The One Step Between Him and Bankruptcy

"I have no idea!"

Vera answered Lin Qi's question, unsure whether she should do as Lin Qi suggested, but her answer seemed to conceal another layer of meaning, a response to other questions.

She was confused and somewhat at a loss.

"Let's not think about these unpleasant things for now. You can think about it when you have time. I won't be staying in Sabine City for too long this time. Shall we find a place to eat together tonight?"

He raised his wrist and glanced at his watch. "Maybe I can wait until you get off work. In that time, we can talk about those numbers."

For the rest of the time, Vera explained to Lin Qi just how wealthy he was and how much cash he had.

Cash, money, and wealth are not words with multiple meanings; they are all independent words that express completely different things. This is the value of accountants, because ordinary people simply cannot understand these concepts.

During the introduction of these assets, Vera mentioned a problem the company is currently facing. "The cash flow of the Interstellar Trade Company's secondhand auctions is much slower than before, and the transaction volume has dropped sharply..."

She felt it necessary to talk to Lin Qi about this situation, as this phenomenon had actually been present since the second half of the year.

Aside from cities that have just started holding Secondhand Goods Auction and can still contribute decent amounts of money, some older places, like Sabine City, are finding it increasingly difficult to attract more people to secondhand auctions and frantically buy up the goods.

Even in the capital city where Richard lives, transaction volume has been declining in recent months.

This situation isn't exactly unusual; it just means the market is starting to become saturated. Lin Qi never imagined he could do this kind of business for a lifetime.

The secondhand goods trade has a life cycle; it's an industry that "profits from both ends." Simply put, secondhand goods are highly sought after during the initial period of an economic downturn.

The reason is simple: people's incomes are decreasing, and the money in their pockets is constantly decreasing. However, their consumption desires and mindset have not kept up with the change in money, and they still have the desire to shop. At this time, the existence of Secondhand Goods Auction satisfies their shopping needs and desires.

After an economic downturn lasts for a period of time, people's desire to shop will drop to an unprecedented low. The desire to consume is defeated by the desire to survive, and even cheap second-hand goods cannot attract people's shopping desires. The entire industry will enter a trough.

On the other hand, it refers to the initial stage of economic recovery. People's desire to shop, which had been suppressed throughout the economic downturn, gradually recovers as incomes increase again, leading to a rapid surge in consumption.

They will buy anything they think is suitable, even if they don't need it, as long as they think it's good.

That will become a new growth point for the second-hand goods market, but this period will be short-lived. After this retaliatory consumption mentality ends, the second-hand goods market will enter a stable period, which can also be described as a new low tide.

People have more money in their pockets, so they are less willing to buy second-hand goods. Only highly practical items like houses, cars, and televisions, which are necessities for families but which some families cannot afford to buy new, will be popular. Other items will not sell very well, just like they do now.

With the rapid development of technology, it has become increasingly difficult to even give away discarded secondhand goods.

Lin Qi had foreseen this from the beginning, so he took advantage of the Tidal Wave to make his first real fortune, and then used that money to quickly complete the most basic accumulation of capital.

Actually, it's not that these businesses aren't profitable, but they're not very profitable. After all, they have almost no costs, which is why they can make money.

If he had hired many employees, just paying their salaries would have caused him to run a large financial deficit. Fortunately, he only had partners and no employees.

Secondly, there are transportation and storage issues. He has built the infrastructure for these, with his own transportation team and Warehouse District. Although the left hand doesn't look very good in the game of transferring goods from one hand to the other, the goods are still in his own pocket.

On the contrary, the initially lukewarm second-hand market has gradually begun to shine, which is also the future trend. This kind of Secondhand Goods Auction be replaced by a more flexible free market.

Vera and Lin Qi talked a lot, and in the end, Lin Qi realized that his most profitable business was actually his 30% stake in Fox Film! With several best-selling films this year, plus "The Lin Qi's Adventures 1" based on Lin Qi's True Story and the upcoming "The Lin Qi's Adventures 2," Lin Qi could earn close to $800,000! This is astonishing. In fact, making so much money during an economic downturn is already surprising to many, and it explains why capital is shifting towards entertainment and related industries.

