Chapter 17: The Forefront of Trends

After performing several Century Marvel Magic tricks that could turn ninety-seven cents into a buck, three young people smoothly joined the construction of the Great Empire in an afternoon.

They were about to embark on their promising careers, but the reason they were chosen wasn't their eloquence; it was their substantial financial backing.

In other words, they had enough readily available money. They would use their own funds to help Lynch make money, earn even more, and also thank Lynch for leading them to fortune.

In a way, what Lynch was currently engaged in lacked any "risk resistance." The risk here referred to the possibility of imitation.

Under the premise of non-technical monopoly, businesses with low technical difficulty always faced the risk of being imitated. This was the ceiling that low technical difficulty and low-cost transactions found hard to transcend because everyone could do them.

Turning larger bills into change, then converting them back into larger bills from those in need seemed like something anyone could do as long as they had a certain amount of change. And indeed, many could.

However, within this seemingly simple process lay some small issues—the true core of this business—namely, trust issues.

Some people always complained about the unfairness of society. They sold the same services, so why could some be so busy that customers had to queue while others, right beside them, had no customers at all?

The simple reason was trust!

Without trust, it was like two isolated islands with no connection between them. But with trust, it was like having a bridge. As long as the bridge wasn't destroyed, the connection between the two islands would remain tight.

Lynch couldn't prevent others from engaging in the same business, but he had his advantages.

With Richard and two others, each harboring their own secrets but full of confidence, Lynch returned to the office. It was a warehouse that Lynch temporarily rented. He had hired two carpenters to build a simple office inside the warehouse and divided the warehouse into two parts.

They would work in this warehouse office located just outside the central urban area. Fortunately, the convenience of city transportation and the nature of their work meant they didn't need to come in every day. Hence, they wouldn't complain about the office being far from the city center.

Lynch's task for them was simple: after they exchanged enough change, they could come to the office to exchange it with him, and then they could go out to collect change again.

This warehouse office was like a beehive, Lynch being the queen bee, while these employees were diligent worker bees.

After assigning the tasks to the three, Lynch left. He needed to discuss upcoming business matters with Mr. Fox.

About half an hour later, Lynch met Mr. Fox again in the basement. Coincidentally, Mr. Fox was about to send someone to find Lynch.

"You've come at the right time..." He tossed a cigarette to Lynch and walked from behind the desk to sit next to Lynch on the sofa.

Benefiting from Lynch's help in solving many significant troubles, seeing money coming into the bank from various shadowy corners made him feel an unprecedented joy.

For the first time, the figures on his bank passbook made him so content that he even applied for a cash check of five thousand bucks, which he could openly use for expenses outside.

This feeling made him ecstatic, making him realize even more the importance of depositing money in the bank. For this reason, he wanted to do Lynch a small favor, which was what he was about to discuss with Lynch.

He took the initiative to pull out a lighter and lit a fire for Lynch. This action drew strange looks from the burly men around. Mr. Fox rarely did such things; he was a proud man!

"...Michael won't trouble you again!" He said this very confidently, looking at Lynch, expecting to see a surprised, shocked, or delighted expression on Lynch's face. However, he found Lynch seemingly calm, maintaining eye contact steadily.

He chuckled suddenly. "I knew you wouldn't be surprised. This kind of precognition itself is already very strange..." He paused. "Never mind that. Michael left Sabin City today and won't be back for at least ten days."

"And when he returns, he won't trouble you much. I've warned him!" Saying this, he raised his head in a rather impressive manner.

Only then did Lynch realize the reason for Michael's abrupt return home yesterday. He found this rather intriguing. "How did you manage that?"

This question precisely piqued Mr. Fox's interest. He liked to show off his intelligence, not very prominent, in front of someone as clever as Lynch. "I got a lawyer. If they don't want trouble, they should know what to do."

Suddenly, Lynch woke up to the biggest difference between this world and another: the role of lawyers.

In this world, lawyers' importance was magnified to the extreme; in some aspects, they were even more useful than judges—some judges weren't interested in deals, but all lawyers were interested in money.

He silently noted these things; perhaps, he also needed a lawyer friend.

"Thank you very much for everything, Mr. Fox." This statement wasn't mere formality. Mr. Fox's use of a lawyer indicated his stance. This was actually a proactive gesture, and Lynch had to acknowledge it.

Mr. Fox graciously waved his hand. Lynch continued, "The tax bureau has been keeping an eye on me, so I slightly changed our business approach..."

He then talked about his newly established company, introducing a new method of transactions. Essentially, it was about making everything transparent, leaving the tax bureau no way to interfere further.

Mr. Fox only needed his subordinates to exchange some money, then, under the pretext of laundry, take this money to the laundromat. The entire process would be completed.

Even if tax bureau officials followed these individuals throughout, it wouldn't matter. The number of times a piece of clothing was washed, how it was washed, and how much money was spent all belonged to personal will. It was others' business, and nobody could interfere.

However, Mr. Fox needed some reliable people to carry out these tasks, and doing so had the advantage of being faster with fewer downsides.

After discussing these business matters, Lynch suddenly asked with a question, "Mr. Fox, do you know about light bathing?"

Lynch suddenly changing the topic left Mr. Fox a bit puzzled. After a few seconds, he came back to his senses and nodded. "Of course, I do. Is there something wrong with your health?"

In recent years, light bathing had started to inexplicably gain popularity. It was mainly divided into infrared light bathing and ultraviolet light bathing. It had become a very trendy phenomenon in the middle and upper class of society.

Many celebrities and social elites were enthusiastic about various light baths. Driven by the celebrity effect, more and more people were joining this somewhat ludicrous fashion movement in Lynch's eyes.

Many magazines and newspapers had covers featuring young men and women wearing sunglasses, wearing funny diving caps, and half-naked bathing in various lights.

The miraculous effects of light bathing were exaggerated by society to the point that they almost claimed it could even treat cancer.

When Lynch asked about light bathing, Mr. Fox thought there might be some issue with Lynch's health. However, Lynch was actually very healthy; what he needed wasn't a light bathing regimen but a UV lamp.