Two o'clock in the afternoon.

In the Rui Du Community, at the Luke family's home.

An Audi Q5 is parked at the doorstep.

Linda, the chubby kid, Robert, and Val get out of the car.

"Hi, my dear family, welcome to Rui Du Community."

Val couldn't wait to ask as soon as he got out of the car, "Luke, I heard you bought a big guy."

"That's right, it's inside." Luke opened the garage door.

"Wow...this is what a man should drive." Val patted the car door, "Can I take it for a spin?"

"No." Luke refused quite straightforwardly, as he was still cherishing his new treasure and didn't want anyone else to touch it.

Especially his unreliable uncle.

This guy spent more time drunk than sober each day.

If he ever crashed it, Luke would have nowhere to argue his case.

Robert patted his grandson's shoulder, "Smart choice, kid."

Val, seeking an alternative, asked, "What about your Harley then?"

"Forget about it, I sent it for maintenance."

Let alone the motorcycle being lost, even if it wasn't, Luke wouldn't dare lend it to him. Motorcycles are more dangerous than cars; what if something happened?

Val complained, "You're really a stingy kid, just like your grandpa."

Linda also looked around, "This car cost you 130,000 US Dollars?"

Luke nodded, "Though a bit expensive, it was worth it."

Linda smirked, "You're right, next time you can't pay the rent, at least you'll have a place to sleep."

Luke "..."

"Bro, this car is so cool." The chubby kid's face lit up with excitement as he circled around the car, itching to get inside and take a seat.

"I'll take you for a ride another day." Luke patted his brother's shoulder and called out, "Come on, let me show you around the house."

Robert glanced at the barbecue grill, "Hey, good choice. This grill is really handy."

"Of course." Luke rarely made purchases, but when he did, he bought quality items.

Luke took his family on a tour of the house.

Linda walked around the house and nodded with satisfaction, "Nice community, decent house."

Los Angeles had pleasant weather, clear blue skies, and a gentle breeze.

In the yard, beer, beverages, and fruit platters were laid out and the family sat together chatting.

The chubby kid and Val huddled together, wandering around a Mercedes G500, up to who knows what.

Robert was fiddling with the barbecue grill.

Luke poured his mom a glass of orange juice, "Is it almost the chubby kid's birthday?"

"Right, he started hinting at me for a birthday gift half a month ago, and I pretended not to understand."

Luke laughed, "How are you planning to celebrate it?"

"Haven't decided yet."

"Let me know once you've decided."

Seeing the chubby kid and Val approaching, the two stopped their conversation.

"Hey, what were you guys doing in the garage just now?"

The chubby kid said, "I took a few photos, I'll show them to my classmates tomorrow, to see how cool my big bro is with his cool car."

"Cool." Luke smiled.

Robert also walked over, "The grill is all set, we can use it in a bit."

"Grandpa, I'll let you taste my grilling skills later." Luke clinked glasses with him.

Robert nodded, "Good, finally we have a real man in our family."

Val "..."

Linda, rubbing her chin and seeming lost in thought, struggled for a while before asking, "Luke, how much money do you have left?"

"A few thousand? Do you need some?" Luke also noticed that his mom seemed troubled.

"No, I don't need your money.

You have grown up and have your own income.

I am very pleased... and I don't want to pry too much.

But... I just have a suggestion... Have you considered making some investments?"

Linda spoke tactfully, but Luke caught on that she was worried about him spending money frivolously. He laughed, "Do you have any good suggestions?"

"I haven't done much in the way of business, but I have always been investing in stocks, influenced by your grandpa. If you want to invest in stocks, I can give you some advice."

Robert chimed in, "I also have a few good stocks, I've held them for over a decade. If you need, I can introduce them to you."

Many people in America dabble in stocks, and not everyone is looking to get rich overnight from stocks; it's more about investment and preservation of value.

The investment returns in the American stock market are quite substantial.

Actually, Luke had invested in stocks a couple of years ago, but he later had to sell them all due to big expenses, though he still had the stock account.

Under the persuasion of his relatives, Luke put 35,000 US Dollars into the stock market, leaving himself with 2,000 for emergencies.

Luke invested in seven different stocks, putting 5,000 in each, feeling that this was a safer approach.

Truth be told, he had considered investing in stocks as a way to liquidate funds a long time ago.

But as he learned more about the system, he realized that cashing out through the stock market wasn't very viable due to the high element of luck involved.

This realization came from his two experiences with cashing out.

The first experience was buying scratch-off lottery tickets.

The second experience was auctioning storage units.

These two instances revealed the characteristics of viable cashing-out channels.

The first characteristic is that they have minimal social impact.

The second characteristic is that they are centered around Luke.

Then consider the characteristics of stocks.

Stocks involve the entire society, and Luke's modest funds would only make him an ordinary retail investor, a small fry, to put it bluntly.

While a company earns millions, he'd be lucky to make a hundred.

To fully liquidate that 35,000 through stocks, the company would have to make an insane amount of profit—too much societal impact.