The Salted Fish Invading the Entertainment Circle

Chapter 159 Inquiry
Since Yang Zhu settled down in an empty shop near the street not far from Jefferson, he took his new friend to look around and ask questions all day long, like a rejuvenated man. curious baby,
Although Jefferson felt that his Chinese friend was a little too curious, but "mysterious Orientals", no matter how weird their personality is, it doesn't matter;
In addition, I seem to like this feeling of being able to "show off" at any time. Two days later, under Yang Zhu's intentional or unintentional instigation, Jefferson actually became keen to take Yang Zhu around...

………………

"Hey! Old Jerry, look what I brought?" Jefferson said hello loudly to a tent.
A man who didn't seem to be very sloppy poked his head out of the crack, first greeted Jefferson, and then looked at Yang Zhu next to him defensively,
Yang Zhu naturally understood what he was guarding against. First, he turned sideways to reveal the densely packed tents on the street under the moonlight, then shrugged his shoulders and made a harmless expression. The man hesitated for a moment, and finally opened all the zippers. , introduced the two people into this tent of only 2 square meters.

After taking his seat with some difficulty, Jefferson first moved a plastic bucket half filled with scrap copper and iron vigorously, and then took out a bottle of rum from his pocket with a sneaky look, shaking it triumphantly. shake;
The man called Old Jerry was overjoyed, and quickly took out a few deflated paper cups from the bag in the corner of the tent, and looked at Jefferson longingly;
Jefferson smiled, and without any gesture, he just opened the bottle cap. Suddenly, a smell of alcohol and caramel filled the air. Old Jerry first rolled his Adam's apple greedily, and then remembered What, quickly turned sideways, and blocked the two piles of clothes in a few small gaps in the tent.

Jefferson chuckled and said: "Old man, you are too careful. The moon is so big tonight, those guys don't dare to be so restless."

Old Jerry ignored him. He listened for a while and found nothing unusual. Then he said with some difficulty, "Everyone's mood has become more and more irritable recently. What happened?" There have been several fights, and alcohol is their favorite thing, so it’s always good to be careful.”

Yang Zhu was a little surprised when he heard the rhythm of his speech as if he was stuttering. Jefferson explained to him: "Old Jerry has rarely spoken since he became a homeless man. If this goes on like this, I guess he almost forgot that he still There's such a thing as a tongue."

Yang Zhu understood, took the bottle from Jefferson, filled the paper cup in front of Old Jerry with half a glass of wine, and then poured some for himself.

Jefferson first introduced Yang Zhu and then raised his glass: "I haven't seen you for more than half a year. I'm very happy to see you alive and well. For the sake of friendship!"

Yang Zhu and Old Jerry also raised their glasses: "For friendship!"

Then he took a sip, and Yang Zhu felt the inferior flavor and burning sensation on the tip of his tongue. He was not used to it. Lin Tu, who was like a dog, didn't know how to buy a slightly better bottle of rum. What is the difference between denatured alcohol and caramel flavoring?
After a few sips of wine, Old Jerry's mood became high and his speech became much smoother: "Jefferson, why did you suddenly come to me today!?"

Jefferson pointed at Yang Zhu: "Well, this curious Chinese friend of mine wants to meet more American friends. It just so happens that one of his new friends who joined [Wanderer's Home] got another bottle of wine today. , I didn’t think you liked drinking rum the most, so I came here.”

Old Jerry immediately looked at Yang Zhu with admiration, and he once wanted to seek help from the "House for the Homeless", but because of his alcoholism and previous violent record, he was rejected;

And this Asian young man in front of him actually got the members of the "House for the Homeless" who have always been disgusted with alcohol to offer him alcohol. What kind of relationship is this so good?

Yang Zhu saw him sizing him up carefully, and smiled:

"We Chinese people have different views on alcohol than you do. We have never had laws that explicitly stipulate that minors are not allowed to drink;"

"In fact, in our country, wine is a very important cultural symbol. In many areas, when children are very young, um... when they are about a few months old, they will dip their chopsticks in some wine for them. they taste;"

"And on major festivals, even if the children are underage, parents will let them drink with them;"

"It is precisely because we have been exposed to alcohol easily since we were young. In our country, there are not many behaviors that can be called "alcoholism", and the self-discipline for drunkenness is much higher than yours, so the degree of harm to social order is not serious. Nothing serious;"

"On the contrary, in your country, it is precisely because the laws are very strict, and the punishment for underage drinking is also very important, so everyone is so curious about alcohol. Once they become adults, they will drink a lot, and it is easy to get infected. Not to mention alcohol addiction, because of the weak resistance to alcohol, it is easy to do some crazy things; "

“Two countries have different attitudes toward alcohol. It’s not surprising that my friend would give me alcohol in private, because he believed that with my ability to control alcohol and my self-discipline after being drunk, nothing would happen. "

Old Jerry nodded approvingly: "Yes, many things are like springs. The harder you suppress them at the beginning, the harder they will rebound after you let go of the restraint!"

