Chapter 857: Failed to treat procrastination

Around 980, the federation passed the first bankruptcy-related act, but it soon stopped being implemented.

Because people believed that this act was too biased toward the debtor; as long as the debtor applied for personal bankruptcy, their assets would be cleared, then discounted, and distributed to all creditors according to the debt ratio, and the debt would not be retained.

To put it simply, if a person owed one million, but he only had one dollar.

Then all creditors would divide one dollar according to the ratio, and at the same time, the remaining 999,999 dollars would be gone!

The debtor, whether working, starting a business again, or whatever, would not be involved in the bankruptcy debt.

This led to some people using the characteristic that bankruptcy did not retain debt to constantly commit fraud everywhere and then apply for bankruptcy.

Asset transfer was something that the federation had been playing for many years; they already had a set of efficient methods.

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

Immediately after, they transferred all their assets away and applied for bankruptcy directly, having nothing except a few coins in their pockets.

Even the bank had no way to deal with them because the law supported and protected them, and the money loaned was equivalent to completely bad debt.

The bankruptcy act was originally intended to protect some capitalists, but it didn't expect it to almost become capital for some middle-class people with flexible brains to achieve class transition.

And this sickle hadn't had time to cut toward the working masses of society, and the first knife cut to the bank's head!

As the foundation of capital, how could the bank allow them to do this?

So the first bankruptcy act was soon terminated, but society needed a new bankruptcy act, so the second bankruptcy act was issued around 1010.

In order not to let the bankruptcy act become a protective umbrella for "indulging bankruptcy fraud," the second bankruptcy act obviously went a bit too far on some issues.

The current bankruptcy law is to retain debt after clearing 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… intends to live the life of a homeless person, then the creditor has reason to require the debtor to work—

Actually, it's not that no one has considered the idea of not paying back the money that can't be paid back anyway.

Most of these people disappeared in the end, or more clearly, died.

For those big capital creditors, if the debtor makes himself have no value, then they are willing to let this debt rot, and also want to vent their anger.

This led to many people living a slave life again after bankruptcy.

Some media, social public opinion, believe that the current bankruptcy law is too protective of creditors, and for debtors, there is no hope at all.

Oge was only one certificate away from personal bankruptcy, and the hospital's lawyers soon found him in his apartment.

He was lying on the bed, the whole person dead and lifeless.

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

The girl who saw guests coming to the house was a bit surprised, but she instinctively felt that these people were not here to do anything good.

The atmosphere in the house had been wrong for the past few days, very oppressive; she wanted to ask something, but didn't know how to open her mouth, so she could only wait silently for her parents to tell her the real situation.

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

Oge walked to the living room with crutches and sat down; his wife stood behind him, feeling a bit uneasy.

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

God knows if the black oil on that chair would stick to his pants; this pair of pants was worth quite a bit of money, and it was a set with the formal wear!

"Mr. Oge, I am the legal staff of the hospital where you were treated; this time I am here to notify you that the federal court has ruled that you need to return the debt you owe the hospital."

"But we have checked your real estate registration situation, and your house has been frozen; it shows that you mortgaged it to a third-party financial company."

"I'm not sure what you did with this money, or if you used some little tricks to transfer the real estate to deal with risks."

"If you think you have a smart way, I can only say, you are playing some little tricks that are not good for you."

Oge's daughter turned her head and stared at her parents with wide eyes, "What is he saying?"

"What happened to our house?"

Oge's wife walked to her daughter's side and tried to soothe her emotions, but was blocked by her hand.

She stared straight at her father, "What happened to our house?"

She didn't know the situation was so serious; their house was gone?

Oge had lost his authority and confidence as a father at this time; he was a bit guilty, and also a bit painful, "Our house is gone, and we still owe the bank a large sum of money."

Her daughter stood there

She found it hard to understand; her father was a high-level worker, and his monthly income was actually not low. Why was their house gone, and why did they still owe such a large sum of money?

She did not understand; she was still too young, and she simply could not comprehend this problem.

The lawyer glanced at the girl, then looked at Aoge, "I hope we can talk alone for the next part."

Aoge nodded, and he looked at his wife, "Take her into the bedroom."

