Manhattan Reborn 1978

Texas.

Early morning~

Houston train station.

David took the suitcase from the one-eyed Andres, put it on the luggage rack in the soft sleeper compartment, and smiled at his mentor, Professor Bartlet.

"You haven't taken such a long train ride in many years, right?"

Professor Bartlet, who was in the recovery stage, smiled and shrugged: "Yeah, almost 20 years~"

"The last time I traveled far by train was from Boston to Atlanta."

"That time, a few of us sat in the car for three days and two nights, and we felt like we were falling apart..."

"Hahaha~"

David smiled and looked around the soft sleeper box, waved to the one-eyed Andres who was going to accompany his instructor on the bus this time, and gave him very lengthy instructions for more than ten minutes before "reluctantly" get off the train. .

on the platform.

David's sister Salonia trotted over and gave David some snacks and some fruit jam specially made by Sierra's mother, hoping that he would pass it on to Professor Bartlett.

David looked at his blushing sister Salonia, smiled and waved to her, asking her to get in the car and give it to her tutor, while he watched from below.

After a few minutes.

As soon as Salonia got off the train, she heard a whistle blowing from the engine.

"Woo~"

David pulled her back a little, smiled and waved goodbye to his tutor, Professor Bartley, who was sitting at the window.

Salonia's face was like a big apple, and a thin layer of sweat soon broke out on the palm of her hand held by her brother David. .

David seemed to notice that she was a little nervous, and joked while waving to the slowly starting truck.

"When I go back this time, I will help you sisters go through the transfer procedures."

"Do you have any close classmates or friends in your school in a small town? Would you like me to bring a few words back to them?"

"No..." Salonia looked at the train leaving the platform with wandering eyes and shook her head slightly.

"No?" David was a little surprised and felt a little distressed. He pulled Salonia towards the exit and said.

"Let's go~ Let's go back first."

"You will definitely have many friends here in the future!"

"Yeah..." Salonia felt the heat in her brother's hand, responded in a mosquito-like voice, and nodded obediently.

----

new York.

Manhattan, in front of Wildfire Bar on 42nd Street.

Superintendent Oston, the head of the auxiliary police office, frowned and looked up at the gloomy sky, nodded to the several patrol officers who had arrived after receiving the alarm call, and walked into the bar.

in the bar.

Old Rhett, Susan, and Jin Ji who came to take over in the morning, as well as the bartenders Erica, Bruce Willis, Mengo the steel-toothed dog, little Zach, the waiter Madonna, the sweet-dimple Martha and others who worked the night shift last night , all sitting or standing around a table talking.

Seeing that everyone was actually there, Auston smiled and walked over to say hello and asked.

"I heard on the police radio that there was someone here this morning... something happened?"

"Yup!"

The night shift waiter last night, Sweet Dimple Martha, immediately answered: "In the early hours of this morning, a strange customer came to the bar and smelled of alcohol."

"He sat at the table in the corner, ordered a few bottles of beer and two cocktails from me, and then just lay there motionless..."

"By the time I noticed something strange about him, he had stopped breathing... and was dead!"

"Ah oh~"

"Did he drink himself to death?" Auston asked with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

"Right..." Martha shook her head uncertainly.

Susan saw Inspector Alston's relaxed look and felt a little better. She asked, "We have finished recording the confession. Can the bar open normally?"

"Of course!"

Auston asked Old Red for a bottle of Coca-Cola, shrugged and said with a smile: "As for the police station, I have already taken care of everything."

"You can open for business now, and you can actively cooperate with the follow-up related investigations."

"Okay~ Menge, we are open!"

"Oh..." Menge, the steel-toothed dog, looked at Auston with a smile in his eyes. He walked unsteadily to the door of the bar and hung up the "Now Open" sign.

Old Rhett looked to his left at Auston and to his right at Susan, then deliberately put on a straight face and stretched out his hand.

"Coke money!"

"Uh...?" Auston burped due to the gas in the Coke, grinning in disbelief.

"I've been busy all morning just finishing things in the bureau. I want to drink a bottle of Coke... Do you still need money?"

"Hahaha~" Everyone was amused.

Susan walked up to Old Rhett with a smile, took his arm and joked to Auston: "This bottle of Coke is free~"

"From now on, if you want to drink Coke, come to the bar for free!"

"Uh-huh~ That's what you said!" Auston responded with a deliberately exaggerated eyebrow raise and a smile.

