From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 333 Tesla's arrival brings good news.

Chapter 333 Tesla is back, bringing good news.

Larry decided to go to Chicago two days ago, because that was the day Nikola Tesla returned.

The day after Larry met with Reynolds, Matthew brought good news: Tesla had returned from Chicago.

Upon receiving this news, Larry immediately went to visit Tesla.

The two met at Tesla's lab, where Tesla was very pleased to hear that Larry had taken care of everything regarding the fund and was just waiting for his signature to make it effective.

"Mr. Livingston, you not only handled the fund matters well, but you also licensed the patent for the electric motor! This is simply wonderful, and it has exceeded my expectations."

Tesla deliberately omitted mentioning that the patent was granted to General Electric—he already knew, but was determined to avoid the issue.

Larry smiled at him. "Mr. Tesla, you're too kind. It's all I should do—and you? I imagine you've had a very fruitful time in Chicago!"

"Yes, it's been a huge success! We've secured an order for the Chicago World's Fair!" Tesla smiled genuinely. "You know what? The president of Westinghouse Electric is ecstatic. He thinks we'll beat General Electric in one fell swoop."

The president of Westinghouse Electric was George Westinghouse.

Larry and Matthew exchanged a glance, then smiled without saying a word.

Tesla exclaimed excitedly, "You know what? This Chicago World's Fair is huge! We might be turning on over 1000 lights, or even more!"

"You'll light up even more in the future; alternating current is naturally suited for long-distance power transmission!" Larry complimented with a smile.

"That's right, exactly. The president said that in the future, Westinghouse Electric will become the world's best electrical appliance manufacturer." Tesla said confidently.

Matthew asked curiously, "Mr. Tesla, why have you been in Chicago for so long?"

Upon hearing this question, Tesla replied seriously, "Power generation! This is a big issue, and the president is seriously considering what kind of power plants to build—"

"There's a lot of coal in Chicago, so it's probably mainly used for thermal power generation, right?" Larry interjected.

Tesla shook his head. "The president wants cleaner, cheaper energy—and to that end, he traveled around the Great Lakes looking for new places suitable for hydroelectric power generation."

Larry immediately understood. The last time he went to Rochester, he saw George Westinghouse, the president of Westinghouse Electric, who must have been looking for suitable locations in the Great Lakes region to build hydroelectric power plants.

"You didn't go with them?" Larry asked deliberately.

Tesla gave a mysterious smile and pulled a thick picture book from under a cabinet in his lab. "I've learned how to take pictures! During my time in Chicago, I took many beautiful photos of the city. Come, let's take a look!"

As he spoke, Tesla unfolded the photo album and showed Larry and Matthew the photos he had taken.

Larry leaned closer and immediately recognized the photo as being taken with a Kodak camera, because it was round.

Most of these photos are of Chicago landscapes, as well as various buildings that have already been constructed for the World's Fair.

As Larry looked at the photos, he noticed a problem. Most of the buildings at the Chicago World's Fair in the photos were uniformly white, making them appear very monotonous.

"Why are all these buildings white? Is this the standard color for the venue?" Larry asked.

Tesla craned his neck to look. "Oh, no. This is called Neoclassical Greek style. It's the most popular style right now; even the newspapers are saying this World's Fair will be a victory for 'White City'! A Neoclassical fantasy built from plaster and iron frames and dreams."

Larry couldn't help but purse his lips. He had seen too many of these fake plaster pillars. They were like this in the 19th century during the gilded era, either Victorian or Neoclassical.

Roman domes, Greek colonnades, Renaissance arches—everywhere is white, pure, and solemn, yet it seems to be a memorial to a bygone old European world.

This stuff looks like the putty on the face of a woman in her forties or fifties; it's really uncomfortable to look at.

Larry's hand suddenly stopped on page 17. He suddenly saw a part that didn't belong to "White City"—the Transportation Center.

The building facade in the photo has no Collins columns and no marble statues.

Instead, there are huge terracotta arches that leap upwards like flames; and geometric reliefs of Volkswagen Passat wrap around the window frames, which are neither realistic nor retro, but rather an organic decoration that has grown out of the soil of the mechanical age.

