You Can Make Big Money

Chapter 2 You Can Make Big Money

The man in the jacket stepped forward, stood in front of the half-meter-high barbed wire fence, and after confirming that he hadn't mistaken the person, said, "I'm Bruce, one of Boss Vincent's men."

Martin, recalling the details of the loan sharking, asked, "What's up?"

Bruce placed his hands on the old barbed wire: "I heard that old bastard Jack Davis ran away. The boss told me to tell you not to forget your debt. The first installment is due next week."

The debt was incurred by Martin Davis himself, so Martin could only grit his teeth and say, "It's not overdue yet."

"Just a friendly reminder, be prepared." Bruce withdrew his hand, brushed off the rust, grabbed his belt and pulled up his pants, parting his jacket to reveal the pistol under his arm.

He chuckled and said, "Don't worry, everyone at Wild Beast House is civilized. The boss has always taught us to obey the law."

Martin glanced at the pistol, and his first thought was to run away.

The normal course of action for someone who can't repay their debts is not to sell themselves, but to run away.

But how can you run away if you have no money?

Martin, recalling Elena's words, asked, "Dude, do the male dancers at the House of the Beasts make a lot of money?"

He remembered that being a male dancer was a legal profession, and that he earned his own living, which was not shameful.

"You're lucky, you get a lot of tips every night." Bruce carefully sized up Martin; the man was well-proportioned and handsome. He smiled even more smugly: "The Beast House just opened and they're short-staffed. You know the place, if you want to be a gigolo, just go there. You're a great catch; hungry, crazy middle-aged women love your type. Buddy, you can make a lot of money."

Could it be considered as an alternative? Martin replied vaguely, "I'll think about it."

Bruce got in the car and left.

Sounds came from the neighboring yard; Elena's younger brother, Hall, was still digging a hole.

Martin is preparing to demand his wages from the home repairman to solve his immediate problem of food. While being a kept man is nice, he'll eventually run out of money if he continues to do so.

Upon closer reflection, Max's office, the home repairman, was a bit far from the Clayton neighborhood, a long walk away. His leg injury hadn't healed, so he couldn't walk long distances continuously, and worsening the injury would cost even more money.

The only option is to take the bus.

Atlanta’s public transportation is terrible, but there is one bus that goes directly from the Clayton neighborhood to the street where Max’s office is located, and a one-way ticket costs fifty cents.

Martin took out his wallet, which was empty. Harris had used the little money he had left to buy him medicine for his injuries.

Dr. Bill only prescribes veterinary medicine; Martin wouldn't dare take it even if it were given to him for free.

Looking next door, Martin abandoned his idea of ​​robbing the kid and went back inside to search, only to find a 25-cent coin.

Martin remembered that Elena's father, Scott, ran a grocery store that bought and sold stolen goods and junk, and he couldn't help but look at the wooden house.

All that remained were the most basic old sofa, low wooden table, and broken wooden bed. Any furniture or appliances of slightly higher value had long been taken away by the Carter family to sell for money.

The remaining items were not only broken, but also incredibly heavy.

Martin had a leg injury, so carrying the sofa and table to sell was impractical. He took out a pair of pliers with a broken insulation from the drawer of the low wooden table, went to the side of the yard facing the Carter's house, cut the rusty wire fence, and rolled it up.

The barbed wire had many sharp ends, making it inconvenient to pick up. Martin went back into the house and searched for a while, eventually finding a rope under the bed.

"Selling the Carter family's barbed wire to Scott Carter, is that a good idea?" Martin thought it wouldn't be a problem, as many houses in the neighborhood had similar fences.

A scream suddenly came from next door; the voice sounded like Harris's.

Martin hurried out and walked quickly toward the Carter's house.

In the Carter's yard, a bicycle lay overturned, with a ditch next to its front wheel. Fine dirt was falling into the ditch along with the collapsed cardboard.

Harris sat on the ground, clutching one arm, tears streaming down his face from the pain.

Ten-year-old Hall Carter stood in front of him, taunting, "Useless coward, get up, stop being such a wimp!"

