Chapter 0005: The Fruits of Unjust Labor

Upon thinking of this, Li Changheng could not help but wonder whether he should give it a try

Find several books related to checks, as well as true cases that have already been solved.

As long as one specifically targets young tellers at small and medium-sized banks, the checks are genuine, but if alterations are made to the content, it can easily be passed off.

However, the check, which clearly showed signs of alteration upon careful inspection, was easily obtained by Frank, who, with his appearance, captured the attention of the young lady at the counter, diverting her focus entirely to the flirtation between the two, allowing him to effortlessly acquire a cash sum of 20 dollars

Moreover, if Frank were a bit smarter and applied nail polish on his fingers, there would be no fingerprints on the check, making it difficult to secure a conviction

Thus, the next day, Frank no longer went to work with Li Changheng. However, he did agree to spend one hour every evening teaching Li Changheng French and Spanish

Come on, how could two high school students like us, who haven't graduated, have no qualifications, and lack any special skills, possibly find a high-paying job

"Hmm," after Li Changheng nodded, Frank turned around and said with a smile, "Currently, due to the economic downturn, many wineries that previously focused solely on domestic markets for their wines and whiskies are now being compelled to start exporting their products.

Li Changheng looked at Frank's ordinary clothes and asked with a heavy heart, "What happened to you?"

After discovering an abnormal amount in his bank account, he froze or changed his account, preventing Frank from using it as an ATM at will

Indeed, one evening a few days later, after returning to the apartment, Li Changheng saw Frank sitting at the desk, anxiously covering a book with his hands on the table

After finishing the day's work and receiving the payment to go home, I saw Frank singing a song while frying steak in the small kitchen

After arriving in this world and having the most expensive dinner, Li Changheng, while washing the dishes, watched Frank sitting at the desk, propping his head with his hand, pondering how to improve the method of altering checks.

Upon returning home, the first thing I saw was Frank, who was eating an apple and reading a magazine, and he said, "We need to talk"

Otherwise, it is not that one cannot survive, nor is it that there is no future. The temporary hardships will lead to a stable future.

However, this young man did not go directly into the bank; instead, he first went to the restroom of a shopping mall near the bank, changed into a set of suit-style school uniform with the school emblem torn off, tidied himself up to appear refined, and only then did he truly enter the city bank

And Frank returned to do odd jobs, solely for the checks and accounts of other wealthy individuals

However, he himself was unaware that not stopping Frank from making a mistake today actually indicated his own desire for wealth, and that the friendship between him and Frank was not as deep as he had thought

A base salary of 500 US dollars per month, plus commissions, will surely lead me to great wealth in the future

What is even more perplexing is that the checkbooks issued by different banks do not share the same format or the same anti-counterfeiting technology

Special grade, the second tier among the highest levels, 5 dollars for 200 grams, buddy, Frank's eyes flickered a few times, and he said with a smile, "Also, don't look down on people, can't I find a good job?"

"Who says I don't have special skills?" Frank turned around and placed the frying pan back on the stove, "You know my mother is French, and my father's ancestors are Spanish, right?"

A week had passed unknowingly. At 8 PM, Li Changheng returned with a backpack and a French dictionary in hand. Upon opening the door, he saw Frank sitting on the sofa, who quickly stood up and greeted him with his gaze.

It is not uncommon for many Americans to be proficient in several languages

A few days later, after the two of them once again handled a personal cash check, although Frank did not explicitly refuse to do odd jobs, his generous behavior once again indicated that he had certainly returned to his old profession

If one were to go to Los Angeles, which is very close to San Francisco, not only are there more banks, but exchanging checks from New York becomes more difficult for those who wish to trace them back to San Francisco

Moreover, this fellow is quite bold yet foolish. Last night, taking advantage of Frank's slumber, Li Changheng examined the forged American check and found that he had merely used a blue oil-based pen to change the number 3 to 8, and yet he dared to come out and deceive others

"I, I..." Frank stammered for a few moments before awkwardly saying, "I was fired, Henry. Now I can only ask you to let me work with you. Otherwise, I won't be able to pay half of the $40 rent this month"

Suddenly, I speculated that Frank, who had been constantly complaining about the exhausting odd jobs for the past half month, might be considering writing a check

Two days later, Frank and Li Changheng, who was intrigued by the idea of getting something for nothing, after finishing work and while there was still time, visited the largest public library in San Francisco, which remained open until 10 PM.

However, this is understandable, after all, in his previous life he was a 22-year-old orphan accustomed to poverty, and his desire to become wealthy is certainly stronger than that of the average person

The next day, the two went to a bank near Chinatown to cash a check. Li Changheng, who was still contemplating whether to forge a check, noticed that Frank seemed somewhat distracted after just a few steps.

There has been no voice to remind or stop Frank; it is not that there was no intention to let him test the waters. Now that it cannot continue, it can be considered a good thing.

Since the interstate investigation is the responsibility of FB1, and the amount defrauded is small, FB1 may postpone or even disregard it

The speaker is indifferent while the listener is attentive. Li Changheng, who is still hesitating whether to take the risk of playing with a fake check, suddenly thinks about learning spoken French and Spanish from Frank

Hey, Henry, look what I bought

Yet, while he felt a sense of regret in his heart, he also secretly breathed a sigh of relief

Li Changheng only thought for one night and roughly understood that Frank had been forced to come back to do odd jobs, which was undoubtedly due to the wealthy individual or the bank that issued them the first check.

The next day at noon during the shift change, Li Changheng used the excuse of needing to buy materials to request an hour off from the homeowner, and then followed Frank to a city bank located outside the block

As Li Changheng felt a surge of joy in his heart, he stood at the back of the queue in the bank, watching Frank leave the bank with a brisk stride, before returning to the home of the employer who had hired the two of them

Frank, with a beaming smile, lifted the frying pan, revealing a piece of steak that was densely speckled with snowflake-like marbling, which is characteristic of a select grade beef with abundant marbled fat.

This type of small payment check is equivalent to directly withdrawing cash from the account of the issuer. Ultimately, regardless of how the bank and the client resolve this issue, the money taken by Frank is irretrievable.

Li Changheng, who knew in his heart why Frank was so generous, feigned surprise and asked, "Did you find some money, or did you win the lottery? This steak must cost 3 dollars, right?"

As for me, being able to speak both French and Spanish, and having my paternal grandfather's family in Spain and my maternal grandfather's family settled in France, I have become a highly skilled individual familiar with the people of those two countries

This made Li Changheng secretly sigh, as this guy was indeed just as he had guessed, not someone who could endure hardship at all

"No problem," although Li Changheng was unaware of what had happened to Frank, the issue with the counterfeit checks had to be halted after just one week.

At 9 o'clock in the evening, he suddenly closed a book that introduced check scams, put all the books back on the shelf, and quickly left with his backpack.

After all, the annual cases of check fraud in the United States are as numerous as the electronic "painting" scams that will emerge decades later