American winner takes all

Chapter 222 You have to follow my rules (12)

"The Independence Bowl is just a small game. It doesn't even rank in Louisiana, let alone in the South. How much are you going to sell?"

In a local cafe in New Orleans, a middle-aged man was holding a cup of espresso with ice cubes in his hand. It was four parts concentrated and no water was added, so that the coffee itself seemed black.

The extremely bitter taste mixed with the extreme coldness instantly made the middle-aged man's brain hurt due to stimulation, and also made him feel much more awake.He likes to use this method to keep himself calm every time he talks about business.

As a ticket agent commonly known as an "old scalper", Ashkenazy is familiar with all major southern events, from the Kansas Chiefs to the New Orleans Saints to the Miami Dolphins, from Texas A&M to Auburn, Ala. Bama, then Florida, Florida State.Wherever there are high-profile games, there are his tentacles.

In his view, the Independence Bowl is a small game that does not require too much attention. It has been in the past and will be in the future. The core problem is that the Independence Bowl does not have good lottery picks. Every year, it can only invite mid-range teams from the SEC and Big12. Not many people outside of the local college fans will pay attention to this bowl game.Especially today when the NCAA has less and less control over football and there are more and more bowl games.

But since the University of Alabama is participating in the Independence Bowl this year, which might spark a rush, he decided to give it a try.

"My psychological price is 50 yuan. If Ethan O'Connor can play the whole game, I can add another ten yuan!" Considering that the other party is likely to be a first-hand channel, Ashkenazy said quite frankly.

"First-hand channels" are always the most valuable resources in the minds of ticket brokers.

These people are often related staff who have committed theft, or are cronies of some key figures. They will not bear any financial risks, but if the matter is exposed, these people will lose their jobs at least, or be charged at worst.

"Don't worry, only cash is used. I can use a middleman to transfer the money, or do the transaction in an underground parking lot. You can also not show up during the whole process. In short, the transaction is absolutely safe." Ashkenazy continued.

Having been in this business for a long time, he knows very well that these people pay more attention to safety and confidentiality than a few dollars of petty profit.

"The most sought-after infield tickets are priced at RMB 90 for the middle seat. Every 300 infield tickets purchased will come with a VIP box and 100 outfield tickets." The young man's voice on the other end of the phone was low but firm, which showed that he had started from the very beginning. I made up my mind.

"WTF?" Ashkenazy exclaimed in a low voice.

Then move the phone to your other ear.

"Have you graduated from college? Young man. If you are caught stealing your father's tickets, you will be beaten." He complained.

The price and the accompanying bundle sounded so outrageous, and the voice on the other end sounded so young that he began to doubt the identity of the other person.

"Promise me to watch less Hollywood movies. This is not a flour deal. Uncle is hanging up the phone now. Goodbye." Ashkenazy was about to hang up the phone directly.

He was confident enough that this ignorant young man would still call.

A college student who secretly took his father's ticket was going to resell it privately and use the money earned to buy a new car to pick up girls.Do you think you’ve just watched a few movies and learned how to trade like others?Cunning, but stupid, and lacking adequate social education.

He was going to give this ignorant young man a hard education and collect some tuition fees by the way.

50 yuan?That's too high, 30 yuan is enough, this idiot boy will make a lot of money for himself!Ashkenazy seemed to be in a happy mood just thinking about this.

But I heard the voice on the other end of the phone was still calm:

"Perhaps this is the only chance for you to contact me. After the phone is hung up, you will never be able to contact me again. No matter what method you use or how many people you mobilize, you can't find me. So you can only You can watch your competitors eating meat, but you can only stare at it. Your career as a ticket agent will usher in a turning point and start to go downhill. Maybe after a few years you will start to regret why you didn't have a good chat with me in the first place. Even if you chat, you will also wonder why I chose to contact you in the first place."

"I can tell you the answer right now, just because your damn metal business card is cool, that's the only reason. In my eyes, you are no different from any other ticket agent, just a porter, nothing more. That’s it, think about how many porters there are in the world?”

Ashkenazy's body "frozen" for more than ten seconds.

"Do you know how many sales I make in a year? Brat." He shot back, but his tone became less confident.

Lost.

