America 1919

After borrowing a thousand US Dollars from Nucky, Donnie immediately began contacting taverns in Atlantic City.

Some tavern owners felt as though they were prisoners who had been confined for three years, only to have a warden suddenly bring in a flamboyantly dressed woman today, telling them they were granted a private room and they mustn't let the woman get out of bed—a command they couldn't refuse!

At this moment, Donnie was like God to these tavern owners!

But Donnie didn't seem in a hurry to buy these taverns, constantly haggling over the price; this bargaining went on for almost a month!

Just when Donnie had reached his desired price, the tavern owners suddenly raised theirs.

"Mr. Hori, we had clearly agreed on a price before, but now you abruptly hike it up, exceeding not only your initial asking price but also matching the prices before Prohibition. Why is this?"

Donnie, sitting in the hall of a tavern called Blue Sea, looked at the other party with a puzzled expression.

The current state of tavern operations in Atlantic City was such that basically every tavern no longer stored alcohol. If they had stored alcohol, they would sell it; if not, they would purchase adequate amounts from breweries or distributors based on daily sales.

In such circumstances, the price of a tavern certainly couldn't surpass the prices before the official passage of Prohibition, yet the other party had the audacity to demand such a price.

No matter how Donnie negotiated, the other party was adamant, insisting on their price and leaving it up to him to take it or leave it.

Faced with this situation, Donnie had no choice but to stand up, "If that's the case, then our deal has to end here. Atlantic City isn't limited to just your tavern!"

After saying that, Donnie got up and left the Blue Sea Tavern.

At its peak, Atlantic City had nearly two thousand taverns. Although some had closed down, there remained more than fifteen hundred.

Donnie left with confidence!

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Leaving the Blue Sea Tavern, Donnie returned to Korla Bar.

Robert took out two bottles of beer from the counter and handed one to Donnie, saying, "It's clear that they received orders from someone; otherwise, they wouldn't dare to raise the price at this time!"

The failure of the acquisition did not upset Donnie; rather, he laughed and said, "Isn't that what we wanted, after all? We were considering driving the price down even further to make Hori reject our offer!"

Robert first smiled, then, looking somewhat worried, asked, "There won't be any problems with John's matter, right?"

Taking a sip of beer, Donnie laughed, "If John were handling this alone, I indeed would be worried, but with Carl's and Cameron's help, I believe there won't be any issues!"

Robert nodded, then with a mischievous look, asked Donnie, "We don't have anything else to do today, do we?"

Donnie glanced sideways at Robert and asked, "What do you want to do?"

Robert chuckled and said, "I've been eyeing the Gil Inn next door for a long time. It's a nice place, and I want to check it out!"

Out of the more than twelve hundred inns and boarding houses in Atlantic City, Gil Inn wasn't particularly outstanding. It was just that, unlike ordinary lodgings, it provided an extra service—catering to men's physical and mental health!

Donnie laughed and said, "Be careful, or the priest's daughter might come after you and castrate you!"

Robert's eyebrows shot up, his aura turning fierce as he shouted, "If she dares, I'll knock her out with one punch!"

Donnie continued, "What if the priest comes too?"

"Heh!" Robert scoffed contemptuously, "A man knows when to bend or stand tall. If it comes to that, I'll just kneel and apologize, right?"

After swearing at him jokingly, Donnie said, "Get lost!"

Robert left with a laugh, carrying his beer. Watching Robert's retreating figure, Donnie felt somewhat helpless—not because of Robert's antics, but due to his own financial situation.

If only he knew he could only borrow a thousand dollars from Nucky, Donnie truly wished he could borrow more.

As Donnie thought about how to get some more money, the sun at the doorway was suddenly blocked by someone. Donnie turned his head, his expression changing slightly.

Counting on his fingers, Donnie realized he only knew a few people in Atlantic City: Nucky and his bodyguard Louis whom he had just seen, his former client Olman, and George Kurle, with whom his relationship was complicated!

And now entering the bar was none other than George Kurle, Donnie's former company commander in the army, now the Deputy Sheriff of Atlantic City!

"Whistle!" At 27 years old, with an average build and a flippant expression, George Kurle whistled as he walked in, followed by two subordinates, and took a seat opposite Donnie with a casual air.

