I held a cigar in one hand and casually steered the boat with the other.
This is a small yacht… It's not the one that belonged to Eighth Master. His was bigger, and I sold it. I chose this smaller yacht because I don't need too many people with me when I go out to sea. Just Yan Di and Qiao Qiao on board are enough.
Although I inherited everything from Eighth Master, I sold off a lot of things. For example, I simply gave away a luxury seaside villa under Eighth Master's name to Bucktooth Zhou for free. That guy is eccentric by nature. But he's extremely lecherous. He has countless women in Vancouver, and he accepted the villa I gave him without hesitation. Within two days, I heard that new women moved into the villa, and not just one.
Facing the sea breeze and the sun, I steered the yacht slowly forward. The sea breeze kept blowing in, making my hair fly and my clothes billow in the wind. Facing such a refreshing breeze, I felt a sense of exhilaration.
"Xiao Wu, where are we?" With that voice, Qiao Qiao stepped into the cockpit with a heart-stopping gait.
The woman casually curled her beautiful hair slightly, then deliberately tied it into a loose braid on one side. She wore a blue, ultra-thin bikini swimsuit. The bra had shoulder straps, and the bottoms were also tied up... Good heavens, it was even a T-back...
I tried my best to keep my gaze from lingering on her high, full breasts. I also tried to avoid looking at her slender yet elastic waist. I took a deep drag on my cigar and said in a seemingly casual tone, "We haven't gone far. We're still very close to the coastline... Hmm, here's our satellite positioning map. Would you like to take a look?"
Qiaoqiao noticed my awkward look, chuckled, but deliberately puffed out her chest and walked to my side. She fumbled around on the electronic screen for a moment, then glanced at me: "Hmm, you learn very quickly. It seems you can steer this voyage on your own this time."
Oh, I forgot to mention, Qiaoqiao also chose this boat. After all, she comes from a wealthy family, so she's always quite knowledgeable about high-end luxury goods.
I sold Eighth Master's big yacht, and with the money I got, plus another 30,000 US dollars, I finally bought this small yacht... Damn it.
In Canada, a luxury car costs only around ten thousand US dollars.
“Great, you learn very quickly. Once you’re tired of these electronic toys, we’ll get a sailboat to play with… that’s what men should play with.” Qiao Qiao watched me skillfully steer the boat with satisfaction and laughed, “This kind of yacht is like an automatic car, it’s too unchallenging. Next time we’ll get a sailboat, set sail against the wind, that’s really exciting and fun on the sea! It’ll let you experience what it’s like to be a real sailor.”
I muttered, "Sailors...don't I have enough sailors under my command already?"
Indeed, I now control the entire smuggling industry in Vancouver. Countless smuggling ships at sea are registered under the name of my Huaxing Ocean International Trading Company... Speaking of sailors, I can summon a hundred or so with just a snap of my fingers.
"Look at how stingy you are! Let me tell you, when you have money, you should spend it! Wealth isn't accumulated, it's earned! If you keep your money in the bank for ten years, the wealth you gain might not even be as much as you would from a single successful investment! Only the rich of the last century would lock their money in banks and safes! Nowadays, rich people are all about 'earning and spending'!" Qiao Qiao squinted her eyes: "Money is only money when it's spent; keeping it in the bank is just a string of numbers."
I sighed in boredom: "Okay, then tell me how else I want to spend it?"
“Well, high-end cars, you don’t need too many, but you should have at least two or three. BMWs and Mercedes won’t do. Are BMWs and Mercedes considered good cars in China? That’s because the cost of living is low. With your current wealth, buy a Bentley and a Cadillac first. As for Rolls-Royces, I don’t like them, so forget it. Also, you’re so young, you can’t always ride in those old-fashioned cars. Sports cars, you don’t need many, a Ferrari and a Porsche are enough.” Qiao Qiao counted on her fingers: “And houses, you gave away that villa by the sea, perfect. That villa was so tacky. We’ll buy a new one, not too big, with a swimming pool, and the pool water can be directly recycled with a seawater system. Then we’ll find an Italian company to design it. I like Mediterranean-style seaside villas… You’re still living in the repair shop every day, this can’t go on…”
I frowned, gave Qiaoqiao a deep look, and said seriously, "Qiaoqiao, I'm not someone who likes to enjoy life too much. I actually think it's quite nice to live with my brothers."
