Empire of Shadows

Our

When Hammer’s wife and children heard that he had caused a loss of 5,200 by beating someone for no reason, and that the other party was considering using legal means to recover the money,

the honest woman and her kids couldn’t accept this fact. They simply couldn’t afford to pay so much.

If the other side didn’t show mercy, their house might be auctioned off.

“Sometimes I really wish he were dead!” his son said bitterly.

He was an alcoholic, unfaithful to his family, and no help to his relatives. Whether he lived or died didn’t seem to matter.

In the Federation, if you had an alcoholic father and lived together, finding a suitable girlfriend was very difficult!

Because alcoholism usually came with domestic violence, no girl wanted to live with someone who might hurt or even assault her, even if that person was her future husband’s father.

Officer Ferren reminded them, “If Hammer really ran and doesn’t come back, then in the absence of the defendant, the court probably won’t hold a trial, because many questions can’t be explained.”

“So if you get any news about him, notify us quickly. We still have many procedures to complete.”The mother and son exchanged a look, wishing he would never come back in this lifetime.

Hammer’s family didn’t pursue the matter or even mention it at the dock. Rumors about Hammer beating someone and running away spread, but soon no one talked about it at the dock anymore.

No one liked him, but many hated him.

The next morning, Reid arrived at the factory area. The factory building was already there—a simple warehouse, one huge room.

Sewing machines were installed, and some purchased fabrics were stacked in one corner.

The workers were at their stations. The skilled workers Ms. Debbie had found were indeed excellent. They had started organizing the work.

Watching large rolls of fabric being cut into neat pieces by a large cutter, then sewn together, and soon a complete garment appeared.

But that was the speed of the skilled workers. The unskilled workers were obviously much slower. Lance noticed some might be using sewing machines for the first time—they barely knew how to operate them.

Lance didn’t mind. He even told Reid to not worry about their performance for the first or even second month, and to pay them fully and on time.

But they must keep records of any damaged clothes and the losses caused.

By the third month, if they still couldn’t do it right, they could get fired.

The labor union was a terrifying political group. Ms. Debbie seemed to be just the contact person for the Golden Port City Labor Union in textile sewing, but the power she could mobilize was frightening.

As for the rest—illegal immigrants working with the cards Lance rented to them—if they needed to be fired, they would be fired. There were countless illegal immigrants waiting for jobs here.

Reid adapted quickly, mainly because he had experience in this industry, and the old tailor was somewhat famous in the Empire.

When the skilled workers realized their manager wasn’t an outsider but had even served nobles, they stopped looking down on him.

In a factory, if skilled workers find the manager or boss easy to bully, they definitely wouldn’t hold back.

Labor and management conflicts had a long history and were hard to resolve.

Lance also gave some other instructions: sometimes bring coffee and donuts for afternoon tea, don’t fuss over a few bucks, but never compromise on bottom-line issues.

After confirming Reid understood, Lance left.

The presidential election voting deadline was approaching. Golden Port City showed no real election atmosphere. People said this year’s election would be an unforgettable disgrace in Federation history!

Voting hadn’t even started, but the results had already been decided behind the scenes. Many refused to vote because their votes had no real meaning.

Some people were reportedly protesting in the Special Zone to express dissatisfaction with the unfair election, but it was useless.

Though they resisted the shadow politics, what was going to happen still would.

On the weekend, Lance put aside some business and borrowed a luxury car from Alberto. He took Patricia to her cousin’s birthday party, a promise he made to her.

He was trying to become a true Federation citizen as quickly as possible, which meant building a social circle among Federation people.

It seemed meaningless, but when he was still weak, it was meaningful.

“Barbara is two years older than me. My uncle also works in the government, but he’s a Socialist, and he has some issues with William.”

Patricia smiled knowingly. “You know, they always argue because one’s Federalist and the other’s Socialist.”

“But that doesn’t concern me. Barbara is easy to get along with. She works in finance in Bonn. We get along well.”

On the way to Barbara’s birthday party, Patricia introduced the people Lance might meet.

It was clearly a “big family” — many cousins, older and younger.

Some elders, at William’s generation, worked in government departments but at low levels.

Their political views were complicated. Supporters of the three major parties were all there. Every gathering was like a joint meeting of three parties—lively but noisy, ending in fierce quarrels.

The car arrived in the northeast of Golden Port City, close to the Bay Area. The environment was nice.

Many said that if the city expanded, this area would become a second Bay Area, so property prices had risen rapidly in recent years.

Patricia’s cousin’s house was a detached villa. Because of “rumors,” the price was nearly 9,000 now.

The house was beautiful, with independent front and back gardens, a large area, and a private pool.

When Lance’s luxury car appeared outside the villa, people were attracted to it.

Alberto knew Lance was taking his girlfriend to the party, so he asked Fordis to lend Lance the ivory white car with gold trim.

The car’s new price was 22,800, enough to buy two villas like this plus some renovation money.

Older guests came forward to greet them. They had guesses in their hearts, confirmed when they saw Patricia.

The only one who didn’t show up was William.

Because of generational gaps, they only briefly greeted Patricia and introduced themselves to Lance before leaving the young people to mingle.

The first to come over was Patricia’s brother. He was rather familiar right away.

“Cool car. What do you do?”

He shook Lance’s hand while talking about the car. “Luca.”

“Lance.” Lance shook hands.

“Financial consulting, labor services.”

Luca whistled. “Anything to do with finance is hard to understand. Looks like you’re one of those!”

The Federation’s finance had done surprisingly well these years. Wealth myths played out daily in the financial center. Some people bought random stocks and soon became rich. Many believed some secret to getting rich was hidden here and were attracted to it.

The Federation government had released risk reports about the financial industry, but with many getting rich quickly, people ignored the risks.

Everyone thought they would be the ones making money, not the ones losing everything.

Luca glanced at Barbara, who was walking elegantly, and lowered his voice. “You should have something in common with Barbara. She’s also in finance.”

Patricia emphasized, “Luca!”

Luca raised his hands. “Okay, okay. You’re his girlfriend.” He laughed and lowered his hands. “Though this is our first meeting, I think we’ll be good friends. Now, let’s give the stage to Barbara…”

He stepped aside, with a bit of showmanship to highlight Barbara’s importance as the real star of the day.

Barbara looked somewhat like Patricia but had a different aura.

Patricia’s purity and simplicity were clear and full of youthful energy. Seeing her was like feeling the pulse of life rushing through the veins.

Barbara looked much more seductive. Though they were relatives, their styles were completely different.

Barbara was only two years older, but looked fully mature.

When Lance looked at her, all he could think about was her naked body and flying hormones.

“Pat mentioned you to me. I’m glad you came, Mr. Lance.”

“If you don’t like hanging out with those old folks, just stay with us. We’re family and friends. Hope you get used to it.”

They shook hands briefly, then let go. Lance said politely, “I’m honored to attend your birthday party. We’ll have a great time.”

Other guests kept arriving, so Barbara didn’t stay long. She just let Patricia help Lance meet more friends before leaving.

Watching Barbara’s departing back, Patricia linked arms with Lance. “She’s pretty, right?”

(End of chapter)