After catching up with Vivien and James, and spending some time playing with his niece, it was time for them to leave.
"The three of you should come to dim sum on Saturday. My treat." Will invited.
"Really? You're treating?" His sister raised her eyebrow, skeptical.
"Wah, when did you become so filial?" Papa Lee was so surprised he unconsciously reverted back to Cantonese.
"Yes."
"I don't think mom would like that..." Vivien said gingerly.
"It's fine. I'll invite Uncle Jackie's family. Mom won't make a scene in front of them, especially with grandpa there."
Vivien still had reservations. "I still don't think-"
"We'd love to go." James interjected.
"Alright, we'll see you there." Will decided, giving Vivien no time to back out. "Let's go, dad."
"Bye bye Casey, Grandpa has to go now." Papa Lee handed over Casey to her mother.
"Bye bye grandpa. Bye bye Fatty Lee." Casey waved.
"Bye." Will waved back. "It was good to see you all again."
Papa Lee had a joyful smile on his face as they were leaving the apartment. "Good kid." He gave Will a proud pat on the back. "You still need to go to the bank right?"
"Don't forget the eggs."
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Will entered the bank while his dad went to the supermarket nearby.
"Welcome to the Bank of Ontario. How can I help you today?" A young man welcomed Will with a professional smile.
"What do I need to get a personal loan?"
"You'll need to fill out a loan application. You will also need two pieces of government-issued ID, proof of income, and proof of address."
Good thing I didn't quit my job.
"What is the max amount I can get on loan?"
"That depends on your credit score but the maximum amount we can issue for a personal loan is $50,000."
I'm still a student so I'd be lucky to get $10,000. Will surmised. "And how long would it take before I can receive the loan?"
"Once we review your application and you are approved by the bank, you can expect to receive the loan within one to five business days."
"Alright, thank you. Can I get the loan application for now?"
"Sure thing!" The teller retrieved the application form and handed it over to Will, who folded the piece of paper and hid it inside his jacket.
"Thanks, I'll be back tomorrow."
"Have a nice day."
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When Will returned home, he found his mom in the middle of watching some kind of Chinese reality TV music competition show. Some young up-and-coming rapper named 'Yung Masta' was being grilled by the four judges.
"The two of you took your time." Mama Lee turned around and said to the two that just entered.
"Hi, mom." Will went straight to his room and left Papa Lee to the wolves. He dumped the entire content of his closet onto his bed. Gathering all his designer clothes, he took snapshots of all of them on his phone before posting them on Kriegslist—a classified advertisements website—for half their retail price. He also posted all his video game devices, including his Ninbox Two and Xstation 6 consoles, his Playtendo Swap 2 handheld, and his Volva Index VR headset.
Altogether, Will expected to earn approximately $2000 for everything. Together with the prospective loan from the bank, this amount wasn't even close to what he needed, but every little bit helped.
With that done, he found a number for a brokerage firm and dialed them up. The assistant who answered the call soon connected Will to an investment advisor.
"I was wondering. If I knew that the stocks for a company would plummet, how would I go about making money off of this information?" Will asked hopefully. Other than investing in a mutual fund in the past, Will had no idea how this would work.
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"No, that's not what I meant." Will looked around his room and spotted his gaming devices he planned to sell. Promptly coming up with an excuse, he continued, "I'm very familiar with the gaming scene. So if know for certain that a particular game that is soon to be released is going to tank very badly, enough so that the company's stocks will take a hit, how would I go about it?"
Will could hear the investment advisor's chair squeaking as he sat up on the other side of the phone.
"How does that work?" Will asked.