Qiaoqiao glared at me and, without a word, kicked me in the shinbone. Although she missed and I dodged it, she was still annoyed and said in a low voice, "Damn it! You little idiot! You think living in the repair shop is no big deal? Fine! Have you thought about... um, about Yan Di? This delicate little beauty came all the way from China to see you, and now she's living next to you... Don't you want to be intimate with her? Don't you want to devour her whole... Damn it, if you dare deny it, you're not a man!"
I opened my mouth, glared at Qiaoqiao fiercely, and swallowed hard.
Holy crap!
I... of course I want to! In fact, to say something really wicked, I not only want to devour Yan Di, but sometimes, when that female hooligan Qiao Qiao provokes me to the point of anger, I wish I could devour her too!
"So, you still want to live with a bunch of stinky men? Do you really think it's convenient for two girls to live with a bunch of men all the time?"
I scratched my head: "I don't think there's anything inconvenient about it... Anyway, the place we live in now is a detached house..."
"Damn it!" Qiao Qiao exclaimed, hands on her hips, furious. "But all the people living upstairs, downstairs, in front, and behind us are your bunch of men! I'm just not happy! It's so inconvenient to come and go! You...you're really stupid! Don't you understand?"
"I still don't understand..."
"Sigh!" Qiao Qiao's eyes darted around, her expression changed, and she deliberately let out a long sigh. She slowly leaned back in her seat, her long legs crossed high in front of me. "Let me tell you, I have a habit, and because of this habit, I really dislike having other men around where I live. You know, back in China, I bought an entire floor of a building, right?"
"yes."
“Because, I…” Qiao Qiao winked at me, “Because I hate being restricted the most, so every time I come home from outside, I like to take off all my clothes and walk around the house… understand?” Seeing my expression as if I had almost choked on my saliva, Qiao Qiao deliberately sighed and said leisurely, “Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you… when we were in China, Yan Di moved in with me for a while… at first she was not used to my habit… but later, after I used a little trick, she got used to it.”
"You've adapted? How did you adapt?" I asked curiously. Because in my mind, a pure girl like Yan Di, with her delicate skin and shyness, could never possibly adapt to the lifestyle of a crazy woman like Qiao Qiao.
“It’s simple…” Qiao Qiao raised her eyebrows and smiled charmingly, “I stripped her naked and we ran around the house naked together. Sigh, this girl is very shy, and I had to force her to get naked the first couple of times, but later, she got used to it… Sigh, I’ve been staying here for so many days, staying at your place, but thinking about how close we are, and how many men live here… I just feel so uncomfortable…”
"…!" I quickly wiped my mouth, then clenched my fist and shouted resolutely, "Damn it! Buy! Buy! Damn it, I'm going to buy a villa tomorrow!!"
Damn, don't call me a pervert... If you were me, and given my financial situation, I would have bought a castle long ago, let alone a villa!
As I gritted my teeth and swore an oath, I couldn't help but fantasize about the erotic scene of two stunningly beautiful naked women swaying back and forth in front of me...
"Xiao Wu, are you hungry?" A gentle voice came from behind me. Yan Di was wearing a pink, sleeveless, fitted blouse, with only a white bodice underneath. The blouse had a fringed hem, casually tied in a knot. She wore shorts, and her forehead was beaded with sweat. She was holding a plate with fruit and a bottle of wine.
Yan Di looked at me, somewhat surprised: "Are you very hungry? Why are you drooling so much?"
I quickly wiped my mouth, glared at Qiao Qiao angrily amidst her laughter, then looked at Yan Di and said softly, "It's nothing, I was just spacing out."
