Soon after, accompanied by the unique aroma of hand-ground coffee and the wheaty scent of freshly baked bread, Caroline brought out her treasured, good coffee for Mike and the two others.
Along with it, Max also brought freshly baked small breads and an exquisite cake.
While "little maid" Lena eagerly started eating, Mike picked up the form bill on the table and asked, "Is this a project list you made yourselves? It's quite professional."
A professional's touch reveals everything.
The form bill Chris had quickly put together was not only concise but also clearly categorized and well-organized.
"Max and I don't have that ability. A customer helped us with this..." The easygoing Caroline, seeing Chris hadn't left yet, decided to put in a good word for him: "See, it's that gentleman over there. He helped us sort out three months of accounts in less than ten minutes."
"Oh?" Mike looked towards the door again after hearing the girl's explanation.
"H-hello, Mr. Mike. I'm Chris..." The opportunity came again, and Chris didn't know where he got the courage, but he walked up to Mike and said, "You know, you're my idol. Your story has always inspired me. I even submitted my resume to your company..."
Perhaps due to over-excitement, Chris's voice was not only hoarse but also somewhat incoherent.
Overall, it was terrible.
He seemed to realize this himself and quickly stopped speaking, feeling awkward.
"What position did you apply for, financial accountant or data analyst?" Mike's voice sounded.
He had actually recognized Chris's identity long ago, a person with great talent in "numbers."
As for how talented he was, he was probably like a weakened version of Sheldon.
Of course, in terms of personality, Chris was clearly not as difficult to deal with as Sheldon.
"I actually applied for a salesperson position," Chris replied sheepishly.
Chris, without academic credentials, was truly a hidden gem.
However, he himself was not aware of this; at this time, he was still in a confused stage, and his personality was somewhat self-deprecating.
"It's a pity to be a salesperson when you're so good at financial statements," Mike said, weighing the account statement in his hand. "How about this, you go to King Investment Group and find Chris. Let him arrange a job for you where you can utilize your strengths."
Special talents like Chris are rare. If used well, they are definitely trump cards.
Whether it's becoming a stock analyst or engaging in big data analysis, they are very useful.
Since Mike encountered such a talent, there was no reason for him to miss out.
"Ah?" The sudden happiness made Chris wonder if he was hallucinating.
"What, are you not satisfied with my arrangement, or do you still want to be a salesperson?" Mike asked with a smile.
"No, no, no, I'm just too excited." Realizing this wasn't a dream, Chris said excitedly, "As long as I can join King Investment Group, you can have me do anything."
Facing what might be the only opportunity in his life, Chris clearly wouldn't let it go. At this moment, he felt happier than winning the lottery.
It's settled.
Mike, who had once again recruited a talent for the group, smiled and pulled out his checkbook from his clothes. He casually wrote down an amount of ten thousand dollars and handed it to Chris, saying, "This is your advance salary. Buy yourself and your child some warm clothes since it's getting cold."
"You can report to the group tomorrow, or you can report after the Christmas holiday. I will explain the situation to Chris."
Good deeds done completely...
Mike could naturally see that Chris's current life was very difficult, and this check was also a way to win people's hearts in advance.
"Thank you!" Chris took the check with both hands.
Chris was indeed in urgent need of this item.
Even after walking out of the coffee shop with his son, Chris still felt a bit unreal. Touching the warm check in his pocket, he felt that even the snow falling from the sky was so gentle.
"Dad, you have a job now, so we won't have to spend the night at the garbage dump and public restrooms anymore, right?" Chris Jr. also sensed his father's mood.
"Yes, we will have our own house in the future, and it will be very warm inside..." Chris smiled and hugged his young son.
Ten thousand dollars was enough to rent a small house and get through this cold winter.
...
"Aren't you afraid that person will run away after taking the check?" In the coffee shop, Max looked at the young man who seemed to have done something insignificant and asked curiously.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it.
Is ten thousand dollars a lot?
Among the few people in the room, perhaps only Max, who still lived in the common district, would consider this amount of money to be a lot.
"If it were you, would you run?" Mike asked with a hint of deeper meaning.
"No," Max shook her head.
She also understood now that Chris not only lacked that ten thousand dollars but also lacked an opportunity to prove himself.
