Chapter 238: Dividing Money, Priests, and the Second Run on the Bank

In the morning, the members of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce all gathered at Lanse's place, because today was the day to divide money.

Actually, they didn't have some worries before, after all, so much money was invested, is it really reliable?

But Lanse took some representatives to talk and sign contracts throughout the whole process, which also made them completely set their minds at ease.

After all, they could also check the Lianbang You Bao Group themselves. They didn't believe that such a huge enterprise would defraud them of this little money together with Lanse.

And Lanse himself also invested a large amount of funds, which made people feel even more at ease!

It has to be said that those ordinary people who hadn't experienced the bombardment of scammers round after round during this period were really too simple and honest.

Of course, Lanse didn't deceive them either.

Now, it was the time for harvest. Although there might be some deviation from Lanse's planned plan, they had no dissatisfaction with being able to obtain double the return in less than two months.

The location was in the Stannaya Cathedral. Perhaps talking about banknotes in front of God was a bit vulgar, but Lanse also expressed his piety to God—a two-hundred-dollar check.

The priest smiled until his mouth couldn't close and put the check into his bosom. Sometimes their practices would indeed make people doubt whether God really existed, and who, after all, was the real God!

Soon the cathedral was full of people. As the largest cathedral in the Imperial District, the Stannaya Cathedral could accommodate more than three hundred people, but at this time, it was not only full of people, but the aisles were also full of people. At least five hundred people came.

Dividing money, this kind of thing, they were willing to bring their families together. This might be the first "investment" and return they had encountered in their lives, so they would definitely attach great importance to it.

Perhaps it was because he received two hundred dollars on behalf of God that made the priest feel a trace of guilt. He was using work to repent for his mistakes. He was helping, maintaining order, and chatting with the parishioners by the way.

After people came almost enough, Lanse asked the priest to close the door, and the priest not only didn't leave but instead stood back behind Lanse.

This made Lanse feel he was a bit inexplicable, but he didn't say anything and allowed him to stand there.

At this time, people's faith hadn't been harmed by the impact of network information. They still firmly believed in God and followed the teachings.

Having a priest standing on his side actually strengthened the credibility of what Lanse said.

Erwen pulled a chair for Lanse, and Lanse sat on the podium under God's statue. Beside him was a small round table with a notebook, some coffee, and pastries on it.

Lanse raised his hand and pressed it virtually, and the somewhat noisy cathedral suddenly became quiet.

"I communicated with Luo Jiefu (an old man in the Chamber of Commerce) and other representatives before. The Lianbang You Bao Group doesn't intend to fulfill our contract."

"I talked with a lawyer. If they insist on doing so, even if we go to court, we can win, but we are not their opponent."

"Even if they invest the profit generated by tearing up the contract, and pay more, they will do their best to make us not earn even a cent from this contract, and also lose a large sum of money."

"This is the means of capitalists. They treat us as a challenger. When they do this, the contradiction between us and them is no longer a question of how much profit this contract can bring to us or them."

"But an attitude of an interest group facing a challenge."

"So they will do their best to drag us to death in this lawsuit. I have already been able to foresee the possibility of them fabricating and forging evidence and witness testimony. This is very normal."

"So after communication, I have already talked with Vice President Qiaonasen of the Baihui Bank. We mortgaged the contract to the bank for a price of 2.75 million."

"Now, this money is in my hands..."

Many people in the cathedral stood up in an instant. They looked at Lanse with burning eyes, and some people shouted Lanse's name.

Lanse continued to raise his hand and press it virtually, letting them become quiet again.

"Actually, I think this contract could have brought us a profit of more than 3.5 million in the end, but because of them, we lost a large sum of money."

"I am very sorry about this."

"I didn't expect the greed of the federal capitalists to be so terrible, terrible to the point that they would reach out to plunder even knowing they weren't in the right!"

Just after Lanse finished speaking, someone shouted, "This is not your fault, Mr. Lanse. You have already done everything you could do!"

Soon people echoed one after another. Although not earning more money was a bit... regrettable, the doubled profit had already made them very happy.

And, money, only when it enters one's own hands, does it truly have value, doesn't it?

Lanse nodded. "I tried to work hard on this matter, but there was no possibility of saving anything, so I don't hold hope anymore. Bringing you here today is to divide money with you."

He picked up the notebook on the table. "This records the total amount you invested. According to the calculation, your return rate is 220 percent..."

Before Lanse finished speaking, the priest behind him shouted "God" and made a gesture.

Lanse turned his head and looked at him somewhat strangely. The priest immediately revealed some smiles, tilted his head slightly, and bent his waist, as if saying he wouldn't make a sound again.

