Empire of Shadows

The ringing of the telephone made the gentlemen in the room pause for a moment. Edward’s father glanced at him. He walked to the desk and picked up the phone, “This is the Dock Management General Company.”

The Dock Management Company was actually a collective term. Under it were the Dock Warehouse Management Company, the Dock Transport Management Company, the Dock Site Leasing Company, and so on. Basically, most of the industries at the Golden Port docks were managed by the Dock Management Company.

Some of these industries belonged to the company, some belonged to the shareholders and directors themselves, and some were entrusted to the company for management by others.

Capitalists know how to earn more profit—pricing power.

If there is competition, for example, the dock warehouses are actually divided into many areas. The most common are the seven warehouses of the seven docks. These warehouses belong to different enterprises.

When they all have their own interests and competitive propositions, the owners of these seven warehouses at the docks would have to engage in vicious competition.

To them, this was vicious competition.

They competed with each other in service, in warehouse prices, and ultimately compressed their own profit margins to attract customers.

The customers just needed to wait a bit, not in a hurry to sign a contract, and they could keep the warehouse prices at a relatively low level.

But by entrusting all these warehouses to the Dock Management Company, they indirectly gained control of the pricing power.Some people see “pricing power” as one of the characteristics of a monopoly, and only when there is actual monopolistic behavior can one control the pricing power.

This is the case with the Dock Management Company now. They handle almost all matters at the docks, directly or indirectly, which is why they need so many workers.

The office Edward was in was his father’s office. Now they were hosting several important guests here.

Lance, Vaughn, and some of the people they brought with them. They were discussing the issue of workers’ employment with the board of directors.

He glanced at Lance. The first time he saw this person, he had a feeling that he was not simple, and now this was confirmed.

He had all the temperament of a young man, but also the stability of a mature middle-aged or elderly person. This was actually very contradictory.

Youth, and old age.

A young man will run in the direction of the wind, while an old man has to sit in a wheelchair with a blanket over him. These are clearly two contradictory extremes, yet they are all concentrated in Lance alone.

This made it difficult for some people not to notice him.

A somewhat familiar voice came from the receiver, but for a moment he couldn’t remember where he had heard it. “I’m looking for the rotating president… sir, is he free now?”

Edward looked at his father, who was smiling and chatting with Lance, and turned slightly to the side. “He’s not free right now. If you have anything, you can tell me, and I can pass it on to him.”

“We are the representatives of the dockworkers. We want to have a new round of consultations on the issue of resuming work.”

The other party’s tone was no longer as stiff as it had been yesterday or the day before. Edward said, “I’ll pass it on,” covered the mouthpiece, and looked at his father.

“The worker representatives are calling. They want to continue consultations with us.”

His father looked at Lance, his face full of smiles. “Do you think we should talk to them?”

Lance fiddled with his cigarettes and matches on the table in front of him, arranging them neatly.

Sometimes he would have a bit of OCD, but sometimes not. Maybe he had it but it wasn’t strong, so it couldn’t be expressed at all times.

“I don’t think we need to continue consultations with them. There are already about nine thousand workers who have started working at the docks, and their work is going very smoothly.”

“We don’t need to talk to them about those meaningless things. If they don’t want to work, tell them that their wish has come true now. They have a very long vacation, but without pay!”

The people in the room all showed some smiles. They took this as a sarcastic joke!

“Compared to this group that causes us trouble at every turn, I’m actually more inclined to establish a closer cooperative relationship with Mr. Lance’s company.”

The price Lance had offered them was twenty-three dollars and fifty cents per person per month. The board of directors wished they could immediately terminate the contracts with all the workers and sign a contract with Lance!

The wages were reduced by nearly seventeen to eighteen dollars a month. For more than ten thousand workers, they could save two hundred thousand in wages a month.

However, both sides were very clear now that these people could not continue to work indefinitely.

They were now just a demonstration that the strike did not threaten them, to make them recognize a reality: the docks could still run without them.

In fact, they still needed to hire more local workers. Only in this way would it be in everyone’s interest.

But now, they had to let those striking workers know that they were not indispensable.

Edward turned and released his hand. “Sorry, we don’t want to talk about this right now.”

“If there is any further news, we will post it on the bulletin board. You just need to pay attention to the bulletin board.”

“That’s it, goodbye!”

He hung up the phone and returned to his seat. Lance and the others began to continue their chat with the rotating presidents and directors attending the board meeting.

There had been some changes in the employment situation at the docks, so naturally, some strategies had to be adjusted.

“…Our current wage offer is based on their refugee status. After this special period is over, their wage structure may undergo some changes.”

“And I hope you can all understand that this is just an emergency measure. We are not too clear on how the presidential palace and the governor’s side will define these refugees in the future.”

