Chapter 946: Drunk with Power 6662

President Richard sat in his office, listening to his subordinates report on this month’s distillery sales, nodding in satisfaction again and again.

Before Prohibition took effect, he had stockpiled a massive quantity of liquor, which then entered society through legal channels, earning Jinbiao Liquor a huge profit.

But this windfall was a one-time deal—they couldn’t continuously supply liquor, and could only watch helplessly as smuggled alcohol snatched away their rightful market share.

Fortunately, they now held a special operating license, and he had convinced the board to begin selling liquor to the public.

In truth, he hadn’t wasted much effort persuading the board—he simply placed the current market prices of liquor in front of each director.

He didn’t even need to say anything like “I have an idea.” Seeing those astonishing profits, the board immediately brought up themselves whether they could release liquor into the free market.

Such massive profits wouldn’t just make them violate the law—if the profit was high enough, they’d assassinate the president without hesitation.

The facts proved that selling to gangs directly sent every board member into a collective euphoria!

But sadly, their windfall didn’t last long—the disruptor appeared: the Lans family.

Fortunately, this was Denuozhou, not Likalai State—the Lans family couldn’t compete with them here.

“Richard, when can we raise the price of our liquor again?”

One board member couldn’t help asking.

Now, each bottle of low-end Copper Label Whiskey yielded a $9 gross profit; to further squeeze out the Lans family’s market, Richard planned to cut the price by another dollar in a few days.

That would leave them with only $8 gross profit per bottle.

After deducting all expenses, the net profit available for dividends was only $4–5—though this was far higher than their profits before Prohibition, they were still unsatisfied.

After tasting fine delicacies, how could they swallow wild vegetables again?

President Richard maintained his composure, smiling faintly as he patted the armrest of his chair. “I know you’re eager, but don’t rush—listen to me.”

“The Lans family’s invasion of Denuozhou isn’t entirely bad—it’s shaken up the entire liquor market and its structure. If you’ve visited roadside bars lately, you’ll notice fewer generic brands.”

“The market has been purified through pressure. Things we couldn’t easily do before, the Lans family is now doing for us!”

“Once we drive out Jinshi Liquor, our market will expand even further.”

Previously, many small-brand generic liquors or smuggled products from elsewhere had complex ingredients and were impossible to fully clean out.

Behind them were gangs, smuggling syndicates—real, hardcore criminals.

If you tried to stop them from smuggling or profiting, they’d fight you to the death!

Jinbiao Liquor couldn’t do this—but the Lans family could.

The mayor cooperated with them; every liquor not theirs was forcibly cleared from the city.

Some resisted, of course—resulting in shootouts, with local police aiding the Lans family. Soon, liquor markets in certain areas became “uniform.”

“Uniform” here meant a single supplier—but the Lans family’s own products were far from uniform.

Once we drive out the Lans family, these purified markets will become ours.

Whether generic brands return later is another matter entirely.

As he spoke, his smile gradually faded, turning serious.

As the president who had personally driven Jinbiao Liquor’s growth, Richard still held considerable influence and authority within the company and board.

“I’ve never doubted our ability to achieve this—their business model guarantees their costs will always be higher than ours.”

“Even if they build factories here, it won’t help!”

He’d heard they gave mayors hefty cuts—a major reason some cities supported them, since the Lans family brought greater profits.

When they had to do nothing yet gained so much wealth, how could they not support the Lans family?

“We must continue the price war. Current prices are still too high. I’ll lower them again between September and October—I believe the ideal final price is around $22.”

Hearing this, other board members showed expressions of shock—even fear. Currently, the cost to produce one bottle of Copper Label Whiskey was already $17–18.

The reason costs were so high now, unlike the few dollars in the past, was that raw material prices had continuously risen.

Grain prices had quietly doubled, and due to mass conscription, federal workers’ wages had also increased.

Labor was a free market—fewer workers meant higher wages to attract them.

