Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 161 The Unexpected $12

The train arrived in Boston a little after 3 p.m. that day.

Roosevelt was nearly driven to the brink of collapse by the old man's constant mockery, but the old man was also very knowledgeable and often able to see through the secrets of the world with a single sentence.

Roosevelt, who was usually eloquent, was no match for them. Now that the train had finally arrived at the station, he hurriedly stood up, said goodbye to the three men, picked up his luggage, and got off the train in a hurry.

The old man behind him kept pursing his lips.

Larry had watched the whole thing and thought the old man was a bit cynical, while the burly gentleman seemed like a decent person. The old man's complaints were a bit too harsh, so he helped him carry his luggage and called his family to get off the train together.

After they left the station, Larry, seeing that they were unfamiliar with the area, helped them book a horse-drawn carriage to stay at a mid-range hotel.

Matthew had spent a long time with them and was constantly helping his former landlord, running errands and keeping himself busy.

After settling his family into the hotel, the old man looked grateful and thanked Larry and Matthew profusely.

Larry waved his hand, remaining polite, but in his heart he was thinking that the old man's description of the signs of the impending economic crisis was quite valuable, and he should help him more with the experience he had provided.

After Matthew finished carrying his luggage, he put his hands on his hips and said to the old man, "Mr. Clement, how will you live in Europe? Will you still be writing?"

The old man nodded and said, "Write it. What else can I do? I plan to write 10,000 words a day to earn money to redeem my house!"

Larry and Matthew knew he was joking, so they both smiled in response.

“Do you write novels? Or essays? We went to Walden Pond the other day and thought it would be quite nice for Mr. Thoreau to write there. You should visit sometime,” Matthew suggested.

The old man shook his head and sighed, "My pen, that of an ordinary person, can only write absurd stories of the common people. How could I possibly write something like Walden?"

Larry laughed and said, "Actually, writing novels is quite good. Ordinary people read novels for enjoyment. After work and under the pressure of life, being able to relax by reading novels is actually a good thing."

The old man's eyes lit up, and he turned to Larry, asking, "Don't you think those absurd and funny novels are too vulgar?"

Larry chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Hey, those lofty thoughts take time and effort to appreciate. Ordinary people don't have that mindset! Take ordinary workers, for example. They're exhausted after a long day, and when they get home at night, they just want to lie down on their beds and rest. They don't want to read those thick books; they're too mentally taxing, and if they fall asleep, the book might hit their face and hurt!"

After Larry finished speaking, Matthew and the old man both laughed.

Larry casually added, "That's just how it is. Novels that explore human nature inevitably create dreams for readers. The real world is full of helplessness; can't people relax by reading some lighthearted novels?"

The old man nodded and asked, "What is your dream?"

Larry thought to himself, "Having just earned a million dollars, I don't really have any particularly big dreams right now," and casually remarked.

"My dream is to read lighthearted and enjoyable novels, not those that explore human nature or the vicissitudes of the world, but those that make me genuinely laugh. For example, waking up one day to find I suddenly have more money than I can spend..."

Matthew quickly stopped Larry, laughing, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Why don't you let Mr. Clement go home and rest? Didn't you just say you were rushing to Paine Weber Securities to do some escrow account stuff?"

Larry slapped his forehead, quickly said goodbye to the old man, called Matthew and Mr. Dunbar, left the hotel, got into a carriage, and headed straight for Paine Weber Securities Company.

The old man watched Larry's departing figure, his mind replaying Larry's words. He muttered to himself, "...Write a dream? So the protagonist wakes up with endless money? Ah, that's a good idea..."

The old man was still pondering the new idea Larry had given him in the hotel lobby when his agent led a man in a splendid suit toward him.
"This is Mr. Winthrop, the editor-in-chief of The Boston Globe. He heard that you were going to Europe from Boston and came here specifically to interview you!"

The old man nodded, extended his right hand, and shook hands with the other person.
Mr. Winthrop, somewhat excited, smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to interview you in person, Mr. Marco Twain..."
.
Larry and his two companions arrived at Paine Weber Securities Company by carriage at 4:20 p.m. As soon as the carriage stopped, Larry jumped down and rushed inside.

Today is the day Larry and Mr. Porter have agreed to transfer the money, because Mr. Porter wants to use the money to buy Edison Electric Light Company corporate bonds on the bond market in exchange for the right to subscribe to shares.

Larry's task this afternoon was actually to deposit money.

It's already 4 pm today, is there still time? By the way, I don't remember where the New York National City Bank branch in Boston is?

If all else fails, we'll have to transfer the money tomorrow.

Lost in thought, Larry found himself wandering into the Paine Weber Securities branch. Mr. Wallace, seeing him rush back, was slightly puzzled.
"Larry, what's the matter that's so urgent?"

“I promised Mr. Porter the money he would use to buy bonds, isn’t it too late today?” Larry asked.

Mr. Wallace was taken aback, then casually said, "Wasn't it already transferred?"

"Huh? Where did I get so much money?" Larry was also stunned.

"The stocks in your account, when Logan came last time, he said you authorized him to sell them, and he'd also liquidate yours when he did!" Mr. Wallace said.

Larry was startled, and after a moment of recollection, he remembered what had happened.

Previously, in an effort to teach the Metropolitan Betting Company a lesson, Larry opened an account with Paine Webber Securities and even personally boosted the Western Conference's stock price.

That time, he deposited $1.79 into this account.

After Plan C was implemented, the off-exchange betting companies made a fortune, but Larry also lost $400 during the process, leaving him with only $1.75 in his account.

In his final battle against the Metropolitan Casino, Larry commissioned Logan to buy all $1.75 worth of American Sugar.

Over two days, Larry bought a total of 850 shares of U.S. Sugar, at an average cost of $99.75.

Larry then focused on making large transactions at Reading and completely forgot about his account at Paine Weber Securities...

I wonder how much Logan sold the American Sugar Corporation for?
Larry called Tom over and asked him to check the selling price of U.S. Sugar in his account. The result? $221.5!

Did the US sugar industry ever reach such high prices again?
Larry was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't paid attention to the account since then, and he hadn't expected Logan to sell at such a good price.

自己账户里仅仅850股，就获利10万3487美元；如果算上之前的保证金1.75万美元，账户资金总额就是12万0987美元。

Mr. Porter has already had Wallace and Larry sign the power of attorney to purchase the bonds, and $10 was transferred from Larry's account this morning to buy the bonds.

Larry figured these things out, a smile spreading across his face. He felt that leaving accounts in various places was actually quite good, as it brought unexpected surprises from time to time.

But when Larry checked his account, he discovered that the remaining funds were not $20,987, but $30,987.

Larry slapped his forehead and then remembered that Goldman Sachs had already deposited the 4% discount he received on his stock purchase into his account.

(End of this chapter)