A Red Dead Redemption Story

Chapter 38 Debt Collection Work

Ended these things in the bar.

Arthur bids farewell to Blake and Trelawney.

Leaving the almost forgotten tip at the bar, Arthur was about to go find Strauss when he went out and met some girls from the camp.

Karen, Mary and Tilly, who were finally released from the camp by Susan, were chirping and sighing that they had finally fallen into the arms of civilization again.

"Hi, Arthur."

"Hello, Mr. Morgan."

"Mr. Morgan, I just happened to meet you. Here is a letter for you. I originally wanted to bring it back to the camp for you directly." Mary Beth took out a letter tucked inside from the book she carried with her. She handed it to Arthur, and then said:
"It's the woman in the photo frame next to your bed."

Arthur took the letter and listened to Mary's description. He immediately knew who wrote this letter to him. Mary Lingtong, his White Moonlight, the one he still couldn't say he loved. ' woman.

When he took the letter just now, he could even feel that his heartbeat seemed to have skipped a beat. Resisting the urge to open the letter immediately, Arthur put it away neatly in his bag, and then adjusted his expression. He smiled and said:

"Thank you, so, is she still in town?"

Mary Beth frowned and did not answer, while Tilly saw Arthur's embarrassment.

Seeing Arthur who was obviously distracted by this letter and still pretending, Tilly just smiled and didn't answer, as if she wanted to make Arthur anxious for a while longer?
Finally, it was Karen. This bold woman couldn't stand it anymore. She patted Arthur on the shoulder and said:

"You two know how to tease him. As far as I'm concerned, when she greeted us, she was almost the same as you are now. How should I put it? Embarrassed, yes, haha."

Arthur refused to admit that he was embarrassed, but Mary was actually embarrassed?Something must have happened.

"Don't worry, your little lover hasn't left yet. She said she rented a room in the farmhouse next to Valentine and said she would stay there for a while. Then she seemed to have said something to her. I can’t remember this part clearly about my brother, but in short, that’s it, you can read the rest yourself, we should go find some work.”

Listening to Karen say this, Tilly on the side took over and said:
"Bah, you just told me that you wanted to go to the bar and have a few free drinks."

Arthur didn't stay long. He gave them some money so that they could go back to deal with Susan and buy some things they liked. By the way, he also told a few girls that if they encountered any trouble in the town, they could go to the Saint's Inn and find them. Kieran or boss Blake helps.

After sending the girls away, Arthur finally decided to solve the Strauss problem first before dealing with other matters. It was better to save Mary Lington's letter for later.

Downs' farm was not far away. After asking Blake about the specific location, he slowly rode his horse and soon arrived near the countryside. He also met many pedestrians on the road, and he greeted them in a friendly manner. Say hello.

When we arrived, we saw a wooden house that looked to be quite old. This small farm was built on a flat piece of land on a hillside.

When Arthur came closer, he saw Strauss standing in front of a middle-aged man. Compared with Strauss's smart clothes, this man looked like a farmer rolling in the fields.

"Mr. Thomas Downs, I fully understand your difficulties, but a debt is a debt. Now that the deadline has come, please repay it on time. I no longer want to listen to your sophistry." Strauss's voice was cold and cold. Without any emotion.

The miserable man standing opposite, slightly bent, with a sick look on his face, said humbly:
"I, I...I will pay back the money. You know I have a family to support, so please give me some more time."

Arthur did not step forward, he just waited on the side, waiting for Strauss to finish talking to the miserable man in front of him.

Arthur looked at the crops planted in the vegetable field beside him. It seemed that the harvest was not bad. Tobacco leaves were planted on the left and corn as tall as a person was planted on the right.

After really not knowing what to look at, Arthur could only look at Strauss.

He looked like a poisonous scorpion that is very common in the West. He kept pressing down on Downs step by step with words. I have to say that Strauss looked very peaceful when he was collecting debts. The difference is that Downs is still pleading:
"Mr. Strauss, you know, I'm not going anywhere. Trust me, give me some more time and I will pay it back."

Strauss looked dismissive and said:
"The repayment date is the repayment date. If you still insist on not repaying the money, then the person who comes to discuss repayment issues with you in the future will no longer be the kind me."

