Empire of Shadows

Around 980, the Federation passed the first bankruptcy-related bill, but its implementation was quickly halted.

Because people believed that this bill was too partial to the debtor. As long as a debtor applied for personal bankruptcy, their assets would be liquidated, then converted into cash, and distributed to all creditors according to the debt ratio, and the debt would not be retained.

To put it in simpler terms, if a person owes a million, but he only has one dollar, then all the creditors will share that one dollar in proportion, and the remaining 999,999 dollars will be gone!

In the future, whether the debtor works, starts a business again, or whatever, they will not be involved in the debt of the bankruptcy.

This had led to some people using the characteristic of bankruptcy not retaining debt to continuously commit fraud and then apply for bankruptcy.

The thing about asset transfer was something that the Federation had been playing with for many years. They had long had a set of efficient methods.

So in this period, some professional bankrupts would find a way to create a small or micro enterprise that met the loan conditions, and then would borrow a sum of money from a bank.

Then they would transfer all their assets and directly apply for bankruptcy, with nothing but a few coins in their pockets.

Even the banks had no way to deal with them, because the law supported and protected them. As for the money from the loan, it was equivalent to a complete bad debt.

The bankruptcy bill was originally intended to protect some capitalists, but unexpectedly, it almost became the capital for some of the more flexible middle class to leap in class.And this scythe had not yet had time to cut the working masses of society before the first cut had fallen on the head of the banks!

The banks, which were the cornerstone of capital, how could they possibly allow them to do so?

So the first bankruptcy bill was soon terminated. But society needed a new bankruptcy bill, so in about 1010, the second bankruptcy bill was introduced.

In order not to let the bankruptcy law become a protective umbrella for ”condoning bankruptcy fraud,” the second bankruptcy bill was obviously a little over the top on some issues.

The current bankruptcy law is to retain the debt after liquidating the assets, and the debtor needs to come up with a plan to repay the debt.

If the debtor refuses to pay back the money, for example... planning to live a homeless life, then the creditor has the right to demand that the debtor go to work—

In fact, it’s not that no one had considered the idea of, since they couldn’t pay back the money they owed, they might as well not pay it back.

Most of these people had ended up missing, or more accurately, dead.

For the creditors of those large capitals, if a debtor made himself worthless, then they were willing to let the debt go bad, but they also had to vent their anger.

This had led to many people living a life of slavery again after going bankrupt.

Some media, the public opinion of society, believed that the current bankruptcy law was too protective of the creditors, and for the debtors, they could not see a single bit of hope.

Auge was only one certificate away from personal bankruptcy. The hospital’s lawyer soon found him in his apartment.

He was lying on his bed, his whole person lifeless.

Today was the weekend, and his family was also at home, his wife and daughter.

The girl who had seen a guest come to her house was still a little surprised, but she instinctively felt that these people were not here for any good reason.

The atmosphere at home had been off these past few days, very oppressive. She had wanted to ask something, but she didn’t know how to open her mouth and could only silently wait for her parents to tell her the real situation.

But it was a pity that her parents had never told her what on earth had happened, until this moment.

Auge supported himself with his crutches and walked to the living room and sat down. His wife stood behind him, a little uneasy.

The lawyer glanced at the dirty house and didn’t even have the thought of sitting down.

Who the hell knew if the black grease on that chair would stick to his pants? This pair of his pants was worth a lot of money, and it was also a set with his suit!

”Mr. Auge, I am a legal officer from the hospital you were treated at. I am here this time to inform you that the federal court has ruled that you need to repay the debt you owe the hospital.”

”However, we have checked your real estate registration. Your house has been frozen. It shows that you have mortgaged it to a third-party financial company.”

”I’m not sure what you have done with this money, or if you have used some little tricks to transfer the real estate in order to deal with the risk.”

”If you think you have a smart move, I can only say that you are playing some little tricks that are of no benefit to you.”

Auge’s daughter turned her head and looked at her parents with wide eyes. ”What is he talking about?”

”What’s wrong with our house?”

Auge’s wife walked to the girl’s side and tried to soothe her emotions, but was blocked by her with one hand.

She stared at her father. ”What did he say about our house?”

She didn’t know that the situation was so serious. Their house was actually gone?

At this time, Auge had already lost his authority and confidence as a father. He was a little guilty, and also a little pained. ”Our house is gone, and we also owe a large sum of money to the bank.”

His daughter’s whole person seemed to have lost ”control” in an instant. She just stood there, looking at her parents, her mind a blank.

She was a little unable to understand. Her father was a high-level worker, and his monthly income was actually not low. Why would their house be gone, and they also owed a large sum of money?

She didn’t understand. She was still too young. She simply couldn’t understand this problem.

The lawyer glanced at the girl, and then looked at Auge again. ”The next words, I hope we can talk alone.”

