Old Gods, Rapid-Fire Guns, and Prohibition

Chapter 156 [Joseph, the Prankster]

The person Joseph was waiting for was someone Ethan had never expected.

Duval, Barrister.

Sandro's former closest comrade-in-arms.

In fact, after Sandro's death, Ethan did try to contact the barrister.

Yet he always avoided seeing her.

In addition, due to his special status, he has some influence in the entire Winster and even the legal community in the northern part of the kingdom, so Ethan can't really do anything to him.

Didn't expect him to be waiting here?

When did he meet Joseph?
Duval still had that serious look on his face. Led by Ethan's men, he came to the garden, sat down, and said nothing.

"Ethan, do you like doing multiple-choice questions?"

Facing Duval's arrival, Joseph just nodded slightly, then looked at Ethan and asked a strange question.

"It seems that Director Joseph wants to give me a question." Ethan looked at Joseph.

Joseph snapped his fingers gently: "Smart, please listen to the question."

"Suppose, I mean suppose, one day, you deposit all your money in a bank, and that bank is found to have laundered your money, and your funds are frozen. At the same time, many of your core industries are found to have contractual problems and massive tax evasion. What would you do?"

"What are the options?" Ethan asked again.

"Very good, option A. You can choose to cooperate with the local Kingdom Statistics Bureau, confess your crimes, pay all the taxes you evaded, and donate all your ill-gotten gains to the Kingdom. At the same time, you can return all your assets to their original owners, or hand them over to a suitable person, such as the Evans family member you once bullied. As for you, you can take on everything yourself, go to jail, and repent for decades. That's enough. What do you think? Choose A?"

After saying that, Joseph repeated it considerately, and his expression seemed to show that he was also concerned about Ethan.

"What about option B? What is option B?" Ethan did not choose.

"Option B?" Joseph nodded, as if recalling option B. Then he shook his head and said, "No, there is no option B."

"There's none?"

"No."

"But you said it was a multiple-choice question." Ethan laughed.

"Yes, but this is a multiple-choice question." Joseph also laughed.

Ethan laughed even louder, almost to the point of tears. Finally, he clapped his hands: "Chief Joseph, this is a real good joke, much funnier than the one just now."

"Really? Is that funny?" Joseph's smile gradually faded, and he leaned forward. "So, do you want to choose A?"

"Chief Joseph, you like telling jokes, don't you?" Ethan leaned forward. "Let me tell you one too."

"Oh?"

"The joke goes like this: There was a man who visited someone's home. The host treated him well, but he felt the host was afraid of him, so he demanded the host hand over all their property and even knelt down to beg him. He thought it was natural. Tell me, how could there be such a person in this world?"

Joseph put on a fake smile and looked at Duval. "Is it funny?"

"Don't waste any more time, Chief Joseph. I told you he's a stubborn guy. Just arrest him. Here are all his contract issues and evidence of tax evasion."

Duval said as he placed the black leather suitcase he had been carrying on the table.

"Of course, it's a copy." Joseph added considerately, as if he was afraid that Ethan would snatch it away.

Ethan didn't look at the box or at Duval. Instead, he asked a question.

"Since when?"

"what?"

Joseph seemed puzzled at first, but then something clicked in his mind and he said, "Oh, you mean the bank? Right?"

"It's simple. Didn't I tell you? The bank was run by robbers."

Plain Bank of Butan City, Butan City.

"You figured it out? Yes, I spent a long time in the Northern Fortress. I was trying to figure out how to trick you. I found out you didn't have a bank, so I gave you one."

John Holt has a problem?
No, it's unlikely. John Holt's core interests are consistent with his, and he is Ned's white glove. He will never surrender to Joseph.

Everything was a foreshadowing laid by Joseph in advance.

His plan was so deep that it had already started before he even came to Winster.

He knew he had no way of getting into the bank, so he fed one specifically to John Holt's face.

"Actually, I was still very worried that you would find out. Fortunately, my useless brother finally did something." Joseph said as he patted his chest lightly, as if he was still frightened.

his brother, Frank.

When the Kingdom Statistics Bureau first came to Winster, they launched a fierce attack on the Evans family based on the evidence provided by Frank.

"Ethan, I really admire you. You're a talented person. How about this? I'm a very soft-hearted person, and I can't bear to see a talent like you go to waste. You go to jail for three years. After three years, I guarantee that you'll be able to get out and take over the business again. I also guarantee that except for you, your family and your subordinates will be fine. How about that?"

Joseph's words really gave people a sincere feeling, especially since his face was kind and he said these words as if he really had a soft heart.

But three years later, when Ethan comes out, can he really take over everything again instead of becoming a lifelong lackey of the Evans family?

"So the joke just now wasn't funny?" After confronting Joseph, Ethan's words seemed to become out of character.

Joseph sat back down and placed the cane in front of Ethan.

"I've heard some interesting things about your lawyer, Bob. It's about contract law, right? But you have to understand that the Kingdom Statistics Office has the power to arrest or kill tax evaders on the spot. Do you think you can outrun those Winster typewriters you designed?"

When Joseph said this, in fact, throughout the Pauletta Manor, members of the Pauletta family, both openly and secretly, had already grasped the guns in their windbreakers.

"Haha, I'm just kidding." Joseph laughed to himself again. "Ethan, you're now a famous painter, a great philanthropist, a big businessman, a well-known figure in Winchester, and even your fame has spread to the royal capital. If I just beat you to death, what achievements would I have? So don't worry, I will give you an explanation in the most fair and transparent place."

(End of this chapter)