First Come, First Served
A few days later, I headed to the top floor of the Lexington Hotel with Lee-hyung.
"Little brother, are you... are you sure it's okay for me to go in?"
Although summer was approaching, the weather was still cool, yet Lee-hyung was sweating profusely. I smiled to reassure him.
"Of course, Lee-hyung. But if you keep sweating like that once we're inside, you might have a hard time coming back out alive."
"Ah, I see. Ahem, ahem."
Hmm, much better.
"Then, let's go in."
Knock, knock.
Leaving behind Lee-hyung, who cleared his throat as if he hadn't been trembling just a moment ago, I knocked on the suite door.
"Boss, I'm coming in."
As I opened the door and stepped inside, the room was, as always, filled with thick cigar smoke like a fog.
And there, behind it, was my father-in-law, savoring his cigar.
"Lee, is that man your 'family'?"
"Yes, Boss. His name is Jason. Lee-hyung, introduce yourself."
"It is an honor to meet you, Boss. My name is Jason Lee."
Fortunately, Lee-hyung greeted my father-in-law with a confident expression, as if he hadn't been nervous at all.
I suppose he didn't earn the title of Great War veteran for nothing.
Soon, my father-in-law scanned Lee-hyung up and down and opened his mouth.
"So, you're that good at gambling?"
"Y-yes, that's right. I've grown up looking at nothing but cards and dice since I was young, so I'm good at any kind of gambling."
"Is that so? I gamble a bit myself, so that's good."
As Lee-hyung nodded confidently, my father-in-law put his cigar in the ashtray and took something out of his pocket.
It was none other than a 20-dollar gold coin engraved with the Statue of Liberty.
I would find out a little later why the gold coin my father-in-law usually gave as a tip when he was in a good mood had appeared here.
"Now, let's have a round. You know the difference between heads and tails, right?"
"Boss?"
"Lee, even if he is your family, this is the organization's business. Naturally, I have to verify his skills myself. Don't you think?"
Ting-!
With those words, my father-in-law flipped the coin into the air and snatched it up with a hand the size of a pot lid.
Soon, a sly smile spread across my father-in-law's lips as he held out his hand.
"Now. Heads or tails. Which one are you betting on?"
Excuse me, Father-in-law?
The person I brought isn't a psychic.
Since there are only two possibilities, heads or tails, the chance of getting it right is 50%.
But that also means there's a 50% chance of being wrong.
No matter how much gambling is about luck, we aren't fortune tellers; deciding whether or not to start a business based on luck is a bit much, isn't it?
"Boss."
It was then that Lee-hyung's mouth opened.
Looking quite confident, Lee-hyung continued with an awkward expression.
"I apologize, but it seems there is no gold coin in the hand you are holding right now."
"Lee-hyung?"
No, I just saw you catch it with your hand, what are you talking about?
There are only options 1 and 2, so who in the world is the crazy person who picks option 3?
"Are you serious about that?"
"Yes, Boss."
"You might regret it. I'll give you a chance to change your answer."
"That's alright."
But whether I was dumbfounded or not, the conversation between the two continued on its own.
And.
"Hahahaha!"
With a hearty laugh, my father-in-law opened his fist that was holding the gold coin.
...It's not there?
It's really not there?
Was the person I brought not a gambler, but a psychic?
"How did you know?"
"I saw you slide it into your sleeve when you caught the coin. It's a trick I've used a lot, so it looked familiar."
"I see... you have a good eye, and your guts seem decent too. At least I'll be able to recover the investment."
While I was blankly staring at his empty palm like an empty lunchbox, my father-in-law's gaze turned to me.
"Lee, you have good family. As you said, his talent is quite useful."
"O-of course. I couldn't introduce just anyone to you, Boss, hahahat."
Honestly, I didn't know his ability was to this extent, though.
Is this the level required to hold the title of King of Games, or rather, King of Gamblers?
