Soon, someone brought two glasses of water. The manager naturally placed his hands on the desk, his fingers clasped together.
At this point, he separated his palms and spread his hands out, "So...what do you guys do here?"
The company has a lot of business, and some of it doesn't even go through his hands, so it's impossible for him to know the specifics of every transaction.
Erwin didn't know what to say, but Lance seemed natural and relaxed.
"We're in a bit of trouble and need a little money."
The manager's face broke into a smile, "That's no problem at all, that's what we're here for."
"How much do you want?"
"Two hundred."
"Two hundred?"
"Two hundred!"
The manager didn't feel that the amount was too small. The finance companies here would take advantage of everyone, big or small. And in terms of the actual interest rate, the smaller the amount, the higher the actual return.
Perhaps a thousand dollars would be calculated at an annual interest rate of 50-60%, but if you borrowed ten thousand, the annual interest rate might only be 20-30%.
Moreover, the risk of lending small amounts of money is lower. The probability of someone running away with a few hundred dollars is absolutely different from the probability of someone running away with tens of thousands of dollars.
Of course, before that, he definitely needs to find out the basic information about the person in front of him. He can't just give them money as soon as they arrive.
That's not capital turnover, that's fucking charity.
"I don't think you guys are from around here based on your accents,"
Lance didn't deny it, "We're from the Empire."
The manager shrugged, "I often see the news about what happened in your country on the news. It's really a terrible place. So do you have any collateral?"
"You're not from here, and if you run away, I'll have a hard time finding you."
"It's better for me not to give you the loan than to advance this expenditure for you."
Lance knew this was going to be a difficult process, and he had to explain a little. "We don't have any collateral..." Looking at the manager, who seemed to be wearing that "you've got to be fucking kidding me" expression and mood, Lance preempted him, saying, "But we have the ability to repay."
Facing the manager's puzzled expression, he explained, "We have fourteen people here, and we all work in King Kong City. Because of our lack of legal status, it is also difficult for us to go elsewhere."
"After all, you know, there are fewer opportunities to work elsewhere, and it's also less safe. Other cities are not as tolerant as King Kong City, so we won't run away."
The manager agreed with this point of view. He opened his cigarette case, turned it around a bit, and made an inviting gesture.
Lance took out a cigarette, and Erwin just looked at it without taking one.
The manager found Lance interesting and pushed a lighter over to him. It was a very classic table lighter. "Can you use it?"
Table lighters from this period all had storylines. It looked the size of an adult's palm – just the base.
On the base was a statue of a clown holding a torch. When you pressed one of the little man's arms, he would spit out a spark at the wick of the torch in his hand, and the torch would be lit.
It is filled with kerosene – the wick of the kerosene, and a flint.
This kind of table lighter was very popular, and came in a variety of shapes and sizes, with prices ranging from low to high.
Lance took a cigarette and leaned in, taking a deep breath, as if to relax his whole body.
Watching Lance smoke so skillfully, the manager also lit a cigarette for himself, and continued the conversation, saying, "Let's continue with the topic we were discussing. Tell me how you can guarantee that after I give you this money, I can still get it back."
"There are fourteen of us, and even if each of us only makes fifteen dollars a month, that's still two hundred and ten dollars."
"If I give you half of that, it will only take you a maximum of three months to pay it back in full."
"And I'm sure that even if we lose our jobs and can't pay you back, we can work for you to pay off the debt. We have a lot of people, so you don't need to worry about that at all."
After hearing this, the manager felt that it was indeed reasonable, but there was still one problem, "How can you guarantee that I can still find you?"
"You can take our picture."
That was a good idea, but the manager still decided to ask one more question, "Can I ask what you want the money for?"
"After all, two hundred dollars is not a small amount for you."
Lance did not hide anything and spoke directly, 'We've run into a problem. A son of a bitch of a woman is trying to extort money from us..."
After listening to Lance's simple account of the whole thing, the manager became a little interested, 'I have a new suggestion. Do you want to hear it?"
Lance said, flicking the ashes from his cigarette, "Do we have the right to refuse?"
The manager laughed heartily, 'It seems not...' He paused, "I'll help you settle this... You still owe me two hundred dollars, but I can lower the interest rate."
"In fact, it is more beneficial to you if I settle this matter than if you pay the money directly."
"According to company regulations, for a small loan of 200 yuan, we will not charge you interest. You will need to pay me 350 yuan within six months, including principal and interest."
"Now I will reduce the interest rate for you a bit, so that within six months you only need to pay me 320 yuan, including principal and interest, which is 53.5 yuan per month. This is my reward for your outstanding performance."
Looking at the confident smile on the manager's face, Lance did not directly agree or refuse, but instead gave a new multiple-choice question: "We will give you 250 yuan with interest, and this money will not go through the company's accounts, but directly to you."
