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

Chapter 71 Loss or Gain? (4K Long Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)
The next morning, Larry realized he had made the biggest mistake he had ever made in his stock trading career.

At 10:01 AM, Carnegie Steel's first offer price fell below $75.

The number on the tape was $74.75, which meant that Larry's profit of up to $2000 had vanished.

When Larry read the quote on the tape, his pupils dilated wildly. Without hesitation, he called Tom over to read the quote to him, and grabbed his coat without a word, ready to rush to the betting shop.

Before Larry could even push open the door to the sales office, Tom had already read out the second Carnegie quote.

"Carnegie Steel, $70.25!"

Larry's hand, which was pushing the door open, froze in mid-air. He slowly turned his head and looked incredulously at Samuel Wallace writing the latest price of Carnegie Steel in chalk next to the company's name on the price list: $70.25.

How could this be?! How could such a thing happen?!

Larry could hardly believe his eyes. The stock gapped down by nearly $10 at the open and then fell below his stop-loss level, causing his $2500 profit and $100 margin to vanish instantly.

Larry stood there stunned for a full 10 seconds before his expression instantly shifted from shock to resolute coldness.

Now is not the time to ponder the reasons!
Larry told himself that the most important thing now was to quickly deal with the other orders he had on hand.

When market conditions suddenly change, you must make a decision immediately without hesitation or disregarding the facts presented by the price quote machine.

Larry, his face cold, pushed open the sales office door, quickly hired a horse-drawn carriage, and before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, he had already climbed in two or three steps.
"Get to Freedom Avenue, and hurry!"

Larry gave the order coldly.

When Larry arrived at the first betting shop located in the hotel lobby, he strode inside and intently examined the price list...

Thankfully, the worst-case scenario Larry had feared didn't happen.

Judging from the prices copied from the quotation board, the prices of Morgan Trust and Rockefeller Oil are still at relatively high levels, and the stock price of U.S. Steel even opened with a gap up of up to $0.5. It seems that this is not a stock market crash across the entire market, nor is it a major setback such as a war or an assassination of a president.

Carnegie Steel's stock price continued to fall. In the 18 minutes that Larry arrived at the betting company, its price had already broken through the $70 mark and then the $65 mark, and was still falling further.

Larry frowned. He realized what the unsettling inspiration from yesterday afternoon was telling him: the stock price was behaving strangely.

The stock price, by failing to rise when it should have, was telling Larry that the inevitable outcome would be a decline.

But Larry can't find the reason in the stock price now, because the stock price can only tell the facts, not the reasons.

However, now that it's confirmed that the unrealized profits from Carnegie Steel and his own $250 principal have vanished, Larry has calmed down.

In any case, when the facts are beyond your control, you should stop immediately.

Larry took a deep breath, walked steadily to the trading counter, and took out three of his ten trading slips that belonged to this branch.

"I want to close my positions, gentlemen!" Larry said coldly.

The two tellers took the transaction slip and their eyes widened in surprise. What surprised them most was the length of time Larry had held the shares.

These three orders were placed on January 8th... which is exactly 11 days ago.

The betting shop employees had never seen anyone hold shares for so long. If it were an ordinary fat sheep, it would have been shaken out by the wildly fluctuating stock price long ago.

The two exchanged a glance, and upon closer inspection, they were so shocked by the buy prices on the three transaction slips that they covered their mouths and noses.

"My God! You actually held the stock for so long, and bought it at such a low price..."

"One of the tellers sighed."

Another teller looked up at the price list and began to tremble as he signed off on the closing costs of three stocks.

The first Morgan Trust bought 200 shares at a cost of $32.8, and the current price is $36.80, making a profit of $800.

The second one is 100 shares of U.S. Steel, purchased at $16.5, but currently priced at $18.75, resulting in a profit of $225.

The third order was for Carnegie Steel at 72 1/4. The stock had fallen below cost price, so the margin was wiped out, and $200 went to the betting bank.

If the costs of Morgan Trust and U.S. Steel are taken into account, the blond teenager's three bets would have yielded a total profit of $1325, which would be a very painful loss for the betting company.

But the decline in Carnegie Steel gave the two tellers some hope. They retrieved their stock logbook and tried to find that Morgan Trust and U.S. Steel had also experienced declines that wiped out each other's margin in the past, but they were unsuccessful because both stocks had been performing exceptionally well.