"Then, I'll assign some suitable friends to him. If he tries to rob a casino alone, he won't come out alive. Roughly... a week should be enough time, right?"
"That is sufficient."
"Then, tell your family to prepare well. And... Jason?"
"Y-yes... yes, Boss."
"You'd better not think about doing anything foolish while working for our organization. Unless you want to sit next to the friends currently at the bottom of the Chicago River."
"O-of course."
"Both of you, get out. Oh, Lee, you stay for a moment."
"Yes, Boss. Lee-hyung, please go out first."
"Ah, alright, little brother."
With those words, I sent Lee-hyung out first, then faced my father-in-law.
"As you said, I've spoken to 'Big Bill' and our friends in the City Council. It will probably be resolved in about a week."
"That is enough."
Big Bill is the nickname of William Hale Thompson, who is currently sitting in the mayor's seat of Chicago.
Since a significant number of Chicago's bureaucrats and politicians, including the mayor and the city council, are taking money from my father-in-law, that matter will be handled as my father-in-law said.
"But, is this alone enough?"
"Of course, I have already prepared the rest."
"I hope Ralph, who was originally doing the beverage business, won't be upset. Actually, there are a few friends who have been complaining since you took over the business. There are also friends who think their positions were stolen."
I know that well.
Right now, Nitti seems to be agonizing over whether to stab me, shoot me, or dump me in the river, doesn't he?
Of course, it's a slightly different story if it's Mr. Ralph, who is my father-in-law's older brother, or in Korean terms, my uncle-in-law.
"I will handle it well. Even if we aren't blood-related, isn't Mr. Ralph family? Koreans originally value family."
"That's good because it's similar to Italians; that's why I like you."
"For now, I'm thinking of giving him the position of president of the newly established SMC, Standard Milk Company. If it's Mr. Ralph, who has been managing it originally, he will surely do well."
It's a company being established as a subsidiary of SCC anyway, so the final authority will lie with me and my father-in-law here.
"And... what are you going to do about those troublesome union guys?"
The union mentioned here refers to the Milk Wagon Drivers' Union, created by milk delivery men in Chicago.
They are quite extreme, and with the power of the union, they are a cancerous presence in the Chicago milk industry that even messes up milk delivery.
And, they are also the most annoying opponents when our organization starts the milk business.
However.
"Once the ordinance is passed, it's only a matter of time for them."
In my head, I already had a plan to get them into my hands.
***
"Reporters really know how to pick a headline."
I grinned while unfolding and reading the [Chicago Daily Tribune] that came out this morning in the car.
According to the article, it seemed that the ordinance, which was quickly made in two weeks through the painstaking efforts of Mayor Thompson and our city council members to take bribes, was receiving a positive response from citizens.
From the perspective of buying it, it's natural because milk moved with proper refrigeration facilities and trucks would be better than milk that has spoiled well under the bright sun.
Of course, from the perspective of selling or delivering it, that wouldn't be the case.
"Mr. Lee, we have arrived."
"Ah, thank you."
At the words of Rizo, my driver and organization member who can now be called my exclusive driver, I nodded, got out of the car, and headed toward a three-story building with a sign that said [Standard Milk Company].
I originally thought about using an empty floor of the SCC factory, but I bought a new office building because I thought people buying it would feel uncomfortable if the office was attached to a chemical factory.
Soon, as I opened the door to the conference room located on the second floor of the building and stepped inside, the gazes of the people who were waiting in advance focused on me.
Aren't they glaring at me too much just because I'm 5 minutes late?
Swallowing that thought, I sat in the head seat of the oval desk and greeted the executives of the milk delivery union who were glaring at me.
"Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Jun Lee, and I am the standing advisor for SMC."
As expected, there was no answer.
No, to be precise, only one person stood up from their seat and opened their mouth.
"...Is this your guys' doing?"
"What are you talking about......."
"A strange law was made as soon as you guys sent that modernization thing! You guys plotted this, didn't you?"