“Our strategy is simple: we earn less, the Lans family earns nothing—even loses money!”

“When every bottle they sell results in a loss, the more they sell, the more they lose. We might even consider buying their liquor, repackaging it, and reselling it to save time.”

“Once we drive out the Lans family and monopolize the local liquor market, who decides the price? Us.”

“And!” he tapped the table—everyone’s eyes fixed on him—“some of the Lans family’s tactics gave me an idea. After raising prices, we can cooperate with mayors across the state, even help the lieutenant governor win his election.”

“This will help us maintain long-term control over liquor sales in Denuozhou.”

“This meeting isn’t just to tell you how much we made this quarter—it’s to unify our thinking.”

“From July until year-end, our sales will increase, but profits will drop. Prepare yourselves mentally.”

Board members fell silent, listening to President Richard’s words—but soon, some began to agree with his strategy.

Price wars weren’t unfamiliar to capital—they were deeply familiar.

During capitalism’s most brutal years, monopolizing markets and controlling pricing through price wars happened daily.

When competing, capital would sell goods at a loss just to win customers—for them, customers were their parents!

But once competition vanished and rivals were eliminated, monopoly would arrive.

At that point, no matter who you were, the monopoly group became your parents!

They set the price—and that’s what you paid!

Monopoly business was true windfall profit—the ultimate goal of every merchant.

One board member asked cautiously, “If we drive the Lans family out… will they retaliate?”

“The Lans family are gangsters. I heard they’re ruthless in Likalai State, and their actions in New Birmingham show they’re not to be trifled with.”

President Richard nodded in agreement, then countered, “But are we easy to deal with?”

“We already discussed this—we’ll fully back the lieutenant governor’s campaign. If he wins, what does it matter if he’s dangerous?”

“He can’t possibly fight the entire Likalai State law enforcement system—unless he wants to declare war on the Federation!”

He intensified his tone. “We’ve made all preparations, gentlemen!”

Seeing Richard speak with such commanding confidence, every board member seemed convinced by his assurance.

This was Richard’s happiest moment—he felt like an emperor, wielding absolute power, with no one daring to oppose him!

At the meeting’s end, the oldest board member, before leaving, warned him: “You seem confident, Richard, but I advise caution.”

“You never know if a dog wagging its tail is coming to greet you—or to bite you.”

“Before anything happens, we must learn to be cautious!”

Richard accepted it humbly—but didn’t truly take it to heart.

He still had much to do—like expanding the factory.

Currently, Jinbiao Liquor produced ten thousand bottles of whiskey daily, but capacity still lagged behind sales. According to their tech team’s discussion, they needed at least forty thousand bottles per day to meet demand for low-end whiskey in Likalai State.

Even if they made only $5 per bottle, that’s $200,000 a day—damn profitable!

To earn this money quickly, he’d been busy expanding the plant.

He needed new assembly lines, new machinery, larger facilities, and more workers!

He believed Jinbiao Liquor, under his leadership, would set new records and achieve miracles!

That night, two cars parked outside the factory; the occupants inside observed the plant.

It was past nine, yet the factory lights remained on; the hum of heavy machinery, including conveyor belts, carried farther in the darkness.

The workshop was full of people—they’d implemented a three-shift system due to overwhelming orders.

Factory security spotted the two cars but left without approaching; they didn’t think much of it.

Recently, Jinbiao Liquor had sold to gangs, bringing all sorts of unsavory characters around the plant.

As long as they didn’t cause trouble or break in, they wouldn’t interfere.

The man in charge of this operation was one of Aierwen ’s captains.

The observation results weren’t good: workers were always present, so even if arson was attempted, early fires would be easily extinguished.

Moreover, the factory’s security was tight—they’d installed electric fences, patrol squads, and workers on duty 24/7; infiltrating was no easy task.

Sitting in the car, the captain pulled a job posting from his pocket—it mentioned Jinbiao Liquor was hiring workers…

(End of Chapter)