From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 312 Rochester

Chapter 312 Rochester

At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Larry and Mr. K stood together at Grand Central Station in New York City, waiting for the others to arrive.

Sunday's gathering came and went quickly; Larry's group of friends all went their separate ways.

Henry Ford went all the way with his act, pretending he couldn't fix the car properly, and left it in the stables of the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City before taking the train back to Boston.

The Browning brothers, along with Henry Goldman of Goldman Sachs, went to Texas. Mr. Dunbar accompanied them; ostensibly in charge of security, he actually carried out an important mission.

What interested Larry was that Mr. Leland had also left Henry Ford's contact information, indicating that the two engineers had hit it off immediately.

Larry had already arranged for Logan to deposit all the gold coins transferred into his own vault. When Logan learned that Larry had such a large gold coin account, he was speechless with astonishment.

However, Larry gave him an irresistible reward: since the Boers had already contacted Mr. Potter, Larry put Logan in charge of contacting the Boers with Mr. Potter and trying to get the deposit for the guns from them as soon as possible.

Logan initially didn't take it seriously, but upon learning that his "goddess" Anna was actually part of the Boer group, he immediately changed his mind.

Also on Monday, while Larry and Rockefeller Jr. were discussing the gasoline research and development center, Mr. Porter had already finalized the investment details with George Eastman, and the money would be transferred to Eastman's account promptly.

This allowed Mr. Eastman to focus all his attention on the acquisition of Bausch & Lomb.

Today, Eastman will return to Rochester with Larry.

Larry met him first at the train station.

"Mr. Livingston, it's been a long time!" Eastman smiled and lifted his hat at Larry. "You're a very busy man. I've heard you're in New York, but I've never been able to see you."

Larry smiled, took a few steps forward, shook hands with the other man, and whispered in his ear, "A senior partner from Morgan Stanley will be coming with us in a little while. The $260 million has been deposited into our account, and everything is going perfectly."

Despite being mentally prepared, Eastman was still somewhat excited to hear the good news in person. He pursed his lips and nodded heavily to Larry.

"It's very, very rare, Mr. Livingston—working with you has been incredibly inspiring and eye-opening."

,

Now, in Eastman's eyes, Larry is already the spokesperson for some mysterious family, or he can't believe that a young man could have such great power.

Larry simply smiled in response to the compliment. Since his rebirth, he had gradually abandoned the humility that came from his Eastern roots.

The two waited for a while in front of Grand Central Station in New York, and then Mr. Samuel Sachs arrived. He only brought an expressionless assistant with him. The two of them stood together, looking like two country bumpkins who had come to New York, and did not look like Goldman Sachs employees at all.

"Mr. Livingston, it's a great honor that you've brought me along to carry out your business. This is my assistant." Sachs gave Larry a simple, honest smile.

Larry glanced at his assistant and asked, "Why didn't you bring a few more men?"

Larry thought he would give a perfunctory answer, but Sachs said sincerely, "There's no extra travel budget. Besides, leaving someone here would allow them to collect more receipts and do their job properly. One person is enough. To be honest, if Henry hadn't been urging me, I wouldn't have even considered bringing an assistant—"

Larry was speechless at what he said, but after the first two days of contact, Larry didn't believe that this person was really honest.

A person without minor flaws must have grand ambitions.

Larry had a feeling that the other party actually disdained to pretend in these places; they were true masters of feigning ignorance.

The saying goes that a great villain may appear loyal, and such people deserve even more attention.

Recalling Mr. Potter's first meeting with him, saying that Sachs was no ordinary man, Larry now greatly admires him.

The train was scheduled to depart at 11:30, but George Whitney didn't arrive until 11:00. When he did, he smiled and apologized, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Livingston, I'm late because I had a lot of miscellaneous things to arrange at the bank. I'm really very sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for, haha. I'm often late too. Let's get on the train first, we'll talk after we get on." Larry smiled and ushered the group into the train station, then hurriedly boarded the train.

At that time, taking the train was the most common and efficient mode of transportation from New York City to Rochester. This journey was part of the eastern section of the Empire Corridor Railroad in New York State, operated primarily by the New York Central Railroad.

Because it does not share tracks with other railway companies, this train has a fixed luxury passenger carriage. It also belongs to Pullman Railways, but this route is shorter and does not have sleeper carriages.

