Chapter 748: New Friend

The senator put down the phone and stood there, laughing twice while looking at the phone that had been hung up.

He had actually asked the local alcohol suppliers in New Jincheng. This batch of alcohol was not particularly good alcohol, not alcohol from big distilleries, so the price couldn't be given too high.

Plus there was freight, transporting from the southernmost city of the Federation to the central region of the Federation, even if it went by sea, the freight would cost a lot of money—

These alcohols, which are explicitly prohibited from being brewed, transported, and sold domestically, will not be transported by anyone at great risk.

The larger the scale of the transportation company, the less they will easily touch this line of fire, unless there is a guarantee from a senator personally.

But how could a senator personally escort these illegal things?

So in the end, it can only be transported by the supplier themselves by organizing a motorcade or cargo ship, so the cost will become larger, and the risk will also increase.

So they couldn't give too much money, and Jinzhou is not short of alcohol. The entire East Coast is not short of alcohol. Someone will always try every means to smuggle alcohol into those cities on the East Coast that can sell for a price.

The supplier supplying alcohol to Congress quoted only 700,000 to 800,000, which was a little less than Lanse's quote.

From one aspect, Lanse was willing to pay 900,000, they still made money.

At first, they didn't think about making money from this, but with the implementation of the prohibition order, some capable people and people with relationships found them.

It's not that they wanted some alcohol to be released from the sealed warehouse, it's that some people wanted to buy alcohol sealed in a certain warehouse.

This involved too many interests and human feelings. At first, they didn't agree, but after a long time, they would always encounter some that couldn't be refused.

The bottom line is like this, in constant testing, it was broken a little bit.

Until now, if the local prohibition bureau captured a large amount of alcohol, they would fish for a small profit from it.

Anyway, the public doesn't know how those alcohols were dealt with. They can only see a large amount of alcohol being destroyed. As for how much is left, where the remaining ones will flow.

After the heat subsides, no one will care anymore.

And this is exactly the way they earn pocket money.

Hidden, and practical.

Lanse didn't intend to transport this batch of alcohol back. It would be sold locally directly, at a wholesale price, about 1.2 to 1.3 million.

As the scale gets larger and larger, Lanse has begun to transform from a pure retailer to a wholesaler.

Of course, part of his offline retail channels will be retained, which can be considered as some benefits for alcoholics.

Now the entire Federation is short of alcohol, but not short of alcohol, because seventeen distilleries can go all out to start brewing. Accompanied by their inability to control their desires, these alcohols began to flow into the market. The prohibition order can be said to exist in name only.

However, it will still exist, and it will exist for a long time, because only if the prohibition order exists, the price of alcohol will be outrageously expensive!

From the promulgation of the prohibition order and the actual implementation, to now, in three years, including fruits and grapes, the overall price of grapes has soared by more than thirty times.

What is this concept?

Three years ago, Lanse spent more than seventy yuan, less than eighty yuan, to buy a ton of grapes.

But now, Liji, Bailide, Nunda, the three major agricultural product channel merchants of the Federation have raised the quotation for fruit grapes and grapes used for brewing to more than 2,600 federal Sol per ton.

Like some very excellent grapes

This is an exceptionally magical world, where everything has changed due to the effects of Prohibition; those vineyard owners who grew grapes never imagined that they could actually join in on this bizarre carnival.

Every era always has its own super opportunities; for this era, as long as one is bold enough to seize the opportunities of the first two years, one can make a huge profit and live a life free from worry.

But if one lacks that kind of courage and cannot see these opportunities, then one can only regrettably become the background of a great era, becoming the "1" in the huge population statistics that people in the future will use when discussing this era.

The next day was a workday; as soon as Tim arrived at work, he received a call from his superior, telling him to hand over that batch of alcohol to Lans.

Tim briefly reported on the things Lans had said while they were having dinner over the weekend, such as continuing to crack down on the brewing and selling of moonshine, and his superior also expressed support.

From this point on, Tim had no more doubts; with a brilliant smile on his face, he dialed Lans's number, and even though Lans couldn't see it, he still wanted to show his best side.

At least he could hear it, couldn't he?

For Lans, this was just a small interlude; Tim enthusiastically invited Lans to dinner, mentioning that his wife and children were all very much looking forward to their first meeting.

To this, Lans did not refuse.

Of course, not now, but in two days.

In the afternoon, Lans waited for Attorney General Terry at the golf course.

Attorney General Terry always looked very energetic no matter when, and the smile on his face seemed like a permanently fixed constant spell, always hanging there.

And he appropriately revealed those white teeth that were representative of the elite class!

A mouthful of good teeth is very important to federal citizens; they seem to have an obsession with dental health.

From afar, Lans took the initiative to reach out his hand, and only when he walked close did he grasp Attorney General Terry's hand and shake it vigorously twice.

