Blackstone Code

Chapter 2:  Stating the Fact

Mr. Fox has some reputation on this street. He belongs to the kind of "capable" person. He is willing to help the poor and lend money to the poor to get them through the difficulties.

Of course, he is not a purely good person, he also needs the poor people to give him some kind of reward, some of which may be more than the principal.\

But in general, he is a good person, maybe, perhaps, probably.

In an underground office, Lynch met Mr. Fox, a gentleman who looked forty-ish.

He wore this year's most popular dark gray suit with red and blue dots. The neckline is that of a red and blue silk scarf, which is not so formal, but very elegant. 

Before Lynch came here, Mr. Fox had heard about the anomaly of this kid from his men, such as what he said before, which made him a little curious.

"Are you not afraid of me?", he asked his subordinates to press Lynch on the chair opposite side of the desk. "There are few people on this street who are not afraid of me."

Lynch did not show the slightest sense of fear. Such a scene can only be said to be trivial. He shrugged and asked back, "Mr. Fox, will you hurt me?"

This sentence made Mr. Fox stunned. He thought about it seriously, then shook his head, "I generally don't take the initiative to hurt anyone, but if you do something unfriendly first..."

Hurting others for no reason is a stupid thing to do. First of all, it will make their own image worse, and secondly, they will be targeted by the Bureau of Investigation because of such purposeless actions.

Most people are looking for money, they are not looking for trouble. Mr. Fox is the same.

That's right, then why should I be afraid?" The calmness and smile on Lynch's face made Mr. Fox have such a moment of doubt.

He glanced at the assistant next to him, and then put his gaze on Lynch’s face again, "But my people say you have been staring at me these past few days, maybe you can tell me why this is. Are you one of the people of the Bureau of Investigation?"

Before they came, they had searched Lynch's body and found nothing to prove his identity, and the outfits on him did not fit the style of the Bureau of Investigation. So, Fox didn't think he was a detective of the Bureau of Investigation.

This is also where he is curious. This kid has been staring at his property and the laundry shop and he also inquired about this kid's identity. Because of his curiosity and vigilance, this scene happened.

He wanted to know what Lynch was doing.

He picked up the notebook in Lynch's pocket and flipped through a few pages. It was full of things that he couldn't understand. He asked the assistant who graduated from college next to him. The college student assistant didn't know what the words on it meant either.

The enthusiastic smile on Lynch's face made Fox feel...a little uncomfortable, it felt like... he didn't know how to describe it, it was like he was shown concern over.

"Well, Mr. Fox. I have noticed the laundry business and some of your little troubles, plus I believe you have investigated me and know the problems I am facing now...",

Mr. Fox nodded and emphasized, "Poverty!"

Lynch pointed to the ceiling, attracted Mr. Fox's attention with small gestures, and took back the right to speak, "You are right, so I need to get rid of the financial crisis as soon as possible. I want to do a little business with you."

All of a sudden, everyone in the office laughed. Mr. Fox, his assistant, and two big guys who are not to be trifled were also laughing.

Lynch looked at Mr. Fox without a hint of embarrassment. After they stopped laughing for a few seconds, he then reaffirmed, "This is not a joke."

Mr. Fox laughed again. While laughing, he made a joke, "But I don't think there is any business between us...". When the laughter ended naturally, he frowned, "You want to borrow money?"

Lynch shook his head, "No, to do business, Mr. Fox!"

Mr. Fox laughed enough but the curiosity and thirst for knowledge in his bones made him continue the conversation. At the very least, until he learns the answer or loses interest, he would not stop this interesting conversation.

"Then what business do you want to do with me?"

Lynch’s confident and sunny smile makes it easy for people to feel good, “I can provide more change, five cents, tenths, twenty-five cents, and 50 cents. They are all coins, both old and new..."

Mr. Fox's complexion changed abruptly, and there was something in his slightly squinted eyes. If he had to interpret what this gaze was, it would be killing intent.

"Do you know what you're doing?", he couldn't help taking out a cigarette and lighting it up. "You are bold!"

Lynch remained unmoved, "I'm not afraid of being poor. Will I be afraid of other things?"

The two looked at each other for a moment. It seemed that this guy named Lynch was indeed a bold person. At the same time his words also made Mr. Fox really interested.

Some industries will have some gray areas. For example, the financial company he currently runs is not completely legal. Not only is the Bureau of Investigation staring at him, but the Federal Revenue Service is doing the same. [1]

He needs to pay taxes reasonably and legally with the money in his hands through some channels, without being too noticeable. This laundry shop is a good channel.

No one cares about where each coin comes from, and they don't know where those coins come from. In the entire Baylor Federation, all the laundry shops are basically controlled by these people.

But there is a problem, and that is it is too slow!

The middle class and the upper class have their own washing machines. They don't need to take their clothes to the streets to wash them. Only the poor do that.

But the poor often save up a week’s worth of clothes to wash them all at once.

For this reason, people like Mr. Fox have deliberately come up with a new pricing standard, charging now by the pound, but this is still a drop in the bucket.

After all, you can't force everyone to wash your clothes every day. Doing so will only attract the attention of the Bureau of Investigation and the IRS. This is also the biggest sore point of Mr. Fox.

Obviously, the safe is full of money, but you can't take it out to spend. That feeling is terrible!

The bastard in front of him said that he could solve this problem. This immediately made Mr. Fox interested, "What are you going to do?"

Lynch didn't try to conceal his method at all. He couldn't hide it. No matter what he did, with his current status, he couldn't stop Mr. Fox from investigating it. It's better to just say it and show his sincerity.

"I will collect a lot of coins and resell them to you in exchange for a part of the cost, and my income is the difference."

Mr. Fox glanced at his assistant again. The assistant whispered in his ear for a while before he frowned and asked, "How much do you want?"

Lynch’s enthusiastic smile made Mr. Fox once again feel the illusion of being inexplicably cared for, "10%!"

"Are you crazy?" Mr. Fox couldn't help but yell out, "I would rather wait slowly!"

He can't accept the price of 10% at all. When the transaction amount is one dollar, it is only ten cents.

But when the transaction amount is one hundred thousand dollars or even one million dollars, it is a distressing number.

Lynch did not bargain with him immediately, but asked a new question, "Mr. Fox, do you have the "Trade News" here?"

"Trade News" is one of the largest newspaper  in Baylor Federation. It covers the Baylor Federation's 17 States as well as other regions. The content is primarily about some of the national and international financial and economic trends, as well as some local financial and economic changes.

In a series of "confrontations", Mr. Fox gradually lost his initiative. He glanced at his assistant, and the assistant nodded, indicating that there was indeed the newspaper in question.

Although their business is not that appropriate, their work is indeed closely related to finance.

"Give me a copy as early as possible, and a copy of the latest, and I will let you know who is the real winner in the transaction between us!"

Lynch's firm and powerful voice and his confident expression made Mr. Fox begin to faintly believe it, just like when Lynch used to speak with a microphone in front of a large group of people.

People looked at him and believed that what he said was true, and finally put the money in his pocket and thanked him!

[1]: May be Federal Revenue Bureau or Federal Tax Bureau. Also known as the IRS.