From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 349 Electric Fans Become a Hit; Morgan Bank's Invitation Letter

Chapter 349 Electric Fans Become a Hit; Morgan Bank's Invitation Letter

While the legal battle over the gambling was gaining momentum, Manhattan United Industries, a joint venture between General Electric and Larry, had already begun producing electric fans and electric cash registers.

Larry saw the first industrial-grade fan on July 11th in the factory and reception hall of Union Industries in Manhattan.

Because Larry had given Matthew instructions beforehand on how to design a mature electric fan, and because the electric fan couldn't quickly accelerate the technological advancement, the uncontrollable consequences of the real-world technology line climbing too fast occurred.

Therefore, the electric fan designed by Matthew under Larry's guidance was actually quite similar to the mature electric fans of later generations.

Larry, Dunbar, and their newly recruited bodyguard, "Tiger" Thomas Brady, stood together in the center of the makeshift assembly workshop in Lower Manhattan.

The incandescent bulbs swayed overhead, casting long, stiff shadows of the two typhoon fans, like two guardians just emerging from a cast iron furnace.

The one on the left is a home-use model designed for ordinary people. It's about half a meter tall, but surprisingly heavy. This is because the base is a single piece of cast iron, with the rough texture of sand casting still remaining on the edges.

The fan's stand is made of cast iron, and the motor housing it supports is also made of cast iron. There are three cold-rolled low-carbon steel fan blades in front of the motor.

The outer mesh cover is double-layered, with the inner layer being as fine as gauze and the outer layer being a cover woven from radial iron wires with fine ribs.

"This design is mainly to prevent children's fingers from sticking inside!" Technical Director Thomson explained from the side. "The cover is already riveted in place and cannot be removed."

Larry nodded, gesturing for Thomson to turn on the fan.

After being plugged in, the fan emitted a low hum, like a swarm of bees swirling around. It was a little noisy, but the airflow was very strong.

"This is the adjustment button. Mr. Matthew Browning designed three fan speed settings. I think it's good." As he spoke, Thomson adjusted the fan to the three speeds, letting everyone experience the power of the fan.

The bodyguard "Tiger" following behind was a man of few words, but when he felt the cool breeze in the stuffy workshop, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Mr. Dunbar raised an eyebrow. "How much does this one cost?"

Our suggested retail price is $48, the wholesale price is actually $28, and the cost is $13.5.

"The price is in US dollars, mainly because the first batch of small electric motors are still in the production ramp-up phase and the price is a bit high," Thomson said with a smile.

Larry nodded, thinking to himself that he'd heard manufacturing was the source of wealth. A bunch of steel and wires put together, and they dared to double the price and sell it for $48 a unit—that was magic.

However, the price is reasonable; home appliances were initially designed for the wealthy. The $48 price tag is carefully calculated, comparing it to electric cash registers and Kodak cameras. Middle-income earners can afford it if they want to, even if they have to stretch their budget.

For the wealthy, it's no big deal.

But electric fans are not for ordinary people now. Even if the working class could afford to buy a fan, they wouldn't be able to connect to the household power grid.

"A bit pricey—" Mr. Dunbar muttered, then gestured with his chin towards another machine, "How much is this one?"

Larry's gaze followed, and the one on the right was a commercial model for department stores.

Compared to the home model, this one is a foot taller and has five blades, increasing the airflow. The base is now weighed eight kilograms and equipped with rubber anti-slip pads. The mesh cover has been changed to a fully enclosed cylindrical shape to prevent customers' clothing from getting caught.

After introducing the basic configuration of this commercial model, Thomson specifically emphasized, "The motor power has been increased to 1/6 horsepower, supporting eight hours of continuous operation. Each unit also comes with a wall mount bracket, which can be fixed to the wall to avoid taking up floor space."

Larry nodded, but Mr. Dunbar still asked, "How much is one?"

"It's $82 a unit, but the commercial version costs much more, $21 in total, or even more." Thomson shrugged.

Larry tapped the sturdy wrought iron tube bracket and nodded. "The commercial version won't sell many; it'll probably just be a death sentence for household electric fans."

Hearing Larry say this, Thomson smiled mysteriously. "Macy's has already ordered 50 units because they're going to sell household fans. So they can only buy 50 as a lead purchase. But they haven't decided which floor to allocate them to yet."

Larry laughed, "With something this good, why worry about where to use it? The first batch is definitely going to be a huge hit! It has to be placed in the most important spot."

Thomson looked puzzled. "Mr. Livingston, do you have an idea?"

"Let them get priority in the women's clothing department, that way the ladies trying on clothes won't have to sweat it out in the fitting room. And they'll be the best word-of-mouth promoters," Larry casually remarked.

