Chapter 1 - The Poor Man Outside the Glass Tower
“Hey, poor man. Clean my shoes. Quickly.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Daniel lowered himself and cleaned the woman’s shoes.
When he finished, she held out the money carelessly.
“There. Take it.”
Daniel looked at the way she had given it to him.
“Ma’am, why did you give me the money like that?”
“Because you’re poor. You deserve this. You should be grateful I gave you money at all.”
Daniel remained still.
“So just because I’m poor, I deserve to be treated this way?”
The question had begun long before that moment.
Daniel was the son of a billionaire, and the company building before him belonged to his father.
Yet nobody outside knew who he was.
That was intentional.
Daniel had gone to his father with an unusual request.
“Dad, I want to test your company.”
His father looked at him.
“Test my company?”
“Yes. But secretly.”
Daniel wanted to go there himself.
He would disguise himself as a poor shoe cleaner.
“A shoe cleaner?”
“I want to see who they really are.”
Daniel explained his plan.
He would put on old clothes, sit outside the building, and clean shoes.
Nobody would know his identity.
He wanted the people entering and leaving the company to judge him only by what they saw.
His father was hesitant.
“Daniel, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, Dad. I do.”
Daniel wanted the truth.
His father finally agreed.
“All right, Daniel. You have my permission.”
“Thank you, Dad.”
His father gave him 1 warning.
“Do not reveal who you are.”
“I won’t.”
Daniel intended to complete the test without using his family name or position to influence anyone.
He wanted to see how people behaved when they believed he had no power.
Soon he was sitting outside the company building in worn clothing with a shoe-cleaning stand.
A customer approached.
“How much for a shoe shine?”
“$5, sir.”
Later, a woman stopped.
“Excuse me. Can you clean my shoes?”
“Of course, ma’am.”
Daniel began working.
He watched carefully.
He wanted to see how she would treat him when she believed he was only a poor man earning a few dollars outside the building.
The answer came quickly.
“Hey, poor man. Do you even know how to clean shoes?”
Then she ordered him more sharply.
“Poor man, clean my shoes. Quickly.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Daniel finished the work.
She gave him the money dismissively.
He looked at it.
“Ma’am, why did you give me the money that way?”
“Because you’re poor.”
She told him not to expect respect from people like her.
He should be thankful she had paid him at all.
“People like you should know your place. Remember that.”
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Daniel said nothing more.
The test was already showing him what he had come to learn......
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