Darkstone Code

Chapter 1204 - 1202: Bankruptcy and...

There are always people worried about banks. If the banks lend out so much money every year, what if someone can’t repay it?

Actually, there’s no need at all. The banks make astonishing profits every year and rarely fail to recover their money because they never lend to the poor, only to the rich who can afford to repay.

So, poor people can only deposit their money in the bank when their own wealth is insufficient to achieve their dreams. Then the bank lends the poor people’s money to the rich, enabling the rich to continue expanding their businesses and become even wealthier.

But not everyone who can borrow from the bank can afford to repay, as in the case of Judy’s family—they faced a financial crisis, and evidence suggests they will continue to decline.

So the bank appears here.

"I’ve only seen such scenes on TV before," said the male host with a laugh as he leaned on the chair in the dining room, after the bank personnel finished checking and left.

There was also a clip and a label with a number on it. Before this item is removed, it cannot be taken away or sold.

The male host turned and looked at the female host, somewhat apologetically, "I’m sorry, in the end, I couldn’t save your car."

The couple hugged each other, comforting one another.

Judy has yet to come to terms with it; the once... wealthy family was destroyed in an instant. She never realized her family could be so fragile.

From a young age, her life was quite affluent and became more affluent over time. This might not be wealth like the wealthy can have, where they can spend money without limits to buy happiness, but at least living a middle-class life wasn’t a problem.

With her parents’ work getting on track, it might not take many years before they could become shareholders in their respective companies, relying solely on year-end dividends to support the family’s scope and expenses.

If they further pursued entrepreneurship or engaged in some financial investments, the family would become increasingly wealthy until one day when they decided to start their own business...

But within these days, her previous understanding completely changed. She still couldn’t accept how fragile her family was, like her shattered dream of becoming a news anchor—it broke so easily!

She sat on the sofa, lost in thought.

After a while, she couldn’t help but ask, "Will we go bankrupt?"

The male host sighed, "Don’t worry; it’s not that bad yet..."

Hopeful and expecting eyes bloomed in Judy’s gaze as she looked at her father, who seemed capable of anything, hoping he’d tell her this was all just a dream.

The male host didn’t know his daughter had so many thoughts. He looked up at the house, sighed, and said, "We’ll sell the house so we won’t have to continue paying property fees."

"This money should be able to pay off the loan we owe the bank, so we’re not technically bankrupt yet."

Judy fell silent. They only had this one house, and the Federation’s property tax wasn’t cheap, Bupen’s even less so.

"If we sell the house, where will we live?" she asked again.

The male host looked at his wife, "I know a motel outside the city ring, it’s only five dollars a night, and with an extra two dollars, they’ll provide hot water and TV."

"We can stay there temporarily and find jobs; at least we won’t starve to death..."

As he spoke, the male host released his wife, "I have to find someone to buy this house; if I hand it over for a bank auction, its price will be very low."

Banks aren’t completely unkind or unreasonable; as long as the money is repaid within the specified period, which is fifteen days, they won’t take action.

This family is still respected as bank clients, although their credit rating will be adjusted downward.

But if they can’t repay within the timeframe, the bank will apply for execution from the court and auction the house according to law.

Bank auctions have many unknowns; in the newspapers and news, banks are always reported to be auctioning off assets, but how many ordinary people have truly heard of, seen, or know the exact time and location?

No, no one knows. Everything is digested internally, at a very low price!

The male host is aware of this; he must sell the house before the bank does, or he will truly go bankrupt.

Buying a house... is actually very difficult, especially in the initial stages of a recovering and rapidly developing economy.

A large amount of capital is being invested in physical industries, factories, both domestic and foreign trade, combined with expensive property taxes—no one will buy too many useless houses, except for the wealthy.

This also makes it more difficult to sell luxury homes in middle-class communities that are already not easy to sell.

Those who look down on these homes won’t even consider it, just like those who can’t afford them—they don’t care about the price or anything.

As for people who can afford and appreciate these homes and the communities they’re in, they’re also similar middle-class families like Judy’s.