I shouldn't be saying this but it's sort of like gambling. The idea is that you are betting on the price of the security to fall so that you can pocket the difference. For a fee of course, that's how the lender profits in the long term.> "Is there a limit to how much I can borrow?" "Alright, I understand now, thank you. You've given me a lot to think about." Will said. "Alright, thank you very much." After ending the call, Will spent the rest of his time looking up vacant land in a good location for him to stay during the virus outbreak. He planned to build a shelter that would be a good distance away from crowded areas but also still be close enough to the city to go on errand and supply runs if necessary. Once he made sure that his older sister moved into the residence he picked out for her, he could set her place up as a backup location. Will would have liked for everyone to stay together but there were things he needed to do during the outbreak and living next to a military base would make that difficult. Will also looked for a used car for transportation. Although he had a driver's license, he didn't have his own car. Soon, he would need to be moving around and transporting things frequently. Having his own vehicle would save him a good deal of time. Same as the previous day, Will spent most of his time at work thinking about his plans, went to the gym afterwards despite his body's protests, had dinner with his parents, and then spent the night trying meditation and puzzle exercises. The rest of the final week of spring break was spent in mostly the same manner. Will received his money—$2,113 from the sale of his secondhand goods and to his pleasant surprise, $15,000 from the bank. He also had another $1,500 coming for his final paycheck. $350 was spent on fitness gear and a new, utilitarian wardrobe after his dad kept complaining about Will borrowing his clothes all the time. It took a little bit of convincing but his parents let him spend about $2,400 on a decent condition pickup truck that would suit his needs plus insurance. He would only need the truck from now until the start of the virus outbreak since roads would end up mostly jammed up from abandoned vehicles. If Will really needed a better one he could always grab any vehicle lying about. As Will's birthday had already passed, he was already 18 years old and considered an adult. Therefore, he also looked up getting a firearm license, but with all the fees, processing time and mandatory waiting period, he decided it wasn't worth the hassle. The process would be greatly expedited in the near future anyways and no one would question anybody in possession of firearms during the virus outbreak, even if they were prohibited firearms—like assault rifles, let alone restricted firearms. ---------------------------------------- Saturday came with an overcast sky and drizzling rain. Will felt that it was not a good start for the meeting to come. The Lee family showed up at a relatively well acclaimed restaurant, Dang Son Dim Sum, for breakfast. The Leung family had already arrived and were in the process of getting a table. "Hey everyone! Uncle Jackie, Auntie, Grandpa, thanks for coming." Will greeted the elders. Compared to Will's large form and Papa Lee's average build, Uncle Jackie looked very fit. There was a very close resemblance between Will's Aunt Shan and his mother, and Grandpa while getting advanced in his age was still quite spry. "Of course we have to come, since this is the first time that little William took the initiative to invite us." Grandpa said with a merry chuckle. "Oh, I got these for you grandpa." Will gave the bag he was holding to his aunt. "It will help boost your immune system." "Good kid. You didn't have to do this, I'm still very healthy. I expect to live another 20 years." Grandpa boasted. "Vitamins? And Pro-bi-oh-tik?" Aunt Shan read the labels on containers as she went through the bag. "Probiotics. Make sure Grandpa takes them, Auntie. We don't want him catching any bad viruses." "Then we have to thank you for being so thoughtful." She smiled, tucking the bag into her handbag. Will turned to his cousin—a young man wearing black frame glasses, with a smile. "Edison!" "Wassup, Fatty Lee." "You're the one who taught the kid that nickname!" Will pulled his cousin into a playful headlock. As an only child, Edison was a year older than Will and a year younger than Vivien, so it was natural that he got along with his two cousins. "What are you wearing?" With his face against Will's shirt, Edison questioned from inside the headlock. He pulled back and got a good look at Will. "Why are you wearing this? What happened to your other shirts?" "I sold them." "Sold them? Including the ones we bought you for your birthday?" Oops. "Tsk tsk." Edison shook his head before he whispered, "Better not tell my mom, she looked all over the place for a good discount on those. What do you need the money for anyways?" "A car?" "You bought a car?" "It's over there." Will pointed. "Your table is ready." A waitress notified the group, giving Will an excuse to walk away. They were soon settling down at a table and serving tea. While Aunt Shan was dipping her napkin in her cup of tea and cleaning all the chopsticks and plates at the table with the scalding liquid, Vivien and James arrived with little Casey in tow. "What are you doing here!?" The mother hissed at the daughter, her face turning into a scowl. "William invited us." Vivien replied defensively. "I told you not to-" "Ah, is that Casey!?" Will interrupted loudly before his mom could get worked up any further. He walked up to his niece, taking her from her mother's arms. "Do you remember me?" "Fatty Lee!" "That's right! You got a good memory, you're pretty smart! " The little girl giggled at the praise. Will approached his mom. "Do you remember what I taught you last time?" "Uhhh..." Casey thought hard about it. "Remember the word I taught you?" "What are you doing, William?" His mom said sullenly. She was not amused. "Ah!" Casey suddenly had a look of inspiration. "Grandma! Grandma!" "That's right!" Mama Lee's expression suddenly wavered a little, her eyes softening for a moment before she caught herself. "You want to hold your granddaughter, mom?" Will asked. "Hmph!" She snorted, crossing her arms and turning her head away. Still stubborn. At least it's a start. Will returned Casey to Vivien. "She'll come around." He said softly before returning to his seat. After James was introduced to everyone, the dim sum trolleys began arrive. "Let's eat!"