Shadow Empire

Chapter 894 Master’s Mercy and Unreasonableness [666+5]
The next morning, Lance took an armored vehicle to the place the drivers mentioned. The ground here was indeed bumpy.

And judging from the bumpy edges, they must have been made not long ago.

Some potholes are a foot or more deep, connected to each other.

There were already quite a few children around, as well as some adults.

The children carried simpler things, just a cloth bag, while the adults carried simple dustpans and brooms.

It was obvious that they came here just for the fallen wheat kernels.

At first people were a little in awe of Lance's car, but when the truck showed up on time, they forgot about Lance and the weird car.

The drivers had already reduced the speed as much as possible, but for such a large truck carrying several tons, just a bump would cause some wheat to be shaken out or scattered from the truck.

Lance could see clearly that with every bump the corresponding tires would feel a squeezing force.

Although he was not a professional in car repair, he knew that if this kind of power continued to accumulate, the parts of the truck would definitely suffer from fatigue and eventually be damaged.

Whenever wheat was sown, people would swarm together.

The children would squat on the ground and grab the grains with their hands. No matter how much, just a handful or a few or a dozen grains, they would just stuff them into the cloth pockets around their waists.

Older adults would use a broom to quickly sweep the wheat kernels and dust into a dustpan, and then put it into their backpacks.

One car after another, in order to avoid those in front who were fighting for the wheat kernels on the ground, the drivers had to constantly change their positions to pass.

Even if only a small amount of wheat kernels are spilled from each vehicle, three or five pounds, it is not a small number when counted over dozens of trips a day, and it is not a small amount.

In fact, this amount is nothing to Lance. He makes tens of thousands of dollars every day. Even if all the wheat kernels scattered here are added up, less than a ton will be lost in a day.

And even if one ton is thrown away, it would only be about thirty dollars.

He didn't say anything, just watched quietly, thinking of a strategy in his mind.

If Hiram were here, he'd definitely be yelling about shooting all those bastards.

Lance did not bring Hiram with him this time. Hiram is still in Indeno State working with Alvin to expand his business.

The Gold Label Wines factory was set on fire. President Richard has gone crazy and is now like a wild dog, biting whoever he catches.

They also controlled some gangs. In order to prevent them from going completely crazy due to huge losses and attacking the headquarters of New Bermingham City without regard for the consequences, Lance left the fighting maniac Hiram there.

The people he brought were all from Madore, and they had all received military training.

I thought that without Hiram, no one would say this, but I didn't expect Madore to learn bad things too.

"Boss, do you want us to teach them a lesson?"

Lance didn't answer him "yes" or "no", but asked, "How are you going to teach them a lesson?"

This question left Madore at a loss for words. "Maybe... I should arrange for someone to beat them up?"

"And then?" Lance asked, "What if they do the same thing the next day?"

"Beat them again?"

"You can't keep beating them up. Beating them up doesn't really work."

Lance was actually a little worried. If he called the police, there was a high probability that they would come and take a look and leave. Things fell from the car, and the driver did not stop to pick up the fallen wheat, which meant that he didn't want it anymore.

The police will not arrest these people. At most they will scold them and then leave.

As for catching those who damage the ground at night?
This method is actually useless. These people have already tasted the sweetness. Even if some of them are pinned down by them and taken away by the police, there will be others who will do the same.

For Lance, the loss of several hundred kilograms of wheat every day was of no importance, but for these poor people, they might be able to eat a little better.

And the most crucial point is that now is the time to establish a good image of the federation.

After watching for a while, Lance made a decision.

At night, someone brought workers to fill in the bumpy ground. There were many pairs of eyes watching them, just watching quietly.

But what was surprising was that after the workers leveled the bumpy ground, they did not leave immediately, but settled down here, which made some people impatient.

Some of them have already gotten several pounds of wheat in the past few days, and it's like a festival for the hungry Lapa people.

Not everyone likes to eat foods made from starch that has been specially processed. People actually prefer wheat and wheat products to those unpalatable things.

These people felt uncomfortable when they thought that if these workers did not leave, it would be difficult for them to take advantage as they did in the past few days.

In the morning, before the truck arrived, some more people came.

There are locals and federals.

They also set up a table on the roadside, and two local Lapa people came over arrogantly and stood behind the table.

They hit the table with the sticks in their hands, making a banging sound.

The sound quickly attracted those around who were waiting to take advantage.

