Manhattan Reborn 1978

South central New York, Houston, Texas.

It's approaching evening~

West of downtown, Piney Point Village in the Memorial District, 86 Pinewood Avenue.

David's parents, David Sr. and Sierra's mother, finally chose No. 86 as their new home for retirement over No. 89 under his insistence.

Because No. 86 not only has a large house with a usable area of ​​more than 400 square meters, but also a semi-basement of more than 350 square meters and a very spacious backyard.

At this time, on the green lawn in the backyard~

David stood next to a barbecue oven and saw Carnes sitting at a long dining table with Sera's mother, Cui Yingying, Zina, Elena, Susan, and Malik, chatting and laughing.

He glanced at the skilled "grill chef" butler Mr. Ackleyd, then turned to his father, old David, and asked.

"Where's Polly?"

"Is she and her family coming tonight?"

"No, they have their own things to do." Old David put one hand in his pocket and glanced at the living room, saying in a low voice.

"After you went back to New York last time, Polly's father, Malkin Sr., called me and asked me to help find a farm suitable for retirement in the suburbs near Houston."

"When his family came over yesterday, I took him to see two farms that were for sale. He chose a fully furnished one and immediately paid a deposit to the agent and got the key. He moved in today."

"So fast? Isn't it a bit too hasty?" David opened his mouth in surprise and asked with a helpless smile.

“Haha~” Old David saw his son’s funny expression and smiled and shook his head slowly.

"The original owner of that small farm moved his entire family to California."

"They entrusted the house to an agent and put it on the market for a long time but it still didn't sell."

"Because they stipulated in the sales contract that they must continue to employ a Mexican immigrant couple who had worked on the small farm for nearly twenty years."

"The listed price of that farm is only 26 mi, which is not expensive for old Malkin."

"I have already inquired in advance. This Mexican immigrant couple is very familiar with farm work and has a good reputation."

"And he himself said that if he ever comes across a retirement farm that suits his taste, he would consider selling it and buying another one."

"so.."

"Okay." After listening to his father's explanation, David immediately understood what he meant.

Old David shook the wine glass in his hand with a smile, glanced at the "invisible tool man" Mr. Tianniu who was sitting not far from the oven, reached out and pulled his son, and the two walked a few steps to the side and asked in a low voice.

"That law you mentioned... about gang control... will it be just a formality like before?"

"No, this time it's different."

David raised the Coke bottle in his hand and took a sip. After pondering for a moment, he explained to his father.

“It’s called the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO.”

"Last fall, the Department of Justice sent the FBI to Cornell University to secretly organize a discussion in order to improve RICO from the perspective of law enforcement and judgment."

"Harold Stone, the director of the FBI's New York branch, and Lynde Vichereau, the head of the anti-gang unit at the FBI headquarters, were both participants in the meeting."

"After I heard about the RICO discussion from them, I was sure that this time was very different from the previous ones!"

David said this, looking at his father with a calm expression and serious tone.

"According to RICO, if the police or prosecutors can find evidence to confirm the identity of a gang member and his criminal behavior, they can arrest and prosecute him and the gang boss behind him in accordance with RICO provisions."

"To put it simply, as long as the police can find solid evidence of a crime committed by a direct descendant of the Sidrich family, they can ask the judge to arrest his gang boss, Rudy, or even old Malkin."

"Even though Rudy and Old Malkin had no idea what crime the bastard had committed or what he had done behind their backs, the gang members who were arrested and prosecuted also observed the code of silence and did not betray anyone."

"They must also accept police summons, arrest and detention, follow the newly implemented RICO regulations, and go to court to find ways to prove their innocence."

“Even if the police don’t have any evidence of crime against Malkin or Rudy, they can still find evidence of their crimes by continuously investigating members of the Sidrich family, and then continue to submit evidence of the Sidrich family’s crimes to the court, so that Malkin and other important members of the Sidrich family can sit in the dock in the court.”

"So, that's why you strongly suggested to old Malkin that he send the peripheral members of the family to the auxiliary police office, and then let the remaining core members switch to legitimate business..." Old David rubbed his eyebrows with his fingers and asked in a low voice.

"Yeah!" David raised the Coke bottle, drank it in one gulp, and sighed.

"Although Rudi hired someone to cause the accident and burned all the police records of the core members of the Sidrich family..."

"But I don't know if there are any backup copies of these files that were handed over to the FBI before the fire, or..."

"Of course!"

"If, from now on, the police no longer find evidence of crimes committed by members of the Sidrich family, even if the FBI has RICO, it will be difficult to take action against the Sidrich family."

