Chapter 72: Always Putting Clients First Is the Key to Success

The gentlemen sitting here paid little attention to Lynch’s business. Auction houses that truly made money were those serving the upper class.

Ten thousand ordinary people couldn’t match the impressive returns created by a single wealthy person. Ordinary buyers hesitated and dropped out if prices exceeded their budget even slightly.

But the rich were different. They only cared about what they liked or disliked, never the actual value of an auction item. For what they liked, there was effectively no upper limit.

The conversation quickly returned from Lynch’s or others’ businesses to the financial market, exchanging rumors—though none were truly reliable.

In fact, genuinely trustworthy insider information never circulates widely; it stays among a few people, not spreading to those far from the federal financial centers as these men did.

From another perspective, these rumors were unverifiable, mostly coming from their stock brokers, many of whom were not entirely trustworthy.

The social card game ended amid casual chatter. Lynch wasn’t lucky; he lost about ten Sol. Others had mixed results but with small amounts.

This was a social game, not gambling for profit—meant to network, understand each other’s political stances and business attitudes, and decide who could be good friends.

After the game, two gentlemen invited Lynch to a small gathering with other residents and some social acquaintances.

This was the core of middle-class community culture, though it would grow colder with time and societal changes, as people began refusing to share opportunities.

It might not be the best era, but certainly not the worst.

Watching people leave, Lynch called the community service company to clean up the mess.

Over several days, Lynch attended various social events and started paying close attention to the financial market. At all three gatherings, the focus was always on how much people had made by lying down in the market.

When everyone is making money, the risk grows—disaster looms. The reason is simple: for someone to profit, someone else must lose. Profits don’t arise from nothing, though losses may be delayed.

One morning, Lynch watched TV as politicians boasted about the federal economy’s astonishing achievements, as if all was the president’s and their orchestration. Suddenly, the phone rang.

Turning down the TV volume, Lynch answered, “This is Lynch…”

Sometimes unrelated celebrity interviews or talk shows reveal unnoticed details. A politician’s comment on achievements caught Lynch’s interest.

“Lynch, it’s me, Fox. Can you come by? We need to talk.”

The call came later than Lynch expected. He thought Fox would get into trouble sooner. Still, it wasn’t too late. After a quick preparation, he left.

He considered buying a better car—a luxury car to look like a successful man. In a small room before, he had met a man who had no money but rented a top-tier luxury car with the proceeds from selling his house, dressed sharply, and faked photos with leaders to scam a lot of money.

Interestingly, the man turned himself in; otherwise, he would have disappeared forever.

People always warn themselves not to be shallow, but everyone makes the same mistake.

At Gatner Financial Company, the queue was as long as before. Middle-class and upper-class people discussed financial investment dividends but ignored the growing problems at society’s bottom.

Fox greeted Lynch warmly. “Are you free for lunch? Let’s eat together.”

After Lynch arrived, Fox began explaining his trouble, “We’ve been good partners, no need to beat around the bush. I have a problem.”

Lynch nodded. “I’m listening…”

“With some agreements expiring, part of the collateral rights have transferred. You know, these things belong to me now, but I’m having trouble liquidating them efficiently.”

Lynch suggested abandoning some collateral in favor of high-interest operations. Fox was pleased; it was a big deal with assured profit but hadn’t expected the liquidation to be so hard.

From fine dinnerware to an unused oven, even new items were hard to sell at half their original prices.

The wealthy wouldn’t buy used goods; they had an inexplicable cleanliness obsession triggered by still having some money.

Poor people wanted these items but had no money to buy them—let alone those who pawned them for loans, who certainly wouldn’t buy here.

Items were hard to sell and took up space. Fox had rented over ten warehouses in the suburbs to store them, which was exhausting.

Worse, he had to pay bank interest. Although Lynch and George’s negotiations, along with federal policies, lowered loan interest rates, Fox still had to pay interest.

He could skip principal repayments but not interest. His debt was snowballing. He invested most money into “making money with money,” keeping only a small emergency fund.

Ending some agreements now would cause huge losses, especially with compound interest loans. After paying bank interest, profit was minimal. He was reluctant to end agreements early and had called clever Lynch for advice, confident Lynch had solutions.

After hearing Fox’s troubles, Lynch casually took a cigar from the iron box on Fox’s desk. “You can sell those collaterals. Someone will want them.”

Fox said nothing. Behind him, Fox Jr. shook his head. “We tried, but yesterday we sold fewer than twenty cheap items. This approach doesn’t work.”

Lynch calmly cut both ends of the cigar, lit one end, took a puff, and exhaled slowly. “Mr. Fox, young Fox, the reason you find these items hard to sell is because you’re not professional enough.”

“I have a valuable insight: ‘Leave professional matters to professionals.’ You’re not experts; you can’t do it, but others can.”

Fox rolled his eyes and looked at Lynch. After a pause, he asked, “So who are these professionals, and what will it cost me?”

Lynch smiled, crossed his legs, flicked ash, “If you don’t mind, Mr. Fox, let’s discuss our cooperation next.”

Fox laughed, “I feel like I’m being conned. Is that normal?”

Lynch replied cleverly, “People often feel disbelief when happiness comes easily. That fits your situation perfectly.”

“You’re a talent, Lynch, my friend!” Fox said sincerely, realizing he was caught but without regret.

Lynch smiled warmly, “Thanks for the compliment, Mr. Fox.”