"Dear Donnie, it's been a long time since we've seen each other. We're both in Atlantic City, why don't you come to see me?"

Donnie wondered why the other party had come at this time and chuckled on the surface, saying, "George, you've just taken the Deputy Sheriff position, you must be very busy, how could I bother you!"

George Kurle waved his hand dismissively, "How come I've heard that after you took over this bar, you only opened for two days before closing, are you having some difficulties with the business?"

Donnie smiled and said, "I'm still not familiar with Atlantic City, so I thought I'd get to know the situation here before opening for business!"

George Kurle nodded indifferently, "I've been thinking over the past few days. It was indeed a bit hasty to give you this bar at that time. So, I've decided to give you 100 US Dollars, and you, well, don't need to familiarize yourself with Atlantic City anymore. You can just sell the bar back to me!"

As he spoke, George Kurle, as if he was giving Donnie a great favor, said with pride, "This is also because I saved your life on the battlefield. If it were someone else, I definitely wouldn't be this generous!"

Donnie's brow furrowed, his heart rising with emotions of surprise, anger, tension, and more.

He was surprised that George Kurle came to him at this time to buy back the Korla Bar, which showed that Atlantic City's upper echelons must have reached a consensus to ignore the United States' prohibition law. Although Donnie had already known about this, he had only read it in various documents. But now, with the reality in front of him, it meant he was getting closer to success!

He was angry because Donnie thought that George Kurle would at least wait until the prohibition law was officially implemented across the United States before trying to reclaim the tavern. By then, Donnie would have had some leverage to better handle the situation.

But now, George Kurle was completely out of line, wanting to take back the Korla Bar for just 100 US Dollars, which was no different from fobbing off a beggar.

He was tense because now that Atlantic City's upper echelons had made a decision, there would be many more like George Kurle appearing. As the number increased, so would the competition, and Donnie's money was nothing in front of these tycoons.

Hopefully, John could spend that 1,000-plus US Dollars quickly!

"How about it, am I not taking good care of you!" Seeing Donnie silent, George Kurle had already taken out 100 US Dollars from his pocket and placed it on the table, then smiled, "Let's settle it like this. You can take this hundred dollars and leave!"

Looking at the dollars on the table, Donnie cast all other emotions out of his mind, knowing that what was most important was to get through today's situation first.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, George, but right now I have no intention of selling the Korla Bar!"

Donnie knew that there was no need to beat around the bush with someone like George Kurle because it might not be clear to the other party, and no matter what he said, it wouldn't make the other party happy!

Sure enough, as soon as George Kurle heard Donnie's refusal, his smile immediately disappeared, "Donnie, have you forgotten where you are?

"And what my status is now?"

Donnie replied calmly to George Kurle's inquiry, "Of course I know, but now the Korla Bar is everything to me. If I sold it to you, wouldn't I have nothing left? Then I would be homeless on the streets!"

George Kurle, who wore his emotions on his face, looked at Donnie, "So you are refusing me!"

As soon as George Kurle finished speaking, the two people behind him stepped forward, one of them saying loudly, "Donnie Block, we suspect you are involved in a robbery that took place on the streets of Philadelphia two days ago, and now you need to come back with us to the station for questioning!"

When Atlantic City was first established, the City Hall had big aspirations, so many of the streets were named after major American cities!

Seeing the other party about to make a move, Donnie suddenly smiled, "Wait a minute, wait a minute!"

George Kurle halted his subordinates' actions and then looked at Donnie with smugness, saying, "What now? Realizing you regret it?"

Donnie nodded, "When under someone's roof, you have to bow your head, so if that's the case, I have nothing more to say. But George, even if you want to buy back the Korla Bar, I need some time to find another place to live in Atlantic City. Considering the camaraderie we had in the army, how about giving me three days? In three days, we can conduct the formal transaction, how about that?"

George Kurle stood up triumphantly, laughing, "That's more like it. Then you just get your things together, and I'll come back after three days!"

After this, George Kurle turned and left the bar.

Once they were gone, Donnie's face grew grim, and the murderous intent in his eyes was unmistakable, clearly covering up his intentions to prevent any complications before he could formally establish his strength.

But the other side simply didn't agree!

With this in mind, Donnie immediately got up, left the bar, and went to the nearby Gil Hotel to find Robert, who was still busy with his business.