The bearded man with a name tag that said [Union President - Steve Sumner] on his chest shouted, but I continued with a calm expression.
"How could that be? What power would our company, which hasn't even been made for a few days, have?"
"Then, is this purely a coincidence? Are you telling me to believe that?"
"Now, now, please calm down. We invited you here not for such political talk."
Since a company that they had never heard of before sent an invitation under the name [Chicago Milk Industry Modernization Seminar] the day before the ordinance was passed, it was natural that it looked suspicious.
However, even so, I knew well why they had come all the way here to glare at me.
"Isn't the fact that we have one month left until that ordinance is implemented what is immediately facing us? No, since one day has passed, it's 29 days left."
"Damn it, how are we supposed to get those expensive refrigerated trucks in a month?"
"Half of the union members haven't even properly paid off the loans for their existing trucks yet!"
"At this rate, the union itself might disappear......."
Since they were in danger of losing the milk delivery work they had been eating for free overnight, they must have come out with the feeling of wanting to grab even a straw.
And.
"Now, now, isn't that why I invited you to this place?"
I already had a lifeline ready to give them.
"Our SMC is a company established with the goal of setting the standard for the American milk industry. Until now, hasn't milk production and delivery been far from modern? No matter how much you union members try, milk spoiling in this hot weather is unavoidable."
"So what are you going to do......."
"So, we intend to suggest a path of mutual growth to you union members."
When I cut off my words, the union president stopped getting angry and closed his mouth.
Soon, the employee who received my signal handed out the documents they had in advance to the union members.
"Dairy industry... modernization support partnership?"
"What is this?"
"It's a program our company created after much consideration to help you who are in a difficult situation."
Well, it's true that I'm helping, so it's not a lie.
"Simply put, our company intends to provide the refrigerated trucks or warehouses with refrigeration facilities that you need."
"W-what?"
"Of course, I'm not just giving them to you. Because you have to comply with our company's operating standards for milk delivery, which are listed if you look at page 2."
Mechanical refrigeration facilities or trucks were still in the testing stage, so they were hard to get, but it wasn't that you absolutely needed something like an air conditioner.
The refrigerated trucks used by the organization were also a type that kept the temperature by sealing the cargo hold well with insulation and then filling it with ice, so it wouldn't be much different for milk.
Since they could provide cool beer to each speakeasy in the middle of summer just by doing this much, it wouldn't be much different for milk.
And.
"What, we can only deliver SMC's milk?"
"Even the price is to be transported only at the price set by SMC......."
"This is just, you're going to use us as company employees, right?"
"Please understand that this is to protect the quality of milk that our company aims for. If the reliability of the milk goes up, naturally the profit you earn will also go up."
Of course.
"And... if you look at page 3, the monthly rental fee for facilities or trucks, or the interest rate depending on the form of program participation, will be written."
I'll be recovering that profit intact, though.
"No... weren't you just giving it to us?"
"We also made an investment, so I hope you understand that we have to recover it. It's not a large sum of money going out at once, and since the interest rate is also set low, it won't be a loss."
Although they might be used trucks that were used to transport moonshine, they wouldn't be picky about hot or cold water in the current situation.
"It's an opportunity to participate in a modern transportation system at a low cost without investment costs. For now, talk about it, and if it's not bad, please let the union members know too. We plan to continue receiving program applications until the ordinance starts."
"......."
At this point, I should shout the magic word.
"And... in the case of trucks or refrigeration facilities, we also have a limited number, so please understand that we have no choice but to proceed on a first-come, first-served basis."
First-come, first-served.
The moment that magic word that makes people's eyes flip popped out of my mouth.
"I'll participate."
"Mark?"
"In just a month, my wife and kids will be starving. Are you going to buy that expensive truck anew?"
"I'll participate too!"
"I, I came first!"
The executives of the milk delivery union started to stand up one after another.
Then... is the milk union next?