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

Chapter 4 Making money

The term "betting" sounds like a fair competition, but in reality it is a trap that is carefully designed and perfectly packaged by the house.

In Larry's past life, countless outstanding figures of his time were ruined by gambling agreements, such as real estate tycoon Wang, Granny Zhang whose son married a top Hong Kong and Taiwan actress, Lao Luo who made mobile phones, and Director Feng who once dominated the entire Chinese film industry.

This caused Larry, after his rebirth, to tremble at the mere mention of the word "betting".

However, after learning more about it, Larry gradually felt more at ease.

the reason is simple.

First, betting companies not controlled by industry associations are actually present in almost all industries with excess profits across the United States, such as horse racing, lottery, and stock and futures trading.

In these industries, there are authoritative sources of information. For example, local betting companies receive real data on Wall Street stock transactions. The betting companies are just privately run establishments. So, while these semi-underground industries are illegal, they are not necessarily pure scams.

It's much more reliable than the candlestick charts in my previous life, which were simply controlled by computer programs.

Secondly, the profits of gambling houses are extremely high. Unless there are very special circumstances (such as a bull market where all customers are making money), these bookmakers will not run away with their money. Instead, they would rather lose some money to continue their business.

After all, 90% of stock traders end up losing everything. Even statistically speaking, if these bookmakers who run these betting operations were just patient, the vast majority of them would eventually be ruined by a sudden market reversal.

At that time, there were no price limits on US stock trading. It was very common for a stock to rise or fall by 0% in a single day, and it was even not uncommon for the stock price to drop to zero in a single day.

The bookmakers at betting houses are happy to gamble with retail investors because they always end up winning.

The third reason is even simpler: the betting industry was like a semi-underground scam, but at that time, all industries in the United States were not much better off, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was an open scam.

For example, banks in the United States at that time could be freely established by private individuals. By the end of the 19th century alone, there were hundreds of banks of all sizes on the East Coast of the United States. A financial crisis or economic downturn could easily cause a large number of American banks to collapse.

Those legitimate depositors who put their hard-earned money in these banks will have their assets wiped out in the blink of an eye.

Larry thought that in his previous life, during the era of social media, all kinds of true and false information were flying around, and the public opinion field was very chaotic.

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that in the United States at that time, newspapers, magazines, and private salons were overflowing with sensational news about sex and violence. News editors, driven by profit, dared to publish any kind of baseless or fabricated story in mainstream newspapers.

As for food poisoning scandals in the food processing industry, rampant gun violence and gang warfare, the security problems brought about by immigration, kidnapping, extortion, premeditated murder, burglary and robbery... there are countless examples.

In this prosperous yet chaotic gilded age, betting shops were like prostitutes with clearly marked prices.

While they might not be considered innocent, they at least possessed a conscience and adhered to a code of honor among thieves.

After hearing Logan's explanation, Larry felt that his perception of America had been tarnished.

In fact, this place has always been a completely free society, a free land where the law of the jungle is taken to its extreme. In the past, those public intellectuals always said that the United States has freedom of gun ownership and trade, but they deliberately concealed the fact that others also have freedom of gun ownership and the convenience of fraud.

Furthermore, those who are determined to do evil are more "free" than law-abiding good people.

There was no other way. Larry suppressed the "conservative and backward" mentality of his previous life as an agrarian people and began to truly adapt to the "free and advanced" rules of maritime civilization.

In the afternoon, Larry and Logan returned to Paine Weber Securities.

The two were of the same mind, and they would occasionally focus their attention on the price fluctuations of Barrington's stock.

Until the market closed at 3 p.m. that day, Brorington's stock price remained at $5 and a quarter.

When Larry got home that night, he still looked preoccupied.

Seeing his sullen expression, his mother teased, "What's wrong, Mr. Livingston? Have you run into some new problems?"

After Larry started working, his mother always liked to call him "sir" because she felt that her son had grown up.

Larry turned to look at her and suddenly remembered the white female nurse in the ambulance in his previous life.

After so many days of living in this "mother-son mode," and given that Larry's mother is indeed a very typical, responsible, and old-fashioned American woman, Larry is increasingly willing to truly accept her as his mother. "Mom, do you believe in the Eastern concept of reincarnation?" Larry suddenly asked.

"Easterner? Reincarnation?" The mother didn't understand. She had never been to school and could only barely spell out her own name.

“Yes, I’ve heard that Chinese and Indians believe that after a person dies, they don’t truly die, but rather return to the world as a new baby and enjoy another different life,” Larry said earnestly.

Larry's mother was the only person he could occasionally confide in.

After all, a mother will always love her son the most.

After hearing Larry's words, the mother opened her mouth, and after a long while, she said, "Then their reincarnation must also be approved by God himself!"

Larry smiled and took his mother's hand. "I'm so lucky to have you as my mother. I will work hard to become a great person."

The mother looked at Larry in surprise and noticed that his eyes reflected the starlight of the moonlit night.
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The next day, Larry went to Paine Weber Securities.

Before the market opens, many people in the business department have heavy workloads, such as debugging the telegraph machine, taking funds from the vault to prepare the cash flow for business hours, and cleaning up to welcome customers.
Larry, who was the market clerk, was the most relaxed before the market opened.

Larry took out his notebook, which he used to record stock price fluctuations, and carefully backtested the price of Barrington stock over the past week.

The more he reviewed the data, the more certain he became that Barrington stock was about to break out upwards, and that they could make money!

This doesn't stem from a "self-indulgent belief" after buying stocks, but rather from Larry's accurate grasp of the rules governing price fluctuations.

At 10 o'clock, the stock market opened!

Larry, with one hand on the ladder and the other holding chalk, was rapidly recording the latest stock quotes coming in from the telegraph machine on the price quote board.

Meanwhile, red-haired Logan was standing in front of the telegraph machine, watching the paper tape being squeezed out bit by bit, and loudly reading the latest stock quotes to Larry.

Suddenly, Logan raised his voice, his tone clearly tinged with excitement.
"Breathon..."

He read out the name of the stock.

Larry, who was copying down the quote, felt a chill run down his spine; the chalk in his hand seemed to freeze.
“…$5.50!!” Logan shouted!
It's broken out! Barrington's stock price has broken out!

Larry was delighted, and the chalk in his hand began to dance on the price list as he wrote a beautiful cursive $5.5.

For the next two hours, the two seemed to be on the same wavelength, and every time they talked about the price of Barrington stock, they would have a similarly excited scene.

As expected, the latest price of Barrington stock has begun to soar.

从5.5美元，到5.75美元、再到5.8、5.9美元，直到收盘前爬上了整整6美元的高价！
After Larry finished writing down the price of Barrington's stock, he turned back and gave Logan a deep look.

Logan was watching him too.

The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.

On the morning of the third day, Brorington opened at $6.5!
This means that the $9 they invested instantly turned into $11.25!

This is two weeks' wages for two people!

Larry's hands were trembling, and then he heard Logan, who was next to the quote machine, loudly ask the front desk manager for leave, saying that he had a stomachache and needed to go to the toilet!

Larry, understanding immediately, called over the substitute scribe and said he needed to see Mr. Porter, asking him to come up and copy the information for him.

The two walked out of Paine Weber Securities Company one after the other. After turning the corner and making sure no colleagues could see them, they ran towards the betting shop!

　Please add this to your favorites; Larry Livingston's legendary career has just begun.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)