America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 2 You Can Make a Lot of Money

The man in the jacket took a few steps forward and stood in front of the half-meter-high barbed wire fence. After confirming that he had recognized the right person, he said, "I am Bruce, a subordinate of Boss Vincent."

Martin was recalling the details of the loan shark and asked, "What's up?"

Bruce put his hands on the old wire mesh and said, "I heard that the old bastard Jack Davis ran away. The boss asked me to inform you. Don't forget the debt you borrowed. You have to pay the first installment next week."

The debt was borrowed by the predecessor Martin Davis himself, so Martin could only bite the bullet and deal with it: "It's not overdue yet."

"A friendly reminder. Be prepared." Bruce withdrew his hand, brushed off the rust on it, grabbed the belt and pulled up his trousers. He pulled his jacket to the sides, revealing the pistol under his armpit.

He smiled innocently and said, "Don't worry, the Beast House is full of civilized people, and the boss has always taught us to abide by the law."

Martin glanced at the pistol and his first thought was to run away.

The normal course of action when one cannot pay off debts is not to sell oneself, but to run away.

But how to run away without money?

Martin remembered what Elena had said and asked, “Hey man, do the gigolos at the Beast House make a lot of money?”

He remembered that being a gigolo was a legal profession and that it was not shameful for one to earn money to support himself.

"With luck, you can get a lot of tips every night." Bruce looked at Martin carefully. He was well-proportioned and good-looking. He smiled even more honestly: "The Beast House has just opened and is in need of people. You know the place. If you want to be a gigolo, just go there. You have good conditions. Crazy middle-aged women like you the most. Man, you can make a lot of money."

Can it be an alternative? Martin said vaguely: "I'll think about it."

Bruce got in the car and left.

There was a sound coming from the next yard; Elena's brother Hall was still digging a hole.

Martin plans to ask the house repair company for his salary to solve the imminent problem of food. Although free food is delicious, if he eats it for too long, he will have nothing to eat in the future.

After careful recollection, the office of Max, a house repairman, is a bit far from the Clayton community, and it takes a long time to walk there. His leg injury has not healed yet, and he cannot walk too long continuously. If the injury worsens, it will cost more money.

You can only take the bus.

Public transportation in Atlanta was terrible, but there was a bus that went directly from the Clayton neighborhood to the street where Max's office was located, and a one-way ticket cost fifty cents.

Martin took out his wallet, which was empty. Harris used the little money left to buy medicine for his injuries.

Dr. Bill only prescribes veterinary medicine, and Martin wouldn't dare take it even if it was given to him for free.

After looking at the next door, Martin gave up the idea of ​​robbing the kid and went back to the house to look for it, but only found a 25-cent coin.

Martin remembered that Elena's father Scott opened a grocery store that collected stolen goods and junk, and he couldn't help but look at the wooden house.

There were only the most basic old sofas, low wooden tables and broken wooden beds. Any furniture and appliances of some value had long been taken away by the Carter family in exchange for money.

The remaining ones were not only broken but also very heavy.

Martin had an injury on his leg, so it was not realistic for him to carry the sofa table to sell it. He took out a pair of pliers with broken insulation from the drawer of the low wooden table, went to the side of the yard close to Carter's house, cut the rusty barbed wire fence, and rolled it up.

The wire mesh had many broken ends, making it inconvenient to pick up. Martin went back into the house, rummaged around for a while, and pulled out a rope from under the bed.

"Can we sell the Carter family's barbed wire to Scott Carter?" Martin thought it was not a big problem as many houses in the community had similar fences.

There was a sudden scream from next door, and it sounded like Harris.

Martin hurried out the door and walked quickly toward Carter's house.

In the Carter's yard, a bicycle was lying on its side with a pit next to the front wheel. Fine dirt was falling into the pit along with the collapsed cardboard.

Harris sat on the ground, holding his arm, tears streaming down his face in pain.

Hall Carter, who was only ten years old, stood in front of him and taunted: "Get up, useless guy, and stop being such a wimp!"

