In a Sichuan restaurant in Chinatown, Fang Lang and Wan Chongxin were feasting on three dishes and a soup on the table. After completing the transaction, Fang Lang said that he would treat Wan Chongxin to a good meal. Of course, Wan Chongxin would not refuse such a good thing.
"Mr. Fang, you said you have another big deal for me. I wonder if you can tell me what it is now!" For this transaction, Wan Chongxin directly received a brokerage fee of $14 from Fang Lang, plus the $50 reward from Mr. Valentine, a total of $64, which is equivalent to two months' salary for an average American worker. Wan Chongxin is already very satisfied, and it would be even better if he could get another deal.
"Mr. Wan, how much do you earn every month now?" Fang Lang was originally considering whether to directly find a tobacco distributor to purchase a batch of cigarettes. Or should he make this a long-term business? If it is a long-term business, Fang Lang must ensure that there are dedicated people in the United States and Italy to be responsible for it, and it would be best if it can be operated as a company.
Originally the biggest problem was that Fang Lang did not have the manpower to be responsible for the development of business on both sides, but Wan Chongxin's performance this time still satisfied Fang Lang, so he wanted to give him a chance.
"Uh! Well! To be honest, Mr. Fang, I won't hide it from you. This deal that I helped you to make this time is my first pot of gold. I used to do odd jobs and didn't have a formal job, so I didn't have a fixed income." This question made Wan Chongxin feel a little embarrassed, but he didn't hide anything and told the truth.
"If I set up an import and export trading company in the United States, how about you come and work for me?"
"Aren't you a soldier? Do you still have time to do business?"
"I'm not an American soldier, so what does it matter?"
"If I work for you, what will I be responsible for? How much will my salary be?" Wan Chongxin had no choice but to become an intermediary. If he could have a stable income, he certainly wouldn't mind.
...
...
"You just need to help me purchase the goods I need according to my requirements, transport them to the warehouse for storage and management, and then hand them over to the receiver I arrange. The weekly salary is eight dollars, and if you do a good job, you will get a bonus."
Wan Chongxin thought about it for a while, then nodded and agreed: "No problem! I'm very happy to work for you."
Fang Lang was very happy to hear Wan Chongxin agreed. This meant that there would be a dedicated person in the United States to be responsible for purchasing in the future. Even if he did not come to the United States next time, he could ask Wan Chongxin to notify him after purchasing. He could then arrange for Captain Cross and others to help smuggle the goods to Italy, and set up a branch company in Italy to be responsible for receiving the goods and then selling them to the Gambino family. Wouldn't this be a complete trade route?
"Okay, then you can come with me today to get familiar with the tobacco market in the United States. Tomorrow I will set up an import and export trading company and sign a formal employment contract with you."
In this way, accompanied by Wan Chongxin, Fang Lang spent an afternoon visiting all the tobacco distributors in the United States. He learned that the main cigarettes sold on the market are British American Tobacco's Lucky Strike and Reynolds Tobacco's Camel. What surprised Fang Lang was that Marlboro cigarettes were discontinued for some unknown reason.
After agreeing to meet at Wan Chongxin's home the next day, Fang Lang returned to the Charles Joes at dark. Everyone on the ship had arrived at this time. They were loading and unloading cargo while discussing enthusiastically how much money you had raised and how much money I had borrowed.
When everyone saw Fang Lang coming back, they greeted him enthusiastically. Fang Lang responded enthusiastically and told everyone that he would collect everyone's investment tomorrow morning and asked everyone to take turns to see him during breakfast tomorrow.
After getting a clear answer, everyone stopped surrounding Fang Lang. Fang Lang found Captain Cross and wanted to discuss with him whether he could introduce a few other captains to him.
"Captain, what I mean is that if my business is successful this time, then every time you travel across the Atlantic Ocean, you can organize your crew to raise funds or go to the place I give you to pick up the goods individually. Then I will arrange for someone at the Italian port to directly receive the goods you transport at three times the price, and turn this business into a long-term business. What do you think?"
"Fang, of course no problem. You are creating income for all of us, how can we refuse?" Captain Cross said with a smile on his face, stroking his beard.
"If you are familiar with captains of other fleets, you can also ask them to participate. I want the quantity of cargo to be as large as possible."
"Oh! Is it really possible? But we'd better keep a low profile on this kind of thing. If we go too far, it may attract the attention of the military police, which will be very troublesome." Although Captain Cross was very happy, he still warned Fang Lang in a vigilant voice.
Fang Lang also kept Captain Cross's warning in mind, and couldn't help but think that it seemed that he had to get closer to Brigadier General Neo Jackson, otherwise he would be in a passive position when he was investigated.
Nothing happened that night. The next day, before dawn, the crew dragged Fang Lang out of his warm bed. Fang Lang could only pick up his notebooks one by one and record in detail how much each person invested.
When everyone's investment was finally concentrated on Fang Lang's backpack, Fang Lang was also surprised. Together with his own funds, he actually raised 55,000 US dollars. This amount far exceeded Fang Lang's expectations. He thought that 30,000 US dollars was already an astronomical figure. He didn't expect that these American soldiers could raise such a large sum of money.
After getting the investment, Fang Lang took his weapons, carefully put on his backpack, found Wan Chongxin, and went to the U.S. Company Registration Office together to register a company called Global Trade Import and Export Co., Ltd.
Wan Chongxin was arranged to rent a warehouse near the dock as an office and storage location. He immediately began to purchase cigarettes. Since it was his first purchase, Fang Lang had to do it himself to understand the market price and avoid being embezzled by the purchasing staff in the future.
After a lot of hard work, all the goods were finally transported to the warehouse the next morning. Looking at the warehouse full of cigarettes, Fang Lang began to feel troubled. Cigarettes are not big, but they take up space! Wouldn't it be embarrassing if they couldn't transport them?
Fang Lang had no choice but to bring Captain Cross to confirm the quantity of the cargo. Captain Cross was also stunned by so many cigarettes. There was simply no space on the ship to load so many cigarettes! How could this be considered smuggling?
In the end, there was really no other way but to ship all the goods onto the ship first. After all, this was a business invested by all the crew members together.
So when the Charles Joes finally set sail, almost every corner was filled with cigarettes, and even the crew's lounge was filled with cargo.
Fortunately, this was the common property of all the crew members, otherwise it might have been thrown into the sea halfway. Especially when the fleet was attacked by German Navy submarines while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. But overall, it crossed the Atlantic Ocean and returned to Italy without any danger.
On the way back, the US military lost more than ten Victory ships, but fortunately the Charles George returned safely to the port of Naples.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
