Chapter 55: 51. Acquisition Target: The Fuli Tavern (Please follow, please favorite~)
"Is David Jabbar really that important?"
At the Block Tavern, Robert was also suggesting to Donnie that they should set their sights on David Jabbar's The Fuli Tavern.
As the top-ranked tavern in Atlantic City, calling it the treasure house of Atlantic City was by no means an exaggeration.
Donnie had previously visited The Fuli Tavern, where the first two floors were prepared for guests. In reality, The Fuli Tavern consisted of four floors: the tavern occupied the first and second levels, the third level was a brothel, and the fourth a gambling den.
Here, one could enjoy all the services that Atlantic City had to offer.
However, after hearing Robert's suggestion, Donnie thought it wise to hold off, as David Jabbar was no ordinary person.
But Robert was surprised by Donnie's hesitation, "Didn't you easily turn down David Jabbar's request before?"
Donnie waved his hand, "That was because Nucky was standing by our side at that time, which allowed us to easily refuse David Jabbar."
In the city of Atlantic City, David Jabbar, a Bostonian, had managed to survive through the eras of the Commodore and Nucky, the two emperors of Atlantic City, and even become the owner of the city's largest tavern.
"Do you really think such a person is just a regular businessman?"
Robert fell silent. He had not considered these matters, merely thinking that since they wanted to expand their business in Atlantic City, naturally they should target the biggest catch.
"So you're saying, we should just look for other targets?"
Donnie shook his head again, "Your idea isn't wrong, but we still need to carefully consider the process!"
If they could take over The Fuli Tavern, then Donnie could truly leap the dragon's gate and become one of the upper echelons of Atlantic City.
If it were John, he would have bluntly told Donnie, "This brainy stuff, you handle it yourself!"
Robert was not that type of person, though; he might have been lascivious and frivolous, but he did like to use his brain. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become an ace in the military!
Robert thought for a moment and asked, "If we really want to make a move on David Jabbar, who would be our biggest obstacle in the early stages?"
"Eli Johnson!"
Donnie answered directly. In fact, before Robert proposed acquiring The Fuli Tavern, Donnie had already set his sights on it.
Therefore, Donnie had already done some investigation into The Fuli Tavern.
David Jabbar and Eli Johnson were very close friends - so much so that Donnie even suspected that Eli Johnson had a stake in The Fuli Tavern.
If Donnie wanted to make a move on David Jabbar, it meant he would be messing with Eli Johnson's cake, and the latter would certainly not let it go easily. Moreover, there was already enmity between Donnie and Eli Johnson!
Robert was somewhat distressed, saying helplessly, "Does it have to be such a formidable figure right from the start? That's Eli Johnson. Although the man is a fool, his brother is Nucky, and he himself is the sheriff!"
In the future, Eli Johnson would be akin to the police chief of Atlantic City.
Such a man, even if he were incompetent, was still not someone the current Donnie could handle!
"High risk represents high reward; don't you even know that?" Donnie replied, seemingly unconcerned.
Robert: "I do know, but this risk is extremely high. One misstep, and it might backfire severely!"
Donnie had no objections to this. He thought for a moment and said, "We still need to plan this out carefully!"
"Alright then!" That was Robert for you. Although he thought the venture was quite risky, if Donnie had decided on it, he would still perfectly carry out whatever Donnie charged him with.
"What do you think of Dwight? Can we trust him?"
Suddenly, Donnie asked Robert about Dwight.
Robert thought for a moment and grasped Donnie's intention, "Do you intend to assign Dwight to keep an eye on David Jabbar?"
Donnie nodded, "Exactly, although we now have quite a few people on our side, Dwight is the only one who can do this job!"
Robert said, "The man is somewhat slippery. I can't be sure about him right now. I think I should handle this matter myself!"
Surveilling someone like David Jabbar had to be done secretly, without leaking a shred of information. The people currently with Donnie, who had followed him from Elwood Village, had no idea how formidable the Johnson brothers were in Atlantic City.
They would simply follow orders without question.
However, Dwight was different. Being a native of Atlantic City, he must have a natural fear of the city's power players like David Jabbar.
If Donnie were to assign the task to him now, Donnie even suspected that Dwight might turn around and inform David Jabbar!
