Chapter 89: The Great Depression (8)

A day later, Huang Xuan arrived in New York.

He flew on Pan Am Airways, which was the nation's leading airline from 1930 until it collapsed in 1991, and in the 30s, that is, from now on, Pan Am was once the largest airline in the world, but when Huang Xuan got on this "flying shear", Pan Am had just transformed from a parcel company into a passenger business.

Pan Am, headquartered in New York, was the most sought-after stock on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929, on the eve of the Great Depression, but fortunately the Great Depression didn't hurt it much.

For Huang Xuan, in 1931, flying on a Pan Am plane was a special experience, a little unreal excitement, as if he was really close to this plane, close to this time and space.

Most of Pan Am's aircraft are named "flying shears", and most of them are capable of intercontinental voyages. The route from the industrial city of Detroit to the financial center of New York is an extremely important route, with crew members dressed in formal naval attire, and in order to compete with cruise ships and trains, Pan Am offers first-class seating for almost all passengers, which cost at least $8,000 or more compared to the new century. But Huang Xuan paid less than $100.

New York during the Great Depression, like any other large city, was mixed with the city's decay, like a plague of locusts sweeping the city, obscuring the sun in shadows.

Huang Xuan is already seven or eight points immune to the suffering of people in the economic crisis, and he is not here to be a savior. In a plane where you can stay for 7 days, there is nothing more important than time, and it is shameful to waste even a minute and a second.

"Lorraine, look for the printing factories nearby, especially the ones Edsel said." Walking on the streets of Manhattan, Huang Xuan didn't bother to ask people again, the racism of Americans is disgusting, and the xenophobia of New Yorkers is even more hateful.

"You know, it's going to waste a lot of energy." Lorraine was very dissatisfied: "Searching for data in a time and space where there is no data is likely to cost millions of degrees of energy. ”

"It's just looking for a factory, don't worry, the effort will pay off." Huang Xuancai doesn't care about millions of degrees of energy.

"If you can tell me more information, maybe we can reduce the loss."

Huang Xuan smiled weirdly, stood at the crossroads of Manhattan, and whispered: "Lorraine, do you say that we can print money ourselves?" ”

"Here?" Lorraine's tone didn't make much change.

"yes." Huang Xuan is full of hope. Anti-counterfeiting technology in the 30s should not be a problem, he is just worried about what the sequelae are.

"It should be feasible, but if you want me to modify the printing press, it may consume tens of millions of kilowatt-hours of energy."

Huang Xuan agreed and said, "No problem." After saying that, he waited for a while, and then said, "Lorraine, how about if we print banknotes directly in P112." ”

"That's not a good idea." Lorraine said calmly: "Destroying the financial order will have a serious impact on the buffer zone. ”

Huang Xuan knew that Lorraine would object, after all, his second sequence was plane safety, but he still tried his best: "We can increase the energy of the buffer belt, then it's no problem?" ”

"No one can say for sure how the buffer belt will restore financial order. Of course, it is impossible for the buffer zone of time and space to directly reduce money, so the result of mass production of money must be unexplained inflation, and a sudden economic crisis may be inevitable. In addition, in order to reduce the loss of the buffer belt, a direct energy blow is also possible. ”

"What is an energy strike?" Huang Xuan's heart is "Mao" and "Mao".

"For example, an earthquake with your target or a lightning strike with your target can easily solve the problem."

Huang Xuan opened his mouth in surprise and said, "No, the buffer belt you said is like a god." ”

"The laws of nature cannot be violated." Lorraine's voice seemed to be very serious: "The indiscriminate issuance of paper money in this plane brings losses far more than the gains, although you can get a lot of benefits before the depreciation of paper money, but this will not only reduce the energy of the buffer zone, but also require the plane base to have a good defense 'nature', which can prevent the retaliation of the buffer zone, this is usually a common means used by plane colonization, if you don't mind the destruction of P112, you can try it." ”

Huang Xuan was obviously disappointed, and muttered, "I thought you were in the same league as the energy of the buffer belt." ”

"Of course not, the buffer zone energy is the energy possessed by the plane itself, and it is the basis for the existence of the plane, and the plane base is just a creation of human beings, at most a powerful tool."

"It's a pity. I thought I had come up with a good idea. ”

Lorraine seemed to be worried that Huang Xuan would have the same idea again, and continued to convince him: "The time and space you are in, banknotes already have numbers, and we print a large number of non-existent numbers, or banknotes with the same number as the real ticket, which will always attract the attention of others, which will cause risks and reduce the energy of the buffer belt." In addition, P112 is always our big rear, and predatory "sex" should still be avoided as much as possible. ”

"You're right." Huang Xuan compromised: "Hurry up and find a factory." According to you, printing money here is also profitable, and it can also increase the energy of the buffer belt. ”

"That's because there's no dimensional base here, and there's no Authority involvement." Lorraine's words smacked of irony, saying, "In the Great Plane Era, obtaining buffer zone energy was the concern of the Temporal Authority, and making money was the idea of poor travelers. ”

"I'd rather be a poor traveler." Huang Xuan clenched the big box in his hand and said, "Where are we going now?" Which factory prints money? When it comes to printing money, Huang Xuan feels that his little heart is pounding, which may be the simplest and most direct way to make money in human business.

"The beta printing plant in the southern district can meet the needs, but to print banknotes, not only raw materials and workers are needed, but also to modify the printing machinery, and according to the condition of this factory, it is estimated that more than 80 million kilowatt-hours of energy will be consumed."