“Perhaps they will become Federation citizens, get Federation status, immigration certificates, then their salary structure will definitely have to change.”

“If the federal government is unwilling to recognize them as legal immigrants, then we can maintain such a labor cost for a long time!”

“Until it changes.”

Lance smoked his cigarette. “I like to say the unpleasant things first. I hope you can understand.”

“This is better than me saying nothing, and then suddenly making a change when some problems arise, catching both of us off guard.”

“In addition, I have a request. All workers’ wages will be paid into my designated account, and I will be the one to pay these people.”

After listening, the directors discussed for a moment. The executive director stated, “No problem. This is a small issue. We have no objection.”

He glanced at Vaughn. “Are these refugees considered members of the union?”

Lance shook his head and said, “They belong to no one but me!”

The secret to successful “business” is limited frankness. Lance was a very frank person. He put both the bad and the good on the table. If they could do it, they would. If not, they wouldn’t.

Actually, there was nothing they couldn’t do, because they had no choice right now. The two sides quickly reached an agreement.

Before the policy on refugees changed, they would, through Lance’s Wanli Labor Agency, have these refugee workers provide services for various facilities at the docks.

The wages would be given directly to Lance, not to each individual or their accounts.

After signing the agreement, Lance left with his men. But the smiles on the faces of the directors in the office were gradually fading.

Edward sat on the side. He had a faint feeling that he could learn something again.

“A very sharp, very smart young man. How come we never noticed him before?” The chairman of the board was also present today, but he did not speak throughout the entire process, nor did anyone introduce his true identity to Lance.

He had participated in the entire “negotiation” today. This was his most truthful evaluation of Lance.

Edward nudged his old dad’s arm with his elbow and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

“You guys don’t look very happy?”

Edward’s father glanced at him sideways. The other directors all showed smiles.

The executive director even said with a laugh, “At least Edward wants to know why. The one in my family, he only asks me for money!”

This sentence also brought a little smile to Edward’s father’s face. He licked his lips and said, “Lance could actually provide us with more refugee workers, but you see, he only provided five thousand, and no more.”

Edward nodded and asked, “So?”

“This is where he’s smart!” The old man sighed. He compared Lance with his own son, and he felt that his son was a bit… young.

“If he had provided more refugee workers, then he would have the final say at the docks.”

“He directly controls the information, accounts, and payment channels of these refugee workers. Although he doesn’t have any shares here, he can sit on an equal footing with us by virtue of these.”

“Using these workers.”

“He also knows that we can’t possibly agree, or rather, can’t let the docks be full of his people. So he only arranged for five thousand, and we have to find some ways to solve the rest ourselves.”

“He has guaranteed his interests and can paralyze the operation of the docks for a period of time at any moment, and at the same time, he has avoided our bottom line.”

After listening, Edward felt a little depressed. “I didn’t think it would be so complicated.”

His father was actually not very dissatisfied. On the contrary, he encouraged him, “You can think more about it. Stand in his position, stand in our position to think, and you will discover the benefits of doing so.”

“You may not have any talent, but as long as you think more, at least you won’t be too stupid!”

Edward asked, “What about those workers now?”

The executive director replied nonchalantly, “Let them hang for a while…”

Downstairs, Lance had Vaughn leave. His identity was a bit awkward now. If the union planned to expel him, then Lance would have him come and work for him.

Vaughn still had abilities.

However, he believed that the union was very unlikely to touch him now. Even if they wanted to, it would be after this matter had completely subsided.

The docks began to gradually resume work, which let many people’s anxious hearts relax. The dock management company also began to prepare for negotiations with the companies and enterprises that used the docks.

Now that they had lost the weapon of the “strike,” wanting them to pay a price was a difficult matter.

The large number of refugees were speechless with excitement because they had a place to work and could eat a free lunch. Everyone worked very hard.

This made those workers who were originally planning to be lazy have to start working hard.

On the one hand, they were unwilling to be compared to these refugee workers. On the other hand, they still had more or less their own face.

Although it might not be worth much, and might not last long, at least they didn’t want to be worse than these refugees.

This was internal competition. Even the illegal immigrant workers were forced to compete. These refugees could clearly make the company earn more.

If they didn’t perform well enough, they were very worried about whether their jobs would be replaced by those refugee workers.

A rare wave of passionate work appeared at the docks, which also made those workers who were now temporarily out of work feel gloomy.

The more enthusiastically those refugees worked, the more depressed they became.

“Why don’t we… just forget it,” some people stood outside the wire fence of the docks, looking through it at the busy figures inside. “Actually, we have already achieved what we originally wanted. We shouldn’t have continued to raise our demands.”

“I heard they’ve already re-signed the contract with the company. They get a fifteen-dollar raise every month, and they can also have an extra half hour of rest every day.”

