to transport these things to Asia.”

A strange light flashed in Al Capone's eyes.

If the casino business could allow him to regain his dignity after his release from prison, then these other businesses could make him a fortune.

Having once commanded the Chicago mob, he had a knack for getting his hands on things.

He asked carefully.

“I don’t know where to get the Allison V-1710 aircraft engine. You need to tell me more.”

“Send your people to Indianapolis, where there’s Allison Engineering, which was acquired by GM just two years ago.”

“I have people in Indianapolis; I should be able to get them. I can also get the bullet production line and the ship. As for the entire oil refining plant and the supporting technical personnel, I'm sorry, I can't do that right now, but I can help you find the relevant people.”

Fang Wen nodded: "Besides the oil refining equipment and supporting technical personnel, how much of the rest do you need?"

Al Capone faces a huge decision.

He realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if he didn't seize it to make a killing, he might never get another chance like it.

He wants a quote.

Money?

Al Capone originally wanted a large sum of money.

But then he thought of the IRS and couldn't help but shudder.

This money also came from an unknown source, and no transaction details could be provided, but not a penny of tax could be evaded.

After some internal struggle, he made what he thought was a good offer and waited for Fang Wen to counter-offer.

“I want $20, and a 10% stake in the Taishan Casino Company.”

Fang Wen was not unwilling to accept this request.

The offer of $20 wasn't high; the real prize was the 10% stake in the Taishan Casino Company. But Fang Wen felt that offering it like that would make Al Capone think he was being too generous.

He offered another solution.

“The $200,000 will be paid in two installments: $100,000 when the goods are loaded and shipped, and the remaining $100,000 upon arrival at the destination. As for the 10% equity, it will be paid in five years, with 2% equity acquired each year, until the full equity is acquired after five years.”

This method of paying equity in installments would better unite Al Capone with the Las Vegas casino companies. Fang Wen even planned to give him a position as vice president of business when he was released, so that he could contact and supervise the gambling hall operations of various gangs.

As the two finished their conversation, the guards entered from outside. Fang Wen smiled and stood up, saying, "I will stay in San Francisco for a while and await your reply."

After saying that, he left the room.

The collaboration with Al Capone is underway.

This former gangster tycoon still has resources at his disposal.

The next day, after the off-duty security guard found $300, he also left a letter behind.

The letter contained Al Capone's reply.

They agreed to finalize everything in a month, and included Firmino, a capable man who could obtain oil refining equipment.

This man wasn't a gangster, but he had dealings with Al Capone through business. He ran a refined oil export company in San Francisco and was very knowledgeable about the industry.

Fang Wen made a special trip to visit Firmino Oil Company.

The company is located in the port area of ​​San Francisco. The two-story building has various lubricant products on the ground floor and the office area on the upper floor.

Fang Wen and Indiana went upstairs and found Firmino, revealing their identities.

“We were introduced by Al Capone, who said you could definitely help me.”

Firmino was surprised and quickly got up to greet him, asking, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I want an oil refining unit, along with the corresponding technical personnel," Fang Wen said directly.

“You probably don’t understand refining technology, do you?” Firmino asked.

"I really don't understand, I hope you can explain it to me." Fang Wen replied sincerely. He admitted his ignorance, but he was willing to learn so that the refinery could be built in the future.

Firmino provided an overview of the current situation at the oil refinery.

Currently, there are two types of petroleum refining technologies on the market.

The first method is distillation, which utilizes the different boiling points of the components in crude oil to separate crude oil into fractions with different boiling points, such as gasoline, diesel, heavy oil, and lubricating oil, through heating and depressurization.

It was also an early oil refining method, and it was not suitable for heavy crude oil with more impurities.

The second type is thermal cracking technology, invented twenty years ago. Thermal cracking is the process of breaking down heavy oil into smaller molecules at high temperatures to obtain more light oil.

Although this technology increases the number of processes, it results in higher output and better quality.

Costs have actually decreased significantly, and most refineries have now opted to upgrade to thermal heating technology.

Hearing the explanation, Fang Wen felt greatly benefited and immediately asked, "I want to purchase an oil refining unit using thermal cracking technology. Is there any way to do that?"

Firmino nodded and took out a design drawing: "It's not difficult. I once wanted to open a refinery and prepared a lot for it."

With Firmino's explanation, Fang Wen learned what it took to open a refinery in this era.

1. Raw material pretreatment equipment.

Raw material tank area: used for storing crude oil or heavy oil raw materials.

Feed pumps: transport feedstock from the tank farm to the cracking system.

Heat exchanger: preheats the feedstock to improve pyrolysis efficiency.

II. Pyrolysis Reaction Equipment
Thermal cracking reactor: The core equipment used to heat raw materials to high temperatures to cause them to undergo a cracking reaction.

Burner: Provides heat to the pyrolysis furnace and can burn heavy oil or natural gas.