Lanse withdrew his gaze and opened the notebook. "I will now call names according to your ranking. Those who are called come to me, and I will give you a check. You can go to the bank to get your principal and profit."

"However, I suggest that after you get the money, don't deposit it in the Jin Da Bank. I don't want to discuss some... of Mr. Qiaobafu's things, you know, I don't like discussing others behind their backs."

"But since he followed the mayor, he has been spending money crazily. I am very worried about whether this money is his own or the depositors'."

The members of the Chamber of Commerce didn't care much about this news before, but when Lanse said so, they vaguely realized that something was wrong.

Because they had heard before that Mr. Qiaobafu invested in a railway and two factories, spending fifty or sixty thousand dollars in total.

Plus some gossip heard usually, perhaps Mr. Qiaobafu spent more than one million in this half a year!

Regarding how much money Mr. Qiaobafu actually had, there had never been a conclusion, but at least one million was the consensus of people.

Now think about it carefully, has he spent the one million, then how much money does he have left, and how much money do you have left?

Luo Jiefu (an old man in the Chamber of Commerce) couldn't help but stand up. "Mr. Lanse, do you mean... Mr. Qiaobafu's bank might have some danger?"

Lanse directly denied it. "No, I didn't say that. I'm just worried, after all, it's not easy for you to earn money."

"The money deposited in the bank might be your lifetime, or even the savings of two or three generations."

"Compared to Baihui, Botong, and other banks with larger scales, I still trust them more."

"I'm not saying I don't support Mr. Qiaobafu and his career, I just hope my money can be safer."

"Alright, don't talk about these. First, Mr. Luo Jiefu, you invested four thousand... dollars, so you will get nine thousand... dollars."

Lanse signed a check at random. "I won't give the thirty-three cents, I hope you don't mind."

Luo Jiefu didn't even want his cane and walked onto the podium in big strides, respectfully receiving that check from Lanse's hands, looking at the numbers on it and Lanse's signature.

He was so excited that his beard trembled. "Mr. Lanse... I don't know what to say..."

"This is the savings of our whole family for a lifetime. I never thought it would... become so much so quickly. You made my cognition of this world have a problem!"

Lanse said with a smile, "I hope it's a good problem, not a bad one."

Luo Jiefu nodded repeatedly. "It's good, it's good!"

"I hope that next time there is a good project, you must notify me. Following you to earn money is really too satisfying!"

A family saved four thousand dollars in a lifetime, is it little?

It sounds like it's just the total salary of one person for ten years without eating, drinking, or using, but in reality, this money is not easy to save.

And this is not a small amount of money. It can buy two detached houses, it can buy three smaller apartments, it can buy two mid-range cars, it... is the dream of many ordinary families!

But now, the savings of a lifetime doubled in less than three months. Perhaps this is the place where capital and finance are like deadly poison but can still attract people!

When you start to taste the beautiful flavor it brings to you, it means that you can never leave it again!

Earning quick money and masturbating are both addictive, and the pleasure brought is countless times stronger!

Watching Luo Jiefu still wanting to say something, Lanse rolled his eyes. "The people behind you wish they could swallow you alive now, you had better go back and sit down first!"

The people behind revealed some embarrassed smiles. His eyeballs were indeed about to pop out, and there were happy laughter in the cathedral.

This part of the money was the profit after deducting ten percent "sharing" and five percent "membership fee." No one could be dissatisfied with this profit.

"Next,... sir, let me see, your total investment amount is seven hundred and seventy dollars. I have to say you missed an opportunity to get rich."

"This is your one thousand six hundred and ninety-four dollars. I hope it can soothe the scars in your heart!"

Lanse signed a check and handed it over. This gentleman took a deep breath, said a thank you, and then excitedly held the check, just like the first time he got married.

An exciting link, people spontaneously observed order. Lanse's speed of issuing money was very fast, and he would read out everyone's name and tell everyone how much money they invested and how much return they got.

People would envy and be jealous of those who invested the most, for example, Luo Jiefu, after all, more than four thousand dollars suddenly became nine thousand dollars. This money was enough for them to move to Pulixiya and find a decent middle-class community to live in.

Actually, buying a house is also an obsession of Federation people. They hope to move to a better house, associate with better neighbors, and develop more connections.

The first thing many Federation people do after earning money is to change to a community that is helpful to their work, rather than others.

Of course, for the bottom of society, perhaps enjoyment is greater than buying a house, because they don't have any motivation in the first place, and enjoyment is their greatest life pursuit.

The whole process lasted for more than two hours. When the last gentleman received the check for four hundred and forty dollars from Lanse somewhat awkwardly, and swore that next time even if he sold the house, he would bet it all, the whole money-dividing conference ended.

