Consultation

After driving back to the office, the older woman was still sitting at her desk, busy with her work.

Tom had the guest sit down first, then casually picked up an old backpack, emptied its contents, and handed it to Henry. "Put your money in this backpack instead. You can have it."

"Why do I need to change bags?" Henry asked in confusion.

"When that bank has customers withdrawing cash, if they don't have a bag to carry it in, the bank provides the same kind of bag. So anyone carrying one of those outside might as well be telling people, 'I have money. Come rob me.'"

Henry frowned. "The bank is in cahoots with people outside?"

Tom explained, "No, the bank isn't that low. But no matter what they change, someone with ulterior motives will notice. That's why only clueless Little Green would run around carrying that kind of bag.

"You were introduced by George. I wouldn't want you to walk out of here and get robbed right away. That would count as negligence on my part."

Once Henry understood the situation, he did not deliberately switch bags. He simply stuffed the bag provided by the bank into the backpack Tom had given him. As long as that conspicuous handbag was not out in the open, it did not matter how he carried the money.

After Henry finished, Tom tapped the desk with a finger. "Now that I've helped you withdraw the money, let's talk business. My fee for handling the necessary documents and procedures is two thousand Dao."

"Two thousand?" Henry's eyes widened in surprise. "That's even cheaper than I expected. You're getting me real documents, not fake ones?"

Tom smiled. "Believe me, getting real ones is cheaper than getting fake ones. Ordinary people can't do it because they don't know who to ask. And even if they find the right person, that person may not know what to do.

"The law opens many doors for those who understand it. As long as you take the proper route, why would you need to waste a pile of money? It's just that most people who know keep quiet about it. They have no obligation to help others for free, do they?"

People said that every way to make money was written in the criminal code. That was both true and false.

It was true because illegal things really could be profitable! The price simply had to be paid elsewhere—for example, after getting caught.

It was false because, in the eyes of those playing at a higher level, not only was that money troublesome to earn, it was small money...

Could an ordinary person rob a bank and take a hundred million in one go? And then avoid being hunted by the police afterward?

Henry was not exactly unfamiliar with such things, but he did not think much of them either.

As the saying went, "Let him be strong; the breeze still brushes the hill." As long as I lay flat enough, there's less wind resistance! That was physics, scientifically proven.

Although he did not know whether Tom was really as capable as he claimed, Henry still chose to trust the person George had recommended. That old man would not randomly send someone over just to swindle his salary back, would he?

So without a second thought, Henry reached into the bag, took out a bundle of cash, placed it on the desk, and pushed it over.

Tom picked up the intact bundle of bills with the bank seal still on it and said half-mockingly, "Oh, kid, am I supposed to count the money myself?"

"I have a few questions I'd like to ask. If you can help, that would be even better." Henry pointed at the floor-to-ceiling window outside. "This is a consulting company, isn't it?"

Tom set the bundle of cash down and pushed it back to the middle of the desk. He looked at the young man before him with a composed expression. "Go ahead. I may not be able to do everything."

"Is there a car rental company here? I want to rent a car."

"Rent a car? Not in town. You'd have to go near Hooper Bay Airport to find a private rental company. Why not just buy one? Those rentals are for tourists, and they aren't cheap."

Henry answered honestly, "After crab season is over, I plan to try my luck in Hollywood."

"Oh, dreams of being a star?"

"Not necessarily. Maybe I just want to see the world. Either way, I won't be staying here for long. If I buy a car, I'll have to sell it later. That's troublesome. Asking someone to look after it would be the same."

Tom said seriously, "If you're willing to hear my opinion, then I'd advise you to buy a car. I don't know how many more crab boats you plan to work on, but without a bank account, trust me, you won't want to carry that bag through airport security."

He pointed at the old backpack beside Henry.

"So your best option is to take a ferry. Another advantage of the ferry is that, if you pay an extra shipping fee, you can drive the car aboard and take it with you to your destination.

"That way, you'll save time looking for transportation after you arrive and avoid some unnecessary trouble."

Henry frowned. "Would airport security on a domestic flight cause trouble too?"

Tom shrugged helplessly. "You can never know how people holding public authority will use the power they've been given. All I know is that smart people understand how to stay away from trouble on their own.

"Compared to that, taking a ferry is much simpler. Buy a ticket, drive onto the ship; reach your destination, drive off. Done. Even if you had an entire carload of explosives, as long as you didn't set them off on the spot, nobody would care."

Tom planted his elbows on the desk and leaned forward. "Of course, the ferry's one small drawback is that it takes longer. If you don't like that, I have no objections. I'm only making a suggestion."

"Fine. Then help me buy a car. Or tell me where there's a used car lot."

"What are your requirements for a car?"

"Four wheels, and it runs when you put gas in it."

With a laugh, Tom removed a car key from his key ring and tossed it to Henry. "The used car lots in town sell nothing but junk. You should drive this beauty instead."

Henry looked at the key in his hand with utter distaste, then looked at old Tom.

The old man, who had quite the personality, said indignantly, "Hey, that's a Cadillac DeVille, a classic '65 model. Who wouldn't love this beauty? Besides, there's an advantage to driving it."

Uh, it was twenty-five years old. That car was not some antique classic that had been lovingly maintained; it was merely kept reasonably clean.

His standards might not have been high, but this still felt like picking up scrap. Henry asked with little satisfaction, "What advantage?"

"Just by looking at the license plate, the cops on the road won't pull you over. Even if they do, tell them old Tom is still handling the documents and transfer paperwork. Nobody will give you trouble."

So the license plate was the real value. Henry silently accepted the car key.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Tom asked with satisfaction. Who knew whether he was happy because he could get a new car, or because he had made a tidy profit from this deal.