Empire of Shadows

”Lance, I hear your movie made a lot of money, is that right?”

At the dinner table, Arthur asked Lance a question.

Mayor Williams glared at him. ”Do you think you’re being polite?”

”Asking Lance a question like that?”

Asking about someone’s income and other relatively private matters was a very impolite act.

If Lance were just a minor character, then it would be fine to ask. After all, minor characters have no dignity or personality.

But Lance was not a minor character. Mayor Williams turned his head to look at Lance. ”You don’t have to answer him.”

Lance, on the other hand, was very willing to answer this question. He first said to Mayor Williams, ”It’s alright,” and then nodded and said, ”You could say so, yes.”

”After deducting all the costs, I made a little over two million from this movie, and I also won an award.”

The Grand Jury Prize at the end of last year had been awarded to ”Surprise Attack on Golden Port.” Whether it was in terms of artistry, narrative, or some of the new technologies used in the movie, it was indisputably number one.In addition, the Federal Film Committee was all Lance’s people, so he had swept all the major awards.

The Arts Council, on the other hand, was so angry that Lance had registered the Film Committee in advance that they had created a ”Federal Film Arts Jury,” and had also held an awards ceremony. ”Surprise Attack on Golden Port” had won nothing.

This was like a very clear battle, a struggle, which had attracted a lot of focus and attention.

But in the end, it hadn’t amounted to much.

If Lance could establish a film committee, then others could establish other film industry committees.

If Lance could have his own movie win an award, then other private organizations could not let him win.

But in any case, the fact that this movie had made a lot of money was an indisputable fact. More people had begun to discuss cooperation with the Wanli Distribution Company. They also wanted to get a share of the box office, instead of selling at a fixed price.

A single movie had pushed the movie buyout system to its demise, and had also directly led to the box office sharing system becoming the mainstream.

All the major production companies were establishing their own distribution channels, but before they could solve the problem of the accuracy of the profit-sharing, and without a way to constrain the box office, it was unlikely that they could compete with Lance’s distribution company.

Hearing Lance say such a large sum of money, Arthur couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air.

Now, the commercial assets of the family were mainly managed by Arthur and his mother—nominally.

In fact, there was a mature team that was doing this. They were just the nominal presidents, or the chairman of the board.

It could be seen that Arthur was probably about to make a career for himself.

Mainly because James was doing very well now. Mayor Williams, in order to ensure that the Williams family had a successor, had been constantly raising James’s social status and influence.

The more ”outstanding” James became, the more it highlighted how useless Arthur was.

Some people had already begun to make this comparison. Although it was not instigated by Mayor Williams or James, it might just be their own spontaneous action.

Compared to the outstanding James, Arthur, who loitered in various entertainment venues all day, constantly changing girlfriends, and constantly squandering, was said by people to be the shame of the Williams family!

Originally, he didn’t care much. Anyway, he didn’t need to do anything in his life, but his mother hoped that he could cheer up.

This young wife of Mayor Williams was a very insightful person. She might not have had a very high level of education, nor had she come from those prominent families, but she was knowledgeable, not the kind of pure toilet that had no experience.

She had told Arthur that Williams was the mayor, and this doting old father would eventually die. Once he died, all the power in the family would fall into James’s hands.

If Arthur could not show his own value, would James, like Mayor Williams, unconditionally tolerate him, and even indulge him?

Obviously, he would not.

This had also made Arthur realize the truth that his old father would not be able to hold on for many more years.

For this, he had even secretly wiped away his tears for a whole night. The next day, he had woken up like a changed person and had begun to consider the future—

However, it had not lasted for long. In the afternoon, he had felt that he had thought too much and was a little tired. He wanted to relax, and then as soon as he went out, he had not returned until the middle of the night.

But in the end, there was still some change. He now wanted to do something, to ensure that when Mayor Williams returned to the embrace of God, he and his mother would not have too miserable a life.

After thinking and thinking, he really couldn’t do any of those business things. The only thing he could think of that he could do was to open a bar, a strip club, and to watch movies.

If he were to open a bar, or a strip club, Mayor Williams might die even faster, from anger.

So in the end, he still turned his attention to making movies.

He could make money, and there was also a great deal of influence. And Lance was also in this line of work. While Mayor Williams could still take care of him, he would strive to become independent, which was why there was today’s question.

Even without today’s family dinner, Arthur would have gone to find Lance in a while.

Hearing Lance say such a large sum of money, Arthur was obviously even more interested.

”If... I also want to shoot a movie, what should I do?” he asked with great expectation.

Lance glanced at Mayor Williams, who just laughed twice, and he understood in his heart.

”I’ll give you a phone number. You go and find the current person in charge of the production company. He has a script in his hands. Then you choose the actors, and then find a place to shoot.”

