Shadow Empire

Chapter 1244 Litigation
Lance is making some arrangements for the upcoming groundbreaking ceremony. He is not a professional civil engineering expert and is not very good at how to build a new city in the wilderness.

But luckily he has money.

Money is a magical thing. People always say that money can't buy knowledge, but as long as you have money, those who possess knowledge can serve you.

Right now, sitting in the conference room are some construction teams from Jin Gang City, who are presenting the project's architectural plans to Lance.

Lance didn't understand this, but he couldn't show that he didn't understand at all. He had once heard someone say that if a boss doesn't understand anything, his subordinates will have bad intentions.

However, if he only knows a little bit, not too much, and can occasionally raise some of his own questions, the probability of these questions appearing will decrease.

"...In other words, it will take us about two years to complete all our plans." Lance held a pen in his hand and casually wrote something in the notebook in front of him, which no one could see.

If someone were craning their neck to look in that direction at this moment, they might see that he had drawn some indescribable little figures fighting in his notebook.

The manager in charge of explaining the entire project nodded and said, "That's right, Mr. Lance."

"So... can we complete the entire project faster?"

“I don’t want it to take that long. A long construction time means we need more time to recoup our costs. Could we shorten the cycle a bit more?”

Perhaps anticipating that Lance would propose this idea, the manager had already prepared in advance: "Theoretically, it's possible, but the investment would be much larger and more concentrated."

"Generally speaking, the investment in a project is done in batches. We complete the first step before we move on to the second and third steps."

“If we do everything that needs to be done from the beginning, then some of the waiting time will be reduced.”

Lance raised his hand to stop him from going on and on. "How much time can we save?"

The manager considered it for a moment, then said, "Three to six months."

How much money do I need to invest upfront?

"Over two hundred million..."

He explained the reasons to Lance: more equipment rentals, more workers involved, and all the factories starting to produce prefabricated components now.

The most popular building method in the Federation right now is building with blocks, from assembling highways to building skyscrapers. They love using this method to build things.

Construction used to be very troublesome, but assembly was much faster. These things were put together with a crane and then welded together.

So apart from workers' wages, all other investments were made from the very beginning.

Once the groundwork is done, we can immediately begin the assembly process, which will significantly increase the speed.

Lance didn't think for long, and tapped the table with his finger. "Go ahead and make the budget, just do it this way."

As they were talking, he seemed to hear something, turned around, stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the wall, and looked downstairs.

A large group of workers gathered downstairs again, waving their fists, their emotions much more intense than the last time they had gathered there.

Many of them were wearing white bandages. Lance also noticed some slogans, such as "Severely punish the murderer," and many reporters were taking pictures and conducting interviews.

Just then, someone knocked on the office door, and Erwin walked in. Lance glanced at him, told the others to rest for a moment, and then followed Erwin outside.

“Why are they gathered here again?” Lance and he went to another room where there were other people, including lawyer Robben and another lawyer.

Upon seeing Lance enter, the two men stood up as well. "Sit down."

The lawyer in charge of collecting dirt on the union handed some documents to Lance. Lance took them and glanced through them. There were many photos and some written records inside.

"They received funding from some people?" Lance skimmed through the document, his gaze finally settling on two people who looked relatively wealthy.

The lawyer nodded and said, "Our people who were keeping an eye on them discovered that these two people had contacted the union, and subsequently the union received a sum of 500,000 yuan."

"After they used the money to cover the medical expenses of the injured workers, they also gave them some additional subsidies."

"At the same time, we have received some information from other sources that more suppliers are joining the fight against Wanli Group."

"All of this proves that there are other people controlling and directing these people to do this."

Lance nodded and tossed the file onto the table. "The local conglomerate was talking to me just two days ago, and now this has happened. I don't even need to have anyone investigate to know who did it."

He pursed his lips and considered for a moment, "Is there enough evidence to prosecute them?"

The lawyer nodded. "We have collected some preliminary evidence..." He handed over another document. "Based on the ideas you provided, Mr. Lance, we have found some minor issues."

Lance suggested to the lawyer that they investigate the lives of the vice president and the president.

Does everything they own match their income? It's like someone who only earns fifty yuan a month but lives in a house worth tens of thousands of yuan and doesn't have a mortgage for decades. That's clearly unreasonable.

Following Lance's line of thought, the lawyer conducted a thorough investigation into the income sources of the president and vice president, and indeed discovered some problems.