After verifying the transaction, the tellers' eyes completely lost their sparkle. They called the front desk manager over to review the transaction slips, then reluctantly filled in their names and handed both slips to Larry.

"Sir, you are very impressive. We have never seen a retail investor keep their trading records for so long. Congratulations."

Larry nodded indifferently, then walked to the teller's counter, cashed out the $1325, and put it in his wallet.

Afterwards, Larry went to two other betting banks to cash out his profits. The process was similar. The people at those two betting banks also had doubts about Larry's huge profits from his stock holdings. However, because Larry used diversified investment this time, the money lost by each betting bank was within their acceptable range, so they each paid their own bills.

In the end, Larry made a total of $6530 in this post-holiday market recovery.

Morgan Trust earned $2500; U.S. Steel earned $2040; and Rockefeller Oil earned $1990. The earnings of these three stocks include costs.

But at Carnegie Steel, Larry's profit was -$250.

The thought that he had the opportunity to close his position when he made a profit of $2500 added to Larry's dissatisfaction.

However, it was just a feeling of annoyance. Larry felt that once he calmed down, he could calmly analyze the situation. His actions this time were impeccable; it was just that luck wasn't on his side.

Losing money on Carnegie Steel stock didn't cause Larry the same inner turmoil as he had after making money in Hartford.

Losing money is part of the trade! Larry told himself.

Larry then rushed to Reading's Boston branch, where he took out his customer account card and deposited $3250.5. This brought his total deposit in Reading's account to $8749.5, including the $1.2 he had previously deposited in Hartford.

The remaining $3279.5, together with the $105 he already had, totaled $3384.5.

When Larry was about to go home, he put $2300 back into the safe, adding it to the $1200 he had previously kept there to make a total of $3500, just in case.

Larry plans to keep the remaining $1084.5 on him, ready to make a move if a good opportunity arises.

Larry returned to the branch office in the afternoon, but the clerks there were already used to his frequent absences, and the front desk manager, Mr. Wallace, pretended not to notice. So Larry calmly returned to his post and continued reading the market information tapes.

After get off work in the afternoon, Larry was pushing his bicycle to Franklin's Mechanical Shop to get a tire repaired when Mr. Potter stopped him.

"Mr. Livingston! My wife would like to invite you to a family dinner party at my home tomorrow evening. Would that be convenient for you?"

Larry paused for a few seconds, then smiled. "It's convenient. Thank you, Mr. Potter, and thank you for your kind invitation, Mrs. Potter."

Mr. Potter had noticed the awkwardness on Larry's youthful face, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he smiled and arranged for the two of them to have dinner together the following evening.

On Wednesday evening, January 20, after get off work, Larry and Mr. Porter rode in a private carriage back to Mr. Porter's residence in the wealthy West Side of Boston.

It was already 7 p.m. and dark. Mrs. Potter, dressed in her finest attire, stood at the door to greet Larry's arrival.

Larry was flattered and quickly presented his prepared gift—a set of five Villeroy & Boch crystal wine glasses. Founded in 1748, before Germany existed, Villeroy & Boch was already renowned for its superior craftsmanship, high transparency, and 22k gold edging, making it a preferred supplier to European royalty.

These five wine glasses, priced at $10, are considered a respectable yet not overly expensive gift, reflecting the social etiquette of Boston's elite.

Mrs. Potter was delighted, opened the gift on the spot, and said she would use the new wine glasses to serve wine at the family dinner.

The family feast was very lavish; the servants served six courses, which was an extremely high standard for a wealthy family to entertain distinguished guests. Mr. Porter also personally opened a bottle of Glenlivet whisky that Larry had given him and poured it for all three of them.

The three first prayed to God, then raised their glasses to wish each other good health, before officially beginning their family dinner.

Mrs. Potter was very talkative; it was clear she was a seasoned socialite and came from a distinguished family. Her manners were elegant and appropriate, and her etiquette at the banquet was impeccable.

During the meal, Mr. Porter also mentioned some good news: headquarters might want to transfer him to the New York headquarters, but Mr. Porter instructed Larry not to tell anyone about it yet.

The banquet lasted an hour and a half before Mrs. Potter left in accordance with banquet etiquette.

Mr. Potter then led Larry to the lounge, where the two chatted over after-dinner drinks.