Ashkenazi already knew at this moment that he had lost.

The young man's words were like a pair of invisible hands, tearing off the disguise from his body.

To put it bluntly, he is just a "ticket broker". To put it bluntly, he is just a second-rate dealer. What is the most important thing about this job?
is a relationship.

If he had been young ten years ago, Ashkenazy would have scolded this arrogant young man on the phone, but today, ten years later, he would not dare.

He didn't dare to bet, even if there was only a 0.1% chance that the other party would have a large number of tickets as he said personally, he wouldn't dare to bet.

This is not about face, but a shrewd businessman's calculation of risks.

"Young man, I just think this price is a bit too expensive. I can add another five yuan as a meeting gift for your first cooperation. I can guarantee that this is the highest price in the market." He said with a smile.

"The market price doesn't count."

"But……"

"Think about why Alabama issued a statement so quickly?" the young man on the other end of the phone said suddenly.

This also made Ashkenazy vaguely feel that something was wrong, but it all happened so quickly that he didn't have time to think about it in detail...

"I get it!" Ashkenazy suddenly realized something and at the same time had a new guess about the identity of the young man on the other end of the phone...

"You can't be... this is impossible!!" Ashkenazy shouted subconsciously, disturbing the two girls chatting next to him, and he was glared at twice.

"Alabama's opponent will be very strong, and this is a more exciting game than the Rose Bowl. As more news is revealed in a few days, he is fully worthy of the price of 90 yuan, and the price will even continue to rise."

"Starting from today, at twelve o'clock every night, the ticket price in the infield stands will increase by two yuan from the original price. Ticket prices in other areas will also increase. Opportunities are always reserved for the brave, you want more To make money, you have to make up your mind in advance." The young man on the other end of the phone put forward new conditions.

"These rules... have no precedent." Ashkenazi opened his mouth slightly and whispered.

"That's because I didn't participate in it. From now on, the southern ticket brokerage system must follow my rules. How much do you want today?"

"I..." Ashkenazy reported a number.

"Very good, let's trade tomorrow." The young man said, sounding quite satisfied.

·
After hanging up the phone, Ashkenazy immediately left the cafe and drove to a declining community in New Orleans. He stopped in front of a dilapidated building and took out his cell phone.

"I'll give you one minute to get off Hooker and put on your clothes and shoes. There's a big business in Shreveport..."

After a while, the iron door of the dilapidated house with asbestos tiles opened, and a young man wearing a denim jacket walked out.

What came out to him was a voluptuous woman who looked to be 50 years old with a butt as big as a bucket. Her lips were as thick as a sausage and were painted plum red. The folds on her face were mixed with foundation as if they were hiding dirt, and they rubbed the young man's chest. white.

Ashkenazy, who was sitting in the driving seat, watched the young man say goodbye to the ugly fat woman affectionately before leaving.

"I'm going on a business trip, honey." The young man waved his hand.

"I'll wait for you to come back, Darling!" The fat woman blew a greasy and salty kiss.

Even though it was not the first time he saw this scene, Ashkenazy still whispered: holyshit!

The young man did not open the car door directly, but jumped in through the window while holding on to the roof of the car. It seemed that his skills were pretty good. "Your mother asked me to take good care of you when she was dying. I failed to fulfill my promise to her." Ashkenazy looked at his nephew helplessly.

"Uncle, every man has his own Venus in his heart, and she is my Venus." Ashkenazy's nephew is in his early 20s. He is not bad looking, but in terms of aesthetics, he is completely different from normal people. different.

"Shut up! Before I spit out my lunch!" Ashkenazi stopped his nephew's words.

"What games are there in Shreveport? I thought I was going to Orlando at the end of the year." The nephew expressed confusion about the destination mentioned by his uncle.

"It's the Independence Bowl. This year's Independence Bowl is different. I bought nearly [-] tickets, which almost spent all my savings." Ashkenazy told the truth. Such an important transaction naturally had to be made. His nephew and assistant completed it himself.

"WHAT? Are you crazy?!" The nephew's eyes widened and his mouth opened wide.

"This will be a good opportunity for us to turn around. We can make a lot of money from this competition. By then we will be able to move out of this completely decayed community, and you can also go to college." Ashkenazy's eyes It reveals perseverance.

