Entering his room, it was very simple, apart from a bed, a table, a few sofas, and some decorative weapons hanging on the wall, there wasn't much furnishing.
Su Ming motioned for Gin to sit down, as he had matters to arrange.
Without rushing to speak, he first poured himself a drink. Over the years, he had lost the taste for sugary drinks and had taken to various spirits as his new beverage of choice.
"Do you know why I called you here today?"
Gin was still the same, wearing his old-fashioned glasses. He hadn't gained weight over the years and still sat properly on the sofa.
"Please instruct, boss. I suppose it's not that you're planning to record an album?"
"Hehe, write it down, buying a record company is one of the tasks."
Su Ming thought for a moment. In this era, record sales were quite average, but buying one and turning it into a media company in the future would prove useful.
Although Gin held the title of deputy director of the distillery, the distillery wasn't considered a real gang, so in reality, he was just Su Ming's secretary. He took out a small notebook from his suit and recorded Su Ming's instructions.
"The Great Depression has erupted. This depression will last ten years. I'm probably the richest person in New York right now; it's a great opportunity for development. I'll give you a month to acquire a large steel factory, a large chemical company, one with oil exploitation rights, several arms companies, an aircraft manufacturing enterprise, a large shipyard, with at least four large dry docks, and New York State's ranches and farms. Acquire as many as you can."
Su Ming spoke slowly, with the old-fashioned desk lamp in the room emitting a dim light, observing Gin as he wrote these matters down with unique shorthand symbols, savoring the drink in his cup.
"Boss, the overall economy is very sluggish right now. Many companies are in debt, and although it's easy to take over, we would inherit the debts. A conservative estimate is spending over fifty million US dollars, and it's currently tough to sell products."
Gin reviewed all the projects, frowned for a moment in thought, and calculated a price.
"The US financial crisis will affect the whole world, but places without currency are not affected, gold and oil are always valuable."
"Places without currency..."
"Do you know what Africa's specialties are?" Su Ming stroked his office desk, walked to the chair, sat down, and asked him indifferently.
At this time, much of Africa was under British and French colonial rule, but the colonizers didn't care how the natives lived, and many places were under tribal or slave systems.
They engaged in barter and weren't affected by financial fluctuations.
Their economic conditions depended more on the climate and rainfall of the year, and food was the most valuable commodity there.
Just like when the Spanish Conquerors discovered the Maya, they could exchange a blanket for a large piece of gold, because Maya trade was settled in llamas and cocoa beans, and gold was just stone for building palaces to them.
There were white pigs who would trade extremely exquisite fabrics for stones; it was ridiculously stupid.
Thus, the Spanish used various cheap industrial products and plunder to take away tens of thousands of tons of gold from South America before the Invincible Armada was toppled by the British Navy, and they were the oceanic hegemon of the world.
This is not an exaggeration; many people cannot imagine how wealthy America was at that time. The Spanish Treasure Fleet that sank in 1702 is the largest undiscovered treasure in the world now.
According to historical records, over 5000 cartloads of gold sank with the fleet, and a ton of gold's volume is only 0.05 cubic meters, and a cartload of four tons was just a thin layer.
That was the last voyage of the Treasure Fleet, and countless more were sporadically transported back home before that.
Gin no longer had the total ignorance he had when he first arrived in New York. To better assist Su Ming, he had constantly studied and enriched himself over the past two years.
"Africa's specialties are gold, gemstones, and ethnic conflicts."
"That's right. Let's also acquire some ocean-going cargo ships, establish a company, and transport our products to French North Africa, selling them across Africa. Send a few of our people there to gather information about a place called Wakanda."
"Understood, boss."
Gin had understood that Su Ming intended to use various products to trade for hard currency in Africa, indeed a good business. Although Africans now also know the value of gold, they just exchanged it for more food.
He nodded, stood up, buttoned his hat, and planned to go out to run errands. He had always worked diligently, treating Su Ming's orders like an oracle to be followed strictly.
