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Because of some characters that will appear in the later chapters, MC’s name will change to Lynch instead of Lin Qi. Please let me know if you notice something incorrect in the chapters
Chapter 130: Shoulders Laden with Responsibility, Hands Firmly Grasping Duty
"You have two options."
"The first, I will sponsor all your expenses during your time at university, providing you with enough support. This is my investment in your education, and you need to achieve good grades to prove that this investment is not wasted."
"The second, under the same conditions as above, regardless of whether you graduate, you must work for me for ten years. You know, I am a capitalist, exploitation is my motto."
"But...," Lynch coughed lightly, "Look, I am a young man..."
Quickly, Katherine interrupted Lynch's playful implications. Her expression was somewhat complex. "The second option, then. After I graduate, I will work for you for ten years."
She knew Lynch said this to ease her burden. After all, they had already broken up. In theory, Lynch didn't need to bear any of her expenses or provide job arrangements for her family.
They were just friends now, but friends wouldn't do this. So Lynch found some excuses to allow her to accept this help without hurting her self-esteem or dignity.
Both of them were intelligent people, otherwise, they wouldn't have dreamed of going to university. While other less fortunate kids dropped out of high school to work at fast food restaurants or gas stations, they still held hope for the future.
Lynch pointed to the girl. "I look forward to your performance..." He handed her an envelope. "There is some money inside, enough for your expenses during this time, along with your passbook. I will deposit some money into it every month. Don't worry too much."
He glanced sideways. "So, shouldn't you give me a hug in the end?"
The girl met his playful gaze and finally opened her arms to embrace him tightly for a brief half-minute. They didn't speak during that time, but soon they separated.
She "snatched" the envelope from Lynch's hand, a smile spreading across her face. "Just you wait, I'll definitely make your jaw drop!"
Watching the girl leave in a car, Lynch scratched his head and returned to the living room. Everything was just like two days ago, not much had changed.
On the other side, Katherine sat in the car and couldn't resist opening the envelope Lynch gave her. Inside was her passbook, which she hadn't expected Lynch to keep.
According to the bank’s standard procedures, when an account had no balance, they would warn the customer. And if no money was deposited within a week, they would proceed to close the passbook.
This was for the convenience of the bank's overall management. In the absence of information technology, a lot of passbook management work was done manually.
She felt emotional for a moment, then continued digging and found a stack of money. Counting it, she found fifty bills, each worth twenty bucks, totaling one thousand bucks.
For her, this was already a substantial sum of money. She had never had control over so much money in her life.
Just as she thought there was nothing else in the envelope and was about to discard it, she suddenly felt that it still felt somewhat heavy. She flipped the envelope over and gave it a shake, and a ring immediately fell into her hand.
Noticing it was gold ring, she moved towards the car window, allowing the sunlight to fall more abundantly on her hand. Then, she saw the inscription inside the ring.
"This jerk..." Tears quickly filled the girl's eyes, which she swiftly wiped away. Then she put the ring on her finger. "It's a bit big."
It seemed like an explanation, yet also like speaking to herself.
The scenery outside the car window kept retreating, and soon the car stopped on the street outside Katherine's home. Initially, there were a few loitering boys on the street, but as soon as they saw the car stop, they vanished instantly.
Everyone knew that in this society, one might disrespect the law, but they must bow down to money.
Katherine thanked the driver for bringing her back and bid him goodbye before returning home with her bag.
As soon as she opened the door, her parents gathered around, discussing the events of the past two days when she wasn't at home. In short, the previously tense and serious atmosphere vanished in an instant, replaced by her father's genial smile and her mother's renewed radiance.
Katherine felt helpless about it but didn't dislike it. This was her family, an ordinary person with her ordinary family.
Thursday, a day with no surprises. The entire Sabin City was shrouded in increasing unemployment rates. The faces of pedestrians on the streets were mostly devoid of smiles, filled with worries instead.
It was on such a day that a group of people was about to start splitting a huge cake.
Lynch specifically dressed in formal attire, feeling like he was about to catch fire all over. Fortunately, the moving car brought some hotter wind.