"Larry, you've looked troubled these past few days. Is something wrong?" Mr. Potter asked, swirling his after-dinner drink.

By this time, Larry already knew the reason for Carnegie Steel's decline, and said to Mr. Porter with a hint of helplessness,
"I was bullish on Carnegie Steel's spring recovery and bought 250 shares of the stock. Everything was going well; even on Monday, Carnegie Steel's stock price was above $82... But on Tuesday morning, Carnegie Steel's workers launched an unprecedented strike, which caused the stock price to plummet."

Larry frowned and said with a wry smile, "This drop not only wiped out my very substantial profits, but also wiped out my $250 margin. This makes me very unhappy."

Larry then told Mr. Porter that he had foreseen the stock's problematic trend on Monday afternoon, but had failed to exit the market in time.

Larry was always very frank with Mr. Potter, because he always received very good advice from him.

After listening, Mr. Potter gave a meaningful smile, raised his glass, offered a perfunctory toast to Larry, and said with a smile,
"Congratulations, Mr. Livingston, you've made money twice in this trade!"

Larry was taken aback by this, then asked, "Why is it profit? And twice?"

Mr. Porter insisted that they both take a sip of wine before smiling and saying, “Larry, you know what? Your market sense is incredibly sharp, even frighteningly strong. You think it’s just a strange premonition, but in the stock market, that’s something that ordinary traders can only dream of—market sense! This amazing ability is something that many people accumulate over decades, but you, you’ve had it in less than a year since you started trading stocks, and it’s so strong.”

Larry didn't quite understand Mr. Porter's meaning, so he asked, "Sir, what is 'table feel'?"

Mr. Porter sighed and smiled. “This is a precious gift from God to a very few people. You should know that your premonitions are not just guesses, but subconscious thoughts, the result of creative thinking, and this kind of consciousness is also the source of inspiration for those great artists. Of course, they may not be aware of where their inspiration comes from.”

Larry nodded. He couldn't quite explain where his uneasy premonition came from, but he certainly had that particular feeling.

"Your market intuition was your biggest takeaway from this purchase of Carnegie Steel, but it wasn't your only one," Mr. Porter continued, swirling his glass.
"If you complain and get angry every time something happens, you're wasting this opportunity to make a fortune, Larry. You need to understand that God doesn't create suffering for people to punish anyone, but to teach you something."

Upon hearing this, Larry's eyes widened in surprise, and he stared intently at Mr. Potter, hoping to hear him continue.

"If you encounter setbacks and don't think about complaining or how unlucky you are, then you've gained something. Because you'll naturally think, what lesson is God trying to teach me through this? It's a simple puzzle, and once you truly understand it, you'll realize that the most precious gifts often appear in situations that cause you pain but leave a deep impression. My child."

After listening, Larry took a long breath, tilted his head back and thought for a long time, then turned to Mr. Potter with a smile and said...

“I have heard that there is a similar proverb among Chinese people: if Heaven wants a person to accomplish great things, it will first test his mind and body, make his soul feel pain, and make him reflect on his past actions before showing him the true path to success.”

Mr. Potter raised his eyebrows and smiled after listening, “You see, human wisdom is universal. We even know these principles by nature, so when you encounter these things, you should know how to view them.”

Larry sniffed, pursed his lips, and nodded heavily to Mr. Potter. "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Potter. If it weren't for you, I would still be agonizing over money that never truly belonged to me."

Mr. Potter chuckled, but then mysteriously said to Larry,

"And one more thing, Mr. Livingston, do you think the owners of Carnegie Steel knew about Tuesday's major strike? Hmm?"

After he finished speaking, Larry's pupils dilated again. He thought of Carnegie Steel's unusual stock performance on Monday, and how Carnegie's stock price had been hovering at the same level for a long time that afternoon... He had thought at the time that the stock price was so stable that it was as if the bulls and bears had agreed on it beforehand.

Larry swallowed hard, his voice dry as he asked, "You...you mean..."

Mr. Potter's lips twitched, revealing a slightly sinister smile. "The world of capital is more ruthless than the Irish gangsters of North Harbor. You can evade the schemes of your enemies, but you may not be able to see through the blatant traps. If your ambition is truly to become a stock market mastermind, then remember, you can only truly understand the world of mortals when you are in hell."

(End of this chapter)