Chapter 171: Pier Night Talk and Signboard

At six o'clock, the pier still had quite a few people working here. When some ships arrived at the New Jincheng pier, it was already midnight, but they couldn't stay here for too long, and would transport the cargo on the ships down overnight.

Plus, at night, some piers had to organize and categorize the cargo that was urgently unloaded during the day; some might need to be re-stacked, some might need to be put into warehouses, and some would be sent directly onto trains to leave.

In short, there was quite a lot of work to do in the middle of the night. The wages paid at the pier were also relatively high, about thirty-nine dollars or so.

The workers who stayed at the pier in the middle of the night were basically immigrants and illegal immigrants, and there were also a small number of local workers, but not many.

They would rather take fewer wages than work in the middle of the night. Work in the middle of the night was more tiring than during the day and made people feel uncomfortable.

As soon as Lanse got on the pier, someone greeted him. Most of the people here were in blue work clothes; only they were willing to work in the middle of the night, just to earn two dollars more than during the day.

Lanse also constantly greeted them, and several people who weren't wearing blue work clothes took the initiative to greet Lanse and asked if they could join Lanse's firm.

"This matter isn't easy to do. You know, they signed with my firm because they... all don't have work cards and legal immigrant status."

"They weren't protected by the union before, and in fact, even now, only the Pier Workers' Union provides them with some convenience. In other places and industries, the union still closes its doors to them."

"That's why I stood up to do some work that I shouldn't have had to do. I hope each of us can have a beautiful life and tomorrow."

"Instead of letting us be in different classes and having different but roughly the same miserable futures just because we come from different places, or have or don't have legal status."

"But you are all locals, have your own work cards and social security numbers, and the union won't refuse your applications. You can completely do any work you want to do."

"If you also come to my firm, then it conflicts somewhat with the role of the local union."

As Lanse spoke, he took out cigarettes and gave one to each of the people in front of him. Just this simple action made them feel flattered!

Never had such... big shots given them cigarettes. Everyone lit them up happily!

More people gathered around.

"I wouldn't dare to snatch rice bowls from the union; they would break my head!" People laughed softly, but didn't think it was true.

However, Lanse soon continued, "I know these thoughts of yours. Others have mentioned this to me before, and I've also been considering this matter recently."

"We might be able to change a method to do it, but now we still need to think."

"Compared to this, I hope you can be interested in the workers' club we are about to open..."

"It has more activity experience halls, projects that can relieve stress, and I even specially added some competitions with entertainment nature. You will definitely like them when the time comes."

"And!"

He emphasized it. The low discussion sounds that were originally around stopped. Lanse stood in the cold wind, and the exhaled air would form a mass of water vapor under the illumination of the lights, and then be quickly blown away by the wind.

"We provide cheap alcohol!"

At first, they didn't react, but immediately after, surprised expressions appeared on the faces of these workers. Cheap alcohol—wasn't that exactly what they needed most?

Someone asked somewhat impatiently, "Mr. Lanse, will it be open all night?"

Lanse nodded. "Yes, it will be open twenty-four hours a day, all-weather. And I guarantee you one point: only you and my people can enter; I don't allow others to enter."

"This way, there won't be people from outside coming to our pier to snatch cheap alcohol and cheap food from our workers."

At this time, someone in the crowd said, "The union couldn't be so kind!"

His original intention was to say that Lanse might be lying, but this sentence helped Lanse a lot. He had originally been thinking about how to explain that all this wasn't given to them by the Pier Workers' Union, but by him, Mr. Lanse.

As a result, this questioner provided the most powerful assist!

He looked toward the direction the sound came from, and then nodded and said, "I have to explain that I have already contracted the Pier Workers' Club, so these business things are all borne by me. The Workers' Union doesn't have any expenditure, so you can completely rest assured."

"It won't suddenly close one day because it's not profitable, or because of other reasons, like only opening once a week."

"I believe you will be shocked!"

Once the workers heard this wasn't done by the union, but by Lanse, the questioning voice spoke again, "Mr. Lanse, will you charge us fees?"

Although Lanse didn't find this person, he was still very grateful to him. "Of course, but what I charge is only the cost of your consumption itself. Otherwise, even if I were the richest person in New Jincheng, I couldn't afford for more than ten thousand workers at the pier to come and drink a few cups every day."

"What I can guarantee is that I won't earn your money. I know someone will definitely say, Mr. Lanse, are you really that kind?"

"In fact, when we gather together, we are already a powerful force, and this force can be exchanged for money!"

"It's just that you can't turn the power of uniting yourselves into cash, but I have a way. And the part of the money I earn, a portion will enter my pocket, and another portion will be used to subsidize it. When the time comes, you will see a completely different club."

In the distance, three cars slowly pulled up on the internal road of the pier. One of the cars honked its horn. Erwin got out of the car and stood to the side.

