"Have you received your salary?" A slightly anxious face appeared as soon as Anderson opened the door with his key. Facing his wife's gaze, he glanced down at the floor guiltily, then turned and brought the boxes placed outside the door inside. In a somewhat grumbling tone, he impatiently replied, "No."
"No?" Mrs. Anderson's once well-maintained skin showed signs of aging – wrinkles on her forehead, around her eyes, and mouth. Disappointment filled her face as she clasped her hands unconsciously. "What are we going to do this month?"
With bills about to arrive, failure to pay would label them as high-risk. If they failed to pay again without clearing the current debt, investigations by banks or businesses would commence. Once investigators deemed them incapable of repayment, items purchased through installments, even their house, could be auctioned to settle the debt.
What was even more frightening was that once one initiated an investigation, all companies with installment payment agreements would start investigations. This was enough to directly destroy a family!
In recent months, there had been several instances occurring in their vicinity. Neighbors had to sell their houses and move to even poorer and more dangerous communities.
Filled with criminals, prostitutes, and other undesirables, those places were like hell, but of course, for some people, they were also paradises.
Having brought three boxes into the house, Anderson sat on the sofa. His wife circled the boxes, questioning, "What's inside?"
Facing his wife's inquiries, Anderson's head was throbbing. "Items the factory provided to offset wages. Maybe check with the neighbors if they need anything. It's a better option than staying here and giving me a headache, don't you think?"
After a momentary gaze, Mrs. Anderson didn't leave the room. Instead, she silently started cleaning, holding a cloth and wiping everything.
Before Anderson returned, she had already thoroughly cleaned the house. For most full-time housewives, apart from tending to children and husbands, their options were limited – watching TV, chatting with neighbors, cleaning, and occasionally having affairs.
Whenever Mrs. Anderson reached a critical emotional point, she would immerse herself in housework, silently disconnecting from the world until her emotions normalized.
Sitting on the sofa, Anderson, observing his wife entering that familiar state, felt his headache intensify. Looking at this seemingly indifferent woman, he believed himself to be the silent victim of emotional abuse.
He didn't particularly like Mrs. Anderson. Their marriage was a matter of convenience, driven by the necessities of life. This was the tragedy of ordinary people; reality never yields to ideals.
For the affluent and privileged class, it was precisely in their domain that the soil conducive to ideals and romance could be found.
Anderson, his head throbbing, left home to take a stroll and contemplate next month's plan.
Not long after leaving home, a young man with a smile handed him a promotional pamphlet.
Normally, Anderson would turn such materials into paper planes or crumple them into trash bins. Yet, in his current state of frustration, he turned his attention to the pamphlet.
"Gettnau, pay on delivery!"
"Your friend can give you thirty to fifty bucks!"
"Your relatives can give you three to five hundred bucks!"
"Only we can offer you three to five thousand, or even more!"
"Gettnau, Quick, Swift, and Instant!"
It was a financial company's pamphlet. Anderson, on the verge of discarding it, paused. Perhaps these people could solve his troubles.
Soon, carrying three boxes, Anderson arrived at the address on the pamphlet, located on the outskirts of Sabin City's downtown area. It was different from other financial companies nearly on the city's fringe, providing a strange psychological approval.
Many people were present, giving him an unprecedented atmosphere, even more so than the social developments a few years ago.
Despite people being poor and the economy being underdeveloped in the past, everyone had led fulfilling lives. Unlike now, at least in the past, many people didn't have to worry about the possibility of losing their jobs.
Observing rows of negotiation tables and piles of various collateral, he sighed deeply.
"Pay attention to the market dynamics in the entire city and surrounding areas. We can not be overly rigid..." Lynch was currently discussing valuation with Mr. Fox, his son, and two others. Valuation wasn't a simple task; it was a complex job.
The agreements Lynch had presented to the bank were valued at over three million, but Mr. Fox's estimate neared four million. This meant Mr. Fox's excess could potentially become a huge risk; although such risks didn't really exist.
However, using this incorrect method could cause many problems. For instance, loans based on agreements would decrease, and to make more money, Lynch needed them to understand how to value correctly.
"Sabin City doesn't have a specific consulting company, so you have to do these things yourself. Of course, if you can't but are willing to pay, I can help you," Lynch said with a smile, always ready to display his most dazzling smile when encountering generous clients.
"We need to understand which items are slow-moving, which are easy to sell, which items are suitable for lowering prices, and which are suitable for raising prices. This is a profound area of knowledge."
Looking around, Lynch suddenly pointed in Anderson's direction. The gazes of the four people followed Lynch's indication. "Look at that person... He brought three identical things at once, and they look new."
"I bet these things are either stolen or someone else handed them over to him as collateral. So, when bargaining, we should not hesitate to drive a hard bargain and secure the best deal possible."
"As for determining the price of these things..." Lynch took out a piece of paper with over ten phone numbers. "These are the contacts of the top distributors in Sabin City. Anything legally purchasable in Sabin City, they can find the price for you."
"Call them and inquire; you can even ask about recent sales. Then, offer these people a lower price."
"This way, you can get the most significant agreement value with the least money, while I can raise more funds for you."
Mr. Fox's eyes gleamed in excitement. He felt that offering Lynch the opportunity to speak was the most outstanding decision he had made in his lifetime. When they first met, he thought Lynch was sent to cause trouble by someone. But still, he generously allowed Lynch to speak, leading to their subsequent cooperation and the groundbreaking changes in Gettnau Financial.
The company's transformation was significant and swift. Previously, Mr. Fox contemplated bringing Lynch on as a partner, but now he had second thoughts.
In these past few days, he'd been crunching the numbers. If they managed to recover all the principal and interest, along with the automatically surrendered collateral, his wealth could skyrocket to a whopping ten million in just two to three months!
Previously, his two-hundred-thousand wealth took nearly half his lifetime to accumulate; now, it would only take him just a few months.
He wouldn't share such a large sum of money with Lynch. Offering him a service fee was already generous enough. After all, that alone was probably around one to two million.
Young people should learn to be content, and Lynch had done this quite well.
As Mr. Fox's satisfaction with Lynch grew, he cast a final glance at his son. "Learn more from our friend, Lynch. Don't spend all your time fooling around with women, understand?"
Mr. Fox's son felt a bit awkward but nodded.
In their eyes, Lynch was like a magician – a magician capable of performing money magic!