Chapter 381

At seven-thirty, six people were already sitting at the table. One person had yet to arrive. “Let’s not wait. Let’s eat first. I’m hungry.”

At seven-thirty, six people were already sitting at the table. One person had yet to arrive.

“Let’s not wait. Let’s eat first. I’m hungry.”

Lance had the manager start pouring wine for everyone. The pouring of wine signified the official start of dinner.

These men were of various ages, their expressions all cold, with a hint of suspicion mixed in.

“Everyone doesn’t seem to be in high spirits?”

The last guy to arrive couldn’t help but speak up. “Lance, if you have something to say, just say it. There’s no need for all this.”

He glanced at the others at the table, his eyes unfriendly.

Lance’s hand had already been on his wine glass, but because of his words, he pulled it back. “Actually, before you all arrived, I already had a chat with Kerry about the purpose of gathering everyone here today.”

Kerry’s expression immediately turned sour. He glanced at Lance, then quickly at the others.

As he had expected, the others were looking at him with eyes full of distrust and even disgust.

Some would think he was a traitor for defecting to Lance.

But he really hadn’t.

He hadn’t given Lance any answer so far, but if he were to say that now, probably no one would believe him.

Lance had clearly said nothing, yet had suddenly put him in such a passive position, so passive that he had already made a decision in his heart.

Because if he didn’t do as Lance hoped, he wouldn’t be accepted by this group either and might be ostracized, isolated, and even treated specially.

Lance was clearly younger than him. Where did he learn these insidious tricks that only politicians use?

Lance ignored Kerry’s ugly expression and continued, “The Wolf Gang is an outside gang. Their purpose in coming here was to stir up war and disrupt the situation.”

“But now, it’s over.”

“From the time they established themselves until now, it has been more than half a year, and the Port District has always been in a state of chaos.”

“It’s time to let it stabilize.”

A middle-aged man in his thirties looked at Lance and asked in a deep voice, “How do you plan to stabilize the Port District?”

His tone then carried a hint of sarcasm. “By annexing us, or by kicking us out?”

The gazes of the others were once again focused on Lance. Lance smiled and raised his wine glass. “Why don’t we have a drink first?”

“My stomach has been protesting to me from all this talking.”

He raised his glass and looked at the people around him. “To us being able to sit here this year!”

The response from the others was not very enthusiastic. Only Kerry said “Cheers,” but he immediately noticed the unfriendly looks from the others and quickly shut his mouth.

After a drink, you naturally have to eat something. Lance had the manager introduce today’s dishes.

Although the atmosphere here was a bit tense and strange, the manager had not left.

Besides leaving two chefs for barbecue and the like, in case these young men didn’t have enough to eat, and two waiters, everyone else had already gone back.

He began to introduce today’s dishes, very wittily and humorously, which helped to adjust the atmosphere a bit.

Lance got himself a piece of steak. “Thank you for the introduction. It’s made my stomach even hungrier. I’ll have a little something to tide me over first. Please, everyone, help yourselves.”

He cut into the steak. Watching the beef, which was perfect in both color and aroma, being cut by him, others finally started to eat as well.

The beef was grilled perfectly. The breed of beef was well-chosen, and the age was also good. It was basically well-done but not too tough. Besides the quality of the meat, some little tricks must have also been used.

Actually, people have always had a misconception that beef can only be “tender” when it’s rare or medium-rare.

In fact, that’s not the case. The beef from a good, appropriately aged cow will be very tender even when it’s well-done.

Only those restaurants with not-so-good quality but who hope people will think their meat is good will use the method of not fully cooking the beef to enhance the texture.

Especially in the last two years, this situation has become more and more common.

In the early years, if you were eating a steak in a restaurant and someone gave you a rare or undercooked one, you could flip the table and they would have to put up with it.

But now…

“You see, we can sit together and have dinner without fighting and killing. This shows that there is no irreconcilable hatred between us.”

Lance put down his knife and fork after everyone had eaten a little.

Some people stopped, while others continued to eat.

“Just now you asked me what I was planning to do.”

“Actually, my idea is very simple. That is, to return peace to the Port District.”

“No war, everyone makes money together.”

“I know some of you don’t have a stable supply of liquor, and as it happens, I have such a channel. You open the bars, and I will provide you with a stable source of goods.”

“You make a lot of money, and I get a stable Port District. This is my goal.”

The middle-aged man who had spoken thought for a moment. “You will allow us to continue to exist?”

Lance wagged his finger. “No, you have to disband your gangs.”

Someone suddenly laughed out loud. Lance looked at the person who had laughed. He was in his late twenties and had been very rude when he arrived.

This guy’s name was Zake. He had a criminal record, had been to prison, and was the leader of the largest group among them.

His three years in prison had given his gang many former inmates. These people, having been hit by the justice system, had a harder time finding jobs in society—

In fact, ex-convicts in the Federation also faced this problem, especially some serious offenders. Sometimes the police would even pay special attention to them.