Thomson paused for a moment before understanding Larry's meaning, then a look of surprise appeared on his face. "A very clever suggestion, Mr. Livingston. Your mind works very quickly, and you've directly grasped the crux of the business logic. I truly admire you."

Larry waved his hand and smiled, saying, "Remember to tell President Coffin that electric fans can be mass-produced now, to complement your home grid plan being promoted in the community. Hurry up, take advantage of this hot summer, and make sure to create a buzz."

"Yes, I'll pass that on to Mr. Coffin right away. Do you want to see him?"

"No! I have something to do—oh, by the way, why doesn't our fan have an oscillation function?" Larry asked.

"The oscillation mechanism requires a complex gear set, and making it would be too costly. For the first-generation fan product, the president's idea is to deliberately simplify it," Thomson quickly replied.

Larry nodded. "Tell him to make sure it's rust-proofed. This batch of fans needs to make a name for itself, but of course, durability is also important."

"Don't worry, we'll use black enamel paint to prevent rust," Thomson said with a smile.

Three days later, New York City experienced its hottest day since the start of summer. The thermometer stopped at 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius), the plane trees in Central Park drooped, and horse-drawn carriages on Fifth Avenue kicked up clouds of hot dust.

However, right today, a quiet revolution is taking place in Macy's women's department.

At 10 a.m., the first group of ladies, dressed in high-necked petticoats and fitted long skirts, lined up outside the fitting room.

Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and their wrists ached from fanning themselves. No one noticed the dark metal appliance in the corner until the shop assistant gently pressed the switch.

A low hum of wind arose.

Five steel blades rotated, creating a steady, dry, slightly cool breeze with a metallic scent, which was precisely directed towards the fitting room door.

A banker's wife, who had just changed into a new dress, froze, her hand hovering in mid-air, a look of surprise on her face.

"My God, what is this?"

The salesperson replied with a smile, "This is a new product called an electric fan."

The woman's surprise aroused the curiosity of several other women, who slowly walked over to the fan and curiously examined the new black machine.

"The wind is not damp at all, it's very dry, like the airflow coming from a mountain stream."

"Yes, it's so comfortable! You know, the worst thing about wearing silk in the summer is that sweat will make the skirt stick to your legs. Now with this thing called an electric fan, it's so much better—"

The banker's wife turned to the sales clerk and asked, "Can this machine be installed in our home?"

The salesperson smiled and said, "It's on the third floor of this mall, and the home-use models are also available for sale at the same time."

That afternoon, Macy's sold seven home-use models. All were ordered on-site, and the delivery addresses were uniformly located on the Upper East Side, Macy's Park, or Fifth Avenue.

In the following days, news of a brand-new cooling appliance spread like wildfire throughout the Manhattan Peninsula.

At the Vanderbilt family ball on Friday, one of the daughters had already boasted, "My family has a hairdryer."

Saturday's New York Herald published a short message in its social section: Macy's has set up a cool and comfortable area where ladies can experience the convenience of the new products.

Surprisingly, General Electric executives had previously believed that electric fans were a luxury only for the wealthy. But soon, three doctors ordered fans and placed them in their clinic's waiting room so that their esteemed patients would no longer faint from the heat.

A few days later, Wall Street financial professionals and lawyers joined the ranks of those buying electric fans. Their offices were among the first to have the community's commercial power grid installed, and the electric fan, this inexpensive and effective cooling device, quickly became a hit.

A week later, 83 household electric fans had been sold, while new commercial orders included 20 units at Bloomingdale's and 5 units in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

This time, it was GE's CEO, Coffin, who was in a hurry. Because it was in the trial production stage, many processes were still being refined manually and couldn't be accelerated. Right now, the factory simply didn't have enough products to deliver.

Therefore, Coffin had no choice but to designate the factory to work day and night to produce electric fans, with technicians working in three shifts and engineers sleeping in the workshop.

Meanwhile, in newspaper reports, public opinion had shifted from curiosity to fervor.

The New York Times published a front-page article in its business section titled "The Steel Wind Has Conquered New York's Socialite, 1

The Summer Revolution Sparked by Electric Fans!

The article provides a detailed comparison of the cooling methods of old-fashioned hand-cranked fans and ice buckets, as well as the situation where electric fans can produce cool air simply by being turned on.

The article quotes a banker's wife who wished to remain anonymous: "An electric fan is not a luxury, but a decent necessity. I cannot imagine how I would get through this sweltering summer without it."

At the end of the article, the reporter stated that Manhattan Union Industrial's daily output is only 12 units, but orders are already booked up to 8.

Month. Industry insiders say this product could completely change how American families define comfort.

But Larry wasn't particularly happy about it. On the one hand, his apartment didn't have a home power grid, and his room was still very hot.

On the other hand, Larry originally wanted to take this opportunity to go long on General Electric in the stock market.

