Helen, who had just returned from her interview, stood outside the house and waited for a while. After the people from the secondhand goods recycling company left, she sighed and asked her father, "What did we lose this time?"
The old man standing on the withered lawn was her father. The withered lawn under their feet hadn't been replaced for more than half a year.
Originally, the community had talked to them specifically. If they couldn't afford to replace the yellowed lawn, the community service company would lend them some money first.
In the Federation, other than those low-end and low-class communities, the middle and high-class communities had very strict requirements for residents. It didn't mean that you were really a member of the community just because you bought a house in the middle and high-class community. You had to abide by the community's rules. Otherwise, everyone would band together to chase you out.
The appearance of the house, the vegetation in the yard, and the lawn were the most basic requirements for residents. You could choose not to buy a house here, but you had to abide by the rules here.
Some of the rules were written in the purchase contract, and some were re-signed when you moved in. In short, people had to abide by the rules.
But soon, the community service company stopped mentioning this matter because they realized that most of the residents did not have the funds to replace their lawns. If the community service company paid for one of the residents, the others might also ask the community service company to do the same. They were about to go bankrupt, so how could they have the money to take care of everyone?
Now, the main road into the community from the main road was filled with yellowed and withered lawns on both sides of the road. The image of the entire community had plummeted. In addition, some of the lawns had "For Sale" signs. This community, which used to belong to the middle class in the past, was particularly bleak.
The old man standing on the withered lawn smiled. "We just lost our washing machine and lawn machine …" He looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. The bill for the new period will arrive soon. I have to pay those bills, and we can't use those things now."
"I noticed that the community service company has a laundry room and coin-operated washing machine. It's very close to here, so it won't be too troublesome for us to do the laundry. As for the lawn …" The old man lowered his head and kicked the lawn on the ground, kicking some mud away. There was nothing green here at all.
Originally, this was a relatively wealthy family, but the sudden economic recession directly dragged down the family. When they were barely able to afford Helen's college tuition, the economic recession directly caused them to lose the ability to resist the family's risks.
Due to the successive unemployment and the need for medication for their youngest daughter, they had already replaced the weekly physical therapy done by a specialist doctor in the hospital with Helen doing it at home. However, their lives had not improved at all.
Constantly selling off their family property had become the only way for such families to survive. The TV always said that the economy had improved and that factories had reopened, but there were always some people who seemed to have missed out on the good news.
When they can't find anything else to sell, they will sell their house for less than a third of what they paid for it.
Then, they would move to a neighborhood that wasn't that great, or they would simply move to the downtown area. They would find some connections to rent a relief house, and the whole family would curl up in a small room as they waited for the economic winter to end.
This sad, sad, and helpless situation happened to countless people.
The old man was silent for a few seconds. He felt guilty. "I'm sorry!"
"It's not your fault."
Helen walked over and hugged the old man. "Let's talk about something to be happy about. Do you know Mr. Ten Billion?"
The two talked as they walked into the room. As they walked, the old man said, "Of course, Mr. Lynch, the youngest Mr. Ten Billion. The TV has been reporting about him recently. What happened to him?"
"I went for an interview!"
Helen decided to tell the old man. She had only told her family that she was going for an interview, but she didn't say where she was going to attend the interview. She felt that the chances were not very high, and she didn't want her family to be happy and disappointed.
However, at this moment, she realized that she needed some good news to cheer her family up, so she chose to say it. Nothing could motivate her family more than attending the interview for Mr. Ten Billion. Even if she didn't succeed, it wasn't a bad thing.
At least she went for the interview. It was an experience in itself, and it could make her resume look better.
The old man suddenly became interested. "So, how did it go? Did you get the job?"
Helen shook her head. "I don't know, but Mr. Lynch said that my interview left a deep impression on him, and he will consider me when he makes his choice!"
"That's really good news. I have to tell your mother to make us something good to eat tonight!"
The old man seemed very excited. His guilt towards the family didn't continue to affect him. Perhaps there wouldn't be any further news about this matter, but at least the family would have a brief moment of relaxation and joy in this silent and depressed life.
