Darkstone Code
Chapter 55 - 0055 New business, new sharing

Chapter 55: 0055 New business, new sharing

Half a month ago, Lynch did not foresee everything that is happening at this moment today; more precisely, he never thought that anything related to Michael would occur.

Lynch doesn’t have omniscient capabilities; he’s just an ordinary person, with a calculation span slightly larger than most, but he can’t stand at the starting point and see the end point—that’s not a human; that’s a god.

The series of events initiated by Michael disrupted his initial plans. His original plan was to make a quick profit and leave, without considering registering any legitimate business. But to deal with Michael and his associates, he had to register a company to make himself as flawless as possible.

Even though the plan underwent a series of changes, mistakes turned out beneficial; there isn’t only one path to the destination. All roads lead to the bank, and now his plan isn’t too bad.

Mr. Fox hesitated for a moment and asked back, "Is ten percent not enough?" He thought ten percent wasn’t little, but the money was indeed insufficient.

Lynch shook his head, "If you just want to exchange coins, ten percent is enough because that’s the value of my business. But if you want to take money from me to operate, ten percent isn’t enough!"

As he spoke, he didn’t give Mr. Fox any chance to refute or ask questions, immediately continuing, "This is absolutely not self-promotion. Right now, only I can quickly gather a large amount of cash for you in Sabin City. I have ways to acquire legal money, and you need money too..."

Mr. Fox nodded equivocally, feeling a bit troubled. Upon recognizing Lynch’s "wisdom," he always felt a bit foolish.

Many people say he is a cunning fox, but only in front of Lynch can one realize that cunning isn’t wisdom—just cleverness. He doesn’t want to go in circles with Lynch because the one who’d end up dizzy would certainly be himself, so he straightforwardly asked Lynch how much he wanted.

"Ten percent of the principal and five percent of other profits, and I don’t bear any other costs!"

Mr. Fox knew every word in this sentence, what it meant, and the common variations, but when put together, it somewhat...confused him.

He thought for a while, only thinking to prevent Lynch from seeing through his truth, even though Lynch knew from the start he might not fully understand what he was saying. About half a minute later, he slightly frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Lynch’s expression suddenly became animated. Toward every customer or financier, Lynch had ample patience and could express his sincerity more than anyone else; his smile was a form of sincerity.

"It’s very simple, Mr. Fox. Suppose you lent Tom a thousand bucks...we’re just assuming, this is an example...he mortgaged something worth a thousand bucks to you, but he defaulted, and in the end, you retrieved the principal along with interest, both a thousand bucks."

"In this business, your principal is a thousand bucks, and your profit is two thousand bucks..."

Mr. Fox raised his hand to interrupt Lynch’s words, "Sorry, I didn’t understand. Shouldn’t my profit be one thousand bucks?"

Lynch didn’t show any impatience and explained very patiently, "The agreement I asked you to draft, the clause where the borrower automatically forfeits the collateral’s ownership after the default, with the loan and interest still valid...do you understand? In reality, you get a thousand bucks in interest and a collateral worth a thousand bucks."

Seeing Mr. Fox’s enlightened look, Lynch felt that this old man was still somewhat endearing, and he continued, "Ten percent of the thousand bucks and five percent of the profits, totaling two hundred bucks altogether."

This is actually a relatively primitive commercial contract combining a base guarantee with profit sharing. Although not common, it’s not rare, especially in some betting contracts where similar or analogous clauses exist to protect one party’s maximum interests.

Mr. Fox thought for a while before he understood, his expression somewhat bittersweet, "Actually, if we partner up, it wouldn’t be so troublesome. I can give you twenty to thirty percent of the shares, which is much simpler than complicated calculations."

What he said might be a solution but not what Lynch preferred. After all, Mr. Fox’s business, now with his help, seemed legally compliant.

However, compliance doesn’t mean legality; this is a gray boundary. When Mr. Fox is dominant, and nobody intends to challenge or expose him, he is legal.

But if someone intends to challenge him, and societal development demands his elimination, once there’s such a need, his businesses become illegal.

Gray may imply massive profits but also immense risks.

Looking at those who’ve been jailed or fled recently, one can understand that the risks in this line of business have already surpassed most merchants’ concepts of risk.

Besides, this business isn’t guaranteed profit; if someone borrows money and doesn’t repay, or even runs away, what then?

Of course, the collateral can indeed barely break even, but it would cost the expected profits from the continuous rolling of funds, along with the sometimes non-standard pursuit of debts. Overall, Lynch doesn’t intend to enter this industry.

If he wanted to, he wouldn’t bother talking to Mr. Fox about these matters. He’d just find a place and set up his own stand.

When he discussed cooperation with Mr. Fox, his goal was to obtain the maximum profit within the maximum legal scope, so Mr. Fox seemed like a kindly old man; Lynch always thought so.

He decisively shook his head, politely declining Mr. Fox’s repeated invitations with a non-aggressive approach, "It’s not that I don’t want to. If you want to get this money or even more, we can’t have obvious, direct connections; we must be two independent entities. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I don’t understand!" Mr. Fox shook his head, feeling Lynch’s words were too complicated; he didn’t understand at all, "But that doesn’t prevent us from continuing to cooperate. I can agree to your terms. So how do you plan to proceed?"

Mr. Fox’s tone carried a hint of exploratory interest. He knew Lynch’s current situation, having only a few thousand bucks on hand, he doubted Lynch could come up with the tens or hundreds of thousands he claimed.

Lynch, however, smiled, "Originally, before signing the contract, I wouldn’t reveal business secrets. But we’re friends, and I trust your character; I don’t mind telling you..."

"Wait a minute!" Mr. Fox suddenly stood up, walked to the glass wall of the office, closed all the blinds, and locked the door, only then feeling at ease, "Go ahead, I’m very curious!"

In Lynch’s confident smile, he began to slowly reveal his solution.

Speaking of where in Sabin City can quickly mobilize hundreds of thousands or millions, it’s undoubtedly the bank.

The six major private banks possess wealth on par with nations, able to gather countless funds anytime, anywhere. Lynch’s plan was to get this money through the bank; as for how to obtain it, it related to the contract changes he urged Mr. Fox to modify earlier.

Borrowers borrowing money from him need collateral; this collateral is key to getting money from the bank. In other words, if Mr. Fox is bold enough, he alone can monopolize all personal and public funding assistance businesses in Sabin City!

But in this, there’s still a need for someone to act as a connecting third party, and that third party is Lynch.

The reason Lynch dared to tell Mr. Fox directly is precisely because of this point.

All of Sabin City is cracking down on money laundering and financial crimes. At this time, someone as "prominent" as Mr. Fox wanting to borrow money from the bank, even if his procedures are legal, the bank would not dare lend him money.

Who knows what the nature of this money will turn into, or if it will attract the attention of the FBI and Federal Tax Bureau?

But if there’s a third party, it’s different. This third party not only proved their integrity in the media, but they even got the friendship of the Tax Bureau’s Director, so as long as it’s not too outrageous, why would a bank reject a major client like Lynch?

It’s like a strictly gated area prohibiting entry to strangers; Mr. Fox is that stranger. He doesn’t have an access card and isn’t an insider; the guards won’t let him through.

But if someone leads him – someone considered a small leader who is willing to take full responsibility for Mr. Fox’s actions, why would the guards, for others’ affairs, offend someone?

Hence Lynch doesn’t mind saying it directly: If Mr. Fox wants to go solo, he’ll not only find himself unable to enjoy even a blade of grass, but he might end up breaking all his teeth!

In this world, besides parents and relatives, no one has yet been born who can take advantage of him!