As if they had found a common topic, the conversation between the two gradually opened up, and they had a lot of communication around wine and wine culture;
Half an hour later, Yang Zhu saw that Old Jerry was a little drunk, so he started to introduce the topic:
"Old Jerry, I heard that you used to be a repairer of microelectronic equipment, but because of six consecutive overdue mortgages, your property was forcibly repossessed and you had to live on the street?"

"But I heard that in your country, the wages of microelectronic equipment maintenance personnel are not low. Why are they overdue so many times in a row?"

Unlike China, in the United States, due to legal protection and the scarcity of employees, the income of technical blue-collar workers such as microelectronic equipment repairmen and plumbers is not as good as that of financial swindlers on Wall Street, but it is far more than that of ordinary office white-collar workers. up;

Especially in a super metropolitan city like New York, an ordinary microelectronic equipment repairman's monthly salary is at least 6000 US dollars. In addition to equipment replacement, depreciation and other aspects, the monthly salary can be at least 7000 US dollars. , in the United States where the median income is US$4000, it is considered a very good job;

Old Jerry burped, and then said depressedly:

"That's because I listened to the lies of those real estate agents at first, and within two years, I gave myself loans to buy five properties in the Bronx;"

"In the beginning, I watched house prices continue to rise every time, and the increase was much higher than the loan interest rate. I was quite happy and felt that I had found a very good financial management method;"

"But just two and a half years ago, our company's efficiency was getting worse and worse. The boss waved his hand and started laying off employees. Because of my age, I was fired;"

"I wasn't too worried at first. After all, I have so many properties under my name. Although the location is not good, it is far less valuable than those apartments in the city center, but I can sell one casually, and I can last for two or three years;"

"Unexpectedly, when I used my own compensation to make up the loan of the cheapest property among them, and then listed it to the housing agency for sale, I didn't sell it for nearly two consecutive months;"

"You have to know that this situation is very abnormal. Five years ago, as long as a house was listed, no matter how remote the location, it would always be snatched up. In many cases, it took luck to snatch it;"

"It was only later that I learned that, for some reason, houses in poor locations in New York have been very difficult to sell in the past two years. Although the agents I've linked to are occasionally consulted, none of them are satisfied with its location and price,"

"At that time, my savings were already gone. I still had four properties under my name that needed to be repaid, and I had to pay high property management fees and insurance premiums every year, so I had to sell them at a reduced price."

"Unexpectedly, I lowered my price three times, even to 3% of the original purchase price, but still no one bought it; and I was immediately faced with an overdue mortgage. In the end, I had no choice but to pay 80% of the original purchase price. The price sold the house directly to the agent;”

"It's a pity, for that property, I paid a total of nearly 25 U.S. dollars including interest, and in the end, less than 10 U.S. dollars was returned to me;"

"Next, I kept looking for jobs and was constantly disappointed, and the monthly mortgage payment was still a huge expense;"

"In this way, in less than a year, all my savings have been emptied. I can only do odd jobs occasionally and recycle some waste products to increase my negligible income, and the overdue time is getting longer and longer;"

"Just like this, a year ago, most of the properties under my name were repossessed by the bank because they were overdue for too long and too frequently. Even my original residence was forcibly repossessed, so I had to sleep rough. street!"

Speaking of this, Old Jerry took a sip of rum, but his face revealed a gambler-like madness:
"But I still have hope. Although there is a property that has been mortgaged, the private bank found me in the middle of this year and told me that as long as I can pay off 60% of the current year's loan within one year , which is $1; they can give me back the house and lower the monthly loan amount for a longer term!"

"I figured it out, based on my daily income from picking up scraps, as long as I'm lucky and can get more important auto parts and electronic components that can be processed again, I'm sure to give the 60% of the loan payable to the dealer. up,"

After Yang Zhu listened, he had a general assessment in his heart. This is the projection of the phenomenon of "de-industrialization" caused by the gradual focus on high-tech products and finance in the United States' foreign trade;

This shift in strategic focus will seriously create a "head focus" effect, causing a relatively abnormal economic restructuring, causing a large amount of resources and social purchasing power to be concentrated in the 1% to 10% of the social class, while the consumption power of the grassroots is Continuously shrinking, over time, the internal circulation liquidity of the entire social capital will be greatly weakened;

According to economics, most of the M2 currency and more and more M0 funds are pouring into the financial circle and a few high-tech product fields, which makes the blood circulation ability of the entire United States weaker and weaker;
Coupled with the weakening of the United States’ ability to absorb foreign blood and the invasion of various foreign products with high cost performance due to the trade deficit, the domestic demand economy of local residents has obviously been unable to maintain a sufficient number of jobs and income quality. The situation of the old Jerry is not enough. Why is it strange;

Yang Zhu compared the information he got at the beginning,

According to the 1:3:3:2:1 rough division of the income groups of ordinary American residents, this old Jack, strictly speaking, is among the 30% of the middle-to-high-income group. The situation is very instructive;

After all, old Jerry was a high-quality borrower at the time, and the overdue/broken payment of people like him can reflect the real situation of those subprime borrowers to a certain extent;

Substituting the statistical sampling index of these people into the corresponding mathematical model can make the elastic space threshold of the final number smaller;
So he asked: "Among the colleagues and friends you know, how do you feel like this?"

