Darkstone Code
Chapter 131 - 0130 Shouldering all the responsibilities, tightly holding the mission in hand

Chapter 131: 0130 Shouldering all the responsibilities, tightly holding the mission in hand

"You have two choices!"

"The first choice is, I will sponsor all your expenses during your school years, providing you with sufficient support. This is my investment in your education, and you need to achieve good grades to prove that these investments are not wasted."

"The second choice, under the same conditions as above, requires you to work for me for ten years, regardless of whether you graduate or not. You know, I am a capitalist, exploitation is my motto."

"But..." Lynch cleared his throat, "Look, I’m a young man..."

Catherine quickly interrupted Lynch’s teasing implication, her expression somewhat complicated, "The second option, after I graduate, I will work for you for ten years."

She knew that Lynch said this to relieve her of too much burden, given that they had already broken up. Technically, Lynch was under no obligation to cover any of her expenses or provide jobs for her family.

They were just friends now, but friends wouldn’t do this kind of thing. So Lynch found some excuse to let her accept this help without feeling any damage to her self-esteem and integrity.

Both of them were very smart; otherwise, they wouldn’t have dreamed of going to college. Kids who were not smart would have to work at fast-food shops or gas stations before finishing high school, yet they still had hopes for the future.

Lynch pointed at the girl, "I’m looking forward to your performance..." saying this, he took out an envelope and handed it over, "There’s some money inside, enough for you to live on during this time, and your passbook. I will deposit some money into it every month. You don’t have to think too much about it!"

He smirked a little, "So, shouldn’t I get a hug in return?"

The girl looked directly into his amused eyes, finally opened her arms and hugged him tightly for about half a minute, both of them silent, but soon they separated again.

She snatched the envelope from Lynch’s hand, with a bit more smile on her face, "Just wait, I’ll make your jaw drop!"

Watching the girl get into the car and leave, Lynch scratched his head and returned to the living room; everything remained like two days ago, with not much change.

On the other side, Catherine sat in the car and couldn’t help but open the envelope Lynch gave her. Inside was her passbook that she had left with Lynch, which she didn’t expect him to keep.

According to the bank’s standards, when an account has no balance, they will proactively warn the client. If no money is deposited within a week, they will cancel the passbook.

The purpose is still to facilitate the bank’s overall planning and management. In the pre-digital era, the management of large volumes of passbooks was mostly carried out manually.

The more vacant, balance-less, valueless account balances there are, the more manpower the bank wastes, so all valueless accounts are inevitably canceled.

She felt a bit wistful, then continued rummaging. There was still a wad of cash inside. She counted it; they were all twenty-dollar bills, fifty in total, a thousand dollars.

To her, this was already a sizable sum. She had never managed this amount of money in her life.

Just when she thought there was nothing left in the envelope and was about to discard it, she suddenly realized that it still felt a bit heavy. She turned it over, and a ring fell into her hand.

A gold ring. She moved it closer to the car window, letting the outside light fully shine on it, then saw the lettering inside the ring.

"That bastard..." tears quickly welled up in her eyes, but she swiftly wiped them away and put the ring on her finger, "It’s a bit big!"

It seemed like she was explaining something or maybe just talking to herself.

The scenery outside the car window kept whizzing by, and soon the car stopped on the street outside Catherine’s house. A few loitering street lads who had been there disappeared instantly when they saw the car stop.

Everyone knows in this society, you may not fear the law, but you must bow to money.

Catherine thanked the driver for bringing her back and said goodbye, then carried her bag and went back home.

Her parents gathered around, talking about what happened in the two days she wasn’t home. The previously tense and serious atmosphere disappeared instantly, replaced by her father’s honest smile and her mother’s newly radiant face.

Catherine felt helpless about this, but did not dislike it. This was her family, an ordinary person and her ordinary family.

On Thursday, a day with no surprises, the entire Sabin City was shrouded in a rising unemployment rate, with pedestrians’ faces on the streets showing no trace of smiles, only worry.

And on such a day, a group of people began to frost a cake.

Lynch specifically put on a suit, which made him feel like he was about to catch fire. Fortunately, the moving car brought some hotter wind.