During dinner, some beef appeared on the table. Helen's mother briefly introduced the beef, "We bought it together. I managed to snatch the best piece."
Helen's family wasn't the only one in the community who was in such a situation. In this financial disaster, the situation in Beef Payne was more serious than in other places!
It should be noted that in other places, the main economic pillars were industries and a small amount of farming and animal husbandry. However, in Beef Payne, the industry that most people engaged in was finance and service. Therefore, the impact of the financial disaster on people like Beef Payne was greater and more direct.
Therefore, a phenomenon similar to "group buying" began to appear. The ladies in the community would pool money to buy ingredients in large packages. These large packages of ingredients that weren't simply processed were cheaper, and the portions were larger.
If one person couldn't afford it, a few people could. Of course, in the end, these ingredients also required a certain amount of physical strength and eyesight. Helen's mother was very satisfied with the result of her battle today. She had grabbed the fattest piece of meat.
This made Helen's father feel even more guilty. He could only force a smile, rubbing his hands back and forth uneasily under the table. He was smiling, but it made him feel even worse than crying.
Everything at the table seemed so good, just like a few years ago. Helen's parents didn't lose their jobs. They had enough income to support Helen's college education and enough money to treat their younger daughter's illness. They never worried about these things.
All they had to do was wait until next month, and everything would be solved.
When the dinner was about to end, Helen's sister asked a question, "Will you get this job?"
Everyone's eyes were focused on Helen almost at the same time. In an instant, she felt a weight on her shoulders that she had never felt before.
She looked at her father. The old man's eyes were filled with an indescribable color. Despair, hope, and some contradictions mixed together.
Helen nodded subconsciously, and then nodded again with force. She promised with words that even she didn't believe, "I will, I will!"
The short and suffocating silence at the table was instantly broken by the little girl's laughter. She probably didn't know how difficult it was. She just naively thought that everything would be fine, just like what she saw on TV.
After dinner, Helen's mother was cleaning up the table. Her father called her over and wanted to say something. In the end, he just smiled and said, "Don't push yourself too hard. We can hold on until the day things get better!"
That night, Helen felt a weight, a responsibility, and a sense of suffocation that she had never felt before.
They didn't have anything else to sell. Perhaps the next time they would sell this house, they would be selling it.
Early the next morning, Helen went to Lynch's residence. It was a house on a hillside near the inner bay of Bupayne. It was also the best location in Bupayne.
On one side was the bustling metropolis, and on the other was the distant ocean. There was no better location than this. Of course, its price was also hopeless.
Many locals would occasionally pass by here, but they would never have the right to enter. Even as a guest, they did not have the right to enter.
Money drew a line in the world. Inside the line was heaven, and outside the line was hell.
Helen asked the guard for help, hoping to see Mr. Lynch. Unfortunately, Mr. Lynch didn't seem to want to see her, which made her feel even more desperate.
If she couldn't get this job, what would she do? What would her family do? What would her sister do? What would she do? What would she do? What would she do? What would she do? What would she do?
She was very confused. Sometimes, people were like this. Before a critical time, they might not feel this way.
But after this critical time, the whole world suddenly became strange. Everything was confusing and impossible to face.
She didn't want to go home because she would have to face the disappointment of her family. She continued to look for opportunities outside, but unfortunately, in the current environment, most companies didn't have plans to recruit new employees. It was already very commendable that they didn't lay off some of them.
In this way, Helen, who had wasted an entire day, finally had to bite the bullet and go home. She told her family this depressing news. She didn't even know how she got home!
After mentally preparing herself for a long time, she opened the door. The aroma from the dining room made her even more hesitant. This was originally prepared to celebrate her finding a good job, but she brought back bad news.
She walked to the living room with heavy steps, ready to tell everyone that she had disappointed them. But she didn't expect to see Lynch here.
Lynch was eating the beef ribs that her mother was best at cooking. He sat at the table without a care for his image, grabbing the ribs with his hands and chewing hard. His mouth was full of grease.
Lynch seemed to have seen the girl. He put down the ribs and greeted her with a smile. "Hi!"
The girl's eyes were crystal clear. She was stunned for a second. "Hi …"