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

Chapter 186 The Continued Gaze of Those in Power
This Friday is the first day of April.

Larry had his busiest day in recent times.

When Larry returned to the hotel on Thursday night, he saw Senator Kennedy waiting in the hotel lobby. Senator Kennedy had come to inform him that they planned to introduce the Anti-Pinkton Act bill in Congress the following day.

In addition, Kennedy invited Larry to meet with Methodist and Baptist clergy, which would involve whether charitable work could receive church support.

Larry hadn't expected so much to happen the next day, because his original plan was to go straight back to Boston, since his parents had asked Wallace to tell him they wanted him to go back for the weekend.

After thinking it over, Larry made a decision. He asked Mr. Dunbar to go to the train station and buy a train ticket for Friday night, so that he could make it back to Holliston on Sunday morning, since Holliston was on the New Haven to Boston train route and would be passing through on his way back.

I'll be a bit busy on Fridays, going to church with Mr. Kennedy.

But there's something else I need to take care of first!

After arranging a time with Kennedy, Larry first went to the hotel's telegraph room to send a telegram to Mr. K, instructing him and Logan to short Carnegie, so that if everything went smoothly, they could make some money.

Giving them treats regularly helps cultivate their loyalty. However, these treats shouldn't be given on time. Just like in the game in my previous life, if the rewards always arrive on time, or if they make any contributions and are immediately rewarded, it becomes a habit.

If you fail to give it even once, it will cause the other party to be dissatisfied.

However, if the rewards are given randomly, they are more likely to be willing to work proactively and loyally for you. This is similar to opening treasure chests in a game.

As for Larry himself, he doesn't intend to seize this opportunity. Shorting with small sums of money is meaningless, while shorting with large sums would be easily detected. The timing of his involvement is too subtle; it's hard not to suspect his ties to the Democratic Party.

The following day, Larry and Kennedy visited the highest-ranking Methodist and Baptist clergy in Washington.

Methodism and Baptism were two very important religious forces in the United States at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

Both are Protestant denominations.

The Methodist Church adopts an episcopal system, in which bishops, laypeople, and clergy jointly and democratically manage religious affairs within their jurisdictions, emphasizing personal piety, social service, and reform.

The Baptist Church practices a congregational system, which means that local churches have a high degree of autonomy and pastors are appointed by the congregation themselves.

The Methodists were the largest Protestant denomination in the United States at the time, with a large number of believers; while the Baptists were no less numerous, especially after establishing a strong foothold in the South, and also had a large number of Black believers.

Larry knew nothing about religious matters; Kennedy coordinated everything. They met with local denomination leaders, with Kennedy explaining the background of the matter and Larry providing details and possible further explanations regarding church donations.

Larry and Kennedy spent the entire day visiting both churches. Relatively speaking, they were more interested in the Methodist Church because they were already very concerned about social reform issues in the local community and had their own views on labor rights and education.

Moreover, the Methodist Church operates under a system of bishopric responsibility, which enables it to coordinate unified actions across a large diocese.

Since the Baptist congregation only met with a local member pastor, his opinion cannot represent the views of the entire Baptist congregation, so further discussion is needed at a later meeting.

After coordination, Kennedy and Larry agreed to first cooperate with the Methodist Church to conduct pilot programs in New England on the East Coast and in New York.

Kennedy himself is Catholic, and he promised that when he returns to Boston next week, he will also talk to the local Catholic community about these matters.

In addition, Kennedy plans to personally coordinate with Boston's health regulatory agencies to ensure that the project is standardized, transparent, and semi-publicly funded from the outset, with everything proceeding according to Larry's plan.

If the Democratic Party's first major campaign move this year was the anti-Pinkton Act, then its second major move is the steam tea and pioneer barbecue charity program. These initiatives will reshape the Democratic Party's image both positively and negatively, and significantly alter the nature of the election year's campaign.

After completing this task, Kennedy discussed many details with Larry. Upon learning that Larry had assigned Logan to oversee the project, Kennedy expressed skepticism, questioning whether Logan was capable of taking on the responsibility.

To be honest, Larry also doubted Logan's abilities, but this was something that had to be done slowly; they could only identify problems and solve them. If all else failed, they would replace him.

In addition, the two agreed that if the steamed milk tea and pioneer barbecue projects were successful, they would then promote the convenience store project, because this project would require even more effort and capital.

After finalizing all the details with Kennedy, Larry rushed to the train station and took the 8 p.m. train directly to Boston.

The next day, Saturday morning at 10 a.m., an exhausted Larry and Mr. Dunbar sat in New York's Grand Central Station for two hours before boarding the next train to Boston once again.

There's no way around it these days; train travel is just too tiring. Don't be fooled by first class; sitting in a first-class carriage all night is exhausting!

Larry wondered when exactly sleeper berths were invented? Or maybe he had never encountered a train with sleeper berths before; traveling by train like this was too tiring!
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Meanwhile, on a gray building located on Wall Street in New York.

James Keane, arguably the greatest stock market trader of our time, is standing in front of the ticker tape machine, looking at the paper tape.

Earlier this week, a massive sell-off in railway stocks, triggered by British investors reducing their holdings, plunged the share prices of various railway companies.

But this happens to be the first new stock listing of a railway consolidation company this year, spearheaded by Mr. Morgan.

Mr. Morgan was very unhappy with the decline in the share price of New England Union Railway and asked James Keane to drive the share price of New England Union Railway to a high level.

Mr. Keane did as instructed; it was a piece of cake for him, since the railway stocks were already trending upwards and the flow of British investors did not change the direction of least resistance.

So, in just a day and a half, on Friday and Saturday mornings, Mr. Keane drove New England stock above $40.

It has more than doubled compared to the stock's opening price.

Furthermore, thanks to Mr. Keane's manipulation of the stock price, a lively scene has been created where all parties are vying to buy the stock, and the stock price is not expected to continue to fall, even at the most conservative estimate.

James Keane saw his plan executed flawlessly on the quotation tape and nodded in satisfaction.

"Hmm... I've finished another task..."

Mr. Keane lit a cigar and sat on the sofa, pondering whether he had overlooked anything else.

At this moment, the housekeeper came over to give the routine report on the week's work.

Mr. Keane had a habit of reviewing the week's events each week, and routine reports also served as an opportunity to check his memos.

As the butler reported, Keane nodded, until the very last line of the memo…

"Sir, that man named Larry Livingston is still not operating at Reading!"

Keane hesitated, frowning as he asked, "After his last deal with Colt, has he not bought or sold any stocks since?"

"No, there's still $35 in the account. Sir, I think we should just let it go... He's just a nobody, why should you care about him?"

James Keane scoffed. "A nobody? Have you ever seen a nobody make a million dollars in Colt? My gut tells me this is trouble, and I need to keep a close eye on him!"

The butler could say nothing more and could only bow silently.

James Keane pondered for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Tell Quincy to have his friend keep an eye on that account, and let me know immediately if there's any movement!"

(End of this chapter)