In the more than 100 years since the first industrial revolution, the distance from New York to London has become shorter and shorter.

High-speed steamships have made it easier for people to cross the Atlantic, and at the same time, people have become more and more connected. For example, the five papers that John wrote at "super speed" were sent to Edward, the editor of The Lancet, in just a dozen days. Another letter from Miss Brister was also delivered to John's desk.

The little girl's letter is naturally full of gentle and sweet words.

And this time along with Anna's letter came another letter from her father, Mr. Brister. As a minority shareholder of the Heinz Pharmaceutical Company, he sent John a report on the company's annual revenues for 1887, accompanied by the autograph of the current general manager of the Heinz Pharmaceutical Company. Mr. Brister did a good job of fulfilling the tasks assigned to him by the elder Huntelaar, on the one hand, he did not interfere in the day-to-day operation of the company, and left it all to professional managers, and on the other hand, he strictly monitored their operations to avoid embarrassing situations.

"So we've finally received all of our year-end reports now?"

At the dinner table in the evening, old Huntelaar asked with a smile.

"Yes, Grandpa."

John was also in a very good mood, nodded with a smile and said, "Actually, we have been receiving it one after another since the beginning of February, but the pharmaceutical company in Berlin has delayed it for a while because the statistics are very cumbersome. ”

John was also quite helpless about this.

It stands to reason that even if the scale of the company at the end of the 19th century was large, the structure was still relatively simple, and the financial statistics were not complicated, but there were no computers in those years, and the systems and statistics in all aspects were not so perfect. So companies like pharmaceutical companies are naturally not so fast. Add to that the fact that they have to cross the Atlantic, so it's good that they didn't get reports until April.

"Grandpa, let's take a look first."

Taking out the letter he had just received, John handed it to old Huntelaar.

"No, you can see first."

Unexpectedly, old Huntelaar waved his hand and picked up the knife and fork in his hand again: "After all, Europe is your industry." And I'm getting older, so I can only give you some advice. ”

In recent times, old Huntelaar has been in this way.

Although his physical condition is still good, the old Huntelaar is now seventy years old, and even John's twentieth birthday is coming soon, and the old man is already thinking about the future.

Of course, he didn't tell John about this.

The boy didn't like business, and he wasn't interested in managing his own business, but old Huntelaar couldn't afford to think about it. He's seen it now. There is no need to think much about what kind of investment John will make in the future, but just one General Motors company and two medical-related companies, as long as the future development goes well, it is enough to make Huntelaar one of the richest surnames in the United States. This point of vision, the old Huntelaar still has. So whether John wants it or not, the old man has begun to slowly push a lot of things to his grandson.

It's just that the old man's thoughts, John didn't care much at all.

On the one hand, he is well aware of the development potential of his own industries, as long as he can continue to introduce new drugs and new medical devices. The two companies of Heinz will go all the way to the position of international giants. As for General Motors, with the maturity of technology and the expansion of market size. As long as there is money, you can build another car company at any time, and then take the assembly line out......

On the other hand, John also has full confidence in the old man's health.

Since coming to New York, John has been in charge of almost all aspects of Huntelaar's life, such as eating healthy and exercising. Several comprehensive physical examinations are done every year, coupled with the joy of the mood, it is not impossible for the old Huntelaar to live to be 100 years old, and the time is still early......

Putting these thoughts aside, John began to read the year-end report in earnest.

This was the last report received by the Huntelaar family. Since February, they have been receiving year-end summaries from various industries in North America and Europe, and John can finally know how much money he has made in the past year.

At present, the Heinz family's industry can be said to be quite large.

Far away in Europe, John has three pillars under his name: Heinz Pharmaceutical Company, Heinz Medical Devices Company, General Motors Company, and of course, the stainless steel factory and machinery factory in cooperation with Baron Cole, but those two John only have a small number of shares, and although the annual income is good, he no longer cares about it.

The other three companies have brought huge benefits to the Huntelaar family.

General Motors aside, after all, the structure of the Aurora is relatively complex, and in the case that John does not plan to come up with the assembly line, the output is too small, and the desperate expansion last year only produced hundreds of cars, and after removing the large investment, it is basically just profitable. Things may be better today, but while everyone can see the bright future of the car, the current high price limit its market size. Under the premise that the income level of the middle class in the major European and American powers has not substantially improved, John did not put more thought into it.

