A Versatile Young Man

A large number of patents, some heard of and some not, obviously couldn't be decided in just two or three minutes. Lin Qi reached a verbal agreement with the law firm that once he had prepared the materials, he would entrust the law firm to go with him to the Social Services Bureau to register them.

In fact, he could register the patent information without the accompaniment of a lawyer, but there were some problems that he might not really be able to solve. For example, state-level patents, federal patents, and world patents, as well as the applicability of various related clauses. To avoid loopholes being exploited by others in the future as much as possible, it was best to have a lawyer accompany him.

After discussing these matters, he returned to the warehouse. Richard and the other diligent little bees had returned once again in the two-plus hours he had been gone.

The large boxes of change looked particularly shocking. Even though they were just coins, it was precisely because they were coins that the luster of these little darlings could directly connect them with wealth in people's minds.

Now the biggest problem was still counting the money. Perhaps he could have someone make the Coin Sorter first, and register the patent along the way. Next, what he had to do was not just Mr. Fox's business, but the entire Sabine City's business. This was a big deal.

Lin Qi put these coins under a UV light, cleaned them with detergent, and dried them, waiting for Mr. Fox's people to come and collect the coins.

Before their people arrived, Lin Qi would also make a phone call to Mr. Fox to ensure that the person coming to pick up the goods was indeed Mr. Fox's person.

In two trips in the morning, he took in more than sixteen hundred dollars, which was much faster than yesterday. Especially Richard, his speed and quantity were almost equal to the sum of the other two, and he was also the most hardworking.

The other two tool men were a little slower in exchanging change. They also asked Richard why he was always able to quickly and efficiently exchange all the money in his pockets for change. Richard always said with a silly smile that it was just a matter of running around more.

Lin Qi knew his trick, but he didn't expose it. Richard reduced a portion of his income to exchange whole money for change, instead of being completely unwilling to part with a single hair.

It seemed that his income had decreased, but in reality, his income had increased far more than others due to the increase in speed and quantity.

In a relatively fair environment, a certain degree of income difference will stimulate competition among people, which is actually a good thing.

He spent the whole day at this small company. In fact, he didn't need to be here all the time, but so far, Vera was not trustworthy, and some things others might not be able to do, so he could only work hard himself for the time being.

At the beginning of any micro-enterprise, the business owner often oppresses and exploits himself first. In this process, they gradually master how to correctly oppress and exploit workers—by practicing on themselves, and finally they take the most firm and powerful step towards becoming capitalists.

Later in the day, after Lin Qi sent Vera home, he returned to the warehouse area. After turning off the power, he simply made a short circuit point that looked like it was caused by rodents gnawing, and then pushed the power switch.

After a brief sound similar to some kind of continuous high-frequency vibration, the light 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 area arrived. He was an electrician in his thirties who looked very experienced. He first looked at the fuse box, took out the blown fuse, and while reporting the situation here to Lin Qi, he began to look for the short circuit point.

At the same time, he also gave Lin Qi a clipboard with a stack of forms on it. This was a circuit repair form common throughout Sabine City and even the entire state.

The electrician would use the information filled in on this form as the basis for bonuses in addition to their monthly salary. The more orders they had, the more bonuses they would receive.

The incentive system is essentially a way of oppression and exploitation, but people actually prefer this to other blatant forms of expression.

Taking advantage of the electrician's inattention, Lin Qi tore off the top sheet and put it in the desk drawer, and then started filling out the repair form on the second sheet.

About ten minutes later, the electrician found the point. He looked at it and said to Lin Qi, "There are rats in your warehouse, sir. I suggest you find a pest control company to do some rat extermination, otherwise they may damage the wiring here..."

It was not uncommon for rats to damage wiring. It happened a lot every year, and the electrician was used to it. While replacing the wires, he continued, "I have a business card here. If you have such an idea, you can contact them. Mention my name and they will give you a suitable discount!"

He glanced back at Lin Qi, who was filling out the form, and then quickly separated and replaced the wires.

Later, he looked at the form Lin Qi had filled out, tore off a portion and handed it to Lin Qi. Sometimes the departments above would conduct random spot checks on these repair orders. The power company would not be foolish enough to fully comply with these orders and pay the electricians their wages. They could always find some problems and refuse to pay a portion of them.

At the same time, he also handed Lin Qi a business card. Lin Qi naturally accepted it, shook hands with him, and saw him off.

He did not immediately pay for the repairs and labor costs. At the end of the month, the power company would send the other copy of these repair orders to the bank. The bank had a collection service, and their service fee was much cheaper and safer than the uncertainty of the electrician charging on the spot and the high additional labor costs of manual collection. So at the end of the month, the bill would be sent directly to the warehouse.

As for whether someone would move overnight to avoid the bill, it was basically impossible. When Lin Qi rented this warehouse, he also paid a sufficient deposit and advance rent. It was obviously not worth losing this money for some small expenses.

On the way back, he casually chose a stationery store, bought a large clipboard, and bought some oiled paper for printing promotional posters.

One side was slightly rough, while the other had a thin layer of wax. Pressing the stencil onto paper and rolling it with an ink roller produced a small ink poster capable of causing widespread stains.

This kind of oil paper was very similar to an electrician's repair order. The waxed surface could protect the paper itself from irreversible damage caused by some water-based or oil-based stains.

After the stationery store owner cut a small portion according to Lin Qi's request, he returned to his temporary rented room with a writing board, a stack of blank oil paper, and a blank repair order.

After eating a little something, he changed into the electrician's outfit he had bought earlier. This kind of thing could be bought in many places and was not a controlled commodity. Anyone had the right to buy it.

Then he placed the repair order on top of the oil paper, clipped it to the writing board, lowered the brim of his hat, and left the tavern from the back while taking advantage of the darkening sky.

About twenty minutes later, he appeared around Michael's neighborhood.

He felt that the Newspaper Boss's sneaky running around last night might be a sign that he was about to make a move. This was an opportunity, and it also required him to be vigilant.

Lin Qi had never been a good person, at least he and the judge agreed on that, but he also didn't think he was a bad person. All those who met their end because of him actually died because of their own greed.

He was just taking advantage of some people's greed. He wasn't a good person, but he was definitely not a bad person. If those people didn't have greedy hearts, and reason could suppress desire and impulse, then no one would get hurt.

He had to keep an eye on the Newspaper Boss and not let him get things out of his control.