Old Jerry's eyes were a little drunk:
"You know, although New York looks big, most of us live in a small circle. In the same circle, everyone often makes similar choices."

"So, most of the colleagues around me are like me, and almost all their savings and credit lines are used for investment. There are not a few people like me who took out loans to buy several properties at the beginning;"

"But now, those colleagues who are still working are still working hard to repay their loans, but with the economic downturn, it seems that everyone is getting more and more difficult. And those colleagues who have been fired, except for a few who are very lucky, Except for finding a new job, most of them, like me, either returned to their hometown or became homeless.”

After finishing speaking, Old Jerry seemed to think of something, and said confidently in an instant:

"But I believe that these difficulties will eventually pass!"

"You see, our US dollar is still the strongest currency in the world, our economic growth is still very strong, and our stock index has been going up!"

"And the radio also said that a steady stream of buyers from all over the world came to the United States to purchase fixed assets in the United States; among them, real estate is one of the hottest items!"

"As long as I can keep the ownership of this house and find a buyer willing to take over, then I can live a normal life again!"

Yang Zhu is silent. Strictly speaking, the "news on the radio" that Old Jerry said is not wrong; there are indeed buyers from all over the world who come to the United States to buy real estate for various purposes, some for investment, some for ideas Some want to immigrate legally, some want to avoid risks, and so on;

And the first to bear the brunt are the retail investors in China...

But at this time, I am afraid that most people will not know that the current speed and scale of bad debts in American real estate have far exceeded its function of attracting capital;
only……

Yang Zhu looked at Old Jerry, who was depressed but still firmly believed that he could survive the disaster, but he had another question in his mind;
If more than half of the Americans who have overdue/broken their loans are still optimistic about the real estate in the United States, then those capital institutions can completely cover this cover for a longer time by spreading good news and inducing people to cut tail transactions ;

Ok……

It seems that this timing judgment is very mysterious. Should I conspire with old fox Lin Xiong and come up with some heretic methods?

Thinking of this, Yang Zhu thought of another world, the "faint water company" that ruined "Dalu Tea";
Sure enough, it is still necessary to use the most stupid method to obtain the most real data, which is the most valuable for evaluation!

Slightly complacent, Yang Zhu suddenly remembered something, and asked old Jerry:
"Old Jerry, you said that there was a private bank that not only did not completely confiscate your property, but also took the initiative to find you and was willing to give you more relaxed loan repayment terms?"

Old Jerry was a little emotional: "Yes, thank God, there are still good people in America!"

Yang Zhu smiled noncommittally, and continued to ask: "Can you tell me the name of that bank?"

………………

More than ten minutes later, Yang Zhu and Jeffrey got out of the tent feeling dizzy;

The two consciously quickened their pace and walked towards their "residence".
When passing a streetlight pole, Jeffrey, who had drunk too much, finally couldn't help it and vomited;

After a while, he felt better. He looked at Yang Zhu who kept rubbing his back.
He suddenly smiled: "Yang, can you tell me what you do?"

Yang Zhu paused in his hand and showed confusion for a moment:

"I used to be a helper!"

"As for now, I can barely be considered a rookie wanderer!"

Jeffrey's smile was a little strange: "A cook will not ask around and around for information about real estate bad debts all day long;"

Seeing Yang Zhu who was a little surprised, he smiled complacently: "Don't forget, I used to be a teacher, and you can't hide your small actions these days from me!"

Yang Zhu stared at him, his eyes began to flicker...

………………

Just as Yang Zhu was thinking about how to round off this lie,

Jeffrey came over excitedly and asked quietly:
"Chinese agent?"

"Are you planning to organize a big riot?"

Yang Zhu had a black hair and looked at Jeffrey: "You have watched too many 009 movies!"

There was a handful of cold sweat in my hands. Although it was not accurate, it was not far off;
Jeffery was a little disappointed, but soon regained his spirits: "Undercover investigator of the United Nations Human Rights Organization?"

Yang Zhu hehe: "Do you think the United Nations dares to investigate the United States?"

Jeffrey pursed his lips a little bored, and turned his head away.

Yang Zhu became interested: "Jeffrey, as an American, why do you seem to want some trouble in the United States so much?"

Jeffery was so drunk that he yelled presumptuously:

"Go to the fucking America!"

"Once upon a time, I loved my country very much,"

"But, look now, does this country full of moths and hypocrisy love me or not!?"

As soon as the voice fell, a whistle came from not far away: "Dude, well said! Go to the fucking America! Go to the fucking fair!"

Like a victorious general, Jeffrey turned around proudly and made a hat-off salute.

Then he grabbed Yang Zhu's collar and said viciously:

"Yang! I treat you as a friend these days, you can't lie to me!"

"so……"

"Tell me, who are you?"

Yang Zhu looked at his panicked and evasive eyes, and sighed helplessly:
"Okay, let me tell you..."

(End of this chapter)