Chapter 208 Covet
Rather than calling Mirzapur a city, it would be more appropriate to describe it as a county or a town.
This small town has less than 200,000 residents, several times less than Varanasi's population of one million.
However, in the vast land of Uttar Pradesh, even a small street with a few hundred people can give rise to a leader and a violent group around him.
Mirzapur is no exception. The Tripathi family's rule here is deeply rooted. Since their ancestors, they have run this small town like an iron barrel that no water can get into.
By Kalimbai's generation, the town's police station was no different from his family's servants' quarters.
If there is any disturbance in the city or any signs of harm to the Tripathi family, the police will inform Kalimbhai immediately.
The gunfight that took place in a small village on the border of Mirzapur some time ago did not cause much commotion in the town.
Because it was far away from the city and was a low-caste village, no one cared how many people died.
However, as the director, Gupta always needs to know the general situation of what is happening in his jurisdiction.
Most importantly, Kalimbhai must be informed of who fired the shots in Mirzapur.
Kalimbhai was enjoying afternoon tea when Gupta arrived at the Tripathi family's estate.
"Are you talking about that little country landowner who was dealt with last time?"
“No one was left alive. Even their families fled in panic that day.”
“Those Varanasi people?”
“Yes,” Gupta replied respectfully.
Kalinbai remained calm. He didn't really care who Crow was fighting with.
He is in the arms business. The harder others fight, the better his business is.
As long as there was no chaos in the city of Mirzapur and the foundation of the kingdom he ruled was not shaken, he did not care about the affairs of the small villages in the countryside.
However, Gupta's tip-off made Kalinbai take the matter seriously again.
That Crow bought dozens of guns from him, enough to arm a small gang.
Not only has it been completely dealt with, but even the news has hardly spread.
Kalinbai was alert, thinking that it would definitely be a crushing gunfight.
"Who are they?"
"In the mining business."
"Minerals?" Kalinbai frowned.
"I personally sent someone to inquire about it. Some time ago, someone was exploring there and it was said to be a limestone mine."
"Of course I know this. That crow does this kind of business."
Kalinbai had long been aware of Crow's secret sale of cement.
But he looked down on it. He thought that the money he earned from selling a few double-barreled shotguns was not as much as that earned from selling a few bags of cement a month.
"No, no, Kalinbai, that's big business. I heard that many people have come to Kana Village now, just to prepare for the mining."
"When did it happen?"
"yesterday."
"Markb, bring today's newspaper." Kalinbai turned and ordered the big man next to him.
Soon a local newspaper from Uttar Pradesh was handed to him, and Kalimbhai quickly flipped through it but didn't find what he was looking for.
Gupta was about to say something, but Kalimbhai raised his hand to interrupt him. He got up and went to the living room to pick up the phone.
As the king of Mirzapur, he certainly had well-connected politicians in Lucknow.
"Mr. Rao, have you heard about the mines in Mirzapur?"
"Oh, of course. It was approved by the Minister himself. You'll see it in the papers tonight."
"But this is my territory." Kalinbai said in a low voice.
"Kalin, that mine is on the border of Mirzapur, and a small part belongs to neighboring Chandauli. It doesn't conflict with your business in any way, and the other party is not an outsider."
"They touched my people."
"Really? I didn't see any news of a fight in the newspapers. Are you mistaken?"
“Rao,” Kalimbhai’s tone hardened, “if you want sufficient funds for the next election, you shouldn’t talk to me like this.”
"Okay, Kalimbhai. They're very powerful, both financially and physically. This is a massive project with hundreds of millions of rupees invested. Apart from the minister, no one else can get involved."
Kalinbai hung up the phone silently. He finally understood why there was no news.
Before the dust settled, their minister had already locked in the deal.
"Gupta, tell me everything you know."
"He's a Brahmin like you, his last name is Sur. He originally operated only in Varanasi, but recently a descendant of his family returned from Mumbai, and that's how the current mining business began."
"How much do you know about that mine?"
"I'm not sure. Few people go to Kana Village. The news only came in yesterday."
Kalinbai's eyes were gloomy. An investment of 100 million rupees was actually quite telling.
"Dad," Ram's voice came from outside, "when did the big businessman come to Mirzapur?"
"Where are the merchants from?" Kalinbai turned around and asked.
"It's a small village, I think it's called Kana. I passed by it yesterday from Tianna and saw a construction team working on it."
Kalimbhai and Gupta looked at each other and both knew what was going on.
"Where did you go yesterday and why did you come back just now?" he asked his son.
"I went to a classmate's house in Changwudali for a party and drank too much last night." Ram felt a little guilty because he had forced himself on her last night.
"How many people are there on that construction site?" Kalinbai's focus was not on his son.
"Several hundred, maybe over a thousand," Ram shrugged.
"Don't run around too much lately, and focus more on your family business."
"Yes, Dad." Ram was a little absent-minded.
His father has the final say in the entire Mirzapur, and he has no say in the family business. What else can Ram do except being a rich second-generation.
After waving his hand and sending his son upstairs, Kalinbai turned to the police in front of him.
