After getting off the cargo ship, Donning was a bit tired. Those guys from the east were generally very vigilant, and their business acumen was terrifyingly shrewd. In the end, they didn't reach a contract. They proposed to take one night to discuss and would give a definite reply tomorrow morning.
Of course, Donning didn't hope that the other party would quickly finalize this business deal either. Because in that case, he would need to come up with an unimaginable huge amount of money. At the same time, Alkmaar himself was also involved in the tea and silk business. As a representative of the spice business, openly opposing his own people would make those people complain to Alkmaar.
He just wanted the opponent in the spice business to back off. Next was to wait for the reaction of that opponent tonight. Of course, Fonte had already greeted here in advance. This was just a prearranged drama.
"Mr. Donning, are you sure the other party will respond to this crazy plan?" The spies sent by Mace weren't sure if this move would really work.
"There will be news tomorrow morning. Let's see then." Donning sent away the spies and sat in the most luxurious hotel suite in the Golden Coast. Holding a glass of red wine, he didn't put all his bets on this guy who was both an enemy and an ally. If he didn't get the desired result tomorrow, he would use his real plan to make Fonte regret.
Barak arrived at the Golden Coast one day earlier as per Donning's instructions. This was his first time coming to the Golden Coast. Those eastern faces different from Westerners made him feel novel. But this time he came here to do something more important.
Causing great trouble to some people at the lowest cost. The new task given to him by Donning. The primary goal was those laborers. An income of one silver Caesar was enough to make them ecstatic. But he could offer one gold Caesar, a hundred times the reward. The laborers were willing to do anything for this.
From the port, he learned that those laborers had a foreman in charge of taking jobs. These foremen had established unions. Ostensibly, it was to protect the rights and interests of the laborers. In fact, it was just to exploit these laborers more advantageously. After joining the union, the laborers had to hand over 10% of their monthly income to the union.
Those foremen all had extremely extensive connections and complicated relationships. They controlled these laborers. Those eastern businessmen liked to cooperate with these foremen. It was much simpler than looking for laborers who carried goods one by one. At the same time, it could also give a standard for the laborers' remuneration so as not to be cheated because they didn't know the price of laborers.
As the largest foreman at the Golden Coast port, Sara had nearly 8,000 laborers under him. This gave him quite a high reputation at the port. As a former small gangster at the port, his current achievements made him feel very satisfied.
Sitting in a somewhat shabby hut late at night. This was his office. About ten square meters. There was a bed. There was also a table and a chair placed beside the bed. Sara, learning from those businessmen, bought a cheaper suit and wore it. The inferior suit made him look a bit funny. He only had one arm. His right arm was cut off by someone sent by another foreman during his former struggle.
But everything was over. Sara sat at the table. With one left hand, he counted the remuneration placed on the table. This was the remuneration obtained after moving two cargo ships. A total of one hundred gold Caesars. Among them, more than seventy gold Caesars were to be used to pay the remuneration of nearly 8,000 laborers for one day. He could earn more than twenty gold Caesars a day.
This was already a very good income for him. He could earn 600 gold Caesars in a month. Compared to his former hard life, this was just like living in heaven.
After being excited for a while, he separated the gold Caesars to be paid to those laborers. He carefully hid them in a secret small window beside the table eaves and hid his own income in the hidden compartment under the bed. There were many idle young people on the port. Just like him before, they specialized in some petty thefts. So he had to be careful.
In the past, because he had no special skills and was thin and weak, he didn't even have the qualification to be a laborer. Those foremen were unwilling to hire him. This made him quite disappointed. He came to the Golden Coast full of confidence. But in the end, he was almost starved to death here.
"Mom, don't worry. Your child will earn money and let you and your sister live in a spacious and bright big house." Sara, who left home for the Golden Coast, made a vow. But when he came here, he realized that the facts were not as simple as he had imagined.
If he went back in a dejected manner, he would be laughed at. The young man with strong self - esteem finally decided to stay. In order to survive, he engaged in theft. But this didn't mean that he was a bad person. It was just that he strongly wanted to survive, make a career, and give the best life to his mother and sister. And he had a rule that he would never steal the hard - earned money of laborers.
Later, he finally found an opportunity. In a rainy night when foremen fought in a melee because of competing for business, his kind heart prompted him to save a foreman who was on the verge of death. That foreman was grateful for Sara's life - saving grace. In the end, he kept him and took him by his side.