But the investors in the stock market at this time were not the same people who would jump to conclusions a century later. Before the electric fan business generated strong profit expectations, investors didn't believe the stock price would rise.

Larry watched General Electric's stock price, which had been fluctuating at a high level for a month or two and clearly lacked momentum, but ultimately did not buy any shares.

However, this did not hinder Larry's bountiful harvest this summer. Both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley simultaneously reported that the acquisition of Bausch & Lomb had been completely finalized.

Bausch & Lomb has been split into three parts: its microscope and telescope business, related scientific research patents and glass licenses, and its academic customer network throughout the Americas were sold to Zeiss for $95.

The civilian lenses, camera lenses, and other components were sold to Kodak for a total price of $106 million.

Bausch & Lomb sold its land, factory buildings, and other assets at a revaluation price, earning a total of $83.

The total income was $284 million.

Previously, the syndicate had provided a total of $260 million in payments to Bausch & Lomb's major and minor shareholders. Now, after splitting up and selling off Bausch & Lomb's assets, all expenses and interest have been covered, with a surplus of $11.

The problem is, this doesn't even include Larry's military projects and reserve projects like movie projectors. Essentially, Larry got a free optical instrument subsidiary.

In any case, this acquisition and spin-off of Bausch & Lomb was a perfect success. All parties got what they wanted.

The syndicate of banks, led by Morgan Stanley, hadn't anticipated completing this swift and efficient acquisition in just three months. Capital utilization efficiency had reached its limit.

As the funding provider for the syndicate, Morgan Bank will host the closing ceremony and project completion celebration dinner in the large conference room on the second floor of the Morgan Building. The event is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 23.

Representatives from Bausch & Lomb shareholders, Zeiss, George Eastman (owner of Kodak), Morgan Bank, and the entire syndicate will be present.

Of course, the most important "manager" of this project was Larry Livingston. Morgan Bank sent Larry a gold-embossed invitation, which was delivered by a special person.

On the day of the invitation, Larry had already received a phone call from Mr. Coster, and then waited for the visitor in a private room at the coffee shop opposite the Dakota apartment.

Soon after, the two bodyguards, Tiger and Snake, reported, "People from Morgan Bank are here!"

Larry and Dunbar were chatting in the private box when Larry said, "Please let him in!"

Soon after, a Morgan Stanley representative entered the private room.

Larry and Dunbar were both stunned; this person was Logan.

Logan, dressed in Morgan Bank's standard lace blouse, stood calmly at the door of the private room, holding a stack of documents. He was a completely different person from the anxious young man he had been six months ago.

"Logan, it's you?" Larry stood up with a smile.

Logan waved his hand and said seriously, "We'll talk about that later! Let's go through the proper procedures first—"

As he spoke, Logan walked solemnly to Larry, bowed slightly, and presented the documents, saying, "Mr. Livingston, on behalf of Morgan Trust Bank, I would like to extend a formal invitation to you to our liquidation ceremony and celebratory dinner. This is our invitation!"

When handing over the invitation, Logan also gave Larry a brief, off-the-cuff overview of the project's progress.

Larry suppressed a laugh, sat back down, took the invitation, and said, "No problem, I'll definitely be there!"

Logan smiled very humbly. "Thank you! It is an honor for our bank to have you here."

As he spoke, he bowed again.

After completing the formalities, Logan finally smiled, plopped down next to Dunbar, and asked with a laugh, "What did you think of my performance?"

Dunbar nodded. "Not bad, you're really quite impressive. You speak much more fluently now—when I saw you last year, you had to pause three times for every sentence you spoke."

Logan burst into laughter after hearing this.

Larry looked at him with a smile and said, "Hey, you! I think you've gotten more handsome! How did your acne disappear? And you've even learned how to dress up—"

Logan's physical changes were secondary; what truly surprised Larry was that, after these months of training, he was now able to report complex matters clearly and logically.

"I still have some money to spare! And in a glamorous world like New York, how could I not dress myself up?"

Logan had a confident smile on his face.

Larry nodded. "You can handle all of Morgan Bank's businesses now?"

Logan said seriously, "Do you think Mr. Coster sent me because I know you? No, I'm an outstanding employee of the bank now! They sent me to deliver the invitation because they appreciate me."

"Really?" Larry didn't believe it.

"Of course it's true!"

Larry nodded. He had met Logan a few times since coming to New York, and he could see the changes in Logan. These changes weren't just about his increasingly mature and composed appearance; more importantly, Logan had learned to observe and his words had become increasingly eloquent.

Everyone has their own strengths. The reason Larry arranged for Logan to "go undercover" at Morgan Bank was because he valued Logan's hidden social cow personality.

This guy is a natural at gathering intelligence in crowds.