Auge nodded. He looked at his wife. ”Take her to her room.”

The space here was not large. His wife put her arm around her daughter’s shoulder and led her into the bedroom. After the door was closed, only then did the lawyer shake his head and say, ”I don’t know if you were intentional, but your actions have already angered the hospital’s side.”

”You’d better be able to come up with the money you owe the hospital, before the hospital is completely disappointed in getting this money back!”

Auge sat there, still with that lifeless look. ”I have no more money. The money... I lost it in a casino.”

When he had said these words, he had found that in fact, to speak the truth was not as difficult as he had imagined.

When the lawyer heard this, he was also stunned for a moment. He roughly knew Auge’s thoughts, to have a final gamble with his house.

In his career, he had seen many such people. They were very bold and also had the courage to take a gamble, but the final outcome of these people was not very good.

People can only always see the people who have conquered fate, but have never thought that the people who challenge fate may be in the thousands, or even more.

But the ones who have conquered fate, for a very long period of time, are often only one or two, two or three.

These two or three people do not mean that only two or three people have done this. It’s just that they have succeeded, and in people’s eyes, in their hearts, it is all them and their successful deeds, and they have ignored the losers.

The lawyer seemed very regretful. ”Then it seems we have nothing more to say, Mr. Auge. I’ll ask one last time. Do you still have the ability to pay?”

”Nine hundred and fifty. The medical expenses you owe the hospital, and we also have to add the interest.”

Auge shook his head. ”I can’t come up with a single cent now.”

The lawyer had not yet given up. ”I’m not joking with you, Mr. Auge. If you have the ability to pay, you can apply for bankruptcy, and then we can work out a repayment plan together.”

”I have heard before that your monthly income is about sixty to seventy. Actually, as long as you bite the bullet and persevere, you will be able to repay this debt in three to four years.”

Calculated at a period of three years, even if it was sixty-five a month, the total income would be 2,340.

However, about 20% of this was tax. Because it was wartime, the tax would be higher, so only 1,782 would be left.

For a family of three like Auge’s, they would spend about fifteen to twenty a month on food.

Even if it were calculated at twenty a month, there would still be 1,512 left. Plus some other fees and bills, if there were no accidents, he would be able to pay off this money in three years.

This was also the reason why the hospital was willing to send a lawyer over to talk to him. This was not a debt that could not be repaid. As long as he honestly applied for bankruptcy, and then, according to the hospital’s debt disposal method, to find a job, and then to have his salary sent to the hospital’s account, it would be fine.

If the hospital had said so before, perhaps he would have agreed, but now he was indifferent.

His house was also gone, and he also owed a large sum of money. He sighed, shook his head, and did not speak.

The lawyer looked at him, with no expression on his face. He worked for the hospital, but he was not a person of the hospital, so even if Auge did not repay this money, for him, there would not be any emotional dissatisfaction.

He just looked at Auge. ”You are refusing to negotiate with us on a repayment plan.”

Auge pursed his lips. ”Soon this house will also be taken away. After it is taken away, we can only rent a house to live in, if I still have money.”

”The expenses of my family, all kinds of accidents, and look at my leg. It will keep me from working for at least half a year!”

”To be honest, Mr. Lawyer, I know better than you how much money I can have left every month!”

”Without five or six years, I simply cannot pay off this debt.”

He now also had the bad habit of taking painkillers. As a high-level worker, he had already realized that the ”dependence” that the doctor had talked about had already occurred.

He had tried to fight against the pain in his body. He had thought that this pain would soon pass, but after being in pain for more than two hours, so tormented that he was almost going crazy and about to jump off a building, he had given up.

He had crushed and swallowed three painkillers. In less than five minutes, his whole person was comfortable.

He knew that this was not right, but he could no longer change anything. This had also increased his expenditure.

In fact, what really made him collapse was not that he might need five years to pay off the money, but that after five years, there would still be no hope!

He would still have to use another five years, or more, to find a way to buy another house. By that time, he might be almost fifty.

In the Federation, fifty is already a retirement age. At that time, there was a high probability that he would not be able to find a suitable job.

His physical strength, his energy, were not enough for him to be competent for high-intensity labor, eleven or twelve hours. No one can persevere!

He would have to live a tight life for ten years, working day and night. The thought of this made his whole person exude an aura of giving up.

The lawyer stared at him for a while. ”If you refuse to negotiate with us, then we can only transfer your debt to a collection company.”

This sentence of his had aroused some of Auge’s interest. He had heard some news about collection companies, but not much. He only knew that they were a group of formidable characters who could get back the debt.

So at this time he asked with some curiosity, ”Excuse me, for this debt of mine, how much can you sell it for?”

The lawyer did not answer this question.

