Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 166, page 165: Having a good lawyer in America is something Indiana is worth the investment in.
Two days passed quickly.

With connections in Indiana, Fang Wen found a lawyer he could trust.

Indiana brought people over and gave a private introduction beforehand.

"His name is John Harvey. He graduated from Harvard Law School and is a professional lawyer proficient in multiple legal fields, including constitutional law, commercial law, and civil law. More importantly, he has a very good working relationship with the federal court and can always bring good news to his clients in court. The only downside is that his fees are quite high, three times that of an average lawyer."

Fang Wen was very satisfied with this.

In the United States, a highly capable lawyer is extremely important.

It will be helpful for his future endeavors.

He chose John Harvey without hesitation.

John Harvey was put in charge of the investment agreement with Graham, as well as the debt transfer.

Fang Wenze focused on Fisher's affairs.

Friends in Indiana also found Fisher-Price-related information.

"Are you looking for Irving Fisher? He's a mathematician, an economist, the first PhD in economics from Yale University, and he's published many economics papers. He's a very impressive person."

Listening to Indiana's words, Fang Wen was uncertain.

He never heard those analysts say that in the future.

Logically speaking, if Fisher had made so many contributions to economic theory, he would definitely have boasted about them extensively.

Fang Wen couldn't help but ask, "So what's his situation now?"

Indiana sighed, “He invented a card indexing system and started a company, which later merged with a competitor to form the RAND Corporation. At the start of the Great Depression, he borrowed all his money to buy RAND Corporation shares, but those stocks depreciated sharply during the Great Depression, causing him to lose tens of millions of dollars, including all the money of his wife, sister and other relatives.”

Fang Wen was utterly astonished to learn that he had lost $1000 million.

Even if I add up all my current assets, I don't know if I have that much.

He thus concluded that this Irving Fisher was not the person he was looking for.

Indiana then retrieved a second document.

“This man is Philip Fisher. He started Fisher Investment Management Consulting two years ago. But he’s very young, only 26, and the company is very small. I don’t think he’s the person you’re looking for.”

"Just go and take a look and you'll find out."

Fang Wen and Indiana left the hotel.

Fisher Investment Management is not located on Wall Street.

But it's not far from Wall Street, which is where most investment clients are located.

His company is very small, with just one table and two chairs.

Perfect for business negotiations.

Although the place is small, it is very popular.

When Fang Wen and Indiana arrived, someone was already sitting opposite Fisher, talking to him about stock investments.

Fang Wen wasn't in a hurry and just waited on the side.

The two mainly talked about the recent stock market, and Fang Wen was listening to the different opinions of experts and investors.

One investor said, "Ever since the president signed the Emergency Banking Act, which ended the redemption of gold with dollars, I feel that money is becoming less and less valuable."

The young Fisher replied, "If the president wants to stimulate economic recovery through government means, he must decouple the dollar from gold. Only then can he order the printing of more money for various government investments."

"What effect will this have?" the investor asked, puzzled.

The young Fisher explained, “The effects need to be seen over time. For example, expansionary monetary policy will make people have more money. If people have enough cash on hand, they will find that commodity prices will also rise due to expansionary monetary policy, and in order to avoid the devaluation of their money, they will start to consume.”

"So how should I allocate the money I have now?"

"Use a portion of your money to cover daily expenses, and invest the rest in the stock market. You will then reap the benefits and use them to hedge against the problems caused by currency devaluation."

"Thank you."

The investors got up and left.

Fang Wen sat in that chair.

Young Fisher looked at Fang Wen across from her; he was a new client she had never met before.

Moreover, he was Chinese, and the local Chinese community didn't like to invest; they preferred to save their money rather than put it in the stock market, which piqued Fisher's interest in this unusual Chinese man.

"Hello sir, what brings you to my company?" he asked.

“Let’s continue our discussion from where we left off. Do you think the policies Roosevelt enacted will save the United States from the economic crisis?” Fang Wen asked.

"It should be possible, at least he will perform well during his term."

"I'm willing to trust your judgment and invest in the US stock market. Can you manage my account on my behalf?"

“Agent operation? I can accept that.” Fisher realized it was a big business opportunity, and he preferred to operate the account and earn profit points rather than answer other people’s questions.