"That Lind Vicherello, the transfer application he submitted to the FBI headquarters was not approved." Old David suddenly said in a deep voice.

"what?"

"How... did you know?"

"I've been paying attention to this matter too!" Old David raised his hand and pointed at Mr. Tianniu in the distance and said with a smile under the gaze of his son.

"Isn't this why you asked him to come to us?"

"No." David looked in the direction his father pointed and shook his head with a slightly strange expression.

"RICO is a new law specially tailored for gangs by the government in order to effectively curb the barbaric growth of gangs."

“Similar laws also exist in the business world.”

"For example, in 77, the government officially promulgated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and made relevant regulations on the financial and accounting systems of multinational companies, in order to restrict US companies from using individuals to bribe foreign government officials to achieve certain ulterior purposes."

"One of the important reasons for its promulgation and approval by the Diet was the transnational bribery case between the former Prime Minister of the island nation, Kakuei Tanaka, and Boeing, which attracted much attention from the international media."

"What about Wall Street? There are also many similar... rules?" Old David

David looked at Kanes who had his back to him not far away and whispered.

"The rules of the game in Wall Street's financial markets are based on a framework of rules jointly formulated by the government and the Federal Reserve."

"However, these are only what ordinary people or laymen see..."

"As for the real rules, or the unspoken rules, almost no one will speak out publicly, and no one will admit their existence."

“But it exists, and everyone on Wall Street must abide by it.”

David looked at his father, Old David, with clear eyes and said with a confident smile, "Don't worry at all. I will touch those taboo rules."

"I just told the truth that people who are tired of lies want to hear most in their hearts."

"But I know that lies are one of the important driving forces behind the rapid progress of this world!"

"Lies are tools, weapons, the embodiment of everyone's desires, and a symbol of wisdom."

“It and the truth are two sides of the same coin.”

"Without it, our world would not be as colorful and chaotic as it is today."

"I position myself as a megaphone, lubricant, translator, message board and balancer."

“I was born out of need, and I became successful by meeting the different needs of different people.”

"So now I have successfully passed the most vulnerable period. Even if someone wants me to quit, it's too late!"

"If there is nothing I must personally deal with this time, I plan to stay here for a while longer to sort out the remaining manuscripts and have them published as soon as possible."

"With these books, my future will be smoother and smoother!"

"..." When old David knew that his son was going to publish a book, he suddenly felt absurd and shook his head.

"What about Carnes? Does he live with you at No. 89 across the street? Or did you arrange for him to stay in a hotel?"

"No!"

"My mentor, Professor Bartlett, gave me the key to No. 19, and Carnes can live there." David raised the empty Coke bottle in his hand, gestured to his father, and walked towards the dining table with a smile.

Mr. Tianniu, who had been silently paying attention to the conversation between old David and his son, tilted his head to glance at the butler Ackleid who was concentrating on grilling meat, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

. . .

night.

David's family dinner ended with laughter and joy.

Salonia, the older sister of the Malik sisters, led her younger sister Loisa, who had braces, and very sensibly helped the maid Chasida to clean the dining table in the yard.

At the same time, in the brightly lit living room.

"Hua La La~" Zina opened the wooden box in her hand and smiled to everyone, "I found the mahjong tiles!"

“Oh~hahaha!”

"That's great." Susan, who had just learned how to play mahjong, cheered and pulled Sera's mother and laughed.

"Let me teach you how to play Mahjong. You will definitely like it."

"Okay!" Mother Sera, who was dressed simply and smiled brightly, glanced at her sons David and Carnes who were coming out of the kitchen and asked.

"Would you like to rest first? Or would you like to play with us?"

"No~ I'll take Carnes to Room 19, you guys have fun." David smiled and waved his hand.

Then, he turned around and called the butler Aclaid, and whispered, "In the luggage I brought back, there were three oversized file bags..."

"Okay sir, I'll bring it to you later."

"OK!"

After David found his father, Old David, and greeted him, he went to the yard to find the maid, Chashida, and his sisters, gave them a few words, and then led Carnes out.

. . .

On the way to 19 Pinewood Avenue.

David put his hands in his pockets, feeling very relaxed, looking around at the houses with lights on on both sides, and smiled at Carnes.

"You see, after leaving the hustle and bustle of New York, the quietness here always makes people relax unconsciously."

"Yeah." Carnes murmured as he looked at the bright lights in a house in the distance against the evening breeze.

"There is no ugliness of material desires here, nor is there any intrigue and competition."

"People who can live here should have..."

"No, man!"

“In fact, in this world, there are not so many shoulds and shouldn’ts.”

David slowed down his pace, walked to a trash can on the street, stopped, looked at Carnes and said in a low voice.