Yan Di walked gracefully to my side and put down the plate she was holding. "It's a pity the kitchen on this ship is too small; there are many things we can't cook here. Sigh, now that your injury is almost healed, you don't have as many dietary restrictions anymore. I wanted to cook you something nice today, but the kitchen on this ship is really..."
Qiaoqiao walked over with a smile, casually putting her arm around Yan Di's shoulder, and said with a coquettish laugh, "My silly little sister, this is a yacht, not a restaurant! The kitchen on a yacht can only make some simple food. Do you think there will be everything here? Besides, who would cook a grand meal in the kitchen of a yacht? It's like how a mobile phone can watch TV, but watching TV on a mobile phone is not as enjoyable as watching TV at home."
She was talking and laughing. Suddenly, she gave a gentle push and shoved Yan Di into my arms. I quickly hugged her, but Qiao Qiao had already run away with a giggle, leaving only her voice: "Besides, Xiao Wu doesn't want to eat anything fancy. What he's been craving these past few days is our well-behaved and adorable little beauty, Yan Di!"
Yan Di's pretty face was as red as a ripe peach, and I couldn't resist leaning in and giving her a big kiss, tightening my grip on her waist. Yan Di trembled slightly but didn't struggle, lifting her eyelids and giving me a dreamy look.
With a beautiful woman in my arms, and the surroundings under the blue sky and clear water, such intoxicating beauty before me, my eyes blurred with tears—how could I possibly resist? I kissed those soft, warm red lips. At the same time, my hand gently traced along Yan Di's slender, supple waist, slowly climbing upwards…
Yan Di was completely intoxicated by my kiss. She let out soft murmurs, but just as my hand climbed up her clothes and onto her soft, delicate left breast... she suddenly twisted her body, hurriedly dodging my mouth, and gasped and pleaded in a low voice, "No... not here."
I smiled slightly, released her hand, and pecked her on the lips. "Don't worry, of course I won't do it here." I knew in my heart that Yan Di was a girl who loved me with all her heart, and she was still a virgin. If I were to hastily take her in a place like this, it would be utterly disrespectful to this girl!
Just then, the satellite phone on the ship rang. I frowned slightly, then smiled, released Yan Di, and said softly, "Okay, I'll stop the ship. Change into your swimsuit and go swimming with Qiao Qiao. Remember not to swim too far."
Yan Di knew that the call I was about to receive was mostly business-related, so she didn't ask any questions. She smiled gently, kissed me again, and then gracefully walked out.
I rubbed my face, took a deep breath, and then calmed myself down before turning on the satellite phone.
This is a video satellite phone. I looked at the screen and the signal was very good. Xiluo's head appeared on the screen; he was at the company.
I've been deliberately grooming this kid, and lately he's been wearing a suit every day and coming to the company to keep me in check. Now, at least when he's dressed in a suit and tie, he looks quite like a young and promising businessman.
"What's wrong?" I looked at the screen and smiled.
"Xiao Wu, there are a few things I need you to decide on." Xi Luo's expression was serious: "Over at sea, the bosses of the nine smuggling groups have already paid 20% of the fees into our account this month. We need to come up with a proper way to record this money, otherwise, it will attract the attention of the tax bureau. Our company has just been established, and the company's turnover is too low. It will be difficult for this money to pass through the company's books. Even if our accountant is very skilled, it will be difficult to do it flawlessly."
I nodded and thought for a moment: "Hmm, that's a problem. This money is all illicit; we need to find a way to launder it. I have a preliminary idea for this problem now, and I'll discuss it further when I get back."
"Okay, besides, there's another troublemaker at sea who won't cooperate. It's that guy Karst. He has several ships under his command, and he also has connections in customs. His smuggling volume is considerable, and he carries some weight in the smuggling ring. He still won't bow down to us... What do you think?"