The traffic on the road wasn’t heavy; cars at this time hadn’t yet been equipped with air conditioning, making each one racing under the sun seem like an oven. Sometimes being a "big figure" is really not easy. At least ordinary people in this situation can take off their clothes, but Lynch not only can’t take off his clothes, he must also ensure the buttons of his shirt collar are fastened.

Luckily, the journey was relatively smooth, and Lynch arrived outside the Sabin City Court within the allotted time. The properties of Henghui Group in Sabin City had been seized by the Federal Tax Bureau, which entrusted Sabin City Court to auction these assets, so people attending the auction must participate here.

As soon as Lynch got out of the car, following the information given by Ferrari, he arrived outside Court No. 9, where a stream of cool air gently wafted out from the wide-open door.

Just as he reached the entrance, two uniformed policemen reached out to block his way; both of them stared intently at him. "Sorry, sir, this session is not open to the public..."

Some hearings regarding auctions or other situations allows citizens to watch and participate, but some do not. Specific situations can be referenced in local newspapers, which contain detailed information—published information indicates public sessions and can be attended.

As for those that are not public, there’s no need for concern because most people won’t even know these events have occurred.

Lynch presented the card Ferrari gave him, and one of the policemen glanced at it before looking at Lynch, signaled his companion to step aside, and returned the card to Lynch. "You may enter!"

Lynch neither showed dissatisfaction at their obstruction nor displayed any other emotion; it was merely their job, and they were just doing their duty.

Upon entering Court No. 9, there were already thirty-odd people seated inside, sitting apart in groups of threes and fives. They cast some curious glances at Lynch, but no one approached him for conversation.

He chose a relatively rearward seat alone, fully understanding Ferrari’s intentions, without intending to intervene in what had long been a foregone conclusion in this auction.

As time passed and the last two parties arrived on-site, the police closed the doors, and the auction of seized assets began.

"Item number one, an office building at 41 Sailin Road in the central district, on the 17th floor, with a total usable area of... The facilities included... Overall market valuation at 2.25 million, with a starting bid of 600,000."

"Mr. Four’s panel raised the bid, 600,000, any increases?"

"600,000 first call..."

"600,000 second call..."

"600,000 third call!"

The court staff responsible for the auction showed no intent for everyone to bid; he was merely going through the motions. A city center office building worth over 2 million, possibly even more, ended up being auctioned at an outrageously low price.

Lynch, however, saw things with deeper insight, clearly understanding that a low price isn’t necessarily truly low. When these people acquire these assets, they naturally have to provide corresponding job opportunities and use them to recreate their original social and economic values.

In fact, even if he were given some of these assets now, he couldn’t manage them, especially certain factories. Leaving aside whether he could afford the raw materials needed for production, merely the inability to quickly repay from goods sold would be enough to bankrupt him.

He merely observed coldly as asset after asset worth hundreds of thousands or millions were auctioned off at extremely low prices.

In his second-hand goods auction sessions, what people fantasized about actually unexpectedly became reality here; nobody bid, and all goods sold at their minimum starting prices.

If those people with these ideas knew about the "miracle" that happened here, they would surely feel gratified, wouldn’t they?!

All participants seemed accustomed as if they weren’t surprised at all at having auctioned some goods at the lowest price, which was just a show, an act, all done just to shut certain people’s mouths from the procedural side.

Lynch originally intended only to simply finalize this formality but unexpectedly found some auction items of interest—some trucks.

Over thirty trucks and more than fifty various trailers, priced at a mere 110,000, likewise astonishingly low, attracted little interest.

The Henghui Group has its own logistics company; the bidders here also have their own logistics company or collaboratively work with logistics companies; they weren’t much interested in Henghui’s trucks.

A truck certainly requires a truck driver; more than thirty trucks equal over thirty job positions plus related staff. These items create at least fifty salaries, yet they lack strong demand.

They were not interested, but Lynch was keenly interested. He didn’t deliberately disrupt auction order; he merely watched silently.

Ultimately, the trucks went unsold as no one raised their bid.

After the court auction ended, Lynch immediately called Ferrari to discuss this situation. If no one wanted to take over these trucks, he wouldn’t mind maintaining federal laws and local order, shouldering some responsibility, and contributing his strength.

After all, Mr. Lynch is also an outstanding merchant with a sense of social responsibility!