Chapter 721 License Plate and Priest

One hundred thousand is actually not a small amount.

But Lance’s words made Mr. Joseph’s heart skip a beat. He knew that what he did was not so glorious. He had to provoke a conflict between two people to benefit himself.

Now Lance’s words undoubtedly meant that he had to pay for his actions.

But that’s money!

You can’t just find a piece of paper and write down a string of numbers on it to make the money available.

That’s money!
He glanced at Mr. Richard, who turned his head away with disdain at his glance.

In fact, Richard also knew the reason why Mr. Joseph had previously provoked the relationship between him and Lance and made them confront each other.

Joseph is an unpleasant guy with a disgusting materialism.

When you can bring benefits to him, he will follow you every day.

If you can’t bring him benefits, he will turn away from you.

They had worked together once before, and Mr. Richard was so cheated that he was speechless, but you can’t say that others are wrong in this kind of commercial capital behavior.

After all, Joseph made money and he was the only one who lost money. He could only regard this as a lesson learned.

If he were given a chance, he would definitely trick Joseph, which is why Joseph was eager to find an opponent for him.

Now, his toes are swollen.

Joseph sighed and opened his mouth, ready to say something, when Xavier suddenly interrupted, “I’ll give you eight hundred thousand.”

Joseph looked at Lance and then at Xavier. He knew that this was Lance’s “reminder” to him that he couldn’t offer 810,000, 820,000, or even 900,000. He had to offer one million.

When he thought of this, his heart began to bleed, but… things had come to this point, and he had no other choice but to pay the money.

He forced a smile, “How come?”

“Mr. Lance, you know it!”

“I’m the first person to support you, how could I look down on you?”

“Well…” He pretended to ponder for a moment, “I will take out one million to support your work, Mr. Lance. I don’t care whether you can be an executive committee member or not. As long as I can set an example for everyone, I will be satisfied.”

Lance’s eyes softened a lot when he looked at him. One million, not bad.

He nodded slightly. “I was just joking with you, Mr. Joseph. Don’t be so nervous. I thought you were someone who could take a joke!”

Mr. Joseph had recovered by now. He laughed twice, “How could that be? Of course I can take a joke. This is really funny!”

Lance nodded and looked at the other small factories that he had persuaded.

These small factories all invested 700,000 or 800,000 yuan as if they had agreed in advance, as if they really didn’t care about the money.

That’s seven or eight hundred thousand, or even millions, not seven or eight thousand, but seven or eighty thousand!

The representative of Good Dream Distilled Liquor Company didn’t react at first, but he soon realized that if the rotating chairman was Lance and the four executive committee members were also Lance’s people, then this industry committee might as well be run by Lance!
He glanced at Richard, who was stunned for a moment. However, under the other’s slightly threatening look, he remained silent for more than ten seconds with a sense of grievance, and then reluctantly shouted out the price of “one million”.

Joseph and Lance are obviously not on the same page, and with Richard, it’s two to two, that’s enough.

No one spoke again, and the matter seemed to be settled.

Lance finally reminded them that the money had to be paid once a year.

Mr. Rao looked at the people with grim expressions and smiled. “Very good. Our election went very smoothly and was fair and transparent.”

“Everyone, please wait a moment. Someone will come over and explain to you the responsibilities you need to take on.”

Not long after, a guy Lance didn’t know came into the room, but it was obvious that he knew Lance and he took the initiative to greet Lance.

“You may not know me. I am one of the members of the Federal Prohibition Committee, Moore. You can just call me Moore.”

“The implementation of the alcohol ban has begun to show results. Some existing alcohol problems in society are being properly resolved, and the number of cases in factories where production is delayed due to alcohol abuse has begun to decrease. These are all positive signs.”

“If nothing unexpected happens, we will not agree to granting something like ‘franchise rights’ which goes against our own policies.”

“But, as you can see, the Federation is facing huge challenges, but also opportunities.”

“The interests of the Federation are paramount, so we made this decision after weighing the pros and cons.”

As he spoke, he bent down, picked up the briefcase he brought with him, placed it on the table, and took out one of the document bags.

The moment they saw the file bag, almost everyone’s breathing began to quicken.

Mr. Moore opened the document bag and took out a franchise license numbered “1”.

This thing looks like a… exquisite poster, but it is definitely not as simple and worthless as a poster.

This franchise license is printed on federal currency paper, larger paper, and they even made a special template for this thing.

The reason for making a plate is to produce products faster. If a whole plate is used, it will take more time, but for a plate, each craftsman can be responsible for a part, and finally combine them to form a complete printing plate.