"We anticipated this. It's normal for some people to refuse to pay protection money. We've dealt with it before when people in our territory refused to pay protection money. Let's do the same thing now." I said calmly, "Have Hammer take a few men to 'visit' Karst's stronghold at the docks, and then spread the word that it was my order that no one is allowed to do business with Karst for a month! Karst's goods are not allowed to leave, but they are allowed to enter! For a month, I want Karst's ships to only be able to fish at sea! Not a single blade of grass can be smuggled out!"
“Okay, there’s one more thing. Wick told me that a shipment of our goods was discovered at sea this morning. The ship belongs to one of the nine smuggling groups that pay us protection money.”
I thought for a moment, then sighed: "If you take someone's money, you have to do their bidding. We need to let people know that the protection money they pay is worthwhile, understand? I'll contact Doug about this later. He wants achievements, and we'll give him those. But if the Coast Guard continues to act recklessly like this, don't blame me for being impolite... Also, how's our relationship with customs going? In this smuggling business, customs is the big player! If we don't smooth things over with customs, it'll be hard to expand our business."
"It's alright. Bucktooth Zhou is having dinner with several customs directors tonight; I think he'll give you a progress report." After saying that, Xiluo remembered something else: "Oh, right, Xiao Zhu accompanied Uncle Qi to the hospital for a checkup today..."
"I understand. We'll go visit him together tonight." I sighed. "Uncle Qi is now our only pillar of support against those powerful figures in Asia who are dissatisfied with our rule! This pillar cannot fall! It's just a pity that Uncle Qi, at his age, was in good health before. How come he's finally able to enjoy his retirement, but he's fallen ill..."
"Don't worry, Xiao Zhu said that Uncle Qi's problem isn't serious. It should just be a minor ailment. After all, Uncle Qi worked too hard when he was young, so it's just some old ailments. Don't worry," Xi Luo smiled and comforted me.
After finishing my business, I was about to hang up when I suddenly heard a sharp whistling sound coming from outside the cabin...
Through the glass, I saw Qiaoqiao standing on the railing at the bow of the ship, striking a classic Titanic pose, arms outstretched, singing loudly at the top of her lungs.
To be honest, Qiao Qiao is stunningly beautiful, warm and generous, fun-loving and crazy. She's good at everything from dancing and drinking to playing ball and chasing girls. But unfortunately, God gave her a beautiful body and a smart mind, but not a good voice!
Basically, if any fair person heard her sing, the most accurate and impartial evaluation would be summed up in just four words:
Tone deaf!
To put it bluntly, if you left her alone in the deep mountains at night, her singing would definitely summon all the wolves in the mountain!
When Qiaoqiao sings, it's not "singing" at all, it should be called "howling"!
Moreover, the song she's singing right now is...
"Cut the chicken, cut the chicken, cut the chicken, cut the chicken, cut the chicken, cut the chicken..."
The ear-piercing sound was deafening! I tried my best to maintain my composure as Miss Qiao belted out her song at the top of her lungs. But Xiluo on the screen looked at me strangely, finally sighing and cautiously saying, "Xiao Wu... could you talk to Sister Qiao about it? Maybe she should try to sing less in the future... um, and even if she has to sing, could she choose a different song?"
“I understand.” I sighed and said with a wry smile, “Every time she sings, I want to cover my ears.”
“Well…” Xiluo smiled wryly and continued, “I wouldn’t cover my ears… because every time she sings this song, my first reaction is to cover my crotch.”
In the evening, Zhou with buck teeth came back with a smug look on his face. He told me about the results of his recent work in a very unhappy tone. At least for now, it seemed that his infiltration of some people in Vancouver's customs was going quite smoothly.
Although Zhou with buck teeth has a very eccentric temper and isn't really suited for public relations, I have plenty of tough guys under me, but almost no one with this kind of high level of education. So I have no choice but to reluctantly let him handle it. Besides, I've offered him a high salary, so for the sake of the money, he can only temporarily restrain his temper and obediently try to build relationships with the customs officials.
