Chapter 655: The Changing World

Everyone was thinking.

This was a game, a gamble, but it wasn't a card game!

There was only one round here, and the win or loss wasn't just the chips made of metal or other materials on the table.

You had to bet everything you had. This was indeed not an easy choice; it required not only money but also courage, so Lans didn't urge them.

He smoked and waited quietly.

Eating the wharf management company and taking the shares of the port wharf looked like just simple support for the war between Mayor Williams and the original interest group.

But in reality, there were deeper reasons behind this.

This world was always changing—the change of day and night, the change of seasons, old neighbors leaving, new neighbors arriving...

Every moment, every thing, was undergoing changes that we could understand or that we couldn't understand.

Interpersonal relationships were the same.

For so many years, the Williams family and the Wade family had been opposing and cooperating with each other, forming a ruling class in New Jincheng similar to a stable triangular system with the Bay Area and the five major families.

But as Mayor Sydney wanted to make a final stand, he broke this stable system, and the relationships within New Jincheng changed.

While the Williams family and the Bay Area maintained independence, they relied on each other. The five major families split because of the Mayor's decision, and eventually, the entire city became "three parts" again.

As the Mayor fell in the struggle, the five major families fell into civil strife, the Lans family began to expand and rise rapidly, and irreconcilable contradictions appeared between the Williams family and the Bay Area, continuing to maintain the state of "three-party confrontation."

Now, Lans and Mayor Williams had formed an "alliance." They were going to solve the interest group in the Bay Area and completely pave the way for the Williams family to seize interests in New Jincheng.

The relationship here had changed again.

The Williams family and these people in the Bay Area used to be friends, but because of changes, interest demands, and contradictions, they eventually became enemies.

After these interest groups in the Bay Area were solved, only two "forces" would remain in this city: the Lans family and the Williams family.

Then in the future, would contradictions or even conflicts arise between Lans and the Williams family because of certain interest demands?

In fact, there was another possibility for development here. Lans had been thinking about this matter, which was the "Lawrence family" that he had ignored but which truly existed and was rising rapidly.

It was very likely to become a new "third party," the other side of the triangle, continuing to support a stable interest power structure.

It was just that Lans wasn't sure if it could become that side yet. He couldn't guarantee it, and the three old uncles probably couldn't guarantee this point either.

If the rise of the Lawrence family wasn't rapid enough or strong enough, then this triangle would be fragile and unstable. The consequence it would cause was that friction, collision, or even conflict would inevitably occur between Lans and the Williams family.

So Lans eating the wharf management company and the wharf shares was actually a means of a backup plan, a kind of prevention.

After all, for those people in the Bay Area, the fact that the Police Chief was Lans's person was a result they couldn't manipulate and could only accept.

But for Mayor Williams, he only needed an administrative order, and then sign his name, and he could immediately replace the candidate for Police Chief.

Replace him with his own person, and he would become the sharpest weapon in his hand!

It also included other candidates. He could even protest or sue against the stance of prosecutors and courts, judges on certain issues, attracting the attention of political forces at a higher level.

Politics, after all!

It was just exchanges of interests one after another. As long as he was willing to give up some interests, there would always be people entering the game.

In that situation, Lans would only be very passive, so he swallowed these things, which was equivalent to adding a reliable trump card for himself.

Mayor Williams also knew this very well. His "generosity" now was to make Lans feel at ease, releasing a signal of "Look, I won't stop you, and I won't deal with you in the future."

But would he really maintain a long-term friendship with Lans in the future?

This depended on whether the core interest demands of the two people would produce contradictions in the future. If there were no overlapping and unsolvable interest demands, then they could continue to live in peace.

If there were, then it might not be that they wouldn't confront each other.

Just like his relationship with the Bay Area, these relationships were always changing. No one knew what tomorrow or the next step would become.

Establishing a new interest group could also be considered a way to protect the friendship between the two sides, at least allowing Mayor Williams to cool down faster when his brain got hot!

He felt his fingers getting hot, glanced at the cigarette that had burned out, and pressed it out in the ashtray.

At this time, a gentleman at the table asked, "Mr. Lans, if we... stand on your side, what can we get?"

They were businessmen after all. If they were to bet everything, they must be given the motivation that could drive them to do so—tempting interests.

