The Mafia Empire

He stepped aside, and Graf, along with two members of the local association, stood outside the door. It would be pointless for them to ter; rather, it might affect Julian's upcoming negotiations, so Graf wisely avoided such a situation by not going in.

Julian followed the man inside the storage area. A woman stood aside, embracing a girl with gold brown hair, her eyes filled with longing as she gazed at Julian.

They were desperate, having be driv into a corner by debt. In the spring of the previous year, they borrowed eight hundred dollars from a man named Morris in town to buy sixty calves and some necessities.

Unexpectedly, in just two years, the eight hundred dollars had grown to three thousand. Rectly, they had to sell the sixty calves, which might fetch two thousand dollars, only to cover the principal of eight hundred dollars and two thousand two hundred dollars in interest.

They could no longer produce ev a pny; they were at the d of their rope. The other party had threated that if they could not gather the money by the d of the month, they would harm the wom at home.

After countering several waves of businessm who came and left, the family had already fall into despair. The man had resolved to die. If the other party truly meant to act, he would definitely retaliate. Killing one or two, and th the whole family would leave together.

Just as he was at his lowest point, he unexpectedly countered a new twist.

"My name is Hu," the man said, pouring a cup of inferior fruit wine for Julian. Gerally, the farmers and herders in the countryside oft brewed low quality alcohol themselves; whether it tasted good was unimportant, as it was one of their few pastimes.

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Julian raised his hand slightly to signal for the wine jug to be set down. Hu put the jug down, his hands nervously clasped together, fingers fidgeting, mirroring his anxious heart. "Actually... I know that this price won't satisfy anyone, but it's the last thing we can sell."

He just nodded to indicate his understanding, and the man showed an expression of agreemt, bitterly smiling as he asked, "How much can you offer?"

Julian didn't state any price but instead asked, "Can you tell me about that guy named Morris?"

The man looked puzzled, but this might be his family's last chance; whether it was a straw or something else, he had to seize it. "Morris is a local businessman who runs a deli at the corner of Sevth Avue. He has some underlings who specifically 'help' people in urgt need of money."

From Hu's description, Julian felt that this guy named Morris wasn't too unscrupulous. The eight hundred dollars had turned into three thousand over two years; this kind of conscitious lder was guinely "helping" those in financial distress. In Julian's dream, those financial companies were the real sharks, turning a hundred dollars into millions in just two years.

If anyone was unlucky, it was just that Hu had chos the wrong investmt direction.

Of course, all this had nothing to do with him. He raised the cup to sip the slightly astringt fruit wine, which didn't taste very good, before slowly putting it down. "Mr. Hu, I think I understand. If I decide to buy your farm, you are certain you will pay Morris?"

He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and slowly said, "I don't want to be involved in any troubles."

Hu nodded vigorously. "Of course, sir, I also want to d this as soon as possible and return to my hometown to start a new life." Hu's eyes sparkled; he had now realized that Julian was very likely to buy his farm, which was excellt news for him.

Once he was freed from heavy debts and had a bit of money in hand, he could completely go to another city to become a carpter or start farming or herding on some empty land.

Julian pondered for a momt and said, "Out of sympathy for your situation, I'll offer you a maximum of one thousand eight hundred dollars." At this momt, Hu's face suddly changed. As he was about to say something, Julian raised his hand to stop him.

"If buying a piece of empty land of the same size as your ranch would cost only one thousand five hundred dollars, you should also understand that due to your neglect in managemt and repairs, your ranch is hardly differt from empty land."

"I'll use the extra three hundred dollars to buy two months for the approval process. To put it simply, you've made a profit, after all; no job can earn you and your family three hundred dollars in just two months."

Seeing Julian fall silt, Hu quickly interjected, "But I owe Morris two thousand two hundred dollars, and we'll need transportation fees to leave here; starting a new life requires some money…"

Julian chuckled and shook his head. "You've misunderstood something, sir. The money you owe Morris is your debt to him, not mine. I only need this farm, not to pay your debts or give you extra money to start a new life. If you're willing to sell this ranch for one thousand eight hundred dollars, you can find me at 7 Que Avue."

As Julian was about to leave, Hu's hands slowly formed fists, his arms trembling. Just as Julian had one foot out the door, he suddly stood up and shouted, "Wait!" Wh Julian turned back in confusion, Hu took a deep breath to steady his trembling voice. "I want to discuss it with my wife."

"No problem. I'll wait outside for a bit; you have five minutes."

As the door slowly closed, sealing the gap, Hu's wife and daughter walked over from the adjact dining area. The woman wore a worried expression; the real reason Hu had tried to keep Julian was that Julian's price was already the highest among those who had inquired.

Before Julian arrived, the highest offer had be only one thousand six hundred, with many others bidding betwe one thousand two hundred and one thousand four hundred.