Empire of Shadows

Qiaobafu heard from others that Lance had settled Mr. Anderson, that old stubborn man, for Alberto. He had a good impression of Lance and would sometimes mention it during social gatherings.

He had been following news about Lance and, after inquiring, happened to ask about it today because he also had many similar troubles.

"We are partners," Lance said, not admitting that he worked for Alberto, which was indeed the case.

From a certain perspective, Alberto helped him obtain start-up capital and slightly expand his connections in Jincheng, so even if Alberto's "orders" didn't pay much, Lance was willing to take them.

Debts of gratitude are always the hardest to repay. Sometimes Alberto would even give extra activity expenses, making it even harder for Lance to refuse.

Mr. Qiaobafu took a sip of the wine in his glass, "I also have some similar business I would like to entrust to you."

"I also have loan business. Some people... you know, not everyone who borrows money can pay me back."

"My style of doing things is different from Mr. Kedi's, which leads to very high recovery costs. I have been thinking about whether to change my approach. Your timely appearance has given me more options."

As an Imperial citizen, and a successful one, success did not bring him the core benefits he wanted in Federal society.

Although people would respect him because of his wealth, local capitalists would not respect him so much or treat him as a friend, but would instead reveal covetous eyes!

Of course, what they coveted was not his hairy and flabby buttocks, but the money in his pockets.

Because he was not a Federal citizen, local capitalists were more wary of him and would more unscrupulously covet his wealth.

He had to be more careful than others, because if he wasn't careful, someone would pounce on him and tear him apart. The world of capital has never been gentle.

Now, the conflict between immigrants and natives is escalating under the manipulation of politicians, making him feel that his living space is being compressed once again, and more people are unwilling to repay their debts.

They would make excuses, delay payments, and tell him to sue.

The cost of suing is very high. If you want to win a lawsuit against a Federal citizen in a Federal court, you must hire a Federal lawyer, and these flesh-eating, bone-spitting shysters always demand exorbitant fees.

Mr. Qiaobafu's business has encountered considerable trouble. The judicial and law enforcement departments will not help him recover those debts, but will help those who owe money avoid his debt collection.

This so-called free and equal country is not free at all, let alone equal!

So he wanted Lance to help him. If Lance could help him like he helped Alberto, then many of his troubles would disappear.

Even if something went wrong, it would be Lance's problem, not his.

Admiration is admiration, but admiration cannot be turned into wealth, so compared to the loss of wealth, his admiration for Lance is actually not worth mentioning.

"Loan sharking?" Lance asked.

Mr. Qiaobafu nodded and said, "Some are," the subtext being that some are not.

He saw that Lance didn't continue the conversation and felt a little anxious, but he didn't show it. "I can give you... ten percent commission, and I will also give you some expense money."

"Lance, I can guarantee you that no one in the entire Federation can give you more than me!"

The more he said this, the more Lance knew that these debts would be very difficult to collect, and at the same time, they were very likely to be large amounts. There might not be any debts of a few hundred dollars, but starting at three to five thousand.

Only in this way would he give extra expenses.

If someone only owed three to five hundred, he wouldn't give Lance tens or hundreds of dollars in expenses and also give him ten percent, so he himself wouldn't have any profit.

Lance thought for a while and rejected his proposal, "I'm sorry, Mr. Qiaobafu, please forgive me for not being able to take your job."

"Mr. Kedi reached out to help me when I needed it most. I am a grateful person, so I will do some things for him."

"But that doesn't mean I will always do these things. Maybe you don't know, I have already opened my own company, and the profitability is not bad."

He smiled, "Currently, the profit is four to five thousand dollars a month, and it will continue to increase."

Mr. Qiaobafu pursed his lips, "Twelve percent."

Twelve hundred dollars in commission for ten thousand dollars is indeed not a small amount.

But Lance still shook his head, "I can be sure that none of these debts will be small."

Mr. Qiaobafu did not deny it. He thought Lance was inquiring about how much money he could get from this, "The largest debt is fifty thousand dollars."

Twelve percent of fifty thousand dollars is six thousand dollars. If you add other expenses, Lance can get no less than six thousand five hundred dollars from this debt.

