stjorthotic Chapter 204 Unveiling the Map
Chapter 204 Unveiling the Map
Chapter 204 Unveiling the Map
Henry Goldman's personality was quite different from that of his business partner, Samuel Sachs. He was quick-witted, innovative, and adventurous.
This stark difference in character is one of the driving forces behind Goldman Sachs' continued growth amidst division.
When the other party said, "Why do you need 2 rounds?" Larry could clearly sense Henry Goldman's deep-seated desire for excess profits.
Larry looked at the other person quietly, smiling without saying a word.
The same is true of Henry Goldman.
The office was enveloped in a deliberately oppressive silence, and the two onlookers, Logan and Dunbar, could sense that their own thoughts were no longer keeping up with the two men's train of thought.
After a few seconds, Larry said casually, "Business always starts small and grows big. Who would wait for dusk when they can enjoy a stroll in the sun?"
Henry Goldman nodded. "I'd like to emphasize that you're right. However, I believe that all the companies Goldman Sachs deals with are certainly legitimate."
When he spoke, he emphasized the words "it will definitely be legal".
Larry nodded in agreement.
Henry Goldman leaned against the edge of his desk, turned to look out the window, thought for a few seconds, then turned to Larry and said, "Give me a morning, and I'll give you a perfect solution—yes, the kind of 'perfect solution' where you pay if it's not good enough!"
Larry nodded in agreement, then led Logan and Mr. Dunbar out of Henry Goldman's office, downstairs, and out of the unassuming brown office building.
Reaching the corner of Wall Street, Larry looked around and muttered to the two of them, "Where shall we go have some fun this morning and then come back?"
Logan had a lot of questions he wanted to ask Larry, but he swallowed them back, clicking his tongue as he said...
"This is my first time here too. Shall we go see the Trinity Church?"
Mr. Dunbar silently gazed at the Brooklyn Bridge to the east and said softly, "If you want to truly understand this city, you have to go through the Five Point District and Mulberry Street and get there."
Larry's gaze then shifted to the Brooklyn Bridge. "How did you know, Uncle Dunbar? You've only been here twice, haven't you?"
Dunbar smiled. "Professionals do professional things. Do you think I'm just going to stay in the hotel room after coming here with you?"
Larry nodded, thinking to himself that he'd finally arrived in a new place and was exploring. He snapped his fingers, pointed east, and said, "Let's go see the real New York!"
At the end of the 19th century, Manhattan in New York City resembled a giant python stretching its head into New York Bay. To the east was the East River, across which lay Brooklyn and Queens, while to the west was the Hudson River, across which lay New Jersey.
Manhattan’s spine is roughly divided into three segments.
The Upper East Side is still sparsely populated and is a place where elites can escape the hustle and bustle of the city. However, the more regular grid-like streets in the later period indicate that it will become the most eye-catching gathering place for the wealthy in 20th-century New York.
Midtown, rising alongside the greenery of Central Park and the steam of Grand Central Station, is a hub of department stores, theaters, and new skyscrapers, a mecca for consumption and entertainment, showcasing another side of New York with its hustle and bustle and extravagance.
The Lower East Side is considered New York's oldest former throne.
The earliest developed area in New York City was the Lower Manhattan, which is the starting point of the city and also the most crowded and unpredictable triangle area in the world.
The neighborhood centered around City Hall and Wall Street is tall and imposing, with imposing stone walls. This is the temple of capital, where the air is filled with the smell of cigars and banknotes, and the casual gossip of gentlemen in tuxedos on the street has the potential to change the fate of thousands.
Just a ten-minute walk east from Wall Street leads to the famous Five Points District and Mulberry Street.
This is the most notorious slum in all of New York, and even in all of the United States. It is merely a garment manufacturing district that sprawls out from the edge of Fifth Avenue, and it was home to New York's earliest sweatshops.
Later, with the influx of immigrants, the area became crowded with Irish, Jews, Italians, and native-born African Americans. These areas were rife with gangs, brothels, underground bars, and extreme poverty.
Despite being located in the Lower East Side, Wall Street elites wouldn't venture a single step further here. Even a well-dressed gentleman would face unfriendly stares during the day, let alone at night.
Next to the Five Points area is Rue des Mulberry, which is not far from the famous Fulton Fish Market. Known as Little Italy, it is a community of Italian immigrants and is naturally full of Italian style - the streets are lined with shopping carts, open-air markets, Italian grocery stores and restaurants, and the air is filled with the smell of garlic and cheese.