Lans shook his head slightly. "I will keep a portion of the shares in the hands of these people, and the rest will be given to you."

"In addition, I can guarantee that you have a certain investment quota in the New Port Wharf."

"You have invested in the wharf for such a long time, you should know its value very well. I also believe this is enough to reflect my greatest sincerity!"

The gentlemen in the room began to talk in low voices again. They were discussing how many shares they could get.

Then the gentleman who asked the question asked again, "How many shares do you need to keep?"

Lans thought for a while. "This depends on how many shares we can squeeze out of them." "If, and I mean if, only we people hold shares in the entire wharf, then my requirement is not less than the minority (≥33.4%)."

"If we can't get that many shares, I can appropriately lower my requirement for shareholding, but we need to sign an agreement."

"As long as I maintain the equity, I must have a veto power."

They began to discuss again. When it came to interests, they always had to be cautious.

Perhaps it was Lans's sincerity that moved them, perhaps the interests were truly heart-moving, and eventually, they chose to accept Lans's conditions.

"I think it's acceptable..."

"I think so too!"

Soon everyone reached a consensus on the opinion. If people wanted to achieve leapfrog development, they always had to gamble.

If they lost the gamble, it was nothing more than taking the money, throwing away the shares, and getting out; they wouldn't be left with nothing.

But if they won, they could embrace tomorrow!

The content of the conversation in the room soon returned to food, news, and some rumors.

!

Anderson and his apprentices still had good skills. Everyone ate this meal very happily. They had filled their stomachs for a few days, and they had also booked the big meal for the next few days. What else could they be dissatisfied with?

Someone scrambled to pay the bill, but didn't succeed, because the manager waived the cost of their dinner, which was over five thousand dollars in total.

It was mainly some ingredients that were precious in winter, as well as several bottles of fine wine.

However, Lans still paid the money. The more status one had, the less willing one was to owe favors easily.

It would take a few more days from the discussion and determination of the entire plan to its execution. They needed to raise funds and win over more people; all of these needed time.

The gloomy weather for several consecutive days suddenly ushered in a sunny day. After the last snow, on a certain morning, golden sunlight sprinkled on the earth again, letting light return to New Jincheng!

From the motorcade that was rapidly entering the city from outside, David looked at the dazzling sunlight and a smile appeared on his face. "The newspapers have always said that the weather in New Jincheng is terrible, but now it seems it's not bad."

"It's like it's welcoming us!"

When the motorcade returned, it was no different from when it left, so no one would notice that they were actually different.

When they left, it was an empty car, but when they returned, it was packed with people.

The old men on the street saw the license plate numbers of several of the cars in the motorcade, so they knew these cars belonged to Mr. Hoff, and then reported it up as usual, and that was all.

No expression could be seen on Mr. Hoff's face, maintaining that indifferent calmness. He knew that no matter how things ended this time, he would have to face some troublesome things at the Social Party Congress.

Now his only hope was that they could truly handle Lans, at least let him keep his wealth.

Listening to David talking about the weather, Mr. Hoff also glanced out the window. He nodded in agreement. "It was overcast yesterday, but the sky cleared up today, as if it were welcoming us."

"This is a good omen!"

He didn't believe this before, but inexplicably, at this moment, he believed it.

The motorcade passed through the city roads rapidly and arrived at his villa.

He arranged for these people, and then went to the study to make a phone call to Mr. Charles.

During this period, more goods from factories in the industrial zone were detained at customs. No matter who asked, the reason was the same: suspected of violating the embargo list, and they had to be checked clearly before they could leave the customs.

"Someone has already gone to find Williams again. There isn't much time left for us."

A rare anxious emotion appeared in Mr. Charles's tone. He disguised it well, but it was still enough for Mr. Hoff to notice.

The "authority" of the Bay Area was being challenged and questioned by people.

The "mansion" that they and their fathers had spent decades building was collapsing bit by bit!

We must eliminate the pests that caused all of this as quickly as possible before it completely collapses.

After a brief silence, Mr. Charles asked, "Have they arrived yet?"

"Yes, they have arrived, and they are in my home now."

"In other words, except for me, you, and the people on your side, no one knows about the existence of these people?"

Mr. Hoff, who vaguely sensed that the development of the situation seemed to be a bit beyond his expectations, asked vigilantly, "What are you going to do?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 656 =====