The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 559 - 287: Liverpool’s Chip Problem_3

Arthur pushed another glass of wine toward Louis, "Then let’s calculate it at triple, 4.5 percent, which is also a reasonable range. But the fact that we can find these errors in the declaration forms at least proves that Liverpool’s Customs and Tariff Department haven’t provided us with a special exemption white list. Do you know what this means?"

Lighting a cigarette, Louis took a puff, "They are willing to cooperate."

"Exactly," Arthur nodded, "Since they are willing to cooperate, let’s start with the chips on the poker table."

Hearing this, Louis took out another document from his pocket and placed it on the table, "Since it’s about the poker table, you should take this document first; it should come in handy when it’s time to raise the stakes."

Arthur glanced at the document, "Is this regarding the port authority’s expansion project?"

Louis nodded slightly, "Liverpool is not like London; we don’t have reliable informants here, so I had to go to the docks and ask around myself. This morning, I disguised myself as a French tourist and had a casual chat with the local shopkeepers.

They mentioned to me something very interesting, that the upper class in Liverpool all like to acquire real estate, whether they are wealthy businessmen or administrative personnel of government agencies. Oh, perhaps I shouldn’t put it that way, after all, in this place, administrative personnel and businessmen are almost synonymous. According to the shopkeepers, about thirty percent of the real estate in Liverpool is held by those folks.

And these talkative fellows also assured me, with all seriousness, that the most powerful institution in Liverpool is neither the city council nor the port authority and customs, but a civilian commercial organization called the Liverpool Association.

The Liverpool Association is an organization with two centuries of history. How do I describe its influence in Liverpool? It is said that seven mayors of Liverpool have emerged from the Liverpool Association, and at its peak, ninety percent of the members of the Liverpool City Council were members of the Liverpool Association. To this day, it still controls over seventy percent of the council seats."

Arthur swirled his wine glass, his reddened eyes fixed on the clear purplish-red liquid, "Fond of buying land, the members of the Liverpool Association..."

He suddenly leaned back in his chair, "The members wouldn’t buy so much real estate just for show. Let me guess, they also must like to speculate on land, and they are pretty successful at it. Once they buy real estate, they inevitably purchase it in the planning area for the port expansion."

Louis’ face revealed a mysterious smile, "Arthur, you really have quite an imagination."

Arthur took a sip of his wine, "How much did Liverpool’s four new ports cost?"

Louis replied, "On average, about thirty thousand pounds each. The construction cost of each port was between six and eight thousand pounds, with the remaining over twenty thousand pounds used for land acquisition, new warehouse construction, and supporting facilities."

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

With a smile, Louis asked, "What’s on your mind?"

Arthur swirled his wine glass and replied, "Nothing much, I just feel that Liverpool’s grape wine is a bit too spicy for the throat. I thought London’s brandy was already quite strong, but compared to Liverpool’s wine, it’s practically bland."

Louis heard this and also lifted his wine glass to taste a sip, "Hmm... Although the wine is a bit robust, the water from the Mersey River is clearer than that of the Thames!"

Arthur raised an eyebrow, put down his wine glass, and nodded slightly, "You have a point. So that’s why Liverpool’s Port Authority went back to Parliament’s Public Works Committee for money three times. It turns out the difference in water quality means constantly having to add to the cost of building the ports. When I rented out my place to a friend, he complained I was charging too much, saying my house was made of gold. Now I see, he must never have been to Liverpool; the real gold houses are here."

Louis made a joke as well, "Arthur, you surely haven’t read ’The Travels of Marco Polo,’ what’s so strange about houses made of gold? Marco Polo wrote that on the far eastern end of the continent, even the streets were paved with gold. Oh, and on a little island further east, they use silver."

Upon hearing this, Arthur nearly sucked the grape wine up his nose.

He hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth and hide his embarrassment, "I’ll make a note of the port issues. However, that’s not within my oversight, and there’s no need for us to stir things up with them for the time being. At least from the customs declarations, they still seem to show some sincerity."

Louis replied, "I also think that interfering in this matter is overstepping, and it’s not necessary to bring this up unless absolutely essential. Moreover, it’s not just Liverpool; there are many people getting wealthy from this. If we rashly expose this, we are bound to cause a commotion."

Regaining his composure, Arthur ran a hand through his hair and asked, "Any other discoveries besides this?"

Louis thought back for a moment, then added another line, "Aside from the Port Authority, the Dock Committee probably isn’t clean either. I briefly flipped through their directory; several families have long controlled this place. Moreover, the companies contracted to provide services for the public works of the Dock Committee are quite singular, with most of the supply companies listed on the procurement lists being one called Grindrod. If we continue looking into this, there are definitely issues there too."

Hearing this, Arthur gained a general understanding of the local ecosystem in Liverpool and raised his hand to interject, "We just need to be aware of these matters in our minds. Let’s note them here for now, but we can’t lay these things out on the table. I need something minor, but not enough to overturn the whole of Liverpool."

Upon hearing this, Louis donned his hat and nodded, "Okay, I’ll go and gather more information."

Arthur cautioned him, "Make sure to disguise yourself well, and remember to carry a gun when you go out. Without your police uniform, you’re just an ordinary foreign tourist. If someone knocks you out with a blow, I honestly wouldn’t know how to fish you out immediately."

Louis placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly, "Of course, don’t worry, Chief."

Arthur watched him leave the room, planning to go back to studying the medical journal in his hand.

Suddenly, the door of the tavern was pushed open again.

A person walked in, looked around, and upon seeing the clothes Arthur was wearing, came over with a smile and asked, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Arthur Hastings?"