Some of the president's and vice president's relatives run numerous small businesses, which are often used to supplement the welfare benefits that the union requires companies to provide.

For example, there are fast food companies that provide meals with meat, retailers that provide labor protection products, and companies that provide tools. In short, these people and their businesses have secured a lot of orders by relying on the requirements set by the union.

Then, some of the money these companies earned went into multiple anonymous accounts, and most of the goods paid for by these accounts were being used by the vice president and the president.

Federal banks have strict standards for the use of checks. They create a special file for each check customer. Every check in every checkbook that someone brings to the bank for verification will be recorded in this file.

For example, there will be evidence of when, where, and what the check with the number was used to purchase.

These are things that ordinary people cannot find out. Even if you use your connections with the police or the judicial system, you may not be able to find them.

According to banks, they cannot disclose customer privacy unless law enforcement or judicial authorities can prove that the funds flowing in are proceeds of illegal activities. This is why anonymous accounts are so prevalent.

However, Lance had good relationships with major banks, and due to the Socialist Party, the banks cooperated very well in investigating the information of these accounts, allowing the lawyers to obtain first-hand information.

After reading it, Lance nodded. "Then sue them and try to get them imprisoned."

After discussing the matter, the lawyers got up and left. The rest was none of their business, but Lance would have kept them if needed.

After everyone left, Erwin sat down and asked, "What's next?"

Lance glanced at the closed door. "They'll take those two in."

Irwin shook his head and said, "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the building material suppliers. They're on the same side as the union now. If they refuse to supply us, we'll be in big trouble."

“You have such a huge construction plan, but without these things, even the best plan is just an empty shell.”

Lance turned to look at the sky outside the window. "Have them shipped from Likale State."

The cost of shipping from Licale will increase significantly, and by a considerable amount.

Goods are manufactured in factories, loaded onto trucks, delivered to the docks, then loaded onto ships, and after at least several days of sea transport, arrive at the docks in Scheer to begin unloading, followed by handling, transportation, and storage. Each step incurs additional costs.

Local suppliers only need to transport their goods from the warehouse to the construction site, and the only transportation cost can be borne by the suppliers.

A bag of cement costs about one dollar locally, but if it's transported from Jin Gang City, the cost can exceed one dollar and thirty cents or even one dollar and forty cents.

It may seem like just a difference of thirty or forty points, a negligible number, but in such a massive project, you can't just look at the change in numbers; you have to look at the change in the overall percentage.

Construction costs have increased by at least 30 percent. If storage costs are also taken into account, the cost of each bag of cement may exceed one dollar and fifty cents by the time it reaches the construction site.

An investment of three to five hundred million yuan suddenly ballooned to at least five hundred million yuan, which is indeed a considerable loss.

Lance sat there in a daze for a while, then turned to look at Erwin, "What we've lost, we'll take back from them tenfold."

Erwin was getting restless; actually, this role should have been played by that guy, Hylam. "What if we make a move?"

After considering for a moment, Lance said, "Taking action is indeed a very simple matter. As long as we take out those leaders, those presidents and chairmen, we can control this matter."

“But, Erwin, we can’t always do this. Breaking the rules can’t be a regular practice; it should be a means for us to protect our own interests.”

“If we trample on the rules at will, then others will trample on our rules as well. I’m not saying that we can’t do it now that we’ve cleared our names, but rather that we need to change when to do it and when not to do it.”

"Moreover, now is not the time."

The Liberal Party is currently in power, and there are still some unresolved issues between Lance and President Porter, and even the Porter family.

He believed that if he went even slightly too far, he would give President Porter an opportunity to cause him trouble.

Don't be fooled by the fact that he's not causing trouble for himself now; it's because it's hard to find trouble for Lance. If he were to hand over his weaknesses directly to the other side, President Porter would have evidence to control Lance. As president, he could simply sign a special order, and even if Senator Cleveland wanted to stop him, he wouldn't be able to.

By the time he challenged the presidential decree and tried to overturn it, Lance had either already been reincarnated or had fled overseas.

So the best approach now is to use conventional methods as much as possible. Once they get President Porter out of office, they'll have plenty of ways to deal with these people today.

Irwin didn't offer any further opinions; he knew that Lance always considered things more thoroughly and was more mature in such matters.

Lance then called Roger (the president of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce) and Governor Terry, asking them to arrange for the relevant people to come and discuss the specifics of the matter.

