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

Chapter 58 The Way to Break the Stalemate (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Recommendations)
When Larry slammed the transaction slip on the counter, the two tellers looked extremely displeased.

They didn't remember the cost price of Larry's first purchase of the stock, but they remembered it was at least $60. That kid must have made a fortune today.

One of the tellers wanted to discuss it with the front desk manager, but considering Larry's inexperienced performance, she felt that he was just lucky occasionally, and that such lucky people were not uncommon in the gambling industry.

After hesitating for a few seconds, the teller frowned, looked at the pony badge on Larry's shirt, wrote "Closed at $72.5" on both of Larry's slips, and signed her name. She then handed the slips back to Larry, forcing a smile, "Kid, today is truly your lucky day."

“I think so too. Oh, by the way, is that where we settle our accounts?” Larry asked, pointing to the cashier’s counter.

"Yes, little one, take your slip and go over there to exchange it for cash," the teller nodded.

Larry feigned shyness and slowly walked to the teller's counter, handing over the transaction slip already signed by the teller.

The cashier glanced at the transaction slip at first, and was about to take money from the cash box, but then he frowned and looked at the transaction slip again, and unconsciously read the contents of the transaction slip aloud.

"Bought 200 shares at $62... but the closing price is $72.5?? This..."

He looked at the second transaction order again: "100 shares of Omaha bought at $64.1... but the closing price is still $72.5! My God, could there be a mistake?!"

The cashier loudly checked the price with the teller, but the teller just waved her hand helplessly, "Just honor it, this kid's got incredible luck today!"

The cashier frowned and glanced at Larry before reluctantly starting to count the money.

First, there was a $300 cost. The cashier counted out three $100 bills and set them aside. Larry looked at the $300 and chuckled, thinking that this was probably standard practice in the gambling industry—when realizing profits, the customer's cost was taken out first.

Then it was time to tally up the other profits. The 200 shares bought for $62 and a quarter of a dollar had a profit of $2050; the other share had a cost of $64.1 and a profit of $840.

The total came to $2890. If we include the $300 used as a cost, the cashier has to pay $3290 this time.

The cashier took the money in his hand, looked at it, then at Larry, then at the money in his hand again, and finally had no choice but to push the money back to Larry.

Larry's eyes lit up as he looked at the pile of dollars. He quickly shoved the thick stack into his pocket, then hurriedly stuffed it into his coat pocket before dashing out of the betting shop.

Larry felt a little uneasy having so many US dollars in his pocket while out and about.

Fortunately, it was 3 p.m. and the streets were bustling, so there was no need to worry about my safety.

Larry blinked, feeling that he should put the money in a proper place, otherwise it would be too reckless to carry it around.

Larry was unwilling to deposit the money in a bank because depositing and withdrawing money from different locations was very troublesome. He was not a major customer of the bank and did not have his own checks, so depositing the money in a bank was still a hassle for Larry.

Of course, safety was more important than saving money. Larry reached into his suede bag with both hands and quickly loaded six bullets into his revolver. He clicked the latch shut, then reached out with one hand to hold down his coat, while the other remained in the suede bag, gripping the pistol tightly.

In case of any malicious intent from criminals, Larry could shoot from inside his suede bag.

Of course, if you shoot like that, accuracy is out of the question. The main function of the gun in Larry's hand is now to intimidate with sound.

Larry walked a short distance ahead, and seeing that no one was following, he silently let out a sigh of relief.

However, the pressure of having cash on him remained. Larry looked around, trying to find some clue to resolve this biggest potential threat. Suddenly, Larry's eyes lit up. He saw a luxuriously decorated storefront with a company name painted in gleaming red—Reading Securities!
Reading Brokers is a legitimate stockbrokerage firm, though not among the largest in the US, so its main business is concentrated in second-tier cities. This is very common in affluent but relatively sparsely populated cities like Hartford.

Larry immediately thought of a way to break the deadlock: he would open an account at Reading!
At this time, brokerage firms had already achieved nationwide networking of brokerage business, and customers could trade with any brokerage firm in the United States as long as they opened an account with one firm.

Of course, given the technological limitations at the time, this transaction process was extremely complicated.

The branch office must first send a telegram to headquarters to verify the authenticity of the customer's account and the account balance before it can issue the transaction slip with the customer's information printed out.

When a client needs to buy or sell stocks, the brokerage firm must take the client's trading instructions and send a telegram to the New York Stock Exchange to place the order. Only after the stock is actually traded can the brokerage firm send a telegram to the client's brokerage firm.

It would take at least forty minutes to complete the transaction; if it was an unpopular stock or the telegraph line was faulty, it was quite normal to not know the results of your stock transactions until a day later.

This is also why many wealthy clients prefer to use brokerage firms, because buying and selling stocks at legitimate securities firms outside of New York is just too much trouble!

Of course, this wasn't Larry's concern. The reason Larry opened the account was to find a safe place for the large sums of US dollars he carried.

Larry glanced around to make sure no one was watching him, then gripped his pistol tightly in his suede bag. He crossed the street and walked straight into the doors of the Reading Company.

The front desk manager was reprimanding several young employees at the entrance when a blond-haired boy walked into the sales department with a serious expression. Out of professional habit, the front desk manager quickly turned around and politely inquired.

"Sir, are you here to see someone, or do you have other business to attend to?"

Clearly, the front desk manager had already assumed that Larry was the young master of some client. Although his slightly worn coat didn't quite match, his handsome shirt and the gleaming gold pony badge were particularly eye-catching.

Larry entered the Reading Company's trading floor, secretly relieved, and solemnly said to the front desk manager, "I'm here to open an account!"

The front desk manager was slightly taken aback. He had been with Reading for almost seven years, and this was the first time he had seen a teenager come to open an account.

Of course, business is business. Since this blond boy was there to open an account, the front desk manager immediately focused his attention and personally led him to the brokerage counter to open an account.

Larry was very familiar with the procedures for opening a securities account, and he took the documents handed to him by the brokerage clerk and prepared to fill them out. However, in his nervousness, he almost drew his loaded pistol as well, but fortunately, at the last moment, Larry suddenly realized his mistake, let go of the pistol, and threw it back into his suede bag.

While filling out the account opening information, Larry was secretly terrified. If he had actually pulled out that revolver, the people from Reading Company would have thought he was there to rob them.

The account opening took about twenty minutes, and Larry needed to pay an additional $25 account opening fee.

$25 is a month's salary for an average worker, but at a securities brokerage firm, it's just the opening fee for an account.

"Sir, how much cash do you plan to deposit into your account?" the brokerage teller asked politely.

"$2500... Um, is that okay?" Larry wasn't faking it this time; he was genuinely unsure.

"Yes, sir!" the teller replied with a smile.

(End of this chapter)