The space here was not large. His wife put her arms around her daughter's shoulders and took her into the bedroom. After the door was closed, the lawyer shook his head and said, "I don't know if you did this on purpose, but your actions have already angered the hospital."

"You had better be able to come up with the money you owe the hospital, before the hospital completely gives up on recovering this debt!"

Aoge sat there, still with that lifeless appearance, "I have no money left. That money... I lost it at the casino."

When he said this, he discovered that telling the truth was actually not as difficult as he had imagined.

The lawyer was also stunned for a moment when he heard this. He roughly understood Aoge's idea: to use the house for one last gamble.

In his professional career, he had seen many people like this—very bold, and with the courage to take a gamble, but the final outcome for these people was rarely very good.

People can only ever see those who have conquered fate, yet they never think about the fact that there might be thousands, or even more, who challenged fate.

But those who conquer fate, over a long period of time, are often only one or two, or two or three.

These two or three people do not mean that only two or three people did this thing; it is just that they succeeded. In people's eyes and hearts, there are only them and their successful deeds, ignoring those who failed.

The lawyer appeared very regretful, "Then it seems we have nothing left to talk about, Mr. Aoge. I will ask one last time: do you have any ability to pay now?"

"Nine hundred and fifty dollars—that is the medical expense you owe the hospital, and we must also add interest."

Aoge shook his head, "I can't come up with a single cent now."

The lawyer had not yet given up, "I am not joking with you, Mr. Aoge. If you have the ability to pay, you can file for bankruptcy, and then we can work together to formulate a repayment plan."

"I heard before that your monthly income was about sixty to seventy dollars. Actually, as long as you grit your teeth and persevere, you could pay off this debt in three to four years."

Calculated over three years, even at sixty-five dollars a month, the total income would be two thousand three hundred and forty dollars.

But about twenty percent of this is tax, and because it is wartime, taxes will be higher, leaving only one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two dollars.

For a family of three like Aoge's, they spend about fifteen to twenty dollars on food every month.

Even calculating at twenty dollars a month, that leaves one thousand five hundred and twelve dollars. Adding in other expenses and bills, if nothing unexpected happens, he could pay off this money in three years.

This is also the reason why the hospital is willing to send a lawyer to talk to him. This is not a debt that cannot be repaid; as long as he honestly files for bankruptcy and then, according to the hospital's debt disposal method, finds a job and has his wages paid into the hospital's account, it will be fine.

If the hospital had said this before, perhaps he would have agreed, but now he simply does not care anymore.

The house is gone, and he owes a large sum of money. He sighed, shook his head, and did not speak.

The lawyer looked at him, his face showing no expression. He worked for the hospital but was not a hospital employee, so even if Aoge did not pay this money, there was no emotional dissatisfaction for him.

He just looked at Aoge, "You refuse to negotiate a repayment plan with us."

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

"Family expenses, all kinds of accidents, and look at my leg—it has made it impossible for me to work for at least half a year!"

"Honestly, Mr. Lawyer, I know better than you how much money I can have left over each month!"

"Without five or six years, it is impossible to pay off this debt."

He has now also picked up the small habit of taking painkillers. As a high-level worker, he has already realized that the "dependency" the doctor spoke of has developed.

He tried to fight the pain in his body; he thought these pains would pass quickly, but after hurting for more than two hours, tortured to the point where he was almost manic enough to jump off a building, he gave up.

Three painkillers crushed and swallowed, and in less than five minutes, he felt comfortable.

He knew this was wrong, but he could no longer change anything, and this also increased his expenses.

Actually, 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 at all!

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

In the Federation, fifty is already a retirement age. By that time, it is highly probable that he will not be able to find a suitable job.

His physical strength and energy will not be enough to allow him to handle high-intensity labor—eleven or twelve hours, no one can keep that up!

He would have to live a life of extreme austerity for ten years, working day and night. At the thought of this, his whole being radiated an air of giving up and letting things go to ruin.

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

This sentence of his sparked some interest in Aoge. He had heard some news about debt collection companies, but not much, only that they were a group of formidable characters who could extract debts.

So at this moment, he asked with some curiosity, "Pardon me for asking, but for how much can you sell this debt of mine?"