That's more than $7 million. Huang Xuan waved his hand and said, "It's all now, what are you hesitating about, let's leave now." ”

……

At its peak in 1929, the factory was valued at nearly $2 million, but after two years of the Great Depression, Beta now costs only $400,000.

Of course, Huang Xuan did not have $400,000, but he paid a deposit of $80,000. This huge amount of money is completely enough to ignore the so-called race and time issues, in the United States, banknotes are identity cards.

Beth's owner, Leslie, a 56-year-old Californian, was thrilled to take the money from Mr. Huang, and there was no more efficient way to sell it than to sell it for a factory that was operating at less than 30 percent capacity.

As a result of the happy payment of the deposit, Leslie took the initiative to bear the lawyer's fees, and even met a slightly unreasonable request: Huang Xuan was allowed to operate for a week and inspect the equipment. Of course, if you tear up the contract for any reason, the deposit will not be returned.

Of course, Huang Xuan is not ready to buy Beta, he only needs to use a week.

Hans, who was wearing an army uniform, was stunned to see Huang Xuan spend $80,000 in this way, and when Leslie was talking to the lawyer, he couldn't help but remind Huang Xuan: "BOSS, it's an economic crisis now, and most factories are shut down. ”

"I know." Huang Xuanting liked Hans's straightforwardness, but unfortunately the German-American could not follow him home, so he patted Hans on the chest in a friendly manner and said, "I can keep this factory and sell it when it is worth it." ”

"Do you think the depression will end soon?" Even Hans, who had not finished high school, knew the word depression, but Americans at this time did not know it, and they experienced perhaps the biggest depression in American society.

Looking at Hans's expectant gaze, Huang Xuan could only smile comfortingly and said, "I'm afraid it will be another year or two." "It was not until 1933 that the depression showed no sign of ending.

Hans was obviously disappointed, his life was not bad, but most veterans were not, and before he could say anything more, Leslie walked back and said with a smile: "Mr. Xuan, I have called my production supervisor here, if you need it, he can help you debug the machine." ”

"I already have my own production supervisor." Huang Xuan had to apologize to Leslie. After the transformation of the workshop, Huang Xuan was not ready to let others in, and the production supervisor was unnecessary.

Leslie didn't care, he was already very satisfied to be able to sell this money-losing factory, and with a relaxed smile, the Californian said, "So let's sign now?" ”

The United States today is not like the troublesome superpower of the 80s, where every contract needs to be constantly revised by lawyers, and Leslie receives a prepared contract from the law firm, and the two bosses can do all the work.

Huang Xuan took a rough look at it, and signed his name, the contract is a fixed form, and since 1929, such a contract has been used countless times.

Leslie put away one of them with satisfaction, and handed one of them to the notary from the industrial area, smiling brightly. Huang Xuan took the opportunity to say: "Are the materials you stored in the warehouse ready to be sold?" Can you sell it to me? ”

"I'll give it to you." Californians are very generous at the moment, and most of the rest are pulp, paper and other products, which are not worth two thousand dollars, even if Huang Xuan does not say it, he is likely to leave it to this lovely Asian person.

"Thank you so much for that." Huang Xuan said, took out another $1,000 from the suitcase, and said, "Although it may not be enough for these materials, I don't have cash now." ”

"I've already said I'll give it to you." Leslie, however, is not a hypocrisy.

"I know." Huang Xuan understood what to do at this time, he folded the 10 hundred-dollar bills, took out the prepared bill, handed it to Leslie, and said: "I also need some chemical 'medicine' products, such as phosphoric acid products, and some additives." Because I don't know anyone in New York, I can't let you pay. ”

Leslie laughed at this time, took Huang Xuan's manifest, and said, "You are right to find me, there are not many factories that can produce these things now." ”

Huang Xuanxian smiled very maturely, businessmen seek profits, free lunch will cause trouble in dinner, or it is best like now.

……

The Beta Printing Factory had seven workshops and more than 500 workers at full capacity, but at present, only one-fifth remains. Occasionally, when there was a production task, Leslie would hire some workers on a temporary basis to do the simplest manual work, and then fire them when there was no work. This was how most factories in the Great Depression operated.

U.S. law guarantees a certain degree of monopoly on paper from some paper groups in the east, and in this way, the U.S. bill cuts off counterfeiting at the source — at least the law requires anyone to hold U.S. money paper — a paper product that is different from all commercial paper and is illegal.

Lorraine could reinvent paper production and change the way it was printed, but he couldn't conjure up paper money out of thin air — maybe he could, according to Einstein's equations, each note might cost billions of dollars. Therefore, a factory that can produce its own pulp and paper products is essential.

Leaving 30 workers to continue producing pulp and other primary products, Huang Xuan closed the doors of the paper and printing workshops, and left Hans with four men to keep watch, and the machines were only allowed to be started while he was there, and not even Mr. Leslie could enter.

The veterans faithfully carried out Huang Xuan's orders.

Californians had gone home in high spirits, and in 1931 it was too hard to sell the factory. This is inversely proportional to the fact that it happened 10 years ago.

Huang Xuan looked at the factory with a slight smugness, the masonry of the factory, with its thick chimneys and filthy sewers, which already belonged to him in name. Even if the federal "government" is interested in the workshop, a search warrant is required.

The smell of the factory is terrible, the recycled waste paper is often mixed with garbage, and the pulp and its by-products are not something clean, let alone the conditions of your production in 1931. Since Lorraine's energy output, whether it is to open the plane channel or directly use the energy, it requires a medium—that is, the authority holder or the plane base itself, so Huang Xuancai had to stay here, sniffing all kinds of strange and pungent smells.