In fact, the price they sold to the collection company was different. Someone like Auge belonged to a ”high-quality debt.” The hospital’s side had no way to keep an eye on him, but the collection company’s side had a way to make Auge listen to them, so the price would be a little higher.

These people’s methods are very ruthless, and they have no humanity. For them, money is the most important thing, not anything else.

Debt packaging has always existed, and it is legal. Lance had also packaged Jobav’s (the Empire immigrant banker) debt before, but different companies have different disposal methods for these debts.

They should be thankful that the organ transplant technology is not yet mature. Otherwise, these debts would have been transformed into organ transactions in an instant.

This is also the reason why the number of missing people in the Federation has been continuously rising, and in a certain period in the future, it will reach a degree that is hard to believe!

In fact, there is also a very interesting thing in this. The hospital can accept a lower quotation from the collection company’s side, and will seriously consider these quotations and most of them will agree.

But they will not give the patients a plan to bargain, not even a dollar. They will not exempt the patients.

The lawyer had no more patience. ”You don’t want to discuss it with your family?”

Auge hesitated for a moment. ”I will discuss it with my family.”

The lawyer nodded. ”I’ll be back tomorrow.”

After he had finished speaking, he had left. After a while, there was no sound in the living room. His wife and daughter had also come out of the room. The two looked at Auge, and he recounted the matter.

Listening to Auge finish, his wife and daughter both became silent.

To go back to their previous life, they needed ten years.

”Maybe... my daughter and I can also work together. This way we will earn money faster.”

Auge looked at his wife with a hint of arrogance, and also a hint of disdain. ”What can you do?”

”What can she do?”

His tone did not have much emotional fluctuation, but the mother and daughter could both feel the contempt in his tone.

He did not think that his wife, who was a full-time housewife, could find a good job in this terrible society, nor did he think that his daughter, who was about to graduate from high school, could find a good job she liked.

His wife chose to be silent, but his daughter began to argue with him.

In the end, they still chose the hospital’s plan. This was the only way they could go on.

In fact, there was another way here, which Auge had thought of.

He and his wife would divorce. The child would go to his wife. He alone would bear all the debts, and then he could, with impunity, do nothing, and be a homeless person.

But he quickly dispelled this thought. He did not want to live a hard life alone, while his wife and daughter were embracing a new life.

He knew that it was not right to think so. He just didn’t want to leave his family.

The next day, after the lawyer had come and had learned that Auge was willing to cooperate with them to work, this had made the lawyer very satisfied. They had then signed an agreement.

Auge and his family had to pay the hospital twenty dollars a month, for a total of seventy months (including interest).

At this point, Auge’s whole person was actually indifferent. Whatever, whatever.

Everything seemed to have returned to the starting point. After the lawyer and his men had left, the family of three did not speak, but just sat quietly.

The next day, his daughter went to school. She was about to graduate.

Auge, on the other hand, with the help of a reporter, had gone to look for a job. He knew that the future life was bleak, but he had to keep moving forward.

His wife, on the other hand, was packing up some of the things in the house. The things that could be sold for a little money were all taken to the street to be sold, because they still had some bills to pay, and they needed money.

Before, Auge had not thought that finding a job for himself was a trouble, although he had hit a wall before.

Today he had specially gone to more garment factories, including the ones that had privately contacted him and had tried to poach him. He had thought that if he offered sixty-five, he would definitely be able to find a job easily.

But after looking for a whole day, he had not been able to find a job!

So much so that in the end, when he had lowered his salary to sixty, he still couldn’t find a job!

When those people had learned that he was Auge, and that he had participated in that strike, all the garment factories had said no to him!

In the evening, when he had returned home, his wife had already prepared dinner.

Free relief food from the street, a can of beans. She had added a little bit of minced beef, and then a little tomato, and had stewed it all in one pot.

He had complained a couple of times, but it was just a complaint. The family soon sat together and ate quietly.

Seeing that the meal was about to be finished, his wife couldn’t help but ask, ”Did you find a job?”

Auge’s hand holding the soup spoon paused slightly, and then he quickly put the scooped up tomato and beans, along with the sour and strange-tasting soup, into his mouth. While chewing, he said unclearly, ”No.”

A silent night. The next morning, Auge’s wife and he had gone out together. She also had to go and find a job.

The editor-in-chief had not forgotten the task he had given them before, so a reporter had followed Auge, and a reporter had followed his wife.

His wife had first looked at some of the places that were recruiting workers. To be honest, she couldn’t do any of those jobs. She had even never heard of some of them.

For half a day, she had not found a single job she could do. Perhaps her husband was right. She couldn’t find a job.

A little discouraged, she couldn’t help but ask the reporter who had been following her, ”You’re a reporter. You must know much more than I do. What job do you think I can do?”