Nevertheless, Pullman's luxury suite was indeed quite surprising.

Each train carriage has only five private compartments, somewhat like the student boxes Larry used when he read Harry Potter in his previous life. But these are clearly much more luxurious, featuring scarlet Turkish carpets, beautiful velvet sofas, and brass lamp bases.

There was even a shared rinsing room in the middle of the carriage, and a smoking room in the rear carriage.

A black waiter from Pullman Company opened the door and invited the group into the private room.

After the six people entered the private room, they all sat on large sofa chairs facing each other, politely deferring to one another, and began to chat.

George Eastman hurriedly introduced himself to Whitney, who was flattered and shook hands with him.

Sachs may seem dull, but his small eyes were constantly scanning the faces of the group, observing their expressions and secretly memorizing their personality traits.

Mr. K casually sat down near the door of the private room, took out a cigarette, and started smoking it.

The train started moving soon after. Seeing that the others were chatting happily, Mr. K stubbed out his cigarette, then found the brass zipper cord in the hidden compartment next to his seat and pulled it hard.

Larry turned to him and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Get them to serve tea! Boss, these waiters are a waste of time. The service fee is included in the ticket, which is eight dollars a ticket! It's fucking expensive," Mr. K muttered.

Larry let him do as he pleased. Matthew, Dunbar, Logan, and Mr. K each had their own personality traits, but since they were his subordinates, he had to use them according to their individual personalities.

After a while, the black waiter brought out black tea and food, and the group chatted while drinking tea.

Larry asked Eastman, "I've never taken this line before. How long does it take to get to Rochester from here?"

Eastman smiled slightly. "About eight hours. We'll arrive around 8 or 9 p.m. Rochester is a beautiful little town near the Great Lakes. You'll like it."

"Does this car pass through Onibar?" Whitney asked.

"Just passing by! This is a dedicated route for New York State, so it will naturally pass through the state capital first."

Sachs, who was sitting next to him, suddenly interjected, "This route is the most important wealth route in New York State. Many important people will be there."

Larry turned and smiled, saying, "Now that Mr. Eastman is already in our compartment, I don't believe there are any other important figures on this train."

Larry's joke drew laughter from the crowd, and George Eastman quickly waved his hand, refusing the obviously flattering title.

The train arrived in Yonkers at 12 o'clock. The six of them ate in the dining car and returned to their carriages. The train crossed the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie and arrived in Albany, the capital of New York State, at 3:30 p.m.

This is a train transfer station where the train will rest for 20 minutes. Everyone goes to the platform to smoke and relax.

At the same time, a man who was about 1.85 meters tall and had a strong build got off the train at the other end of the luxury carriage.

The man had a square face, thick eyebrows, and deep-set eyes with a typical gentlemanly air. He had a short beard and a sharp yet composed gaze. Despite having been on the train for a long time, he wore an impeccably tailored three-piece suit jacket with a gold pocket watch chain hanging in front of him, and his attire was impeccable.

Larry glanced at him from afar and felt that the man had an unusual air about him. Coincidentally, the man also looked at Larry, then pulled out a pipe from his pocket and began to slowly enjoy it on the platform.

Eastman noticed Larry's gaze, followed it, but didn't recognize who he was.

"Is he also a passenger in our carriage? He looks like a burly worker," Whitney remarked.

No one recognized him, except for Sachs, who muttered in a deep voice, "That's George Westinghouse, the founder of Westinghouse Electric, the inventor of the air brake, and the promoter of alternating current systems."

1

"Who?" Larry exclaimed in surprise, turning around to ask Sachs.

"Westinghouse, whose Westinghouse Electric has just won the contract for the entire lighting of the Chicago World's Fair, is riding high and is in high demand," Sachs added.

Mr. K blinked, then turned to Larry and asked, "Didn't they say that Westinghouse Electric's contract with the Chicago World's Fair was cancelled?"

"Fake news—" Larry replied calmly, "but the news spread like wildfire. The mastermind behind this scheme was capable enough to create confusion from the very beginning. The corrected information wasn't published until two days later."

"Yeah! How cunning!" Sachs muttered, but his eyes were on Larry.

Larry wanted to go up and get to know them, but with so many people around, he didn't want to be presumptuous and had to give up the idea.