“I trust you, but you have to do as I ask.” Fang Wen said, taking out a piece of paper and placing it in front of Fisher. “You can only choose from these stocks, and there will be a settlement once a year. I will give you 20% of the profits from the operations. In addition, I will pay you $3000 for living expenses, so you can work for me with peace of mind.”

Fang Wen's words left Fisher in disbelief.

His current situation is not good, after all, we are still in the Great Depression, and not many people are willing to invest in the stock market.

He picked up the paper, adjusted his glasses, and read it carefully.

Fang Wen waited, his eyes scanning the narrow office.

On the office wall, there is a trend chart that is constantly being updated.

The US stock market has really crashed.

It plummeted from 360 points to a low of 50 points.

He suddenly understood how the American people had endured the past five years; it had been incredibly difficult.

Then let's buy at the bottom and contribute to the rise of the US stock market.

Just as he was thinking about it, Fisher finally made up his mind.

"I agree, but how exactly do we do it?"

"Don't rush, there are two more people who need to sign contracts as well. I need to wait for the lawyer to draft the contracts."

1933 7 Month 9 Day.

At the New York law firm of John Harvey, lawyer John Harvey presented three contract texts to three investment experts.

Every contract is different.

Fisher's approach is relatively simple: it consists of an investment agreement that clearly defines the rights and obligations of both parties.

Newman's contract included additional equity and debt transfers between him and Fisher.

Fisher's contract was the most complicated because the joint account was opened in his name, therefore he was the acquiring entity, and the contract had to specify this in detail.

After carefully reviewing the contract and confirming that it was correct, the three signed their names on it.

Fang Wen then signed it.

After doing all this, he looked at Lin Shuiwang and Zhao Jiu.

The two of them each took a small leather suitcase, placed it on the table, and opened it.

Inside are US dollar bonds, with a face value of $1000.

Fisher's is $10, and Graham's is $30.

This is the first investment. In the future, Taishan Airlines will continuously inject funds to increase the investment assets here.

Fang Wen still kept a watchful eye.

Even investment gurus need to observe whether something is reliable. What if something goes wrong after giving away too much money at once?
The investment matters on Wall Street are now complete, but it will take some time before we know how well the two of them have fared.

There's no need to stay in New York any longer.

The next destination is Las Vegas, Nevada.

Nevada is in the west, and the situation there may be different from here. In order to gain some support after going there, Fang Wen went to Trinity Church before leaving New York.

He made his request to that person.

"I want to get help from some influential people in Nevada to facilitate some investment projects." "Your request will be granted, may God bless you."

After the bishop finished speaking, he whispered, "Here is a letter for Indiana to take to the diocese over there."

Fang Wen took the letter, made the sign of the cross on his chest, and turned to leave.

After leaving the church, Fang Wen gave the letter to Indiana and informed her of the situation.

Then he asked, "Has the deal been finalized regarding the plane landing in Los Angeles?"

Las Vegas doesn't have an airport now; you have to fly to neighboring Los Angeles first, and then drive there.

“It can be used as a private jet to land at Mainz Airport in Los Angeles,” Indiana replied.

This trip to the United States was much easier thanks to the help from Indiana.

Fang Wen already had the idea of ​​giving him more benefits and binding him to his own small group.

His identity and his influence are extremely important to himself and Taishan Airlines.

It would be even better if he were trained to be a more powerful person.

The four men drove to the airport, opened the hangar door, found some wooden planks to make a frame, and drove the Chevrolet sedan into the cargo hold at the rear of the plane.

After completing these steps, the aircraft drove out of the hangar, communicated with ground staff, and then entered the runway to take off.

This flight route is from New York to Los Angeles, and it is one of the few times that a foreign aircraft has flown over the U.S. mainland before the enactment of future U.S. aviation control regulations.

The total flight distance is 4000 kilometers.

The route passes through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, and California.

There are nine states in total, spanning the United States. It is estimated that after the official start of World War II, the United States, feeling the crisis, would not have allowed foreign planes to fly freely in the sky so easily.

Fang Wen also cherished this opportunity to fly, and even bought a Kodak Beau Brownie camera for aerial photography.

The Beau Brownie camera was a best-selling model produced by Kodak in 1930.

And it's very unique.

The plane flew out of New York State and into Pennsylvania airspace.

While piloting the plane, Fang Wen fiddled with how to use the camera.

