In the first days after Lorenzo's appointnt, Pablo spent a long ti with him in the reception departnt.
Lorenzo was not ignorant of the work. He knew fruit, he knew the suppliers, and he knew how to tell good from bad.
But he did not know how to manage.
Pablo explained the system in his own way.
"You have three types of suppliers. The first always sends good fruit. You make things easy for him. The second sotis sends good and sotis bad. You watch him and reduce his quantities. The third always sends bad fruit. You cut him off imdiately."
Lorenzo listened and took notes in a small notebook.
"Also, fruit that arrives early in the morning is fresher. Fruit that arrives in the afternoon has been worn out during transport. Arrange the schedules so that large quantities are received in the morning."
Lorenzo nodded. "And what about small quantities?"
"Small quantities go directly to the lines without storage. Storage spoils fruit."
Lorenzo was smart. He picked up information quickly and asked smart questions.
But Pablo did not teach him only how to manage.
He also taught him how to embezzle.
"When recording the quantities of fruit received, always add a damage deduction of an extra two percent. No one will notice this percentage, and it creates a surplus in the records."
Lorenzo looked at him. "And this surplus?"
"It is sold off the books. Its price goes into our pockets."
Lorenzo smiled a little. He did not say anything.
He was learning quickly.
---
In the first week, Lorenzo faced his first big problem.
One of the old suppliers, a large man nad Harold, was used to delivering bad fruit and Cristo used to pass it through in exchange for commissions.
Lorenzo rejected the shipnt.
Harold's face reddened and he began shouting in the reception departnt in front of the workers.
"Who are you to tell my fruit is bad? Cristo used to accept it! You are nothing!"
The workers stopped working and watched.
Lorenzo did not raise his voice. But he did not back down.
"Cristo is gone. I am here now. Your fruit is not suitable."
Harold approached him. "I will talk to the director. He will throw you out of the factory just like he threw out Cristo."
Lorenzo did not reply.
Harold left shouting.
In the evening, Lorenzo told Pablo about the incident.
Pablo did not say anything.
The next day, he sent Marco with Lorenzo to the reception departnt.
He said to him simply: "Marco will be with you today. If you need anything, he is there."
Lorenzo did not understand why Pablo sent this young man with him. But he did not ask.
---
An hour later, Harold returned.
This ti he did not co alone. With him were two large n carrying clubs.
Harold stood in front of the reception departnt gate and began shouting again.
"I will not let two children tell how to sell my goods! Your fruit will enter this factory whether you want it to or not!"
The two n with him advanced toward the gate.
Marco was standing beside Lorenzo. He did not move. He did not say anything.
Harold ca closer.
"Who are you, little one?"
Marco looked at him.
He did not reply.
Harold extended his hand to push Marco aside.
No one saw how it happened. But his hand was suddenly deflected, and Marco's fist smashed into the face of the man behind him.
The man fell to the ground like a tree trunk. He did not move.
The other man raised his club to strike.
One movent from Marco. He grabbed the club from its middle, then squeezed.
The club broke in half.
The man looked at the broken club, then at Marco, then at Harold.
Harold had stopped completely. His face paled.
Marco looked at Harold. Just looked. He did not say anything.
Harold began to retreat one step, then two, then ran.
The man who remained standing followed him without looking back.
The man on the ground began to move with difficulty, got up, and also ran away.
Lorenzo stood watching the scene.
He looked at the three n running away.
Then he looked at Marco.
Marco was still standing in his place, his hands at his sides, his face calm.
He was not the sa person Lorenzo had known before.
There was sothing different about him. New confidence.
Not the confidence of a show-off. The confidence of a man who had discovered that he could destroy what was in front of him with minimal effort.
Marco looked at Lorenzo.
"Is there anything else?"
Lorenzo shook his head quickly.
"No."
Marco nodded and returned to his place by the gate.
That day, Harold did not return, nor did any other supplier.
The news spread quickly among the fruit suppliers in Naraka.
"At the fruit factory, there is a young man who cannot be resisted. Do not try."
Lorenzo began to work without trouble.
Marco no longer needed to be with him every day. But on the days Lorenzo felt threatened, Marco would co and stand there.
He did not talk much. He just existed.
And that was enough.
---
In the second week, Pablo began turning his attention to his next target.
Pedro.
