Empire of Shadows

Near Likalai State, in Indeno State, there was a city called New Birmingham.

Some people might think there should also be an “Old Birmingham.” In fact, this place used to be “Old Birmingham.”

The old Birmingham was destroyed in a major earthquake, and New Birmingham was the city built on its ruins.

People had added a “New” prefix to it, hoping that it and the people who lived here could start a new life.

New Birmingham had a population of over half a million. There was some industrial equipment here, providing supporting services for some of the factories in Indeno State and Likalai State.

Overall, this was a city with great development potential.

At this time, it was during the Harvest Festival, and most of the factories in New Birmingham had chosen to take a holiday.

The workers’ union had demanded that all factories either give their workers a holiday, allowing them to enjoy their own, legally granted festival.

Or, give them at least double or more in overtime compensation.

For the capitalists, how much these workers were worth a day was how much they were worth. They would absolutely not pay them double their salary, and it was even more impossible for them to have them work overtime.This way, on the streets of New Birmingham, which was not a particularly large city, you could see people everywhere.

In the surrounding countryside, there were also some farmers, cowboys, who would come to the city to celebrate. On the streets, you could see horse-drawn carriages from the countryside.

On the horse-drawn carriages sat country girls in exaggeratedly fancy clothes, and next to them or under their bottoms were agricultural products.

This was also one of the festival celebration activities of the Harvest Festival. People would display the largest in volume and heaviest in weight agricultural products produced in their fields.

In some places, there would also be some competitions. The farm that produced the largest agricultural product would get some prize money, and could even get some extra orders.

The farm’s name and contact information were also painted on the carriage. The streets had long been surrounded by people, who were pointing at the agricultural products on the carriages and constantly exclaiming in surprise.

This was a festival for everyone, whether they lived in the cities, or in the countryside, in the towns.

God had given people food, allowing humanity to reproduce. This was a day of gratitude to God!

The only thing that was regrettable was that on such a happy day, there was actually no wine, which was indeed a bit of a pity.

If you could watch the various festival celebration parades while taking a sip, that would be the most perfect life!

People’s craving for alcohol is just like this, stimulated in one unintentional moment after another.

New Birmingham also had its own bars and smugglers. The profits from liquor were too great, and those private liquor dealers had long spread their footprints all over the Federation!

It was said that now the natives were also brewing wine, because they were protected by federal law, and did not need to abide by the laws that were not aimed at them, so their brewing, drinking, and selling were not against the law.

This also made some people, under the pretext of going to the reservation for tourism, run to the bars opened by the natives to drink.

The more something is not allowed to be enjoyed, the more attractive it is.

According to an incomplete, unofficial statistic, during the Prohibition, the number of alcoholics in the Federation was still constantly rising. This was a fucking joke!

“Hey, brother, want a drink?”

A young man who looked to be in his twenties stood at the entrance of an alley and said to a peer who looked a little annoyed.

He had been observing this young man for a while. The guy’s clothes and accessories let him know that this young man was not poor.

His clothes were very exquisite, and the hatband on his soft felt hat (a circle of cloth on a soft felt hat used to adjust the tightness of the hat) was made of silk, which showed that this hat was not cheap.

You should know that most people’s hatbands were made of cotton, which was sturdy and durable.

Although silk was beautiful, it was easy to damage, and if it got dirty or broken, it would be very ugly. This belonged to the middle and high-end goods in an ordinary person’s life.

A soft felt hat with a silk hatband was at least two or three dollars more expensive than an ordinary one. All of this showed that this young man was a guy with at least a little money in his pocket.

The guy who was speaking was wearing a plaid flat cap. He was leaning against the wall at the entrance of the alley, with a “friend, come in and have some fun” smile on his face.

The guy standing at the entrance of the alley was stunned for a moment. He looked around. All were people who were watching the parade carriages on the street.

He pointed at his own nose and asked, “Are you talking about me?”

He was a little unsure, but the guy with the flat cap nodded vigorously. “Good whiskey, and the price is very cheap. Want some?”

Originally, the young man had not planned to come in. New Birmingham had also been “poisoned” by the cheap grape bricks. Now many people had special glass jars in their homes for fermenting wine.

At first, these things were indeed very attractive. A little over two dollars for a large barrel, which could satisfy a person’s craving for alcohol to the greatest extent.

But as people enjoyed them more and more, some people began to become irritable, anxious, and disgusted.

Because the quality of the grape bricks was very difficult to grasp, and even for the same brand of grape brick, the ingredients and quality of the mixed fruits were not completely the same.

When the weather was a little colder, the situation was a little better, and the taste of the fermented wine was relatively normal.

But as more and more places were now selling grape bricks, the competitive pressure of the grape bricks began to increase, and at the same time, because the weather began to get hot, the factories would use some cheap bad fruits as raw materials.

This led to the fact that the wine fermented from each grape brick was completely different.

