I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 161: Chapter 71: The Relationship Between the Black Market and Charity

"Let’s create a loop." Werner picked up a pencil and started drawing lines on the map. "But we’re not skimming from the Church’s supplies. That would be suicide. What we’re going to do is—break down the wall between the Black Market and charity."

He drew a circle around the locations of several churches. "The Black Market is full of contraband, right? Western magazines, radios, coffee, cigarettes... Officials want this stuff, but they don’t dare buy it openly."

"That’s right."

"And what do those officials have? They have quotas, permits, and the power to get their hands on scarce supplies." Werner continued drawing. "We’ll be the middlemen. We’ll trade Black Market goods for the supplies they get through their quotas, and then donate a portion of those supplies to the Church."

Keller’s eyes lit up. "So the Church gets supplies, the officials get what they want, and we..."

"We profit from the difference, and it’s all completely legal." Werner put down his pencil. "On paper, the supplies are ’donated’ to the Church. Pastor Weber will be happy too, because he’ll actually be receiving more supplies and can help more people. As for where those supplies come from..."

"He won’t ask," Keller said, the realization dawning on him. "Brilliant! This way, we’re not embezzling charitable supplies, and we can grow the business even bigger."

"Boss, so how do we do it, exactly?"

Werner took out a notebook and flipped to a page of notes. "I’ve already figured out what a few officials want. Schiller from the Foreign Trade Department wants West Germany fashion magazines, and his wife wants perfume from France. Otto from the Ministry of Culture wants United States jazz records. Also..."

He paused. "There’s Schmidt, the director of the textile factory. He’s been worried about employee benefits lately. He needs a large supply of fabric and finished clothing."

"The textile factory?"

"Right." Werner took a document from a drawer. "Hank’s cousin, Andre, works there and has already made contact with Director Schmidt. Schmidt is currently stressing about next quarter’s employee benefits—he needs things like candy and cigarettes. He has the budget, but he can’t get the quotas."

"Can we get that stuff?"

"We can." Werner nodded. "Schiller can approve the quotas. We get the goods, sell them to Schmidt at a low price, and in return, he gives us a long-term supply of the textile factory’s scrap fabric, plus a certificate of charitable procurement."

"How much can we sell the fabric for?"

"After we process it, we can get at least thirty Mark a piece on the Black Market." Werner did the math. "Schmidt says he can give us two tons of scrap material a month, which can be made into at least two hundred articles of clothing. We donate half to the Church and sell the other half on the Black Market for a steady profit of over three thousand Mark a month."

Keller grinned. "And the money is completely clean."

"Go get Hank," Werner said, standing up. "I need to talk to Andre in person about the specifics of the situation with Schmidt."

Half an hour later, Hank pushed the door open and came in, followed by an unfamiliar young man.

"Boss, this is my cousin, Andre," Hank introduced. "He’s a worker at the textile factory. Sharp guy, and reliable."

Werner sized up Andre. He looked to be in his early twenties, tall and lanky, with bright eyes that held a hint of cautious wariness.

"What’s the situation with Director Schmidt?" Werner got straight to the point.

Andre swallowed. "The director is under a lot of pressure. The higher-ups are demanding he distribute employee benefits next quarter—at least fifty kilograms of candy, one thousand packs of cigarettes, two hundred bars of soap, and other daily necessities. But..."

"But he can’t get the quotas approved," Werner finished.

"Right," Andre nodded. "The director has called in favors everywhere, but it’s no use. He has the budget, he just can’t buy the goods. He said if he can’t solve this, he’ll fail his performance review from the higher-ups, and that’ll be the end of his career as director."

"If I can get him those things and sell them to him at a low price, what is he willing to offer in return?"

Andre’s eyes lit up. "The director said that whoever helps him solve this problem can take as much scrap material as they want. He’ll give them whatever amount they ask for. And..."

He lowered his voice. "The director said that if it’s for a charitable purpose, he can write a certificate stating that the factory purchased the goods for a charitable donation."

"Excellent." Werner nodded, satisfied. "Go back and tell the director I’ll have the candy, cigarettes, and soap for him within three days. The price will be the official state-run store price. I won’t charge a penny more."

"Really?" Andre could hardly believe it.

"Really." Werner smiled. "But on two conditions. First, from now on, I want a long-term supply of the factory’s scrap fabrics, leftover materials, and defective cloth—at least two tons a month."

"That’s no problem. The factory was just going to throw that stuff out anyway."

"Second..." Werner’s voice grew serious. "He needs to issue me a ’certificate of charitable procurement’ to prove that this batch of welfare supplies is for a charitable donation, not a Black Market transaction. The certificate must have the factory’s official stamp and his signature. It would be best if it also came with a thank-you letter from the factory."

Andre froze for a moment, then it clicked. "Boss, you’re doing this..."

"This is to protect all of us," Werner cut him off. "With this certificate, my procurement of quota supplies becomes a legitimate charitable act. If the Stasi investigates, Schmidt is the beneficiary, and I’m the charitable donor. We’re all in the clear."

"Besides," he said, looking at Andre, "Schmidt needs this certificate too. When he receives the welfare supplies, it has to look right on the books. It can’t be a Black Market purchase; it has to be the acceptance of a ’charitable donation.’ That way, he’s safe too."

Andre’s face lit up with understanding. "Brilliant! Boss, this way, we’re all just doing a good deed. No one can find any fault with it."

"Exactly." Werner clapped him on the shoulder. "Go talk to Schmidt. If you pull this off, you’ll be my liaison with the textile factory from now on, and you’ll get a fee every month. Remember, this is a long-term partnership. You need to keep Schmidt steady."

"Got it, Boss!" Andre nodded excitedly.

After Andre left, Hank lowered his voice. "Boss, that stuff... the candy, the cigarettes... can we really get it?"

"We can." Werner lit a cigarette. "Tomorrow, I’ll go see Schiller and use his quota authorizations to procure a batch."

"And how much will that cost?"

"Around two thousand Mark." Werner calculated. "We won’t make much selling it to Schmidt at the official price. But in exchange, we get a long-term supply of fabric and a rock-solid charity certificate. This deal is well worth it."

Hank gave him a thumbs-up. "Boss, I’m really learning a lot from working with you."

Werner ignored his flattery. "Also, go get some packaging materials. After we mend the scrap fabric from Schmidt, we need to package it nicely so it can fetch a good price."

"Understood."

After Hank left, Werner stood alone by the window, lighting a cigarette.

Suddenly, a system interface materialized in his mind, displaying the latest data:

[Current Level: LV3]

[New Function: Risk Alert]

[Today’s Alerts:]

[38% probability that Pastor Weber will question the origin of the supplies]

[27% probability that the Stasi will investigate the Church’s charitable activities]

[68% probability that someone will commit fraud in the name of charity]

Werner stared at the first alert, his brow furrowed slightly.