Black October, Part One

When the vehicle passed a relief point, Lin Qi saw for the first time a long line of people waiting for aid.

There are twelve relief points in the Sabine City. These places are used to collect Food Stamps and Supply Stamps. Simply put, people can exchange Food Stamps for food and Supply Stamps for some daily necessities, such as salt, a small amount of sugar, or some basic medicines or even clothing.

After all, autumn has arrived, and winter is just around the corner! At the very front of the procession were several Social Services Bureau staff members, as well as several Armed Police carrying Standard Submachine Gun.

There have been more than one robbery targeting relief points during this period, and Food Stamps and Supply Stamps have become the new hard currency for the lower classes. They have replaced a portion of the currency market and are very strong.

In any antique shop or alleyway, you can find people selling Food Stamps and Supply Stamps. They have mastered the art of balancing things so that neither buying nor selling feels wrong.

Lin Qi looked on curiously, and the inherent tendency of these "elders" like Qiao Geliman to be a know-it-all began to take over again. "Have you ever seen that kind of food?"

Lin Qi turned around and shook his head. "Should I have seen him before?"

Qiao Geliman couldn't help but laugh. "That was definitely not a good experience. I ate it about twenty or thirty years ago, and their recipe hasn't changed since."

"Corn, potatoes, some vegetables, some meat meal and bone meal, all combined and dried, it's as hard as a rock." A look of reminiscence and nostalgia crossed his face. "If you want to eat it, you either scrape it into powder little by little with a knife and swallow it in small sips with water, or you smash it and throw some into a pot to cook with water."

"In the end you'll get a pot of soup that looks like a shuffle, and smells like one too!"

Lin Qi listened attentively, then shared his opinion. "This doesn't sound like a good experience."

As he recalled the events, Qiao Geliman nodded with lingering fear. "But you had to eat it!" He paused. "Actually, many people say the situation is terrible now, but I don't think it's that bad. At least it's much better than before."

"We've weathered even more difficult times before, so there's no reason for us to give up on such a small difficulty."

The conspicuous luxury cars in the traffic flow formed a stark contrast with the poor people queuing up to receive relief supplies on the roadside. The people's numb eyes lingered on the luxury cars for less than a second before looking away; they no longer cared about such things.

Soon, the two arrived at a private establishment, which typically operates on a referral system; entry is only granted to those who are recommended and become members.

The strict confidentiality measures make this place a preferred meeting place for many people, regardless of whether it involves any legal issues.

Upon entering the agreed-upon room, Hart greeted them warmly. In less than a month, Hart looked much more haggard than when they had met before, and his hair had turned even grayer.

After exchanging brief pleasantries, the three sat down on the sofa.

Hart stared blankly at the wine in the glass on the table for a while before apologizing for his daze. "I haven't been feeling well lately. The doctor prescribed some sleep aids for me, otherwise I would just have to get myself drunk!"

As he spoke, he showed off the small medicine bottle he carried with him, and Lin Qi and Qiao Geliman appropriately expressed their concern for his health.

Hart shook his head with a wry smile. "Alright, let's not discuss these things anymore, Mr. Lin Qi. I thought about it seriously after I got back, and maybe you're right."

His words seemed surprising, but Lin Qi remained unmoved. "There is no right or wrong in business. It's just that you've taken a step back before me."

His sharp words left Hart speechless, and he could only sigh, "Then let's do it the way we agreed last time?" After Lin Qi nodded in agreement, he took out the floor plan of the Lakeside Villa District from his bag.

The houses that have already been sold on these floor plans are represented by blue, while the remaining white houses are those that have not yet been sold.

It's clear that if it weren't for this crisis, he wouldn't be in this situation at all.

The properties that remain in your possession will become increasingly expensive, and these vacant properties are not without profit; on the contrary, they are constantly generating profits.

The daily and long-term rentals during holidays made him, his company, and the investors very satisfied.

Based on the previous development trend, in another three to five years, or even seven or eight years, each of these houses will become incredibly expensive, and at that time, a single resale will yield dozens of times the profit.