"Stop chatting for a moment, the coffee's going to get cold," Caroline interrupted the conversation and gestured to Mike, "Quick, try it and see if my coffee-making skills have improved."
Under Caroline's expectant gaze, Mike took a sip of the coffee in front of him and frowned slightly.
To be honest, he still couldn't appreciate the bitterness of coffee.
However, seeing the girl's "come praise me" expression, Mike still gave a review against his conscience: "It's not bad, quite fragrant—"
His tone was perfunctory, and his expression was also perfunctory.
However, the easygoing Caroline didn't notice these details and was still giggling to herself.
"Mike, try these desserts, they're also very good." To avoid awkwardness, the little foodie Lena placed the small bread and a small piece of cake, which she had specially saved for Mike, in front of him.
The tart-shaped small bread, being freshly baked, looked very appetizing.
"It's indeed very good, soft in texture, and with a hint of wheat aroma... The cake is also good, very sweet..."
This time, Mike's praise was much more sincere.
It must be said that Max truly had a unique touch in making desserts.
"Have you ever thought about customizing afternoon tea for office businesses?" Thinking of the previous business report, Mike offered Caroline and Max a way to make money.
Objectively speaking, Caroline's coffee and Max's desserts were both very good; as long as there was a market, they could make money.
"Will that work?" Max's eyes lit up.
If anyone in the shop wanted to make money the most, it was definitely Max.
"Why wouldn't it work? I believe that once those employees taste your coffee and desserts, they'll love them," Mike said. "If you're willing, after the Christmas holiday, I'll have the person in charge at King Investment Group come to your small shop to book afternoon tea sets."
King Investment Group alone has hundreds of employees in the Wall Street Building, which means they can consume at least a hundred afternoon tea sets daily.
Accumulating small amounts, they could still earn a lot of money.
"I'm willing!" Thinking of so much money, Max said excitedly, "We can do it, right, Caroline?"
"Uh, yes." Actually, Caroline didn't have as much enthusiasm for starting a business and making money now. As Max said, wouldn't it be better to just cling to Mike's leg?
And making hundreds of afternoon tea sets at once sounded very tiring.
However, seeing her friend's energetic demeanor, Caroline couldn't object.
"Then it's settled," Mike finalized the matter.
As for Caroline's small coffee shop, due to the snow, there were hardly any customers all afternoon.
After tasting the desserts and sitting for a while, Mike directly pulled Caroline to leave work early.
"With such heavy snow, I'll leave my car for you to drive. See you tomorrow—" Caroline, who got a ride with Mike, smiled and waved goodbye to her friend.
"See you tomorrow!" Max, standing at the entrance of the small shop, also smiled and waved goodbye to her friend, watching Mike and his group leave.
"He really is a charming guy..."
Returning to the coffee shop to stay behind, Max didn't know why the handsome image of that man kept appearing in her mind.
It was somewhat like a crush...
Finally, she shook her head in annoyance, lay on the table, and stared blankly at the snowy scenery outside the window.
Still, the same old saying: Max, who had a clear understanding of herself, knew that she and wealthy people like Mike were simply not from the same world.
Thinking too much would only bring pain.
On the other side, Mike, who had returned to King's Building, called Chris.
He first talked about Chris and Caroline's coffee shop, and then incidentally inquired about the current employment situation outside.
The great economic depression was bound to cause many people to lose their jobs, and unemployed vagrants like Chris would become more and more common in the future.
This was the general trend, and it was not something any single person could change.
"Chris, I've decided to allocate a sum of money to support welfare organizations like relief stations. You help me draft a charter for it," Mike directly instructed.
As his strength grew, Mike became further and further removed from the lives of ordinary people. It was only today, encountering Chris, that made him realize the difficulties ordinary people faced during an economic downturn.
Whether it was a whim or an act of kindness.
In any case, Mike, who was no longer short of money, didn't mind doing some good deeds within his means.
"Doing charity? This indeed helps improve the group's image," Chris did not object to Mike's suggestion; instead, he offered a rational analysis.
"Yes, it's doing charity," Mike said. "Remember to have those welfare organizations that receive our funding not forget to display our group's logo afterwards..."
Doing good deeds and increasing visibility are not mutually exclusive.
And for Mike, visibility meant faith points, and faith points meant an increase in strength.
He truly mastered the win-win situation.