booktalesy Chapter 364 Chicago Intelligence Summary: Taking Advantage of Cargill's Disaster
Chapter 364 Chicago Intelligence Summary: Taking Advantage of Cargill's Disaster
Chapter 364 Chicago Intelligence Summary: Taking Advantage of Cargill's Disaster
On the second-to-last day of August, Larry and his entourage arrived in Chicago by train.
When he and Matthew arrived here in June, they were as relaxed and at ease as friends visiting the place.
But now, at the end of summer, Larry returned to Chicago with Matthew, Dunbar, two bodyguards, and two young men temporarily recruited from the convenience store.
This time it's more like a formal business team.
Larry and his party of seven, accompanied by two horse-drawn carriages, stopped in front of the Palmer House Hotel, Chicago's most iconic and luxurious hotel.
Standing at the hotel entrance, Larry felt for the first time that Chicago was not just about coal smoke and rust, but also about the fragrance of marble and roses.
Built in 1871, this Victorian building is like a rose reborn from the ruins, blooming in its most magnificent form from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire.
It lacks the coldness of the Boston Hotel and the extravagance of the New York Hotel, instead using the most luxurious details of 1892 to announce Chicago's resurgence.
"Sir, your deluxe suite is on the 3rd floor, east wing." The senior manager at the counter spoke with the characteristic crispness of a Chicagoan. "The top floor has a panoramic terrace with views of the Chicago River and the docks."
Larry nodded without saying anything more.
Next, the senior executives assigned rooms to the others. Except for Dunbar and Matthew, who shared a deluxe suite with Larry on the first floor, everyone else was in standard rooms in the side wing.
"Go put your luggage away and rest for a while. We'll have a meeting in my suite in an hour!" Larry instructed the group.
He, Matthew, and Dunbar then walked through the lobby, their footsteps echoing in the light of the crystal chandelier.
The teak floor underfoot was polished to a mirror-like smoothness, and the walls were adorned with gilded rose reliefs, each petal seemingly breathing.
"This place is even more luxurious than the hotels in New York," Matthew remarked.
Dunbar nodded and said softly, "While I've been with Larry, I've stayed in all the luxury hotels I've never stayed in before—there was really no need to book a luxury suite for the two of us as well."
Larry and Matthew both laughed. Larry said with a smile, "Money is meant to be spent—don't worry about the details."
The doorman followed behind with a luggage cart, and when they reached the copper elevator, he pressed the elevator button for the three of them first.
The elevator went up to the third floor, and the doorman led the three to the room door and opened the door for Larry.
The room was in the standard Victorian style, and was the most luxuriously furnished at the time. The 12-foot-high ceiling was painted with wisteria-like vines.
Before the sapphire-inlaid marble fireplace, leather sofas flanked the high-backed chair that served as the head of the table. From the high-backed chair, Larry could see the Chicago River through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and even the grain ships at the dock and the clock tower of the stock exchange.
In the bedroom, there is an original British brass bed frame from 1871, and the bed is covered with silk bedding made in 1892.
The bathroom features a gilded copper bathtub, silver-plated rose-shaped faucets, and the air is filled with the scent of rose perfume.
"Victoria — The Gilded Age —"
Larry muttered these two phrases as he looked around the luxury suites with his hands behind his back, feeling inexplicably moved.
Dunbar and Matthew were also quite impressed, and turned to the doorman to ask, "How much is it here for a night?"
"A deluxe suite is $10 per day, and a presidential suite is $25," the doorman replied while unloading luggage from a cart. "Includes breakfast, a private butler, and daily ironing."
"It's two dollars more expensive than a luxury suite in Boston!" Matthew exclaimed.
"Of course, sir!" the doorman said with a smile. "In the entire United States of America, apart from New York, only Chicago is the most prosperous."
"Really? I always thought Boston was the second largest city in the United States!" Matthew muttered.
Larry stood by the window, turned to look at Matthew, and said with a smile, "My brother, you should know this: in any modern country, if its cities have a stock exchange or a futures exchange, then it must be one of the largest cities in that country."
After saying that, Larry turned his head to look out the window, watching the boats coming and going on the Chicago River.
Dunbar, as usual, went to check the suite for any safety hazards first, while Matthew walked over to Larry. He followed Larry's gaze to the Chicago River and asked softly, "Why did you choose this place? Are you here to keep watch over the docks—?"
