Su Ming, holding a small barrel, quickly advanced underground, the appearance of the Supreme Mage made it all feel a bit more real to him.
This is not an ordinary 20th-century New York, but the Marvel World, whether they've been seen or not, those individuals with extraordinary powers objectively exist.
His plan was correct, and The Ancient One's attitude wasn't a problem either, it just needed to speed up, and the scale of the plan had to be expanded further.
..........
Next, he smoothly picked an abandoned underground reservoir, deliberately choosing this place because it's right beneath 117 Brick Street.
In other words, right above is the New York Temple...
The Ancient One loves peeping, huh? Then be her neighbor and let her watch to her heart's content, new things might catch her curiosity, but after the span of decades, like anyone, she'd grow numb to it, subconsciously neglecting some small details, which is the commonly known psychological tactic of the dark space under the lamp.
She couldn't just come and ask, after all, in her viewpoint, Su Ming knows nothing, selecting this place was purely coincidental.
Moreover, picking this spot also had another reason because of the New York Temple itself, it's as if it's cast with the Muggle Repelling Spell from Harry Potter, if not invited by a Mage, Muggles wouldn't see it, serving as a perfect cover for the brewery.
There's a No. 116 and 118 on this street, but no No. 117, for those who are not guests of the Mages, they would subconsciously ignore the oddity here, which also means it's impossible for anyone above ground to find Su Ming's brewery.
Her feeling was right; this wasn't the last meeting between her and Su Ming, now it's a case of so near yet so far, until the point of 'seeing' each other often. In the future, Su Ming would almost become the epitome of 'Da Bao', for everyday sightings.
Perhaps The Ancient One uses makeup too, perhaps...
Having selected the site, he immediately went on to purchase some equipment and raw materials, he himself being like a human crane, bought a truck, found a flood discharge passage by the seaside, dug down underground, leveraging the complex passages to assemble equipment beneath the temple, the small barrel of wine The Ancient One gave him was also quite handy, it could be used as a wine starter.
The next day, he could start recruiting manpower, he wanted to hire former brewery workers, or laid-off workers without ambition, preferably those with family obligations.
The Prohibition Era caused mass closure of legit breweries, resulting in plenty of such workers, Su Ming only needed to scour a few slum neighborhoods to find many sunbathers who used to be brewing workers on street corners.
Those who were bold enough had already started brewing secretly on their own, while those in front of him harbored too many concerns, hesitating to start in their basements, therefore Su Ming intended to employ them.
These people were in dire need of money, their familial ties made them easily controlled, Su Ming had both wealth and power, loyalty was all that mattered.
Brewing moonshine, after all, meant jail time if caught, so wages were equally high.
But the recruitment turned out much easier than Su Ming imagined, he just needed to approach like a spy meeting or knock on doors.
"Friend, have you heard of Amway?" Su Ming asked while glancing around, acting mysteriously to evoke curiosity and willingness to listen further.
"Amway.... what is that?" the target looked puzzled.
"Don't ask what it is, there's a job offer of 100 US Dollars per month, want in?" Su Ming lit a cigarette and casually asked.
"Yes, I'm in!" the target responded excitedly.
How could they ever resist? The average worker's salary at the time was 20 US Dollars, Su Ming offered five times that amount.
So Su Ming gathered the recruited workers together, leading them through a labyrinthine route into the factory, when the workers realized it was a brewery, they collectively sighed in relief.
Darn, such high pay made them suspect it might involve murder, but it was merely brewing, which was nothing.
They weren't only in this line of work before, some even used to be colleagues in the same factory, originally ordinary folks, who woke up one day only to find that the country deemed their lifelong work illegal, how were they supposed to survive then?
People still have to eat, let alone earn 100 US Dollars a month, enough to buy seven to eight hundred hamburgers.
Doing it themselves felt indeed daunting, if caught, the consequences would affect their wives and children, but now with organization comes courage.
Being caught meant half a year inside, with food and board provided by the prison, upon release, they'd be once again a vigorous man, moreover, being caught for the family business meant the boss wouldn't abandon their family.
Su Ming's original intention wasn't to form any gangs, but his actions and business in contemporary perception appeared differently.
Underground production, organized membership, secret encounters, brewing moonshine, illegal sales...
Alright, in this era, a gang dealing in alcohol trafficking is simply termed organized crime, or a crime syndicate.
...........
A week later, Su Ming's first batch of moonshine hit the market.
There were no fireworks or press invitations, just some people slipping in and out through hidden manhole covers at night, transporting cases of liquor into a basement room by the roadside.
Su Ming now trusted these people more, they all understood their meals depended on the brewery's existence, without it and without Su Ming, their families would starve.
