Shadow Empire

Chapter 612 There’s a lot to be done
People's eyes fell on the small squares. Even if Lance didn't say it, they knew what these small squares meant.

"Each small square represents the business scope of a bar. Within these scopes, only one bar is allowed to operate, thus avoiding a certain degree of vicious competition."

"I have been running a bar for a while, and I know very well what the consequences of this kind of vicious competition will be!"

He made an explosion gesture with his hand, "Fighting for customers."

"The profit margin of alcoholic beverages is huge, so for you, as long as you can beat the opponent, it is worth it even if you lose some manpower."

People in the small auditorium all nodded. How much compensation would be needed for the death of one person?

Five thousand to ten thousand dollars. Not all gangs can pay ten thousand dollars in compensation like the Lance family did. Some gangs can pay three thousand dollars in compensation, which is considered very merciful.

For example, some smaller companies don't even mention the issue of pensions.

Even if it's 5,000 yuan, how many days does it take for a bar to earn 5,000 yuan?
If the bar business is good, two days.

In other words, as long as they can grab the customers, it is worth it even if a dozen people die, because one month's profit is enough to pay these pensions.

Starting from next month, it will be pure profit.

Almost every week, there are gang fights over competing for customers, or fighting over robbing each other's alcohol. There are too many of these things, but some of the fights are so small that they are almost unnoticeable.

It might just be a few gunshots in the middle of the night and then the fight would be over, rather than a large-scale fight with constant sounds of gunfire and maybe even explosions.

But no matter what, a gunfight is a gunfight, some people will get hurt, some will die, and there will be huge losses.

Lance looked at these people. "So in each area, only one bar is allowed. This ensures that the bar does not have to compete for customers and can still operate well."

"There are more than 200 areas here. As you can see, some areas do not have small squares. We have not included those areas in the management system."

Someone suddenly raised his hand, and Lance raised his chin at that person, "What's your question?"

"Mr. Lance, if we want to operate one of these blocks, what should we do?"

Lance nodded slightly and raised his hand to signal him to sit down. He took a drag on his cigarette, crossed his legs, and placed his hands on his knees. "Bidding."

"Except for some red blocks, which are determined by bidding to determine who can contract the business area, all other green blocks are directly bid."

"For example, I think this place can provide me with a profit of 100,000 yuan, and I want to operate here, so I write a bid."

He picked up a bid and demonstrated, "Fill in the number I can afford in this position, for example, I filled in 40,000 yuan."

"Then I seal it, fill in its goal based on the number on the bottom right corner of the square, and drop it into the box."

"Ultimately, we will award it to the highest bidder based on the price of your bids."

"If the highest bidder offers 50,000 yuan, then 50,000 yuan will be enough to contract the bar operation rights in this area."

"I know you may be skeptical about their output, so it's okay. In the first year, we will change our fee from a fixed standard fee to a profit-sharing model."

"No matter how much you sell for or how much you earn, we'll take half of it."

"Starting from next year, the bidding process will be final, and we will also announce the specific results of the operation."

The small auditorium became lively again and everyone started discussing.

Many of them don’t know each other, the people sitting next to them, or the people around them.

But this did not prevent them from actively discussing these things. They had never encountered such a thing before. While feeling a little uncomfortable, they also vaguely felt that this method was actually a good one.

Avoid vicious competition and fighting, especially among small and medium-sized gangs.

The imbalance in power between them and the large and medium-sized gangs means they have no advantage in fights and competitions.

Whenever there is competition or a fight, they will definitely be the ones who suffer!

But if, as Lance said, they used a contracting system, it would mean that the competition disappeared and there would be no need to worry about gunfights.

Because the rules are set by the Lance family, anyone who breaks the rules is equivalent to fighting against the Lance family.

Given Lance's character, he would never allow the family that challenges him to continue to exist.

Many people find Lance a difficult person to evaluate, as he sometimes behaves very kindly, which is not at all what a gang leader should be like.

He would even organize members of the Lance family to distribute relief supplies to the New Port District, the Empire District, and the Port District in the winter.

Free food and winter clothing and stuff like that.

These things may not seem valuable, but when the quantity increases, it becomes a considerable sum. At the same time, it lasted for the entire winter, and he spent at least millions on this.

Gangsters would pull out guns and shoot bullets at each other for tens of thousands of dollars, but he spent the money without any hesitation. He was not like those greedy hyena-like gang leaders.

But at the same time he is not a completely good person.

Everyone came to a conclusion that most of the people who offended Lance had their entire families disappear. Very few people could survive alone, or have their families remain safe even if something happened to them.