There were many large lights on the pier that could illuminate everything here. Lanse nodded after seeing him, turned his head, and looked at these workers who had gathered around.

"The person coming to pick me up has to go. If you are interested in the new club about to open, you will be able to see some of its progress recently."

As he spoke, he said goodbye to the people around him and left.

"I thought you would be back even later." After Erwin picked up Lanse, he had a face full of smiles. His pressure these past few days had been too great.

Although it was said that he was fully responsible for the various work of the family when Lanse wasn't there, he still hoped Lanse could be here; his heart would be steady.

There were some things he completely didn't know how to do. This wasn't because he wasn't smart enough, but because he hadn't experienced them.

Just like a boy on his first date with a girl, perhaps for him in the darkness that night, the most desperate thing in the world was the zipper and copper buttons of the girl's jeans!

He could clearly do anything, but he couldn't do anything!

Erwin hadn't experienced these; he had to have a process of growth.

But this era wasn't that girl who could accompany your growth, moving from being ignorant and green to mature.

It was just a bitch. If you didn't do well, it wouldn't say "Honey, you should do this," but would kick you away and shout "Next."

Lanse sat in the car, took out a stack of money, and handed it to Hai Lahan and Lao En. "Go buy some coffee for them. We need them. Wait until you finish these before coming back, let them send it over themselves."

More than a hundred dollars, at least. Both nodded.

These pier workers would be a wealth in the true sense after Lanse came to this world. Many people considered "the first pot of gold" to be the first sum of money earned through whatever means.

But for the more mature Lanse, in his cognition, the first pot of gold didn't refer to pure wealth, but to the power that could allow oneself to stabilize here and have the confidence to face some things!

Money was everywhere, but power was rare.

"Leave a car for them," he ordered, and then the two cars left quickly.

Hai Lahan and Lao En found a coffee house outside the pier. Calling it a coffee house, in fact, it couldn't be completely counted as one—a small storefront, two sleepy employees.

It was highly likely they should be a husband and wife, the primary stage of the sprout of capital. If they could hold on, they would start to walk onto the primary stage of the sprout of capital, start hiring workers, and then it would be the next stage, exploiting workers.

But before this, they were exploiting themselves.

The doorbell sound made the husband and wife quickly wake up and stand up. Hai Lahan shook his hair and took out the money in his hand.

Before they came, they had already inquired. There were about two hundred people working at this pier tonight. The whole New Jincheng had seven piers, but he obviously didn't need to send them to every pier.

Sometimes sending them to all would instead not make them have a feeling of gratitude. It was precisely by reflecting the "class difference" that they would be moved, thankful, and grateful.

"Two hundred cups of coffee, don't need the best, don't need the worst, send them to Pier 3. How much money?"

The husband and wife didn't react at first, but soon realized this was a big business!

The wife held a pen and drew on the draft paper for a long time before saying, "Twenty dollars, sir."

"Do you have donuts?"

"Have, but not many, but there are many beef wraps..."

In the back kitchen, a pile of wraps, adding some vegetables, a little beef and chicken mince, was the food pier workers loved most.

Hai Lahan had eaten this; each cost fifteen cents, because there was beef and chicken bits, it could be counted as a meat dish.

Before, he would probably eat it once a week, but now...

He looked back at Lao En; there was also something indescribable in the other party's eyes. "Do you want one?"

Lao En nodded. He turned his head to look at the boss. "Two hundred plus two beef wraps, how long will it take to make?"

"How much more money?"

The two calculated until they were sweating profusely, and finally calculated the answer of forty dollars. As for the extra two?

Just consider it thanking them for taking care of the business here.

More than ten minutes later, the workers at Pier 3, in a state of disbelief themselves, received hot coffee and hot beef wraps from the hands of other fellow workers.

Compared to the warmth on the body brought by hot coffee and hot wraps, what they cared about more was the warmth in their hearts...

On the other side, in the car, Lanse asked, "How is the situation now?"

Erwin sat in the passenger seat, staring at the vehicles on the road, and said, "Sam is convinced it was us who did it. He said he wants to wait for you to come back and talk to you."

"Lisa and the others, according to what you said, they are hiding in Creek Valley City now. I told them not to contact us actively unless an accident happens."

After hearing this, Lanse nodded. "Very good. Sam is not important; what's important is the Mayor's attitude."

"Wait until tomorrow, and we will know the Mayor's attitude."

"How many grapes were bought?" After resting for a while, Lanse asked the question he cared about most.

Erwin was a bit embarrassed. "The current grape suppliers are unwilling to sign long-term orders. At most, they are only willing to sign for grapes coming to market in May in advance."

"How much money?"

Erwin was stunned for a moment. "Ninety-nine dollars."

