Chapter 174: Gabe's Resentment

"No need, Mr. Black, anything you give us is fine!"

As Jon and Drus repeatedly waved their hands, the chubby Gabe between them suddenly interjected:

"Yeah, yeah, as long as we don't starve!"

Had this been three days ago—or even just one day ago—Jon and Drus would have been furious upon hearing Gabe say such a thing. They would have scolded him for being selfish, since he was only here for a part-time job to play with computers, while they needed to save money to support their families. But now, hearing Gabe's words, they both nodded frantically, their expressions sincere.

Money? What money? Though Mr. Black looked young and not particularly fierce, yesterday's events still haunted Jon. His primary goal now was to survive and escape once Black's guard was down. Was money more important than staying alive?

"You don't have to be like this, really! I honestly don't know the current industry standard for salaries. If you don't say anything, how about a monthly salary of $800? Does that work for you?"

Were they aiming for such low wages? Or was the current industry standard actually this low?

Carter was puzzled and a bit surprised. Thinking about future programmers spoiled by big tech companies, who wouldn't even look at offers below $200,000 a year, he assumed that in the early days of the programmer industry, salaries should be higher due to the lack of talent. Yet their demands seemed low.

Still unsure about the trio's thoughts, Carter tentatively offered a figure. An $800 monthly salary was certainly high for this era, much higher than the average middle-class income.

However, compared to future programmers' exaggerated salaries, $800 a month seemed low. So after naming his price, Carter anxiously looked at the three, fearing they might leave or think he was stingy, and prepare to jump ship at the earliest opportunity.

Upon hearing the figure, the trio's eyes widened in shock, their expressions incredulous. The chubby one blurted out:

"Eight hundred? Eight hundred?! Really?!"

"Uh, is that too high or too low? If you're not satisfied, we can negotiate."

Seeing their exaggerated reaction, Carter instinctively felt he had underbid.

In Carter's previous life, he had a senior in Alibaba who earned about 500,000 yuan annually as a P6. He heard that reaching P7 and staying for four years would break a million yuan annually with stock dividends. Converted to USD with the exchange rate at that time, it would be close to $100,000, about 1.42 times the median annual income of the American middle class.

Carter's $800 monthly salary, compared to the current middle-class annual income, was only about 1.26 times. Factoring in actual purchasing power, it seemed even lower.

"Of course, w-w-w-wait!"

Snapped back to reality by the stammering response, Carter saw Jon and Drus holding the chubby one's mouth, repeatedly saying, "Satisfied."

"Great, you probably don't have a place to stay yet. Here are the keys to the house I arranged for you, and the address. If there's no problem, get settled first and start working tomorrow. We'll sign the contract then."

"Hey, Drus, what do you think Mr. Black means? Why is he offering such a high salary? And can we really get $800 a month?"

As they walked to their new home with their luggage, Jon asked.

"No way! He's definitely lying! He'll probably kill you later!" Gabe, upset by being gagged earlier, vented.

"I don't know. Let's see. No matter what, we need to save enough for a plane ticket to escape. But for now, the job doesn't seem dangerous."

Ignoring Gabe, Drus spoke to Jon across their mental divide.

Their initial plan to stabilize Carter and then escape shattered upon hearing the $800 salary. He offered too much!

"I feel the same. He looks our age and smiles kindly, not like a ruthless gangster."

Jon nodded in agreement, implying that yesterday's escape plan might no longer be necessary. They just needed to get their hands on the money.

"And I think I saw middle school textbooks on his desk. Maybe he's really a high schooler like Gabe. It's illogical for someone his age to be a crime boss. Look at Gabe."

"What about me?! Don't underestimate me! I'm telling you, Carter is definitely bad news! Guys like him are the hardest to deal with in school!"

Gabe snapped back, feeling wronged and harboring resentment towards Carter.

Golden hair, a handsome figure, and surrounded by people fawning over him, including tough-looking men and the police—it was infuriating for Gabe.

Why did everything revolve around him?

Being handsome or rich was so unfair!

Gabe, with his disheveled brown hair and rotund figure, felt like crying.

In Western schools, boys' popularity typically ranked as follows:

First-tier: Athletic, golden-haired boys who were the top recipients of love letters.

Second-tier: Muscular boys, especially from the football team, were the second-most popular.

Third-tier: Average boys who might get lucky if their personalities weren't too introverted.

Fourth-tier: Introverted boys who relied on girls' maternal instincts for affection.

Fifth-tier: Unique, standout characteristics—mainly being overweight.