Henry placed the gun case on his left hand, and with his right hand, he waved it over her forehead and said, "Alice, you look like a dewdrop on a morning flower, so pure. This is for you too."
Alice watched the blue-purple wild flower with glistening dewdrops suddenly appear in Henry's right hand. She couldn't help but cover her mouth with her right hand, letting out a soft gasp.
Henry gently waved his right hand again.
"Thank you, is this magic? Did you learn it? Don't you dislike George's magic?" Alice took the wild flower with both hands, simultaneously asking a string of questions.
"Alice, people change. Just like you used to open the gun case immediately and try out the handgun by firing a few shots," Henry said gently.
Alice's bright eyes dimmed slightly, and she said rather unhappily, "You're right, I haven't fired a single shot since I came to New York!"
Henry comforted her, "It's okay. You can have a blast when you go back to Fresco Town this time, and you'll have the guidance of the world's best marksman."
Alice let out a giggle, which, combined with the wild flower in front of her, made her appear even more beautiful than the flower.
"Henry, you've become much thicker-skinned!"
"I'm stating a fact, but I'm always misunderstood. Oh, I didn't expect you to be like this," Henry said with a dejected look of being misunderstood by the world, putting the gun case back into his arms.
"Alright, alright, I believe you. Tell me," Alice came closer again to examine his clothes.
The two began to playfully tease and chat, and the slight estrangement that had arisen from not seeing each other for too long in the room's hall vanished without a trace.
Happy times always pass quickly, and the sun began to set in the west.
Alice made up her mind and said, "Henry, I want you to accompany me somewhere tomorrow morning. Rachel, my best friend from high school, is being harassed by a group of thugs because of her father. I want to go with her to negotiate with the thugs tomorrow."
Henry was a little surprised but quickly agreed, saying, "No problem, but can you explain the situation to me clearly?"
"Of course, Rachel's father is a wealthy merchant. He has two ships at South Street Seaport on the East River in Lower Manhattan, doing wine and tea trade, so he can pay Rachel's annual tuition and fees of nearly 300 us dollar."
"But since Rachel's mother passed away unexpectedly half a year ago, Rachel's father first became an alcoholic, and then was lured into an underground casino, and the family's financial situation deteriorated."
"Eventually, not only were both ships taken to pay off gambling debts, but the house in Upper West Side was also sold, and it still wasn't enough because the interest was too high. Fortunately, Rachel's tuition had already been paid, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to study."
"Rachel is very strong. She still graduated with excellent grades. Although she couldn't afford the women's college and couldn't pursue further education, she still managed to get a teaching position at a public elementary school through her own efforts."
"Now, Rachel's father, Charles, has been hiding somewhere for over half a month, and those thugs have come looking for Rachel."
"Fortunately, she's smart. After receiving a reminder from her father through someone else, she immediately ran out of the house she rented in Midtown and came to find me. I arranged for her to hide at a Farm on Second Avenue."
"But a few days ago, Rachel was still found by those thugs. They didn't dare to storm Sinclair Farm, but they threatened to go to the public elementary school where Rachel is scheduled to start working next month."
"So where are you going tomorrow? How will you negotiate?" Henry asked.
Alice clenched her hands tightly, and her slender knuckles began to turn bluish-white.
"Rachel wants to negotiate with those thugs, to pay back a portion after she gets her salary each month."
"But I estimate that won't work, because according to her, her father Robert initially only owed around 6,000 us dollar, and the monthly interest was as high as 30%. If it wasn't paid on time, the interest would be added to the principal and rolled over."
"After Rachel's family used everything to pay off the debt, they still owed over 9,200 us dollar a month ago."
"Because of the thugs' obstruction, no one else dared to take over Rachel's family's assets, leading to their house and ships being mortgaged at most 20% of the market price."
Henry felt it was too ruthless, clearly this Robert was being hunted.
Even if Rachel successfully started working at the public elementary school, her maximum monthly salary would be 20-30 us dollar. 30% interest on 9,200 us dollar a month is 2,760 us dollar. How could she pay that back?
"I plan to talk to the thugs and ask them to only go after Mr. Robert. His debt has nothing to do with Rachel, and besides, they've already received more than double the original 6,000 us dollar principal."
"If that doesn't work, Rachel will just have to not go to work at the elementary school, and I'll find another way to help her find a job."
Henry knew this was very difficult.
Because the employment opportunities for women are very narrow now, they either go to textile factories with very poor conditions and low wages, or do manual labor like washing clothes. Teaching is already the most respectable job.
They primarily maintain the household, raise children, including cleaning the house, taking care of children, tending the yard, and are also responsible for the meals and needlework of all family members, and so on.
Helping Rachel find a good husband is easier than helping her find a good job.
"Originally, I wanted to beg Uncle Marvin to come with me, but..."
Henry understood—Marvin definitely didn't want to get involved in Robert's affairs.
After all, the two were not on the same level at all.
Robert must have put a lot of effort into sending his daughter to a private girls' high school.
Unfortunately, crossing social strata is not that easy.
But at least Rachel was lucky enough to know Alice, such a helpful good friend.
Marvin is Mr. Marvin's head bodyguard, and he has been with him since Marvin came to New York alone 11 years ago to make his fortune.
Even if he helped Rachel with this, he would most likely report it to Marvin first.
One can only say that no matter their background, schoolgirls under twenty are still quite naive.
"When tomorrow? Where will you negotiate? Do you need me to pick you up?" Henry asked directly.
"It would be best if you pick me up, then I won't have to find another excuse to go out. Be here at nine in the morning. We'll pick up Rachel at the Farm and then go together to her original home in Midtown, where those thugs are waiting."
"Happy to be of service, it's settled then," Henry readily agreed.
"That's great, I've been having a headache over this for days, Henry, thank you."
"You're welcome, but you have to promise me one thing."
"What?"
"In the future, you must never go to dangerous places alone or get involved in matters related to the underworld. If anything happens, either tell Uncle Marvin or tell me."
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