Lanse shook his head slightly. Erwin, looking through the rearview mirror, thought Lanse felt it was too expensive, but before he could say he could try to bargain, Lanse told him, "Buy as many as there are. Mix some cash in, don't give all checks."

"Two-thirds in checks, one-third in cash."

"If they accept a low-price contract, we can give another five dollars per ton."

"I didn't quite understand..." Erwin was a bit unsure if what Lanse said and what he understood were the same thing.

"We can give them... a price of one hundred and five dollars per ton, but on the contract, they can't write one hundred and five dollars; they have to write it lower."

"This way they can pay less tax, and we can also mix in more cash."

One hundred dollars did the work of one hundred and twenty-five dollars, or even one hundred and thirty-five dollars. The tax bureau could pretend not to see it. Truly wanting to investigate every sum of money was also a headache for the tax bureau.

But if you used one hundred dollars to do the work of one thousand dollars, that was a bit too arrogant!

Your pre-tax income reported isn't enough to support your consumption. Where did your money come from, did you pay tax, did you conceal income, did you evade tax?

Lowering the price on the contract, for example, lowering it to eighty-five dollars per ton, Lanse gives a legal income of about seventy dollars, and the rest can be given directly in cash.

When the time comes to investigate, it's reasonable, sensible, and legal. As long as no one insists on finding trouble for him, the tax bureau won't take the initiative to investigate.

But if you only have an income of a few tens of thousands this month, yet you bought hundreds of thousands of grapes...

This time Erwin understood, but he was also a bit curious. "Are these grapes really worth it?"

Lanse also looked at him through the rearview mirror, a smile appearing on his face. "Much more worth it than you imagine!"

The power of alcoholics is infinite, and they themselves indeed need to brew wine.

And he was very certain that this was just the starting point of its price, far from its end point, and it couldn't even be considered a starting point; it could only be considered just beginning!

The two cars quickly merged into the city's traffic, and then disappeared into the rhythm of the city.

The news about "Lanse is back" quickly spread at the pier. After all, those lucky ones at Pier 3 each received a very good cup of coffee and a beef wrap.

Thirty minutes, is it a lot?

It can't be counted as a lot, but it's definitely not a little. This is enough to make many people envious and jealous.

And as the Pier 3 workers who gained benefits, they constantly boasted to people about how good the coffee Mr. Lanse treated them to was, and how delicious the beef wraps were.

Even if they knew this stuff was from that small shop next to the port, they just felt it was tasty and delicious!

Someone poked through the reason for the deliciousness—anything that doesn't cost money is delicious—but it still made people envious.

The workers at Pier 3 also became more "supportive" of Lanse. Of course, using the word "supportive" might not be accurate.

At the same time, news about the Pier Workers' Club being about to reopen, as well as the news of cheap alcohol, also started to spread among the worker group.

There were many people paying attention to the pier, so in the morning, Sam was still sleeping when the telephone bell woke him up. It was Bu Ke calling. "Mr. Sam, Lanse is back."

Bu Ke had recently been preparing to select some more girls outside. Sam had talked to him about this matter; Lanse's side might not be easy to handle, and they had to be prepared for two hands.

But Sam didn't really feel that Lanse would confront him to the end. Everyone was working for the Mayor; why should you be more noble than me?

At this time, he got up in a daze, tidied up his appearance, ate something, and came to the phone.

Soon the phone was connected. A voice, different from Erwin's, cleaner and more firm and confident, sounded in the receiver. "This is the Night of the Empire nightclub."

"Is this Mr. Lanse?"

"It is."

Sam changed his sitting posture and lit a cigarette. "Mr. Lanse, I hope you can return Lisa to me; she is very important to me and my business."

"You should know..."

Lanse didn't give him a chance to continue, because no matter what he said, it was useless.

"I don't know where Lisa is. If you have evidence, you can come and find me."

"No matter who you go to find, I am saying this: I don't know where Lisa is, and I'm not interested in where she is."

"But, Sam, you have to remember one point: your people shot and wounded my people. I will settle this account with you clearly."

The check Sam sent was eventually retrieved by him. That person hadn't had time to drive the car away before being stopped.

At this time, hearing Lanse's firm words, he suddenly felt a bit shaken, but after thinking it over, besides Lanse having this possibility, no one else had the meaning and necessity to do so!

Lanse's attitude was very tough, and his attitude softened somewhat. "Lanse, I don't want to take this matter to... his side."

"At that time, I will certainly lose face, but you will also make him very angry. We should be friends..."

Lanse interrupted him again. "Mr. Sam, I'm not interested in being your friend, and I feel a bit nauseous."

"I will find you, and at the same time, I must warn you: if you dare to send Imperial girls, whether you deceived them, bought them, or whatever, into your Red High Heels."

"I guarantee, I will tear it (referring to the red high-heeled shoe neon light on the signboard) off your signboard, and then shove it into your asshole!" ===== CHAPTER 172 =====