Some of the fermented ones were simply undrinkable, bitter, sour, and explosive.

For the luckier ones, who could get some good bricks, the wine they brewed was still okay, but it was not what people wanted to enjoy.

On the contrary, the sales in the bars, after experiencing a period of low tide, had become popular again.

Compared to the strange-tasting home-brewed fermented grape wine, the clear and transparent wine in the bottles in the bars was the real wine.

The young man had thought it was another guy selling home-brewed wine, but when the other party had said the word “whiskey,” his throat had uncontrollably slid, and then he had swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He looked around again. “How much a glass?”

He could only afford one glass. The price of a bottle was too expensive!

The guy with the flat cap had a “I knew it” smile on his face. “Brother, three dollars a glass!”

“Fuck, three dollars?”

The young man first cursed in dissatisfaction, but then he licked his lips. “Is it really good whiskey?”

The price of whiskey in a bar was a little more expensive than this, so to say that three dollars was just a suitable price.

Now the Prohibition was in full swing, so the price of liquor would be ridiculous, but this situation would not last for too long.

With the corruption of the Prohibition agents by the local private liquor dealers, and the corruption of the local Prohibition agencies, the price of liquor would soon drop.

“Brother, why don’t you give it a try? For three dollars, even if you are cheated, you can just treat it as helping a poor girl. There is no loss for you.”

The young man was silent for a moment. “A bar?”

“No, just inside. Come with me.”

Although the young man was a little hesitant, he still followed him into the alley. The craving for a higher-quality alcohol had brought him here.

Soon, the guy with the flat cap brought a glass bottle from behind a door, a small glass bottle, without any trademark.

Inside was some bright liquid, which was exuding a strong aroma of wine.

Originally, the young man was not so “thirsty,” but the moment he smelled it, he couldn’t help it.

He immediately took out a two-dollar and a one-dollar bill and stuffed them over. “Give it to me!”

He almost snatched it, and then he closed his eyes and took a small sip. After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

With a smile on his face, he pumped his fist. “Fuck, the taste is not bad. How can I contact you in the future?”

A smile also appeared on the face of the guy with the flat cap. “You can come here and find me, or you can call this number,” he handed over a small card.

He lowered his voice slightly. “To tell you the truth, if you can buy a bottle, it will be more cost-effective.”

“You should know a lot about wine. These high-quality whiskeys sell for at least seventy or eighty, or even a hundred on the market.”

“But I only charge you fifty, and for every bottle your friend buys, I will give you a five-dollar rebate.”

“The more you can promote, the more you will get!”

The young man nodded. “This price is very suitable,” he took the small card. Now, besides the satisfaction of the high-quality alcohol, his mind was also filled with the idea of making a little extra money.

Just as the guy with the flat cap had observed, he was a child born in a middle-class family in the city. In his community and around him were all friends with the same family background as him.

These young people were full of the rebellion, doubt, and resistance that this era encouraged. So the more the Prohibition did not let them do something, the more they liked to do it.

A bottle of high-quality whiskey, and he could also get an extra five-dollar commission. If they consumed three or four bottles at a party, for him it would be an extra ten or twenty dollars in income.

This was completely doable!

He nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then took out his wallet, counted out forty-five dollars, and handed it over. “Give me a bottle first. I have to let them know how good this wine is.”

The liquor dealer grinned from ear to ear. “Wait, brother!”

He returned to his room and soon came out with a bottle of wine. The label had been cleaned off, and the bottle cap had been replaced with one that clearly did not match.

The young man looked at the thing in his hand and frowned. “Is this what you gave me to drink?”

The guy with the flat cap immediately appeased him. “Listen to me. We also don’t want to cause trouble. These are all wines from major factories, you know?”

“Look at this shape. Isn’t it the same as some of the big brands in your impression?”

The young man looked at the slightly strange bottleneck, and a few of the wines with this shape immediately appeared in his mind.

And the price of these wines in a bar, in a restaurant, was not cheap.

He whistled. “I’ve gotten a big bargain, it seems.”

He unscrewed the cap and took a sip. It was indeed what he had just drunk. Only then did he feel relieved.

He put the bottle of wine in his coat, and then shook hands with the guy who sold the wine again, and then he left the alley.

The guy with the flat cap counted the money in his hand, a smile on his face.

This was the fifth whole bottle he had sold today. As for the scattered ones?

He had already sold more than a dozen glasses.

He simply packed up a little, and then came to the entrance of the alley again. While smoking a cigarette, he observed the passing pedestrians nearby, looking for the next suitable target.

There were too many people on the street during the Harvest Festival, and there were also too many people who wanted a drink. By the time the day’s activities were over in the evening, he had already sold more than seventy glasses and eight bottles of wine.

The total was more than five hundred.

He had just finished a whole day’s work. The sky had already turned dark. If he didn’t leave soon, the surrounding streets would become unsafe.

Although he himself was not a good person and had a weapon on him, you never know how many people you will meet who want your life.