”As an investor, this is actually a very simple matter. You choose a not-so-bad script, and then you choose a few actors that the audience likes, and then you shoot it and release it.”

”Whether you’ve made a profit or a loss, it’s clear at a glance.”

”Of course, you don’t have to worry about any huge losses. Even if the box office is not good, you can still get some back.”

After this small interlude, and after dinner, the four of them came to Mayor Williams’s study.

Arthur was busy calling the director.

”If he has caused any trouble...” Mayor Williams sighed, ”...for my sake, just give him a little lesson.”

Lance smiled and nodded. ”Don’t worry!”

”It’s just making a movie. The biggest trouble he can get into is to get the female lead pregnant.”

Hearing Lance say so, everyone also laughed. The atmosphere suddenly became very relaxed.

After James had brought the coffee, a very relaxed chat had officially begun.

The first to speak was William.

”Mayor Williams, you know, I’m going to Lake City soon to take up my post. To be honest, all of this is like a strange journey for me, taking me to a place I originally couldn’t have gone to experience everything there.”

”I don’t have much confidence in how to be an outstanding mayor, and you are already a model of a successful mayor. I want to know if you can give me some advice and counsel before I take office.”

James was also listening seriously on the side, both as a waiter and listening to them speak.

Mayor Williams tilted his head and thought for a moment. ”Actually, being a mayor is very simple. You just need to always understand one thing.”

”As long as you don’t do anything that is openly illegal, in the city, your power is the greatest!”

”Just like Mr. President now. He can do whatever he wants, as long as he doesn’t mess around.”

”Even if he is a little bit excessive, people will not investigate his responsibility.”

”The first thing you need to do after you take office is to replace a police chief.”

”Law enforcement work is very important for maintaining the stability of the city. I hear that the former mayor was willing to take all his trusted men with him?”

William nodded in acknowledgment. ”Thanks to Lance.”

Mayor Williams sighed. ”This way it will be easier. you can directly place the people you think are suitable in those positions.”

”I know you have many brothers. You can consider these people.”

”Don’t care about what others say. In the end, the ones who can decide whether you are re-elected are the local citizens.”

Lake City was not an industrial city. The power of the workers was relatively weak. On the contrary, the votes of the ordinary residents were more.

To please the public is the most important job of these politicians.

”As long as you can get the support of more than half of the people, there will be no problem with the election!”

He also said some small details about how to be a good mayor, for example, that some departments are very important, some are not so important, and how to handle the relationship with the upper class of the city.

These are all very valuable experiences. If it weren’t for someone from the same line, it would be unlikely to pass on these experiences.

And all of this was for Lance’s sake. Of course, James, on the side, had also learned a lot of things. This would also play a great role in his future succession of Mayor Williams.

Of course, the biggest role was still Lance.

After they had chatted enough, Mayor Williams took the initiative to bring the topic to the strike issue.

”I hear they have contacted many unions and are doing this, but the opinions of the workers are not unified this time. Your work has been done very well.”

”But I also hear that there will be another group of people who will join in this strike and parade.”

Lance lit a cigarette. He was crossing his legs, sitting on the sofa very calmly and casually, his body slightly tilted, and his elbow supporting the sofa. ”What people?”

”Some of the unemployed.”

Mayor Williams shrugged and raised his hand to make a half-support gesture. ”They say that the current unemployment rate in the city is directly related to your company, because those jobs have been snatched away by these illegal immigrants, which is why these people have no job.”

When Lance heard this, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ”But in fact, the labor shortage in the city is constantly increasing.”

Mayor Williams nodded in acknowledgment. The outbreak of war had refueled the industrial system, and the high-powered engine had begun to roar again!

The belligerent countries had already stopped producing many of the daily consumables of ordinary people, for example, soap, toilet paper, laundry detergent, and the like, all of which were obtained through imports from the Federation.

The Federation’s depression was due to overcapacity and a saturated market. Now that the international market had been opened up by the war, some experts believed that this ”sales boom” would last for ten to twenty years after the war.

This was a long period of positive growth. Some of the major financial magnates in the country had even proposed the idea of letting the war continue forever.

On the one hand, it could consume the military strength and renewable resources of various countries, and on the other hand, the Federation could independently maintain a rapid economic growth.

The benefits of an overseas war were too many, so many that they could not be counted.

However, the congressional side and the Presidential Palace had not given any response to these proposals.

So to blame the fact that some people in the city now had no job on the fact that the jobs had been snatched away by refugees and illegal immigrants was a very unfair statement.

Mayor Williams nodded and said, ”So this time it’s not just a portion of the working class that will participate in the strike and parade, but also some of the unemployed with a grudge against society.”

