While in America, the system says Roosevelt was an emperor.

When everyone looked at Tom, they all gave their forced answers:

"We, the Kovic brothers, want to get involved."

"Count me in as part of the Holy Mother Alliance!"

"Don't forget me, Blood Lion..."

Tom gestured for quiet with his hands, then slowly said:

"Any project, simply put, involves only three aspects of input:"

"Connections, manpower, and materials."

"I'll handle the networking aspect; you're only responsible for labor and material costs."

Tom pointed to the Holy Mother Alliance - Yevgeny, the Fortune Society - Lai Lao, the Blood Lion Gang - Moore, and the Kovic Family - Nemania, and continued:

"You four companies are in charge of labor."

"Normally you support people, but during the project, I can give each person three dollars a day."

"If you have accumulated two years of work experience, you can be issued a work certificate."

The four of them gasped in surprise. Not only was the salary so high, but they could also get a work certificate?

In addition, municipal engineering is a legitimate business, and labor dispatch companies can be set up to launder some of the illicit money.

Tom then pointed to the Corleone family—Godfather Vito Corleone—and Thomas the Devil's Stick, and said:

"You two will be in charge of the supplies."

"Steel, sand, gravel, cement, and so on."

"I can charge 5% to 10% more than the normal market price."

After Tom finished cutting the cake, he asked everyone:

"Who supports this allocation method? Who opposes it?"

All six representatives nodded in satisfaction and said in unison:

"I support it."

On the surface, human resources is the largest component, and it's reasonable for it to be divided among four companies.

Thomas and Vito, the godfather, may seem to be at a disadvantage, but in reality, they both have smuggling businesses.

By masquerading as government projects, the two men could greatly increase their supply of goods, especially in the smuggling of metals.

Tom nodded and continued:

"Now that I've covered the benefits, let me state my requirements."

The six leaders also pricked up their ears; what followed was the important part.

Tom held up one finger and said:

"I only have one request."

"Regardless of what your constituency was like in the past, is like now, or will be like in the future;"

"You six families must forever abandon the noodle business."

Tom's words caused a range of emotions to shift among the representatives.

Some are happy, some are sad.

Several factions that don't deal in noodles would definitely wholeheartedly agree.

But for the Holy Mother Alliance and the Kovic family, this is a bit hard to accept.

The Kovich family hadn't touched it before, but after acquiring the Bald Head Gang, they secretly took over the entire Bald Head Gang's noodle business and also contacted transnational channels in the Balkans.

In just a few days, the Kovic brothers experienced firsthand the enormous profits of the noodle business.

The two brothers were reluctant to let go now.

However, openly speaking, of the six companies, only the Holy Mother Alliance is currently in the noodle business.

All eyes were on Yevgeny.

Yevgeny asked:

"Mr. Tom, could our Holy Mother Alliance please refrain from participating in the engineering company's projects and continue our noodle business?"

Tom nodded and readily agreed:

"sure."

"I am a very reasonable person."

"We will not force you to give up your business."

Yevgeny and the Kovich brothers breathed a sigh of relief;

How could an engineering company's profits possibly compare to those of a noodle shop?

But Tom's next action terrified the three of them instantly.

Tom took out several copies of the New York Daily News and tossed the newspapers to the crowd.

Tom opened a file, pointed to a report, and said:

"Take a look at this report first."

"After reading this, you will understand why I divided your territory according to electoral districts."

Everyone picked up a newspaper and looked at the report in the corner, which was about Tom's speech yesterday.

The six leaders weren't fools; after seeing the report, they instantly understood the meaning behind Tom's meeting today:

I, Tom Smith, will definitely go into politics and campaign for votes in the future;

In America today, no politician dares to touch a pink face.

Contact with them is tantamount to a death sentence for one's political career.

Now that you've grown so big, in the American environment, you'll inevitably come into contact with the noodle business.

I, Tom, am not unreasonable. If we want to cooperate in the long term, we need to be bound by shared interests.

It's unrealistic to expect them to use their position in the Finance Bureau to oppress you indefinitely; they'll eventually collapse.

Today, I, Tom, am offering a partnership opportunity with an engineering company in exchange for your six families not participating in the noodle business.

The profit margin may be lower, but it's stable and it's a legitimate business.

Yevgeny's back was soaked with cold sweat, and his hands holding the newspaper began to tremble.

Tom gave him a chance to join the engineering company and give up the noodle business;

If he doesn't accept the offer himself, will Tom still cooperate with him in the future?

Yevgeny then looked at the other five representatives, especially Thomas from the same constituency.

Of the five major electoral districts, only the southern district has two chairpersons.

Yevgeny saw in Thomas's eyes the ambition of a "single-manager".

Yevgeny quickly said:

"Tom, tax collector, I was just asking out of curiosity."

"Don't worry, I'll immediately shut down all my noodle and rice noodle businesses after the meeting."

"At the same time, the Holy Mother Alliance has established an ironclad rule: from now on, anyone who touches her face, whether for personal use or for sale, will be subjected to vigilante justice!"

Those who understand the times are wise, and Tom was not surprised by Yepgeny's quick change of heart.

The Kovic brothers' expressions, however, still seemed somewhat unnatural.

The night before last, lured by huge profits, the Kovic family took out their savings and ordered a batch of high-quality goods from the Turks, which will be delivered the day after tomorrow.

According to Turkish custom, even if you no longer want the goods, not only is the deposit non-refundable, but you still have to pay the balance.

The Kovic brothers originally planned to pay in installments after receiving the goods, and at worst, they would pay interest to the Turks.

However, if the noodle business is completely stopped, the Turks will definitely fight to the death, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Tom doesn't have X-ray vision or mind-reading abilities;

From Tom's perspective, only the Holy Mother Alliance was involved in the noodle business, and since the Holy Mother Alliance had expressed its support, the matter was considered to have been settled smoothly.

Tom then added some details about the collaboration with the engineering company.

At 10:00 AM, the meeting ended, and the six families went home to prepare the materials needed for cooperation.

Qiangsheng Engineering Company is a legitimate company, so if the six forces want to cooperate, they will definitely need to go through legal and formal procedures.

The Kovic brothers drove in silence the entire way.

Finally, at a traffic light, Nikolai asked anxiously:

"Brother, are we really going to stop our noodle business?"

"That spineless Yevgeny made a lot of money from the noodle business in previous years, so he can just stop now."

"But my brother and I have just invested all our savings. If we stop, we'll have no money left."

How do I pay the remaining balance?

How can you control your subordinates?

"Those Turks are all money-grubbing types."

Nemania lowered his head and remained silent, beginning to ponder how to get through this.

Are we really going to have to run away with the bucket because of this?