The Boy and the Fishmonger

An Inspirational StorySS1 Slide Show Podcast

As told to Nathan Zhang

By the Tree of Life(in a dream of course...)

Once upon a time in the slums...

• There lived a boy and a fishmonger.• They were neighbors.• The boy's father was a paper-collector.• The fishmonger and the father were friends.• The fishmonger lived old and alone.• Thus the fishmonger was like an uncle to the boy.

The fishmonger had a problem...

• He was now in his late forties• He would be retiring soon• He needed a successor

o The successor would manage his small enterpriseo The successor had to come from his slumso He had no familyo Thus, the BOY would have to be his successor!

Just a small problem with that...

• The boy was only twelve• The boy had not gone to school

o In fact, he had no formal schooling• So the fishmonger would have to teach him the

businesso That shouldn't be TOO HARD, should it? 

Another problem, sire?

• Actually, YES:o The boy wanted to collect and sell papers

Just like his fathero One problem with that also:

Sales of paper collection was weak• Guess the boy better become a fish seller, huh? 

So the boy went off to study fish sales.• At first, he was treated nicely...

o And progressed along fine.• After four trimesters, he started to get lazy.

o He got a serious reprimand for that!• At fourteen, he became the fishmonger's successor.

o His fish sales skyrocketedo He was able to expand the business

  

The boy's first IPO

• The fish selling house was moved three timeso First to a small warehouseo Then to a garageo Finally to the basement of a skyscraper.

• At this point, the boy decided to go publico He launched an IPOo It was Ayyuthia's first

(BTW: the Boy lived in the land of Ayyuthia) (BTW: Ayyuthia is impoverished at the time)

• The IPO raised four hundred grando In Ayyuthian currency, of courseo Enough to expand into another trade

The Boy, now a Man

• The man moves out of the slumso and into an apartmento where he meets a banker

• The banker investso in real estateo and the man is interested

• The banker offers to teach the mano how to invest in real estateo the man takes up the offer

The man masters real estate

• And quickly begins buying lots of properties• He also sells the properties,

o for a large profito which he reinvests

in his old slums in order to improve his old neighbors' standards of living it's basically an aid package...

• The aid package failso and his neighbors are indebted to him

further perpetuating their poverty trap they HATE him for this

The man realizes his mistake

• And offers to teach his old neighborso his trade

• The man gets his neighbors some casho Basically, MICROCREDIT

which they MUST pay back after three trimesters

• They go out and purchase slums lando Which they develop

and sell for a huge profit

• They pay off their debt• And love the man again 

The man receives his earnings

• and saves it for a rainy day• He now has more money• He's even richer• He buys himself a tract of land

o which he builds a shopping center ono and moves into a house

• His fish selling businesso moves into the shopping center

• The banker opens a brancho of his bank

in the shopping center

Then disaster strikes!

• a typhoon rips through Ayyuthia• the shopping center is destroyed• the fish all rot• looting takes place

o during which the bank is robbed during which the banker is shot

and is D.O.A. at the hospital which isn't much of a hospital.

• The man is so depleted of his capitalo he must return to the slums

which, BTW, doesn't exist anymore due to the typhoon

Using whatever capital left,

• The man rebuilds the slums• He sells fish again• He makes enough to expand• He IPO's• He moves his business

o into the basement of a new skyscraper

(the old having been damaged by the typhoon)

(and gone derelict)• The man starts over• and passes GO

o not collecting $200

The man reinvests in real estate

• And makes enough to resume MICROBANKING• Pulls his friends out of poverty

o they leave the slumso and together buy a tract of land

where they build a discount store• People across Ayyuthia come to buy stuff

o And they make a huge profit• The buy another tract of land

o and build a skyscraper• Ayyuthia is now a developing country

o no longer impoverished

Then, a Credit Crunch!

• The financial crisis wipes outo the savings of the poor

all over the world• The rich are now poor• The poor are now poop• REAL poop is now a commodity• The man and his friends

o buy up lots of REAL poop and turn it into a security

They make a profit and the people hate them

Restoring reputations...

• is not extremely easy• it IS extremely HARD• But the man and their friends find a way

o by reinvesting the money in small enterprises

started by the poop people• The world of finance rebounds

o And Ayyuthia, which didn't do stimulus payments

and followed common sense is now a WEALTHY country 

The man grows old

• And needs a successor• so he goes back to the slums

o which, BTW, is no longer a slum but a massive apartment project

• He finds a boy of about twelve• and teaches him fish selling

o hoping that one day the boy will...

...SAVE THE WORLD

from poverty, war, and...

...UNITE THE WORLD!!!

Fine.

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