Meizong Wealth Life

Chapter 2 Poor Dad and Rich Dad

New York, August 2001.

455 Water Street, Brooklyn.

Dan Humphrey opened the door to his home with a frustrated face.

Rufus Humphrey, who was sitting at the dining table and reading a magazine, raised his head and frowned when he saw his son's appearance when he entered the door.

"Don't tell me that the other party broke the appointment."

Rufus asked, standing up with concern on his face.

He knew that today Dan was going to meet the editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly. For his son who dreamed of becoming a writer, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

To this end, Rufus even bought a copy of Publishers Weekly magazine and came back to read it.

It was the one he was reading when Dan came through the door.

Dan put down his shoulder bag and shrugged:
"No, we met, but the result was worse than not meeting at all."

The meeting was more than an hour later than the scheduled time, and the length of the conversation was shortened from the promised half hour to 10 minutes, but these were not reasons for Dan's frustration.

After all, considering the other party's status, it was a great honor to be able to spare 10 minutes from his busy schedule to see Dan.

This was thanks to the recommendation of Jamie Dutton, a classmate and friend who stayed at Dan's house and is now the best-selling novel author in the United States.

Otherwise, Dan wouldn't even have a chance to meet the other party.

"Is it because the other party doesn't like your work?"

Rufus, who was concerned about his son, continued to ask.

"The other person read the story I wrote and gave a pretty good evaluation, but he told me that becoming a best-selling author like Jamie requires more than just writing a good book."

After saying that, Dan went upstairs without looking back.

Back in the room, Dan was lying on the bed with his back stretched out, and the previous meeting with Robert, the editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly, came to his mind.

Under the leadership of the other party's secretary, Dan walked into the office very cautiously.

Robert, who was over fifty years old, took off his glasses and asked Dan if he wanted to hear the truth or be polite.

Although Dan was nervous, he still wanted to hear the truth.

Then Robert said the following to Dan.

"I've read part of your work, and to be honest, it's pretty good, but that's about it."

"I don't say this perfunctorily. In fact, I read Jamie Dutton's work half a year ago, when the novel was just published. My evaluation of it was that the story was very novel and imaginative."

"At this point, you must ask, since I am not interested in Jamie Dutton's works, why did I still strongly recommend his novels in a magazine some time ago."

"In fact, it's not just me, but the New York Times, Clarion Magazine, Annals of Science Fiction, and Booklist. Do you think they haven't paid attention to this book before?"

"Obviously these colleagues, like me, are not optimistic about the prospects of this novel."

"If you are smart enough, you will understand after I say this that it is because someone behind the scenes did a lot of public relations for Jamie Dutton's novel that there was a wave of lively media promotion before the start of the summer vacation."

"It can only be said that Jamie Dutton is lucky. His novels successfully captured readers, so he became popular."

"But you can't. Although in my opinion, your novels are on the same level as Jamie Dutton, you don't have a father named John Dutton who is willing to spend millions of dollars in public relations expenses to lobby the media and A book reviewer, promoting his son’s novel.”

Boom boom boom!
There was a knock on the door.

Rufus pushed open the door and stuck his head in.

"Can we talk?"

Dan reluctantly sat up from the bed.

Rufus walked into the room and sat down next to his son.

"Actually, you don't have to be too depressed. Many times, success does not come just because you are ready. It will definitely come. It also requires a little bit of luck."

Rufus patted Dan on the shoulder.

"The songs I wrote back then went through a stage where no one cared about them, so don't give up, okay? Son, everything will be fine."

Dan nodded absently.

Rufus also saw that his comfort didn't seem to have much effect, so he changed his motivation method.

"Look at Jamie, his success didn't happen overnight. You should know this better than anyone else. God knows how many publishers Jamie experienced rejections from the beginning."

“The one who finally took a fancy to his work was a publishing house that was about to go bankrupt. They had no ability to help promote Jamie’s book, but it turned out that their vision was very good. Less than half a year after it was published, Jamie’s book finally became popular. ."

"The magazine said that this is the fifth consecutive week that Jamie's new book has topped the New York Times bestseller list. I read in the newspaper that this book has sold more than 200 million copies in the United States."

"Trust me, anything Jamie can do, you can do too."

Looking at his father who was full of confidence in him, Dan felt helpless.

Yes, of course you can succeed.

The premise is that Rufus can spend millions of dollars on public relations for his son's book like Jimmy's father John did.

Of course this is not possible.

The biggest asset in Rufus' hands is the loft apartment where his family currently lives.

This kind of apartment, to put it mildly, is a fashionable living and lifestyle favorite among young people and creative people in New York.

