Shadow Empire

Chapter 590 Who are you?

In the study of Senator Cleveland's villa, Senator Cleveland washed his face and sat opposite Lance.

It was obvious that washing his face did not make him completely sober, but he was only slightly better than when he first came in.

"Sorry, I drank some wine tonight!" He explained his current bad state, which was not a good state to meet guests, even though Lance was not an equal guest in status or other aspects.

The upbringing and education he received since childhood made him always pay attention to his appearance and conversation.

Even if the person sitting opposite him is a beggar who smells bad, the moment he decides to sit down, all the negative things, the bad smell, or anything else will disappear from his eyes.

Not only him, in fact many people can do it when they are trained and placed with hope as top politicians since childhood.

But some politicians behaved badly, not all of them were like that.

Some people can behave like a gentleman, while others have to kick the door open.

You may feel that these people lack education, not because they have different personalities, but because when they are born, they do not think they can go very high, so they lack the idea of ​​restraining their own behavior.

As they become more powerful, their fear of the world decreases, and the world's constraints on them also decrease. They will then treat the world according to their own understanding of the world.

It's like some people like to add some unpleasant interjections when they speak, and they regard these as personality, but it is just a manifestation of lack of education.

If an ordinary person says to you "You're fucking great", you will think this person is a despicable person, but if a president says this to you, you will find him very interesting.

In fact, it’s not that he is really interesting or has a unique personality, it’s just that his status makes people ignore the fact that he lacks education.

Senator Cleveland was a qualified politician and a well-educated man in every way.

Lance smiled and said, "It's okay, it's just a little bit of alcohol, I'm sure it won't affect your judgment, Senator."

Senator Cleveland nodded, "Yes, I believe that too!"

He paused, "How much money did you bring this time?"

Very direct and efficient.

"four million."

"Four million?" Cleveland felt that when he heard this number, he seemed to be more energetic. It was much more effective than washing his face!
Lance nodded, "Yeah, four million."

“A lot more than I expected.”

"I thought it was probably around two million at most. How did you do it?"

Lance smiled, "The Kodak family has been around for so long, they have accumulated a lot of wealth."

“Those properties were mortgaged to the bank, and the money was paid by the bank.”

Senator Cleveland understood what he meant when he heard this. It was also simple, efficient and very safe.

He pursed his lips and glanced at Tom, who whispered, "The money has been deposited into the account."

Senator Cleveland's face was filled with smiles. He now liked Lance very much, not only because Lance had solved some minor troubles for him, but also because he had given him such a large sum of money.

More importantly, Lance is very tactful.

If Lance took the money and didn't deposit it immediately, but waited until he met with him before depositing it, then this would make him feel a little unhappy subjectively.

He would feel that Lance was actively seeking credit, or reminding him that the money came from him, or there was some other reason.

But Lance came here directly after he deposited the money, which made people feel comfortable. His coming here had nothing to do with the money!

After all, everyone likes "other people's sincerity".

"You must not be here just for this matter." Senator Cleveland rubbed his temple. "Tell me, is there anything I can help you with?"

Tom glanced at Lance from the side. It was rare for Senator Cleveland to take the initiative to say what he would do for others.

It can be seen that he is indeed very satisfied with Lance.

Lance shook his head. "There is one thing I can handle myself, and the other thing is about Jingang City."

"I read the newspaper recently and noticed that the international situation is undergoing tremendous changes. If a war breaks out, will Jingang City be affected? And how should we get along with the military?"

"Once a state of war is entered, the entire city may be placed under military control. Will that affect the operation of the casino?"

Senator Cleveland frowned slightly. "How do you know that war is about to break out?"

Not many people actually knew about this. The Federation was looking for an opportunity to intervene in the war. He was very curious about how Lance knew about it.

Although everyone knows that Congress cannot keep secrets, after all, each member of Congress represents the interest groups behind them.

The people in these interest groups have their own relatives or friends, so the news will definitely spread, but it should not spread so quickly and spread to the bottom of society.

"I read in the newspapers that they keep mentioning their rudeness and the possible consequences. I think this is the media paving the way for the outbreak of war."

"The media is using these news to tell people that it is not us who want to start a war, but the arrogant Dantra Republic and their prime minister or something."

"We are just passively facing their war, so this is a war of self-defense, a just war."

"With these reports, people will be more receptive to the fact that war has broken out."

He mentioned some details he noticed from the newspapers. Senator Cleveland nodded as he listened. "Yes, your observations are very detailed."

"If a war breaks out, the battlefield will not be on our soil, so you don't have to worry too much."

"As for the military control..." He thought for a while, "I will pay attention to this."

He paused for a moment and said, "When will you go back this time?"

Lance replied, "About three or four days from now?"

"Of course it can be extended if necessary."

Senator Cleveland nodded noncommittally. "I don't have time tomorrow, but I should have some time the day after tomorrow afternoon. I'll arrange for a few people to meet with me."

Lance knew what he meant. He brought up this matter, which led to this meeting. So the person he met this time would definitely be able to solve his worries.

"Do you need me to prepare a gift?"

Senator Cleveland looked at him with some amusement, but also wanted to know what he would prepare, so he nodded and said, "We can prepare something. After all, some of them can be used."