So these people are very reliable now. Su Ming taught them the route through the underground maze, and they can go to work and get off work like ordinary people without any activity restrictions.
However, while others go to work by bus or bicycle, Su Ming's workers simply use manholes.
Because the alcohol is brewed underground and transported through the sewers, Su Ming named his alcohol brand 'Skywalker.' Unlike most of the homebrews of the era, which were sold in dirty, random earthen jars or glass bottles, Su Ming's bottles were clean and beautiful, with a conspicuous and attractive logo.
Why do trademarks exist? Because long ago, people couldn't read but could understand pictures. Trademarks are used to distinguish products through images. Though literacy has increased over time, the use of trademarks has become a habit.
Su Ming knew the importance of branding, and now was a great chance to establish his brand. He used his knowledge from the future to improve parts of the process, and the liquor wasn't diluted with water. If he builds a good reputation during the Prohibition era, it would become a secure rice bowl in the future.
Beverages are also an industry with a high brand recognition rate. Once a person gets used to drinking a certain drink, they will likely continue buying it for life.
Given the current scale of the underground distillery, producing 500 barrels of various types of liquor per month would be considered full capacity.
But there's no rush; this is just the first month. Five hundred barrels of alcohol could earn him about 30,000 US Dollars. After subtracting around three to four thousand in costs and his fixed investment in purchasing equipment, the rest is pure profit; he just needs to keep rolling like a snowball.
The current location is not close to the distillery at all. In the sewers, they use a small truck to transport the liquor. Su Ming bought the basement of a building as his bar here.
When he has time, he plans to directly connect the bar below to the sewer, increasing its concealment.
There's no decoration inside, just rows of round tables and chairs, a bar, and a piano. Anyway, where there is liquor, there is business. Why waste money on useless things?
Watching the workers move the liquor into the shop, fill bottles, and place them on the rack behind the bar, Su Ming nodded with satisfaction.
"Quickly tidy up tonight, and we can open for business tomorrow night." Walking inside the bar and touching the brand new counter, he felt a sense of belonging.
"Okay, boss."
A young man wearing glasses followed him, noting down his arrangements.
He was an Irish stowaway who Su Ming stumbled upon during recruitment. Realizing he was quite literate, in an era when the literacy rate in the United States was 14%, finding a literate and clever person was not easy, so Su Ming kept him by his side, responsible for errands and daily management.
After all, the distillery was underground, and as the boss, Su Ming couldn't stay there all the time. He rented a small apartment opposite the New York Temple for remote command.
Irish names can be quite strange, especially those from Northern European descent. Su Ming didn't know how to pronounce the young man's original name, which sounded like a spell.
For convenience, Su Ming gave him a new nickname, Gin, as in Gin, the liquor. After all, having established a distillery, how could his subordinates not have a liquor-themed code name?
Of course, the style differs greatly. Over there is a black-clad assassin with flowing long hair, while Su Ming's is a skinny man with glasses.
.................
"I'll be staying in the bar from now on to prevent any troublemakers. If you have trustworthy family or friends, call some of them to work in the bar. The salary is 80 US Dollars a month."
Seeing the people busy cleaning, Su Ming brought up recruiting again, which made the workers very happy. After all, the salary was also very high.
Such a good opportunity, of course, it would be better for the family to try it first. Friends aren't as reliable as family, and it's best if the family earns money first.
Su Ming had his own motives, intending to bind the entire family of workers to his cause through kinship and interests.
"Alright, this underground bar is not small, but I only need 20 people. Think about it carefully and report the list to Gin." Su Ming patted the young man beside him on the shoulder, causing him to sway a bit: "He will conduct an examination and judgment. I remind you again, if someone untrustworthy joins, it will definitely harm both themselves and others in the end. I'm not a charitable person."
"Of course, boss, don't worry. I'll have my younger brother come over tomorrow; you can absolutely trust him!"
"That's right, boss, do you need a pianist? My son knows a little."
Seeing their enthusiastic expressions, Su Ming turned to Gin and said, "You know how to handle this, right?"
"Leave it to me, boss."
He pushed his glasses and revealed a confident expression.
Su Ming was a bit curious about what he used to do. Was there really a need for someone with such demeanor and skill to be a stowaway to the United States? What was he hiding?
However, Su Ming didn't find anything suspicious. He was all alone and spent most of his time with Su Ming, with nothing seeming amiss for now.
Don't doubt people you employ. I'm not Batman, so there's no need to suspect everyone.
Su Ming nodded and turned to walk towards the depths of the basement, where a small room was partitioned off as his residence.
"It's all up to you. If you do well, the bar and the distillery will be yours to manage in the future."