"Gupta, keep an eye on Khanna Village."
"Yes, Kalinbai."
Watching Gupta leave, Kalinbai sat in a chair and fell into deep thought.
Of course he wanted to get a piece of the mining business, but not now.
The investment of 100 million rupees has not yet yielded results. It will be time for the Tripathi family to take action once the cement plant is on track.
Kalinbai is a shrewd businessman. He is only used to picking fruits rather than being a sucker for investment.
There is no business in Mirzapur that can spare him. This is related to the family's reputation. Otherwise, how can he suppress the challengers who come one after another?
"Do you know the King of Mirzapur?"
"King of what shit?"
"Here," Ron pointed down, "the boss of this territory."
"I've heard of them. They seem to be involved in smuggling and arms trade, but all the goods are inferior." Ratan fiddled with his beloved pistol.
"Yesterday Muna told me that the other party's people appeared in Kana Village."
"What?" Ratan raised his head. "Are they planning to take over this place?"
"I don't know, but I think it's better to be cautious."
"Don't worry, brother. The family has recruited some more people. It's fine if they don't come, but if they come, they will end up like those two beasts. However..."
"What's wrong?" Ron asked.
"There aren't enough guns." Ratan said with a grin.
Ron had a headache because his brother had no interest in business and only loved all kinds of guns.
This thing is a complete money-burning job, and it can even be said to be a bottomless pit.
"You want to buy a gun again?"
"This time, in addition to the AK, there is also a Bren light machine gun." Ratan's eyes lit up.
"Light machine gun?" Ron gasped.
"This is mainstream stuff, designed by the Brits."
All of Ratan's weapons were bought from the Indian army, including AK series, Beretta pistols, and military daggers.
As long as they were paid, the officers in the army would sell anything. They even dared to cheat on the food and replace it with pig feed. What else would they not dare to do?
After doing business several times in a row, Ratan was no longer satisfied with the firepower of small pistols and rifles. He set his sights on the Bren light machine gun that could fire five or six hundred rounds per minute.
It has been in service since the 1930s and 1940s and is a complete antique.
But who is to blame for the poor performance of India's military industry? It is still made by various countries.
The Bren light machine gun, which is despised by others, is India's standard weapon and the dream gun in the eyes of local armed forces such as Ratan.
"Three thousand dollars a piece, with five hundred rounds of ammunition included. I managed to get this through some connections, and there are only three left, so I'm just waiting to pay for them."
"How much is this batch of arms in total?" Ron went straight to the point.
"Four million, and some more bullets." Ratan gestured.
"I'll have someone go get the money in the next couple of days, but we'd better keep a low profile. Too many guns will only make more and more people wary."
"As long as they don't cause trouble, I won't come to kill them." Ratan said confidently.
He believed that he was a law-abiding citizen of the Northern Gang and never fired the first shot.
Those two beasts couldn't blame him. They had the official approval of the Northern Gang. It was those two country landlords who were rebelling against the government.
"Since you want to expand your team, you can recruit locals if they are suitable," Ron advised him.
"They have to pass the test first." Ratan was unmoved.
"Assessment?"
"Who knows if that bullshit king has any spies here? We just got here, so it's better to be careful."
"It's up to you. The mine must be absolutely safe."
Ron thought of finding a few guides first, so that things could be done more efficiently, while Ratan trusted people from his hometown more.
What he called an assessment was probably something like a token of allegiance.
Speaking of which, the servant Muna is suitable. With him taking the lead, the people in Kana Village obviously cooperated a lot more.
This is of course also related to Ron's "good deeds" during this period. He has been in Kana Village for such a long time, but he has never killed anyone.
He would get angry, but he would not beat or scold his servants.
They would certainly not do something like the two beasts did, torturing and killing servants.
He paid the villagers for their hard labor at the construction site and would not deduct their wages without reason.
This person can already be called a great philanthropist in the Northern Gang. If he performs two more rituals, he will be a saint.
As for Ratan, well, the villagers were afraid of him.
He looked tough and had a gun in his hand.
Although no one was killed, the animals near Kana Village suffered.
The sound of gunfire every day makes people terrified.
Sometimes villagers’ pigs were killed by mistake, but no one dared to argue.
If the Brahmin master is in a bad mood and even kills people, that would be misfortune.
Munna was also afraid of Ratan and would take a detour whenever she met him.
Unfortunately, I ran into him today.
"Boy, I heard that your family is going to have a wedding." Ratan asked.
"Yes, sir, my brother is getting married."
"Oh, there's some wine."
"It's a great thing that the master is going."
"Really?" Ratan looked at him with a smile.
“Really.”
"Okay, stop teasing him." Ron waved his hand from a distance.
Ratan laughed and walked away, leaving Muna alone wiping his sweat secretly.
"Muna, what's wrong?"
"Uh, Master, I came here to ask for two days' leave."
"Go ahead and relax." Ron took out a five hundred rupee note from his pocket.
"Master." Muna almost cried.
"By the way, can you help me find out something?" Ron suddenly waved him over.
The guide party still needs to be trained.
(End of this chapter)
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