Empire of Shadows

Xavier was a little surprised the first time he saw Lance outside the door, because he, and the Red Oak Company behind him, had no contact with Lance and his Wanli Group, or the Lance Family.

The Red Oak Company was located in the northwest region of the Federation, where economic development was slightly behind, and there were also many troubles on the border.

They and Golden Port City were at the two farthest ends of the Federation, so this Mr. Xavier did not understand at all why Lance would come knocking on his door.

However, he still welcomed Lance in.

The person behind him had already talked to him in private. He was not to get involved in the conflict of the industry committee. Their purpose was to make money, not to become enemies with anyone.

Even if their expected target was only 3%, for them, it was still an extremely large income—

A sales volume of about 30 million a month, what more could they say?

In that place in the northwest, making money was not easy in the first place. They could not miss this opportunity.

“Mr. Lance, please sit,” he invited Lance to sit down, somewhat at a loss. “Uh… to be honest, Mr. Lance, I don’t quite understand.”

Lance knew what he meant and explained with a smile, “For the vote in six days, I hope you will vote for me.”Xavier scratched his head. “I have no intention of getting involved in the conflict between you and Mr. Richard. I am just a small winery, only interested in making money.”

He stated his position, and then pushed out the power behind him. “And you know that in this kind of thing, it’s often not up to us. I don’t know your situation, but on my side…”

He pursed his lips. “I have to listen to others.”

Lance nodded slightly. “I can understand that you can’t make decisions for your own business. After all, we all climbed up from the bottom bit by bit.”

“But, Mr. Xavier, don’t you think that seventeen wineries are a bit too many this time?”

Xavier showed a look of confusion. “I don’t quite understand what you mean, Mr. Lance. Shouldn’t this number be decided by the people above?”

Lance did not deny his statement. “It is indeed decided by the people above, but the number of seventeen wineries is still too many.”

“With the changes in the war, I think there is a high probability that some wineries will be cut.”

“You see, even if it’s distributed in the most average way, each family can’t even get 6%.”

“I don’t know how much of a quota you hope to get, 2%?”

“Or 3%?”

“As some people become more greedy for profits, they will not be satisfied with you taking away the 2%, 3% that could have originally belonged to them from their pockets.”

“I’m sorry I used you and your winery for this metaphor, but the meaning I want to say will not change.”

“We have to include these problems in the possible future situations!”

After listening, Xavier thought about it very seriously. In fact, he also felt that seventeen wineries were too many. It should be reduced a little, and then the profits should be taken out and subdivided for the gentlemen.

Of course, it could also be said that this feast was the result of the gentlemen still being able to maintain their eating manners. But what if they could no longer control their eating manners?

It’s not that there is no such possibility. This is like some greedy and gluttonous villains sitting at a dinner table. At first, they can still elegantly use a knife and fork to cut a steak.

But as their desires grow larger and larger, and their appetite becomes more and more terrible, they will soon give up the knife and fork and grab the food with their hands and stuff it into their mouths.

So much so that in the end, they don’t even wait for the food to be served on the table, but have the waiter pour the contents of the plate into their mouths by the side of the table.

Recalling these things that might happen in the future, Xavier’s mood was obviously affected a little.

Xavier was fifty-two years old. On the files that Tom had given Lance, his life was not a smooth one. He had had many ups and downs, had experienced a lot, so he would not be so blindly optimistic.

He looked at Lance, very sincerely. “There is nothing wrong with what you said, but Mr. Lance, this and your wanting to persuade me to vote for you, there is no practical connection, is there?”

Lance leaned back on the sofa in a very relaxed posture. He also crossed his legs. It seemed that he did not feel restrained or uncomfortable because he was visiting someone who was not a friend.

He also acted so naturally, so relaxed, which all the more showed that he had a sense of security.

And a sense of security comes from him holding the initiative.

“Among so many manufacturers, the Red Acorn Distillery Company is the most likely to be kicked out.”

“I’m not ‘predicting’ anything, just stating a fact. After all…”

He did not go into too much detail, but he knew that Xavier opposite him must have understood what he was trying to express.

Xavier was a little unhappy. “You still haven’t told me what this has to do with me voting for you.”

Then, Lance said a word that changed Xavier’s expression.

“Exclusive distribution.”

For a person like Xavier, who has experienced many things, it is very difficult for him to write his emotional changes nakedly on his face. He will hide his true thoughts to protect himself.

But this time, he did not control his expression. His expression management was out of control.

Exclusive distribution, for any businessman, is the word they have dreamed of the most.

It is as great as a monopoly!

Xavier’s breathing became a little rapid. “You… you just said exclusive distribution?”

Lance nodded. “Yes, exclusive distribution. We can sign a contract.”

Xavier looked at Lance with a look of disbelief in his eyes. This was not a few hundred or a few thousand. This could be a cargo of tens of millions a month. Could Lance exclusively distribute it?

Lance knew what he was confused about. In fact, from the first moment he came in, he had been firmly in control of the entire context of the conversation, as well as the initiative.

“Xavier, I’m treating you as a friend, so I’m telling you a secret.”

