pjbooks Chapter 136 Skill Rewards and Golden Tickets
Chapter 136 Skill Rewards and Golden Tickets
Chapter 136 Skill Rewards and Golden Tickets
"Then why did you come to live in Los Angeles? Where's your apartment?"
Max immediately seized on the flaw and invested in apartments. To put it nicely, it was actually a failed startup, wasn't it?
"Do you really want to hear this, you bitch?" Fiona put her hands on her hips, clearly a little flustered by her question.
"It's fine to talk about it." Before the two could start arguing, Ma Jieke interrupted forcefully, "But try to keep it brief. I believe you have the ability to distill language."
"Okay, then I'll get to the point." She had a completely different attitude towards this camp boss: "The actual situation is this: I believed someone who said that investing in apartments could make money, so I mortgaged my house and added my 80,000 yuan in cash to buy a dilapidated apartment worth 360,000 dollars. I made a 50% down payment, which is 180,000 dollars. After renovating it, I rented it out, hoping to cover the monthly mortgage payments with the rental income."
Goodness, mortgaging your property to buy another property, you're really daring.
"Later, I came across a great investment opportunity. It was a nursing home for low-income people. My partner told me that we could apply for government subsidies to cover operating costs. So I got carried away and mortgaged the apartment building to the bank to get a $10 loan."
"But later, the nursing home failed the fire safety inspection and required an additional 2.5 yuan in assessment fees, so my cash flow dried up..."
Hearing this, Ma Jieke really couldn't hold back anymore: "You took out a loan to buy an apartment with your own house, and then used that apartment to take out another loan to invest in a nursing home?"
"Yes."
"My God, those people who invest in Nasdaq are just small fry compared to you."
"And then, Fiona, did you lose everything because of this?" Max asked curiously.
"No." She seemed much better at this point. "I was working as a shift manager at a restaurant at the time, and I met a powerful woman in the real estate industry. She was probably in her forties or fifties, single, and owned properties on two blocks. Perhaps out of pity for me, she took over my apartment and nursing home, including the debts."
Sandy looked puzzled: "Isn't this great? At least you've saved the ancestral home, and the Gallagher kids still have a place to live."
After gathering this information, Ma Jieke smiled and said, "I bet your apartment appreciated in value later, and the nursing home you invested in suddenly started making a profit."
"What?!" This seemed to have hit her most sensitive nerve: "How did you know?"
"Because an old woman who owns two streets and is still unmarried would never do a losing business. You might think your family is pitying you, but actually, all she cares about is profit."
"Sigh, no wonder you can be the boss, Jack." Fiona sighed helplessly. "About a few months later, that nursing home started to make a profit because the government increased the pensions for low-income elderly people, which allowed them to quickly settle their outstanding fees. As for my apartment building, it was included in the demolition area, and the notice showed that I could receive a one-time demolition compensation of $47.5."
"Pfft..." Little Pudding couldn't help but laugh when he heard this O. Henry-esque ending.
Ma Jie glared at her: "Kid, this isn't funny."
Have you ever reflected on the reasons for your investment failure afterward?
"Yes," Fiona nodded. "Blind confidence, high leverage, lack of business experience and judgment, and insufficient understanding of the projects they intend to invest in."
"Really?" Ma Jieke said expressionlessly, "Then I'd say all your lessons have been wasted. In my opinion, your most fatal flaw is that you're too trusting of others. If someone says something can make money, you rush off to do it. Do you share a brain with everyone else?"
"Of course, the most crucial factor is that your access to information is blocked. Do you think that rich woman has the ability to foresee the future? No, she knew the inside information early on and used the information gap to reap the wealth of the lower class, that's all."
"And this ability, let's just call it an ability, is determined from the moment you're born. You either have it or you don't. Do you understand?"
"Okay, Boss." After listening to someone's analysis, Fiona smiled bitterly, "You're just trying to tell me that all the upward mobility channels for the poor are blocked."
"That's right, so since we can't rise to power, we should find a way to become the king of the underworld."
"Wow, that sounds cool."
"Haha, class is over." Ma Jieke chuckled. "Now, let's assign camp tasks. Fiona will be in charge of finding housing. I'm confident she can handle this small matter."
"When Ji returns, tell him to put all those military rations and canned goods up for sale."
After saying that, he pointed to the mountain of clutter in the RV: "Max, you and Sandy will get rid of all this stuff tomorrow, consider it a clearance sale. Remember, stay away from the black community."
"Do you need to explain that?" Max tossed her hair, feeling that her explanation was completely unnecessary.
After everything was arranged, the next step was to drink heavily.
