American History 1988
Chapter 41 - 38: Dean Who Tanks

Chapter 41: Chapter 38: Dean Who Tanks

$19? Per use? Kent Hills’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he looked around; everyone seemed to have a similar expression.

"Dean, although ’ChargeMore’ has proven to be very useful, isn’t $19 per use a bit too expensive?" As the president of the alliance and the host of the meeting, it was only natural for Kent to voice everyone’s concerns.

"No! Kent, it’s not expensive at all, in fact, it’s a discounted price," Dean explained earnestly, "You all just saw me lightly press a few keys, and then everything appeared.

But what I’m actually doing with each name entered is conducting a background check."

"Background check?" The term was familiar to Kent; he’d worked in a financial insurance company before, where there was a similar department.

"Exactly!" Dean said firmly, pointing his finger, "When developing this software, I’ve already collected everyone’s credit records in advance and stored them in the computer. You just saw how easy ’ChargeMore’ is to use, but it took a lot of time beforehand."

"Imagine, if you hired a company to conduct a background check on someone, would it only cost $19? Could they provide very reliable results within a minute?"

"Never!" Dean stood in the middle of the hall, looking around commandingly, "In all of Ohio, besides me, nobody can do this!"

The silent hall reflected their awe. They’d just watched Dean do everything with a few finger movements and subconsciously assumed it was simple.

But they’d forgotten that what Dean showed them was a finished product. Creating that product certainly didn’t come any easier than other work.

"Come on, let’s think about it from another angle," Dean snapped his fingers again, regaining everyone’s attention, "If you can avoid a tenant with credit problems for $19, you’ll most likely also avoid one to two months of unpaid rent.

How much do you charge a tenant for one month’s rent? $300? $400?" Dean smiled slyly at them, "To prevent a loss of three or four hundred dollars with just $19, how does that deal sound?"

The group exchanged glances, realizing that his explanation made total sense.

"I agree!" Susie, in her pink sweater, was the first to raise her hand.

"Good!" Dean was growing fonder of her.

"So, this is just business: I pay when needed and won’t have any trouble?" Lenny, wearing a camo hat, raised his hand to ask.

"Certainly!" Dean looked around emphatically, "I assure everyone, everything is legit and above board, with no legal risks whatsoever."

"Then I have no problem either, just $19 to avoid a big loss, why not?" Lenny quickly voiced his support to Dean.

"I agree~" More and more people began raising their hands.

In fact, the math was simple, just as Dean had said. Paying $19 for someone’s credit report wasn’t much at all.

Which of the landlords present hadn’t dealt with rent defaulting? Please, that was business worth hundreds of dollars. Everyone had their own idea of what trade-offs to make.

Moreover, the expenditure of $19 wouldn’t occur often; for a landlord, welcoming 10 new tenants a year was already a high frequency. Even then, it’s only $190, still less than the rent for the cheapest apartment they owned.

When the benefits greatly outweigh the costs, Nick also knew what to choose.

Seeing everyone eagerly raising their hands in agreement, Dean could hardly keep the smile off his face.

Look at those raised arms, like lush green leeks. Dean’s face displayed a farmer’s grin.

"OK~ I greatly appreciate everyone’s support," Dean gestured for the crowd to lower their hands modestly, "The ’ChargeMore’ software is now ready for use. If anyone’s interested, remember to contact me after the meeting."

Casually unplugging the hard drive from the computer, Dean returned to his seat amid Susie’s admiring yet envious gaze.

Then Kent Hills took up the microphone to begin summarizing the meeting. He wanted to say more, but seeing that everyone was still focused on Dean, he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Wow~ It seems like today’s meeting has brought us all what we were looking for. Dean, you should thank me for inviting you. I told you, you would definitely find it worthwhile!"

Dean, sitting below, gave him a thumbs-up in agreement, prompting a round of friendly laughter from the crowd.

As Kent began the meeting summary, Susie leaned in close to Dean, whispering, "Dean, I’m a bit jealous of you now."

"What?" Dean, who had been applauding for Kent, looked puzzledly at the blonde beauty beside him.

"You’re stealing my business~" Susie pulled out her landlord manual on tenant screening from the pocket of her down jacket.

Dean took a moment but then understood her point; Susie made a nice side income from it during landlord training courses.

Now, with the emergence of "ChargeMore," Susie’s landlord manual would soon be worthless.

Nothing could be more persuasive than a person’s credit record, while Susie’s manual only provided theoretical knowledge.

"Alright, Susie, how should I compensate you?" Dean, still paying attention to the speaker on stage, turned and whispered with a smile.

"Hmm~" Susie straightened her back, her cleavage becoming even more pronounced, "Given the significant loss, this does indeed require proper compensation."

