November 12, 1945
Lynchburg, Sheriff Jonathan was leading officers and volunteers to conduct salvage digging at the fire-ravaged Jones Real Estate site.
Apart from that, there was no one on the streets.
The entire town's residents had dispersed and gathered at various squares in the town.
Due to the unexpected death of Mayor Patrick, the fragmented 7-member council voted to start the town elections early.
With previous popular candidates like Andy and Locke facing mishaps, new candidates emerged, including the well-known "kept man," Dick.
Unexpectedly, Dick became quite popular.
Compared to the previous practice of offering discount coupons from local stores, Dick directly offered Valentino's Grocery Store vouchers, which were almost like giving away money.
Of course, the most popular figure was still Desmond, the man favored by God.
In addition to running for a council seat, he also ran for mayor of the town.
Unlike Andy, who flamboyantly wore a shiny suit and stood in front of the ballot box thanking people for their votes,
Desmond was not present at the scene.
Next to his ballot box were several TVs, which were live broadcasting the scene of the president awarding medals to World War II heroes.
"Look, Desmond is on!"
A resident shouted excitedly, pointing at the TV.
Before he could finish speaking, the host's solemn voice was heard from the TV:
"On behalf of the United States Congress, the President is pleased to award the Medal of Honor to Private First Class Desmond Doss, for his heroic actions from April 29 to May 21, 1945, in the battles in Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands, surpassing his mission."
"Desmond!"
"Desmond!"
The residents shouted proudly as they cast their votes for Desmond into the ballot box.
November 20, 1945
The Valentino villa was brightly lit.
"Cheers!"
"Congratulations to Desmond for becoming Lynchburg's new mayor.
He will lead us to greatness!"
The vice mayor, Chrysler, who had narrowly lost to Desmond, said with a smile.
As the only uninvited guest, he was acting quite proactive.
With a sycophantic grin, he asked the new mayor, Desmond:
"Where has the master, Mr. Valentino, gone?"
"You managed to ask after holding it in all night,"
new councilman Dick mocked.
Like Dick, no one seemed willing to respond.
The vice mayor stood awkwardly, holding his drink.
It was Emily, who was busy serving food, who couldn't stand the awkwardness and answered:
"Leo was invited to Richmond to attend Senator Morton's party."
Hearing the name Morton, the vice mayor's mind was momentarily calmed.
He glanced at Desmond and Dick, whose emotions were clearly written on their faces.
Internally, he felt regret. If it weren't for Senator Morton's backing,
he was certain he could have wiped the floor with these political rookies.
Richmond, Jackson Ward District, Highland Community.
The community's buildings were mostly Victorian style, each over 60 years old.
Those living here were all millionaires.
The Odo family also had a house here, near the edge, without a pool.
Though smaller compared to other buildings, it still symbolized the Odo family's status in Virginia politics.
Now, people living in this community knew one thing:
This $800,000 mansion had a new owner.
An Italian, Leo Valentino, with Senator Thomas Morton.
Inside the mansion's study, Tucson threw a stack of bills on Leo's desk and, weakly, said:
"15 people in three days, spent $20,000 in total.
Here's the report."
Leo didn't even look at it. He swept the bills into the drawer.
$20,000 seemed not much, but adjusted for 1946 to present, it was nearly $400,000.
"Looks like Richmond's entertainment industry isn't very rich.
This money is less than I expected."
Leo said while taking $20,000 from another drawer and tossing it to Tucson.
"You only really know once you experience it.
Every place I go, I ensure they receive the best and most complete service.
Everyone's almost exhausted now."
Seeing that his boss was dissatisfied with his performance, Tucson retorted.
Leo shrugged. As a veteran of the nightlife scene in his past life,
he had no interest in the so-called nightlife of this old-fashioned era.
"Leo, I don't quite understand. What's the point of letting me take them out?"
"All temptations stem from a lack of experience.
From Lynchburg to Richmond, our team faces even more complex challenges.
I don't want them to encounter problems in these pleasures that can be bought with money.
Moreover, only by learning to spend money can you have the desire to earn more!
Alright, let's stop talking about this.
Have you organized my spoils yet?"
Tucson rolled his eyes inwardly, cursing the exploiter who made him work overtime.
But his body obediently took out a thick stack of documents from his bag.
Leo flipped through the papers while Tucson reported:
"Boss, you're now a $4.7 million American fortune.
Based on my 20 years as a lawyer, I can say no one in Virginia has amassed wealth as quickly as you have."
Leo could already guess he had earned a lot with this big deal.
After all, the change in Tucson's tone showed it.
Even someone as cold and calm as Leo couldn't suppress his excitement.
Converted to his past life, earning $80 million in three months, over 560 million RMB—it was insane.
As expected, fortune was found in danger.
Suddenly, Leo remembered a saying from a benefactor in his past life.
The wealth acquired through danger was floating wealth, a gift from heaven. Whether it could be kept depended on one's virtues.
The greed stirred by money slowly calmed down in Leo's heart. He realized that the more prosperous the moment, the more dangerous it was.
A person like him, who gained wealth by stepping on others' corpses, had an unstable position.
Leo could guarantee that most people in this community probably didn't think highly of him.
"This is not a good evaluation, it makes my wealth look dubious,"
Leo muttered.
"How did you do it?"
Tucson asked with some frustration.
As a former well-known lawyer, Tucson had helped ruin many nouveau riche like Leo.
He had planned to share these cases with Leo, both to warn him and to highlight his importance as a strategist.
But to his surprise, Leo didn't need his advice.
Leo didn't answer Tucson's question and continued flipping through the materials.
Tucson continued his report:
"Most of your assets are in real estate: Lynchburg's farm, land, town buildings, and the estate are worth $1 million.
This mansion is worth $800,000.
Your Richmond commercial properties are worth $500,000, with three in prime locations.
Other cities' properties are worth $500,000.
A small villa in Washington worth $500,000.
And some artworks worth about $200,000."
"Looks like you've distributed the cash flow to them, just like I asked?"
Leo calculated quickly: $3.5 million in fixed assets and $500,000 in cash flow.
It sounded like a lot, but Patrick had worked hard for many years. He couldn't possibly have only this much.