Zake gathered these people. Using the connections he had made in prison, he quickly expanded the scale of his gang.

It just so happened that at that time, Polly’s brain was malfunctioning, and the Red Dog Gang was being hammered by the Wolf Gang. They came up with a name, “37th Street Gang,” with the street they were currently on as their core area of activity.

These people had been hit before, so they were bolder than ordinary people. Looting shops, robbery, extortion, blackmail—they would do whatever made money.

Zake always felt that since he had been to prison and killed people, he didn’t take others seriously, and Lance was too young.

Even knowing his past, when he himself was young enough and facing an even younger person, it was difficult to feel any awe.

It’s like when you’re still in school, you’ll never think the top student in a lower grade is anything special. Even if you can’t even get into the top hundred in your grade, you’ll still have this thought.

Zake had always felt that Lance and the other gangs had just seized an opportunity.

If he had seized the opportunity, he could have made it this big.

Now his fame in the state prison had grown a bit. Many people sought him out as soon as they were released. Before long, their numbers would be even greater.

So when he first arrived, while others made some small talk with Lance, he just snorted coldly and sat down without speaking.

In fact, it couldn’t be said that there was no hatred at all between Lance and them.

The Wolf Gang had sent them to the Empire District to compete with Lance for territory. They had more or less already had friction with the Lance Family, maybe even exchanged fire and attacked each other.

So to say there was no conflict at all was obviously not possible, it was just not as prominent as the conflict between the Wolf Gang and Lance.

“You have a different opinion.”

Zake was not polite either. “Disbanding the gang is impossible, Lance. Don’t make it sound so nice.”

“If we put down our guns today, we’ll be found dead on the street tomorrow!”

“We are all gangsters. Don’t use the tricks you use to fool ordinary people on us.”

Lance put down his knife and fork and asked him, “Who did I fool?”

“Those other people. You’re not a cop, not a politician. We are fucking gangsters. You can fool others, but you can’t fool me!”

“You say you’ll make money with us, but I’ve heard that you’ve driven all those bars in the Empire District out of business.”

“You have a better source of goods than we do. You can completely force us into a corner in price competition!”

“You can still drive us all away!”

“I won’t fall for it, Lance!”

“If I die one day, it will definitely not be because I put down my gun!”

What he wanted to express was that if he were to die, he would die in battle, not be killed directly after putting down his gun.

But his level of education was a bit of a problem, so it was difficult for him to express these contents accurately.

Lance looked at him and explained, “I have never deceived them. In the Empire District, I don’t collect protection fees, and I even help them sometimes.”

“Some people run casinos. I have never extorted them or asked them for money.”

“As far as I know, there are actually still many small bars in the Empire District. I have not continued to deal with them.”

Some family-style small bar workshops, they brew their own liquor and then sell it to the surrounding people to earn a little to supplement their family’s income.

Well, saying “supplement” was a bit of an understatement. They were making money.

Lance had no intention of dealing with them, because this money was still a small number for the entire market.

He continued to explain, “On the Port District side, I will adopt a unified pricing method to balance this problem. All our bars, including my bars, will have a standard for the price of liquor.”

“I will not break this standard, and of course, you certainly won’t either.”

Zake kept shaking his head as he listened. Right now, he just thought Lance was a conspirator. He had come here just to hear what Lance had to say.

Now, he had heard enough.

He wiped his mouth directly and stood up, casually throwing his napkin on the table. “I’m full. The food is delicious, but I don’t like you!”

He turned to leave as he spoke. Among the others, some also seemed to be moved.

Then a second person stood up, a third, a fourth…

In less than a moment, only Kerry and the middle-aged man were left in the entire arcade.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

Lance looked at them. “I won’t stop you from leaving.”

Kerry sighed. “In their eyes, I have already betrayed the Port District. Where can I go?”

He stood up, grabbed a beef rib and pulled hard, tearing the entire rib from the steak, and held it to gnaw on. “The food is delicious. Give me a business card. I like your sauce.”

The manager quickly gave him a business card. “We look forward to your visit, sir.”

Lance looked at the middle-aged man. He was the oldest of the people who had come this time.

Most middle-aged and elderly gang members had joined the gang when they were young and had slowly worked their way up.

For example… Heller of the Camille Gang. He was in his forties or fifties. He didn’t establish the gang and recruit many people when he was in his forties or fifties.

He had followed his father, uncle, and grandfather since he was a child and started his gang life.

The vast majority, at least most middle-aged people, even if they were desperate in life and work, they might go to extremes, to kill, or to harm others, it was all possible.

The only thing that was not possible was to suddenly and inexplicably form a gang.

All new gangs are, for the most part, centered around young people, because their thinking is more active, they are more fearless of authority, and even eager to challenge authority.

Middle-aged and elderly people have long had their edges smoothed by society. They are not that stupid.

The reason this middle-aged man became a gang leader was purely because he was forced to.

So his experience and life wisdom were also richer than others.

“Actually… I’ve long wanted to end my current life. It’s just that some things have always been holding me, us, back.”

