Empire of Shadows

Besides the members of the Lawrence family from Golden Port, there were also some Lance had never seen before.

They didn’t live in Golden Port but had gone to other places. The Harvest Festival was their annual get-together.

Although other holidays were also important to them, they would only gather together for this one.

Lance and Patricia went to see her horse.

There was no riding habit, no riding crop, just ordinary clothes.

Outside the stable was a paddock of about a thousand square meters. Some horses were walking inside, eating the grass on the ground.

When Patricia called out “Carrot,” one of the horses with a shiny mane suddenly lifted its head and looked over.

After a few seconds, it made a clear starting motion. The streamlined muscle contours tensed and became distinct as it galloped towards them.

Patricia waved her hands and screamed. “Carrot” slowed down as it got closer.

By the time it reached Patricia, it had come to a complete stop.Patricia stroked its mane, while its one large eye kept observing Lance.

Horses are strange creatures.

When they are far away from you, you find this animal to be truly damn handsome.

But when they get close to you, very close, you will find that this animal is truly damn ugly.

“Come on, let’s go brush its coat,” she pulled Lance along, leading “Carrot” into the stable. She found a stiff-bristled brush and began to brush “Carrot’s” coat.

This was an act to deepen the bond between a person and a horse. She was very serious. When she was fully focused on doing something, she would appear a bit charmingly naive.

“Carrot” was clearly enjoying it. It stood quietly on the spot, occasionally turning its head to nuzzle Patricia. It was a harmonious picture of a person and an animal.

It was getting a bit late today. She didn’t plan on riding it out for a stroll. After feeding “Carrot” some carrots and apples, she left.

“I remember you said there was also a lamb and a calf?” On the way back to the farmhouse, Lance asked this question.

A strange smile appeared on Patricia’s face, or maybe it wasn’t a smile, because her eyebrows were drooping.

If it were a smile, her eyebrows should have been flying up.

“They… have returned to nature.”

“Speaking of which, I’m very angry. They actually killed Shirley and Miles without telling me, and even made them into… delicious food.”

Patricia’s face turned slightly red, because she was the one who had eaten the most.

Lance couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “The taste must have been very good, otherwise you wouldn’t still remember it.”

Patricia nudged him, then quickly linked her arm with his. “When you start to accept the fact that your little pet has become dinner, it’s actually not so sad.”

“This is a farm, not an animal charity. This is the final end for every animal here.”

“To be eaten.”

She paused. “Alright, let’s not talk about these boring things. Tonight you’ll get to eat the farm’s specialty.”

When evening came, Lance learned that the so-called specialty was actually very primitive barbecue.

On the long tables were large bowls of barbecue, and on the side plates were roasted potatoes, tomatoes, grilled corn, and fruit salad.

Everyone had a plate in front of them, with salt and some spices in the small compartments of the plate.

The three old men sat at the head of the table. Because today was not the Harvest Festival, there were not so many ceremonial things.

The oldest of the three old men was Hubert. He was the second of the brothers. The eldest had died many years ago due to an accident.

Their bodies looked very healthy. Hubert picked up his dinner spoon and tapped the tin cup in his hand.

Yes, a wine cup made of tin. In the countryside, the most common cups were tin and wooden cups.

The poor mostly used wooden cups. They would cut a tree in the wild, take a section they liked, and then hollow out the trunk to leave a cup.

And the richer ones would have a blacksmith help them make a tin cup.

The main reason for using tin or wooden cups was that they were not easily broken.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford beautiful glass cups; they could even afford crystal cups. But on a farm, in the countryside, the probability of them breaking was very high.

And after they broke, the glass shards that couldn’t be completely cleaned up in time might cause harm to the hooves of the livestock.

The sound of the dinner fork tapping on the tin cup quieted down all the tables. People’s eyes were all focused on him.

“This year I have many happy things.”

“The first thing that makes me happy is that our farm will continue to expand, and we have had another perfect great harvest.”

The people at the table began to cheer, applaud, and whistle. This kind of family relationship was not like those political families, which were very serious. There were not so many rules here. Everyone could do what they wanted.

Hubert’s face was full of smiles. After a while, when the people had vented some of their emotions, he nodded to signal them to quiet down.

“The second thing that makes me happy is that William has become a municipal councilman. This is a great step forward.”

Someone below immediately shouted, “William, say a few words to us.”

Soon, people started to heckle. Hubert also signaled for William to say something.

Having a municipal councilman in the family was indeed a very encouraging thing.

Hubert also signaled for William to say something to everyone before this important holiday arrived.

As a large landowning class, they actually knew better than ordinary people what it meant for a municipal councilman to appear in the family.

