Darkstone Code-Chapter 958 - 956: Taking Money from Other People’s Pockets

Chapter 958: Chapter 956: Taking Money from Other People’s Pockets

After sending Isabella and her brother to the reunion, a security director from the Security Committee came down from the second floor.

"I thought you would sleep with her."

This was the newly appointed security director, roughly equivalent to a high-ranking member of the Security Committee, and ranked among the top.

After all, with the new President taking office, it’s not easy to replace certain things right away, so it’s normal for the entire department to be cleaned out after a few months or even a year, and now it’s time for the Security Committee.

Actually, the term "cleaning out" isn’t quite correct; it should be about placing one’s own people, or trusting individuals, in important positions to satisfy the President’s control over the Federation Government.

The Security Committee doesn’t have a committee chairman like the Progress Party Committee; the Federal Security Committee only has members, each responsible for their own matters, and they collaborate when major issues arise.

This is one of the future heavyweights, who is with the Progressive Party, has a good relationship with the President, and also gets along well with Truman, so naturally, his relationship with Lynch isn’t bad either.

A friend of a friend is a friend, there’s no problem there.

Just taking office, he wants to achieve some results to silence others, and right now, an opportunity has presented itself.

If Sanchez and Isabella can become the nails in Mariluo as envisioned by the Security Committee, then without a doubt, his authority would be established.

In the future, people won’t say he got the important security director position through back doors or because someone else acted behind the scenes, and Lynch is also a key figure in this matter.

The fastest way to build rapport with someone is flattery.

But flattery isn’t the goal; many misunderstand it as the way to make friends, which is foolish because flattery isn’t the way to make friends.

He merely used flattery as a form to express his goodwill toward Lynch, which is the most important thing.

What kind of flattery would not embarrass Lynch nor himself?

For women, praising their beauty, figure, or their demeanor and taste is always the best choice.

For men, just complimenting them on their ability with women is enough to quickly draw them closer.

Lynch smiled, asking the maid to pour some wine for the security director, "I’m an honest person, I never mess around with relationships, but some unscrupulous newspapers slander me nonetheless."

"I don’t want to do anything about it; suing them is like giving them free publicity, which is why many have misconceptions about me."

The maid stood by in silence for a while, suddenly realizing there was a reason why Lynch was successful.

The security director chuckled, "There might be trouble ahead that needs your help..."

"I’ll cooperate!", Lynch raised his wine glass and clinked it with the director, who had the same name as a hair stylist.

The next day, a group of shareholders gathered in Lynch’s Darkstone Capital meeting room, full of "primitive style".

The exposed concrete and steel beams gave people a headache, but after visiting twice, some even found a simple beauty in it.

Before long, Lynch was the last to arrive at the meeting room, and the Future Light Investment Company’s meeting officially began.

Sitting at the head, Lynch first told everyone the purpose of the meeting, "Every Moment is undergoing capital expansion and plans to issue more shares to increase its market value. Shall we follow suit? Let’s discuss this."

He relinquished a significant portion of his holdings, and now he only holds 40%, planning to release more, as long as he maintains at least 34%.

No matter how united others are, they can’t exceed the "67%" majority; as long as they don’t exceed this figure, the key votes in his hand are enough to control the board.

Everyone started discussing, and they were also putting on a show.

Actually, they couldn’t be ignorant of what happened yesterday; they might have already met privately or at least formed some thoughts.

Yet they still pretended: pretending they just found out, and then putting their ideas on the table for discussion.

If you say these people are stupid, each of them has achieved things that 95% of outsiders couldn’t, though luck might explain it once, but it can’t make them surpass so many.

But to say they’re not foolish, it’s too formalistic.

This kind of behavior is merely a statement—they didn’t conspire.

This is the last bit of trust between people; one group pretends they don’t know, and the other pretends they believe it.

After a while of watching them discuss, Lynch didn’t want to wait.

He tapped the table with his fingers, and the meeting table made a booming sound like a small drum resonating in people’s hearts.

"Let’s hear your opinions."

He said.