Unfortunately, he ultimately failed, his head pierced by the horn of the times, which pushed him far away.

Not only did she experience severe bleeding, but it was also unsightly; she may never have experienced such an embarrassing or unsightly situation before.

Lin Qi sketched on the floor plan. He had already seen the actual site before and had a comprehensive understanding of it. As Hart's expression changed constantly as he watched Lin Qi sketch, his heart was bleeding.

After Lin Qi finished sketching, he glanced at the houses and realized that he had lost at least two million based on their prices before they dropped.

With the help of the private venue's operator, they quickly finalized a standard contract, which is one of the reasons why a hefty membership fee is required to enter.

There are at least two lawyers on call here every day. They are well-versed in the state's laws and can draft most types of legal documents anytime, anywhere, including commercial transaction contracts.

Looking at the contract, Hart sighed deeply. "You win!" he said, signing his name. At that moment, it felt as if something had been ripped out of his body.

Lin Qi signed the papers, and the deal was considered done.

After exchanging the land Lin Qi had a slight smile on his face. Although the land hadn't been converted into cash, the value of the houses he got from Hart far exceeded the value of cash.

Cash appreciates very slowly, but houses appreciate very quickly, especially villas in beautiful areas, which are even more valuable.

After signing the contract Hart didn't linger. He left in a hurry without even having dinner. In his words, he now had to let the investors and shareholders know that he wasn't doing nothing; he was already on his way.

"He's a good man!" Qiao Geliman said with some emotion after watching Harry leave.

Hart was one of the few honest businessmen during the time the two met.

Lin Qi simply smiled and did not pursue the topic further.

Everything proceeded smoothly and methodically. A few days later, the Skinny Tall Guy finally succumbed to the pressure and agreed to Lin Qi's request to invest in Interstellar Trade Company with a minimum cash percentage of 33%.

However, they changed their initial plan, no longer demanding a majority stake. Instead, they chose to invest collectively, like the businessmen in Kuli Lan City, taking a 10% stake. At the same time, they signed a supplementary agreement to guarantee their right of first refusal in subsequent financing rounds.

Interstellar Trade Company and Secondhand Goods Auction are appearing in more and more cities, drawing more and more attention to Lin Qi and his company. He seems to be gradually stepping onto a broader stage.

On the morning of the first trading day of the first week of October, a young man in his thirties, dressed in a suit from a mainstream high-end brand, walked into the main trading hall of the Bu Peien Yi Kou Exchange carrying a briefcase.

People like this are a common sight in Bu Peien. On the street, at least seven out of ten men are dressed like this. They are the most important cornerstone of Bu Peien: various financial brokers.

But the broker didn't have much of a smile on his face. He was facing a huge problem. One of his agents broke into his home yesterday and took his wife and daughter hostage. The agent's demand was that he cash out the foreign bonds he had previously persuaded the other party to buy.

Capital is never benevolent. The 《Transaction Newspaper》 has issued warnings about the increased risks of various foreign bonds more than once, but these warnings are often not very noticeable.

It's like a news report saying that aliens have invaded a planet and the world is about to perish, while incidentally mentioning that the sewers on a certain street are clogged.

People will only focus on the first few points; other risk warnings are more noteworthy than the increased exchange rate risk of bonds.

Around this time, some institutions began to privately commission brokers to resell these hard-to-redeem bonds, with banks being the main players.

As promised by the issuing country, each dollar-denominated bond can eventually be redeemed for one dollar and seventy-five cents in cash, with some bonds even trading at a premium of one to two.

Logically, these bonds should only be in short supply, with no excess shares in the market. However, strangely, trading of this type of bond has become more frequent in the securities trading market.

With the government acting as a guarantor for the issuing institution, it's already very reliable for ordinary people.

They know that some people's words are as unreliable as farts, especially capitalists, and even banks, but they have never heard of the state lying to people, let alone so many.

In a relatively closed information environment, the most uninformed investors, persuaded by brokers, began to take an interest in this type of bond, causing trading volume to surge instantly and prices to unexpectedly rise.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse just before the market closed last weekend!