"Everyone, it's not me, old Jason, who is bullying the girls. In fact, after my calculations, we didn't make any money this Christmas. Each person only got 200 US dollars, which adds up to 400. I really can't give you this money.

Get up..."

"Kid, don't cry. If you want, can you take $105 worth of goods from my store and use them to offset your salary? If you sell them, won't the money come out too?"

"

When Carter followed Lickles to the Jensen Gift Shop on 14th Street, he saw many people gathered here to watch. In the middle of the crowd, a middle-aged man with slightly white temples was squatting in front of him.

On the ground, the sobbing girls were holding their knees and trying to persuade them. Beside them, there were two policemen with embarrassed faces standing helpless.

Faced with this kind of dispute, the two police officers were actually quite helpless. It wasn't that they were unwilling to pay them, but they really couldn't come up with the money. What should they do? They couldn't let others pay them and then starve to death, right?

"But if you have difficulties, we also have difficulties! The agreed upon salary cannot be deducted from us just because your business is not doing well!"

"Alice...Carter is here!"

Hearing the cries of grievance from her companions, Licolis outside the crowd immediately shouted. But upon hearing Carter's name, the crowd consciously moved out of the way.

This action seemed to have been rehearsed in advance, and Carter was slightly startled. When did he have such prestige in Douglas?!

But doubts turned into doubts. Seeing several parties involved looking at him, Carter nodded gently to the onlookers and then strode into the venue.

"K...Mr. Black, please don't get me wrong. I really didn't mean to deduct the girls' wages, but if I paid them the full amount of 400 US dollars, our family would not be able to survive this month..."

Seeing Carter striding towards him, Jason seemed a little nervous. His attention completely shifted from Alice, who was squatting aside, to Carter.

The two police officers also nodded slightly and said hello to Carter.

"Good morning, you two, come and smoke! Mr. Johnson, you smoke too. If you have anything to say, please tell me later..."

Habitually taking out cigarettes and passing them to the two policemen who had met once before, and then handing one to Jason, Carter walked into the gift shop.

The first thing you see is red. Red Christmas hats, Christmas stockings, and a Christmas tree hung with small decorations in the middle of the store. Unlike the decorative fake trees that will be common in the future, there is a real pine tree erected in the middle of the store.

The floor below was punched through and planted directly into the ground. Perhaps this was done intentionally when the shop was built.

The branches on the tree are well trimmed and well-groomed. Colorful light strips surround the pine tree. Perhaps because the lights are not turned on, it looks a bit messy. Between the light strips, there are small bells and small gift boxes hanging on them.

.The foot of the pine tree is also piled with gift boxes...

"Mr. Black...this is, this is our store's revenue ledger. You can take a look at our December revenue. I, Jason, assure you that every word I say is sincere. Our

The total turnover is only 27,600 US dollars. After excluding the 27,000 US dollars of purchase money that needs to be repaid, there is less than 600 US dollars of profit left..."

Jason, who chased Carter into the store, picked up the account book on the counter, turned to the record page for December, and hurriedly showed it to Carter. At the same time, he kept explaining:

"My family of six has a monthly minimum living expenses of US$700. If we give them US$200, our family is ready to not eat meat for two months, but if it's US$400..."

"Isn't the purchase price paid in advance? Or did you purchase the goods on credit?"

After taking the account book handed over by Jason, Carter looked through it and asked a question first.

"We bought the goods on credit. The market last year was not good, and there were usually very few customers in the gift shop. The manufacturer also knew about this situation and was considerate of us, so it allowed us to buy on credit and repay the money after we sell it in the future.

"

Hearing Carter's more reasonable question, Jason quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then these unsold goods cannot be returned?"

After looking through the previous account records, if the account books were not falsified, Jensen was indeed not lying. Purchasing goods on credit is nothing new, just thinking about the supply model of many commodities in the future, Carter was thinking.

Since it can't be sold, can the goods be returned? In this way, the pressure to repay the goods will be less. Just looking at the Christmas decorations in the store that have not yet been removed, Carter knows that Jensen still has a lot of inventory.

In other words, the reason why this person is in such a difficult situation is because he bought too much!

"This... this is definitely not possible. This gift is not a food and beverage product. And when buying food and beverages, only products that are about to expire are allowed to be returned by the manufacturer, but that is to replace them with new products for you, isn't it?

Give you a refund."

"That's right! Okay, let's go out first."

After closing the ledger and returning it to Jensen, Carter did not ask why so many goods were purchased. Because strictly speaking, Jensen did not purchase much goods.

For goods worth US$27,000, even if the profit is 40%, the value of the goods is only US$37,800. Calculated by 10,000 households in Douglas, the average consumption per household is a little more than US$3, less than US$4.

It’s all digested. What’s more, some families with better conditions spend more than $3 on Christmas gifts.

Christmas gifts are also part of the Christmas customs in European and American countries, and they are expenses that are difficult to avoid. Even Anna, who is now 18 years old, also received small gifts such as scarves, parasols, etc. this Christmas.

Of course, Carter does too.

In other words, the Christmas period is the most profitable time for gift shops throughout the year. When conditions are good, the profits created by one Christmas alone can be comparable to their entire year's income.

So there is nothing wrong with stocking up on supplies before Christmas. In order to cope with the Christmas shopping rush, Old Jason hired two girls, Licolis and Alice, to work part-time, and there is nothing wrong with that!

It is very interesting to see the scene in front of us. This can only show that many families in Douglas have been in embarrassment this year and have to cut down their spending on Christmas gifts.

Economy! Economy! What the hell is the economy!

"Carter..."

"Don't worry, leave it to me."

Carter, who walked out of the store, first gave a reassuring look to the two girls who were waiting eagerly, then looked at the crowd of onlookers and shouted:

"Gentlemen, I would like to ask you, last Christmas, how many people did not buy Christmas gifts for their children? Or how many children did not receive Christmas gifts?"

As Carter shouted, the adults who were watching were indifferent. However, three of the seven children who were watching raised their hands, and then their parents secretly pressed them down...

The three bear children's mouth narrowed, and when they were about to say something aggrievedly, their parents covered their mouths with a "pop" sound. Although the scene did not seem to change in the end, and there was no direct response to Carter, how many of them did not buy Christmas gifts?

.

But just based on the children's reactions, as well as the embarrassed, embarrassed, and unnatural expressions on many adults' faces, Carter had already gotten the answer he wanted...

Faced with the unoptimistic situation, Carter sighed helplessly:
Chapter completed!