"Thank you for your help with this matter; if it weren't for you, it would have been very troublesome for me," he said, looking at a middle-aged man standing slightly behind Attorney General Terry.

This middle-aged man looked to be about... fifty years old, slightly plump, and wearing a baseball cap.

Judging by the sparse hair at his temples, his hair was definitely not as... tough as his belly.

Attorney General Terry smiled very cordially; this special matter once again proved that Congress attached great importance to Lans, otherwise, Congress would not have helped him suppress this matter when some forces within the state were strongly protesting the Lans family.

Attorney General Terry wanted to advance, but previously there had been no way to advance.

Above him were the Lieutenant Governor and the Governor; these two people would certainly not take the initiative to cultivate their future competitors, but wanting to directly contact Congress was a bit difficult, requiring more than one stepping stone.

After choosing and selecting, he finally chose Lans, and facts proved that Lans indeed had this ability; he felt genuinely happy about his investment, at least this deal would not lose money.

"Don't you often say that we are friends?"

"Friends helping friends is what should be done!"

Lans knew that some things were suitable to be said in private, and since there were others here now, he turned his gaze to the fat man behind him.

Attorney General Terry also took the initiative to let go of Lans's hand, then turned sideways to make some room, introducing this guy in front of him to Lans, "This is the State Police Chief, Anthony, Anthony Shi Dong."

"You should already know this person, Lans White."

Chief Anthony hurriedly stepped forward two steps and shook hands with Lans, his face also full of enthusiastic smiles, shaking them several times, "I have wanted to get to know you for a long time, Mr. Lans."

"It's just that I never found the right time or someone to introduce me; when the Attorney General talked about you and your needs, I knew it was time for me to contribute!"

"Very happy to meet you, Mr. Lans!"

Lans's face was also full of smiles; although he was only an enforcer and not yet a politician, the status of the state police was still relatively high within the state.

There were many departments within the State Police, and for someone like Lans who wanted to control the entire state's moonshine market, power was very important.

For example, the Interstate Highway Police, they were under the management of the State Police; these highway state police could stop passing vehicles on the interstate highway at will and demand inspections of the vehicles.

For those smugglers who distributed goods to various places by land, it would become less easy to pass through the interstate highway safely.

Or, for example, they could intervene in criminal investigations in various regions, which gave Lans a way to directly intervene in cases in other places where he had no police connections.

The state police could take away prisoners on the grounds of joint investigation; whether Lans wanted to save someone or kill someone, this was a convenience.

Not to mention that the state police also had the power to perform official duties across states; of course, they had to notify the state government and state police of the state they were going to in advance, and then they could enforce the law across states.

"We will become very good friends, Anthony."

He called Anthony by his first name, which was actually a sign of closeness, and Anthony naturally would not object.

Don't look at the fact that he was twice Lans's age, but in terms of political power, even if his ancestors for eight generations were stacked together, they would not be Lans's match.

Attorney General Terry was now acting so cordially, what qualifications did he have to put on airs with his identity as State Police Chief?

No matter how he put on airs, wasn't he still just an enforcer?

Wasn't he still just a low-level worker authorized by the Master to use the Master's authority, not even a politician?!

Chief Anthony was very receptive to the goodwill released by Lans, "I firmly believe in this point too!"

The two quickly let go, and Attorney General Terry then looked back at the caddy; the caddy in the distance immediately pushed the golf cart over, and their bags and clubs were hanging on the cart.

Since they were playing golf, talking about business was important, but playing golf was also important.

It was like... people in another world liked to talk about things at the dinner table; to talk well, one also had to eat well.

Here, playing golf was equivalent to hosting a banquet.

And when someone was hitting the ball, others could say a few words in private.

Everyone deferred to each other, and Lans hit the ball first.

After playing golf a lot, it was actually just like that; some people liked to pursue all kinds of rules, how to stand, how to swing.

Especially the middle class.

They would even spend money to buy books about golf, and spend money to hire golf coaches to teach them how to hit the ball more standardly!

But for the gentlemen of the true upper class, if they didn't make a living by playing golf, their movements would be more personalized.

With a huge swing, some turf was even kicked up; in fact, this shot wasn't very good, but Attorney General Terry and Chief Anthony were still applauding on the side, as if they really thought this shot was good.

Lans laughed twice, didn't explain, and then stood to the side.

The second to hit the ball was Chief Anthony; after he set his stance, he saw Lans talking to Attorney General Terry, so he practiced a few more times and never hit the ball.

A smart person knows when to do what, rather than doing stupid things.

"I put some things in the trunk of your car, if your license plate number hasn't changed," Lans said softly.

Attorney General Terry's face was full of smiles, "Actually, I didn't help much; the specific work was all done by Anthony."