The smart young man was very eager to learn. When that foreman had saved enough capital and wanted to get involved in other businesses, he gave the position of foreman to him. He never defaulted on the wages of those laborers. This made his good reputation spread. Many laborers voluntarily joined him. Making him the largest foreman locally. And the foreman who had fought a big battle with his boss chose to cut off one of his arms to settle the matter.
The weather in the Golden Coast had always been very changeable. One moment it was sunny, and the next moment it was pouring rain. Especially at night, it was even more unpredictable. At this moment, it was pouring rain. Sara lay on the bed. Recalling the painful years in the past. Thanking God for taking care of him, this young man.
Suddenly he remembered something that a laborer had told him during the day. The laborer's family member was seriously ill and needed money for treatment. He wanted to advance one month's salary.
Sara got up from the bed. Took out three gold coins from the hidden compartment under the bed and put them in the secret compartment on the table. Then he lay back on the bed. "Anyone would not stand by and do nothing in the face of others' hardships." Sara thought like this. Lying down with his arm under his head. Looking forward to a better life in the future.
"It would be great if I could live with mom and sister. But there are no good teachers in the Golden Coast. My sister needs to go to school." Sara also had his own troubles. If he left here and went home, his business would be affected. This was really a headache. He missed his relatives so much.
There was a burst of footsteps at the door. The keen Sara turned over and put his finger on a knife placed under the bed. He had to guard against someone stealing the workers' remuneration. Other thieves were not as conscientious as him.
There was a burst of rapid knocking on the door. Sara was struggling in his heart. Should he open the door on this dangerous night? The rain outside the door was very loud.
After struggling for a while, Sara decided to get up and open the door. Maybe it was just a person taking shelter from the rain. If he shut him out, he would feel guilty.
The kind - hearted young man held a knife. Opened the door a crack. Saw the figure outside. It was an old man. Carrying a suitcase. He was soaked by the rain. It was very bad.
Experience told him that an old man couldn't be a thief. It was likely to be a businessman. He relaxed his vigilance. Opened the door and welcomed the old man in.
"It's really bad. Damn the weather. It was fine half an hour ago. Suddenly it started raining." Barak, who entered the door, complained about the weather. Put the suitcase on the table. Looked back at the young man holding a knife. Somewhat worried. "Please rest assured. I won't pose a threat to you."
Sara was a bit embarrassed. He put the knife at the door. Closed the door. Looked carefully at the visitor. The coat and suit on his body were not cheap. The leather shoes were shiny. Obviously he was a businessman. While Sara was busy pouring hot water, he looked back and explained. "The weather in the Golden Coast is like a baby. No one can understand him."
He sent the hot water to the guest. Signaled the guest to sit. While he stood. "Sir, don't worry. The rain will stop soon. It won't delay your business."
Barak wrung out the rainwater on his clothes. Sat at the table holding hot water. Looking at the young man with one arm. "It's unbelievable that a young man with one arm is actually a foreman."
Sara didn't expect this old man to know him. He was a bit shy. "Compared to you, I'm far behind."
"No, you are still young. No one can say what you will become in the future." Barak took a sip of hot water. Put the hot water down. "I knocked on the doors of so many foremen. In the end, only you chose to open the door. Obviously, the opportunity has chosen you."
Sara's keen sense of smell made him understand that there was business coming. "Sir, do you have goods that need us to move? But at night, the workers are not very willing to go to work. So you need to pay a little more."
According to the rules here, workers indeed needed to be paid more for night shifts. Sara wasn't talking nonsense.
Barak waved his hand. Opened the suitcase. A stack of Caesars. There were hundreds of thousands. "My job doesn't need you to do it manually. You just need to move your mouths. And the reward will be a hundred times or even a thousand times higher than usual."
A hundred times or even a thousand times. Sara was frightened. He felt that this business deal was not simple. For such a business, he needed to be more careful. He wouldn't earn some dirty money. Kindness made him make a decision quickly. "Sir, you can stay here until the rain stops. I'm not interested in this business deal."
Barak didn't expect this foreman to refuse such a good thing. He was a bit disappointed. "Young man, do you think I'm lying to you? Please rest assured. There will be no problem with this business. To show my sincerity, I can pay you the reward first."
Sara felt even more that this person's business must be unclean. Otherwise, he would never pay such a high price. He would never have any relationship with such a dirty business. "Sir, I will never do anything that violates the law. Nor will I allow my people to help you. Go away.