The juice section supervisor.
Pedro was different from Cristo.
Pedro worked well.
He took the rotten fruit that was sorted out from the lines, juiced it, packed it, and supervised its export himself.
His section was relatively independent. Its profits were steady. And Pedro ran everything in it.
As one man.
He did not have many assistants. He did everything himself or under his direct supervision.
This made approaching him difficult.
Pablo could not use the sa thod he used with Cristo against Pedro.
Fabricating corruption reports? Pedro was clean in his work. There was no real corruption to fabricate.
Sending Lorenzo to inform on him? Lorenzo did not work with Pedro. The juice section was separate.
Sabotaging his work and making it look bad? Pedro ran everything himself. Any sabotage he would discover imdiately.
Pablo sat in his office thinking.
Then an idea ca to him.
But to execute it, he first needed to know how the juice section worked from the inside.
Every detail.
From the mont the rotten fruit entered the section until it left as canned juice ready for export.
Pablo did not know these details. And he knew that ignorance was the first path to failure.
So he decided to send an eye.
Not Lorenzo. Lorenzo was now known and associated with him.
Not Marco. Marco was not a spy.
He needed an ordinary person, who did not draw attention, who followed orders, and who knew how to hear and see without asking.
He opened his small notebook. He flipped through the nas he had collected over the past weeks.
He stopped at a na.
Ido.
A worker in Pablo's section for two months. In his twenties. Quiet, did not talk much, completed what was asked of him precisely. He did not try to flatter like Lorenzo. He did not complain like others.
He just worked and stayed silent.
This type of person was the best for tasks that required silence.
---
The next day, Pablo summoned Ido to his small office.
The young man entered with his usual face. No worry, no curiosity. Just waiting.
"I have a task for you."
"Yes."
"The juice section needs help. I will send you there under the cover that you are surplus to our section's needs. You will help Pedro with whatever he asks of you."
Ido looked at Pablo. His eyes asked without opening his mouth.
"But the real thing I want from you is to see and hear everything. How the section works. How much rotten fruit enters daily. How many cans co out. Who he deals with. How the numbers are recorded. Every detail."
Ido paused for a second.
"Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Do not write anything down. Do not say anything to anyone. After each day, you co to and tell what you saw, verbally. Only and you."
Ido nodded.
"And what do I tell Pedro if he asks why I was sent?"
"You will tell him the truth. I sent you because my section has a surplus of workers. And you are here to help. Nothing more."
Ido understood.
He left the office with the sa calmness he had entered with.
---
The next day, Ido went to the juice section.
Pedro greeted him with a quick look. He did not pay much attention. He was busy reviewing his papers.
"You are the surplus from Pablo's section?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Go to the packing line. Arrange the cans by size. Do not make mistakes."
Ido began working.
And he did not stop observing.
He saw how the rotten fruit entered. He saw how it was washed and juiced. He saw how the juices were packed into cans. He saw how the cans were sealed and placed in boxes ready for export.
He saw Pedro inspect everything himself. He tasted the juice sotis. He checked the seals on the cans. He signed off on every shipnt that left.
---
In the evening, Ido went to Pablo.
Pablo closed the door of his small office.
"What did you see?"
Ido began explaining.
Everything. From beginning to end. Step by step.
The quantity of fruit that entered. The ti the process took. The number of cans that ca out daily.
Then he said:
"Pedro records all his transactions in a notebook."
Pablo paused for a mont.
Then he nodded slowly.
"Good. Continue observing. Next week I will change your shift to a different ti. I want you to see the night shift as well."
"Alright."
Ido left and closed the door behind him.
Pablo sat in his office.
He closed his notebook and put it in his pocket.
The juice section would be under his control soon.
And he would not need an open confrontation with Pedro.
He only needed to know how things ran in Pedro's place.
---
At night, after Marco had fallen asleep, Pablo sat in the darkness.
He thought about Ido.
Ido was not ambitious like Lorenzo. Not strong like Marco. But he was an excellent eye.
A new card in his pocket.
Then he thought about Pedro.
He seed to be a clean person. So to get rid of him, only one option remained.
But that was for another ti.
Now, the important thing was that an eye had been placed in the right place.
And Ido would see how their branch worked.
He closed his eyes.
The factory was growing under his hands day by day.
Soon, nothing in it would remain outside his control.
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