A shareholder raised his hand, and Lynch looked over, allowing him to speak, "Mr. Lynch, I heard Every Moment plans to use tobacco leaves never used before as raw material, is that right?"

"If so, how will Every Moment ensure that even after using new materials, it can maintain its consistent high quality?"

"We all know that Kleve is the real source of Every Moment’s income, not the regular tobacco..."

Lynch gestured for him to stop, as this kind of foolish talk had been discussed daily recently.

People believe Every Moment’s success is based on the Kleve gradation system since it was the first to introduce the concept of pure and mixed colors and has become the industry standard.

Pure colors are those all made with special tobacco leaves, like a spindle, slightly thinner at both ends, and thicker in the middle, a huge oral tobacco.

Note, it’s oral-quality; it’s not suitable for inhaling into the lungs, the high nicotine content is enough through the oral mucosa to satisfy nicotine intake; inhaling into the lungs would be a disaster.

Mixed colors are those special tobacco leaves and regular tobacco rolled together, suitable for limited inhalation.

Because nicotine is stronger than regular cigarettes, it’s favored by many heavy smokers.

These two products dominate Every Moment’s sales, with over 60% of revenue coming from various Kleve products and only about 10% from tobacco.

While the rest comes from other business activities.

This is also why Rongsheng Gold Bank is determined to break up Every Moment, as the tobacco segment is so profitable it could be sold for an astronomical price.

Some even think Kleve alone is sufficient, whether to keep regular tobacco doesn’t matter.

For such people and views, Lynch can only shake his head.

"I haven’t had much contact with the tobacco industry; recently, just by browsing some data, I know the cigarette market will surpass Kleve."

He said, standing up, "Five years ago, Federal cigarette sales were less than a sixth of today. In the first quarter of this year, cigarette sales increased by over 20% compared to the first quarter of last year..."

"In contrast, I saw through Every Moment’s financial report that its development is not catching up with cigarette development but rather regressing."

"This phenomenon will continue for a long time, and eventually, Kleve will become a luxury item rather than something truly appreciated across all classes!"

At this moment, someone raised their hand, and Lynch paused, looking at them, "Any questions?"

The person had an apologetic look for interrupting Lynch, "Mr. Lynch, we all know what you said; isn’t that a good thing?"

"Every Moment’s success is supported by the wealthy in the Federation; every year at the Spring Festival, they can extract tens of millions or even billions in funds from the Federation’s wealthy."

"If Every Moment turns Kleve into a genuine luxury, it should be a good thing."

This is also the view of most people in the room: once Kleve becomes a luxury, it signifies its level of popularity in international society.

People would take pride in consuming Every Moment’s Kleve; it would become a symbol.

Just like other luxury goods now, even if only the wealthy in the Federation support these brands, they can live very well.

After listening, Lynch shook his head, "The market is constantly growing, and while Kleve’s future may not be as pessimistic, it won’t be optimistic either."

"Every year, spending by the Federation’s wealthy on Kleve won’t exceed two hundred million, and it will stay that way for a long time; this is its limit, and there won’t be more growth, only maintaining this level."

"However, with more breakthroughs in cigarette technology and new formulas emerging, cigarettes are rapidly occupying the low and mid-end market."

"Look at those women holding lady filters and smoking, and the teenagers too—these are the loyal consumers of cigarettes."

"Everyone can spare two dollars to buy a pack of cigarettes and smoke for a day or two, but not everyone can spare a million for customized services."

"Even the lowest-grade mixed colors cost several dollars each, and the price of pure colors is even higher, from a few hundred to a couple thousand!"

"If we spread Kleve’s revenue across each month, you’ll notice its monthly sales hardly exceed a little over ten million."

"But cigarettes are increasing from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, even to two or three million."

"This market will continue to expand and grow!"

Lynch watched those who began to ponder and sat back down.

"I once had a dream...", he suddenly said something unrelated, diverting everyone’s focus from their thoughts back to Lynch himself.

He crossed his legs, loosely interlacing his fingers on his lap, "If everyone gave me a dollar a day, it wouldn’t take long for me to become the richest person in the Federation..."