Chapter 121: Lobbying Weida (Part 3)

When Omar saw that Zhou Ming was with Johnny and other representatives of the black families, he jokingly walked over and said, 'It's really lively here. It seems that I should have come a little later, so that everyone can have a better chance to get to know each other.'

As Omar walked over, everyone, including Johnny, greeted him enthusiastically. It was clear that Omar was very popular in the Vida community, at least among the black community.

Zhou Ming and Omar gave each other a high five. 'I was just telling the community friends about some of the details of subprime loans,' he said.

Everyone nodded. The black woman said, 'I really didn't know until I heard Mr. Zhou Ming's introduction. Is it really that good to get a preferential loan from the bank? It's only three percentage points, but those guys at Brookfield actually asked me for 7.6 percentage points, more than double. And this is still a preferential rate from friends. I really feel like an idiot who has been made a fool of!"

The black woman's words immediately resonated with the others: 'Yes, those white people keep saying that they include and respect us, but what about in reality? They don't even consider us Americans, they just see us as slaves who make money for them!'

Omar then said, 'Although it has been more than a hundred years since the Declaration of Independence was issued, the elimination of many concepts is still hopeless. It is precisely for this reason that we must be more united. Only by uniting together can we fight for greater benefits for ourselves. That is why Mr. Zhou Ming is here today. I think we need to listen carefully to what he has to say and finally make our decision!'

With Omar's words, all the blacks shouted in unison, 'Yes!' Then Omar handed over the floor to Zhou Ming, but Zhou Ming did not go up on stage, but instead remained standing, inviting everyone to come around and say, 'Friends, we said today that we were going to hold a residents' meeting, but in fact I am not some federal official, there is no need for that at all. We just simply want to chat with you today, that's all.'

'In fact, the credit rating is just a way of saying things. No matter how systematic and seemingly rule-based the evaluation criteria are, in the end, it is still the white people who have the final say,' said Ming. "It's a very simple truth. A black person and a white person, both with the same conditions, I think the white person's evaluation criteria are just a level higher than the black person, right?"

Everyone nodded in response to Ming's question. Ming suddenly asked, 'Do you know why?'

The blacks all shook their heads in unison, and Zhou Ming continued, 'I don't know the exact details, as I'm not white, but I don't believe it has nothing to do with him, given that Brook Investment Company's loan interest rate is 9 percentage points.'

Zhou Ming deliberately didn't say anything more, because he was more convinced by what he had thought of than by the information he had learned. And Zhou Ming had even more shocking information to come.

'Perhaps a 9% interest rate doesn't sound like much to you, but if you borrow $200,000 to buy a house and repay it over 20 years, the interest you'll pay will total $230,000, which is even more than the principal you borrowed!"

Everyone present let out a gasp of disbelief at Zhou Ming's words. Zhou Ming paused for a moment after saying this, and then looked around before continuing, 'I know you probably don't believe me, so you can get out your calculators and do the math for yourself.'

Zhou Ming's tone was very confident. He was not worried that anyone would actually take out a calculator to verify it, because what he said was the truth, a fact that was easy to be overlooked. This was the interest-on-interest in the bank. Perhaps 9% a year didn't sound like much, but over twenty years it was terrifying. And this was still on the premise of making monthly mortgage payments. If you directly calculated the total amount, it would only make people even more crazy.

"Let's think about how much money you can make in a year. Fifty thousand dollars is about right, isn't it? But how much do you have to pay back? 1,700 or 1,800? That's more than 20,000 US dollars a year, almost half of your income."

Zhou Ming added, 'That's not a small amount of money, because if there wasn't a 9% interest rate, you would have saved nearly 10,000 US dollars in interest. You could take your wife and children on holiday every year, you could ask for an extra piece of beef when you order a hamburger, you could even choose the cigarettes and beer you like the most and go to Las Vegas. But now?'

Zhou Ming looked around and said, 'The money you could have used for pleasure is now all used to support those fat white people. More importantly, those white people are not grateful to you. They only think that this is the tribute that slaves should pay to their masters!'

Zhou Ming spoke slowly, and as he spoke, he kept an eye on the expressions of these blacks. Zhou Ming discovered that their eyes were filled with anger and unwillingness. Zhou Ming knew that the time was right, so he finally said, 'But now there is an opportunity. Of course, I cannot help you get back your own money from those white businessmen, but I can help you take revenge on those bastards who are lying on top of you and sucking your flesh and blood!'

These words were like a bright light in the darkness, making everyone's eyes light up at once. These blacks all looked at Zhou Ming with great hope.

'Now I have a plan, which is aimed at Brook Investment Company,' said Zhou Ming. 'You may not know that you took out a loan from Brook Investment Company, but in fact he had already mortgaged your property to the bank a long time ago and borrowed even more money. If your property is worth $200,000, then he has borrowed at least $400,000.'