Harris yelled, "Shut up, idiot! There's a 90% chance that my left hand is broken!"

Hall's tone weakened a little: "I was just joking with you and setting a little trap, but you were too soft..."

Martin had seen someone with a broken forearm when he was a stuntman. He arrived and took a closer look. He said, "Unlucky guy, you've hit the jackpot. Your left arm is broken."

"Damn it!" Harris' head was covered in sweat from the pain.

Hall felt guilty, stepped back, and sat on the ground. Martin saw that Harris had no other injuries and said, "You need treatment. I'll take you to see Dr. Bill. You said he has excellent medical skills."

Harris's face was filled with horror: "Bill can't heal my broken bones. If I go to him for treatment, the probability of me becoming disabled is 100%."

"The Carter family will get an extra disability subsidy!" Martin added at the right time, and reminded: "Don't move your left arm."

There were hurried footsteps, the door creaked open, and fourteen-year-old Lily Carter ran out, asking, "What did you two idiots do? Hall, how did this damn pit come about?"

Martin interrupted her: "Go and tell your sister that Harris has broken his arm."

"I'm going to borrow Mrs. Wood's cell phone." Lily ran diagonally to the opposite side.

Martin deliberately spoke to distract Harris: "You're back so soon?"

Harris gritted his teeth and said, "Sister Cole has something urgent to do and is not at home."

A few minutes later, Lily ran back with a cell phone and said, "Elena borrowed a car and is on her way back."

When Hall heard Elena's name, he supported himself on the ground with his hands and moved his butt back little by little, trying to stay away.

Elena's part-time job wasn't far away, so she drove back quickly.

I came back in such a hurry that I didn’t even change my pants after dressing up as a teddy bear doll.

After discovering Harris's situation, Elena took out her wallet and looked at the money first. She took out a few $1 and $5 bills, and two $20 bills, and was very anxious: "Don't worry, I'll find a way, I can think of a way! There must be a way!"

Martin, who had just enjoyed a week of free meals, patted her shoulder and said, "Give me the car keys."

Elena subconsciously handed over the car keys.

"Wait a moment, I'll go get the money." Martin took the key and walked towards the car.

Lily Carter suddenly caught up and handed the borrowed phone to Martin: "Take it. If we can't pay back the money, you can always contact Elena..."

Her longest finger extended, retracted, and extended again.

Martin held Lily's head and pushed her away.

After getting in the car, he familiarized himself with the gears, recalled some things, started the car, drove out of the Clayton community, and headed south.

Max's office is located on the edge of Marietta's business district, and there's a stretch of road between it and Clayton's block that's in disrepair, full of potholes, and it's hard to drive fast.

It took Martin half an hour to arrive at a four-story office building. He parked the car, entered the building, went up to the second floor and found an office with a sign of Max Repair Company.

I knocked on the door and a burly Latin man asked, "What do you want?"

Martin replied: "I am Mr. Max's worker, I am here to ask him about the job."

The shutters of the inner office were drawn back, and a voice said, "Martin, come in."

Martin entered the inner office and quickly scanned the area. There were many teddy bears of different sizes placed in the window, on the shelves, and on the desk.

Even the two family photos on the desk have a large teddy bear as the background.

The photo shows a family of four with happy smiles on their faces.

A warm, harmonious and happy family, and also a family that loves Teddy bears.

A man of great skill and observation, Martin discovered something else.

There were a few drops of white powder scattered beside the pile of documents on the wooden desk. Max, a middle-aged man, liked to twitch his nose. The few nose hairs growing out of his nostrils were stained with barely detectable white, and his eyes above his big nose were red and bloodshot.

Martin Davis, who came from a poor background, has seen too many similar people, such as Scott Carter and Emma Carter.

Max was a little excited and asked, "Are you healed?"

Martin said: "My head has been feeling heavy and it hurts from time to time, and my legs are also hurting."

"You're here to ask for your salary, I understand." Max opened the large drawer in the middle, took out a cash check and pushed it to Martin: "This is yours."

(End of this chapter)