He was just about to leave the alley when a small car stopped at the entrance.

The guy in the passenger seat was staring at him from a distance through the driver’s side window. Not only was he not afraid, but he even ran over in a hurry, and then, with his waist bent and his butt sticking out, he looked at the passenger in the passenger seat.

Although the other party was in plain clothes, the liquor dealer knew him. This was a state police officer, responsible for the situation of the interstate highway in this vicinity.

“How was business today?” the police officer in the passenger seat asked with a beaming smile.

The guy with the flat cap took out the money in his hand and handed it over. “A total of 585.”

The police officer in the passenger seat took the money from the liquor dealer’s hand, counted it, and then took out sixty dollars and handed it over. “This is yours.”

A happy smile immediately appeared on the liquor dealer’s face. They were in a cooperative relationship.

Although he didn’t know where these state police had gotten the wine, as long as he sold it, he could get a 10% commission.

This business was doable, and the risk was not great. After all, the state police were behind him. Even if he was caught, the state police’s side could find a reason to take them away from the Bureau of Hazardous Materials in the name of assisting in an investigation.

The police officer put the rest of the money in a box, which was already full of a lot of money. He put the money away and then looked up at the liquor dealer. “Remember, don’t reveal our business.”

After saying that, the police car started again and left.

The liquor dealer squeezed the sixty dollars in his hand, pursed his lips, put his hands in his pockets and hunched his neck, and soon he left.

In the evening, the young man who had come home with a bottle of wine had just entered the door when he found that there seemed to be a guest at home.

He walked into the living room with some curiosity, and then saw the girl sitting on the sofa.

He recognized her for a long while before his mouth opened wider and wider. “My God, cousin, it’s you!”

The girl who had come was his cousin, who had now moved to live in Golden Port City, Likalai State.

He had heard that this cousin had married an old man who could be her father, and had even had a child for that old man!

Some people felt that she had brought shame to the family, but for the younger generation, when they heard that this cousin was now driving a luxury car and spending money lavishly, they didn’t care at all whether she had brought shame to the family or not. They only cared about how rich she was!

It was just that his cousin had been on the Golden Port City side and rarely came back. She hadn’t even come back for the New Year, so they had had very few opportunities to meet, and many things were just heard from others.

He quickly went upstairs. “I’ll go and change my clothes. I’ll be right down!”

His father, who was sitting on the sofa, said to the girl with a smile, “He’s always like this, but you can see that everyone misses you very much. How many days are you staying this time?”

To say she was a girl, she could actually be considered a young mistress. She had her hair combed up, revealing a delicate earring that was shining with the light of a gemstone.

This made the heart of the mistress of this house tremble slightly.

An emerald earring pendant, at a glance, it must have cost a lot!

“I’ll leave after the Harvest Festival is over. I mainly came back to see grandpa. I hear he’s not in good health.”

She hadn’t gone to see her grandfather yet, because he was an old fuddy-duddy. When he had heard that one of his granddaughters had married such an old man, he had almost been angered to death!

If it weren’t for the fact that the old man was not in good health and was already lying in bed, bedridden, she would not even have planned to come back.

In this era, her actions were indeed a bit… a subject of gossip, but she was a person after all. She wanted to live a good life. Was there anything wrong with that?

And she had not stolen, had not robbed. She was just in charge of her own body and life, so she did not like others to gossip about her, even if they were her relatives.

The man sighed. “The doctor said his time is not long. He’s been a little confused recently. Maybe this is the last time you will see him alive.”

The next time?

The next time would definitely be at his funeral!

The young mistress was a little silent, and suddenly a little scared, but soon she became much more composed.

People, even if they are relatives, as long as they have not lived together for a long time, the feelings will become weak.

She should have clearly felt sad and afraid after hearing this news, but at this time her inner world was calm, without any waves.

However, she still pretended to show some sadness. “I hope everything will be fine.”

The young man had already changed his clothes and had come down from upstairs. He first greeted the young mistress, and then they began to chat.

At dinner in the evening, the young man had even taken the initiative to suggest whether they wanted to have a drink.

Middle-class families all have the situation of stocking up on some liquor. The couple did not refuse either. After all, the girl in this family now looked to be doing very well.

In the future, maybe they would need her help. Originally, they had planned to get some wine, but the young man had said that he had gotten a bottle of good whiskey, so he had gotten the permission and had brought over the one he had bought in the afternoon.

Although everyone was very strange that it had no label, considering the current situation of the Prohibition, it was not strange that it had no label, as long as the quality of the wine was good.

When everyone had tasted it, it was indeed a good whiskey. For a time, the atmosphere at the dinner table became even more lively.

It was just that they had not noticed that the young mistress’s expression as she occasionally looked at the wine bottle was a little strange.

Because she was too familiar with this wine bottle. The ones that Bolton often brought home were like this, but they were a little more high-end than this…

(End of a Chapter)