"We're not short of people for rough work, but we lack those who can handle delicate tasks carefully!"
Donnie sat there, speaking somewhat helplessly.
Donnie now had only Robert to handle the delicate tasks, but as Robert's status gradually elevated, he would eventually be unable to entrust such tasks to him. Thus, Donnie needed some additional hands for the fine work, hands that would also possess the loyalty that Donnie could trust.
After pondering for a moment, Robert spoke up, "I do have a suggestion."
"What's the suggestion?" Donnie asked immediately.
"When I was in the military, I had a few brothers I could trust to have my back, and I believe you must have had such brothers in the army too. Why not write to them and ask them to come help you?"
Robert shared his idea with Donnie.
Upon hearing it, a light bulb went off in Donnie's mind. Why hadn't he thought of this before? Right, his focus had been on Atlantic City, so he had overlooked this matter.
In any country, brothers who have shouldered guns and faced death together share a strong bond.
"Robert, don't worry, there will be no room for doubt between us, and you can also write to your brothers and ask them to come over!"
Donnie said with a smile, understanding that Robert's suggestion to write to his own brothers was more about ensuring his own safety.
Robert laughed after hearing this, "No problem!"
.
David Jabbar was not in a good mood lately.
"Dear Eli, are we really just going to watch Donnie Block grow slowly?"
The source of David Jabbar's disquiet was none other than Donnie Block.
Though Donnie did not currently have the financial power to compete with David, their relationship was such that David needed Donnie even more.
The prohibition seemed to have no place to survive in Atlantic City, but the supply of alcohol was becoming increasingly difficult within the United States. Especially now that the National Government-trained prohibition agents had entered every state to investigate. The prohibition and the crackdown on alcohol sales had caused the prices of alcohol to skyrocket swiftly.
At the start of prohibition, the price of alcohol in Atlantic City surged by 70%, but as of now, the price of alcohol had already doubled!
LeBron James's alcohol, although priced the same as the liquor provided by Donnie, did not match the quality of Donnie's.
The Fuli Tavern, being the largest and most luxurious tavern in Atlantic City, naturally needed to serve the best alcohol.
Therefore, The Fuli Tavern had two sources for its alcohol supply: the first was to buy smuggled alcohol from Europe at higher prices through Nucky, and the second was to purchase it from Donnie.
David had no issues with Nucky making money, after all, Nucky was out of his league and not someone he could afford to provoke.
But Donnie was different; a few months ago, Donnie was still a nobody in front of him, but now, he had to pay Donnie.
This psychological gap was something David Jabbar could not accept.
Especially since he could have had Donnie Block under his thumb before this.
Eli Johnson sat across from David, gently swirling his whiskey in hand, and said calmly, "You don't need to worry too much about Donnie. It won't be long before his business changes hands!"
David immediately showed an interested expression and asked, "Has Nucky finally run out of patience with Donnie Block's rise?"
Eli: "You don't need to be concerned about that. Just be ready to take over Donnie Block's business when the time comes!"
David Jabbar smirked slightly. He couldn't accept Eli Johnson's words because he knew Nucky, and he understood that his current business in Atlantic City had reached its peak, and Nucky would not allow him to expand his business further.
Because that would mean escaping Nucky's control.
"I'll leave that to you. As for you, Eli, I think you could have a serious chat with your brother. If you manage to get Donnie's business, that would be great!"
Eli laughed, "Don't worry, what's mine will be yours too!"
"Haha, that's true, considering you also have shares in The Fuli Tavern!" said David Jabbar, raising his glass.
The two clinked glasses, exchanged a few words of small talk, and then two scantily clad women approached them. Each man took one, and the atmosphere was lively with laughter and chatter.
Late at night, David, who had already fallen asleep, suddenly felt an inexplicable terror, and his eyes snapped open to discover a man in a leather jacket, holding a pistol, sitting next to his bed.
"Who are you?"
David asked in horror; if this man could come to his bedroom soundlessly, he could kill him just as silently.
"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that someone asked me to deliver a message to you," the assassin said calmly while seated.
David breathed a slight sigh of relief. Such a statement from the other party meant that his safety was probably not at risk.
"What message?"
"My boss asked me to remind you, do you still remember the brigadier who set up The Fuli Tavern for you ten years ago?"