Blackstone Code

When Mr. Geruno changed his clothes and came to the conference hall, some family members were already gathered here.

This is one of the benefits of having a large family living together. When something unexpected happens, it is very simple to call people together.

At least these people don't need to freshen up after receiving the call, leave the house, pick up the car from the garage, then drive a certain distance and then enter the manor layer by layer, and then come to the conference hall.

None of this is needed. People only need to be notified, then wash up, change clothes, and go downstairs.

The Federation seems to have always avoided the "family" itself in its family culture. From the moment children leave their parents to form their own new family, they feel separated from their past family, that is, their parents and other relatives.

They were obviously a family, but because... they left their families to live alone, they turned from a family into relatives.

This point is also emphasized in the culture of the Federation, but the way the Federation people emphasize it is not so simple and direct. .

What they emphasize is not getting rid of the "old family", but emphasizing that people should learn to be "independent."

It sounds like... it's not the same thing, but in fact the core of this idea is that when people mature, they should be independent from the family, live alone, and face the world alone!

This is the third spirit of the Federation after the two spirits of freedom and fairness - the spirit of independence!

Some people say that this spirit actually originated from the pioneer era, but this view does not occupy a mainstream position. People still feel that independent living is the right way.

Some sociologists will give examples of some animals, such as predators in nature. Their children will be driven out of the territory by their parents during their "adolescence" period, and the purpose of this is to help the next generation grow up.

The people believed it and did so, but the severed family and family ties could never be repaired.

Those old people would rather sit alone in rocking chairs by the fireplace, holding photos from ten or twenty years ago, or even longer, and wiping them with their sleeves to reminisce about the family time in the past.

Nor would he easily call his children to tell them it was time to get together.

The same is true for children. Of course, they have to face more things, such as a cruelly competitive society or intense academic work, plus emotional life and rich social interactions. They are less likely to think of those old people.

But...is this all correct?

Is this "independent spirit" necessarily correct?

Not really, at least not entirely.

Looking at the upper class of the Federation, and even expanding to the outside world, we can see the "traditional" countries such as Gefra and Pengeo.

Behind every upper-class individual is a huge family, and most people in this big family live together.

They will build large manors or even castles to provide accommodation for their families. Not to mention parents and adult children living together, it is very common for even four or even five generations to live together.

If there is something you don’t know whether it is right or wrong, then just look at what the upper class people in this society do and you will understand.

They can't be wrong, at least in general.

In fact, what really restricts people from living together is not "independent spirit" or "cost of growth", but fucking poverty!

Not every family can have a manor or even a castle where hundreds of people can live together.

Not to mention the manor and castle, not everyone can own even a big house!

The middle and lower classes of society cannot keep their families together, so they have to find some theoretical basis and support for family separation.

"Independent spirit" and "the price of growth" are obviously the terms that are most in line with federal values ​​at the moment.

People are saying this in movies and books, so... most people believe it.

In fact, they can’t help it if they don’t believe it, because they can’t support the cost of living together for everyone!

If society is always moving forward, in the end, people should live together again instead of being separated!

When he walked into the conference hall, the noisy sound of the conference hall stopped. There was a thick smell of smoke in the air. Mr. Geruno felt slightly dizzy and his heart was not very comfortable.

After he found his seat, he did not sit down immediately. Instead, he stood with his hands on the edge of the table for a short while before sitting down.

The room fell completely silent while he was standing there, and these people all thought that Mr. Geruno was dissatisfied with the noise.

In fact, the housekeeper standing outside the door knew very well that Mr. Geruno might not be feeling well.

He got up too early, and he didn't get enough rest last night or during this period. It's normal for him to feel uncomfortable.

However, for the sake of Mr. Geruno's health, the housekeeper contacted the doctor and asked them to be ready at any time.

In the room, Mr. Geruno did not show any signs of being discouraged. He was still as solemn as before, "How much active funds do we still have in our account?"

The first question points directly to the most critical thing, money!

Before today, Mr. Geruno had never worried about money. He didn't even have any concept of money.