Lans shook his head slightly, "If you didn't help me, and I opened my mouth, the effect might not be this good."

"Don't be modest, this is what you deserve."

"In a while, the Senator will come to New Jincheng, and you can come over then; we will welcome him together."

A hint of joy appeared on Attorney General Terry's face, "Would that be inappropriate?"

Lans shook his head, "I talked to the Senator about this before; I originally planned to take you to New Jincheng together."

"But he said you aren't very suitable to run to Jinzhou right now, so when he comes in a while, you can meet."

As one of the top five figures in the state, suddenly going to Jinzhou would indeed cause people to have all kinds of inappropriate associations; Senator Cleveland's consideration was also very correct.

If he really went, the Senator would instead become very passive.

What would the Governor of Laizhou think, what would the Lieutenant Governor think?

There were still two years until the gubernatorial election; so early and already in a hurry to covet his position?

The Lieutenant Governor still intended to inherit the Governor's power and work; how come you kid still want to cut in line?

Senator Cleveland would absolutely not let such a thing that was obviously unfavorable to the unity of the state government happen.

As for Senator Cleveland coming over and meeting him here with Lans, there wouldn't be so many problems; after all, this was their "home field."

Perhaps he and the Senator were friends?

A friend came to one's workplace; meeting and welcoming him, no one could say anything.

Attorney General Terry's gums were exposed; it had to be said that the dentist he chose was indeed good, it didn't even look real, "The Senator is still the one who considers things comprehensively; before, I thought too simply."

The two had already said a lot, and if Chief Anthony didn't hit the ball again, it would be a bit too much.

Along with his powerful swing, don't look at the fact that his belly wasn't small, but he played golf really well; it could be seen that he was someone who played often.

But the trajectory of his ball was not as good as Lans's; it could only be said that this guy was a very transparent person.

Lans and Attorney General Terry were also applauding on the side, praising his shot.

Then it was Attorney General Terry's turn; he slowly walked to the hitting position, and it was Chief Anthony's turn to chat with Lans.

"Is Chief Anthony a local?"

"Just call me Anthony!"

Chief Anthony kept a smiling appearance, "Regarding the previous question, yes!"

"It should be considered more than half local; my grandfather brought his family to migrate here from other places when my father was very young, and then they settled here, and finally we were born."

Lans nodded slightly, "I can tell, you must have a happy family."

Chief Anthony couldn't help but laugh, "Still happy, have two boys; the older one is already working, and the younger one is in college."

Lans nodded slightly, knowing some of his family situation; Chief Anthony could also say it, he knew what Lans was asking about.

As future partners, mutual understanding was inevitable.

His understanding of Lans came entirely from Lans's personal file, a personal file that had been beautified and modified many times; now, even if the newly appointed ambitious director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation came, Lans would still be a native of the Federation, damn it.

However, regarding the content about Lans and the Lans family, even after beautification, some materials could still be found.

Attorney General Terry finished his swing; obviously, his golf skills were better, the ball's flight was also very beautiful, and it flew very far.

After the caddy obtained permission, he ran over from afar, tidied up, put the three people's clubs back into the bag, and then pushed the golf cart and ran toward the landing point first.

There were people at the landing point who had made comparisons; for players of this caliber, the golf course would certainly not neglect them.

The three walked together while chatting about some follow-up situations of the Shengzhongdang, some situations that the outside world didn't know.

Those who were more concerned about Joshua and the Shengzhongdang before were now all demanding a strict investigation into the Shengzhongdang after Joshua's death.

Lans had heard of some of the names they mentioned, but more were unheard of; after all, they were too far away.

These people all had certain interest dealings with the Shengzhongdang; perhaps they had considered before that if Joshua was caught and talked nonsense, so no matter for what purpose, they had to block it.

Now that Joshua was finished, they only hated that the Shengzhongdang didn't die fast enough, and couldn't hide all the disgraceful past under the corpses.

People are like this; they will instinctively find ways to prevent the arrival of disaster; they will have a premonition, a premonition that if things develop beyond their imagination, there will be big trouble.

After a round of golf, Lans also had enough understanding of Chief Anthony, and they also talked about a series of follow-up cooperation issues.

Such as increasing efforts to cooperate with the Prohibition Committee to form a highway prohibition system that covered the entire state.

Conducting random inspections on suspicious vehicles, etc.

These were originally the work of the state police; for Chief Anthony, it was just doing a favor by doing his job, and he would certainly not refuse.

Of course, he also knew that this work wouldn't really be that simple; Lans would certainly notify him at special times to put his focus on those vehicles.

However, he didn't care; he also had the same thoughts as Dai Er.

Being the State Police Chief for a lifetime was just being an enforcer.

He also wanted to be a politician, even if the level wasn't high enough.

Who said federal citizens don't want to be officials?