Darkstone Code
Chapter 84 - 0083 Do you think you’re smart enough? I hope so!

Chapter 84: 0083 Do you think you’re smart enough? I hope so!

The entertainment industry, the entertainment world, will not only become the most lucrative area in the future, but it will also be a place where many people become influential.

The Federation is a magical country; as long as there’s enough influence, a cat, a dog, a horse, or even a pig could run for President.

Of course, if they can afford the expensive campaign costs, they might even have a chance to win.

The birth of the Federation’s President is closely connected to the elections by the people. According to the Bail Federal Charter and related election laws, as long as one is a resident of the Federation and formally holds a job, he/she/it has a vote.

Yes, the "it" here is not a typo. To date, Bail Federal has had over a hundred animal citizens, which is naturally not a miracle, but you could also say it’s a miracle—it’s a miracle of these pet owners and a miracle of wealth.

The miraculous part is that as long as their owners are generous enough, someone will sort out these pet citizens’ identity issues. They can even work, for example, becoming "movie workers." This is neither a metaphor nor an insult; indeed, some dogs participate in movie filming.

A politician who wants to realize his life value and ambitions in politics must first be recognized by people before they vote for him.

Some choose to become actors. There are several legislators in the Senate who were opera or film actors before entering politics, and there are also examples of stars going into politics in some state assemblies.

First, politicians need to be recognized, listened to, and believed in. Nothing makes people know someone faster than becoming a celebrity.

No one can recite the names of the mayors in every city under Bail Federal’s seventeen states, but many can name all the big stars on the screen in recent years, know how many movies they’ve filmed, how the box office was, any scandals, favorite perfume, favorite brand of underwear, favorite...

To first work in the entertainment industry, become famous, and then enter politics is a proven effective path, but it’s not entirely safe; at least, it’s less effective in the North. The northerners are more traditional; they don’t like their leaders being "actors."

However, this trick works in the South, where people are more avant-garde and active in accepting new things.

Even if actors have no political aspirations, some politicians will wish to maintain good relations with actors and film companies, not only because the entertainment industry generates a significant income of various sorts, but also as it serves as an important conduit for political ideologies.

So operating in the entertainment world is not just about making money easily; one can also gain many unexpected things like friendship or intermediaries.

If Mr. Fox isn’t interested in investing in the entertainment industry, Lynch himself would later start an entertainment company. Luckily, Mr. Fox is an interesting person and a good friend.

After briefly discussing the forthcoming decisions, the attention of the three people in the room, mainly Mr. Fox and his son, shifted from the new investment project to Lynch’s second-hand goods auction.

Mr. Fox was actually holding a rolled-up flyer when he entered, which he handed to young Fox to look at before giving it to Lynch.

"Lynch, I’m very curious, won’t you lose money doing this?"

The flyer described promotional content, such as being the largest and most comprehensive second-hand goods auction market in the state, which was a part of Mr. Fox’s high interest.

After selling his secured items to Lynch, he received a significant amount of capital to deal with the bank’s interest, and now his demand for money isn’t so urgent. Soon, as the first loan enters its harvest period, the money will start rolling in independently.

He wanted to know how Lynch managed to sell those hard-to-sell items. Initially, he wanted to ask in person, but unexpectedly, he was handed a flyer on the street.

His question referred to a very noticeable tagline at the bottom of the flyer which stated that the first people to enter the venue could claim a belt with the flyer after the auction ended.

These days, synthetic leather is indeed available, but the expensive price of synthetic leather is nothing compared to a low-grade genuine leather belt; it’s absurd, but it’s reality. Any trendy, newly discovered item will have a price that’s seemingly off in relation to its actual value—even if that will drop in the future, that’s in the future.

A thousand genuine leather belts, each at least five dollars, would make five thousand dollars for a thousand belts. Together with venue rental fees, the hosting cost for this auction may be twenty to thirty thousand. They’re curious if Lynch can sell items this way and how many he can sell.

Lynch glanced at the flyer, nodded subtly; he was pleased with the design, which was decided after he personally guided Richard.

The front had two contents: an introduction of the second-hand auction’s time, place, and two exaggerated promotional phrases, along with a prominently visible free belt giveaway highlighted in red and yellow.

The back contained some auction process and listings, focusing on items likely to catch people’s attention.

Originally, Richard’s idea was to be as detailed as possible but was rejected by Lynch. It’s not Richard’s fault; it’s an era’s limitation. This is a time without big data, when information dissemination isn’t smooth, when people still retain some simplicity. This is when productivity cannot fully meet people’s living needs.

People’s attention is more focused on practicality issues, hence they appear somewhat simple. Sometimes simplicity, a word of praise, is used to insult.

Therefore, Lynch rejected Richard’s initial phone directory-style flyer design and opted for this simple, direct flyer. The purpose of the flyer isn’t to inform people but to serve as a filter.

It has strong filtering abilities: the first-round filter lets people with the flyer attend the normal auction if their recent financial problems aren’t severe, having potential consumption desires, at least capable of wasting a day to attend the auction instead of searching for work outside.

The second-round filter targets people who love getting small favors, just like Mr. Fox’s initial concern, focusing people’s attention on the free belt.

These people, whose financial issues aren’t severe yet enjoy a small bargain, generally have a similar trait: having very noticeable impulsive and blind behavior during consumption.

As long as the price is cheap enough, even if the item isn’t a necessity, they’ll buy it in the heat of the moment.

Plus, there’s a third filter, which lists trendy items on the back. Many of these are new products that have just been released. Their prices remain firm.

When people see those goods marked with steep discounts at fifty or sixty percent off, they inevitably feel a "I’ll go take a look even if I don’t buy" mentality.

After three rounds of filtering, these people have become Lynch’s most crucial clients, ultimately becoming Lynch’s most important wealth source.

Lynch previously chatted in a small room with a well-known telecommunications industry professional and asked why certain methods that seem unable to fool a child could trap someone for life.

That guy told Lynch an insight: when you find some information childish, it’s not that you think they’re childish, but they’ve filtered you out.

You’re not necessarily smart; you simply don’t have the value for being deceived, that’s all!