Chapter 426: 428. Chapter 422: Family Banquet, Disposal, and Account Settlement

428. Chapter 422: Family Banquet, Disposal, and Account Settlement

Very few local people in Jincheng have attended Councilor Williams's family banquet; even the mayor hasn't attended one.

Councilor Williams also knew very well why Lans brought William, and he was also willing to cooperate with William to a certain extent.

After all, there are eleven councilors in the city. If he can gather more, his strength will be stronger in fighting against the Bay Area.

The Bay Area is not so easy to deal with; otherwise, he wouldn't cooperate with Lans. When these people control the jobs of one-fifth or even one-third of the city's residents, this matter becomes increasingly difficult to handle.

But fortunately, Lans will help him.

At the dinner table, Lans saw Councilor Williams's current wife.

The word "current," when used before "wife," seems to have a very special flavor, but most men are like this; their tastes are mostly fixed.

Some people might like older ones, but that's when they aren't old enough themselves—for example, liking a thirty-year-old when they are twenty.

But no one will like a sixty-year-old when they are fifty, unless this sixty-year-old is particularly wealthy.

It is said that Councilor Williams's wife followed him when she was sixteen. For him, this is both his lover, his physical partner, and a special spiritual sustenance.

She is both a daughter and a wife. He likes this woman very much. She is only thirty-seven years old this year, looks very young, and exudes a kind of ripe charm all over her body.

The only one at the entire dinner table who could compete with her was Patricia.

She is beautiful, young, and youthful. Just youth alone can kill some charm for some people.

Arthur was also at the table, but what Lans found interesting was that Arthur's gaze would fall on his mother from time to time—a guy with an Oedipus complex, he really didn't see that.

Perhaps every bastard has a little special hobby.

The dinner was very sumptuous. It could be seen that Councilor Williams had specially prepared it. Whether it was the cook or the ingredients, they were all very fresh and delicious.

James was engaged but not yet married. In this era, people his age who were not married were relatively few.

However, Councilor Williams also specially explained this situation. They would hold the wedding in November, and he hoped Lans could come then.

Before, James could continue to drag it out; no one cared, and Councilor Williams didn't value this very much.

It's not too late for a capable man to get married at fifty. Even if James wanted to get married at forty, there would still be many eighteen-year-old girls who wanted to marry him.

But he was about to become a municipal councilor, so the issue of family obviously had to be put on the agenda.

Federalists trust politicians who have a family and a stable family life more. They like this kind of politician, believing they can be responsible and have integrity.

In some respects, people's choices are actually the same as capitalists' choices. Capitalists like workers who bear the entire family's living expenses, preferably those who still have loans and cannot lose their jobs and income, even if they are willing to take a pay cut for this.

People don't require politicians to take a pay cut because politicians' work income isn't actually particularly outrageous, and the people are not capitalists; they won't exploit politicians.

In short, this was a good family banquet. Councilor Williams's wife also asked Emily for her phone number and indicated that they could socialize together when they were free, which made Emily's face flush with happiness!

She actually had the life she wanted too. The noble ladies of the upper class were everything she wanted, and now her wish had been half realized.

At night, Patricia didn't lift her head for a long time because Emily was a bit crazy. They could even hear the "oh, yeeeeees!" coming from Emily's room.

This made Patricia feel as if she were burning up, entirely because of embarrassment and shame.

"She... actually wasn't like this before," she whispered in Lans's arms to explain.

Lans hugged her from behind, his breath hitting her shoulder socket when he spoke, making her feel very quiet.

If he could stay still, it would be even better.

Terrible, but a very interesting night.

When Lans got up the next morning, the Lawrence couple had already prepared breakfast. William looked at Lans with some embarrassment; he didn't know what to say.

Lans gave him a hug. "I can understand."

This made William breathe a sigh of relief. "She... was a bit excited. Councilor Williams's wife is considered a top-tier existence in Jincheng's ladies' social circle. The only one who can be on par with her is Councilor Wei De's wife."

"But you know, Councilor Wei De took them away, so now in the ladies' social circle, Councilor Williams's wife is the top one!"

She was about to be promoted to "Mayor's Wife," representing the face of Jincheng's ladies' social circle. Now Emily had a good start with her, and subsequently, she would also have a place in Jincheng's social circle.

Thinking of this, this middle-class lady who lived an exquisite life found it very difficult to control her emotions.

They learn flower arranging, fashion design, and everything fashionable and trendy, certainly not just to fill themselves.

Filling themselves is enough with their husbands. They do all this entirely to deal with socializing.

Emily was also a little embarrassed, but only a little. "Things that weren't embarrassing originally became embarrassing after you explained them!"

