I bought a prison in the United States.

Ringo noticed a row of elderly white men in dark suits sitting in the front row, their expressions a mixture of worry and disdain.

These are the manufacturing bosses in Tulsa, those who are still holding on.

Some of them have already moved their factories to Mexico, some are considering moving, and some old fogies would rather die than move.

But whatever their choice, the curve on the chart will not change direction because of their wishes.

Lin Ge's gaze swept over their heads.

"Anxiety," "doubt," "conflict," "luck"—various emotional labels, varying in intensity, appeared above their heads.

He observed for a while longer and discovered a pattern.

Those who have "confrontations" are mostly older, gray-haired, old-fashioned entrepreneurs.

Those who are burdened with "worry" or even "anxiety" are relatively younger, in their forties.

They are probably second-generation owners who took over the factory from their parents and are now facing problems that their parents never faced.

This is a generational gap.

The older generation experienced war and economic depression; their business philosophy was simply to weather the storm!

The new generation grew up in a relatively prosperous era, and they know that some things cannot be endured and must be changed.

But in the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, the word "change" is only a hair's breadth away from "surrender."

The speaker on stage continued flipping through the slides.

He began by discussing tax policy, interest rate trends, and the federal government's latest moves on trade agreements.

As Lin Ge listened, he realized he was drifting off.

This content felt like listening to an outdated economics lecture to him; his mind was elsewhere.

He was thinking about Mr. Danforth.

Mr. Danforth should also be here today.

He was the owner of a metal products factory in Tulsa, and had been in the manufacturing industry for thirty years; it was impossible for him not to attend such an event.

But he did not see Mr. Danforth among the manufacturing tycoons in the front row.

Lin Ge's gaze swept around the conference room.

After a while, he finally found that familiar face in a corner by the window.

Mr. Danforth was sitting in the second-to-last row by the window, about seven or eight seats away from Ringo.

Instead of watching the speakers on the stage, he turned his gaze to the window.

The Tulsa skyline outside the window was hazy and gray, with a few office buildings of varying heights and white steam billowing from the chimneys of an oil refinery in the distance.

His profile looked exceptionally aged in the grayish-white light, with nasolabial folds resembling two deep grooves carved from his nose to the corners of his mouth.

He was wearing an old dark brown suit with leather patches on the elbows.

The patch was originally decorative, but on his suit, it looked like it had actually been sewn on to repair wear and tear.

Ringo recalled the Reagan poster in Mr. Danforth's office.

In that office without even a fan, the old manufacturing man was still holding on, not because he believed he could turn things around, but because he was lost.

Capitalism is not a theory written in textbooks.

It is about a specific person, in a specific room, facing specific ledgers, making specific choices.

Mr. Danforth's choice was to continue the unprofitable business, because stopping meant that everything he and his father had built up since 1955 would ultimately be worth only a pile of machines to be dismantled and unpaid wages.

The person on stage was still explaining, and the slides had flipped to the section on "coping strategies".

Here are some suggestions:

Diversify supply chains, explore new markets, increase investment in automation, and seek policy support.

Each point makes a lot of sense, but in reality, each one means more money, more risks, and more uncertainty!

The forum ended at 3:20 p.m. with polite applause, but no one reached a consensus.

The participants stood up from their seats and gathered in twos and threes to talk.

A waiter came in carrying a tray with coffee cups and small pieces of pastry on it.

The aroma of coffee mingled with the scent of aftershave, filling the conference room.

Lin Ge stood up and stretched his shoulders, which were stiff from sitting for too long.

His eyes searched for Mr. Danforth in the crowd, but he was no longer in the same spot.

"Are you Ringo Chen?"

A voice came from behind.

Lin Ge turned around.

Standing in front of me was a white man in his forties, with broad shoulders, wearing a navy blue suit and a tie that was tied meticulously.

His face was round, and there were faint telangiectasias on his nose, a sign of long-term drinking or long hours working outdoors, or both.

His nameplate reads:

"Ronald Peterson, Peterson Oil Services."

"it's me."

Lin Ge calmly extended his hand.

Peterson shook his hand. The grip was strong, but not in a way that was meant to show off strength. It was more like the way someone who had been dealing with drilling equipment for years was used to using force.

"Harvey Danforth mentioned you to me, saying that you bought a prison and planned to use the prisoners to make stamping parts."

His tone contained neither obvious questioning nor obvious approval; it was simply a statement of fact.

Lin Ge didn't know how many people knew about his past, but he was very willing to leave a good impression on them.

"Yes, and it went very smoothly."

"Harvey has a very discerning eye. The fact that he's willing to give you a trial order means you're at least not talking nonsense."

Peterson took two cups of coffee from a passing waiter's tray and handed one to Ringo.

Lin Ge took it and found it was black coffee, without sugar or milk.

In business settings in Tulsa, black coffee is the default choice.

Adding sugar and milk is considered a sign of weakness; it's a crude culture that developed in oil fields and factories, and has nothing to do with whether the coffee tastes good or not.

"Are you in the oil services business?" Ringo asked.

"My father was in the oil services business, but after I took over, I switched to equipment leasing."

"Buy the pumps, compressors, and generators used in the oil field and lease them to drilling companies."

"In recent years, the oil industry has been very volatile. Service companies earn hard-earned money, but leasing companies earn stable money."

"Regardless of whether oil prices rise or fall, as long as the oil wells are still pumping, the pumps will have to be used."

"If the pump breaks down, you'll have to rent mine."

When he said this, there was a proven confidence in his voice.

Lin Ge judged that the other party must have summarized the survival rules after experiencing at least one bull and bear cycle in the oil industry.

This is a typical story of capitalist transformation.

The first generation earned their first fortune through risky ventures.

The second generation preserves their wealth by converting the fruits of their ventures into a stable cash flow.