Respectable wealthy New Yorkers would venture here to savor the finer things in life, but the Mafia's presence also began to linger on the streets.
Interestingly, there's Greenwich Village on the west side of downtown Manhattan. Its streets rebelliously reject Manhattan's grid-like layout, winding and meandering.
Artists, writers, activists, and dreamers huddle here, endlessly debating in cheap cafes what the world is really like.
New York is really a strange place.
The three walked north along Broad Street, and after seeing City Hall Park, they turned east.
The most famous building on the street is the New York World Building, which Larry saw when he first visited the original site of 34th Street. The building had just been completed and soared into the clouds, as if proclaiming another pinnacle of power in the United States: the press and public opinion.
The roads widened slightly, but the scenery along the way changed dramatically. Elegant brownstone buildings were gradually replaced by brick warehouses and factories. The cigar smell reminiscent of Wall Street disappeared, replaced by a strong, salty, and vibrant odor.
As they walked, Mr. Dunbar introduced the surrounding area to everyone, explaining what streets it consisted of and their approximate danger levels.
Soon, the three arrived at the Fulton Fish Market, the bustling heart of the East River.
Huge wooden barges crowded the dock, and workers used their strong arms to unload mountains of cod, oysters and lobsters.
The sounds of vendors hawking their wares, haggling, and seagulls screeching mingled together, creating a deafening cacophony. Ice chips and seawater mingled and flowed along the uneven cobblestone path.
Further ahead lies the Brooklyn Bridge, a marvel of late 19th-century industry.
The massive granite bridge towers, like the towers of a Gothic cathedral, pierce the sky. Countless steel cables radiate down from the top of the towers, weaving a magnificent, arched spiderweb that spans the East River.
The three of them walked up the wooden plank road leading to the bridge, the sound of horses' hooves and the huge wheels of carriages making a loud noise on the roadside beside them.
As they climbed higher, a panoramic view of Manhattan began to unfold beneath their feet. Larry reached the highest point of the bridge and leaned on the railing to gaze into the distance.
To the south, the harbor is teeming with life: thousands of sailboats and steamships billowing black smoke trace white lines on the blue water like toys, while the Statue of Liberty is just a blurry green dot in the distance.
To the west lay the downtown area he had just left, where the newly built "skyscrapers" now appeared so small that he could see the entire financial district at a glance.
To the east, across the bridge, lies Brooklyn. Adjacent to the bridge is the elegant Brooklyn Heights, with its clearly visible brownstone houses.
Further away, however, lay a different scene—countless factory chimneys, like a black forest, ceaselessly spewing the breath of industry into the sky; that was the industrial district of Williamsburg.
Larry gripped the cold steel cable. The wind from the sea ruffled his clothes.
The three walked from Wall Street, a short distance of just over a mile, yet it felt like traversing a cross-section of the entire world:
From the temple of money to the pinnacle of public opinion, and then to the marketplace of material goods, we finally stand atop this engineering marvel that connects the past and the future.
There is hardship beneath the bridge, and dreams on the bridge.
Larry stood between the two.
It was almost noon, and the early spring sunshine shone on the three of them, giving them a sense of warmth.
Larry turned to look at Logan and Dunbar, and seeing that the two were also leaning against the railing in the breeze, he naturally let out a heartfelt outpouring.
"Once we're done, we'll go change our clothes!" Larry said to the two in a deep voice. "We need to be prepared and act like New Yorkers!"
Logan's face showed a look of confusion, which was followed by ecstasy.
"Larry, are you really coming to New York? And can I come too?"
Looking at the other person's simple and honest face, Larry smiled and thought to himself, since you don't have the ability to manage or control Mr. K in Boston, then you might as well come with me to New York and continue to be my client.
"Do you want to come to New York?" Larry asked with a smile.
"I want to! I want to see what the Five Dollar House on Diamond Street is like. I've heard them talking about it for so long..." Logan rambled on, a barely suppressed smile on his face.
Larry gave a wry smile, ignoring Logan's incessant nagging behind him, and turned to look at the shimmering waters of New York Bay, taking a deep breath.
The air was filled with the salty smell of the sea breeze, the coal smoke of the harbor, and the aroma of endless possibilities.
Larry smiled and turned to walk towards Manhattan.
It's time to go back and make more money. This bridge, this city, and so much more await him to conquer.
(End of this chapter)