If an ordinary person became a municipal councilman, then he would only be a municipal councilman.

But for a large family, having one more municipal councilman meant that there would be more civil servants in the family. They would fill more government departments.

Their actual influence on the city’s power would also become greater.

William had no choice but to stand up, but from the smile on his face, Lance could see that he was extremely proud right now.

“Lance gave me a lot of help in this matter, including winning the election.”

“With his help, I successfully got this position. I hope that with our efforts, we can go further.”

“Before, they always said that only the Williams family and the Wade family were real families, and we were just a bunch of farmers.”

“But now, we can proudly tell these people that it’s time to face this problem.”

“Because from now on, we also have a councilman.”

Hubert and the two brothers beside him kept nodding. William had spoken to their hearts. For the old people, perhaps things of honor were more attractive than actual benefits.

Hubert nodded to signal William to sit down. He then continued, “The third thing that makes me happy is that our family has grown a little stronger.”

“This year, some new young people have come here. They will become our new family members. I like this.”

“I like to see more and more people here every year.”

He looked at the maidservant beside him. “Pour us some wine.”

Some maidservants who worked on the farm began to pour wine for everyone. It was not a very high-proof wine, only about a dozen proof. Everyone had a glass.

The three old men stood up, and everyone else also stood up. They raised their glasses high, their smiling faces reflecting the campfire, all of them smiling from the bottom of their hearts.

The next day…

Actually, Lance didn’t really want it to be the next day just like that. The wine from the farm didn’t seem very strong, so it was easy for people to drink too much without realizing it.

And everyone was very enthusiastic. After the old men had said their toasts, everyone seemed to not be following the rules of dining so much anymore.

They casually left the dining table to go to the bonfire for a barbecue on the spot, or some people with particularly good relationships would stay together and talk. In short, the atmosphere was very lively.

Lance was also very popular here. Many people came over to have a drink with him. Unconsciously, he drank a little too much.

When he opened his eyes the next morning, he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

When he came out of his room, there were already many people in the main hall.

Patricia, who was sitting on the sofa chatting with her sisters, saw Lance and immediately ended the conversation and walked over. “Do you want something to eat?”

“Later we’re going to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins. They can be used for the Harvest Festival parade.”

“Also, my grandfathers asked me to take you to the stables. You have to choose a horse.”

“Choose a horse?”

Lance casually took some food to fill his stomach. The taste was not bad, with a very primitive aroma.

The fresh milk was also very good, just a little bit fishy.

“Everyone will have their own horse,” William also came down from upstairs, rubbing his head.

Today he had changed into the same clothes as the farmers: a white shirt, overalls, and a straw hat.

He had to do farm work. Only during the Harvest Festival every year would these family members who lived in the big cities return to the farm, so they also had to fulfill their responsibility as family members.

This was the family rule of the Lawrence family. No matter who they were, no matter what their status was, they all had to personally do a day of farm work.

If a member of the Lawrence family didn’t even care about the family’s business and was unwilling to personally do farm work, how could you expect others to help you do the farm work well?

This was actually also a “means of rule,” a means to rule the farm workers. They used this method to tell those farm workers, don’t fucking fool me.

Because I also know how farm work should be done, and to what extent.

Emily, however, did not change into farmer’s clothes. Although she had taken her husband’s surname, she did not have the Lawrence family’s blood flowing in her veins, so she could be exempt from working.

“Do you have one too?” Lance asked.

William nodded. “Yes, you’ll see later.”

Lance looked at Emily. Emily also nodded. “I have one too, a small mare, very gentle.”

“Although I don’t quite understand this custom, I think riding a horse is still acceptable.”

In the morning, they picked pumpkins. They found a large pumpkin of over five hundred pounds, but old Hubert felt that they might not be able to win the big pumpkin competition.

There were also many other farms around. The Lawrence family would offer $300 every year as a prize for the winner of the big pumpkin competition.

This kind of giant pumpkin was actually often used as a supplement in animal feed. They themselves did not eat it.

After special cultivation, the pumpkins were getting bigger and bigger. The local government, including the Likalai state government, was also very supportive of this activity.

This could be seen as a sign of agricultural success.

After picking the pumpkins, Lance was taken to another stable. There were also many horses here.

Lance didn’t know much about these, but fortunately, Patricia knew a lot and chose a good horse for him.

The rest was just about building a rapport. In fact, the people at the farm also knew that they would not come back often. This was more of a symbolic meaning.

Perhaps for the old people, these horses, at certain times, represented these family members who were far away from the farm.

Lance noticed another, larger-looking stable in the distance. “Are those horses too?”