“My winery can now produce at least 50 million worth of wine a month. This liquor is not even enough for me to sell. I sometimes have to find a way to snatch some from others to sell.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry, you know, I started out as a gangster, so sometimes I’m not so friendly to my peers!”

“As long as the price you give me is within my acceptable range, I can exclusively distribute it.”

“Actually, you don’t have to consider selling to me at all. As long as you are bold enough, you can completely dump on this huge market that is in short supply of alcoholic beverages.”

“300 a bottle, 400 or 500 a bottle, it’s all it!”

Listening to Lance talk about these things, Xavier couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

How could he not know how hot the private liquor market was now?

Someone had secretly contacted him long ago, wanting to cooperate with him to sell liquor.

He would be responsible for producing the liquor, and those people would be responsible for selling it to the market. The price they gave was indeed as Lance had said, basically all above 400 a bottle.

They could split the profit fifty-fifty. As long as they could produce 10,000 bottles of wine a month, the profit would be at least 1.5 million or more.

But did he dare to do it?

He didn’t dare.

The local Bureau of Hazardous Materials was already fucking watching him. As long as his factory dared to turn a little, and his wine dared to be sold casually, they would immediately arrest him.

He was not like Lance, who came from a gangster background and was a specialist in this. He was bold and could withstand it.

He did not have such hard bones, nor such great courage.

Looking at the embarrassed and somewhat emotional expression on Xavier’s face, Lance continued, “Think about it. The quotation from the Department of Defense is 200. It has a profit, but not a large one.”

“How much can you get?”

“Net profit, a dozen or so?”

“Or twenty-something?”

Lance’s profit was actually not high either, only about twenty or so. In the overall profit, this was just a very small part.

Selling 10,000 bottles of wine, he could only earn 200,000.

It might seem like a large profit, but in fact, the final profit might not be so much, because of labor, transportation, and other reasons, it would be reduced a little.

Even if he had to produce 400,000 bottles a month, the profit he could get would only be a little over four million. After paying taxes, there would probably be a little over two million left.

Alright, it’s indeed not a small amount, but compared to the profit of private liquor, it’s too little!

A 750ml bottle of Copper Lion Whiskey, the market price is about 550. The cost price is also sixty or seventy. But the profit it brings to Lance is close to 500.

And this money doesn’t fucking have to be taxed. Although it’s black money, this era is not short of ways to launder money.

With the continuous and booming development of the film industry, a large number of movie theaters have already started the “ghost viewing” mode. The movie theater is Lance’s, and the ghosts are also Lance’s, although taxes also have to be paid.

But as long as he wants to whitewash it, the money can be quickly whitewashed and enter his account.

And there is a lot of money that doesn’t need to be whitewashed at all, and he is preparing for another major event.

Once it is done, there will be no problem of money laundering losses at all.

What he wanted now was to be able to brew liquor openly. As his market grew larger and larger, the scale on the Lawrence Farm’s side was also a little unable to keep up, and it needed to continue to expand.

This expansion would inevitably attract the attention of some people. He had dealt with the Bureau of Hazardous Materials on the Golden Port City side, but the ones from other places, and the State Prohibition Committee, he had not yet dealt with.

So he needed a license to allow him to legally produce alcoholic beverages on a large scale. As for selling to the private market, that was another matter.

He believed that Xavier, who was also a winery operator, would definitely be able to hear the meaning in his words.

“Xavier, my friend, 270, I will exclusively distribute all your wine!”

Xavier took a deep breath. He looked at Lance in disbelief. “You… have such a big market?”

Lance did not deny it. “Before Prohibition is lifted.”

“Xavier, you are not me. You don’t understand my style of doing things.”

“As long as it’s on my turf, I will be stricter than the Bureau of Hazardous Materials in finding those private liquor dealers, and then I will break their legs and throw them down a cliff.”

“Because what they are selling is not my wine, understand?”

“Don’t look at Richard and those people clamoring. As long as his wine dares to be sold on the market, I guarantee he will have a big bad luck!”

“Your side is too far from me, and I can’t interfere. But in the south, I will gradually eat up all the southern states. Not to mention your current output, even if you expand it tenfold, I can still swallow it!”

Xavier couldn’t help but curse, “Fuck!”

He then came to his senses. “I wasn’t talking about you, Lance. I was talking about… this fucking society!”

His emotions erupted in a mixture of shock and pleasant surprise. He began to complain.

“This damn Prohibition is so fucking stupid. It almost made me go bankrupt. I’m really fed up.”

“Can you imagine that this is a policy that a normal human brain can come up with?”

“Even the donkeys on my farm can think better than these people!”

“They should really be chewed up and fed to the pigs, instead of sitting there telling us, ‘You fucking listen to me’!”

After complaining for a while, he also understood what Lance meant. The money he earned from selling the wine to Lance was much more than the money he earned from selling the wine to the Department of Defense.

He didn’t even have to bear any responsibility, because they were all defense suppliers. He was just transporting the liquor he had produced to another supplier’s side for overall packaging. He didn’t know anything!

