Shadow Empire

Chapter 920: A Makeshift Team and Acquisition

The next morning, Diego got up early.

As he woke up, the butler and the maids entered the room.

Some maids opened the curtains, while others helped Diego into the golden bathroom to wash up.

He was too fat, not only could he not reach his own poop, he hadn't seen his brothers for a long time, and what was even more troublesome was that he couldn't even reach the area below his belly button.

If he were an ordinary person, it would probably be just like that and no one would do anything to help him, including his parents, wife and children.

But he is the president of this country, and he has everything that ordinary people can enjoy.

He stood in the shower, water droplets splashing down. He didn't need to do anything, just stand there.

Four maids then began to take brushes to help him with his personal hygiene. As a president, he needed to keep himself clean, tidy, and odorless.

After twenty minutes of cleaning, he changed into new clothes with the help of the maid and staggered into the restaurant.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and he takes it very seriously.

After all, he is the president, and his life must have some sense of ritual.

It’s like the most important meal of the day, the simplest but most exquisite meal of the day, the most sumptuous meal of the day and the summary of the day – midnight snack.

The table was filled with his favorite foods, including a large glass of iced juice.

After he sat down, he put the toast with that sweet and sour thick sauce into his mouth and asked casually, "Have you found the food?"

He lowered his head and ate, as if he was asking casually.

The butler would not give a casual answer just because of his casual question. He bowed slightly and said, "We found it, but a lot of food was lost, and the people on the train were all killed."

"They were all killed?" Diego had a more intriguing smile on his face, "Who did it?"

"Not sure, but they all died from gunshot at close range."

"In addition, according to the news reported by the on-site investigators, the food may not have been taken away by the people who attacked the train. A lot of it was left at the scene, and traces of food were spread all around. It is possible that some of it was picked up by people around and some by the people who attacked the train."

Diego ate two slices of toast with lots of sweet and sour sauce, and then put a steak on his plate. "Let's check and see which little mice stole our things."

"I have a feeling this isn't as simple as it appears."

Diego then summoned the cabinet ministers, reluctant to admit the loss -

To put it bluntly, he felt that the loss should not be blamed on him. It was the Republic of Czechoslovakia that failed to deliver the food to him, and the losses incurred during the transportation process should not be borne by him.

This is a typical selfish idea. As for whether they can reach an agreement with the Czech Republic on this issue, they may need to make a few phone calls to exchange greetings.

Lance didn't know how they were going to resolve this matter as he was busy discussing business.

"The Horseback Mountain Silver Mine has been mined intermittently for more than ten years. The experts I know told me that it can continue to be mined for at least another twenty years."

"If you use advanced mining technology like those from the federation, it might last a little bit shorter, but its total reserves won't change."

Lance looked at some reports in his hand, and then handed them to the entourage beside him, the leader of a geological expedition team from the Federation.

Since last year, the federal government has sent a number of scientific expedition teams to the Yalan region to conduct a comprehensive exploration of the natural resources there.

On the surface, the federal government said that it was for the purpose of studying nature, but everyone knew the purpose very well. This was also one of the reasons why the Czech Republic strongly opposed the federal garrison.

They have too obvious "invasion" ideas.

Once the federals really station troops in the Yalan region, it will be difficult to drive them away.

Moreover, with the threat of the army, some small countries might defect to them, eventually leading to a troublesome situation.

So it is better to just unite everyone first, maybe there is still a chance to seek development in this chaotic era.

After the team leader got the documents, Gomez stopped talking.

He looked through the documents for a while, then returned them to Gomez. "In fact, we came here to investigate last year. The reserve assessment of the Horseback Mountain Silver Mine in this document does not meet the scientific assessment standards."

"In other words, we feel that the veracity of this report is not reasonable."

"Based on some of our own initial exploration results, its reserves should be slightly higher than what is reported."

"To know the exact reserves, we need to conduct more detailed exploration."

"However, based on the currently known data, if we expand the scale of mining and use scientific mining methods and equipment, we can produce at least 50 tons of silver a year."

The leader of the scientific expedition team showed a hint of a meaningful smile on his face, "Of course there may be more, after all, this is Yalan."

It’s Alan after all!
"In the Commonwealth, the cost of mining silver mines is about eighty cents an ounce of silver, but here, it may only cost twenty to thirty cents an ounce."

"The price of silver has increased recently due to the war. Before I came to Lapa, the international price of silver had risen to one and tenth of an ounce."

"To be precise, the profit per ounce is 40 to 45 cents after deducting the costs of storage, transportation, tax, etc."

Lance frowned slightly, "That doesn't sound very profitable."