Unlike what was shown in that expensive business card, Ashkenazy is not a successful person in the eyes of the world, he is just an old man who has wasted most of his life...

"Uncle, you must have been deceived!" the nephew shouted.

"Maybe he was cheated, maybe he wasn't. That person... was a little different." Ashkenazy frowned slightly.

"Is the FBI still looking for you?" the nephew suddenly whispered.

"Shut up, I told you not to mention this again." Ashkenazy lowered his voice.

"Uncle, I'm sorry, I didn't want to pull the trigger." The nephew expressed his apology again.

"You didn't do anything wrong. It's over now, kid, don't mention this again, we have cleared the suspicion." Ashkenazy said repeatedly.

The two arrived in Shreveport early that morning and checked into a motel.

Early the next morning, Ashkenazy went to the bank to withdraw money, sealed his wallet with old newspapers, and handed it to his nephew.

"Pay with one hand and deliver the goods with the other. Be smart and don't ask too much about the identity of the other party. It's not good for us to know too much. The transaction location is still the same place, the parking lot of Wal-Mart." Before leaving, Ashkenazy Qi warned.

"Uncle, just in case... there is a portable camera in the trunk, so you can take a picture of his face to prevent him from playing tricks on us," the nephew reminded.

"Don't even think about doing this if you don't want to be thrown into the Red River." Ashkenazy stared at his nephew.

Thinking back to the exchange with that guy yesterday, it was obvious that this young man was not a good person.

After his nephew left, Ashkenazy sat on the bedside and prayed quietly.

Hopefully nothing goes wrong with this transaction...

About an hour later, when he heard familiar footsteps, Ashkenazi immediately raised his head and went to open the door.

What he faced was an extremely tall figure. He "carried" his nephew and walked in directly.

Ashkenazy saw that his nephew's eyes were purple, there were blood stains on the corners of his mouth, and his expression looked painful. He probably had a tooth knocked out.

"No! No, no, no!" Ashkenazy quickly covered his eyes.

"We can't meet, it's against the rules!" Ashkenazy screamed.

"I said, you have to follow my rules from now on." Ethan entered the room and let go of Ashkenazy's nephew.

Before coming, he had already interrogated Ashkenazi in detail, and even got some unexpected results.

"Uncle, we were deceived. He is really the FBI." The nephew covered his mouth and cried bitterly. He must have suffered a lot just now.

"Shut up." Ashkenazi said as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"What on earth do you want to do? Football star!" He looked at Ethan and gasped.

"I need a porter who can have complete control. I think you might be suitable, the murderer's uncle." Ethan looked at him.

"I do not know what you're talking about."

"Do you need me to take the PLC to the location where you are digging the pit?"

"Shit!" Ashkenazi gritted his teeth and looked at Ethan.

"We quit, you take the money, we don't want the tickets, just pretend that none of this happened, I have never seen you." Ashkenazy's tone was pleading.

"Shh..." Ethan stopped him.

"Your nephew has told me everything. I know the situation at that time. Come on, sit down, and let's talk about the future plans..." Ethan waved to him.

Only then did Ashkenazy realize what Ethan was trying to do.

"Follow you?"

"That's right. Just do this. If this year goes well, we may be able to continue working together next year, but it depends on your performance this year."

Ticketing is only the most basic, and Ethan will not be able to continue to invest his energy here. It is better to find an experienced person in the industry to help him.

He did not completely decide on Ashkenazy as this candidate at first. He originally wanted to get some detailed information from his nephew.

Unexpectedly, his nephew directly pulled out a gun, and Ethan was naturally not polite, so he knew all this.

Considering the security risks, working with a "gangster" guy is not a safe bet.But considering what he's doing, there's no reason why Ethan really wouldn't trust the other party. After all...

"I am your only way out." Ethan stretched out his hand.

Ashkenazy and his nephew looked at each other, then looked at Ethan.

"How much money can we make from this event?"

"Enough for you to buy a new house and send your nephew...to college." Ethan replied.

Ashkenazy hesitated for a moment, then finally extended his hand.

"Very good, now you have to tell me the details of the underground ticket sales network and tell me everything you know." Ethan said.

(End of this chapter)