Schiller was holding a pile of files in his hands and was looking down to see which ones he needed. There were many boxes at his feet, as well as many bundled files and a lot of books.
Looking around, the entire office was in a state of chaos. Victor was busy pulling out the wires from under the desk, while Anna was selecting the sculptures that had been placed in the cabinet.
"Have you packed your own office?" Victor raised his head and said, "There are at most two buses this afternoon, and they won't come tomorrow. If it's not packed, you have to hurry up."
"I finished moving it yesterday." Schiller said: "The shredder cannot be placed with these documents. Yesterday I asked a truck driver friend to come and help me move it. Fortunately, I asked him to come.
One person may not be able to defeat that paper shredder."
Victor laughed, continued his work and said: "In the end, you finally passed Bruce's doctoral application. What good things did he give you?"
Schiller cleared his throat and said: "What he gave me is secondary. The key is that he finally found a Batman who is better than him."
"Oh, there really is one?" Victor deliberately made an exaggerated expression and said, "I thought he would never be found."
"He's very lucky." Schiller threw the unused files aside and said: "I also happened to watch how the only Batman who was better than him directed a piece of shit and was so complacent about it. It was seriously embarrassing.
It lowers the average level of Batman, which in turn lowers the threshold for doctoral applications based on average level."
"I knew it would be like this." Victor wrapped the thread around his arm and said, "I've been waiting for Pamela's PhD application, but my mailbox is empty, do you think I should ask her?
"
"I think it's best not to." Anna said: "It doesn't mean that you have to act like a professor, but it may make her feel more pressure."
"Pressure? What happened to her recently?" Victor asked curiously.
"Remember when she was a former intern, she helped rich people repair their gardens to make money?" Schiller said: "Now it's all come to nothing. Her financial situation has gone wrong and she is adjusting, so don't ask her about her studies recently.
It’s about that.”
Victor thought for a while and then sighed softly and said: "Actually, my financial situation is not very good, otherwise I can still help her. You know, we bought a new house and the car loan has not been paid off yet.
, after I complete my teaching tasks, I have to work in a laboratory in the new district."
"Where is your patented technology?" Schiller stopped what he was doing, looked at Victor and said, "The patented technology of dense ice should bring you a large amount of patent fees, right?"
"If there is no economic crisis, I'm afraid yes, but think about it, dense ice technology is now generally used to improve low-temperature transportation capabilities or create low-temperature superconductors, but the problem faced by companies that need these technologies now is not a technological breakthrough.
, they have to keep themselves from going bankrupt first.”
"Most of the company's high-tech projects have been suspended." Anna sighed and said: "The nuclear power computing module laboratory where I worked before has also laid off employees recently, and I am ready for a salary cut."
After saying that, both of them turned their attention to Schiller. Schiller shook his head and said, "I'm not a technician. I don't even have the opportunity to work in a laboratory. How much money do you expect me to have?"
"But you are a psychiatrist, and you are a very famous one. Don't you charge by the hour?" Victor looked a little unbelieving, "You must be very rich."
"Don't try to lie to us, let me guess, the custom suits in your closet are enough to buy a house."
Schiller sighed, picked up the box on the floor and said, "That's why I have no money. You know that I only do very limited psychological counseling, and most of it is voluntary."
"But for my teaching job and my other weird personality habits, I still have to spend a lot of money to buy those expensive custom-made suits. I have put my manor up for sale, but I feel there is no hope. I don't know if I can move in this year."
Go to the South District."
"God, are you really planning to buy a house in the South District? It's extremely expensive there, and the property taxes are also very high. More importantly, you have to spend at least four hours a day taking care of that damn lawn!" Anna was extremely exaggerated.
said.
"I will remember to call Pamela, and I can even offer her $10 an hour," Schiller said with a smile.
"To be honest, in fact, your professional ability is the best way to make money." Victor squatted on the ground, thinking while saying: "The economic situation is so bad now, everyone has more or less psychological problems, even if ordinary people spend money
If you can’t afford the price, those rich people shouldn’t be stingy about paying a little more for their mental health.”
"You're saying I should become a real psychiatrist?"
"At least it's better than getting a dead salary from a professor." Victor sighed and said, "The salaries of Nora and I can't even pay off the mortgage. Originally, we just went to the laboratory to provide technical guidance in our spare time.
It's better now, we all have to consider working three jobs."
"Have you not considered applying for Wayne Group?" Schiller said after thinking for a while: "They are always short of technical personnel."
"Again, the technical personnel currently lacking in society are electricians, wiring workers, and even painters. In their view, scientists like us are money-eating monsters who are never satisfied. Even if Bruce agrees, the board of directors will have many problems.
Great opinion.”
Victor looked a little depressed, so Schiller had to say: "Look around, at least you are in my yellow pages. If you feel that you are depressed, I can give you free consultation."
"Thank you so much!" Victor said, rolling his eyes.
