Durin's Diary

Chapter 704: Winning and Losing

Joseph Visa Dzhugashvili.

He was standing outside the newsstand, and a shoeshine boy was shining his shoes.

There was a crowd of people outside the stock exchange not far away, but in the past, the crowds were because they wanted to know how much they had earned.

But today, the faces of those heads are filled with anxiety and despair.

This reminded Joseph of a sentence that this great man said when he was listening to Lord Turin's lecture.

I will not teach you how to make money, because this is a profound art that requires a person to have a strong spirituality, but I can teach you how not to be cheated.

It's simple. When a business makes money so easily that even a shoe shiner knows about it, you'd better stay as far away from it as possible.

Joseph remembered the words of his young mentor very well. When his classmates asked him to go to the newly opened stock exchange backed by the goddess of wealth to make money, he refused - because the shoeshine boys who contacted him all knew that stock trading was very profitable, but it was a pity that kids like him couldn't get in.

This made Joseph alert, and he remembered what Lord Durin had said.

For this reason, his classmates felt that he, who came from the south, was not even as adventurous as people from the north.

But today they were gathered outside the stock exchange, looking like bereaved parents. It was already late at night, and the afterglow of the setting sun was shining on the pale faces of these poor creatures.

Why? Of course it was because of the bloody storm that Lord Turin’s business conglomerate had stirred up on the stock exchange. The wealth of several groups had been reaped by them, and the stock values ​​had plummeted.

"Young master from the south, your shoes are polished." The shoe polisher's call brought Joseph back to his senses. He glanced at the shoes on his feet, nodded with satisfaction, and paid the money. "I told you, seemingly easy ways to make money are always full of traps. Do you understand now?"

"Yes, but Lord Durin has done a great job. I am very happy when I see these nobles and big businessmen with sad faces." The little guy said as he handed the information along with the change to Joseph's hand.

He couldn't say this out loud, but Joseph felt the same joy as the child.

You see, the street outside the exchange is already jammed with people. Some people are constantly drawing the holy emblem of the goddess of wealth on their chests; some people are clenching their hands, with troubled brows, and are whispering something; others are already slumped on the ground, with lifeless eyes, as if all their strength has been drained away; others are hitting their heads frantically, and their crazy appearance makes Joseph frightened.

These people are speculators who have invested their fortunes in it. They made a lot of money before, and they are constantly praised in the market and in newspapers, as if the business of making money from money can continue forever.

Occasionally, newspapers would issue warnings, but they were ignored. Now things are different.

Joseph sat down. It seemed that his classmates were unable to get away anytime soon, so they decided to just sit down and watch the fun.

The shoeshine boy took a roll from the little girl who came over selling cigarettes.

Joseph recognized the little girl; she was his sister. The couple would go out to work after school every day to supplement the family income. The school they attended was a primary school jointly run by Austria and Switzerland. As long as they did well academically, they could go to school for free. If they could graduate with excellent grades, they could even receive a scholarship and move their family to the south. The children could then go to middle school and then, based on their interests and academic performance, enter a professional high school or a technical college where they could learn a skill.

Parents at home can also get suitable positions according to their abilities. Those who can farm will be arranged to work on the farm, and those who can run a business will be assigned to help in a small shop.

For a poor family in the north, this was a great opportunity to change their fate. Joseph smiled and patted the little guy on the head. This child was a good student. Although his sister's grades were not as good as her brother's, a girl with an average score of 80 would definitely be welcomed by the middle school. A family with two such children could be said to be very lucky.

At this time, there was a noise coming from the stock exchange. Joseph looked up and saw several people standing on the top of the building.

The air was filled with a strong smell of cigarettes. At this moment, the smokers raised their heads, the people who were cursing in low voices shut up, and the crying women stopped.

On this land littered with cigarette butts, everyone raised their heads, their faces showing anxiety and uneasiness, mixed with confusion and enlightenment.

Joseph reached out to shield the boy's eyes, but the child refused. "I've seen people committing suicide every day these past few days. This is nothing! These adults are obviously much richer than us, and they can't even bear this little hardship."

"We can't even imagine what they eat every day," the child said as he watched one of the men leap from the roof.

The people in front of the exchange were silent. One after another, they jumped down from the roof. They watched everything happen so calmly.

Even the security guards who were maintaining order had nothing but indifference in their eyes. They had become numb to everything they saw in the past few days - people jumped from the roof every day. After all, it was easy to go up, and it was just as easy to jump down.

Those who have lost their minds are looking for an outlet to vent in despair, but there is no place for them in this world. Their wealth was lost in the disaster called the stock market crash, their houses were mortgaged, and even their gold jewelry was pawned. Now they are penniless.

Occasionally, a few coughs were heard from the crowd.

"Mr. Joseph, I'm leaving. These guys probably don't have the money or the energy to ask me to shine their shoes. My sister and I are going to the Happy Street Cinema on the other street. Sir, please come find me there next time." The boy stood up and called his sister.

"You want to change places? Is it safe over there?" Joseph stood up.

"That's Master Higgins's territory, too. We're the adults' family, so we can just explain our situation and we won't get beaten." The boy said, glancing at the silent crowd. "Anyone who wants to come here can come. No one poorer than us would ask me to shine their shoes."

Joseph smiled and patted the little guy's head, then watched the boy carry his tools and walk away with his sister.

At this time, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

Joseph saw some of his classmates begin to cry.

The crowd began to shout loudly, some calling on the kingdom to intervene, but the voices were quickly drowned out by the angry roars of others who called on the Church of the Goddess of Fortune to come out and explain.

Joseph shook his head.

Let the Church of the Goddess of Wealth come out to explain?
This stinky bitch who only cares about money and not people only shows her so-called miracles when she collects stamp money every day. As for now, haha, she will not appear in front of these poor losers who don’t even have tomorrow.

As for wealth itself, these guys have lost so much that it is meaningless.

(End of this chapter)