The manager froze for a moment, and then began to laugh loudly, and the laughter grew louder and louder, completely uncontrollable.
Lance vaguely understood where the problem was.
"This company is yours?"
The manager nodded and covered his stomach, "This is so funny, you're trying to bribe me in front of me!"
"Hahaha, you're really funny, not at all like the guy next to you who is dull and stupid. I haven't asked yet, what's your name?"
"Lance...", he spelled it.
"An odd name, but you're a funny guy, Lance."
"In light of the fact that you made me laugh so much, 280 dollars for six months."
"That's my final offer. If it were anyone else, I'd have told them to get out the moment they tried to bargain!"
The manager spoke with a hint of arrogance, in these times of lack of capital, as long as you had cash in hand, you need not fear not finding a lender.
Some might not be willing to bear such a terrible interest rate, but there were plenty willing to take a chance.
Two hundred dollars, plus eighty dollars in interest, this interest rate in this era in this city was not at all expensive!
Lance didn't hesitate much. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, then stood up while exhaling his last drag and held out his hand, "I'm glad we could come to an agreement, sir."
The manager also stood up after a brief moment of distraction and shook Lance's hand, 'You're very funny, Lance. Now I'm your creditor."
Then he shouted towards the door, 'Fodis, get in here!"
Not long after, a burly man pushed open the door and stood inside, "Boss, you wanted to see me?"
The manager let go of Lance's hand and pointed at him, 'Go with him to fix a female son of a bitch, then go to where he works and take a look around, then bring back some food..."
He looked at Lance, 'You're not like the other people I've met your age. To be honest, there's something special about you, I like you, and I don't think you'll be an ordinary person in the future."
"I hope to hear your name mentioned again in Kingang City, Lance."
"And don't forget the money you owe me. If you forget, I'll have someone remind you, and you definitely won't like it. Understand?"
Although he found Lance interesting, business was business.
The girls who ran their own low-cost businesses on the side of the road would not take the initiative to reduce some of the fees just because the guests who patronized them were regulars.
If they really like you, they might let you stay with them after work, but if you want to do something during work, you have to pay.
After a simple threat to Lance, he let them go.
For him, 280 dollars is less than 47 dollars a month.
But it's a lot of 47 dollars that supports his current life.
And this time there is no risk at all, because he has not paid a single penny out, and he has met an interesting guy.
Lance's abruptness, which was somewhat incompatible with the world, made the manager a little more tolerant and willing to wait and see how things developed.
When Lance and Alvin walked out of the finance company, their friends immediately gathered around them, asking about the final result.
Lance told them that it was settled, while also giving them a heads-up, "Three dollars per person per month, that's forty-two, and Ethan will pay the remaining five dollars himself. It's his fault, so he should pay a little more."
No one had any objections to this, and they all obeyed Lance's words.
Fudis frowned, "We're still in a hurry."
Lance immediately agreed, and told the other kids to wait for news while he and Alvin got into the company car and, under Alvin's guidance, headed towards the port.
The guy who called the police to arrest Ethan lives in a workers' apartment near the port.
This was Lance's first time riding in a car in this world. It was far more luxurious on the inside than it appeared on the outside, especially the walnut wood and calfskin upholstery, which gave it a sense of understated luxury.
"How much does this car cost?"
Fodis said without looking back as he drove the car, "20,000 yuan."
Lance whistled and said no more.
Twenty thousand dollars, although he dared to think about it, it was not easy to come up with.
The car was a little bumpy, and the lack of a good suspension made the ride very "hard", but it was ultimately a car, and as a man, he definitely wouldn't hate it.
The car stopped outside the port worker's apartment. Fordis followed Lance and Alvin, mainly Alvin, to the fourth floor of the apartment and knocked on a door.
"It's you?", the woman's son, who was drunk, raised his eyebrows when he saw Erwin. 'Have you got the money together?"
Lance pulled Erwin aside, and Fordis stood in front of the man and said in a not-so-menacing tone, 'Go to the police station and withdraw the report you filed. This matter will end here."
The woman's son didn't buy it at all. Maybe it was because he had drunk too much that his mind had become a bit unbalanced.
He pushed Fodis and said, "Where did you find this actor?"
"You bunch of sneaky sons of bitches, don't think that just because you're big you can scare me."
"I'm telling you, it's very simple to get me to withdraw the case, just put 200 yuan in my hand, otherwise..."
He stopped talking because Fudis lifted his jacket to reveal the holster and gun inside. "Want to try if it can go off?"
The woman's son of a bitch drunk suddenly woke up, took a step back, raised his hands, and stood back inside the door frame. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize the situation..."