The uncle continued to tell his daughter the story that the Mexicans cowardly attacked, and then they used carbines, pistols, and sabers, well, mainly sabers, to make those Mexican scum become new people in minutes.

"It was a Mexican cavalry, a little more than we might have. They're probably doing the same mission as us, and the cowards shoot us as soon as they see us. Well, you know, those tattered guns in their hands can't hit that far at all, and they can hear a shot at this distance. We weren't the same, we drew our sabers and rushed towards the cowards, Grant at the front, and I followed him closely......"

"Dad, you're not as brave as Uncle Grant." Little Lori said, "Every time in your story, Uncle Grant always rushes ahead of you. ”

"That's because Grant is small and lighter, so he can run faster with his horse." The uncle pleaded and continued his story.

"The Mexican cowards were terrified at the sight of the glittering saber. They turned their horses and ran, and some of them even lost their guns in order to run faster. But when their horses turned, we had already rushed up, and I picked up my knife and cut down a ......."

In fact, as the train shook rhythmically, little Lori was already a little sleepy, and after listening to a story, little Lori hugged her father's arm and fell asleep directly.

"Sorry to interrupt you reading." The uncle saw that his daughter was asleep, so he said to Scrooge and Rockefeller with an embarrassed look.

"It's all right, we love to hear what you're talking about, isn't it, John?" Scrooge said.

"yes." Rockefeller said, "I didn't expect to meet a fighting hero here." Rockefeller also said this according to Scrooge.

"Heroes?" The uncle sighed and shook his head slightly, but didn't say anything more.

"Uncle, where are you going?" Scrooge asked.

"Oh, my daughter and I are going to Cleveland."

"What a coincidence, we're going to Cleveland too." Scrooge said, "Are you traveling or visiting relatives?" ”

"It's neither, it's going to work. There was an equestrian club in Cleveland and I needed a riding instructor, and they learned that I had worked in the cavalry before and gave me a job. The uncle's voice was low.

Scrooge understood what the uncle meant, riding instructor was not a very good profession, this profession at that time was not as high-end and high-end as people imagine now, it was just a kind of physical labor, well, in addition to teaching people to ride horses, raising horses and everything belonged to him. Of course, it's still good compared to carrying a bag at the dock, but if you compare it to the job that Rockefeller quit not long ago, it's a lot worse. How could a cavalry officer who had fought in the Mexican-American War do such a job at such an age?

"We're Clevelands, which equestrian club are you in? I want to learn how to ride a horse, too. Scrooge continued.

"Cleveland Dragoon Club, if you want to learn, you can come to me, oh, I haven't asked for your name yet. My name is Robson, a retired cavalry captain. The uncle replied.

"My name is Scrooge, and the guy across the street is John, well, John 61 Rockefeller." Scrooge also introduced himself to him.

"Nice to meet you." Captain Robson nodded to them.

So the three of them continued to talk, and Scrooge and Rockefeller learned that Captain Robson had been talking about how the U.S. military had slaughtered Mexican civilians because of his nonsense to reporters during the war, and although the reporter's report did not talk about it in the end, he was still severely reprimanded by his superiors, and as soon as the war was over, he was kicked out of the army.

"Hey, it's all my fault, I was young at the time, and I dared to say anything." Captain Robson sighed.

Two years ago, his wife fell seriously ill, and although Robson came back to save his wife, he spent almost all his savings and even went into debt, but his wife was called by God to leave him and a son and a daughter in this world.

"What about your son?" Rockefeller asked.

"Oh, he worked as a sailor on a sea boat. I haven't seen him in more than half a year. Robson replied.

After burying his wife, Captain Robson began to follow the family in order to pay off his debts and support the family with the money he earned. At first, his luck was good, and his business was going well, although the money he earned could not make him rich, but he had more than enough food and clothing, but he didn't want to, a week ago, a storm suddenly came, and the price of grain fell almost at a speed like a high diving. The storm ruined Robson, and if it weren't for his son and daughter, he would almost have thought of suicide.