"So, how much money do I have personally right now?" After listening to Vera's long explanation, Lin Qi asked the concluding question. He checked the time and figured it was about time to find a restaurant for dinner.

Sitting next to him, Vera, wearing glasses, flipped through the ledger she usually kept in the vault, a mocking expression on her face. "I regret to inform you, Mr. Lin Qi, that there is no money in your personal account, and you also owe the bank a large sum of money!"

This answer was not unexpected for Lin Qi, who exclaimed in surprise, "Am I bankrupt? Am I that miserable?"

Vera nodded as if it were true, and said, "Unfortunately, it's true!"

After saying that, they both laughed. Vera only had a rough guess as to how much money Lin Qi had. Lin Qi did not entrust all his accounts to her to manage. As far as she knew, Lin Qi did not entrust some Overseas Account to her to manage, nor did he entrust them to anyone else.

Moreover, what they were talking about was actually limited to cash, the kind that can be withdrawn from the bank anytime, anywhere. In reality, Lin Qi is far from "bankruptcy." Just the bonds he has in the bank are an astonishing amount. Saying this is just a joke, a playful remark.

"It's almost time. If we leave early, will people gossip?" Lin Qi stood up and very gentlemanly extended his hand, the back of his hand facing up.

This is a task performed by men to help women who need to stand up. The most gentlemanly gesture is to have the back of the hand facing upwards; if the palm is facing upwards, it is only done by intimate partners.

After all, there was no Feminism Movement when this kind of etiquette was prevalent, and it was impossible for anyone to advocate for the liberation of nature and freedom of choice.

"You are such a gentleman!" Vera didn't hesitate much, and reached out to press on the back of Lin Qi's hand for support as she stood up.

As a woman, being with Lin Qi was a very strange experience. She could feel Lin Qi's closeness to her at all times, as well as a little bit of ambiguous feeling that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

However, he maintains a gentlemanly demeanor and attitude in matters of detail, which is somewhat contradictory, but it is also extremely attractive to women.

Lin Qi smiled and withdrew his hand. "I don't treat everyone like this."

That's true, but... it always makes people think of other things. Vera let out a soft breath, walked to the coat rack and took off Lin Qi's coat, saying somewhat uncertainly, "I don't know how I should refuse you."

She looked at Lin Qi, Lin Qi showed no displeasure or other expression as she had said, remaining unchanged from before. "You know, I'm living alone now, and the children are all grown up. My divorce from Gepu caused him a lot of pain."

"If I don't go home tonight, he might feel uneasy. He might think that all of this is his fault, and that I might abandon him!"

This is one of the problems with leaving children with their parents. Previously, their child had always been cared for by Gepu's mother. The Old Woman liked the child and also wanted to give the couple enough space.

But what happened next made their child feel that he had been abandoned, and sometimes he felt that it was because of him that he and his mother were abandoned.

This is a common psychological problem in single-parent families, and there's not much that can be done. Perhaps things will change when the child grows up and matures.

"Then take him with us!" Lin Qi added promptly. "If he's worried about these issues, then take him with us."

"Is it okay?" Vera, a little unsure. "Sometimes he can be really annoying..."

Under Lin Qi's watchful gaze, Vera ultimately decided to bring her child to dinner with Lin Qi, which made the atmosphere of the entire dinner somewhat strange.

It's not a date, that's obvious. Nobody goes on a date with kids, even if they do have kids.

Secondly, this doesn't resemble a typical working lunch between company employees. It's not a fancy restaurant with a bright red carpet, a skilled band, or waiters wearing red vests and black bow ties.

People around were talking in hushed tones. Although they were in the lobby, surrounded by other tables and guests, they were not bothered at all.

Only by carefully listening to the sounds around you can you hear whispers amidst the soothing and melodious music.

All of this was carefully designed; the music perfectly masked the conversations of guests at other tables, so there was no need to deliberately lower one's voice. Normal conversations could be conducted with the music playing softly, ensuring privacy.

Led by the restaurant manager, the three arrived at a good spot. Along the way, Vera's children kept looking at Lin Qi with curious eyes.

He seemed to be wondering, who is this handsome guy?