But they can’t come up with the money either, at least not in the short term.

Some say the biggest difference between the middle class and the lower classes—including the proletariat—is the middle class’s full understanding of wealth; they know how to use some of their money for financial investment, stocks, or directly shareholding companies.

This allows the money to multiply, while those at the social bottom don’t understand this; they only know how to use their money or leave it in the bank.

Ironically, the willingness of the middle class to invest makes it hard for even those who want to buy this house to come up with twenty-something grand quickly.

Some people have negotiated with the male host and looked at the house—they like it. Their only request is to extend the time or lower the price.

Since the house payment must be made directly to the bank’s designated account without accepting installments, buyers must pay in full, which is very demanding.

Every day, the male host rides a bicycle he hasn’t touched in thirty years, shuttling between different real estate merchants, each time greeted by disappointing news.

Someone thinks his house is good but is only willing to offer a little over ten grand, which is far below his psychological expectation.

He also went to a well-known second-hand property auction in Bupen; he priced his house at nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars, just one dollar short of twenty grand.

He felt this price was a bit low but within acceptable range; however, unsurprisingly, it went unsold twice, wasting him two hundred dollars in fees.

Until the bank appeared, he couldn’t sell his house!

During this time, Judy’s discontent and even hatred towards Lynch grew more profound; she believed it was Lynch that caused her so much unfair treatment.

She wanted to publish all of this, let people know the true face of Lynch, yet no media was willing to publish the content.

No one would offend Lynch for her, no one!

Eventually, the entire house was successfully auctioned for nine thousand eight hundred and twenty-five dollars. Adding their dwindling savings, the money from selling the second-hand car, plus borrowing a bit from relatives and friends, they repaid the bank’s debt.

After twenty years of hard work, overnight, they returned to the situation they were in when they graduated.

After signing his name on the last document, the male host seemed like he lost his soul.

In the afternoon, Lynch returned from the office. The Future Light’s industrial incubator park was about to be completed; he went to inspect, and there were already companies moving in.

This is great news. After the official completion ceremony, they can start heavily promoting this industrial park.

He also met with the mayor. The mayor understands the value of this industrial incubator; he discussed with Lynch his willingness to push City Hall and the six major banks to jointly provide some policy support, such as policy and funding assistance.

Startups certainly face significant funding gaps; they can unite to quickly help these startup enterprises mature.

For the mayor, he pays only a tilt in policy, a few subsidies, yet can bring many job opportunities to the city, increasing his personal prestige, and accumulating political capital for himself.

The banks also won’t lose out; as long as there is one successful venture out of a hundred, they can break even, so why not try?

Moreover, Lynch is standing at the forefront; if this doesn’t make money, would Lynch be doing it?

As soon as he got home and hadn’t rested for a while, the community service company’s phone rang.

Then the little maid told Lynch that a gentleman and lady claiming to be Judy’s parents wanted to see him.

Judy’s parents’ choice was undeniably clever.

If they went to the company to find Lynch, the front desk would likely tell them there was no appointment, and Lynch might not even know they visited, then security would politely ask them to leave.

Directly visiting the residence might be somewhat presumptuous, but at least there’s a chance.

The community service company wouldn’t know who these two are; they just need to convey their intentions to the security guards, and the guards have to respond.

Very smart.

After listening, Lynch raised an eyebrow, pondered for a moment, and agreed to see these two people.

A few minutes later, Judy’s parents appeared in the living room of the house.

They stood while Lynch sat.

"I’m very sorry to disturb your rest, Mr. Lynch, and I deeply apologize for this!"

The man looked like he aged more than ten years in just a month, his previously glossy hair had lost all its luster, each strand seemed to be where it shouldn’t be, making him look filled with gloom.

His face also lost its radiance, leaving only dim and helpless emotions running across his expression.

His back was slightly hunched, his posture bowed, life was like a mountain crushing him.

Lynch gestured to the sofa across from him, "You can sit and talk; you know, I don’t like speaking with people while looking up."

The couple cautiously and carefully sat on the sofa across from Lynch...