I bought a prison in the United States.

Lin Ge picked up the contract and quickly glanced through it.

The terms were standard: quality requirements, delivery time, and payment terms. However, he noticed a handwritten supplementary clause on the last page.

"If the defect rate of the first batch of 1,000 products exceeds 3%, the buyer may unilaterally terminate this contract."

Furthermore, the seller shall compensate the buyer for all losses incurred as a result, including but not limited to losses due to production delays, customer penalties, and legal fees.

This is a trap clause.

If his prisoners mess up, Danforth can bankrupt him.

"Is Mr. Danforth afraid I'll mess this up?"

Danforth calmly said:

"I've been in this industry for decades and have seen many examples of low-cost outsourcing turning into quality disasters."

"Last year, I outsourced a batch of parts to a small factory in Arkansas, and half of the parts they delivered were defective. General Motors almost kicked me off their supplier list."

"Therefore, I will not make the same mistake again."

Ringo picked up the pen, signed the contract, and pushed it back to Danforth.

Danforth looked at the signature on the contract and smiled slightly.

"If you succeed, I will promote your business at the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce."

"no problem."

Lin Ge was in high spirits after reaching an agreement.

Before he left, Danforth's voice lowered:

"Mr. Chen, I've heard that you and Ray Carson have been getting quite close lately."

"I don't care what your relationship with him is, but if you try anything funny with me, I'll make you regret it."

Ringo turned around and looked into Danforth's eyes:

"He's also my creditor. If I try anything funny, he'll make you regret it first."

Danforth stared into his eyes, then nodded:

"Okay, see you next week."

……

After leaving the Tulsa Metalworks Factory, Ringo drove to 422 Main Street.

He passed a McDonald's on the way, its golden arches gleaming in the sunlight.

The GG sign outside the car window read "Big Mac, only 99 cents," next to a picture of a giant hamburger that looked at least three times bigger than the real thing.

In Tulsa in 1984, the smell of money was everywhere.

It's not because this place is wealthy; quite the opposite, it's because so many people are short of money that everyone is desperately trying to squeeze a few coins out of other people's pockets.

"Is this the address?"

Lin Ge parked his car in front of an old office building.

The exterior walls are made of red bricks, and the windows are old-fashioned wooden frames that slide up and down.

A bronze plaque is nailed to the door on the third floor:

Leonard Parker, private investigator, license number LP-7842.

Lin Ge knocked on the door, and a clear voice came from inside:

"Please come in."

This office is much more spacious than Mr. Danforth's, and instead of looking cluttered, it looks quite impressive.

A wooden desk, a sofa and coffee table, two chairs, and the walls are covered with various certificates and newspaper clippings.

The curtains were half-drawn, and the afternoon sun shone in, casting a slanted band of light on the table.

A man in his thirties was sitting behind the desk.

He was wearing a gray suit, his tie loosely tied, and his shirt collar open.

What's most striking is his eyes.

A pair of sky-blue eyes, deep-set, with a sharp gaze, as if they could see through your skin and into your bones.

When Lin Ge saw the keyword above his head, the one that came to mind was: "confidence".

This seems like a useful keyword, and Ringo tries to capture it.

[Gained: Confidence 10%]

The man gave a relaxing smile:

"You must be Mr. Ringo Chen."

"Yes," Lin Ge replied.

"Please sit down."

Parker's demeanor was both elegant and his speech was polite.

He even prepared black tea for Ringo in advance, instead of coffee, clearly to cater to Ringo's taste.

Lingo sat down in the chair.

Parker took a folder out of the drawer, opened it, and found it filled with dense writing, along with several photos and photocopies.

Parker flipped through the folder:

"Ray said you're an interesting person. He said you bought a prison and plan to make money off the prisoners."

"More or less," Lin Ge said.

Parker looked up at him, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"I also find you interesting, but that's not the point. The point is what you want."

He turned to a page in the folder and began to read:

Dennis Crawford, 53, currently runs a company called Lone Star Building Materials in Austin, Texas.

"The company was registered in February of this year, with a registered capital of US$100,000."

Parker pulled a photo out of the folder and pushed it in front of Ringo.

The photo shows a middle-aged man, about fifty years old, with short gray hair, wearing an expensive dark blue suit, standing at the entrance of an office building.

His face was round, his nose was big, and there was a faint smile on his lips, making him look like someone who was very satisfied with himself.

"Vernon Bellus, Vice President of the Tulsa Building Materials Association, owner of Bellus Building Materials, and partner in Crawford."

Lin Ge picked up the photo and looked at the face carefully.

The man's gaze made him uncomfortable, and his smile wasn't genuine; it was a "I know things you don't" kind of smile.

"How did Bayless and Crawford meet?" Ringo asked.

Parker turned another page:

"They were college classmates, University of Oklahoma, enrolled in 1953, and lived in the same dormitory."

"Bayless studied business, and Crawford studied public administration."

"Besides that, they are also related by marriage."

Parker pulled out a hand-drawn relationship diagram:

"Bayless's wife and Crawford's wife are cousins; in other words, they are brothers-in-law."

Lin Ge looked at the relationship diagram, which was densely covered with lines and arrows connecting more than a dozen names.

Judges Crawford, Bayless, and Hammond, the county treasurer, several county legislators, and officials from two state corrections offices...

It seems this isn't a small circle.

"What you are facing is the power network of McLean County."

Parker leaned back in his chair:

"Crawford is just a small node, Bayless is a medium node, and Hammond is a medium-to-large node."

"They knew each other, helped each other, and covered for each other."

"If you want to touch any of them, the others will come to your aid."

Collusion between officials and businessmen, and mutual protection among officials, are all too common in the United States.

If you want to challenge capital, you must become a higher level of capital!

Lin Ge put the photo down:

"Have you found anything about that batch of fabric?"

Parker flipped through a few more pages, then took out a photocopy and pushed it in front of Ringo.

It was a photocopy of an invoice that read:

"McLean County Correctional Center, facility maintenance materials, 250 rolls, $248 each, total $6.2."

However, in the remarks section of the invoice, it was written in very small print:

"Actual delivered material: Polyester fiber fabric, 250 rolls, unit price $128."