Chapter 18, Grant's comrades-in-arms
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"Warren? Mr. Delano, are you going back to New York as well? "Scrooge and Rockefeller, who made a small fortune, are asking Warren? Draenor said goodbye.
"Well, yes, there's nothing left to do here." Warren? "And, with the collapse of the grain market, I'm sure policing in Chicago will be chaotic." Rich people, especially those who have taken advantage of this crisis, can easily become the object of everyone's hatred at this time. Therefore, although it is possible to make a profit by waiting for the price of grain to fall to the lowest level, there are also many risks. I've made enough money here, so, I'm going back...... Are you still going to wait here for the price of food to get to the bottom and then play a bottom-hunting? ”
Scrooge shook his head: "I've discussed it with John, and I'm going to go back." ”
The collapse of food prices is predictable, but it is difficult to predict how far he will collapse. Although many people think that Scrooge made his first pot of gold by risking speculation, in fact, he is not a risk-taking person. Finance is such a thing, money comes quickly, and losses are just as fast. And some very occasional events can also have unintended consequences. Scrooge's conceit was not as conceited as Morgan's, and he felt that it was more reliable to have a real industry.
In addition, Scrooge has a lot of things to deal with. Scrooge knew that the current collapse in food prices was just the beginning. In the last decade, the structural problems of the U.S. economy have become more and more serious. For more than a decade, the railroads in the United States have been crazy to show that almost all the funds and raw materials needed to build railroads have come from Europe. On the one hand, the infrastructure construction represented by the railroad continues to expand, but on the other hand, the industry of the United States has not been equally developed. This almost meant that the entire United States had become a market for European dumping of industrial goods. After a long period of accumulation, it is strange that there are no problems.
Relying on the strength of the grain market and the export of grain over the past few years, the United States has been able to barely maintain its economic situation, and the collapse of grain prices is almost fatal to the entire economic system. Scrooge knew that the crisis in food prices would quickly spread to other sectors, railways, mining, and then finance, and none of them could be left behind. At its worst, more than half of the banks were unable to cash out depositors' deposits.
However, the crisis also has the advantage of giving stronger companies the opportunity to merge with others at a lower cost, and it also allows European capital to temporarily withdraw from the United States, giving American capital room to grow.
In this crisis, there were also opportunities everywhere, and Scrooge knew that he had to seize this opportunity to grow up before the Civil War broke out, and only then could he grab a piece of the pie that was big enough in that war. Otherwise, even if you see an opportunity, you will have limited gains because your strength is too weak. Like this time, the big money was the well-capitalized Warren? Draenor earned it, and he could only get a small part of it.
And Warren? After Draenau's farewell, Scrooge and Rockefeller went straight to the station and boarded the train back to Cleveland.
Rockefeller, accustomed to frugality, still bought only two third-class tickets, and although they now had a lot of money -- at that time, $10,000 was a huge sum of money -- Rockefeller, who was accustomed to frugality, still felt that it was a crime to spend too much money on enjoyment. So, although Scrooge was eager to try what it was like to have a first-class carriage on a train of that era, he couldn't convince Rockefeller to try such a 'luxury' with him. Even, Rockefeller also put on the posture of a big brother, and educated Scrooge with the principle of "from simplicity to luxury, from luxury to thrift".
The two of them got on the bus relatively early, and when they found their seats and sat down, there were not many people on the bus. However, after a while, there were more people in the carriage. The carriage was immediately filled with all sorts of sounds. The two bought serial numbers, and Rockefeller graciously gave up the window seat to Scrooge and sat in the middle.
"Ah, this little brother, can you switch seats with my daughter?" A voice rang out. Scrooge and Rockefeller looked up and saw that it was an uncle about fifty years old, and beside him, a little girl of about twelve or thirteen years old was standing. The little girl wore a pale yellow dress, a hat with feathers, a long flaxen-colored head draped over her shoulders, and a pair of large green eyes flashing back and forth.
The man saw Rockefeller look up and explained, "My daughter likes the position against the window." She loves to see the scenery outside. ”
"So, where are you going to swap positions with us?" Scrooge asked.