Lance's words made the team leader stunned for a moment, and he quickly explained, "Mr. Lance, we estimate that the actual reserves of Horseback Silver Mountain are greater than their exploration results. If we use our advanced mining technology, large-scale centralized mining and smelting."

"We can produce at least 70 to 80 tons of silver every year, with a net profit of one million per year!"

“This is not a small amount of money!”

Seeing the leader's eyes wide open and his serious look of "correcting mistakes", Lance smiled a little more, "I make a profit of more than ten yuan from selling a bottle of wine."

"I can sell 70,000 to 80,000 bottles of wine every day."

Hearing this offer, the team leader fell silent.

In his inherent understanding of the world, mining precious metals has always been a highly profitable industry.

Whether in the Federation or in other countries, this is especially true in places like Yalan where labor is cheap!
A profit of one million a year is enough to make many federal silver mine owners cry!
Even if they mine the same silver mine, their annual profit might only be a few hundred thousand dollars, because federal labor is too expensive!

This is also the reason why, even though the slave emancipation movement has actually produced results for fifty fucking years, slaves are still used extensively in the federal resource extraction industry!

Without slaves, the mine owners would not have as much profit, and now as the number of slaves is decreasing, many small mines are gradually closing down.

It’s not that they don’t make money, it’s just that the money they make is too little, not enough to support them to become rich.

One million a year is almost the limit of the team leader's understanding of "profit". Any higher would be beyond his cognition.

Although he also knew that there were many financial groups that were frantically amassing wealth, for example, thirty years ago someone almost became the "richest person in the Federation" with assets of 10 billion federal soles, almost!

He doesn't understand how those profits are generated, nor does he know how those assets are operating today. He only knows how to make money related to his industry.

But even so, a business that he thought was extremely profitable was despised by Lance, and the reasons he gave left the team leader speechless.

Faced with the bootleg liquor business that makes hundreds of thousands of profits every day, he has no temper at all.

He was silent for a while, still making his final struggle.

"Mr. Lance, moonshining... I don't know much about this industry, but it can't always be so profitable. It will stop one day."

"Maybe it's because of the overall increased competition, maybe it's because the bill was cancelled, it can't always be so profitable."

"But this silver mine can at least bring you a stable income for more than ten years. It cannot be destroyed and can generate profits continuously. And there is one more key point!"

He raised his tone a little, trying to attract more of Lance's attention, and he did it.

Lance listened with a slightly puzzled expression. He licked his lips and said, "It can also bring you a higher status!"

"I shouldn't have said that." "The bootlegging business is illegal after all, but this is legal, and after you control this silver mine, it can bring you a certain degree of fame and authority in the international silver price market."

"When the world silver price is set in the future, you will also have a seat, and they need to respect your opinion!"

Lance nodded slightly as he listened. "Actually, I just think he doesn't have much profit. It's not that I don't plan to invest in this silver mine."

"Not only this silver mine, I will buy all the mineral resources in Lapa."

When the team leader heard this, he was shocked again. He knew very well that there were other silver mines, gold mines, gem mines and various other mines in Lapa.

These mines are indeed not as profitable as Lance's bootleg liquor business when counted individually. Of course, when they are accumulated together, they are still not as profitable as Lance's bootleg liquor business. But these things bring more than just profits and benefits.

It’s about the industry’s voice, its position in the precious metals and gemstone industry, and its control over the local area!
If he could mine all the mines, including some sealed ones with no mining plans yet, he would have to employ at least hundreds of thousands of people.

When he controls the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and these hundreds of thousands of people may affect the lives and stomachs of millions of people.

Even if he is not the president or an official, he will have more influence in Lapa than the president!

After all, he only needs to shut down all the mines here, and millions of people will be left without food, and the free economic market will shrink in an instant!

The team leader graduated from a prestigious Alliance University and was a top student. If he hadn't lacked some recommenders, he would have had a chance to join the Ark.

He knew very well what would happen if Lance did this.

This also made him feel a little excited. This was a rare opportunity.

While Gomez was still shocked by Lans' terrifying profitability, the team leader took the initiative to talk about his future work plans.

"Mr. Lance, I want to work for you."

Lance said with a half-smile, "Aren't you working for me?"

The team leader had a little confusion on his face. He didn't know how he should behave, should he be more flattering or more independent?
But before he could make a decision, Lance patted his shoulder with a smile and said, "Come back to me after you finish this job."

He also needs some people who understand this industry. Of course, if a team leader wants to be valued by him, he must demonstrate his value.