Even workers can be recruited from Likale State, or even Indenor State. He can negotiate with them to save on costs, including the supply of materials.

Lance returned to the conference room and briefly explained the situation. He didn't care about the increased costs at all; he figured he could make up for it by selling more alcohol.

Having controlled the liquor sales in three states, he no longer cared about money; to him, money was just a set of numbers that were constantly changing.

A little more or a little less won't make any difference to his life.

Robben and his friend acted quickly, providing the relevant materials to the state attorney general the very next day. They were received by the state attorney general, and it was clear that Lance had spoken to the governor beforehand; all that remained was to go through the motions.

After reviewing all the materials, the Attorney General nodded. "The materials are very complete, and the evidence is sufficient, which will save us a lot of time."

"Now, we'll begin the procedures."

Meanwhile, rumors began to circulate in the city of Scheer.

When it comes to spreading rumors, gangsters and the lower rungs of society are definitely the fastest at doing so.

Within half a day, some people heard about some "accusations" against the president and vice president of the construction workers' union, which involved some cases of bribery.

These rumors may not all be true, but as long as one or two of them are true, coupled with people's imagination and the irrational rage of the lower class after being deceived, it is basically enough to stir up public opinion.

Moreover, rumors are not necessarily falsehoods!

"These are all framing against me personally, and the despicable methods used are infuriating!"

The president of the construction workers' union slammed his hand on the table in front of the reporter, spittle flying from the corners of his mouth. "I have been fighting for the interests of construction workers for thirty years. I have always been on the front line, never stopping for a moment, including now."

“The rumors circulating outside are extremely painful, but what pains me even more is that some people actually believed these accusations that have no real evidence. It feels like the greatest humiliation for my hard work over the past thirty years!”

"I can assure our union members and all those in the community who are concerned about this matter that we have not benefited from it in any way. Every event, process, and outcome has been in accordance with union procedures."

"There is no issue of any transfer of benefits involved, nor is there any possibility of such a transfer of benefits!"

“We are neither capitalists who open factories and rely on exploiting and oppressing workers to obtain huge profits.”

“We are not politicians who hold the power that capitalists covet, forcing them to use money to corrupt our will.”

“We are simply people who serve the working class. We are the enemies of capitalists. They hate us and despise us. Through our efforts, the income of construction workers in South Yaan State has steadily increased over the past thirty years, and their welfare benefits are above average in the entire federal government.”

"These are all victories we won from the capitalists through negotiations, through our strikes, demonstrations, and struggles."

"Therefore, it is the least likely thing for us to have any business dealings with capitalists!"

"We have already engaged union lawyers to begin collecting evidence of these rumors and to file lawsuits against those who actively spread and disseminate them."

"We must safeguard our legitimate rights and interests. No matter who those people are, we will fight them to the end!"

He brandished his fist under the flashing lights like a "giant," and he inspired himself with a determined look in his eyes. At that moment, no one could find any flaw in him.

Reporters frantically raised their hands to ask questions, all concerned about whether the person spreading rumors about him was Wanli Group or Lance White.

The chairman will not admit to such accusations without any substantial evidence, and will not even make a "guess". He said he only believes in the law, has already reported the case to the police, and will wait for the police and the prosecutor's office to give him an explanation.

Although he did not admit that it was the work of Wanli Group and Lance, reporters generally believed that it was Wanli Group.

Meanwhile, more industry unions are expressing their views, supporting the two presidents of the construction workers' union and expressing strong dissatisfaction and opposition to Wanli Group's practices that disrupt the normal local workforce.

The labor union also stated that it would contact Wanli Group and the labor service agency to discuss the issue of "labor relations".

After finishing his workday, the chairman drove home. As soon as he opened the door, he saw his nephew pacing back and forth in front of the house, clearly very anxious.

When he saw his vehicle approaching, a look of relief appeared on his face, and he quickly came to greet it.

"What's wrong?" The chairman got out of the car and casually closed the door. "Where's your father?"

His nephew became nervous again when he heard this question. "I came here because of my father. He was taken away and they said he was going to be investigated."

The president was taken aback. "What has he been doing lately?"

His nephew shook his head. "He didn't do anything, just like always."

A sense of unease crept into the chairman's heart, and he quickened his pace back to the house. "Don't worry, I'll make a call and ask..."

(End of this chapter)