"Happy New Year!"

On January 1, 1921, the clock struck midnight, people shouted "Happy New Year" and "God bless America", car horns honked long and short, and colorful pieces of paper flew all over the sky.

"Hey, Happy New Year!"

Li Kangping ran to the streets of New York and joined the carnival team.

1921 was destined to be a great year.

After New Year's Day, people in the public have already gone to work, and students are still on winter vacation.

With the spring semester at Columbia University set to begin in early February, and with more than 20 days off to go, Mr. Lee drove to New Jersey on a road trip.

The U.S. road network is paved at an alarming rate, and with the increase in concrete roads, the speed of cars can be raised to more than 30 mph.

Gas stations, car hotels, hot dog shops, and camping tents are everywhere along the highway, and more Americans are traveling by car.

Americans of this age like to say in this tone: Oh, Princeton's upper class.

Li Kangping drove to the small town of Princeton, which cultivated the upper class.

Princeton University had not yet opened, and the campus was deserted, so Li Kangping parked his car and walked around Princeton University, a beautiful and elegant university, small but exquisite.

In this small place of Princeton, the school is the town, and the town is the school. The ideal place to study and learn is a quiet place like Princeton, while New York is a little pompous and impetuous.

The few shops and restaurants in Princeton are mainly customers of teachers and students, and it is the off-season, and there are few customers. Li Kangping entered a restaurant, ordered cheap coffee and apple pie, and grabbed a free local newspaper, which he read and listened to as he ate.

Jazz is perfect for the so-called Jazz Age. The restaurant has an ore radio from which melodious jazz music can be heard.

As Li Kangping predicted, after the official operation of KDKA, in just a few months, new radio stations were opened in various states in the United States, and radio appeared in people's lives as a new commodity.

"Sir, your radio is really good." Li Kangping said to the manager.

The manager replied, "It's worth two hundred dollars, of course." ”

"Where did you buy it?" Li Kangping asked.

"Jersey City."

"What's its brand?"

"Westinghouse."

"Westinghouse radio, who doesn't love it."

Westinghouse built and operated the world's first civilian radio broadcasting station, and the company quickly launched radio products, taking the lead in the U.S. civilian market.

The technology of the ore radio is not considered advanced, and over time there should be a more technologically advanced radio to replace it.

At this time, the potential policy of the United States is biased in favor of the capitalists, patented technology is important, and strong capital is even more important.

Register a few patents and rely on them for a lifetime to make a fortune.

Stop dreaming, it's a dream that can't be realized in today's America.

Nikola Tesla invented and registered more than a thousand patents, and he didn't make a fortune.

Tesla must pay a $2.50 royalty for every horsepower of alternating current sold, which is in line with US patent law but goes against the core interests of American capitalists.

Under pressure from the capitalist group, Tesla gave up the patent exclusivity of alternating current, and after 1900, anyone could use alternating current technology for free.

It is difficult to make a fortune by relying on patents alone, and it is possible to make a lot of money by transforming patents into mass-produced products and achieving good sales and market share in the market.

Traveling by car costs money. Mr. Lee's remaining cash would only last him a few days in New Jersey.

With $5 left in his pocket, Li Kangping returned to New York.

AT&T, it's going to be sold.

"AT&T, 55, sell it."

So Li Kangping sold his 100 shares of AT&T.

After deducting the handling fee of the Broad Street OTC market, Li Kangping pocketed $5,415.

The next day, the U.S. stock market plummeted, and AT&T also fell to 50.

Fortunately, I shot in time, otherwise I would have lost 500 dollars a day.

Li Kangping, who had palpitations, drank a glass of whiskey and was shocked, and he wondered, what can be done with the more than 5,000 US dollars?

In the United States in the 20s of the 20th century, we didn't dare to sell moonshine, and we didn't have the opportunity to do oil extraction and refining.

"Cars, you can do it, but I don't have enough money. Radio, you can also do it, or the cost is not enough......"

Li Kangping flipped through the newspapers, looking for a business opportunity suitable for a $5,000 investment.

"Mahjong is a fun oriental game, and after playing it once, I promise you'll love it. The White Brothers Mahjong Club offers free mahjong training and mahjong experience, and our address is ......" Li Kangping stared at the advertisement, a plan brewing in his mind.

Li Kangping immediately went to 50th Street and found the White Brothers Mahjong Club.

Pushing the door in, the scene in front of him made Li Kangping feel kind.

It was a large hall with a few tables with green woolen tops, and white people sat in groups of four stacking small bricks, skillfully touching and throwing cards, and shouting "bang", "kee", and "hoo" in their mouths.

At the table stood onlookers, watching intently and thoughtfully.

“Hoo！”

A white man toppled his mahjong, beaming and elated.

"I won this game, I got 20 points!" The white man wrote a "20" on the scoreboard.

Another white man said, "Oh, Jim, you don't deserve 20 points, you win 10 points, to be exact." ”

"Come on, I won by a son, so I scored 20 points!"

"I was also a pair in the last game, why did I only score 10 points?"

"Jack, you won the last game because I played a card to help you meet the conditions for winning, so you won. And in this game, without anyone's help, I got all the conditions to win on my own! Obviously, it's easier for me to win this round than yours, so I win 20 points! It's very simple math, do you still have questions, Jack? ”

"Jim, your explanation puzzles me!"

"yes, Jim, I just figured out the rules of mahjong, and now you're confusing me again!"

Because of different views on the mahjong scoring rules, a table of mahjong friends quarreled with red faces.

The way you play mahjong seriously, it's really cute. Li Kangping, who was observing from the periphery, was happy.

"It's a bit boring, isn't it?" A handsome young white man appeared next to Li Kangping.

"Mahjong, what a fun game, how can it be boring?" Li Kangping turned his head to look, this young white man was extremely handsome, handsome to the point of being almost demonic.

"Have I seen you anywhere?" Li Kangping looked at the handsome blonde man, and he swore that he would see this man within three months.

The handsome blonde man smiled charmingly: "Where radio waves go, all beings are equal." ”

Li Kangping suddenly realized: "Hey, it's you!" ”