"Of course!"

Susan suddenly changed the topic and said, "But the price of your drink will be doubled!"

"Double it!?" Auston took a few sips of Coke, glanced sideways at the crowd of people who were laughing and watching the excitement, and glared at Susan speechlessly.

"Hahaha~" Everyone was amused and laughed again.

Madonna let go of Jin Ji's arm, "jumped" to Alston in a few steps, put her arms around his shoulders on tiptoes and smiled.

"It's okay, you don't have to be afraid!"

"We are all our own people, and we will definitely not trick you."

"Hahaha~"

The little Zach also stepped forward and snatched the Coke bottle from Auston's hand, pretending to comfort him: "That's it, that's it!"

"No matter who we cheat... we will never cheat our own people!"

"Do not worry."

"Hahaha~"

Auston listened to the good-natured laughter from the people around him and couldn't help but laugh along with everyone.

Integrate~

get!

----

Manhattan.

Wall Street, Stanley [-]th Floor.

Sam Rogers was sitting in the office, looking at a young man brought by Mu Brandes, and asked with a smile.

"Your name is Eric Neff, and your father is John Neff of Wellington Fund Management in Philadelphia?"

"Yes!" Young Eric Neff nodded somewhat unconfidently when he heard Sam mention his father's name.

"I studied and worked at Windsor Fund Company under him..."

Mu Brandes suddenly waved his hand to the young man Eric and smiled at Sam.

"His father is a well-known workaholic. He has to work at least 70 hours a week. He is almost demanding on the working status and attitude of his employees."

"When he thinks the work is not done well, he will be very harsh... and even treat employees a little rudely..."

"So, this young man endured his father's rough work style for more than a year before taking the initiative to end his internship and come to New York to find a job~"

Mu Brandes saw Sam smiling knowingly, and continued to speak with a smile.

"During the Christmas vacation of 1954, after receiving master's degrees in banking and finance, John Neff took his wife to New York to find a job as a stockbroker."

"But at that time, he didn't have much experience in stock trading and a good work resume, so he encountered obstacles everywhere when looking for a job."

"When I met him by chance, he was already ready to follow his wife's advice and return to China to find a job."

"The advice I gave him at the time was not to look for a job as a stock trader. He could try to work in securities analysis first. It would not be too late to change careers after he has accumulated rich experience."

"After~"

"I asked a friend to help me and introduced him to Chevland National City Bank, where he worked for nearly nine years until he became the director of research in the bank's trust department."

"However, after he was promoted to head of research, he believed that the best investment objects were those stocks that were the least favored at the time, a theory that often caused disagreements with the members of the Trust Department."

"That group of commissioners like stocks in big companies, and buying those stocks gives customers peace of mind even though they are not profitable."

"But John Neff, like his mentor, was a fundamental theorist through and through."

“He believes that the secret to investment success is to see further than other people and prove your point of view.”

“Once you make up your mind, stick to it and be patient!”

Mu Brandes turned his head and glanced at young Eric, smiled and raised his eyebrows.

“We all now understand the inherent genius of John Neff’s investing style.”

"But at that time, his investment philosophy did not receive support. Instead, he had to choose to leave Chevland National City Bank and return to Philadelphia to join Wellington Management Company."

"In 1964, John Neff was recognized by a boss named Chuck Freeman and promoted him to become an investment partner manager of Vanguard Windsor Fund."

"John Neff has four partners, led by Chuck Freeman, who have worked together for more than 10 years."

"Windsor Fund adopts a commission remuneration system, which means that if Windsor Fund performs well, both he and his partners can get better rewards."

“I went to a party the other day, and when people were discussing which money manager the financial experts would choose to manage their money, many people chose John Neff.”

"Because the Windsor Fund he manages, the average annual compound return over the past 14 years has reached an astonishing 15.5%!"

“This rate of return is much higher than that of most Wall Street stock investment fund companies!”

"Especially in recent years, some people once selected him as the most trustworthy money manager along with Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger and others."

Mu Brandes crossed his legs, opened his hands to Sam and said with a smile: "He doesn't like this title, and he doesn't like to appear in various media."

"So, the style of his private life is like the stocks he wants to buy, modest and unobtrusive, unknown in non-financial circles."

"Ok!"

Sam looked at Eric Neff, who was a little distracted, and said with a smile: "I'm not very familiar with your father. I only occasionally heard from friends that he was very good at finding low-priced stocks with the most investment value in the market. After buying them, A long-term hold.”