Some of the people around him also quite supported his view. “The bills are coming soon. If we can’t go back to work now, I’m very worried about whether they will pay us our wages.”

The mood of the few people around was not high. They should have felt very good at this time.

They could sleep until noon every day and didn’t need to drag their tired bodies to do some boring work day after day.

While others were quickly getting soaked in the hot sun, they could be here, sitting or standing, enjoying the sea breeze and the leisurely time.

But for some reason, at this moment, they always felt a sense of bewilderment and confusion.

The busier those people behind the wire fence were, the emptier they felt, the more uneasy.

The guy who had spoken first spat out the matchstick he had been chewing into threads in his mouth, turned around, and walked towards the back. “Let’s go, find them, let them talk to the company. We accept the current conditions.”

The others also made a decision and followed him.

In fact, it wasn’t just him. Many workers felt uneasy.

If the docks really fired them all, even if the whole country went on strike to support them, what was the use?

They had already lost their jobs.

So quite a few people had already found the worker representatives, asking them to go and talk to the company.

Things had already started to move in another direction.

Senator Cleveland used some of his connections, and soon the media all over the country began to report on the changes happening here. The workers were actively asking to return to work, the work order at the Golden Port docks had been restored, and the strike was coming to an end.

On the first weekend of August, Lance, wearing a very solemn suit, appeared in the farewell room of the Golden Port public cemetery. It was arranged like a small chapel, with an exquisite coffin inside.

Paul lay inside with his hands crossed on his chest, surrounded by fresh flowers.

Today was his funeral.

After Dover and his followers, who had realized things were bad, fled back to Summurian Island, the uncles of the family head had cleaned up Dover’s entire faction.

Now, it was time for Paul to be buried.

Alberto sat in the second row. Logically, he shouldn’t have been able to sit in that position, but recently he had been active in the Pasoretto Family’s affairs and had gained Francisco’s trust, so he was qualified to sit in the second row.

As the proceedings continued, the next part was the eulogy.

Some relatives and friends could go up and say a few words.

People seemed to have a lot to say. They went up in turn. Some were serious, some were somber, but there were also some that made people want to laugh and feel a little sad at the same time after listening.

Alberto also went up. He walked to the side of the coffin, bent down with his hand on the lid, and whispered something. No one could hear clearly.

Then he came to the podium, held onto it, and looked at the people.

“Many people before me have already said what I wanted to say, or what I wanted to hear.”

“Paul was a remarkable man. We got to know him for various different reasons. He was like my elder brother, and also like my teacher. He brought me from Summuri to the Federation and let me have everything I have today here.”

“He gave me a new life!”

“We should have continued to be together, but… he is lying here now. I don’t want to say that son of a bitch’s name, but I swear, one day I will bring him back and water Paul’s side with his blood!”

He paused, his gaze lingering on a few people for a moment. “Cisco is Paul’s beloved son and the legal heir of the Pasoretto Family. I will follow Paul’s wishes and make him a qualified family head!”

“If anyone tries to harm him, I will make them pay the price!”

He slammed his fist on the podium. “A price in blood!”

After the eulogy was the farewell. Amidst the wails of his wife and son, the coffin lid was slowly closed, and then he was taken to the selected gravesite.

There were many tombstones of Pasoretto Family members nearby. They would all be buried in this vicinity after death. Even the empty burial plots had already been bought.

The priest from Summuri began to read the eulogy. They didn’t believe that the Federation’s God would bless them, so they had specially found a priest from Summuri.

With the end of the last procedure, Lance presented the flowers in his hand in sequence. The group stood by the grave, watching Francisco throw in the first handful of earth.

Paul’s brothers began to pour in the earth. The atmosphere at the scene was very sorrowful.

Everyone, whether genuinely or falsely, showed a sad expression, but there was only one exception—

Paul on the tombstone!

Paul on the tombstone was turned sideways, smiling and looking at the people in front of the tombstone. Soon, some people began to weep.

When the last shovel of earth was tamped down, the funeral also came to an end.

They began to say goodbye to the guests. Soon it was Lance’s turn.

“Next week or the week after, some of Paul’s things… will be distributed. I’m worried that someone will make trouble at that time. You have to come and help me.”

Alberto looked a little different from before, with a sharp aura about him.

Lance nodded. “Call me!”

He turned to look at Francisco, walked over and hugged him as well. “Although your father has left, he will be watching you from heaven.”

“You have to be strong. you still have to take care of your family and your mother. I believe everything will be fine.”

Francisco’s eyes had been red all along. He pursed his lips and nodded. “Thank you, thank you for coming, Mr. Lance.”

Alberto corrected his way of speaking. “It’s Uncle Lance!”

(End of chapter)