For homeless people, this is the second most enjoyable thing after smoking marijuana, since it's all about numbing themselves anyway, and alcohol is less harmful.
As before, a campfire was lit in the paint bucket, not for warmth, but for lighting and atmosphere.
After a few bottles of beer, Ma Jieke felt a bit weak, probably because he was too tired from recording the show these past two days.
After saying goodbye to his friends, he staggered back to his tent and fell into a deep sleep.
As her initial little nest, every day she stays here is one less day she has. Anyway, as long as Fiona finds a house, packing her luggage won't take more than half a minute.
When I woke up the next day, the time was 10:30 a.m., and I habitually opened the task panel.
[Main Quest: Highfive at least 7 strangers, current progress 0/7] Reward Value: ★
[Side Quest: Collect 500 aluminum cans on the streets of Los Angeles, current progress 0/500] Reward Value: ★★
[Challenge Mission: Recover 3 zombie cars or any abandoned vehicles of any type, with a total value of at least $3 USD. Current progress: 0/3] Settlement Value: ★★★★★
As expected, the main quest is as easy as it gets.
The side quest used to be quite difficult, after all, it involved 500 soda cans. Even if you asked Jimmy, the can maker, to complete it, he would have had to put in a lot of effort.
But now it's a pure, simple mode. Opening treasure chests no longer depends on other people's opinions, and there will be no encounters or boss battles.
As for the challenge missions, they are as high-intensity as before, and the conditions are extremely demanding.
If it's just about recycling vehicles, that's one thing. There are plenty of scrapped cars in the car graveyards on the outskirts of Los Angeles that you can buy for two or three hundred dollars.
However, it also requires a total value of at least $3 to be recycled, which immediately blocks the path of spending real money.
Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll just go out first.
After getting dressed, I crawled out of the tent. The campsite was quiet and there were hardly any people around.
Since taking over the poor neighborhood, the family's biological clock has become visibly stable. If a family still can't get up at this hour, what kind of family would they be?
As he passed Max's RV, he brazenly lifted the carpet, took out the spare key from underneath, opened the door, and went inside to wash up.
It's said that the last guy who dared to do this was set on fire with gasoline by her while he was fast asleep that night. He was so scared that he fled the camp overnight without daring to utter a sound.
Not only did this person wash their face and brush their teeth, but they also opened the refrigerator and fried two eggs and a plate of sausages for themselves. They also put the leftover frozen pizza from the previous meal into the microwave.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they took Bruce and drove the pickup truck leisurely to the poor streets.
"Hey buddy, how's it going?"
"Girl, you look great in this outfit."
"Little one, would you like to give your brother a high five?"
As it turns out, as long as you're not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed.
Amidst auspicious greetings, the main quest was easily completed, and the three pop-up options were quite useful.
These are [Car Driving Iv1], [Mixed Martial Arts Iv1], and [American Iaijutsu Iv1].
There's not much to say. Following the principle of priority, I continued to select [American Iaijutsu] and successfully leveled up to Iv5.
The main point is that driving skills can be developed through practice. Driving every day will only make you more proficient. Even without learning car driving, you can still become a high-level expert.
But where do you practice shooting? At a shooting range? Those places are for shooting dead targets, which won't improve your skills in real combat.
After completing the main quest, things won't be so easy from here on out. You have to collect 500 aluminum cans by hand, otherwise the quest progress won't change. I've tried it before, there's no way to cheat me.
I randomly picked a guy who was working and borrowed a set of jungle gear. As the leader of the Beggars' Sect, it's not easy for him to personally open treasure chests.
After painstakingly emptying three trash cans, they finally managed to collect 500 aluminum cans.
I wiped the fine beads of sweat from my forehead and told myself that it was worth it.
【Auto Mechanic Iv2】: Permanently improves your repair skills for all types of cars. Multiple upgrades are available.
【Plumber Iv2】: Permanently improves your plumbing repair skills and your attractiveness to housewives over 30 years old. Can be upgraded multiple times.
[Welder Iv2]: Permanently improves your proficiency in using welding tools. Multiple selections can be used to upgrade.
Damn, what's going on? Are you trying to force me to become a wage earner?
Plumbers are out of the question; at least they have high added value and can attract wealthy women.
Can't we just remove auto mechanics and welders from the skill library?
Who would waste their precious skill points on such a useless skill?
Fortunately, I had obtained the "Golden Ticket" beforehand, which was specifically for dealing with such disgusting situations.
[Golden Ticket]: Refreshes the task panel and skill rewards. The first success rate is 100%, and the subsequent success rate is 30%.
There's not much to say, just activate the skill.
The screen flashed, and three brand-new skills popped up.