Since it had been determined that the silver mine was marginally profitable and was considered top-tier in the industry, Lance asked Gomez to contact the mine owner.

The owner of Mabei Silver Mountain is actually a shell company.

The purpose of doing this is just to keep this asset under Diego’s control, but it does not belong to state-owned assets.

It sounds a bit complicated, but it's actually very simple.

This is Diego's personal property, not the state's.

If it is the country's, its income will go into the national treasury. Although for Diego the money in the national treasury is almost the same as his own money, there are still some subtle differences.

These subtle differences can make some things troublesome and ugly. He is a person who doesn't have much decency but wants to be decent.

Therefore, Mabei Yinshan was registered under the name of a private company, so that the annual profits generated by Mabei Yinshan could go directly into his pocket.

No one will say anything to him because of this.

The current "owner" of the Horseback Silver Mountain is very familiar with Gomez. In a sense, they are the same kind of people. They are tools for Diego and the ruling group to turn state property into private property.

Before last year, Gomez was more or less popular, and his sister was still in favor. Maybe she had her own unique skills in how to peel broad beans and please broad beans.

He is good friends with many people because he can provide some value.

Soon the owner of Horseback Silver Mine was invited to the place agreed with Gomez. He didn't have to worry about the management of Horseback Silver Mine, he just had to sign a few signatures every month.

The mine is managed by Diego's people, and he is just a puppet.

But there is nothing wrong with this puppet. He can get 5,000 yuan of income from Pala every month, and he doesn't have to go to the mine. He has no dissatisfaction with it.

Not everyone is as comfortable as he is now.

Five thousand yuan is enough for him to squander as long as he doesn't do anything reckless.

When the guy pushed the door open and just smiled when he saw Gomez, before he had time to shake hands with Gomez, he noticed the other people in the room.

Lance was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, smoking a cigarette. There was a guy next to him holding a map and talking to him about something.

There were a few young men standing separately in the corner of the room, their eyes were as sharp as eagles in the sky!

He looked at Gomez with some confusion, and realized that the reason he was invited here today was not because Gomez had anything to do, but because of these people.

Gomez took the initiative to walk over and shook his hand, shaking it, "It's been a long time since we last met, let me introduce you!"

Without further ado, he pulled the nominal owner of Silver Mountain on Horseback to the sofa.

Lance raised his hand, and the leader shut his mouth at the right moment. He glanced at the other person before standing up with a smile.

"This is Mr. Lance White, a big shot from the Federation!"

"Didn't you keep asking me about things in the Federation?"

"It just so happens that we saw you and asked you to come and meet Mr. Lance."

After Gomez finished speaking, he quickly turned around and introduced Lance, "This is Vargas, the general manager of Horseback Silver Mountain."

Lance extended his right hand.

It’s not very far, it’s more like lifting it up a little bit rather than “stretching out your right hand”.

Although Vargas was a little confused about the situation, as a "decent man", he quickly and enthusiastically extended his hand and shook Lance's hand, and shook it vigorously twice, "Nice to meet you, Mr. White."

Lance smiled back, "Me too. Please take a seat."

Vargas then looked at Gomez with confusion and puzzlement in his eyes, and sat on a separate sofa to the left of Lance.

He didn't know how to start for a moment, but he didn't need to worry about it, because Lance asked after he sat down, "I heard that Horseback Silver Mountain is registered under your name."

"I'm not very clear about the business side of Lapa. Do you have any legal documents to register your company or assets?"

Vargas couldn't help but look at Gomez again, and Gomez said very bluntly, "Yes, we have a title document, but it's not in the federal format."

"It is issued by the local government and is basically handwritten. In the end, the local government manager, the applicant, and the witnesses sign and stamp their names together."

Lance was curious after hearing this. "Doesn't this mean that it's easy to fake something?"

Gomez had a meaningful smile on his face. "In Lapa, no one dares to fake it, at least that was the case before!"

Lance understood it all at once, or rather he realized that the entire country was the private property of Diego and the ruling group. These mines, or any resources, even a fish in the river, were all their private assets.

It is impossible for ordinary people to own these assets unless they get their permission, so there is no point in faking them or not.

Not to mention counterfeiting, even if what you take out is real, as long as the ruling group wants your things, then what you take out is fake!

When all resources belong to the ruling group, the possibility of falsification is eliminated - how can I not know whether you are real or fake?

Lance couldn't help but laugh, a huge makeshift group.

He then looked at Vargas, "You must be curious as to why Mr. Gomez invited you over."

Vargas nodded. "A little bit."

Lance leaned back, "Because I want to buy your Horseback Mountain Silver Mine."

(End of this chapter)