The large-scale charitable activities of the charitable foundation have indeed changed Reebok's reputation a lot.
But at the same time, with such large-scale charity, no matter how much money is spent, it cannot be sustained, and the foundation's nearly 10 million US dollars soon ran out.
Seeing that there was less than $100,000 left in the foundation account, Frank had no choice but to turn to his old friends.
After thinking it over, he decided to call the butcher first.
"Hey, butcher brother! How are you doing lately?"
Although Frank has gained some of Reeves' trust now, the butcher doesn't like him because one of the butcher's legs was broken by Frank's men.
"Well, that's fine. Just tell me what you want to say! Don't try to get too close!" the butcher replied impatiently.
"Oh, good, good!" Frank said, "Look, recently, because of all the efforts to get votes for the boss, our foundation account is completely out of money. We're really struggling..."
"What do you mean by saying this? Are you doubting me? Are you asking me for money?" the butcher replied coldly, "Every penny of our casino's profits goes to the foundation!"
"Oh no, no, no! How dare I doubt you, butcher brother!" Frank quickly explained, "I just want to borrow a few people from you..."
"Borrow someone? What do you mean?"
"When I was with the Hell's Angels... I knew some friends in the business community," Frank said. "I want to bring some people with me to visit them and ask them to donate some money to charity... After all, this is also for the boss's campaign!"
The butcher knew what Frank was trying to do as soon as he heard it, but since it was just a way to raise money to help the boss, he was willing to help.
"Oh, I see! How many people do you want?"
Frank replied, "Not too many, five or six will be enough! They should look fierce and scary!"
"Okay, no problem! I'll pick a few people and send them over to you." The butcher agreed and hung up the phone.
That day, five big men came to Frank. They were wearing sunglasses, had scars on their faces, and looked ferocious.
"Good, good! That's great!" Frank looked at the five big men in front of him and praised them repeatedly.
In the evening, Frank invited three businessmen he knew to a Michelin restaurant in downtown Chicago.
The three of them knew Frank's background, so they naturally didn't dare to neglect him and arrived early to wait for Frank.
Jewish jeweler Leon asked, "A few months ago, I heard that Frank's Hell's Angels gang was wiped out and his men disappeared! How did this guy suddenly show up again?"
Antonio, who was of Italian descent, replied, "I heard he's hooked up with the Black Rabbit Gang and now he's become the foundation manager! This Frank is quite something!"
Mr. Chen, a Chinese-Canadian, said as he brewed tea: "Don't worry about which gang he belongs to. We are businessmen. We can't afford to offend anyone, whether it's the underworld or the white world!"
The three were chatting when Frank pushed the door open and walked in, followed by five ferocious-looking men.
When the three of them saw this, they all stood up and greeted him involuntarily.
"Come sit down!" Frank said with a smile. "We're old friends. I just called you here to chat. Don't be nervous! Don't be nervous!"
But looking at the four big men behind Frank, how could these three people relax?
They sat in the box, their knives and forks in their hands shaking uncontrollably, yet they still had to put on a smile to Frank.
"It's been a long time!" Frank said, shaking his wine glass. "When I was the manager of the Paulson Foundation, you all supported me so much! Now that I'm the manager of the Ribbs Charitable Foundation, I hope you will continue to support me as you have in the past!"
"Of course! Mr. Frank, the three of us have always been your loyal fans!"
Frank nodded in satisfaction, picked up the knife and fork on the table and began to cut the foie gras on the plate. The knife made a harsh crunching sound as it scraped against the porcelain plate, which made the three people present feel uneasy.
He cut off a piece of goose liver that was still dripping with blood, put it in his mouth, and said while chewing:
"Guys, this foie gras with black truffle is so fresh, just like our friendship—precious, but in need of regular maintenance."
The three of them naturally knew what this meant.
"Mr. Frank..." Mr. Chen, a Chinese-Canadian, took out his crocodile leather bag and a checkbook and said, "Your foundation is just starting out, so I'm sure you'll need a lot of sponsorship. I'll start with $500,000. Is that enough?"
Frank smiled crookedly, but did not answer. Instead, he continued to cut the foie gras on the plate.
"Mr. Chen, I'm aware of the tens of millions of dollars worth of cheap goods you sell from Dahua every month. I have many friends in the customs. What I need is real support, not charity. Of course, this money won't be wasted. Our foundation can provide you with tax protection."
The Jewish jeweler Leon understood what Frank said and said pretentiously, "Mr. Chen, you're such a big boss, and you only offer $500,000? That's too stingy!" Then he turned to Frank and said, "I'll offer $1 million! No, $1.5 million!"
Frank still seemed unsatisfied and continued to cut the foie gras in his hand. "Mr. Leon, it's not easy for you to smuggle blood diamonds from Africa. Doing diamond business in Chicago definitely requires some protection, right?"
Leon clenched the knife and fork in his hand and said, "Okay! I'll give you three million! Just consider it a New Year's gift to the foundation!"
"That's right! That's what a smart person does!"
Frank smiled with satisfaction and stared at Antonio, the Italian businessman who remained silent.
Antonio gritted his teeth, the knife scraping against the porcelain plate making a sharp sound, and finally he said, "Five million dollars! Mr. Frank, may our friendship last forever!"
Both of them were bleeding profusely, and Mr. Chen immediately followed suit and said, "In that case, I'll also offer $4 million!"
"Hahaha, great! Friendship is that simple."
Frank accepted the three checks with a hearty laugh, then said, "Don't worry, I won't let your donation go to waste! When our boss becomes a city councilor, your jewelry store will get government orders, and your smuggling containers will always have the green light—this is a more lasting maintenance than foie gras."
The next morning, the Riebs Foundation's official website updated the list of donors: Leon Goldberg - $3 million (anonymous) Antonio Bellucci - $5 million (anonymous) Chen Zhiming - $4 million (anonymous)
Ribs looked at the announcement on the website and frowned. "This Frank is really shameless! He got 12 million US dollars so easily. This guy is really useful at the critical moment!"
With this large charitable donation, the foundation maintained high-intensity activities for more than a month, and raised Reebs's support rate to 45%, almost the same as Graver's.
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