"Mr. Qiaobafu, the people who can borrow such a large sum of money from you, and who you are willing to lend to, must be local celebrities, right?"

These words made Mr. Qiaobafu realize the problem immediately.

In fact, not only here, but also in other financial companies or banks, the people who can borrow such a large sum of money at once or in several installments are definitely not dockworkers.

They can't even borrow twenty dollars, let alone fifty thousand dollars, so being able to lend out this money means that they believe the borrower has the ability to repay it.

If someone can borrow tens of thousands of dollars and still be considered capable of repaying it, they are either capitalists or local celebrities, and both of these are not easy to mess with for immigrants.

Mr. Qiaobafu himself was unwilling to do it and tried to use some small favors to get Lance to do it. Lance would not be stupid enough to offend local celebrities and capitalists for a few thousand dollars, or tens of thousands of dollars in total—

They also have friends, and they will complain to their friends about the problems they encounter. Eventually, Lance will become a "hateful dog" in overlapping circles.

And what about Mr. Qiaobafu?

He recovered all the principal of the debts, and even made a little profit, but in terms of reputation and social status, he did not suffer any loss.

This is not what Lance wanted.

The disappointment in Mr. Qiaobafu's eyes surged visibly. He realized that it would be difficult for him to persuade Lance, "I can give you fifteen percent," this was his last effort.

Lance continued to shake his head, but changed the subject, "I can give you another way to cooperate."

"Please speak."

"You package and transfer these debts to me. After that, whether I can get the money back, and how much I can get back, has nothing to do with you."

At this time, in Mr. Qiaobafu's heart, Lance had been labeled as "greedy." He was silent for a while, "How much can you give?"

"Ten percent, considering that we are both Imperial citizens."

"If it were someone else, I would give them a maximum of five percent."

From the moment this old man wanted to use him, Lance did not treat him as a friend, but as a business "opponent."

Since we are talking about business, if you want to use me, then don't blame me for being greedy for your wealth.

Mr. Qiaobafu immediately refused, "This is unreasonable, I would rather keep it in my hands."

Lance said with a smile, "I just gave you a quote, you can refuse, it's your freedom."

"In fact, I hope you can collect these debts yourself, at least this way it won't cause problems with our friendship!" He raised his glass and clinked glasses with Mr. Qiaobafu in a not-so-willing mood.

"Goodbye!" After drinking the wine, Lance took the initiative to leave. Watching Lance's departing back, Mr. Qiaobafu frowned deeply.

He had talked to Camille's people before. He wanted to entrust the other party to help him recover a debt of 10,000 yuan.

Camille's people asked him to pay 5,000 yuan first, and all the expenses incurred during the debt collection process would be borne by him, and at the same time, they did not guarantee that they could recover the money.

These people are more greedy and uglier, so he and Camille's gang broke down.

He must make a choice, whether to establish his own... gang-like organization to recover this debt.

But if it is his own organization, once those people find out that he is behind the violent debt collection, it is very likely that it will directly involve him and his bank.

Over the years, he has seen many immigrant capitalists being eaten by the Federal people until there is nothing left. They will give you a sentence that you cannot bear, and then let you choose between "handing over your property and getting out" and "taking your wealth to hell."

Many people eventually left the wealth they had worked hard for in this life in the Federation, and then rolled back to their hometowns in disgrace.

After all, if you get out, you still have a chance to make a comeback, but if you go to hell, you are really going to hell!

As for where the sentence comes from?

There is an item in the Federal judicial interpretation called "punitive punishment." The essence of this punishment is like "spanking." I can gently slap you twice to show that the punishment is in place, and the matter is over.

But it can also be "severely beaten." In the Federation, someone owed hundreds of dollars in taxes and was fined millions by the judge because "if severe penalties are not imposed, more people will despise the law and neglect taxes."

But there are also companies that defrauded shareholders of hundreds of millions, but the court believes that this is a reasonable "financial risk" and let it compensate the shareholders hundreds of thousands of dollars.

For Federal native capitalists, judges and courts are always lenient. They provide employment opportunities for the people and increase tax revenue.

But for those foreign immigrant capitalists, they are harsh. These foreign capitalists are stealing their taxes and wealth!

When they brought the immigrant capitalists to court, these people had no choice but to make a choice!