She put her hands on her hips and looked at William. William could only pick up a piece of bread that had been toasted in the toaster, spread with butter, and topped with some vegetables, smoked meat, ham, and some sauce, and took a bite to indicate his stance of shutting up.

Lans also had the same breakfast. If it weren't for the fact that there was no social media or anything in this era, perhaps the first thing Emily would do after making breakfast every day would be to let everyone know what she had made.

"After I finish dealing with the follow-up matters of Mr. Chobaf, you won't have to worry about these problems anymore."

Emily walked over specially, hugged Lans, and pressed her face against his. "A big house, dear, you are so thoughtful!"

William also had some yearning in his eyes. Who wouldn't want their life to get better?

When Lans sent Patricia to work, she was still a bit speechless. "She is too crazy!"

"It's already over, dear," Lans said while driving, knowing what she was talking about.

Patricia covered her face. "I don't even know how to face you, encountering such a thing!"

Lans couldn't help but laugh and say, "Then next time, your shouting will be louder than hers, so I can't hear it, and then I won't be embarrassed!"

The two talked, laughed, and played around, and the car stopped in the parking lot of Patricia's workplace.

Many people greeted her and Lans.

Lans's status in Jincheng was also constantly being known by people as the Lans family continued to expand.

No one felt... that there was anything wrong with a gang member falling in love with a civil servant; there were even more fantastical things in this world than this.

Furthermore, before the judge finally confirmed that Lans was a gang member and a gang leader, no one could say he was a gang leader or the head of a criminal group.

After sending Patricia off, Lans returned to the company. He called for Burton and asked about some follow-up matters regarding Mr. Chobaf.

Burton was very familiar with Mr. Chobaf—of course, it was a one-sided familiarity before—plus he now had eyes and ears all over the two districts, so asking him about these things was really not wrong.

"I heard that Mr. Chobaf's family is bankrupt and owes a large sum of money. No one is willing to collect his body, worried about getting into trouble."

"So his body is still in the funeral home. If no one goes to deal with it within a month, it's highly likely he will be disposed of."

Lans looked at him. "What does it mean to be disposed of?"

"Sent to some medical universities as course material for dissection. Fresh bodies are not easy to get."

Lans sighed. A bleak ending, not even being able to find someone to bury him. This didn't mean he was so failed; in fact, most successful people who encountered the same thing as him were about the same.

People are worried about getting into trouble, so they won't take the initiative to take on these things.

"How much money does it take to bury him?"

Burton shook his head and said, "It doesn't take much money, thirty dollars at most, including choosing a cemetery."

A coffin for a dozen dollars, then five dollars to choose a cemetery, and the remaining few dollars to give to the priest—this is the cost of a burial.

"You pay for this part of the money. In any case, he was once a respectable gentleman!"

Burton did not object and did this immediately.

When someone takes the lead in doing this, it naturally becomes very fast, and the word efficiency is immediately reflected.

This is why it is often very difficult for ordinary people to do something, but it is very easy for people with power or money to do something.

That afternoon, everything was arranged, and it was scheduled to bury him on the weekend.

Only after he is buried will he truly die, because people will start to forget him.

Just like a page of a book that has been turned, people will no longer look forward, only backward.

In the afternoon, Lans made a phone call to Jonathan (Vice President of Jin Da Bank) and talked about the situation of drug mortgage.

The two chatted for more than twenty minutes. Now, drugs like special anti-inflammatory drugs are very popular internationally. Although they haven't stopped selling in the Federation, they have also limited the quantity of purchases.

Ordinary people can only get three or seven days of medicine at a time based on a doctor's prescription; it is basically impossible to get more.

The price of this batch of drugs is higher internationally than domestically, so Jonathan can give Lans a 90% valuation.

"If you are not willing to pay back the money, I believe the board of directors will definitely be very happy!" At the end, he also took the initiative to talk about this matter.

Lans smiled and said, "If you can value it for me at 15 million, I can decide not to pay it back."

Jonathan was stunned because his preliminary valuation was between 5.5 million and 6.5 million.

He wouldn't really take the number Lans said as a joke; he thought this number must have a basis. "Do you mean that the price of drugs will skyrocket again?"

Lans didn't answer directly. "Life is priceless, and there are always people willing to pay an excessive premium to get the opportunity for people to live."

Jonathan didn't understand, nor could he guess Lans's meaning.

The Federation's stance hasn't changed much yet, but as the war in Tanfit continues to break out, the Federation will definitely have its own stance.

Once the export ban takes effect, then these things—not just drugs, but other things in the smuggling field—will skyrocket in price!

After ending the call with Jonathan, he asked Roger to deal with these matters and by the way, asked him to implement the grain acquisition.

