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

Chapter 60 Thorough Preparations (Seeking monthly votes and recommendations)

Larry returned to his hotel and quickly checked out.

The price here is $1 and three-quarters a night, but the conditions are much worse than a hotel. Larry booked this room not to save Mr. Wallace money, but because it's at a crossroads, making it the most convenient place to take a horse-drawn carriage.

But we can't stay here today.

Before it got dark, Larry moved to the best hotel in Hartford, the Olive Branch Hotel.

The taste, furnishings, and service of this hotel are similar to those of the Tremont Hotel in Boston, and a standard room costs only $4 a night.

Larry tilted his head and thought for a moment, then decided to upgrade to a more luxurious and secure suite for $6.5 a night.

Larry registered his name, left a $15 deposit, and followed the waiter into the suite.

The suite was furnished and decorated much better than the standard room, and Larry even saw the room's internal communication phone.

Larry thought for a moment and asked the waiter to prepare dinner; he wouldn't be going out to eat that night.

After the waiter left, it was already 6:30 pm. Larry filled the bathtub with hot water, took off his clothes, and lay in the bathtub to relax both his body and mind.

The exhaustion from several days of running around, and the mental and physical strain of trading stocks at the betting shop during the day, had left Larry feeling completely drained, both physically and mentally.

At this moment, in the warm water, Larry felt a little sleepy and lay down in the water with his eyes half-closed, pretending to doze off.

In a hazy state, Larry remembered his father's farm, Mr. K, and the incredibly delicious snapper he had bought at the fishing port...

Past events flashed through his mind like a slideshow.

He even recalled today's transactions, the scene of buying and selling Omaha at the trading desk...

Just then, a flash of lightning struck Larry's mind, briefly revealing the most hidden things deep within his thoughts!

Larry suddenly opened his eyes, and he suddenly realized what the culprit that made him so unhappy was!

Omaha!
Yes, it's the stock that made him nearly $3000 today.

After Larry withdrew his money from the betting company, he felt he had completely forgotten about the stock. But subconsciously, he had been analyzing its price movements for half a day, and an inexplicable, absurd feeling grew stronger with each subconscious thought…

Omaha's stock price shouldn't be $72.5! Omaha's stock price is definitely more than $72.5!!
Larry's inner voice suddenly burst forth.

As the sound resonated deep within him, Larry suddenly realized that it was this very thing that had been weighing on his mind, making him feel extremely uncomfortable and unhappy!
Larry hurriedly got out of the hot bath, grabbed a towel and quickly dried himself. He casually put on a silk nightgown, walked a few steps to the coat rack, took out a small notebook of market records from his coat pocket, and carefully flipped through it by the light of the gas lamp.

Three months ago, shortly after Larry first shorted Barton Mining, Omaha also experienced a sudden surge during the stock market rebound.

That time, the stock price surged nearly 40 points in three days, from $37 to $75.

Larry noticed that Omaha's stock price had been falling since then, until it rallied again today.

According to memory, that Omaha stock surge was also due to dividend payouts. Insiders first talked in the newspapers about the difficulties their company was facing, making it impossible to maintain regular dividend payouts. But just before the stock price surged, the company chairman said that dividend payouts could be made normally. This was the apparent factor behind the last major rise in Omaha stock.

But what about this time? It's dividend season again, and the stock price has rebounded after three months of decline. Will the price just stay at $72.5 and stagnate?

Obviously not! Larry solemnly closed his notebook, having already made up his mind.
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The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Larry took a horse-drawn carriage to the train station.

At the ticket window, Larry bought a ticket for the 2:10 p.m. train from Hartford to Boston, first class, but unfortunately, he wouldn't arrive in Boston until 10 p.m.

But this is nothing to Larry.

Then, Larry returned to the hotel, calmly ate breakfast, and checked out.

The reason Larry booked his train ticket back to Boston so early was because he learned from the dinner server yesterday that Hartford, with its small population, only had the same betting house he went to.

Other smaller betting shops only accept small bets of up to $50.

So if Larry wants to squeeze some money out of the betting house, he'll have to go back to the one from yesterday.

So this time we need to prepare for the worst. If we fall out with them, or if the gambling house tries something underhanded, then it's always better for Larry to leave sooner rather than later.

In addition, Larry thought of something else: changing clothes.

His cheap suit jacket was too conspicuous. Even if he didn't encounter any trouble from the gambling house, but was just being targeted by some local thugs, he could easily be followed and robbed.

If you can quickly change your clothes, you'll be even safer.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Larry arrived at the clothing store and bought a black wool coat that was slightly larger than his size, a top hat, and a pair of platform shoes with added thickness. He then packed them all into a box.

These clothes and shoes cost him a total of $16.

Then, Larry went straight to a watch shop, bought a basic pocket watch for ordinary people, and had the shop owner personally set the time.

This cost Larry another $10.

After everything was ready, Larry waited quietly on the street with the box of clothes in his hand.

At 9:45, Larry snapped his pocket watch shut, tossed it into his shirt pocket, and then walked to the street to hire a horse-drawn carriage, instructing the driver to take him directly to the gambling den just a street away.

The coachman was a little puzzled. Why would you hire a carriage for such a short distance?
When they arrived at the entrance of the betting shop, Larry took out $5 and handed it to the coachman.

The coachman's eyes widened, and he hurriedly waved his hand, saying, "Sir, our carriage costs $1.5 for a distance of 3 miles. You're giving us too much."

Larry calmly replied, “The $5 is yours. If you’re willing to earn an extra $5, I’ll ask you to do something.”

The coachman looked at Larry with a puzzled expression, then at the $5. "Sir, what can I do for you? I will do my best if it is of service to you."

Larry smiled faintly. “It’s nothing serious. I need to go inside and take care of some business matters. After that, I’ll head to the train station to catch a train, so I’d like you to wait here for me for about 50 minutes, or maybe the whole morning. If you keep your promise, I’ll give you another $5 when we get to the train station.”

As he spoke, he patted the $5 bill on the coachman's shoulder.

The coachman nodded, this was standard procedure and there was nothing suspicious about it, so he took the $5 and stopped the carriage in an open area 200 yards away.

Larry placed the box containing the clothes on the carriage, straightened his clothes, touched the pistol in his pocket, and then opened the door and got out of the carriage.

(End of this chapter)