Basically, once something happens, the whole family will be killed. This practice really makes people feel horrified and uneasy.

It also reflects his decisiveness and ruthlessness in dealing with these problems, which is in line with people's impression of the "Gangster Emperor".

But his kindness and his cruelty and brutality are mixed together, forming a complex person, a person with fatal charm!
The people who came here today are actually afraid that if they don't come, their whole family will go on vacation to God's side.

They fear Lance's "rules" and "execution ability", so they will naturally abide by them. Then, as long as the small gang wins the bid for an area, it will be able to develop stably.

This is simply... a great thing for those small and medium-sized gangs!

There were visibly smiles on their faces. They no longer had to worry about competition and fighting, and could focus more on the development of their gang and on making money. In the future, they would be able to bid for more territories, open more bars, and make more money!
Not to mention catching up with the Lance family, catching up with the current Pasreto family probably shouldn't be a problem.

People began to ask questions enthusiastically:

"Mr. Lance, I noticed that there are more than twenty plots of land in the Priscia area above. All I know is that there are two bars on one of the plots."

“If I bid for this site, what happens to the two bars above it?”

"Does the business protection here mean that people like us won't gather in groups, or does it mean that everyone won't gather in groups?"

He emphasized the word "everyone", and some people suddenly realized that there were indeed many places with bars on this map, even their bars.

These so-called strategies to protect their businesses are meaningless if their bars are not kept closed.

They don't have to compete with people who are also bidding for the space, but they have to compete with bars that are not part of the system. What's the point?
Lance had thought about this question a long time ago. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "It's a good question."

"Until we implement these plans, we will clear all the bars in the area and ask them to leave."

"If they are willing to cooperate, then great, there won't be any problems and no conflicts will break out."

"But if they don't want to leave, then I have no choice but to ask them to leave."

“I know that quite a few of you are also running bars and are located in these plots.”

"I also know that you must be somewhat dissatisfied with my decision in your hearts, because before this, you did not incur any additional costs in running the bar."

"But once my plan is implemented, your operations will have additional costs."

"It's okay. If you have questions or opinions, it's okay. You can leave and go to Valley City, Venus City, Mantenon, or anywhere else you want to go where the Lance family is not."

"No matter what you do in those places, I won't care about you."

"But in Jingang City, in my territory, everything must be done according to my rules."

To be honest, these words were too overbearing. Some people frowned, but they didn't say anything immediately. They were waiting for a stupid idiot. Their waiting was worth it, because someone did stand up and said, "Mr. Lance, I respect you very much, but I also hope you can respect us."

Lance raised his hand to interrupt him, "Who are you and where is your territory?"

The guy briefly introduced himself and said that he was the leader of a gang of about a dozen people and that he ran a bar in his own house.

"I have never thought about competing with others, and I only run my business at home. According to you, does it mean that when your plan starts, my bar at home will also be closed?"

There was obvious dissatisfaction on his face. If there might be some uncertainty in the territory issue, for example, how to determine whether a block is Lance's territory?
Then it couldn't be possible that his own home was the territory of the Lance family, right?

That was the house he bought with a loan, and he was selling alcohol to others in his own house. Is that not okay?

Lance looked at him calmly, "No."

Many people were shocked, but some felt that if Lance really intended to do this, then this was the bottom line.

But there are definitely people who can't accept it.

The man's face was filled with an expression of disapproval. "This is so disappointing, Mr. Lance. We cannot accept this decision."

Lance smiled and said, "I won't force you to accept it, because I am only informing you that the city rules have changed, not asking you whether you can accept such a change."

"You can sell the house and take your brothers to open a bar somewhere else like I said and do what you want to do."

"Or, do as I say."

"If you don't want to leave and don't want to do what I say, then I can only ask you to settle down in Angel Lake."

"I am not only responsible for you, I am also responsible for others who follow the new rules and protect their rights."

Hearing Lance's affirmative words, some people began to cheer.

He is also tough and there is no change, which is good news for those who are willing to follow the rules.

There will always be people in this world who are willing to go with the flow and follow the rules, and there are quite a few of them.

Not everyone has the courage and strength to resist authority. Instead of being like a fallen leaf on the water and being knocked over by a speeding yacht, it is better to be one of the guests on the yacht.

The man who spoke sat back with a changing expression on his face. He didn't dare to do anything rash at this time.

Soon someone asked, "Mr. Lance, will our open discussion of bar allocations attract the attention of the Bureau of Prohibition (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Hazardous Substances)?"