Zhou Ming's words surprised everyone. They all exclaimed in shock, 'How could it be so much money? Is it because of their credit rating? Or is there some other reason? But we haven't defaulted on the loan, so hasn't he already broken the contract by doing this?'

Zhou Ming raised his hand to indicate silence, and continued, 'I won't go into the details of how it works, because the process is quite complicated. But you just need to know that they don't care what happens to your property, as long as they can make more money! However, no matter how they operate, it is ultimately based on your loan. As long as you apply for personal bankruptcy, you can bankrupt them!'

As Zhou Ming finished speaking, the black people next to him suddenly froze. They looked at Zhou Ming blankly, completely at a loss for words.

Afterwards, Zhou Ming gave Omar a wink, and he chimed in, 'Mr. Zhou Ming is absolutely right. Since we all signed contracts with Brookfield, there is absolutely no way we can get our money back. But we can get back at those guys, isn't that good?'

Omar's words seemed to pull them back from their shock. Someone asked the same question as Johnny had before, stunned: 'We don't mean to disbelieve you, but if we go bankrupt and default on the loan, won't our house be sold and won't we have a home to live in?'

With the first one, the others also asked one after another: 'That's right, is there any way we can avoid this loan? Can we still keep our house?'

Facing these questions, Zhou Ming explained to them: 'Forgiving the loan and keeping the house, I'm sorry that this is very difficult to do, but there is only one thing, I will not let you become homeless. I can help you rent a house, and even after things are over, I can help you buy the house back, as long as you file for personal bankruptcy and let Brook Company go bankrupt.'

After Zhou Ming finished speaking, he saw that these people's eyes were still full of hesitation. He had no choice but to turn his gaze to Johnny.

'Mr. Johnny, I know you are very smart and good at making choices. So do you think if it were you, would you want to take revenge on those bastards or remain their silent slaves?' asked Zhou Ming.

Johnny was no fool. He knew exactly why Zhou Ming was calling on him at this time, so he said, 'Of course I want to take revenge on those bastards! Although I don't have that much money and I don't have any power over Congressman Brook, at least I will fight back, just like Martin Luther King and other compatriots who dared to fight back, fighting for our fairness!"

After saying this, Johnny finally looked at Ming and asked, "Mr. Ming, can you swear to God that if I file for personal bankruptcy, I will definitely be able to take revenge on those damn white people?"

Ming held up his hand: 'Of course, I can swear, as long as you and the rest of the compatriots in the Vidda community can work together.'

'Okay, then I promise Mr. Zhou Ming that I will apply for personal bankruptcy!' Johnny said.

'Mr. Johnny, you have made a very wise choice!' Zhou Ming then turned to the others, "So what about you?"

Facing Zhou Ming's question, everyone could feel their hearts unconsciously jump a little, and there was also an urge in their hearts to make a decision, but in the end they were just short of speaking.

This was the most tense moment for Zhou Ming. Zhou Ming had already done his best, and it was now up to them to make a decision.

Zhou Ming didn't say anything, but sat quietly waiting for their answer.

The air around seemed to have come to a standstill, and everyone's breathing seemed to have stopped for a moment. After a while, someone said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I don't think I can do it.'

This made Zhou Ming's heart tighten, but he asked without moving a muscle, 'Why?'

Although Zhou Ming did not say much, the black man still felt a lot of pressure. He swallowed a few times and said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, it's not that I'm not united, it's just that my son was just born, and I need a stable environment. I can't accept my house being seized by the bank and auctioned off, and I can't accept moving back and forth. So I'm sorry.'

Before Zhou Ming could say anything, the other man continued, 'I'm sorry, Omar and Mr. Zhou Ming, but I don't think we can accept this either. We are very grateful that you came to tell us this, but to ask us to declare personal bankruptcy and have the bank auction off our property is something we can't accept under any circumstances.'

'So your final decision is not to seek revenge against those white businessmen, but do you know that they will not thank you, but instead they will laugh at your cowardice?' Zhou Ming asked.

Under Zhou Ming's questioning, everyone lowered their heads. Zhou Ming decided to continue by saying, 'You all have your own wives and sons, and you all have your own American dream. But now? Every drop of sweat you shed is helping to inject more fat into the bellies of those whites. Your wives and children could have gone on holiday to Rhodes, but the high interest rates mean you can only go to the park on your doorstep. Is this your dream?'

'Of course not!' Someone couldn't help but say in response to Zhou Ming's questioning. But that was all he said. He continued, 'But we can keep working hard to save money. But if we lose our house, it's really gone. To take revenge on the whites, Mr. Zhou Ming, you'd better find someone else.'

After saying this, the man fled in all directions, and with the first person taking the lead, the others followed suit.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, we are really sorry. It's not that we want to be bullied by those white people, it's just that we really can't do anything about it. So you should find someone else for this matter. We really need to keep our house more.'

As these black people said this, they left the square one after the other, fleeing for their lives.