Luckily, a friend of his former who happened to be passing by from Chicago came to visit him, and after learning about his predicament, it was like he introduced the equestrian club......

In fact, listening to Robson's story, Rockefeller also has some relativity. If Scrooge hadn't noticed the oversupply of food in the first place, perhaps he would have lost as much as Captain Robson in the grain trade. So he took out his small notebook again and marked it with a sentence: "Don't be deceived by the hot market, and always be vigilant to see if the supply has exceeded the demand." The better the market shape, the more vigilant you must be! ”

……

Within a few days of returning to Cleveland, the effects of the collapse in food prices began to be felt, first and foremost in the transportation system, because food was no longer valuable, and there was no need to ship it out and sell it. Who would hire ships when the profits from buying grain into Europe were not even enough to cover freight rates? So, now the docks near the canal are deserted, and almost all the ships have dropped anchor and lowered their sails. The sailors also left the ship and wandered around near the dock. Since they couldn't go to sea, these sailors naturally had no wages. However, the sailors used to make money quickly, and they had a lot of hands and feet to spend it, and most of them were rebellious, but now they have no money, so there are more and more fights, robberies, and the like.

Not only in shipping, but also in the railway, there was no need to transport food, and a large section of wagons was vacated. The reduction in demand for transportation reduced the demand for new railways and locomotives, and the decrease in demand for these made it impossible to sell things like steel in Europe, and then almost all industries fell into a panic.

Scrooge was prepared for such a panic, and Scrooge knew that the crisis in the financial system was imminent, but he was not panicking now, because he had already exchanged the dollars in his hand for gold. At this time, it is still gold that comes reliably.

……

In such an economic situation, the regular business of the company in which Clarke, Scrooge and Rockefeller had a joint venture is certainly not much better. Fortunately, unlike other companies, they did not hoard high-priced grain before, so compared to other similar companies, it is not bad, although it is not too profitable, but with the efforts of Rockefeller, it is not at a loss.

"This crisis will continue for some time, and during this time, it will be enough for the company to be able to sustain itself." At the company's shareholders' meeting, Scrooge got straight to the point.

Because of their previous success in shorting grain, both Clark and Rockefeller now have a bit of a look-ahead. Still, Rockefeller said:

"Scrooge, can you analyze with me why you made such a judgment?"

"Ah, that's a long story." Scrooge smiled, "I'll be as brief as I can." ”

"Well, have you ever wondered what is in the price of a commodity?" Scrooge asked.

"What are those things?" Clark hadn't figured it out yet.

"I think the selling price of a good should be equal to the final profit plus the wages we pay plus some other costs. This is true for any business, or for a commodity. Do you have any questions about this? ”

Rockefeller thought for a moment, looked at Clark again, then shook his head together and said, "This is no problem." ”

"Considering the so-called other costs, which is the price of buying goods from other companies, for example, if we want to ship a shipload of grain to New York, it includes the price of local grain, transportation, and labor. Transportation, labor, these are all goods provided by other businesses. Therefore, if we look at the whole world, the total price of goods in the world is equal to the total profit plus the total wages. That's fine, right? ”

This time, Rockefeller took a little longer, then nodded and said, "That's right, no problem!" ”

"However, there will be a strict problem here." Scrooge paused slightly, "Wages alone cannot buy all goods, profits must also be added to the purchase, and production and sales can be balanced." But how can profits be used entirely for consumption? And then the problem becomes. Well, John, do you see what the problem is? ”

Rockefeller thought for a moment, and finally said, "That is to say, no matter what, there are always some goods that cannot be sold?" ”

"Excellent! So think about what you would do if you found out that you had an item that couldn't be sold? ”

"Less production, less losses." Rockefeller said.

"Very well, so you're going to lay off people?"

"Of course. I can't afford to support the workers at a loss. ”

"Well, you're not the only one who thinks like that, others think the same way. As a result, the total wage is less, the goods are even more unsellable, and it goes one step closer – and then the vicious circle. This is the economic crisis! ”