"Oh, and buy a few tractor factories; they'll be useful in the future. All these factories should preferably be on the East Coast. After the acquisitions, merge and restructure them, and when the Midnight Express delivers, ask our clients if they'd like to work for me. These factories need workers. Of course, the wages aren't high, but they can keep them alive."
"Your will, boss. You're truly too kind. The people of New York will thank you."
Gin smiled and flattered before hurrying out to do business, while Su Ming just shook his head, downed the spirit in his cup, and sat quietly on the chair.
"A card of goodness..."
................
Gin didn't have to run around personally, as Su Ming said, they had money now. When everyone else was constantly jumping off buildings, he spent a small amount to hire New York's best legal advisors.
Now, the best lawyer on Wall Street cost what a private detective in a back alley used to, and regardless of any task, they would work hard for ten dollars and a lunch every day.
However, the old man now considered the best lawyer in New York frankly admitted that he used to only rank tenth in New York, but now the top nine have either jumped off buildings or committed suicide, and he became the first.
He didn't speculate in stocks, so he didn't lose money, but the second-ranked person did. To make ends meet, they only charged eight dollars a day. He couldn't avoid a price cut either.
The overall market downturn means just this; it used to be the fee for the top lawyers' five minutes, and now even with such a hefty discount, there wasn't much business.
The whole country was busy drinking and buying drinks, who still had lawsuits to fight?
Gin, with his agile mind, immediately hired the old man as the group's chief legal advisor, removing the worry about having no food for the next meal, and he could also introduce some people to work for the distillery.
Gin believed that gangs initially needed lawyers and doctors, and now that the boss wanted to venture into large industries, maintaining a legal team was also necessary.
The old man wasn't the least bit opposed; being a New Yorker, he had heard of the 'distillery'. Firstly, the distillery has a good reputation, and their territory is considered the safest place. Before the stock market crash, it could even be said that no one would steal a lost article. Gang members were more like employees of a large enterprise.
Secondly, gang money is still money; he also had bills to pay.
Americans and Celestial Dynasty People have different spending habits; they don't like to save and often spend as much as they earn. The old man had a loan to pay for the new car he bought last month.
So, the old man prepared a full set of documents, signed on to become the chief legal advisor for the distillery, but the employer's name on the contract was filled as Wilson Enterprises.
Su Ming thought of many names; his decision-making difficulty made him uncomfortable, like Umbrella, Vault-Tec, SCP Foundation, Wanda...
But in the end, he chose an ordinary name because no one understood those jokes, loneliness as snow...
He left the matter of expansion to Gin, who then entrusted the matter to the old man. It was the first task from the new employer, and the old man quickly organized a large legal team, went all over the East Coast, and negotiated all matters.
The timeline was much faster than Su Ming had expected because those companies were already on the verge of bankruptcy and would sell at the sight of money.
Anyway, Gin reported expenses and Su Ming just signed checks. His own money was in the Federal Savings Bank, although it was also affected somewhat, a run occurred a few days ago, but that was the US Treasury, there was no risk of collapse.
He also met the old man, and at that time, the old man realized that the young man with one eye in front of him was the real BOSS of the distillery.
That's more like it. He had lived most of his life and met many people, but in Gin, he only saw intelligence and diligence, qualities that could make a great accountant and manager but not a gang leader.
But the young man was different. Just one look, and a fear welled up in his heart like a fountain, as if seeing a monster, that was the feeling of a gang.
However, the old man felt reassured now. Since he had met the real boss, it meant that he had entered the core and become a 'family member,' and gangs were always good to their own lawyers.
Su Ming didn't bother to emphasize that the company wasn't a gang. He acknowledged the old man's work and generously gave him a $1,000 bonus to enjoy himself and even gave him the codename Vodka.
Despite the new boss's somewhat odd smile, the money was real, so he left gratefully.
Su Ming indulged his peculiar sense of humor, but it was still the same; the joke was only understood by himself. He could only sigh and lower his head to draw out his next plans on the blueprint.