Chapter 748 - 349: Premium

"This 30% premium is an expedited production fee."

John’s eyes went wide. He stared at David as if looking at some kind of bizarre mutant.

He couldn’t believe it. This was the same small-time boss who used to grovel for orders worth a little over a hundred thousand US Dollars, and now he had the audacity to extort him so brazenly.

"Furthermore," David continued, "given the extreme strain on logistical resources within the state right now, you’ll have to cover the shipping costs from the factory to the port yourselves. And you can’t pay the freight charges in US Dollars."

"Then what do we use?" John asked instinctively.

"Alliance Notes."

David uttered the term.

"My fleet of trucks only accepts those. If you don’t have any, go to the Alliance’s exchange center and figure it out. That’s your problem."

John shot to his feet, the movement so abrupt he nearly knocked over his chair.

He furiously threw the documents in his hand to the ground.

"This is extortion! Blatant extortion!"

John’s face flushed red, and he pointed a finger right in David’s face.

"Don’t get too cocky, David. You’re nothing but the owner of a little workshop."

"You think you can challenge EQT just because you’re cozy with the Mayor? Our legal team will sue you into bankruptcy! Just you wait for a summons from the State Court!"

With that, John stormed out of the factory.

He yanked open the car door, slammed the gas pedal to the floor, and the engine let out a roar, his anger venting onto the road along with the exhaust fumes.

On the way back, John called company headquarters and demanded the legal department immediately draft a lawsuit against the Cole Steel Pipe Factory.

He was going to make that cocky little boss pay.

He refused to believe that David’s tiny factory, with its three legal advisors, could stand up to EQT’s legal army of over a hundred top-tier lawyers.

Next, he contacted several large suppliers in Ohio and West Virginia.

"I need steel pipes! Ship them immediately! Destination: Pennsylvania!"

John roared into the phone.

"I’ll be damned if my project grinds to a halt just because I’m not dealing with you local vampires!"

However, a mere day later, John was sitting in his office when he received an urgent call from his West Virginia supplier.

"John, there’s a problem." The voice on the other end sounded anxious. "All of our trucks are stuck at a checkpoint on the Pennsylvania border."

"Why?" John leaped up from his chair.

"The people at the checkpoint said it’s a special enforcement action for cross-state heavy material transport. They want to check the environmental certification of every single steel pipe, the emissions standards of every truck, and even the drivers’ labor contracts."

The man on the other end sighed.

"They’ve impounded my fleet, saying they need to conduct a seven-day compliance review."

"John, this is clearly targeting you. All the other vehicles are getting through. Only the trucks heading to your construction site have been stopped."

John gripped the phone, a chill running down his spine.

Just then, a call from the company’s legal department came in.

"John, about the lawsuit against the Cole Steel Pipe Factory, there’s a complication." The head of legal’s voice was hesitant.

"What complication? Can’t we just sue him into the ground?"

"They’ve responded to the suit, but... they’re not being represented by some small-time lawyer this time."

There was a hint of anxiety in the head of legal’s voice.

"It’s the legal team organized by the Industrial Revival Alliance. A few of them are top-tier litigators who used to work for the federal Department of Justice, and they even have the Saint Claude Family’s retained counsel."

"They’ve countersued us for malicious breach of contract and filed a class-action lawsuit in the State Court on the grounds of abuse of market dominance."

"John, you need to confirm, do you really want to go up against them? This case isn’t as easy as you think. If we lose, it will affect the company’s operating licenses for all of Pennsylvania."

"Let me think about it."

John sensed something was wrong. He hung up the phone, walked out of his office, and went to the company’s operations center.

The place was in absolute chaos.

"Boss, the pipeline laying permit hasn’t come through yet. The Environmental Protection Agency said they need to reassess the ecological impact on that section of the river."

"Boss, the construction crew foreman said they got a notice from the Union. All heavy machinery operators have to attend a three-day safety training. No one can work tomorrow."

"Boss, the power company says there’s line maintenance. The site might lose power next Tuesday."

It was bad news from every direction.

Obstacles at every turn.

John finally understood.

This was the entire Pennsylvania administrative system moving to strangle EQT.

He had no choice but to report to his superiors.

After an anxious wait, the reply he received was quite brief: "Drop the suit. Accept the premium. The project cannot be delayed."

「Two hours later.」

John was standing in David’s office once again.

This time, he had none of his previous arrogance.

He forced a wide smile and even bent his back slightly in a subservient gesture.

"David, hey, old friend."

John wrung his hands.

"Everything before was a misunderstanding. That lawsuit... it was a mistake by a new intern in our legal department. I’ve already had him withdraw it."

"We’ve been partners for years. How could we end up in court?"

David remained seated in his executive chair, holding a coffee cup, without even glancing up at him.

"A misunderstanding?"

David scoffed.

"John, I heard you were trying to source your shipment from West Virginia? What, aren’t the pipes over there good enough?"

John’s face flushed, then went pale.

"Their stuff... the quality isn’t up to snuff. Your product is better. After all, we’ve been working together for so many years."

"Alright, then."

David put down his cup.

"Since it was a misunderstanding, let’s put it behind us."

"However, you know how it is. Raw material prices are changing every day, and labor costs have gone up too."

David looked up at John, held up three fingers, and then added a fourth.

"A 40% markup."

"What?" John nearly shouted. "Wasn’t it 30% before?"

"That was yesterday’s price."

David said coldly.

"Yesterday, not only did you refuse to sign, but you also threatened to sue me. That hurt my feelings, and it hurt my workers’ feelings. This extra 10% is for emotional damages."

"Are you signing or not? If you don’t, it might be 50% tomorrow."

John looked at David’s expressionless face.

He gritted his teeth so hard he could taste blood.

But he had no choice.

"I’ll sign."

John forced the words out through clenched teeth.

He took out his pen and signed his name on the new contract—the one with the 40% markup—pressing down so hard he almost ripped the paper.

"You remember this, David. Sooner or later, we’ll settle this score."

John threw the contract on the table and stormed out of the office without a backward glance.

David watched John’s pathetic retreating figure.

He picked up the newly signed contract, looking at the extra several million US Dollars in profit.

A powerful thrill shot through him, from head to toe.

For the first time in twenty years, he felt an emotion like this in his office.

David picked up his coffee cup and looked out at the gloomy sky.

’Well played, Mr. Mayor,’ he thought to himself.