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter Seventy: Customs, Money Laundering
Of course, this is just a temporary measure. I am still evaluating Wick. After all, Wick can't be considered one of my own, and there are many things I dare not entrust to him. When I feel that I can completely control Wick in the future, or when I feel that I trust him, I may let Wick take over some of the tasks from Bucktooth Zhou.
Wick brought me some good news. Tonight he had dinner with a customs director and gave him a small gift—a solid gold paperweight!
Speaking of customs... if I want to expand my smuggling business, then customs is an indispensable hurdle that I must overcome!
Many people may think that smuggling is simply about owning a few boats, transporting and selling goods between countries, avoiding border guards, naval patrols, and anti-smuggling forces on the coast, and then sailing the boats to other countries' shores to trade with others, or trading on the high seas...
This is indeed a channel for smuggling, but it only accounts for a very, very small part!
It can be said that smuggling exists in almost every country in the world! Even those countries and regions that claim to have zero tariffs have smuggling! Smuggling is not only about evading national tariffs to make huge profits, but also about smuggling some local prohibited items.
For example, the United States has anti-dumping laws against many cheap Chinese goods, fearing that an influx of cheap Chinese products into the US market would disrupt market order and harm American businesses. These laws restrict the entry of some Chinese goods into the US market… In this situation, the only way for these Chinese goods to enter the US market is through smuggling.
Want to sue the US government in international court for trade barriers and unfair competition? Sure, go ahead and sue! With this kind of relationship, it'll take years to win! And even if you win in the end, it'll be too late!
The most famous example is the rapid development of China's color TV industry back then. Production was massive, and China's labor was cheap, resulting in extremely low production costs for color TVs. Large quantities of these low-priced TVs were dumped abroad, especially in Europe and America, which led to anti-dumping laws in those countries, restricting Chinese color TV exports.
Finally, several major domestic TV manufacturers joined forces to sue them… After all these years, whether they won or not, nobody cares anymore… because those CRT TVs are long obsolete, and people are now using LCD TVs. So, even if those Chinese companies won their lawsuits after all these years? What good would it do? It would all be for nothing!
Few people may know that there was a time when smuggled Chinese color TVs were very popular abroad!
In such cases, some prohibited items cannot enter certain areas, so smuggling becomes the only option!
As for the smuggling channels, aside from a portion involving smuggling rings using their own ships for transportation... a large portion of smuggled goods actually circulate in and out of the country through legitimate customs channels, engaging in legal import and export business!
For example, what is smuggling? You set up a company, then issue an invoice to customs declaring a shipment of goods to be exported overseas… For instance, on the invoice you give to customs, you write that it's the cheapest slag. Well then, customs will collect taxes based on the cheapest slag! But in reality, your container isn't filled with slag at all, but with products that cost hundreds or even thousands of times more than slag!
In this way, the taxes you evade will become your amazing profits!
So, are customs officials blind? Don't they know how to check?
They will check! But they also won't.
The operational processes of customs are largely unknown to outsiders. Take port cities like Vancouver, for example. Every day, countless cargo ships carrying tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of tons of cargo and containers pass through the port… every single day! How many people are there in customs? A thousand? Two thousand?
How many inspectors are actually on-site? One hundred? Two hundred?
With such a small workforce, is it possible for customs to open and inspect all those tens of thousands of containers on so many ships every day? And how many boxes and cartons are inside each container? Is it even possible for customs to open and inspect them all one by one? Obviously not!
The actual way customs operates is that all import and export companies have a credit rating within customs. From high to low, there are files in the computer system.
Customs conducts "tiered random inspections" of goods entering and leaving the country every day.
For example, for goods from 100 companies, those with high credit ratings will have 1% extracted, while those with low credit ratings will have 3% to 5% extracted.
After all the import and export declaration documents are collected by customs, the goods are all placed in the customs' designated storage yard. Then, the documents will be transferred to a customs department that is specifically responsible for inspection. At this time, the inspection department will select a few hundred goods from tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of goods for inspection every day, according to their credit rating!