FOE Family First Chapter 34 Don't Be Controlled by Money
On the third day, Tommy Hawke received a call from Tony in Yarmouth, Canada. It was similar to what Tommy had judged. There was a complete cigarette sales network there, but Tony was a little unhappy and he was very unwilling to accept it.
Because according to Tommy's instructions, Tony first arrived in Portland, which is across the bay from Yarmouth, Canada. He just revealed to the local Italian tour guide who received him for a fee that his home was in Missouri, USA. The next day, some Italians who ran a grocery store in Portland took the initiative to talk to him and talked about the cigarette business which is very common between the United States and Canada.
It's very simple. Missouri is a major tobacco-growing province in the United States and also the place with the lowest tobacco tax in the entire United States. Tony said that his family lives in Missouri. In the eyes of these Italians, it means that his family is likely to be engaged in cigarette-related business, either growing tobacco leaves or processing tobacco leaves.
If this is true, then both parties can cooperate and sell cigarettes to Canada.
This kind of cigarette business is so common that even the Canadian government has become numb to it. After all, even the US government can withstand its strong indignation every year and shamelessly turn a blind eye to the American Tobacco Company's processing ships coming to the high seas near Canada to produce cigarettes for several months. How can they possibly expect Americans under this authoritarian government to respect Canadian laws?
Take Marlboro cigarettes as an example. Nearly 30% of the Marlboro cigarettes smoked by Canadian smokers today are not purchased through formal channels approved by the Canadian government.
In other words, Canada approves the import of 5 million cartons of Marlboro , but statistics show that 6.5 million cartons are sold in the country. It is obvious where the extra 1.5 million cartons that have not been taxed come from.
Canadian smokers are also keen on buying these imported cigarettes of unknown origin. It’s not that Canadian smokers are unpatriotic, but the money in their pockets is not worthy of their love for Canada.
Tobacco taxes in Canada are too high. A pack of Marlboros costs New Yorkers less than four dollars, but smokers can't help but swear at the mayor. In Canada, a pack of Marlboros sold through regular channels now costs five dollars.
If you think American products are too expensive, you can only buy Canadian domestic cigarette brands such as Belmont that taste like shit. In order to prevent Canadian smokers from supporting domestic products, American tobacco companies have previously planned an operation that made the Canadian government swear. A Canadian medical organization, which received an unknown amount of public relations fees, took out an investigation and announced it to the Canadian people, saying that after the investigation and comparison, it was found that regular smoking of Belmont cigarettes can cause irreversible and serious damage to the heart.
The entire report is just short of stating that if you want to cherish your own life, please buy American brand cigarettes.
Tony was originally very happy that his fellow Italians in Portland treated him as a visitor from Missouri, because he thought they were going to negotiate business with him by using the legal price of Marlboro in Missouri.
To this end, although he was not good at math, he carefully calculated the profits. The normal selling price of a pack of Marlboro in Missouri was $2.6, and they only got the goods from the factory for 40 cents. This meant that if the deal was finalized, they could make nearly two dollars a pack, nearly twenty dollars a pack, nearly one thousand dollars a box, and two hundred boxes would be 180,000 dollars.
However, he soon discovered that it was not the Italians who were stupid, but himself. The local Italians were used to this kind of business and knew the ex-factory price of tobacco. They just believed that Tony had a stable supply and were not prepared to rush into the supermarket like fools on Black Friday and buy as many boxes as they could at the price of $2.40.
Especially after hearing that Tony was only willing to trade near the high seas of Yarmouth and even refused to enter territorial waters, the other party directly quoted an extremely low price of US$275 per box, which made Tony almost lose control and want to run away on the spot.
"Tommy, a pack of Marlboro costs five dollars in Canada, but they only pay us fifty-five cents per pack." After hearing Tommy agree to cooperate at this price, Tony on the other end of the phone said unwillingly, "All the profits are taken by those profiteers."
"Tony, you can't go to Canada to sell boxes by yourself. Tobacco dealers also need profits. Since we have decided to trade in the most stable and safe way, we must be prepared to give more profits to those who take risks." Tommy Hawke said calmly: "I don't find it strange to trade at this price."
"I asked, if we can deliver it to the city they specify..." Tony began.
Before Tony could finish, Tommy interrupted him decisively: "No, it's on the high seas. Don't step into it even one kilometer further."
"And then watch them make hundreds of thousands or even more with our goods?" Tony's breathing was a little heavy on the other end of the phone: "Tommy, as long as..."
Tommy Hawke interrupted Tony again and said slowly, "Tony, take a deep breath, calm down, and think about it differently. We can earn 15,000 dollars just by driving a fishing boat out to sea. After deducting bank interest and expenses, we can get 14,000 dollars. Before that, you only made 80 dollars a week, and I only made 3 dollars an hour working part-time. We made more money in one day and one night than many people can make in a year. This is already a lot. Never be too greedy. You should control money instead of being controlled by money. Don't let those numbers lose your mind."
"Yes, it's already a lot, don't be greedy." Tony took a few deep breaths on the other end of the phone, and then asked uncertainly.
Tommy said, "Think about what you reminded me. Don't do anything stupid. We are going to come back with the money and bring Bethia home instead of doing something stupid and sending ourselves to a Canadian prison. Think about Ashley, think about her."
"OK, you're right, brother." Tommy calmed down. "When I heard those numbers, I couldn't control myself. Oh my god, you're right. OK, remember the communication radio and intercom channel of the other fishing boat. I'll wait for you on the fishing boat. When are you ready to leave?"
Tommy Hawke glanced at the clock on the wall. The hour hand pointed to eleven o'clock in the afternoon. "We will go out to sea at three o'clock in the afternoon. We will probably reach the Gulf of Maine at two or three o'clock in the morning. You can go and have a good sleep now. You will drive the boat on the return trip."
"Let those bastards make more money, I want... Shit! I forgot another thing, see you then Tommy!" Tony suddenly remembered something and hung up the phone in a hurry.
Putting the telephone receiver back in its place and putting away the contact record he had just made, Tommy Hawke stood up and picked up the suitcase that he had prepared long ago, which was full of clothes and tools for keeping warm late at night. Before he took a step, the door of the master bedroom was already opened, and Melanie came out holding a life jacket in her left hand and dragging a large trolley case with her right hand.
"First of all, you should know that Tony and I knew how to drive a fishing boat when we were fourteen years old. We are more skilled than driving a car, right?" Tommy glanced at the life jacket in the other's hand. "Secondly, the number of offshore fishing boats in the waters where we are sailing is more than the number of fish. You will probably be killed by countless lifebuoys thrown by passing fishing boats within thirty seconds of falling into the water. You look very hurtful now."
Melonie opened the door of the apartment and walked out of the house without looking back. "This is a taunt, Tommy. You are so smart that you can't see that this is a response to your distrust of me last time."
