Chapter 108: ATT also cuts pay

Compared to thanking God, Carter felt he should be more grateful to Chris now.

Fortunately, this kid is only five years old now and doesn't have enough strength to control firearms steadily. Considering the scene in the movie where this guy was very young and could accurately hit the snake's head, Carter had no doubt. But if this little devil were two years older, he probably wouldn't be able to see the rising sun in front of him.

Facing the rising sun, a group of people in two cars drove into Odessa in western Texas. Chris's family conditions were good. Father Wayne was not only an engineer at the telephone and telegraph company but also a deacon at the local Anglican church, while mother Debbie Moser was a teacher at the church.

To be honest, as a non-religious person, this was Carter's first time hearing about something called "Sunday school" apart from praying in church on Sundays. It was a place for religious education apart from prayers. In other words, Chris's mother was a theology teacher.

After learning about Chris's family background, Carter became even more convinced that this kid was the future legendary sniper. Often while watching the movie, he would think this guy seemed somewhat delusional, with those strange "Virgin Mary" thoughts, which now seemed to have found their source.

"Oh my God, thank God you all came back safely. Mr. Blake, on behalf of my son and husband's recklessness, I apologize to you again. May God bless you and keep you safe in the future."

"Thank you for your blessings, Mrs. Kyle!"

Mrs. Kyle, awakened by the knock on the door, listened to her husband recount the incident and was instantly startled awake. Once awake, the formalities were inevitable. As for little Chris, he was already asleep in Carter's arms.

"All right, Debbie, the guests are tired. Please let them rest for a while. Later, I'll ask you to go to the supermarket and buy more meat, vegetables, and wine. We'll have lunch together."

"That's only natural! You go rest. I'll go get the child out first, and you can figure out how to arrange the beds."

The Kyle family consisted of four people, and bed allocation was indeed a bit difficult. But fortunately, Victor and Lavin father and son didn't picky. They were all old farmers, what was there to fuss about?

Being able to stay at the Kyle's house, saving a day's hotel room fee, they were already quite satisfied, and they didn't care where they slept. So, within a short two minutes, everyone dispersed.

Victor and his son Lavin slept on the sofa in the living room, while Oni and Wayne squeezed into the master bedroom bed, leaving Carter to accompany Chris.

After bringing the little guy to the second-floor room, Carter gently put him down and covered him with the blanket. Sitting on the edge of the bed, preparing to take off his pants, the room door suddenly rang.

"Carter, excuse me. This is two thousand dollars. I know it's not much, but it's the most I can offer now given the current situation."

"Oh, I understand you, Mr. Kyle. Let's forget about this money. We've already imposed on you by coming here, so let's just consider it as paying for our stay."

In a hurry to put on his pants properly, Carter came out into the corridor, gently closed the door behind him.

If it weren't for the two uncles staying at the Kyle's house to save money on hotel rooms, Carter would have accepted the money. It was supposed to be compensation he deserved, so there was no need to feel embarrassed. But now, running to sleep at someone else's house, having lunch at their place later, and considering Wayne's attitude from start to finish, Carter felt a bit embarrassed to take the money again, especially since he wasn't injured.

"No, no, Carter, it's not like that. The situation is different. Your coming to my house is very welcome, it's just a visit between friends. This money is compensation for you, and you must take it. If you don't mind it being too little, I'm already very grateful. We are facing serious pay cuts now, and in the past few years, we've been through a lot. Please take it, Carter, it's what you deserve, and I'll be uneasy if you don't take it."

Wayne Kyle's face was somewhat troubled, but he still insisted on stuffing the two thousand dollars cash into Carter's hand.

"Then I'll take it, Mr. Kyle. Did you just say pay cuts? Are you also experiencing pay cuts?"

Casually tucking the wad of cash into his pocket, Carter asked somewhat differently. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company, sounding somewhat unfamiliar, let's change the name to AT&T Corporation.

Does that sound more familiar now?

This unquestionably giant of the American and even global telecommunications industry, and even in this era, it was still a monopolistic behemoth. Its position was probably akin to that of China Mobile and China Unicom, or even more exaggerated.

For such a monopolistic giant, revenue should not be a problem theoretically. So why were they starting pay cuts?

"Yeah, I'm okay, my rank isn't high, and I'm not one of those top scientists at the Bell Labs. My income has only been reduced by about fifteen percent, but they say theirs has been reduced by twenty-five percent already. What about you? Or what's the situation at Grape Wayne?"

After a slight sigh, Wayne put on a smile and asked Carter casually.

"I don't know about that. Maybe you can ask Oni later. I actually live in Georgia, study and work there. My grandfather, uncles, they all live in Texas. I came back this time for Christmas."

"Oh, so the Douglas you mentioned before is the one in Georgia! I thought it was Douglas here in Texas! So, how's the environment in Georgia? According to Oni, you can recommend people to work at the police station, so your social status must be quite high there. Do you know about the situation there?"

Wayne Kyle suddenly realized, feeling somewhat amused but also remembering to ask Carter about the situation. If the environment in Georgia was good, moving wouldn't be a bad idea.

"I know a little bit. The situation in Georgia isn't good either. It's not just about which state has a bad economy now; the whole country is going to have a tough time. Long-term inflation has already weakened the country a lot, and now it's time for some tough medicine."

No wonder the United States has a high turnover rate. Ever since I went to the wrong place when I looked for Washington last time, Carter has been carefully studying maps every time he travels. This study revealed that Texas not only had Douglas but even Atlanta.

Carter didn't blame Wayne for misunderstanding. Instead, he kindly gave him a suggestion:

"If you ask me, Mr. Kyle, it's best for you to stay in Odessa. Even if AT&T has pay cuts, they can still pay salaries, so there's no problem with basic living needs. Resigning rashly at this time carries too much risk. You still have two children, and I strongly advise against it."

"I understand. I was just asking. I won't resign impulsively. Thank you for your reminder."

Wayne Kyle smiled awkwardly a few times, feeling that the time was about right, and hurriedly said:

"Well, it's getting late, I won't disturb you, Carter. Get some rest soon. Lunch will be a little late, one or two o'clock is fine."

"Okay, thank you for your hospitality!"

Bidding farewell to Wayne and returning to Chris's room, Carter lay on Chris's small bed, unable to sleep no matter how hard he tried because his mind was full of AT&T.

Pay cuts indicate that they have revenue problems. If they have revenue problems, does that mean my opportunity has come?