Harris yelled, "Shut up, you idiot! There's a 90% chance my left hand is broken!"

Hall's tone softened slightly: "I was just joking with you, I set a little trap, but you're too soft..."

Martin had seen people with broken forearms when he was a stunt double. After arriving and taking a closer look, he said, "You unlucky guy, you've hit the jackpot. You have a broken left arm."

"Damn it!" Harris was in so much pain that his head was covered in sweat.

Feeling guilty, Hall stepped back and plopped down on the ground.

Seeing that Harris had no other injuries, Martin said, "You need treatment. I'll take you to Dr. Bill; you said he's a highly skilled doctor."

Harris looked horrified: "Bill can't heal my fractures. If I go to him for treatment, the chances of me becoming disabled are 100%."

"The Carter family will get an extra disability benefit!" Martin added, then reminded them, "Don't move your left arm."

Quick footsteps sounded, the door creaked open, and fourteen-year-old Lily Carter rushed out, asking, "What have you two idiots done? Hall, how did this damn pit get here?"

Martin interrupted her: "Go tell your sister right away, Harris broke her arm."

"I'm going to borrow Mrs. Wood's cell phone." Lily took off running diagonally across the street.

Martin deliberately tried to distract Harris by saying, "You're back so soon?"

Harris gritted her teeth and said, "The Cole sisters had something come up and aren't home."

A few minutes later, Lily ran back with her phone and said, "Elena borrowed a car and is on her way back."

Upon hearing Elena's name, Hall braced himself on the ground with his hands and shuffled backward little by little, trying to get as far away as possible.

Elena's place for odd jobs wasn't far, and she drove back quickly.

I was in such a hurry to get back that I didn't even change the pants I was wearing to look like a teddy bear.

Upon discovering Harris's situation, Elena pulled out her wallet to check her money, taking out several one-dollar and five-dollar bills, and two twenty-dollar bills. She frantically paced back and forth, saying, "Don't worry, I'll think of something! I can think of something! There's definitely something!"

Martin, who had just enjoyed a week of free meals, patted her on the shoulder: "Give me the car keys."

Elena instinctively handed over the car keys.

"Wait a minute, I'll go get the money." Martin took the keys and walked towards the car.

Lily Carter suddenly caught up with Martin and shoved the borrowed phone into his hand: "Here, if we can't pay it back, you can always contact Elena..."

Her longest finger stretched out, then retreated, then stretched out again.

Martin pressed down on Lily's forehead and pushed her away.

He got in the car, familiarized himself with the gears, recalled the driving experience, started the engine, and drove out of the Clayton neighborhood, speeding south.

Max's office is located on the edge of the Marietta business district, on a stretch of road that is old, potholed, and slow to pick up speeds from Clayton's block.

After half an hour, Martin arrived at a four-story office building, parked his car, went inside, and found the office on the second floor that had a sign for Max Repair Company.

Upon knocking on the door, a burly Latino man asked, "What do you need?"

Martin replied, "I'm Mr. Max's worker, and I'm here to ask him about work."

The blinds in the inner office were drawn back, and someone said, "Martin, come in."

Martin entered the inner office and quickly scanned the room. There were many teddy bears of different sizes on the display cases, shelves, and desks.

Even the two family photos on his desk have a large teddy bear as the background.

The photo shows a family of four with happy smiles on their faces.

A warm, harmonious, and happy family, and a family that loves teddy bears.

Martin, a man of keen observation and resourcefulness, also discovered something else.

A few specks of white powder were scattered beside the pile of documents on the wooden desk. Max, a middle-aged man, liked to twitch his nose, and a few nose hairs growing out of his nostrils were covered with almost imperceptible white powder. His eyes above his large nose were red and bloodshot.

Martin Davis, who came from a humble background, had seen too many people like Scott Carter and Emma Carter.

Max, slightly excited, asked, "Are you fully recovered?"

Martin said, "My head feels heavy and aches from time to time, and my legs also hurt."

"I understand you're asking for your salary." Max opened the large middle drawer, took out a cash check, and pushed it to Martin: "Here's yours."

(End of this chapter)