He then talked to Lance about the casino's operations and whether the two major projects, the Royal Palace Casino and the Water Park, had entered the preparation stage.

When Lance described these new projects to him, they all had great development prospects. Even though he listened to various similar reports every day, he was still attracted by the future described by Lance. The world's most luxurious casino, the world's largest water park, if these things can really be built, they will definitely become huge cash cows.

Even if Lance couldn't do all these, his performance was enough for the Cleveland Senators to pay attention to.

The senator drank quite a bit of wine and chatted with Lance for more than half an hour. He became a little tired again and needed to rest.

Lance also stood up and said goodbye in time, and Senator Cleveland asked Tom to see Lance off.

On the way back, Lance gave Tom an envelope.

"What is this?" Looking at the envelope, Tom did not take it immediately.

He knew what was inside, and the main purpose of asking this question was to find out why there was this money.

“Everyday gifts between friends.”

Tom was a little hesitant. It was not so easy to accept bribes from Senator Cleveland, although they would give them.

Because those who give him money often ask him to find ways to persuade the senators, and the issues that need persuasion are precisely the issues that the senators have negative attitudes towards.

So he couldn't accept the money. If he accepted it, he would have to do something contrary to the senator's decision, which would only make him further away from the core of this circle.

And for those issues that are consistent with the senators' decisions, there is no need to pay their staff for lobbying or other purposes.

Therefore, it is not easy for Tom to collect black money. He dare not take it, and the amount he can take is not much.

He hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to accept Lance's friendship. He got along well with the senator, and this friendship should last for quite some time.

"Thank you!" Tom put the envelope in his arms without opening it immediately.

Lance explained, "This money was transferred from the casino's public account. Taxes have been paid for you. You can do whatever you want with it."

The car slowly stopped outside the hotel, and Lance said with a smile, "See you later?"

Tom nodded, "See you later!"

Lance glanced at the driver and said, "Take Mr. Tom back."

Looking at Lance's leaving back, he felt a little emotional. Lance didn't behave like an ordinary gang leader at all, which was also one of the reasons why he accepted Lance's friendship.

When he returned home, his family had already gone to bed. He did not go directly to the bedroom, but went to the study.

After going over what happened today in his mind again, he took out the envelope and opened it.

Inside was a bank transfer check for fifty thousand dollars and a piece of paper with a tax document.

He flicked the check and the sound was very nice and the smell of the ink was touching!

This is power!

Lance returned to the hotel room and threw his hat on the stool in the cloakroom. He took off his coat. No wonder federal people like to wear another set of clothes at home because it is comfortable.

"Has the person been found?" he asked.

This time, he was followed by Hiram and Laun. Hiram was not here, but Laun was here.

"Found it, Hiram is watching."

Lance nodded, "Did you see it at the cinema?"

Lawn replied, "I've checked. The cinema plays our movie four times a day, and the attendance is pretty good. I don't know exactly how many people watch it, but there are always people watching it."

"So there is no such thing as unsold tickets or no one watching the show."

Lance curled his lips, "Then let's go visit this Mr. Serre tomorrow."

In the morning, Mr. Serre drove his new car to the company.

In addition to the box office in Xinjin City yesterday, the box office in surrounding cities was also counted, which was more than 5,700 yuan.

The actual operating costs were only the fourteen players running slowly and the labor costs of the employees, which were all very low costs.

Of the 5,700 yuan in box office revenue, the profit was about 3,500 to 4,000 yuan, or more than 100,000 yuan a month.

There was a summer film festival last month and he has bought some new movies that will be released in late July or early August.

By then his income will increase dramatically again, people will like movies and be willing to pay to go to the cinema to see new movies.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile. Those people walking on the roadside would never be able to understand his troubles.

It’s such a headache to know how to spend so much money!
He is already planning a new cinema. Competition in this industry is a bit fierce right now, and suitable plots of land have either already been bought out or the prices are extremely high.

He is still a little hesitant and is still waiting and watching. He is afraid that under the fierce competition, someone else will lower the ticket price, which will trigger a series of reactions.

He was really scared by the five-cent movies of the past few years!
Recently, movie theater operators in Golden State are planning to integrate their resources, and someone has suggested that they set up an industry organization.

The purpose is to completely eliminate vicious price competition. He plans to wait until this matter is over before considering whether to continue investing in building a new cinema.

He parked the car and came to the office. Today's newspapers were already on his desk.

The secretary twisted her butt to bring him coffee and pastries, and he smiled and patted the secretary's butt twice.

The secretary was not annoyed. She just laughed and scolded him a few words before leaving with the tray.

If you want to find a job that pays forty-eight dollars and isn't tiring these days, you'll just have to be slapped on the butt twice.

Just think of it as being bitten by a dog!
Mr. Serey started his "busy" day again, reading newspapers, magazines, drinking coffee and eating snacks.

I don’t know how long it was, but suddenly the secretary knocked on the door, and before he could let the secretary in, the office door was pushed open.

The young secretary stood at the door in panic, not knowing what to do, while several young people walked in from outside.

Mr. Serre frowned and looked at them until a guy who should be their leader sat opposite him.

"Mr. Sere?", the young man asked.

The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.

He felt a bit of gangster vibes from these people, which made him a little nervous, but only a little.

He looked at the young man sitting opposite him and asked, "Who are you?"

(End of this chapter)