Lance shook his head. "You don't have to worry about that. I have people in the Hazardous Materials Administration who hold high positions. I can guarantee that as long as you pay me, there will be no problems with the bar I allow you to run."

"If something goes wrong, then you come to me and I will compensate you for all the losses!"

The person who asked the question leaned forward slightly with a look of surprise on his face, "I like your answer, Mr. Lance!"

"I don't have any further questions," he said and sat back down.

Apart from the bigger gangs, the only thing these bar operators fear the most is the Hazardous Materials Administration.

After all, they are law enforcers and have huge inherent advantages. Once they find you, the bar will basically be completely destroyed and you may even be arrested.

Members of small gangs may not be very loyal, because they also know that the gang is small, and as long as they get everyone in, no one can deal with them.

At least not in the short term.

Therefore, those who betray their families and gangs often come from small gangs, and in the absence of serious consequences, they do not care much about the discipline within the gang.

On the contrary, among the big gangs, it is rare for people to betray their inner circle because they all know it.

That is, whether they confess or not, it will be difficult to shake the core members of the family, as long as not all the core members of the family are captured, as long as there is still one person left.

Then even if they are acquitted in court, there is a high probability that they will not walk out of the court alive.

The faster and more severe the punishment comes, the less likely those people will speak carelessly.

Lance looked towards the somewhat noisy small auditorium and asked, "Does anyone else have questions?"

Someone raised his hand again, and with Lance's agreement, he stood up. He was also the leader of a small gang. "Mr. Lance, we... don't actually have any good connections to get a large amount of alcohol."

“What if we contract a block but can’t produce that much wine?”

Immediately, some people started laughing and scolding them, telling them to go back to their hometown and not embarrass themselves. Others said they could sell them alcohol, and others said they could cooperate with them.

Lance also smiled and raised his hand to calm people down. "Originally, I was going to talk about this later, but now that someone has brought it up, I'll talk about it."

"I have freed all the bars. I believe that as long as you are not too stupid, you will know that this will definitely make you money."

"So on top of the bar issue, we have a new rule."

"From the official start of operations, all the drinks will be shipped by me."

The small auditorium began to buzz with discussion again. After they discussed for a while, Lance said, "The price you get from me won't be higher than what you get. In addition to my own wine and beverages, we will also negotiate with the supply and marketing company in Yalan."

"We will use our advantages to push down the prices of drinks and ensure that you can make money and we can make money too."

“In addition, we can also offer wines that have been aged for many years, more types of wines, and ensure that the bar’s supply is always fresh.”

"For gangs like you that don't have convenient channels, you will no longer be unable to get the goods."

"All you have to do is take out a delivery note, tick the bottles you need to sell, and give us a call."

"Within an hour, the wine you ordered can be delivered to any place you specify within Jingang City!"

"At the same time, I can guarantee that as long as you purchase from me, even if your wine is piled up on the road, no one from the Hazardous Materials Administration will come to check!"

"But if someone secretly destroys our unity and secretly takes liquor from other smugglers."

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and although he didn't say anything, everyone could feel that it was definitely not a good development!
The leader of the small gang immediately sat back contentedly. This is actually a common problem among many small gangs.

They have little capital and little power, so they cannot get the goods even if they want to.

They can only wait for the second-level distributors, who are the ones who smuggle liquor, to mark up the price and then distribute it to them.

A bottle of wine that costs fifteen yuan may have to be sold for more than twenty yuan after being marked up by the dealer. If they are unwilling to accept this price, then they will have no wine to sell.

Buy directly from Yalan?
They charge hundreds of thousands for a ship, and no one will make a trip for you for three to five thousand, or twenty to thirty thousand.

So from a certain perspective, what Lance did also solved the big problem of small gangs not being able to get the goods.

For those gangs that can get the goods themselves, it may not be a good thing, but it is not necessarily a bad thing either.

As Lance said, if you can accept the new rules, then stay.

If you can't accept the new rules, you can leave.

But being unwilling to accept the new rules and unwilling to leave is being presumptuous.

Unruly people, unruly gangs, and families usually don’t have a good ending!

The meeting lasted until the evening. Lance wanted to discuss many things with them, such as the specific operation of the bar and whether Lance, who planned to officially change the "Lance Family" to the "Wanli Group", would send people to participate in the operation.

If there is a conflict between bar operators in two areas, how to resolve it, or how to improve business performance stably and effectively, Lance will talk to them.

The main thing is to reassure them that there is great potential in this line of work!

(End of this chapter)