……

In the end, after a long stalemate, it looked like Strauss still couldn't get his money.To be honest, Arthur doesn't like these loan sharks either. When they borrow money, they make promises that are extravagant, but when it's time to pay back the money, each of them seems to have just realized that they actually owe the money.

Do you think it's amazing?

Crying and selling out in poverty, hoping that the creditors can be tolerant, at least in Arthur's opinion, Strauss is right, that is, he did not force others to borrow money from him. These people deserve pity, but they are not Be pitied.

They chose the path themselves, so they should bear the consequences themselves.

Although Arthur pitied them, he did not sympathize.

"Arthur? Why are you here?"

Strauss, who was about to leave, saw Arthur sitting on the horse waiting for him.

It just so happened that there was a debt that needed Arthur's help to recover. He was about to speak, but Arthur interrupted him in advance:

"Don't you always say that if the debtor has no money, then just beat him and don't listen to his excuses? I don't think you had any intention of taking action just now."

Strauss frowned and said:

"Please stop joking, Mr. Morgan, a debt default is a very serious matter. I am just a useless banker, and it is people like you who should take over the next collection work. It just so happens that you are here too, so this matter will be left to you next."

"Sorry, I refuse."

Arthur refused very simply. He didn't like the job, and he didn't like Dutch's attitude towards the matter. If it was to make money, he now had a better choice. He was prepared to refuse to renew the loan sharking, and planned to start from Start by saying no to debt collection.

Whether they understood it or not, he was determined to help Strauss and Dutch choose a better path.

"Listen, do you remember the casino I told you about? I've got it all done and it's going to be open soon. And I came to you to let you take charge of the casino's accounts. I fully believe in your ability. And I hope you can give up the loan shark business completely and come to help me run the casino."

When Strauss heard what Arthur said, he was a little stunned. After a while, he finally said:
"Arthur, these are all legal. Also, does Dutch know?"

"I know, but being legal doesn't mean it's right."

"I'll go talk to Dutch."

Strauss looked up at Arthur in front of the horse. He looked a little frustrated and entangled. Although he had always been very aware of other people's aversion to usury, but faced with Arthur so bluntly and clearly told him that he wanted him to give up, He still had some doubts. Could he really do anything other than loan sharking?
Strauss finally spoke:
"You may not know that I had a very hard life when I was a child. When I was 12 years old, my brother was stealing things outside to support us. When I was nine years old, my sister Anna was sold into child labor. When I was 17 years old, I came to the United States to work hard. I I'm only good at this. It's all about money. I've been miserable because of poverty. I'm tired of living without money. I'm not saying this to gain sympathy. Arthur, I think you also know that many times You can’t live by just doing the right thing.”

"I'm good at lending money, I'm good at that, I'm not sure I'm good at anything else."

Arthur understood very well, and he said:
"Everyone has to do something they are good at to survive, and you just haven't discovered what you are really good at. I understand you, but, believe me, you are just as good at what I asked you to do, And I promise, you’ll make a lot of money.”

Arthur did not choose to blame Strauss, because he understood that everything was just forced by life.

Strauss had a feeling that he didn't know how to express his understanding of Arthur's words. He thought in silence for a long time. In the end, no one knew whether he had understood it or not. He finally agreed to Arthur. ask.

Trauss couldn't explain his feelings at this time, but it was probably more of a relief to end the loan sharking job. He asked Arthur in detail about his work arrangements and made notes.

Arthur's plan for Strauss is to be an accountant and manager. He needs to provide himself with a bill that is clear enough for Bill to understand and one that only he can understand. At the same time, he also needs to use a loan to tactfully Hollow out those wealthy gamblers. In short, Arthur just said it briefly, and then Arthur said to Strauss:

"Let's do this first. You live in the town, and I will ask Kieran to help you arrange a place to live. Also, hurry up and finish the loan you gave out before, as long as you can get the principal back. If there is anything that can't be repaired yet, you tell me and I will repair the hole for you. As for Daqi, leave it to me."

Arthur originally wanted to take Strauss for a ride, but he refused. He said he wanted to walk by himself and think about some things.

And Arthur was also anxious to go back to read the letter at this time, and the two left separately.

(End of this chapter)