After the train started moving again, it entered the famous "Waterway Line" of the New York Central Railroad. The entire route has very little change in elevation and few tunnels and steep slopes, making it particularly suitable for high-speed train operation. It is one of the straightest high-speed trunk lines in the United States.

The train passed through Utica and then through Syracuse, finally arriving in Rochester at 8:13 p.m.

It was mid-May, and at 8 o'clock, there was still a faint glimmer of light on the horizon. By the light, Larry carefully observed the city beneath his feet, a city with a completely different appearance from New England or New York.

While other industrial cities roar with steel, Rochester's character is one of precision, cleanliness, and light.

Larry could see the Genesee River in the distance, with a dozen or so tall watermills standing on it. Wheat from other cities along the Great Lakes was gathered here and ground into snow-white flour in these watermills.

The area retains its Victorian style, with the lakeside, mountains, and red rooftops creating a strikingly different skyline.

The pedestrians on the street were polite and well-dressed, but they tried to keep their voices down when they spoke.

Upon arriving at his home turf, George Eastman naturally assumed the role of host. He first hired three carriages and took everyone to Rochester's most famous Howell Hotel.

The Howell Hotel is located in the heart of the city center. It is a beautiful four-story red brick building with cast-iron balconies decorated with patterns of wheat ears and lenses.

Eshman paid for a luxury suite for Larry and Whitney each, while the others booked regular rooms.

Larry glanced at Sachs, noticing no displeasure on his face, and saw him obediently return to his standard room with his assistant.

After putting away their luggage, everyone ate at the restaurant attached to the Howell Hotel. Mr. K was very tired after taking the train all the way, so he asked the waiter to bring him a bottle of whiskey.

But he was refused, "Excuse me, sir, alcohol is prohibited here!"

Mr. K stared wide-eyed and asked, "What do you mean by 'no alcohol'? Are you worried I don't have enough money?"

The waiter shook his head and politely continued, "Sir, this may be your first time in Rochester. The whole of Rochester adheres to God's commandments, and the hotel does not serve spirits, nor does the city sell alcohol."

"How is that possible? Are you out of your mind? Making up such a ridiculous excuse—" Mr. K started fussing and glaring.

Eastman quickly came over to explain, "It is indeed a prohibited area here; it's more conservative compared to New York."

Larry glanced at Mr. K, and then he dared not say anything more.

Many American cities are like this, with inexplicable rules and regulations. Larry thought that not being allowed to drink was troublesome, but when he checked in, the hotel staff specifically reminded him that no noise was allowed after 10 p.m., as this was a city of silence.

After the meal, George Eastman bid farewell to everyone and went home.

Everyone returned to their rooms, except for Mr. K, who followed Lali to his suite with a stern face.

After closing the door, Mr. K complained to Larry, "Boss! Isn't this really weird? This lousy city, no wonder they can manufacture lenses and cameras, damn it, you can't drink alcohol, and you can't even speak loudly!"

Larry unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, slumped onto the sofa, and smiled at him, saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. What's the harm in that?"

After complaining for a while, Mr. K shamelessly approached Larry, pleading with a smile, "Boss! Um, I've already spent all my money on gambling tickets, so I'm completely broke. I need to borrow some money from you. I was thinking of going outside to see if there's anywhere that sells alcohol; I'm so tired today, I can't sleep without a drink—"

Larry smiled and shook his head, then took out his wallet from his pocket. Because he was going to an unfamiliar city, Larry had prepared extra cash.

Larry pulled two $100 bills and six $20 bills from his wallet and slapped the money into Mr. K's hand. "Spend it wisely, and remember to pay me back later!"

Mr. K smiled as he accepted the money, hurriedly said goodbye to Larry, and went outside.

Larry sat alone on the sofa and felt that the surroundings were indeed much more spacious and quiet than in other cities.

Rochester had an eerie atmosphere.

By the light of the gas lamp, Larry saw the fireplace in the suite, with a line of Latin inscription on it. Larry recognized the Latin inscription; it was very simple and read "Light in the darkness."

The surroundings were eerily quiet; not even the neighing of horses could be heard on the street. The atmosphere was still somewhat unsettling. Larry recalled Mr. K's words, "No wonder it's a city that can produce lenses and cameras—"