The first step, of course, is to load the film. You need to open the canister cover on the back of the camera and correctly load the 120 film into the canister.

The direction must be correct, and one end must be locked.

Then twist the round knob on the outside of the camera to manually move the film inside.

Once you've done all that, raise your camera, focus, and press the shutter button.

To take a picture, you need to turn the round knob to move the film to the unexposed part.

This thing is very interesting.

Fang Wen had to pilot the plane and couldn't keep filming, so he raised his camera and asked, "Who wants to play?"

"Me." "Me."

Lin Shuiwang and Zhao Jiu both wanted it.

"I'll teach you how to use it first, and then you can take turns taking pictures."

Fang Wen called the two over and carefully taught them how to use the Beau Brownie camera.

The two, having learned how to do it, were having a great time, constantly pressing the shutter button by the window.

Watching the two taking pictures, Fang Wen smiled and said to Indiana, "Come here for a second, I have something I want to talk to you about."

After arriving from Indiana, Fang Wen said with a serious expression, "I'm not American, but I've come to understand this over time. It's still a money-driven society; everything is related to money. Right?"

Indiana wanted to say something, but then replied helplessly, "You're right."

"What will happen if you go back to China?" Fang Wen continued to ask.

"I will apply for a transfer to the domestic intelligence department, which is under the Department of Justice's FBI. However, given my situation, I will most likely be assigned to a logistics department."

Fang Wen was surprised to hear Indiana say that.

Before the CIA existed, the FBI probably had more power.

That old bastard Indiana definitely had connections, otherwise how could he have come up with such a good escape route?

Fang Wen asked, "You spent all that money on this?"

"Yes. I have to keep my promise now that I'm back."

When he says he's fulfilling a promise, he probably means giving the promised bribe money to the appropriate person.

This is nothing unusual.

In this era of America, gangs ran rampant, police officers accepted bribes, and politicians sought ways to make money. Indiana simply made a very normal choice, but the price she paid for that choice was far too high.

With his share of the wealth, he could easily buy a farm back home, hire a crew of cowboys, and enjoy the rest of his life.

Fang Wen smiled.

He liked the ambition in Indiana, because that gave him a chance.

Therefore, Fang Wen blurted out a sentence.

"If you don't have enough money, I'll give you some. I need a friend in the FBI."

Indiana nodded, a tacit understanding forming: "I do need more money. Those damn guys are too greedy. They took everything from me but didn't give me what I wanted."

“Go to the cargo hold and get my backpack from the car,” Fang Wen said.

Indiana did as she was told, bringing over the heavy backpack.

Fang Wen opened his backpack, took out stacks of banknotes, and placed them in Indiana's hand, knowing that the other party responded, "That's enough."

Holding a wad of cash, Indiana was filled with genuine admiration for Fang Wen.

He was happy to have such a friend, and even worried about Fang Wen because of it.

"If I take this money, will you have enough for your business in As Vegas?"

"We still have the money, let's talk about other things."

By this time, Indiana had gradually entered Fang Wen's inner circle. Although she was brought in through money, there was no direct conflict of interest, yet the relationship was very secure.

The two continued their conversation.

“The casino company I’m building in Las Vegas will have a group of special shareholders who don’t have equity certification but can receive a fixed share of dividends. These shareholders will be very complex and may come from all walks of life. I need to use these shares to link them to the casino company so that my company will be safe and stable.”

"Are you sure the company can still make that much money after distributing so many dividends?"

"I am sure."

Fang Wen was very certain of this: Las Vegas is a huge cake, and there are very few people eating it now, so he can eat as much as he wants.

If we don't establish our position in Las Vegas and acquire a large number of franchises and land now, we'll never have another chance.

His affirmative attitude made Indiana breathe heavily.

Indiana wasn't thinking about how much money he could make; rather, he was thinking about how huge this connection would be, how much it would bring in, and how it would benefit him.

The two exchanged a knowing smile and reached a silent agreement.

Fang Wen felt relieved; he had finally brought Indiana into the fold.

Although it cost a lot of money, the investment was worthwhile.

Without this money, there might be a shortfall in funds for purchasing supplies.

Suddenly, his body trembled slightly.

The long-lost sense of mysterious energy has reappeared.

This situation means that another treasure may be hidden below.

What will happen on American soil?

(End of this chapter)