In fact, because I don’t have much money in my pocket, I can only buy this kind of empty house that was previously used as a factory and warehouse, and simply decorate it, turning it into a two-in-one studio and residence.

The current price of this house in New York is $50.

And Rufus is just a rock singer who has been out of fashion for more than ten years. He runs an art gallery two streets away from his home, and his income can barely reach the middle class in New York.At the same time, he also had to support his two children at Constance, the best private high school in New York. His life was tight, but far from rich.

Otherwise, he would not have chosen to become a host family and rent the only vacant bedroom in his home to Jamie Dutton, who came to New York from Montana to attend high school.

Coincidentally, Jamie Dutton also went to Constance and was in the same grade as Dan.

For this reason, Rufus also waived part of Jamie's rent.

Dan couldn't tell Rufus the truth.

In the eyes of their family, Jamie Dutton, a "cowboy" who comes from a remote and backward rural place in Montana, and whose family runs a ranch, is actually a hidden second-generation rich man.

The family's ranch is adjacent to the picturesque Yellowstone National Park. It is an area the size of three New York cities and raises more than 2 cattle and thousands of horses.

The key point is that the cattle and horses raised on Jamie's ranch are different from other ranches.

Any Angus cow on the ranch can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

It is dozens or hundreds of times that of ordinary Angus cattle.

The reason is that these cattle produce the world's top beef, which is the top luxury ingredient that all luxury restaurants and five-star hotels compete for.

The horse is even more exaggerated.

There are more than 1000 horses, each worth an average of one million dollars.

Because these horses are all top quality racehorses.

Those stallions can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars each time they are bred.

And you have to queue up to make an appointment.

Dan found these on the way back.

But he had no intention of telling Rufus just yet.

Because that was the same as telling Rufus that the reason why my novel was not accepted by publishers was not because I didn’t work hard enough, nor because I was incompetent, but because I didn’t have a rich dad.

In fact, the reason why Dan is so depressed is not because Jamie has a rich dad but he does not.

Most of Constance's students were from New York's upper class, and their families were either rich or wealthy.

If he really wanted to be jealous, Dan couldn't get jealous at all.

The real reason is that in school, Dan and Jamie were both labeled as "poor boys" and "small-town problem solvers", and both of them were interested in writing, so they naturally became good friends.

As a friend, Dan felt very uncomfortable when he saw Jamie's novel being rejected again and again.

Now that Jamie's novel suddenly became popular half a year after its publication, Dan, as a friend, felt even more uncomfortable.

If Jamie was just lucky, Dan still wouldn't be so jealous.

However, today's meeting with Robert made Dan realize that the difference between himself and Jamie was not just luck, but also the gap in family background and financial resources that was like a chasm.

This made Dan feel like he had been tricked.

Dan felt like a complete fool when he thought that a few days ago Jamie proposed to move out after school started, and that he and Rufus were eager to help introduce affordable and high-quality apartments nearby.

A hidden rich second generation like Jamie might be able to get along with the Dan family as an ordinary person before the novel became a big success.

Now that you are successful and famous, you no longer need to pretend.

She said she was moving out, but actually she didn't want to continue living with poor people like Dan's family.

Including Jamie's introduction to Robert, now it has become a patronizing charity in Dan's eyes.

This gave Dan a strong desire for revenge.

Just do it.

As soon as Rufus left, Dan immediately sat down in front of the computer and started busy.

Half an hour later, a short essay was completed that concealed the life experience of rich second-generation Jamie Dutton.

Dan polished the article and sent it to an online blogger named "Gossip Queen" via anonymous email.

This "Gossip Queen" is the most mysterious figure in Constance High School. She often posts campus gossip about the wealthy sons and daughters of the upper class in the school on her blog. She also has a group of students who provide her with gossip anytime and anywhere.

Within minutes, a text message was received on the phones of all Constance students who followed the Gossip Queen blog.

This also includes the blond girl standing in front of Dan's house, about to ring the doorbell.

Her name is Serena, and she also attended Constance High School.

Serena, who has top-notch looks and family background, is a well-deserved figure in the school and even in the rich second-generation circle of the Upper East Side.

At that time, half of the campus gossip revealed by the "Gossip Queen" was related to Serena.

Because of this she also earned the title of S Queen.

The girls all competed to imitate Serena's dress, caring about what perfume she wore today and what color lipstick she wore.

The boys are concerned about which lucky ones have won the Queen's "favour" today - as long as they can say a few words to Serena, these boys will use it as bragging rights for the whole day.

Such "bringing traffic" shows how popular Serena was in school.

However, just a year ago, Serena suddenly transferred school and left.

Even her best friend didn't know why or where she went.

It's the same when I go back to New York this time.

Serena told no one, including her family.

(End of this chapter)