Patricia nodded. “That’s where the three grandfathers breed champion horses. The best horses on the entire farm are over there. They plan to send some of them to the races this year.”

Horse racing was also a very important social activity. People from all walks of life liked it very much.

For the middle and lower classes, what they were more concerned about was betting on the horse races to win money.

For the middle and upper classes, what they pursued was effective socializing through these horse races.

For special reasons, there were many large landowning classes in the Federation’s high society. The political figures with these backgrounds all had their own horses, and even racehorses.

Through these things, it was very easy to strike up a conversation with them in the jockey club’s lounge.

At the same time, horse racing was also a very worthwhile investment project. Its investment was large, and the return rate was also very high.

As long as a racehorse could win a championship, it meant that it would become a money-printing machine that constantly squeezed out cash from a bell.

For racehorses like the Triple Crown winners, the price of each breeding session would make many people who didn’t understand these things feel crazy and incredible.

Thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, just for breeding.

Sometimes this couldn’t help but make people lament that people are really worthless, not even as good as horses.

During the entire Harvest Festival, Lance spent his time on the farm and in the town. The Lawrence family had a high reputation in the nearby town and was also very respected.

The atmosphere of the activities was very lively, plus there were many tourists. This was the most leisurely vacation Lance had spent since coming to the Federation, since coming to this time.

But as long as it’s a vacation, there’s always an end.

They stayed here for nearly a week, and then began to return one by one.

Lance also established a preliminary connection with these people, and they also treated Lance as an official member of the family.

When Lance was leaving, old Hubert even warned him that if he was just playing with Patricia, he would take the hunting rifle on his wall, which had once killed more than a dozen bears, and go to Golden Port to find him…

These few days, Lance had also discussed a business deal with the three old men: liquor.

The farm had enough crops that could be used for brewing. If these crops were only sold as agricultural products, for example, wheat, it was now $4.47 a barrel.

But one barrel of wheat could brew at least sixty liters of beer. According to the price at Lance’s bar, a single liter of beer was fifteen cents, which would be $9. The price directly doubled.

If sold in outside bars, then it could probably be sold for twelve or thirteen, or even $15.

This is why everyone was trying to do smuggled liquor business. Even if this liquor was smuggled from Yalan or other places, after deducting the shipping costs, they could still make a big profit.

The three old men were very interested in the brewing business proposed by Lance. Compared to directly selling these agricultural products at a retail price of less than $5 a barrel, it was better to turn it into liquor worth nearly $10.

It’s just that their brewing process was relatively primitive, and they didn’t have a good sales channel.

Under the Prohibition, this kind of large-scale brewing and selling could not be completed by a small workshop. They had to have a complete industrial chain to produce, otherwise it was better to sell the grain directly.

Lance filled this link. No matter how much liquor they could produce, Lance could sell it all, so the three old men immediately made a decision.

A considerable portion of the grain would be used for brewing. Not many people knew about this matter at the moment.

Lance believed that a large amount of liquor trade could make the Lawrence family even richer, and at the same time, it would bring him a large amount of wealth. Perhaps soon, this family would undergo a transformation.

After having wealth and political resources.

The Harvest Festival was a national holiday. Many institutions would be on holiday, including government departments.

The Bureau of Hazardous Materials was also on holiday, and for three days. Ponda took Lisa to Creek Valley City for a three-day vacation.

Because of the special environment of Creek Valley City, and the “tax rebate incentive policy for filming movies locally” proposed by the local city hall, more and more people had come to Creek Valley City for filming.

And the Creek Valley City city hall was negotiating with the Likalai state government. They planned to promote a shift in the industrial focus of Creek Valley City.

To transform a tourism and light industry city into a “city of films.”

The local mayor saw the vigorous development of the film industry and also saw an opportunity for the city’s development.

Being adjacent to Golden Port did not bring much of an opportunity to Creek Valley City. On the contrary, it constantly sucked blood from Creek Valley City. If they couldn’t find another distinctive development path that was different from Golden Port…

Perhaps in not many years, Creek Valley City would become a district of Golden Port.

They already had a “Creek Valley District.”

The Likalai state government was also very interested in these proposals. After all, “cultural construction” was also an important political achievement.

So during this period, Creek Valley City not only had tourists who liked the atmosphere of movies, but also some government officials who were here for seminars and inspections, including Mr. Hoff (a key opinion leader in the Golden Port area).

He had just finished a meeting and came out of the conference room. He took the elevator to the hotel lobby. Just as he was about to go to the door to get a ride, he found a woman in a booth in the corner of the lobby.

Lisa.

He frowned slightly, then looked at Lisa and her pregnant belly with a thoughtful smile, and then walked out of the hotel.

(End of chapter)