The intaglio printing of copper alloy, the delicate artistic patterns and the bumpy feel give it a feeling of touching a large banknote.

It is rectangular and divided into three parts: base map, text, and instructions.

“This license does not need to be hung in the business premises. In fact, when we issue them to you, we have already recorded your factory’s information.”

“It is more of a symbol and a representation.”

“The Prohibition Committee has made great concessions, so I need to remind you that you are allowed to industrialize and mass-produce alcoholic beverages within the federation, but these alcoholic beverages cannot flow into the market.”

“If we are caught, we have the right to recover those franchises.”

“Considering that opening a loophole for war may cause some people to misunderstand, we need to publicize these things more and increase the efforts to prohibit alcohol.”

“…(name omitted and no longer needed) Executive Committee member proposed a proposal that you, the Wine Industry Committee, should provide funding to establish a special foundation.”

“The main work of the foundation is to promote the advantages of prohibition and increase public recognition of prohibition, and also to ensure the healthy development of the industry.”

“The foundation’s funding comes from two sources.”

“The first part will be paid annually by the members of the industry committee, which only requires 200,000 yuan per year.”

Lance nodded slightly. Two hundred thousand was not a lot. With seventeen companies, it would only be three million four hundred thousand a year. The most expensive part should be in the second part.

“The second part is composed of 0.03% of the net profit generated by various business operations of the entire industry.”

“The industry committee is responsible for the preparation and establishment of the foundation, while the specific operation will be taken over by a professional team designated by the Prohibition Committee.”

“If you don’t have any questions, let’s continue. If you have any questions, you can raise them now.”

Some people looked left and right, as if they had something to say but did not dare to say it. They hoped that the stronger wineries would stand up first.

Some eyes also fell on Lance, but Lance shook his head slightly, and those eyes quickly retracted.

This clearly meant that the Prohibition Committee wanted to set up a separate table, but he could understand and accept it.

After all, I gave myself a hard slap in the face. If I still distribute these profits like others, I will obviously suffer a loss from this slap.

So it was reasonable and not surprising that they set up a separate table.

And their appetite is not too big, 0.3%. According to Lance’s prediction, the annual net profit is at least 400 to 500 million, which means that this part will be distributed to them about 1 million.

Including the above, the foundation can earn about three to four million yuan each year.

A maximum of 30 percent of these revenues will be used for what they say is the good things about Prohibition, and at least 70 percent of the other revenue will be used for the operation of the foundation.

For example, when it comes to renting a house and paying salaries, the federal government already has a mature plan to put the foundation’s money into individuals’ pockets.

For example, they rented a manor as an office, with the rent being one million per year, and then rented some luxury cars and the like, and two or three million could be put into their pockets reasonably and legally.

As for the remaining 30% at most, it is just a method they use to win over their subordinates. After all, they are full, and the people below also need some soup to drink.

When federal politicians firmly decided to follow the wrong path of capitalism, the roots of the entire government were already soaked and rotten by the flood of capital.

Politicians rarely think about what to do for the people; they only think about how to maintain their power and put more money into their own pockets.

No one raised any objection, which made Mr. Moore very satisfied. As a non-executive committee member, he could also get a share of the money every year.

About three hundred and fifty thousand every year, what else could he be dissatisfied with?
“It seems that everyone has no objection, so I will continue.”

“The industry committee needs to play its role in guiding the industry and you need to constrain the industry.”

“From my own rational point of view, Prohibition will definitely end one day. This is just a special decree for a special period.”

“Once he ends, the industry is likely to face a new disaster and destruction, with a large amount of capital pouring in, causing the market to become chaotic.”

“That’s when you’ll demonstrate your value. You need to guard the door for this industry and set the rules. Do you understand me?”

Lance nodded, and everyone else nodded as well. The entry system, the circle of people who eat all the food, could even be seen as a form of “collective monopoly” recognized by Congress.

These people, the industry committee, form a “democratic collective”, which then monopolizes the market, but the core interests are still in the hands of these people.

Only monopoly can bring huge wealth. If they may not have paid much attention to the industry committee before, after Mr. Moore’s words, the eyes of the representatives of Good Dream Distilling Company became a little hot.

There is no better business than monopoly business, no!

Of course, this also means that if nothing unexpected happens, the Prohibition Committee will have to keep eating.

As for whether they will continue to use the name of the Prohibition Committee or change their name, that is another matter.

Mr. Moore issued the franchise license to everyone and gave them some instructions. He then exchanged contact information with each person and left after giving them a few more instructions.

