Chapter 24: Everything Done in Tazhai is 'Legal and Compliant' Business.

"An arms company! Selling weapons? You... you’re insane! Absolutely insane!"

"We would have been better off sticking to 'Uncle Dong's' previous plans; at least those were things we were familiar with. We don't know the first thing about the arms trade!"

"..."

For a moment, Lin Yaohua and the others were filled with shock and indignation. In their view, when it came to the severity of criminal law, arms dealing was on a completely different level than drug trafficking. After all, drugs might harm society, but holding a gun was a different story entirely. That was enough to launch an "insurgency." Once exposed, the military would step in immediately, and their entire village of Taizhai would be wiped off the map.

Yet now, this young man, Lin Wendong, had spent nearly ten million to establish an arms company. It was simply... reckless. Aside from Uncle Dong, who was in on it, no one understood why he would do such a thing. It was pure arrogance.

Seeing the crowd’s agitated state, Lin Yaodong glanced at Lin Wendong, who sat with his eyes closed. Lin Wendong waited until everyone had finished speaking before slowly opening his eyes and giving a light cough. The room fell silent instantly; every gaze turned toward him, waiting to see what kind of explanation this young head of the Third Branch would provide.

Lin Wendong scanned the faces in the room and said, "An arms company and the drug trade are two completely different industries. The latter is illegal in every country on earth, but the former is perfectly legal in the majority of them."

"In other words, as long as we sell in countries where it is legal, we won't be breaking any laws. And besides..." He narrowed his eyes, his tone tinged with amusement, "Do you have any idea what the profit margins are like in the arms business?"

Everyone was stunned. Of course, they knew that the three most profitable industries in the world were arms, drugs, and counterfeit currency, with arms sitting firmly at number one. The potential profits were unimaginable.

"I won't say more than this: provided there are no accidents, we are looking at a minimum profit of one hundred million U.S. dollars per year," Lin Wendong stated solemnly.

"One... one hundred million dollars!"

At that moment, even Lin Yaodong, sitting in the seat of honor, felt his pupils contract. It was as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind. He knew the arms trade was lucrative, but he never imagined Lin Wendong would be bold enough to guarantee a baseline profit of one hundred million dollars annually. How many weapons would they have to sell to achieve that?

If Uncle Dong was this shocked, one could only imagine Lin Yaohua and the others; they were so stunned they couldn't even speak. How much? A guaranteed hundred million? And in U.S. dollars! Converted, that was seven hundred million in local currency—pure profit!

"Gulp."

Lin Yaohua’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. The others were no different. One hundred million dollars in pure profit was simply staggering.

At this moment, the people who had been dissatisfied with Lin Wendong performed a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. There is a saying: if the profit is large enough, what does it matter if you risk it all? Besides, their Taizhai village would be conducting "legal and compliant" business; there was no risk of total destruction.

Lin Wendong smiled faintly and added, "That one hundred million is just the baseline. Once we get the business up and running, then..."

As Lin Yaohua and the others followed his train of thought, their bodies trembled in unison. While the arms market was vast, scaling it up was no easy feat—at least for ordinary dealers. But Lin Wendong was different. He possessed an "Arms Depot System." It contained all kinds of weaponry, and even the world's most cutting-edge arms could be redeemed with currency points.

Things the Americans wouldn't dare sell? We in Taizhai will sell them! Weapons the Russians wouldn't export? We in Taizhai will export them! The Chinese wouldn't...

"Now, does anyone have any further objections?" Lin Wendong asked slowly.

How could Lin Yaohua and the others have any objections? It was not only legal, but it promised astronomical annual profits! Surely even the ancestors of Taizhai would offer their full support.

The proposal to build an arms factory in Cambodia was brought before the Taizhai village committee and passed unanimously. Additionally, the meeting decided that the head of the Third Branch, Lin Wendong, would serve as the chief of the arms company, with full authority to handle any and all matters. Finally, it was decided that the head of the Second Branch, Lin Yaohua, would lead a team to Cambodia to oversee the construction of the factory until completion.

That afternoon, upon hearing the news of Lin Wendong's return, Li Youtian from Mang Village came to see him.

"Director Li," Lin Wendong said, a faint smile on his lips.

"I've thought over what you told me last time. Mang Village will produce the components!" Li Youtian declared. Over the past few days, he had consulted several lawyers and discovered that while manufacturing firearms was illegal, as long as they didn't produce the actual guns, they were fine! 7.62mm steel pipes, handgrips shaped like rifle stocks—they were just producing civilian parts. If those parts happened to be assembled into an AK-47 by someone else, well, they wouldn't know anything about that!

Lin Wendong wasn't surprised; after all, no one could resist such massive profits.

"We need to rebuild various production facilities in Mang Village, so it will take at least two months before we can start manufacturing components," Li Youtian explained.

Lin Wendong waved a hand. "No rush. Our arms company won't be operational for another two months either."