The most striking feature is a light-colored archway in front of the Transportation Pavilion, which stands out against the gray and white Expo Park, as if leading to another civilization.

This is a civilization I am familiar with, called "20th-century modernism".

"What is this?" Larry couldn't help but ask curiously.

Matthew and Tesla both craned their necks, looking at the building Larry was pointing to.

Tesla replied, "This is the work of a local Chicago designer named Louis Sullivan. You see, there are words written here. Form always serves function."

(function).

Larry's heart skipped a beat when he saw those words.

The architecture is very modern, and the language is quite striking.

This is a sophisticated architectural language, but not the kind of sophistication reserved for the nobility. Rather, it belongs to the sophisticated architecture of the steel and electric age.

Larry suddenly remembered the real estate project he was planning to develop in Boston. He had already commissioned Mr. K to bid for a scenic piece of land near the Charles River in the Back Bay.

The land originally belonged to Kennedy; it wasn't very large, and Larry planned to buy it to develop a high-end apartment building.

This project can provide housing for Mr. K, Matthew, and others, allowing them to live a decent life. It can also be considered a welfare reward from myself.

And he can also use the construction of this high-end apartment building to gradually open up the real estate development market.

Originally, the plan was to build a simple, rationally laid-out apartment building using red bricks and stone, similar to a simplified version of the Dakta Apartments, pursuing a kind of "restrained dignity."

But after seeing the Transportation Pavilion at the Chicago World's Fair, Larry changed his mind. Because function can become aesthetics, and practicality can be elevated to poetry.

Considering that he wanted to build high-end apartments, Larry made a decision almost instantly—to meet the architect of the building, the architect named Louis Sullivan.

"Snap!" Larry slammed the photo album shut, lost in thought.

Tesla and Matthew were slightly surprised, looking at Larry's focused expression, and for a moment they didn't know what had happened.

"Matthew, would you like to come out with me? We could go to Chicago. I'd like to visit the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and see which of their futures contracts has the most potential. Also, I'd like to meet this designer," Larry said earnestly to Matthew.

"Sure! It's nothing serious—but you seem quite anxious, is that right?" Matthew asked, puzzled.

Larry thought for a moment, glanced at Tesla, and smiled, saying, "Let's go this weekend. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll finish the signing ceremony for the Tesla Momentum Fund first, and after I take care of my personal matters the day after tomorrow, we'll go to Chicago!"

It was a bright and sunny Wednesday afternoon. At the signing ceremony for the Tesla Motion Fund, Nikola Tesla, without even glancing at the specific terms, readily signed his flamboyant name on the last page of the document.

Larry took the pen, and as the nib traced across the paper, he left his clear and calm signature.

Tesla was very excited. He hugged Larry, saying, "Mr. Livingston, history will prove us right!"

Larry patted him gently on the back and said with a smile, "This is our mutual choice, Nikolai."

After the signing ceremony, Tesla rode a horse-drawn carriage back to his laboratory to continue his experiments on wireless power transmission.

Matthew looked at Larry and sensed how quickly this young man had grown in the past few months.

No, it's not growth, it's evolution!

It's unbelievable!

There was also a signing ceremony on Thursday, where Larry and Reynolds signed a cooperation agreement. After the signing was completed, Larry rushed to the Waldorf Hotel.

First, George Porter sent word that he wanted to tell him the latest information he had obtained from the Rothschild gang;

Secondly, Larry also needed to make a long-distance call to Mr. K.

Larry rushed to the Waldorf Hotel and received news from George Porter that was very similar to that of the general manager of Reading Company.

Even the powerful Rothstein gang, who were considered local strongmen, only managed to find out that Mr. Bush had given up his rented house, that his wife and children had apparently returned to their hometown, and that Mr. Bush himself had apparently gone abroad.

The trail went cold.

However, George Porter had already made arrangements in advance, instructing the Rothschild gang to keep a close eye on the matter until they discovered their whereabouts—

Larry nodded and smiled. The news from the Rothschild gang further solidified Larry's belief that he would focus on the "luring the snake out of its hole" strategy in futures trading.