After Mr. Moore left, the others were reluctant to stay. The development of the situation to this point had actually exceeded many people’s expectations, including Lance, who did not expect that the Prohibition Committee would even impose special measures.

But none of this matters. What matters is that he is now the rotating chairman of the industry committee, and he has the final say in front of these people!
Lance’s “journey” in Xinjin City almost ended here.

Although he is the rotating chairman, it does not mean that he will stay in Xinjin City. After he returns to Jingang City, he will hire a professional management team to represent him in performing his duties as rotating chairman in Xinjin City.

In fact, there is nothing complicated or important about it. It is basically just idle.

These may be the biggest gains of this trip. I got the franchise, became the rotating chairman, and became the father of the entire brewing industry in the future.

As large quantities of alcohol began to be delivered to the front line, it received unanimous praise from the soldiers on the front line, and the emotional breakdown leading to large-scale desertions that the Ministry of Defense had been worried about did not occur.

Lance was mentioned by some gentlemen in private more than once, and these fantastic ideas did solve a potential threat for them.

At this time, Lance had just returned to Jingang City.

Although I wasn’t physically tired during the more than one week in Xinjin City, I was using my brain every day.

Lance likes to use his brain. Using bullets is not the worst option, but it is not a very good option either.

The guy who owed the company more than 5,000 yuan had been sent to mine, and the message he left was also seen by Lance after he came back.

“A church.” Looking at some of the information that Alvin had obtained during this period of time, Lance placed a few photos in his hand on the table.

At the top is a photo of a priest wearing sunglasses.

He was wearing plain clothes, holding a Bible in his hands, and seemed to be saying something to the believers.

Judging from his expression, he certainly doesn’t look like a priest, at least not a serious one.

Lance looked at Erwin, “What are your plans?”

Erwin grabbed a cigarette and said, “There’s no good plan. I found that many of them were disguised as clergymen.”

“If we take action against them, or the church, it will definitely cause disgust and even anger among the locals.”

“So this matter is not so easy to handle.”

The fact that an extremely conservative and radical organization like the Holy Bell Party has been able to exist since the end of the slave emancipation movement until today shows that they have some strengths.

Some of Joshua’s (leader of the Holy Bell Party) strategies are correct, and extreme religious organizations can indeed help him solve many problems.

For example, “God does not recognize dark-skinned people as God’s people” and so on. If these words are said by an ordinary person, or by a rich, powerful person, or whatever, by these people who have no religious identity.

Then it actually doesn’t mean much, it just makes people think that the person who said these words is an extreme racist.

But if these words were uttered by priests, their religious background would give them innate sacredness on certain issues, and at the same time they would cater to the local landlord class, so they would definitely have a good popular base.

That’s why it still exists and is still going strong after all these years.

Erwin did use his brain, but it wasn’t enough.

Lance also lit a cigarette, “In fact, the easiest way is to find all of them and then kill them!”

Everyone else in the room nodded. Nothing could be simpler than this.

One magazine of bullets can solve all problems and there will be no recurrence.

“But…”, an expected turn, Lance’s eyes swept across the faces of these people, “Like Erwin said, this will anger them.”

He paused, “So we have to try a different approach this time.”

He tapped the table twice with his ring finger and pinky finger of the hand holding the cigarette. “This time, we’ll use what they are best at to defeat themselves!”

Most cadres don’t care what method Lance uses, they are just responsible for obeying Lance’s orders, but there are some people, such as Erwin, who are very curious about what Lance plans to do.

Sean was also curious. It was still winter vacation and he hadn’t returned to his school yet. This was also his first formal family meeting since he went to college.

He really wanted to know what solution Lance would come up with to better solve the problem of the Holy Bell Party.

They have the support of the local landlord class, and in the eyes of the locals they are not even bad people. Violent solutions to problems will only lead to unpredictable consequences.

There might be civilians helping them deal with Lance’s people, so this would be difficult to resolve.

Sean thought about it for several days but couldn’t come up with any good ideas.

Lance took a drag on his cigarette. “I remember conservatives reacting very strongly to drinking, didn’t they?”

Bolton in the corner raised his hand and said, “Yes, conservatives are very disgusted with drinking. They think drinking is a manifestation of indulgence. Drinking too much will affect production plans. Most conservatives don’t like people who drink.”

Lance nodded, “Thank you for your explanation.”

“So this is what we need, to let those conservative people find out that the Holy Bell Party is not as ‘conservative’ as they describe themselves!”

His eyes fell on the photo on the table. “Of course, we have to catch this guy first. He will give us more information!”

(End of this chapter)