"Come here, everyone. The respected Master Lance wants me to tell you lackeys!"

The people around, including the children, looked at each other, and finally came closer.

They wanted to hear what "Master Lance" behind this person had to say.

When the crowd had gathered, one of the locals said loudly, "Master Lance can't stand you lackeys doing this all day long. You're ruining the ground and his car might get damaged."

"One of those trucks can buy the heads of your whole family!" "But the merciful Master Lance sympathizes with your poverty, so he distributes relief food here every day."

"Everyone can reach into the bag of grain and grab a handful. How much you grab depends on your ability, but everyone can only grab a handful."

"Three hundred pounds of wheat kernels every day, until they are all gone."

“If anyone damages the road again, not only will we not be able to deliver food, but even trucks will not pass through here.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he had five bags of grain thrown out of the car.

Looking at the one hundred pound bag of grain, everyone became agitated.

A handful, how much is a handful?

They have no concept.

The crowd began to rush inside, but fortunately there were people on the scene holding sticks to maintain order, and soon everyone began to line up in an orderly manner.

The children catch first, this is the rule set by Lance.

Adults don’t have any objections. Children’s hands are so small, how much can they grab?

The children lined up excitedly. The first child grabbed a handful and put it on the small plate on the table, but there was actually not much.

He seemed a little frustrated, but he also knew that everyone only has one chance.

This made many people feel interesting and novel, and they started lining up.

Soon, large trucks passed by and the drivers breathed a sigh of relief as the ground was no longer bumpy.

They didn't know and had made many speculations, including whether Lance would kill a few people here and then hang them up, but now it seems that Mr. Lance still has a kind heart.

Roger also asked Lance this question. He heard about this incident last night and then learned about what Lance did.

"Why not give them some punishment, but instead give them a reward?" He didn't quite understand.

Lance stood in front of the French window and looked at the poor capital. "What was your impression of the Federation before you went there?"

An irrelevant question, but it made Roger fall into memories and thinking.

"At that time... they told me that the Federation was a very polite and civilized country."

"Even if you don't close the windows or the door, no thief will come to your house."

"People are polite, have a sense of shame and morality, and there is money everywhere."

"The story that I remember most vividly is about a group of old cowboys who discovered a gold mine in a river in the West and became rich."

"In my impression, it seems that whatever the federals do, they will succeed."

He said this with some emotion, and this was his most profound impression of the Federation during that era.

He had never been to the Federation and heard everything from people around him or from newspapers.

Lance looked down at the city below him. "The illiteracy rate here is even higher. Ordinary people don't buy newspapers. They don't understand us."

“It’s a channel for propaganda, and the Federals have virtues like gold, and they’ll eventually spread it.”

"And at the most critical moment, they will regard us as their hope for survival."

"There's no need for us to argue with them over such a small matter. Even if we control these people today, how do you know that some of them won't harbor resentment towards our actions?"

"The real opponents we have to face are the ruling class of this country, not the bottom of society."

He paused and said, "How much food has been transported away?"

Roger came back to his senses and said, "It's already more than half."

Lance nodded noncommittally, "Let the others get started."

Not only do they purchase grain directly from the Lapa government, but many of their people have already entered various cities in Lapa and purchased various grains from local people at higher prices.

Those merchants came in groups of three or five, riding on horses, buying food on the streets of the city!
In November, the weather gradually began to cool down. Of course, as a tropical area, the temperature here is still around 17 or 18 degrees, which is the most pleasant time.

Pedro saw the businessmen on his way from home to school.

They were standing outside a grain store, weighing two bags of grain on a scale.

He stood by and watched for a while, then the foreigners paid with a two-dollar bill, a one-dollar bill, a fifty-cent coin, and some other coins and left with the food.

They paid in federal sols, money Pedro had seen before.

He walked over curiously, "What did you sell them?"

The shop owner happily put the money in his pocket and said, "They paid for wheat and wheat flour in federal sols. They were very generous and the prices were very high."

He was in a good mood and didn't mind chatting a little more. "These foreigners are really generous. They bought all the food at a price of a little more than one dollar and thirty cents, and they paid in federal sols!"

Pedro asked a question that no one else noticed, "Why don't they buy from the food depot instead of from a grocery store like yours?"

The shop owner was stunned for a moment after hearing this, "Who knows?"

"As long as they pay, that's all."

(End of this chapter)