The unemployed certainly have no stable income. Living in a city is different from living in the countryside. Every morning when you open your eyes, it’s all about money.

Periodic bills, all kinds of fees, and even if you do nothing, there are still some fees that need to be paid.

These people who were not willing to work, and were not satisfied with their current living situation, were full of resentment against society.

They would not think that this was their own problem. They would think that this was society’s problem, the country’s problem!

If they were to join in the demonstrations, it might trigger a series of unpredictable consequences.

Mayor Williams said another thing. ”And I hear that the Labor Federation’s side attaches great importance to these measures of yours. They will invite many reporters on the day of the parade.”

”Both domestic and foreign.”

Lance was not very clear about this matter yet. He frowned, knowing what Mayor Williams was saying.

”If there are so many reporters, wouldn’t it be not very good for you to make a move?” William looked at Lance and said the ”standard answer.”

Lance did not deny it. ”They seem to have used their brains.”

With so many domestic and foreign reporters here reporting on this grand parade, if the Lance Family’s gangsters were to disperse the crowd, or to stop them through violent means, once it was reported, in order to maintain the image of the Federation, they would definitely need to deal with this matter.

Even if they didn’t arrest Lance and throw him into prison, at least they would have to have some of the important characters under him take his place to be tried.

They, through this method, were restricting Lance from making a move.

Mayor Williams’s expression was also a little grave. Once the parade and demonstration began, and could not be quickly resolved, it would inevitably make the state government and the congressional side think that he was very incompetent.

If ordinary citizens felt that a mayor had no ability, they could only continue to feel so.

But for the high-level of the federal government, if they felt that a mayor was incompetent, then soon this mayor would find a reason to resign to take the blame.

Lance and Mayor Williams belonged to the same interest group. If Mayor Williams needed to resign to take the blame, what if a mayor who did not cooperate so well with Lance was elected, or if one was airdropped, it could all bring some trouble to Lance.

This was not impossible. You know, the Labor Federation was preparing to establish the Labor Party. They were turning their influence into political power. They might not not consider going all out to first push a Labor Party member to become a mayor.

This was a very typical series of schemes. Either Lance would, according to the union’s demands, disband, or let the union enter his labor service company.

Or he would face a major parade and demonstration, and still during wartime. Mayor Williams’s chair would become very hot, and he wouldn’t be able to sit on it.

William also frowned. Although this matter would not fall on his head, he also had to put himself in the role of a mayor to think about how to respond.

Mayor Williams did not show any anxious expression, but just remained calm. This was an old politician.

Even if the tip of the shit had already come out, not only could he sit still, but he could also have the waiter bring another portion of pasta.

Lance considered for a moment, took a puff of his cigarette, and threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray. ”I’ll solve this matter. I guarantee they won’t be able to have a parade.”

William was suddenly a little interested, because in his thinking, there was no good way to stop this parade.

Because the thing about parades and demonstrations is a basic right granted to the public by the constitution.

The First Amendment of the Federation is about the public’s freedom to speak, to express their opinions, and to freely organize parades and demonstrations and protests and other activities.

So even if the federal government knew that they were going to do this, besides arranging for the police to clear the parade route for them, to rearrange the city’s road traffic, and also to protect the safety of them and the onlookers, there was actually nothing they could do.

This was also one of the reasons why the Labor Federation was constantly growing stronger, because it could not be stopped, and this kind of means was also very lethal.

Before there was any other way, they could only sit by and watch the Labor Federation constantly become like a new big mountain.

Mayor Williams and James were also curious about the method that Lance had thought of.

Although Lance did not hide it, he did not say it so in detail—

”The method of solving a problem is always just a few: compromise, a deal, or a spear-against-spear.”

”As long as it’s not our own men who are making a move, then won’t it be fine to have another group of people come and stop them?”

Mayor Williams nodded slightly. He had already thought of it. ”It’s a good idea.”

Although William already had some guesses, he was not completely sure. Of the four people in the room, only James was still at a loss, and could not, in a short time, understand what Lance was talking about.

This was not his fault. He had still experienced too little, and he had not met someone like Lance who did not play by the rules, so his thinking would always be one step behind Lance’s.

Seeing that this matter had a solution, a few more smiles appeared on Mayor Williams’s face. He began to talk about Lance’s son.

He even said with a laugh that if James or Arthur could have a daughter in the future, he hoped that Ace could marry a girl from the Williams family, to make the friendship between the three families even more unbreakable!

To this, Lance did not agree, but he did not object either. Who can say for sure about the future?

After returning to the manor at night, Lance made a phone call and had someone find Carl (the refugee Carl, not the gangster boss of New Birmingham).

Soon Carl appeared in front of Lance.

He was wearing the same iron-gray overcoat, and a red-and-white two-tone armband. It really did look like that.