Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 220 Choice
In just a few days, Larry spent $70, which instantly reduced his previously substantial assets by a significant amount.

He needs to invest $50 in Eastman Kodak and another $20 in a fund company.

Larry had already transferred $24 from his account at National City Bank in New York, leaving him with only $10.05. He didn't plan to withdraw any more money from there, since it was very convenient to issue bank drafts there in case of emergencies, and besides, all his checks were issued by this bank.

However, he couldn't touch the 40 gold coins he had in Morgan Trust Bank.

Therefore, the $20 invested in the fund company can only be drawn from Paine Weber Securities' account. That account currently has $84.48 remaining, along with 8000 shares of General Electric.

Larry was annoyed that he couldn't get enough gold vouchers from Mr. Porter if he could only pledge a smaller amount.

The key issue is that they also need to acquire Bausch & Lomb! Those companies need even more money.

Moreover, acquiring Bausch & Lomb is not something that can be done for a few hundred thousand dollars.

On the carriage ride back, Larry took out J.P. Morgan's solid gold business card and kept playing with it in his hand.

"When should we go see Morgan?" Larry frowned slightly, stared at the ceiling for a long time, sighed, and put the business card in his pocket.

It's not the right time yet; I must wait for the best opportunity before I can approach Mr. Morgan.

The sound of horses' hooves clattered rhythmically on the cobblestone streets of Broadway, the carriage swaying gently with the uneven ground. Larry was lost in thought, while Dunbar across from him remained silent.

The city outside the car window is bustling, but separated by glass, it's like a silent drama.

Suddenly! The coachman shouted an urgent command and cracked his whip, and the carriage lurched forward before screeching to a stop!
Larry's body slammed forward due to inertia, and Mr. Dunbar quickly stood up and caught Larry, who was about to fall.

Suddenly, a cacophony of horses neighing in alarm, women screaming, men cursing, and wheels scraping erratically erupted outside the carriage.

Larry pushed open the car door, somewhat annoyed, wanting to see what was going on, but the sight before him stunned him:
A coal wagon, seemingly trying to avoid a newsboy who suddenly darted out from the roadside, overturned, scattering black coal everywhere and blocking the entire street. The drivers were cursing loudly, trying to turn the wagon around, but only brought traffic to a complete standstill.

Amidst the chaos, Larry's gaze inadvertently swept across the street corner.

He saw two well-dressed men, who stood out from the surrounding working class, quickly stuffing a heavy-looking canvas bag into a canopy carriage.

The passengers in the carriage seemed completely oblivious to this.

Mr. Dunbar pulled Larry back into the carriage and whispered, "Don't let those two see your face."

Immediately, he pulled out the pistol from his pocket, half-closed the carriage door, and looked at the canopied carriage as well.

Larry had already sensed something unusual about the matter. Even though he had crawled into the carriage, he still peeked cautiously through the crack in the carriage window towards the canopy carriage.

Just then, the bodyguards in the canopy carriage finally spotted the two uninvited guests. They suddenly shouted angrily and jumped off the carriage, trying to grab them.

The two men escaped the bodyguards' pursuit and ran into the crowd, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The owner of the ceremonial carriage stepped down with curiosity and peered through the bodyguards toward the spot where the two men had disappeared.

Larry's heart skipped a beat when he saw the man. It was none other than Astor IV, who had previously tried to take back the property from him.

What did those two men put under his carriage? Larry suddenly had a bad feeling.

She had just witnessed the two men committing the crime, and it seemed as if no one had noticed.

If he were to tell the other party now that the two men seemed to have tampered with his carriage, he would easily expose himself.

Larry was engaged in a frantic internal struggle, wanting to ignore it and pretend he hadn't seen anything. But a vague sense of foreboding lingered in his heart.

After thinking for five seconds, Larry suddenly had an idea. He smiled through the carriage window and said to King Astor IV,

"Hey, sir! It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been looking everywhere for you. Do you still want those houses you mentioned last time? I urgently need money and want to get rid of them."

King Astor IV heard Larry speak. But at first, he didn't react. When he looked towards Larry in the direction of the voice, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

“My God, I’ve met you here, and you’re willing to sell me the house!” King Astor IV called to his two bodyguards and walked straight toward Larry’s carriage.

Mr. Dunbar was a little nervous, but he understood Larry's meaning, and then slightly opened the carriage door.

Larry leaned against the carriage door, smiled at Astor IV as he approached, and waved to him, "Oh, come here quickly, let me tell you all about that house."

King Astor IV had an exaggerated smile on his face, as if he was very happy about his chance encounter with Larry, and then he walked casually to his carriage.

"Hey, are you really going to sell that house? Name your price, and let me help you out of this predicament."

King Astor IV raised an eyebrow, glancing at Larry as he spoke, and said in a mocking tone,
"What's wrong? Did you lose the bet, or did you run into some trouble? Why are you so desperate to sell your house... Oh, no, that should be my house!"

Larry let him ramble on, but his eyes kept glancing at the canopied carriage in the distance. When he saw that King Astor IV was very close, he waved to him again.

"What are you going to do?" King Astor IV smiled and frowned, but still took a few steps forward.

Larry leaned forward and covered his mouth with his hands, as if he wanted to whisper something to him.

After King Astor IV turned his ear, Larry whispered into his ear.

"Don't make a sound, and don't be surprised. Pretend you didn't hear anything... I just saw those two men put something under your car..."

King Astor IV looked puzzled, glancing at his carriage before looking up at Larry.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard a loud bang coming from behind him, from the direction of his carriage.

Immediately, towering flames engulfed the carriage he had just been sitting in.

The coachman in front of the vehicle quickly jumped down, but his body was already covered in flames.

The people next to the carriage were also attacked by the flames and were shouting and crying as they ran away.

(End of this chapter)