Every year through legal and illegal businesses, he can plunder countless wealth, so money is nothing more than a string of numbers on a piece of paper to him.

But now, he was starting to get a little nervous.

The person who spoke next was Mr. Geruno's younger brother, his biological brother. He is in charge of the big accounts of various businesses and accounts under the family, as well as the small accounts, but that one is specifically responsible for the company or the person in charge. He is only responsible for the big accounts. account.

Perhaps he was aware that Mr. Geruno would ask this question before he came, so he quickly gave an accurate number.

"If we don't consider the small change, we still have close to 400 million in funds at our disposal..."

It can be used at will, which means that even if the 400 million funds are removed, it will not affect the daily operations of the entire family-owned enterprises and will not put any pressure on the capital chain!

Looking at Mr. Geruno's unchanged face, he added, "If you give us some time, we can add about 500 million more funds, but it won't last too long."

Mr. Geruno's dissatisfaction finally overflowed.

He frowned, with a look of dissatisfaction on his face, "That's it?"

Look, listen to his tone, he could collect 900 million in cash in total, but he was dissatisfied with it and said that was all!

But he is qualified to say so, because he is Geruno, Geruno Duncan, the emperor of the empire in the shadow of the Federation!

Mr. Geruno's brother smiled awkwardly, "Our industry has suffered some impacts. In addition, the bank has also frozen some of our accounts. Now the ones that can be safely operated are basically overseas accounts."

"And those people's appetites are getting bigger and bigger..."

Mr. Geruno knows who those people are and what their appetites are!

In the past, if you went to them to do something, you might be able to get it done for 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, but now those people are asking for 20,000 to 300,000 yuan at every turn. Some key players even ask for bribes of 500,000 yuan or 1 million yuan!

Everyone says the Duncan family is crazy, but these are the real ones!

For money, they dare to do anything and even reveal some important information!

As long as the money is in place!

This has also made the current expenses higher and higher, and few funds have appeared to be in short supply.

What's even more troublesome is that something happened in the oil field.

Mr. Geruno thought for a while, "How many oil contracts do we have that have not been fulfilled?"

The family member in charge of oil is Mr. Geruno's cousin. He also had a serious expression, "About a little over 100 million."

The impact of the destruction of the oil field is not only that they can no longer extract oil, but more importantly, once they are unable to complete the sales contract they signed before, others can file a lawsuit in court to accuse them of breach of contract!

Once the court gets such an opportunity, they can conduct a thorough investigation of the Duncan family with "breach of contract" as the core, and then freeze most of their accounts and businesses!

They will also compensate those people with sky-high liquidated damages!

This is a very troublesome problem, it is not just as simple as not being able to produce oil!

Mr. Geruno didn't realize anything at first, but soon he realized that this number was not quite right.

"Why is there such a big order, or are there several orders?" The final order of more than 100 million is not normal.

Even if the whole world is shrouded in the clouds of war, it is unlikely that there will be so many "commodity lists".

If it's a "policy sheet", that's normal.

Oil is a strategic material. It must be stored in large quantities before the war breaks out. It is normal for the federal government to lower the price and then hoard it.

But at this time, oil is not a good type for private trade!

Because of its special nature, it may be expropriated by the local government anytime and anywhere. Even if someone wants to do some business with high prices, they will not eat so much oil in one go.

At this time, so much oil is not wealth, but the light of destruction that invites disaster!

The cousin named several companies, and Mr. Geruno's frown deepened. He had never even heard of these companies, and the same was true for his cousin.

If nothing unexpected happened, he had a vague guess that these companies and the group of people who destroyed the oil field equipment should belong to the same force.

"Check who is behind these companies and spend some money. We need to figure out where the first wave of attacks is coming from!"

Although the Duncan family is facing the most dangerous situation in history, there are still people who are willing to provide services for them for the sake of money.

Even competing to serve them!

There are people whose eyes are full of justice and are bathed in the light of justice.

And some people, whose eyes are full of desire, have long been trapped in the swamp of desire and cannot leave!