"How much savings do you have left?" Anna looked at Schiller curiously and asked, "Is it enough for you to buy a house in the South District?"
"It's definitely enough to pay the down payment, and I have good credit, so it's not difficult to get a loan. The money in the future will be enough to pay for the mortgage for a period of time, but this is not sustainable." Schiller shook his head, obviously a little embarrassed, and said: "
Victor is right, the dead salary of a professor is not enough to support my life. The manuscript fees of journals have dropped again and again, and even I don't want to write anymore."
"They are also having a hard time." Anna turned around with a box of sculptures in her arms and said, "It would be nice to still be able to receive manuscripts."
"What a devastating blow." Victor simply began to sit on the ground to organize the lines and said: "By the way, how is Evans?"
"He went back to help the old godfather. You should know that they are preparing for the European Union, right?" Schiller said.
At this time, both Victor and Anna laughed out loud, but it was just a forced smile. Victor said: "The Soviet Union is leaving soon, and the European Union is coming again. Now the gentlemen in Congress are really going to have a heart attack."
"It's better to take care of yourself first." Just as Anna was about to say something, her phone rang. After answering a few times, she put down the phone and said, "The head of the Government Affairs Office, Mrs. Derian, will be here later."
Come here, we may have to wait for her here."
"What's wrong? Why is the Government Affairs Office now..."
"I think this phone call may just be a courtesy." Schiller turned to look at the door. As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of high heels came from the end of the corridor.
Mrs. Derian soon appeared at the door. She rubbed her hands, took a deep breath, and then sighed and said: "Sorry, professors, bad news. In order to maintain the normal operation of the school, all faculty and staff have reduced their salaries by 30%.
"
"God!!!" Victor screamed: "Our wages are already very low, and they haven't been raised for 50 years, and now they have to be lowered?!"
Anna also leaned on the window sill and didn't know what to say. Mrs. Derian was obviously more apologetic. She said: "No one could have expected that this economic crisis would come so suddenly, but the new campus has been built and we must move."
"However, there are still many imperfections in the new campus that require spending money to repair. The school's finances have actually been in crisis for a long time. In addition to raising the tuition fees of students for the next ten years, the salary of professors was finally touched."
Schiller looked at Mrs. Derian and said, "What about you, how much did you reduce your salary?"
Mrs. Derian showed a sad expression and said: "I'm sorry, professors, this is also the main purpose of my coming here this time. During my tenure, it was a pleasure to work with you, but I will be here soon."
Moved to Blüdhaven.”
Victor looked up and said in surprise: "What's wrong? Madam, are you going back to your hometown?"
Mrs. Derian shook her head and said: "My husband and I are not locals. Although we have worked here for so many years, we have not bought a house, and we can't afford it now."
"Fortunately, we did not buy a house, but carefully maintained the property in our hometown. Now that we are approaching retirement age, we still have some savings in our hands. It is not worthwhile to continue paying rent and receiving ridiculously low wages.
It’s better to just go back to your hometown to retire.”
Everyone was silent for a while, and Schiller had no choice but to say: "You and your husband have survived two great depressions tenaciously, which is already remarkable."
Mrs. Derian smiled and shook her head and said: "The first time I was not born yet, my husband was still a child, but his father mentioned it when he was still alive. At that time, he was also a member of the unemployed army."
"Fortunately, if we leave now, we can still get a small amount of compensation. At least it will be no problem to repair my husband's boat. I know that the professors working here are rare talents, and I am also happy to work with you.
We work together, but I always have to eat, don’t I?”
The three of them didn't say anything. After sending Mrs. Derian away, Anna covered her head and said, "This is really too bad. Mrs. Derian's husband has a very reliable relative here, and the rent for the house they rented has already been paid."
It’s very low. If he can’t afford it, what will everyone else do?”
"Student tuition fees have also increased." Schiller tapped the box in his hand and said, "No wonder Pamela was so anxious to ask me to borrow money before. The house she rented was too expensive. She probably lost so many projects.
I can’t afford the tuition.”
"She asked you to borrow money. How much did she borrow?"
"It's not much, just 500 US dollars, but it can be regarded as an advance overdraft of her salary to repair the garden. After all, if my manor wants to be sold, the garden still needs to be repaired," Schiller said.
"When will these dark days end?" Anna complained, "Is there anything anyone can do now?"
Schiller and Victor both shook their heads. Obviously, this large-scale social or even global economic problem cannot be alleviated by the actions of one or two people, not even Bruce Wayne.
This is the law of operation of this economic system. It is not an accident, but a necessity. The power of individuals is too small under the changes in social rules.
Schiller actually knew that Bruce had a plan, but even if it worked, ordinary people still had to survive the dark years before dawn.
As a member of ordinary people, after thinking about the balance in his account, Schiller finally put the box on the table, looked at the two people and said: "Do you think psychological counseling... I mean if I open a psychological clinic