He couldn’t help but stand up, lit a cigarette, and walked back and forth a few times. “I need to make a phone call, Lance.”

Lance made a “please do” gesture. Xavier quickly returned to his room and closed the door.

He had to talk to the people who were supporting him from behind. Those senators were not supporting him for no reason. They valued the fact that Xavier was easy to control and simple.

Anyway, this job would be done by someone. So why not find someone who is easy to control?

To find someone like Lance?

That would be really crazy!

The more capable a ruler is, the more they also don’t want their subordinates to have too many ideas, and they don’t even want them to be too smart, too capable.

What they need are people who can obey their orders 100%, not geniuses with their own ideas, or those who can split hairs!

Lance waited outside the door for about twenty minutes before Xavier came out of the room, a smile on his face. “Mr. Lance, did you know?”

“There’s a very good restaurant nearby. Some of the senators dine there, and the taste is excellent.”

“If you don’t have an appointment with anyone else for lunch, why don’t you go and try it with me?”

Lance glanced at the time. It was almost twelve o’clock. This was the lunchtime for the people of the Federation.

He put down his legs and stood up. “No problem. I’m getting hungry too.”

Xavier seemed very excited. “When can I ship the things to your side?”

He asked, unable to help himself as he was putting on his clothes.

Lance gave him an answer that could put his mind at ease. “Anytime you want, but you have to first ensure that you have completed the order from the Department of Defense.”

Xavier’s expression was very excited. The senators behind him had said that they could appropriately reduce some of the orders from the Department of Defense and provide as much liquor as possible to Lance to get more profit!

As for the vote?

What vote?!

Xavier and I are good brothers. If I don’t vote for him, who should I vote for?

The restaurant Xavier had chosen did indeed taste very good, and the price was as surprising as its taste, not cheap at all.

However, these things no longer had much of a feeling for Lance. When a person feels that something is very expensive, it means that you can afford it, but the level you are at is not suitable for owning it.

Only when you feel that these things are no longer expensive, or that you no longer need courage to bear them, have you truly reached the level where you can freely use and control it.

After finishing the meal, Lance declined Xavier’s invitation to play ball in the afternoon. He still had several other places to go and persuade one by one.

This was the good thing about these small wineries. Compared to those wineries that could get 7-8%, 10%, and had strong connections behind them, they were more concerned about the actual profit they got!

Like Lance, his purpose in fighting for more quotas was to let Senator Cleveland and his group eat their fill, not for himself.

If he only considered himself, he felt that a quota of 1%, or even 0.1%, 0.01% was enough. Anyway, what he wanted was just the franchise, not to really sell the wine that could make a big profit for a low price.

On the contrary, for those small wineries that were purely for profit, Lance had given them a channel that could also make money, and a lot of it. They immediately sided with Lance.

Including the politicians behind them, maybe they and Lance would not have direct contact, at the current stage, but the two sides had also left a good impression on each other.

Every one of them was very enthusiastic, willing to cooperate with Lance, and also willing to invite Lance to taste the specialties of New Golden City.

These few days, Lance had been busy with these things. During this period, he had also had someone go and get Alberto’s body back, in the name of Alberto’s registered wife in the Federation, to buy back the body.

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed. The winning bidder for the Department of Defense had also come out. As everyone had known before the bidding, there was not the slightest surprise.

Nor did anyone propose to publicize the results. They all expressed their agreement with the results announced by the Department of Defense.

After all, sometimes, they were also one of the beneficiary groups.

Lance, through his efforts, had gotten a 9% quota, but in fact, the approximate quota was over 14%, because some of the other factories would privately transfer some of their quotas to him.

After settling these matters, all that was left was the matter of the industry committee.

This time they were in a conference room prepared by the Department of Defense, which was also where Mr. Rao was presiding over this meeting.

He had a smiling expression on his face. “Gentlemen, it’s been a week since we’ve seen each other. I hope you have all gotten your work done. So now, we are going to continue to elect the first rotating chairman.”

“Previously, Mr. Lance, who was nominated by Mr. Joseph, has already received four votes…” As Mr. Rao said this, a look of astonishment appeared on the faces of Mr. Joseph and the two people by his side.

Mr. Joseph even interrupted Mr. Rao. “Aren’t we going to vote again?”

He had stirred up the fire, and now he didn’t really want to vote for Lance.

Mr. Rao was clearly on Lance’s side. He frowned. “You’ve already voted last week. What, you want to change it?”

Lance turned his head to look at Mr. Joseph. The latter, facing Mr. Rao’s displeased gaze, and the undisguised, unsettling, and threatening look in Lance’s eyes, finally chose to give up.

“No, I was just asking.”

Mr. Rao nodded slightly. “Since you were just asking, then don’t say such misleading things!”

Lance glanced at Mr. Rao. The latter happened to also be looking at him. The gazes of the two met for a second or two, but it was enough to convey information.

Compared to the personal favor of the interest group behind Mr. Joseph, Mr. Rao clearly wanted to sell a personal favor to this small circle of Senator Cleveland.

Which one was valuable, and which one was not, he could still tell!

“Then now, the rest of you, vote.”

(End of a Chapter)