There weren't many cars on the road at this time, and since cars didn't have air conditioning yet, each one moving under the sun felt like an oven. Being a "big shot" wasn't easy, at least ordinary people could take off their clothes in such situations, but Lynch not only couldn't take off his clothes, he had to ensure the buttons of his shirt collar were fastened.
Fortunately, the journey was relatively smooth, and he arrived at the Sabin City Courthouse within the specified time. The properties of EverBright Group in Sabin City were seized by the Federal Tax Bureau, and the Sabin City Courthouse was entrusted to auction these properties, so anyone participating in this auction needed to be present here.
Stepping out of the car, Lynch followed Ferrall's instructions and made his way to the entrance of Courtroom Nine. There, he was greeted by a gentle breeze of cool air wafting out from the open doors of the courthouse.
As he approached the entrance, two individuals dressed in police uniforms reached out to halt his progress. Both of them fixed their gaze firmly on him. "Sorry, sir," one of them said, "this event is not open to the public."
Some hearings or auctions might be open to the public, but some weren't. Specific information could be found in the local newspapers—anything with information was open to the public and could be attended. As for those that weren't publicized, there was no need to bother because most people wouldn't know about them.
After Lynch presented the invitation provided by Ferrall, one of the policemen glanced at it, then at Lynch, and gestured to his companion to step aside. Returning the invitation to Lynch, he said, "You may proceed inside."
Lynch didn't express any dissatisfaction with the obstruction from the two officers nor did he show any other emotion. This was just their job, after all—they were just doing their duty.
Inside Courtroom Nine, about thirty people were already seated in groups of three or five, casting curious glances at Lynch. But no one approached him for a chat.
He chose a relatively backseat and sat down alone. He was well aware of Ferrall's intentions, and he didn't intend to disrupt the auction, which likely had results decided days ago.
As time passed, after the last two groups arrived, the police closed the doors, and the auction of seized assets began.
"Lot one, a seventeen-story office building at 41 Sailing Road in the central district, with a total area of... and includes... facilities. The overall market value is two million two hundred and fifty thousand, starting price is six hundred thousand..."
"Mr. bidder number four, sixty thousand. Any higher bids?"
"Sixty thousand, going once..."
"Sixty thousand, going twice..."
"Sixty thousand, sold!"
The courtroom staff responsible for the auction showed no inclination to encourage bidding whatsoever. They seemed merely to be going through the motions, as evidenced by the sale of a downtown office building worth over two million, potentially even more, for an outrageously low price.
However, Lynch saw things from a more profound perspective. He understood that a low price might not necessarily reflect the true value. Those who acquired these assets would naturally be obliged to provide corresponding job opportunities and utilize them to create their original societal and economic value.
Even if some of these assets were given to him now, he wouldn't be able to manage them. Especially for certain factories and the like, aside from whether he could afford the raw materials for production, the inability to quickly recoup funds from the produced goods alone could be enough to bankrupt him.
He simply watched as one valuable asset after another was sold for an extremely low price.
What those people imagined at his second-hand goods auction unexpectedly became a reality here—there were no competing bidders, and all items were sold at the lowest starting price.
If those people with such thoughts knew about this "miracle," they would surely be pleased, right?!
All participants seemed accustomed to it, not surprised at all by their acquisition of items at the lowest price. This was just a show, a play, all to silence certain people in the process.
Lynch had originally intended to go through this motion simply, but unexpectedly, there were some auction items that piqued his interest—some trucks.
Over thirty trucks and over forty various trailers were being sold for only a hundred and ten thousand. The price was similarly ridiculously low, yet no one seemed interested.
EverBright Group had its own logistics company, yet the bidders present either had their own logistics companies or partnered with others, rendering them uninterested in EverBright Group's trucks.
One truck equaled one truck driver. Over thirty trucks meant over thirty job positions, plus additional staff. These assets could create at least fifty jobs, yet they didn't have high demand.
They weren't interested, but Lynch was very interested. He didn't disrupt the auction but quietly observed.
In the end, no one bid for the trucks.
After the auction, Lynch immediately called Ferrall to discuss the situation. If no one was willing to take over these trucks, he didn't mind, for the sake of upholding federal laws and local order, taking on some responsibility and contributing some effort.
Regardless, Mr. Lynch was also a responsible businessman with a sense of social responsibility!
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