A huge pile of patents, both familiar and unfamiliar, obviously could not be decided in two or three minutes. Lin Qi reached a verbal agreement with the law firm: once he had prepared the materials, he would commission the firm to accompany him to the Social Services Bureau for registration.
Actually, he could register the patent information without a lawyer's company, but there were some problems he might not truly be able to resolve himself, such as the applicability of state, federal, and international patents, as well as the various related provisions. To avoid giving others loopholes to exploit later as much as possible, it was best to have a lawyer accompany him.
After discussing these matters, he returned to the warehouse. Richard and those industrious little worker bees had made another trip during the more than two hours he was away.
Box after box of loose change looked especially striking. Even though they were only coins, it was precisely because they were coins that their sparkling luster could directly make people associate them with wealth.
The biggest problem now was still counting the money. Perhaps he could have someone make the Coin Sorter while registering the patent at the same time. After that, he would not just be handling Mr. Fox's business, but the business of the entire Sabine City. This was a major deal.
Lin Qi passed the coins under a UV lamp, washed them with cleaning agent, and left them to dry while waiting for Mr. Fox's people to come collect them.
Before they arrived, Lin Qi would also call Mr. Fox once to make sure the person coming to collect the goods was indeed one of Mr. Fox's people.
The two trips that morning had brought in more than sixteen hundred dollars, and the speed was much faster than yesterday. Richard in particular was almost equal to the other two combined in both speed and volume. He was also the one working the hardest.
The other two human tools were a little slower at exchanging the change. They had also asked Richard why he could always exchange all the money in his pockets for coins so quickly and efficiently. Richard would always grin foolishly and say that all it took was making more trips.
Lin Qi knew his trick, but did not expose him. Richard had cut into part of his own earnings to exchange his bills for coins instead of refusing to give up even a penny.
It looked as though his returns had decreased, but in reality, because of his increased speed and volume, his income had advanced far beyond that of the others.
In a relatively fair environment, a certain gap in income would stimulate competition among people. That was actually a good thing.
He spent the entire day at this tiny company. In truth, he did not need to stay here the whole time, but Vera was not yet trustworthy enough, and there were some things others might not be able to do. For the time being, he could only work hard himself.
Whenever a microenterprise was first established, the owner was often the first person to oppress and exploit himself. During this process, they gradually learned how to properly oppress and exploit workers—by practicing on themselves, they ultimately took the firmest and most powerful step toward becoming capitalists.
A little later, after Lin Qi took Vera home, he returned to the Warehouse District. After shutting off the power, he made a few simple adjustments and created a short-circuit point that looked as though it had been caused by a rodent gnawing on the wires. Then he pushed the circuit breaker.
After a brief sound resembling some kind of sustained, high-frequency vibration, the lights that had just come on went dark again. Lin Qi calmly walked to the desk and picked up the phone.
Before long, the Electrician from the Warehouse District arrived. He was a man in his thirties who looked very experienced. He first examined the fuse box, removed the blown fuse, and began searching for the short-circuit point while reporting the situation to Lin Qi.
At the same time, he gave Lin Qi a clipboard with a stack of forms on it. These were the standard electrical repair forms used throughout Sabine City and the entire state.
The Electrician used the completed forms as the basis for his bonuses beyond his monthly base salary. The more orders they had, the more bonuses they received.
An incentive system was essentially another form of oppression and exploitation, but compared with other more naked manifestations of it, people actually preferred this one.
While the Electrician was not paying attention, Lin Qi tore off the top sheet and put it in the desk drawer. Then he began filling out the repair form on the second sheet.
About ten minutes later, the Electrician found the point. After taking a look, he said to Lin Qi, "There are rats in your warehouse, sir. I suggest you call a pest-control company to exterminate them. Otherwise, they may damage the wiring here as well..."
Rats chewing through wires was nothing unusual. Many such incidents occurred every year, and the Electrician had long since grown accustomed to them. As he replaced the wires, he continued, "I have a business card here. If you're interested, you can contact them. Mention my name, and they'll give you a suitable discount!"
He glanced back at Lin Qi, who was filling out the form, then quickly separated and replaced the wires.
A little later, he looked over the form Lin Qi had filled out, tore off a section, and handed it to Lin Qi. The department above sometimes conducted random inspections of these repair orders. The Power Supply Company would not foolishly pay the Electrician entirely based on these forms; they could always find some problem and refuse to pay part of the amount.
At the same time, he also handed Lin Qi a business card. Lin Qi accepted it naturally, shook his hand, and saw him off.
He did not immediately pay the repair and labor fees. At the end of the month, the Power Supply Company would send another copy of the repair order to the bank. The bank provided collection services, and its service fee was far cheaper and safer than the uncertainty of having the Electrician collect on-site, along with the high additional labor costs of chasing payment. Therefore, the bill would be sent directly to the warehouse at the end of the month.
As for whether someone might move away overnight to evade the bill, that was basically impossible. When Lin Qi rented this warehouse, he had paid enough security deposit and advance rent. Losing that money over a minor expense would obviously not be worth it.
On the way back, he casually picked a stationery shop and bought a large clipboard, along with some waxed paper for printing promotional posters.
One side was somewhat rough, while the other had a thin layer of wax. When a stencil was pressed onto the paper and an ink roller pushed across it, a small ink poster capable of creating a large smear appeared.
This kind of waxed paper looked much like the Electrician's repair forms. The waxed surface could prevent certain water-based or oil-based stains from causing irreversible damage to the paper itself.
After the stationery shop owner cut a small portion according to Lin Qi's instructions, Lin Qi returned to his temporarily rented room carrying the clipboard, a stack of blank waxed paper, and a blank repair form.
After eating a little, he changed into the electrician's uniform he had bought earlier. Such things could be purchased in many places and were not regulated goods. Anyone had the right to buy them.
He then placed the repair form on top of the waxed paper, clipped them into the clipboard, lowered the brim of his hat, and left through the back of the small tavern as dusk settled in.
About twenty minutes later, he appeared around the neighborhood where Michael lived.
He felt that the Newspaper Boss's furtive movements all over the place last night might have indicated that he was preparing to make his move. This was an opportunity, but it also meant Lin Qi needed to become more vigilant.
Lin Qi had never been a good person. At least, his own view and the judge's view were in agreement on that. But he also did not consider himself a bad person. Everyone who had been driven to ruin because of him had, in reality, died beneath the weight of their own greed.
He had merely taken advantage of some people's greed. He was not a good person, but he was definitely not a bad one. If those people had not been greedy, if reason had been able to suppress desire and impulse, then no one would have been hurt.
He had to keep an eye on the Newspaper Boss. He could not let him push matters beyond Lin Qi's control.