Feeling the light taps of her fingers in his palm, Dean’s eyebrows shot up; he was interested.

...

Bang! With a light kick, the door was shut firmly.

"Mmm~" As the two entangled figures moved towards the room, they still managed to help each other out of their clothes.

"Wait, Susie, you didn’t tell me, how old are you this year?"

"Why, do you like them young?" Susie paused her downward motion, propped up on his chest.

"No, I’m just curious~"

"Twenty-six," Susie flicked out her pink tongue, licking her red lips.

"Go on!" Dean lay back on the bed, issuing his final command.

One minute later...

"Oh~Shit! Susie! I like that! Don’t stop!"

...

When Dean opened his eyes again, the sky outside was a grey blur. Without the fluttering snowflakes, the sky seemed a bit clearer.

He felt for his watch on the nightstand and saw it was already afternoon.

"Susie?" Dean dressed and walked out of the room, curiously surveying the apartment.

"I’m here," Susie’s voice came from the kitchen.

By the time Dean reached the door, she was already walking out with two plates.

"Seafood pasta, want to try some?"

The seafood looked familiar, and Dean couldn’t stop his damned imagination, having seen it not long ago.

"Of course," he took the plate joyfully, "I can feel it now, my stomach is protesting mightily~"

As for acting, Dean had some chops too.

True to form, Susie’s face lit up with a radiant smile at his words. "Dean, I’m glad you like it."

He had only had a bit of bread in the morning, and there had been a lot of physical exertion in between; how could Dean not be hungry?

The seafood didn’t matter; he could devour a whole elephant right now.

"By the way, Dean, what’s the connection between ’Rent Hike’ and the office system you’re developing for the Youngstown court?" After a few bites, Susie switched the topic to business.

As expected, he knew this woman was clever. Dean speared a piece of abalone, shook it in front of Susie’s eyes, and then swallowed it.

"Hey~!" Susie was somewhat annoyed.

"OK~" Dean raised his hands in surrender, "But they are delicious, aren’t they?"

"Dean, I’m beginning to wonder if you’re only eighteen?" Susie mused that perhaps she wasn’t the only one who’d benefited from the sleepover activity in bed.

"Then tell me from your personal experience, does it feel eighteen?" Dean asked solemnly, with utter seriousness.

"Mmm-hmm~" Susie suppressed her laughter and nodded.

Dean spread his hands, "See, you are the one who benefited."

"Come on! You haven’t answered my question yet?" Susie couldn’t help but laugh as she complained.

"Alright," he said, resuming a more serious demeanor after teasing her a bit.

"The principles behind them are the same, of course, with some differences. The court’s office system is more comprehensive and targeted, especially in case analysis.

And its search function is just a part of the system; it’s more like a means of file investigation.

But ’Rent Hike’ is different; all its functions are focused on the search. It isn’t just about pulling up information—it reorganizes results into a pre-set format and conducts credit ratings.

You could say ’Rent Hike’ is software optimized specifically for the housing market, more suitable for landlords."

"But I heard that the court is also going to offer this kind of search capability?" Susie posed another question.

"That’s different," Dean smiled, "The information the court provides is limited and won’t appear on the same page.

For example, if you search for an individual, the first thing to pop up is their criminal record over the last three months. To see further back, you’d have to enter through another window.

How many people do you think will pay attention to a new system developed by the court, then, after a trial search, continue to delve for more records?"

Dean spread his hands, "I guarantee many people can’t even use a computer, let alone a new system. But when you pay 19 US dollars, in one minute! You can uncover 20 years of misdemeanors, 50 years of felonies—nothing will escape your legal eye.

In the future, ’Rent Hike’ might even collaborate with certain banks to pull their credit scores. Susie, the essence of the information is the same, but the difference is the service!"

Susie listened intently, forgetting the seafood pasta in her hands.

However, she soon brightened up with another idea. "Dean, since it’s all about the service, why not collaborate with me?"

"Collaborate?" Dean put down his fork, looking at her with some surprise.

"Yes! My Landlord’s Manual is theoretical knowledge; it tells landlords how to avoid various problems. The problems don’t just come from tenants but also housing authorities, child and family services, even environmental agencies...

They’re all hassle and all cause landlords losses. And I provide services for these, including professional one-on-one solutions."

The more Dean listened, the wider his eyes got. Mother F*cker! This woman was too clever for her own good.

"Dean, what do you think?" Susie looked at him excitedly.

"Great idea!" Dean nodded happily.

"Yes!" Susie cheered and did a ballet twirl.

"But I want a cut~"

"F*ck you, Dean!" Susie’s face changed color.

"Okay, I have no objections, bring it on~" Dean lifted his shirt, lying flat in surrender.