In fact, Lanse still had profitable businesses, but for now, he needed the whole situation to ferment a little longer.

Others were talking all at once, and in the end, the short man beside Bulinton gave this idea great approval. "A very good idea. I think it can be tried."

"When there's a good project in a while, I'll have someone notify you."

He then announced the dismissal; led by Luojiefu, each of them lined up to shake hands with Lanse and thank him for everything he had brought, before leaving.

Even though they were desperately eager to exchange their checks for cash at this very moment, no one left early.

Standing to the side, the priest felt his scalp tingle and had goosebumps all over his body, because all of this was too "ritualistic."

If he hadn't witnessed the whole process with his own eyes, he would even have felt that Lanse was the master here, or perhaps even some kind of patriarch!

When the last person left, the priest couldn't help but walk over, "Mr. Lanse..."

Lanse packed up his notebook and then looked at him with some curiosity, "Is there something, Father?"

"It's like this, Mr. Lanse, if I want to join your... Imperial Chamber of Commerce, is that possible?"

Drunks, regardless of the era or social cultural background, had surprisingly similar characteristics.

The priest was overjoyed and took the initiative to shake Lanse's hand, "Then next time your investment..."

"Will come very soon!"

The priest shook his hand vigorously, "God just told me that from now on, you can use this place for free anytime, anywhere!"

This was an interesting priest, and Lanse did not refuse his kindness, "Give my regards to God, and thank Him for His generosity."

Whether God was generous or not, the priest didn't know, but Mr. Lanse was certainly generous; he smiled very happily, as if God had truly sent down an oracle, smiling from ear to ear.

Lanse had greeted Jonathan beforehand, so when a large number of people came with checks, the bank did not obstruct them from cashing them, but instead actively cooperated with them in opening accounts at Parkway Bank.

Although some people withdrew a portion of the cash, most people still deposited the money into Parkway Bank.

And these five hundred or so new customers were also Jonathan's "performance."

This matter soon began to spread within the Imperial District to a limited extent, because the money in the hands of these investors did not come entirely from themselves.

Some of the bolder ones had even borrowed money from friends and family; now that Lanse had fulfilled his promise, it was time for them to fulfill theirs.

When the friends and family of these people saw them return with the promised interest and principal, everyone showed an expression of surprise.

In fact, some people didn't expect to get the money back when they lent it out, but not only did the money come back, the interest was quite substantial, which piqued their curiosity.

Curiosity drives the development of the world; their curiosity might not change the course of history, but it would lead them to ask their questions.

Where did this money come from?

When the news that "the Chamber of Commerce can make money, and make big money" quickly spread, the merchants who hadn't participated before began to ask if they could join.

Lanse had strict rules: three members could only recommend one non-member to become a member every two years; in other words, if they gave the opportunity to someone else, it meant their own relatives would lose the chance.

They didn't know what the Chamber of Commerce could do besides making money in the future, but they had already realized that the importance of the Chamber of Commerce might not be as simple as just making money.

This made some people regret it to death; if they had known, they would have joined too—wasn't it just five dollars a month...

Besides this news, rumors that Mr. Qiaobafu's Jin Da Bank might be in trouble also began to spread along with these messages.

Don't underestimate the sociability of these people; soon, the old men on the street used various channels to calculate that Mr. Qiaobafu's various investments over the past six months were around nine hundred thousand or so.

Among the public, there was no shortage of people who knew that Mr. Qiaobafu had been blackmailed; when processing this information, they would add some subjective views, perhaps thinking that the blackmail amount would be huge.

After all, that was Mr. Qiaobafu; a small blackmail amount would be an insult to his status.

Thus, news that "Jin Da Bank might be insolvent" began to spread within the Imperial District.

This news actually didn't have much of an impact on federal citizens, because federal citizens wouldn't deposit money in such private banks with obvious regional characteristics.

The only ones who would really deposit money here were the Imperial people.

Now, their money seemed to be less than safe.

Mr. Qiaobafu didn't find out about this until the end of April; his assistant was not by his side now, and he had hired a new federal citizen, said to be a graduate of a prestigious alliance school, in his thirties, with some connections in Liklai State.

This guy was not an Imperial person and didn't live in the Imperial District, so he couldn't quickly tell Mr. Qiaobafu the news.

By the time he found out about this, it was because the bank had seen a large number of withdrawals again.

When he learned of this news from some people, his expression became a bit more murderous than before.

The mayor's experience led him to truly accept people like Mr. Qiaobafu, so Mr. Qiaobafu also participated in some deeper decision-making.

His aura and temperament were changing; through the analysis of some rumors, he knew who was playing tricks behind his back.

He thought for a good while, picked up the phone, and called Lanse.

"We need to talk..."