Recently, the growth of wheat has been amazing, from 3.60 dollars a barrel in March to 4.45 dollars now, an increase of more than 23%.

If compared to last year, the increase is more than 40%.

A barrel is about thirty-six liters, using the international standard; in trade, these crops and grains, including corn, are all settled using the "barrel" as a unit.

He can get at least 5 million in loans from Jin Da Bank. If this money is used to buy grain, it will be a very amazing transaction!

Many chores were worn away in such time. The impact of the fight is still continuing. In the past two days, the "collection" work in the Empire District and the Port District has also come to an end.

"There are a total of more than 8,700 merchants in the two districts. According to our standards, we have collected more than 66,000 dollars..."

Lans showed a clearly surprised expression upon hearing this. "This means that after we pay the police's extra income, we might still have a surplus?"

Erwin was also at a loss. Because when they calculated it initially, the money might not be enough, but now it seems the money is enough, and there might be more.

Lans was a bit suspicious if they had made a mistake. "Go and check again to see if anyone collected too much. This number is not quite right."

Erwin immediately arranged for people to do it, but the news was summarized back soon, and there was no problem with the number.

The problem was that the number of merchants had increased.

"Last year, there were only more than 5,000 merchants in the two districts, but now, more than 3,000 have been added."

"So the sanitation fee collected is much more than we imagined!"

With Erwin's simple explanation, Lans understood.

In fact, this was also facilitated by him.

Stopping the collection of protection fees from both gangs and police was equivalent to promoting the commercial development of this area.

Some merchants came from other districts because the profit margin here is larger!

Especially some small merchants, their monthly profit might only be a few dozen dollars. In the past, most of these few dozen dollars had to be collected, and they were at most equivalent to working a very free job.

But now, they can truly make money, so naturally, they will all come over.

Once there are many merchants, the sanitation fee collected becomes more. Adding the two districts together, there are only more than 1,100 police officers. According to the standard of 45 dollars per person, there will indeed be a little more in the end.

"There are still about 30 households unwilling to pay."

Lans heard about this last time. He asked, "How much money do they need to pay, and they are unwilling to pay?"

Erwin took out a well-organized material. "The most is 17 dollars, and the least is 4 dollars."

Those who have to pay 17 dollars for sanitation fees must be running a big business, at least opening a big supermarket.

Looking at these people on the material, Lans asked again, "Did they pay money to other gangs and police before?"

Burton stood out. "Some paid, some didn't."

Lans threw the material back. "Those who paid before but didn't pay us, let them know that we can be very kind, and we can also be very brutal."

"Those who didn't pay before and are still unwilling to pay now, let them move to other districts, don't continue to stay here."

"Since they can't follow our rules, don't keep them."

Erwin asked softly, "How to grasp this scale?"

Lans leaned back. "As long as no one dies!"

A successful person must have both a compassionate heart and thunderous means, because people always fear power and not virtue.

In simple terms, people won't be afraid of you because you are kind; they are afraid of you always because you beat them painfully!

With this "bottom line" proposed by Lans, others also know how to do it. Regarding this point, Lans still trusts them very much.

After all, if they can't even do such small things well, then they should really go back and be an ordinary person.

Since the money has been collected and it is mid-month, it should be distributed to the police.

This money will be put in envelopes. Each envelope is customized, with a piece of hot-stamped text on it, roughly meaning "Thank you for the efforts you have made for the property safety and life safety of the people of Jincheng, all efforts are worth rewarding" and so on.

The back where the envelope is opened is also hot-stamped, printed with the company's logo.

When people open it, they can see at least 45 dollars!

Every envelope is worth 5 cents. Lans thinks this is very necessary, because ritualism has a very special magic for federalists.

Once they get used to this ritualism, it will become a dependency, and it will be very difficult to change.

In the evening, the police who had worked hard all day returned to the police station, preparing to change shifts. Just at this time, several cars suddenly drove into the parking lot of the Empire Branch, and soon they carried and pushed several large boxes to the lobby.

Branch Chief Bulu came out of the office and then announced this matter to everyone: distribute the money!

One dollar was deducted from every police officer's salary this month. He had already explained that this one dollar was used to invest in the "Future Fund."

This fund will have a rebate every month, and now, it is the time for rebate.

In fact, everyone knows in their hearts that this is another kind of "regular fee," but in the past, they directly collected it from merchants, and then the branch distributed it.

Now this process has become the Lans family collecting it, and then transferring it to their hands in a legal way.

They also have to mention this income when reporting taxes. The tax on income generated by federal financial investment is very low, almost negligible.

In fact, Branch Chief Bulu mentioned that he could do this on his behalf, but Lans still requested that his people distribute the money, not Branch Chief Bulu, or anyone else! ===== CHAPTER 427 =====