"Oh, it's the one you're in the aisle." The uncle said.
"Okay, let's change it then." Scrooge said that he didn't care too much about whether he sat next to the window or not, and that little Lori was still very cute, although Scrooge didn't have a tendency to join the Tong Meng Club, but it was not bad to let her sit next to her.
Scrooge and Rockefeller stood up to make way for the little Lori by the window. Scrooge was about to sit down next to little Lori, but at this time, Rockefeller asked undeadly: "So, this gentleman, where is your position?" ”
"Ah, here my place is." The uncle pointed to the seat opposite the aisle.
"Otherwise," said Rockefeller, "I'll sit in your place, Scrooge will sit in my place, and you'll sit next to your daughter." ”
"Ah, thank you so much." The uncle raised his hat towards Rockefeller and Scrooge, and then sat down in what was supposed to be Scrooge, who sat next to the uncle.
Well, the little Lori next to her has become an uncle, and Scrooge's depression can be imagined. He raised his eyes and glared at Rockefeller, who was sitting down across from him, but Rockefeller was rummaging through his purse with his head down at this time, and did not see Scrooge's protest.
Rockefeller pulled out a book from his bag and read it carefully. Rockefeller now has a new understanding of some of the things he learned in business school after a period of work, so he will take out the original textbook from time to time to study it.
Now that Rockefeller had read the book, Scrooge, who had nothing to do, had no choice but to find a copy of Balzac's "Disillusionment" from his bag and read it. Marx once said of Balzac that he learned more from Balzac's work than in any other document. Scrooge felt that this assessment was indeed appropriate. In his previous life, far from Balzac's time, Scrooge also liked his work, but his understanding of his work was far less concrete and profound than it is now.
After ten minutes or so, the train whistle let out a long whistle, spewing out a large puff of snow-white steam, the carriage shook for a moment, and then the scenery outside the window began to slowly recede.
As the train started, the little Lori let out a cry of surprise, pressed her little face tightly against the window glass, and looked out.
"Your daughter is doing a train for the first time, right?" The carriage is a bit shaky, after all, the suspension of trains in the 19th century cannot be compared to that of the 21st century. Scrooge knew that reading in such conditions was not good for the eyes. So I put down the book, but I happened to see the little Lori making a fuss and exclaiming, so I smiled and said to the uncle.
"Ah, this is indeed little Hathaway's first time away from home." The uncle replied with a smile, and from that smile, Scrooge could see the old father's pampering of his little daughter.
But little Lori's interest always comes and goes quickly. After a while, the monotonous wheat field outside the window made little Lori lose interest in seeing the scenery, so she immediately turned her attention to the inside of the carriage. Little Lori stretched out her hand and pulled her father's sleeve.
"What's wrong? Don't see the scenery anymore? My little darling! ”
"It's always a wheat field, and it's not interesting at all." Little Lori said.
"Well, then you can lean back in your seat and sleep." Father said.
"No! I want you to tell me a story! Just tell me the story of when you were fighting those Mexicans. Little Lori hugged her father's hand and shook it.
"Hathaway, you're a girl, why do you always have to listen to stories about war? Isn't it good for me to tell you Grimm's fairy tales? ”
"Don't do it, fairy tales are all about deceiving children, and I'm not a child!" Little Lori pursed her lips and looked dissatisfied. Then she put on what she thought was the most ferocious of all, and said to her father, "If you don't tell me, I'll pull out all your beard!" ”
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Well, one day, Lieutenant Grant and I -- well, the short uncle you saw last time. ”
"I know, Uncle Grant is an alcoholic! Dad said it. Little Lori interjected.
"Ah, yes, it's that short uncle. But Dad tells you that when you see Uncle Grant again, don't call him Uncle Short again...... Well, I went out on patrol with him with a squad of cavalry, and your Uncle Grant's equestrianism was the best in the whole regiment, so he took the lead, and we came out of the barracks and walked along the river, about 7-8 kilometers to the south......"
"Grant? Short? Cavalry? Isn't he talking about General Grant, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army in the Civil War? The civil war is imminent, and it would be a good choice to get in touch with General Grant. Scrooge thought as he listened to the uncle's story.