III. Distillation Separation Device
Distillation kettle: Various oil products are separated by sealing and heating at high temperature, followed by depressurization.

Fourth, purification equipment.

Different types of oil require different refining equipment, and only after refining can they become the final refined products.

Fang Wen listened attentively to Firmino's explanation and learned why Firmino ultimately failed to open the account.

Because the cost is too high, although he can recoup the cost through refining, he cannot afford the initial investment.

The thermal cracking reactor and distillation reactor alone cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and with other equipment, a medium-sized refinery can cost over a million dollars.

This does not include investment in personnel; without professional technicians, a refinery simply cannot operate normally.

Having learned all this, Fang Wen became preoccupied.

He really cared about the refinery. War is not only about human lives, military skills, equipment, but also energy. If there is a refinery in South Asia that can provide a continuous supply of oil after the war breaks out, the front line will be much more relaxed.

Consider Britain and the United States; their ability to sustain themselves for so long during World War II was largely due to their abundant energy reserves.

Time passed little by little.

One month later, in early August.

Most things are changing in the direction Fang Wen expected.

Allison Engineering Company was targeted by thieves who spoke Italian and had their sights set on the V-1710 engine.

God knows why they would be interested in something so bulky. Although the company reported it to the local police station, no one thought they could find the Sicilians.

(Early C-series V-1710)

The same group of Sicilians were trying to find a bullet production line.

They had excellent intelligence channels and managed to discover a bullet production workshop that had been out of production for many years in an abandoned warehouse in Detroit.

That was a production line used to produce 7.92mm Mauser rifle bullets. It was built during World War I specifically for producing bullets for export to Mauser rifles.

The workshop had long since ceased operations after World War I, and the equipment was somewhat rusty.

But it can still be used with proper maintenance.

They weren't sure if these items would meet the buyer's expectations, so they sent a telegram directly to Fang Wen.

When Fang Wen heard that it was a 7.92mm bullet, he agreed without hesitation. That was the most consumed bullet during the War of Resistance against Japan, and it could be used in Mauser rifles, Hanyang rifles, and Chiang Kai-shek rifles.

As for the cargo ship sailing from San Francisco to Yangon, it has already been arranged by Al-Kapon's people and is just waiting for the cargo to be loaded and ready to depart.

All that's missing now is the refining equipment and technical personnel.

Fang Wen finally realized that it was impossible to complete the construction of the refinery on his own.

He needs a partner, an ally with extensive experience in the oil industry, to build a refinery in South Asia.

8 month 11 day.

The completed airport and the newly renovated Taishan Amusement Park officially opened for business.

The company invited the mayor of Las Vegas to cut the ribbon with them.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, planes from five cities—Los Angeles, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and New York—took off for Las Vegas.

These planes, fully loaded with passengers, landed at the airport.

Led by members of various gangs, they entered Taishan Amusement Park.

This group of people came for gambling, which is also the company's main source of revenue.

But they are only a part of the customers; the majority are tourists from all over the world.

The propaganda for those people was mainly focused on nearby Los Angeles, Flagstaff, Carson, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City.

Furthermore, to attract these people to visit during holidays, tourists from the five cities traveling to Taishan Amusement Park can receive various fee reductions with their train tickets.

With such attractive advertising, even more tourists came on Saturday, August 12.

These people, drawn by the free tickets, brought their families and entered Taishan Amusement Park.

There, they saw a wide variety of shops, as well as hotels and public swimming pools.

People checked into the hotel and played in the pool, which was a nice way to relax on a hot summer day.

But if that's all there is to it, it would be better to go to the beach.

What attracts them even more is what follows.

Tourists with hotel stay vouchers can enter the Grand Theatre for free to enjoy performances by major New York theater companies.

This is an entertainment option that you can't find in western cities.

Tourists who had long heard how amazing the Broadway musical performances were couldn't wait to line up for entry.

They watched a fantastic musical performance, but felt disappointed because there was only one free opportunity.

Some people chose to pay to watch.

Many more tourists went to other places.

A carousel, a roller coaster, clown shows, and a circus in a tent.

I'm tired of playing.

Visitors will receive a free dining ticket to enjoy the buffet.

The tourists were amazed to find that all kinds of food were free to eat.

They filled their plates and ate heartily, and even after they were full, they would still drink an iced beverage to finish their meal.

We've eaten and drunk our fill, and had our fun.

Everyone returned to the hotel.

After a short rest, many people finally couldn't resist their desires and went to the casino to take a look.

In other words, some people have become new sources of profit growth.

In short, in the future business environment created by Fang Wen, tourists will ultimately have no choice but to pay the fee.

Fang Wen was relieved to see the Taishan Casino Company developing so smoothly.

He began preparations for exploring the strange mountains near St. Louis.

(End of this chapter)