The lawyer did not answer his question.

In reality, the prices at which they sell to debt collection companies vary. A debt like Aoge's belongs to "high-quality debt." The hospital cannot keep an eye on him forever, but the debt collection company has ways to make Aoge listen to them, so the price will be a bit higher.

These people have ruthless methods and no humanity. To them, money is the most important thing, and nothing else.

Debt bundling has always existed and is legal. Lanse had previously bundled the debts of Qiaobafu (an Imperial banker), but different companies have different ways of dealing with these debts.

They should be thankful that organ transplant technology is not yet mature enough, otherwise these debts would instantly turn into organ trades.

This is also the reason why the number of missing persons in the Federation continues to rise, and at some point in the future, it will reach a degree that makes people feel it is unbelievable!

There is actually another very interesting thing here: the hospital can accept lower quotes from debt collection companies and will seriously consider these quotes, and most of the time they will agree.

But they will not give patients a repayment plan; even for one dollar, they will not waive it for the patients.

The lawyer no longer had any patience, "Don't you want to discuss it with your family?"

Aoge hesitated for a moment, "I will discuss it with my family."

The lawyer nodded, "I will come again tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, he left. After a while, there was no sound in the parlor. His wife and daughter also came out of the bedroom. The two of them looked at Aoge, and he told them what had happened.

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

To return to their former life, they would need ten years.

"Perhaps... my daughter and I can also work together; that way, the speed at which we earn money would be faster."

Aoge looked at his wife with a trace of arrogance and a trace of disdain in his eyes, "What can you do?"

"What can she do?"

His tone did not have any major emotional fluctuations, but both mother and daughter could feel the contempt in his tone.

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

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

In the end, they still chose the hospital's plan; this was the only path they could continue on.

Actually, there was another path here, Aoge had thought about it.

He divorces his wife, the child goes to the wife, he alone bears all the debts, and then he can appoint himself to do nothing and become a vagrant.

But he quickly dismissed 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 thinking this way was wrong; he just did not want to leave his family.

The next day, after the lawyer arrived and learned that Aoge was willing to cooperate with them to work, the lawyer was very satisfied, and they subsequently signed an agreement.

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

At this moment, Aoge actually did not care anymore; let it be whatever it would be.

Everything seemed to have returned to the starting point. After the lawyer left with his people, the family of three did not speak, just sitting quietly.

The next day, the daughter went to school; she was about to graduate.

Aoge, with the help of a reporter, went to look for work. He knew that his future life was bleak, but he had to keep moving forward.

His wife was tidying up some things in the house; anything that could be sold for a little money was taken to the street to be sold, because they still had some bills that needed to be paid, and they needed money.

Previously, Aoge did not think that finding a job was any trouble, even though he had hit a wall before.

Today he specifically went to more garment factories, including those that had privately contacted him before, trying to poach him. He thought that by asking for sixty-five dollars, he would surely be able to find a job easily.

But after looking for a whole day, he actually did not find a job!

Even when he finally lowered his wage to sixty dollars, he still could not find a job!

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

When he returned home dejected in the evening, his wife had already prepared dinner.

Relief food received for free from the street—a can of beans, she added a little bit of minced beef, then added a little tomato, and stewed it all in a pot.

He complained a couple of times, but it was just complaining, and the family soon sat together and ate quietly.

Seeing that the meal was almost finished, his wife could not help but ask, "Did you find a job?"

Aoge's hand holding the soup spoon paused slightly, then quickly put the scooped-up tomato and beans, along with the sour and strange soup, into his mouth. While chewing, he said vaguely, "No."

The night passed without a word. The next morning, Aoge's wife went out with him; she also had to find a job.

They had not forgotten the task the editor-in-chief had given them, so one reporter followed Aoge, and one reporter followed his wife.

His wife first looked around in some places that were recruiting workers. Honestly, she did not know how to do any of those jobs at all, and some she had not even heard of.

For most of the day, she did not find any job she could do. Perhaps her husband was right; she could not find a job.

Feeling somewhat discouraged, she could not help but ask the reporter who had been following her all along, "You are a reporter; you must know much, much more than I do. Do you think there is any job that I can do?"

(End of chapter)