Larry then called Mr. K directly.

"Oh, boss, I've already bought that piece of land you mentioned!" came Mr. K's languid voice from the microphone.

"How's that piece of land?"

"Not bad. This land is located in the northwest corner of the Back Bay, right next to the Charles River. It has a total area of ​​5.2 acres. It previously belonged to Senator Kennedy, and I have purchased it anonymously as you instructed for a total of $1040."

Larry quickly did the math in his head: $200 per acre.

The land price is really not expensive! Larry didn't let Mr. K meet with Kennedy in person before, not because he was afraid that Mr. K would find out that he bought the land, but because he didn't want Mr. K to have any unnecessary speculation or ideas.

"Great! First, transfer the land to the convenience store company's name. I'll send someone to run this project with you later," Larry instructed.

"Boss, are you really going to do this? Are you planning to build some houses for yourself?" Mr. K asked bluntly.

"It's not me, it's us! This is a high-end apartment project, and you're all involved—anyway, don't worry about it, I'm going to visit the designer, and once everything is in place, we'll start building this luxury apartment."

Mr. K was overjoyed, his voice brimming with laughter on the other end of the line, "So that's how it is! Great! Boss, I understand now, this is the money-making project you were talking about—"

"Yes! Oh, by the way, how's Huang Meitang doing?"

"It's alright, the trial is at the end of June. His Chinese lawyer is helping him verify the evidence. Will you be at the first hearing?"

Larry thought for a moment and said, "We'll see! We definitely can't get a verdict at the first hearing. We'll have to see how the betting tickets sell."

Mr. K agreed, then remembered something interesting. "Boss, do you know? Congressman Kennedy's milk tea shop project isn't going very well—after all, his most capable colleague, Huang, is in jail. I often hear people say that Kennedy frequently mentions Huang's name, saying it's such a pity he's not here."

"That's true, but he's focused on giving the Irish community an explanation. He won't actively help release Huang Meitang," Larry replied.

"Oh, I've also heard that Senator Kennedy is having a very bad falling out with Henry Ford. Apparently, Mr. Ford has botched several things—and is even using the company's funds for engine development." Mr. K spoke of this with a hint of schadenfreude, and continued, "Since the Ford Motor Company was founded, Kennedy has seen no hope of making money, and Henry Ford has been paying lip service to him—he's very frustrated now, and has even told his staff that he regrets investing in this lousy project."

Upon hearing this news, Larry smiled. He thought to himself, "Henry Ford is indeed a brilliant man; the two of them didn't say a word to each other in New York."

But Ford had everything arranged perfectly.

It'll be interesting to see when Kennedy can't hold back and decides to quit!

Of course, Larry couldn't express this gloating feeling directly to Mr. K. He said in a calm voice, "Okay, I understand. The person I sent to you should arrive by the weekend. I'll have him go straight to the convenience store after he gets off the train."

"What kind of person is he?" Mr. K on the other end of the phone was slightly surprised.

"His name is Frank Vanderlip. You'll mentor him from now on, but your focus should still be on the convenience store. Let him handle this real estate project. You just need to manage the money," Larry said.

Mr. K smiled and said, "Okay, I understand. But boss, if we open more stores, I'm afraid we'll need to increase our capital—the funds we're currently generating from the convenience stores are far from enough to cover our future expansion plans. What do you think? Should we continue to contribute capital based on our shareholding? Or should we borrow some money?"

Larry tilted his head and thought for a moment. "We'll talk about that later. Now is not the time to resolve this—"

"Whatever you say, boss!" Mr. K said lazily.

After hanging up the phone, Larry thought for a moment, then turned and called Matthew over. "My brother, let's go to the train station and book first-class sleeper tickets to Chicago for tomorrow!"

Matthew asked with a smile, "Who are you planning to see? It can't be just about visiting the futures exchange, can it?"

Larry laughed too. "Let's build a man who weaves the future into the brickwork. Louis Sullivan, I'm going to ask him to design a house for Bostonians that's worthy of the 20th century."

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