America 1919

In the abandoned factory, several men wearing suits, felt hats, and smoking cigarettes stood casually around.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Today, during the day, those few guys who had a conflict with Donnie had their clothes stripped off and were confined in individual iron cages.

Each one bore varying degrees of bruising on their bodies.

At this moment, their faces no longer held the previously restrained arrogance, only fear.

"Haha, how about that, Donnie? Are you satisfied with such a punishment?"

Joseph pointed at the people in the iron cages and laughed loudly as he asked Donnie.

Jessica Dole, who was following beside Donnie, evidently hadn't seen such a scene before. She suppressed the fear in her heart, standing by Donnie's side.

"These punks actually dared to mess with my friend, they truly don't know whether to live or die!"

Without waiting for Donnie's response, Joseph walked over to the cage holding Max, took an iron rod from one of his subordinates, and started to beat the cage, some blows landing on Max, others on the cage.

Every hit brought screams from Max.

Donnie didn't pay attention to Max's screams, laughing as he spoke to Joseph, "Dear Joseph, I've seen the rules in Los Angeles. Maybe now we can talk about our business!"

Seeing the rules in Los Angeles wasn't the goal. Using this event to put Donnie at a disadvantage in the upcoming negotiations was what Joseph really intended to do.

Seeing that Donnie was indifferent to the scene before him, Joseph didn't feel any sense of loss. He casually threw aside the iron rod.

"Alright then, since you've brought it up, Donnie, let's talk about the real business!"

He sat down on a couch in the middle of the vacant factory, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and then spoke up.

"I know, Donnie, that your business is doing very well, so well that even the Coast Guard in Atlantic City can be dealt with. So I was thinking, since you can deal with the Coast Guard in Atlantic City, then you must be able to handle the Coast Guard in Los Angeles.

I have my own channels in Italy. If we work together, you take care of the Coast Guard in Los Angeles, and I manage transport and sales, we can completely monopolize the bootleg liquor business in Los Angeles and even the whole of California!"

After finishing his statement, Joseph saw the girl brought by Donnie humbly pour a glass of whiskey for Donnie and then hand it to him with both hands. Suddenly his own glass of whiskey didn't seem as rich and mellow.

After Donnie took the glass, he smiled and said, "So, Joseph, you're thinking of sidestepping us in Atlantic City to corner the market on high-end liquor alone?"

Joseph laughed heartily and said, "Atlantic City is just too far from Los Angeles. If we were to get our supply from Atlantic City, it would be too costly for us. Los Angeles has its own coastline, so why not get it directly from Los Angeles!"

Donnie nodded slightly and said, "Doing so, indeed, would reduce the problems we might encounter due to transportation!"

Seeing that Donnie spoke in such a manner, Joseph thought Donnie had agreed to his suggestion and immediately laughed, "If that's the case, then let's look forward to our pleasant cooperation!"

"Wait a minute!"

Donnie shook his head and said softly, "Let's first talk about the profit-sharing and the matter of mid-range liquor, otherwise I really can't drink this whiskey!"

Joseph slightly raised his eyebrows, only then realizing that his behavior had not caused any psychological turbulence in Donnie.

However, this thought was fleeting for Joseph, who then laughed, "Of course, the matter of profit-sharing is really quite simple. You only need to take care of the Coast Guard, so two-tenths of the profit for you, one-tenth for yourself, and one-tenth for taking care of the Coast Guard. This distribution plan should be quite reasonable.

As for the mid-range liquor, we actually have our own distilleries here in Los Angeles, so for the mid-range liquor, we won't trouble Atlantic City. We'll handle it ourselves!"

Donnie, holding a glass in his left hand, lightly tapped his knee with his right hand, then broke out into a smile.

"One-tenth of the profit, Joseph, you've lost the sincerity of us Italians. Back when I handed over the Miss America outskirts in Los Angeles to you, we only took three-tenths of the profits, leaving the lion's share for you, and now you're only offering us three-tenths?"

Joseph frowned slightly and said, "Donnie, Los Angeles is not Atlantic City; things here are complicated. Although Matte Galan's people have been suppressed by me, they still have their own territory. I need to use more low-priced, high-quality liquor to seize more of the market!"

Donnie waved his hand and said, "That's your problem, not mine. If you want to buy off the Los Angeles Coast Guard, one-tenth of the profit definitely won't be enough."

Joseph's face started to show displeasure: "Donnie, as I said, this is Los Angeles, not Atlantic City. One-tenth of the profit given to the Coast Guard is already more than the two-tenths we provide in Atlantic City!"

Donnie laughed dismissively and said, "Is that so? Are you not aware, Joseph, that the supply of high-end liquor in Atlantic City is not limited to the city itself but also to many other cities across the United States, not each of which has its own coastline!"