But Heinz Medical Devices and Heinz Pharmaceuticals are a different concept.

In the past two years, blood pressure monitors have become the flagship product of Heinz Medical Devices, and along with them, they have also led to the sales of stethoscopes and thermometers. Under John's design, the new stethoscopes and thermometers were smaller, more accurate, and even more beautiful, making them very popular with physicians. Except for those who are nostalgic or destitute, everyone else wants to be able to change the set. Surgical instruments made of ordinary steel and stainless steel have now become the standard equipment for surgeons, and other companies that have been squeezed have almost no way to survive - the surgical instruments of a hundred years later are almost unrivaled in this era, not to mention the emergence of stainless steel has added a heavy weight.

For the whole of 1887, Heinz Medical Devices generated sales of six million marks, which was by no means very high, but the net profit of more than 800,000 marks was enough to satisfy John. After all, they produce durable goods, and at the current level of economy, even the number of European doctors is not very large.

Compared with Heinz Pharmaceutical, this figure is indeed too far away.

In 1887, for a whole year, the company sold more than 1.5 million bottles of aspirin, 300,000 bottles of sulfonamides, and more than 50,000 vials of local anesthetics. A bottle of aspirin costs 3 marks, sulfonamides and lidocaine cost 18 marks, and procaine also costs 12 marks, and the high price has kept Heinz Pharmaceutical's monthly sales at more than 1 million marks. Although there was a slight decline after a brief peak after the launch, it slowly made up for it as more new markets were opened. And with the end of the year when the German Army began to purchase sulfonamides and aspirin, and even two local anesthetics, the military departments of several major powers in the European continent followed suit, and the company's sales rose sharply!

Even though Heinz Pharmaceutical Company is in the initial stage, the investment in hardware and personnel recruitment have never stopped, and the R&D center is a big money-eater, but after removing the company's own large investment in plants, R&D centers and all aspects, the annual profit has exceeded 3 million marks! When it is converted, it is six or seven hundred thousand dollars!

In North America, there are three trading companies that the old Huntelaar has been operating before, and the situation has always been good, and then they hitched a ride on bicycles, Lego toys, etc., and the expansion is very rapid these days, which can bring tens of thousands of dollars to the old Huntelaar every year, almost the same as the income of Lego toys.

However, it can only be on the same level as Lego.

Although he lost all the shares of the Flying Pigeon Bicycle Company, John set up Heinz Pharmaceuticals and Heinz Medical Devices in New York, although the North American market is not as large as Europe, but with the reputation of several drugs and the advantage of the factory located in North America, it is not difficult to achieve profitability this year, and it will take up to three years to recoup all the investment, becoming another gold mine for the Huntelaar family. In addition, potential stocks like New York Power are also very satisfying......

Overall, the Huntelaar family group's income last year was infinitely close to a million dollars!

When he saw this number, John was genuinely satisfied.

In this era, having a million dollars in assets is enough for a person to become one of the richest people in the United States, and just relying on these companies, the annual income alone is probably not much worse than that of Morgan and others. Of course, compared with the old rich people like Vanderbilt, the gap is still a bit big......

But even so, John was satisfied.

In the United States, where there is no traditional royal family and aristocracy, and almost entirely rely on money to determine social status, if you add the Huntelaar family's industry in North America, it can be said that they have become one of the top richest people in New York. It's just that because of the consistent low-key nature of the grandfather and grandson, there are really not many people who know these details......

"Not bad, not bad!"

After reading all the reports, John nodded in satisfaction and handed the things to his grandfather, who had already finished dinner.

It took a few minutes to quickly browse it, and old Huntelaar was also very satisfied, but his face was still light, and he bowed slightly: "It's not bad, at least I don't have to worry about it now." ”

"Huh? What are you worried about? ”

Hearing this, John was stunned for a moment, and John asked with a wink.

"I'm worried that you'll not be able to make ends meet in the future."

Putting down the report in his hand, old Huntelaar said leisurely: "Don't say anything else, how much does your hospital cost?" And the investment in Tesla, the investment in Ehrlich...... If you earn less, will you be able to spend it? ”

"This ......"

After hearing old Huntelaar's words, John's face, who was originally elated, suddenly darkened...... (To be continued......)