“Lance, you gave me a chance. I believe in your promise, and I believe you will not let us down.”

Lance showed a smile. “It seems I’m not entirely unlikable.”

The people around all laughed. Lance gestured for them all to come over. “Since they don’t want to eat, then we can’t waste it.”

He looked at the manager. “Grill the rest of the meat!”

The manager quickly went to make the arrangements.

In fact, after Kerry and Lance, and this group of Lance’s men had a meal and some contact, their impression of Lance improved a lot.

Especially the family atmosphere of the Lance Family, which made him a little envious. He liked this atmosphere.

However, he wouldn’t say it out loud.

That would make him lose face.

The meal was very satisfying. After the meal, Lance settled the bill. The manager gave Lance a discount on his own initiative. Lance also asked him to send his regards to old man Anderson.

“I hope he won’t be angered by my regards, but I still hope you will pass on my regards to him.”

The manager repeatedly assured that he would definitely pass on the message, and then left by car.

Kerry and the middle-aged man also left. Lance returned to the arcade, where only his own people were left.

Lance sat down again in Wolf’s uncomfortable chair. He crossed his legs, his hands tapping lightly on the armrests.

Hiram asked while picking his nose, “Why didn’t you keep them all here? We have so many people.”

Lance shook his head. “If I had kept them here today, no one would trust my words in the future. So I let them go today.”

“But after today, if I make a move against them again, people won’t be able to say anything.”

“Don’t touch Kerry and the middle-aged man for now. Wipe out the others, starting with that Zake.”

Just as Hiram was about to flick the booger away, Lance grabbed a rag from the desk and threw it at him. “When can you stop flicking your boogers everywhere?”

Hiram chuckled twice. “I’ll remember, I definitely won’t next time.”

“If you can remember, God will have shown his power!” Lawn teased from the side. Hiram immediately pounced on him. The sound of roughhousing and laughter soon filled the entire arcade.

The senator had just arrived these few days, and Lance didn’t plan to stand out too much. After all, scaring the gentlemen from Congress would be a big trouble.

After Lance revealed the Federation of Labor’s idea to Tom, they moved quickly. The next day, the dock management company had already realized that not bowing their heads was not an option.

They were willing to make appropriate concessions. They could add more meat and eggs to the workers’ meals, and also meet their demand for a pay raise, increasing it by one dollar and twenty cents at once, and then a raise every six months, thirty-five cents at a time. But the working hours could not be reduced.

The food standard was a very flexible thing with a flexible bottom line. Beef is meat, chicken is meat, and the innards of a cow that no one eats are also meat.

Anyway, they didn’t specify what kind of meat. As for eggs, they were even cheaper.

Now the Federation had begun to promote large-scale farming, and the price of eggs was rapidly getting cheaper. And it wasn’t that they had to give the workers eggs every day, nor did they have to eat one every time.

Calculating it this way, the company thought it was still acceptable.

They had actually already made a huge concession, because once they compromised with the workers first, when they went to talk to those companies again, it would become not so easy to increase the service fees.

They no longer had a means of threat. Even if they could reach an agreement, it would not be as much as they had originally thought, being able to extort a little more.

If they had thought this way earlier, maybe there wouldn’t have been these subsequent problems. But now the workers’ demands had clearly increased, and it had also let them see a little hope.

So the workers’ side did not agree to their plan. The wage increase was too small, and they thought the working hours were too long and very unreasonable.

It seemed that it couldn’t be settled in a short time.

They had just exchanged opinions in the morning, and in the afternoon, Tom called Lance again.

“Did you hear about what happened this morning?” he got straight to the point.

Lance knew the result of the morning’s exchange of opinions. The reason it was an exchange of opinions was because it wasn’t even a negotiation. They hadn’t even talked.

“I know, there are still major disagreements between the two sides.”

“Yes, major disagreements!”

“You have to help, Lance, help us do some work on the workers’ side. The dock management company is actually very sincere. They’ve increased the meal standard and also increased the wages. When it’s time to take a step back, you should. Only then can we reach an agreement.”

Lance keenly sensed a trace of indescribable anxiety in Tom’s tone. “Did something happen?” he asked.

Tom’s reaction was quick. “What happened?”

“What aspect are you referring to?”

“The strike.”

Tom was silent for a moment. He originally wanted to hide a fact, but he soon felt that this news couldn’t be hidden for too long. “Another region’s dockworkers’ group has gone on strike. They are using this method to support the Golden Port dock strike.”

“Listen, if we don’t resolve this matter as soon as possible, the situation will only get more and more serious.”

“This is not a good thing for you, for me, for everyone.”

Lance considered for a moment. “What do you want me to do?”

Tom’s speech was rapid. “Tomorrow we will sit down and talk. You come too. At that time, you can help us communicate with the representatives. We will do our best to find a…” he searched in his mind, “a point where we can meet each other, to resolve this matter, how about it?”

“No problem!” Lance replied.

(End of chapter)