"Eric, what do you think of your father's stock picking methods?"

Young Eric tilted his head and glanced at Uncle Mu Brandes who was looking encouraging. After pondering for a few seconds, he said.

"In terms of stock selection methods, my dad likes to stick to different types of stocks and has different screening criteria, which are criteria for buying low-profile growth stocks."

"This set of standards includes: the average earnings growth rate over the past five years is >5%."

"Return on equity for the last four quarters > market average."

"Net earnings ratio in the last four quarters > market average."

"Earnings growth is expected to be between 12% and 50%."

"The latest dividend yield is less than 3.5%. The estimated price-to-earnings ratio is less than 10 times, etc."

"During my work at Windsor Fund, I had an in-depth understanding of the assets, liabilities and operating conditions of nearly a hundred domestic companies. I have a deep understanding of their profitability, brand value, resource advantages, market attention, dividend yield, etc. A more comprehensive understanding.”

"Therefore, I combined the standards summarized by my father to make an investment summary of stocks in the market that have suffered a short-term decline in profitability, and wrote them all into a memorandum and kept them in the company."

"Then I resigned."

"Haha~" Sam was amused by this young man with a lot of personality.

He made eye contact with Mu Brandes, nodded slowly and smiled.

"You applied for a job at da company two months ago, and now you come to see me...?"

"So you still want to pursue a career on Wall Street, right?"

"...Yes!" Eric explained with a self-deprecating smile on his face.

“My original ambition was to become a respected surgeon who could treat illnesses and save lives!”

"But when I knew that to study medicine, I had to be exposed to... anatomy teachers, I had to retreat..."

"I'm afraid of seeing blood, and I'm even more afraid that I can't control my hands because of my mental disorder..."

"So I followed my parents' advice and entered the University of Pennsylvania to complete my MBA program."

"I voluntarily resigned and left Windsor Fund, partly because I no longer wanted to work with my father, and partly because I wanted to leave Philadelphia and work in New York."

“I lived in New York when I was a kid and have a lot of childhood memories here.”

"I also went to Chevland National City Bank with my father, and I have a very good impression of the people who can work on Wall Street."

"Okay, I understand." Sam reached for the phone and smiled.

"I'm here to contact Da Company to discuss bringing you over."

"Do you have any other requests?"

"No." Eric straightened his chest and said.

"But I want to go back to Vice President Ben Whitcott and explain the matter clearly in person to avoid misunderstandings."

"Okay!" Sam put down the phone and nodded with a hint of appreciation in his eyes. .

Mu Brandes patted the young man Eric twice on the shoulder, thinking about how to "squeeze" some benefits from his "stingy" father, old Nev~

----

Manhattan.

At the intersection of No. 12 Avenue and 40 Street.

In Polly's office on the fifth floor of the company's small building.

Isadore Sharp, the founder of Four Seasons Hotel Management Company, put down the pen in his hand, stretched out his right hand and smiled at Polly.

"Happy cooperation!"

"Happy cooperation~" Polly smiled and held his hand firmly, handing the signed cooperation agreement to the lawyer George McCarron next to her, and said.

"We have already inquired about quotes from the owners of more than a dozen buildings you selected."

"They have until the end of the week to give a clear answer."

"So, have you prepared a renovation plan?"

"Of course!" Isadore Sharp picked up the cooperation plan from the table and smiled.

"I think that building at the intersection of 53rd Street and Fourth Avenue on the east side of Central Park is very suitable for transformation into the Four Seasons Hotel New York branch."

"I just don't know what their overall quotation is...?"

"It's not important, leave it all to me."

"Please wait patiently for a few days. I have negotiated with you and the follow-up work team for the acquisition of you will be in place immediately so that our plan for the Four Seasons Hotel in New York can be fully launched as soon as possible!"

"Okay~" Isadore Sharp glanced at Attorney George who was checking the contract, smiled, put the portion he wanted to take away into his briefcase, stood up and left.

After he left, Polly paced back and forth in the office with some excitement, patiently waiting for lawyer George to review the contract again, and asked.

"What do you think of our cooperation?"

Lawyer George smiled and shook his head, saying that he had no opinion on how the boss decided to cooperate.

Seeing his attitude, Polly slowly calmed down and returned to her seat, seriously thinking about her next plan.

Acquire that building!