Larry nodded, staring at Cargill's towering warehouses at the South Wharf, and said calmly, "My three brokers in Chicago have been giving me intelligence. They say Cargill's crisis is escalating—"
Matthew nodded, suddenly remembering how William Cargill, the founder of Cargill, had given them the cold shoulder when they last came to Chicago.
"Speaking of which—I have a surprise for you!" Matthew smiled and took a folded piece of thick paper from his briefcase, handing it to Larry.
Larry unfolded the paper and saw that it contained a chart of Chicago wheat prices.
However, there is a clear gap in the graph, which clearly indicates that the front belongs to the July wheat contract and the back belongs to the September wheat contract.
Matthew pointed to the wheat candlestick chart and said, "I've been tracking the wheat price movement. Oh, and of course, while tracking it, I discovered that futures are actually divided into contracts. This one is the current main contract, the September contract."
Larry flicked the candlestick chart with his finger and said with a smile, "You're really thoughtful! Want to switch careers and become a broker?"
Matthew waved his hand with a smile, "It's just a personal hobby! I prefer making guns. My brother and I have completed the blueprints for the rifle and improved the workshop processes; now it's time for mass production."
Larry nodded. "I know the gun factory needs you right now, but I need you too! Just for that—you can do something big for me."
Cough!
The doorman coughed softly before politely interjecting, "Sir, would you like to reserve dinner at our hotel?"
Larry turned to look at him. "Have them bring dinner to the suite. We'll have dinner here in a bit."
The doorman nodded in agreement, then turned and left.
When dinner was delivered, it was also the time for everyone to gather and listen to Larry assign tasks.
The waiter quietly pushed the cart in, and on the silver tray were Chicago River fish soup, rye bread, smoked meat and cider, Chicago's proudest dinner.
It has the freshness and sweetness of river fish, the roughness of rye, and the slight tartness of cider.
"Sir! This is Chicago River bass soup, local rye bread, and Wisconsin cider," the waiter introduced.
Larry nodded, and everyone took their own plates and placed linen napkins on their laps to prepare for the meal.
Larry also took a portion and sat down to eat in the high-backed chair at the head of the table.
After everyone had finished eating and the waiters had left the room, Larry wiped his mouth with a napkin and said to everyone, "We'll probably be in Chicago for the entire month of September! Because the September contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is also the contract for the spring wheat harvest. We'll be splitting up and gathering intelligence separately—"
Everyone put down their cutlery and listened attentively as Larry assigned tasks.
"Matthew, take Mr. Cole to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange—make sure to verify the wheat trading information for the past few months, especially the historical winter wheat supply warehouse receipts. Also, where do the wheat delivery warehouse receipts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange come from?"
Matthew and "Rattlesnake" Cole both nodded in agreement.
"Uncle Dunbar, you and Mr. Brady—" Larry turned his gaze to "Tiger" again and continued, "—your mission is to investigate Cargill. The intelligence I received from the Chicago brokers is that Cargill's debt is growing increasingly large—your task is to find out where their debt is coming from and how much grain they've actually stored."
The two nodded in agreement.
Dunbar also specifically asked about Cargill's background and transportation methods. He was particularly sensitive to the freight and insurance costs of water and rail transport, which is also one of Lone Star Security's core businesses.
Then, Larry turned to look at the two Italian lads. Both of them had followed him in New York to gather intelligence; one was named Luca Rossi, and the other Marco Conti.
"Luca, Marco, your mission remains the same: to gather intelligence. One of you needs to find the bars, billiard halls, and other entertainment venues in the city that can spread information, spend money to enjoy them, and hide there."
You need to gather intelligence on Chicago journalists and traders—it's crucial! I need to quickly spread messages to them—your task is to become as familiar as possible with them or their subordinates! Can you do that?
The two exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing joy.
Working with the boss's boss always involves this kind of "spending money to enjoy life" job, while also gathering intelligence, and all the young men enjoy it.
"No problem, boss!" the two replied in unison.
"Oh, right, there's another task. You two also need a complete Chicago railroad timetable. I need to know the batches and sizes of all the grain shipments that can be delivered to Chicago."
After speaking, Larry gave each team $500 for the activity and let them go about their business.
After everyone left, Larry closed the door and sat alone at his desk.
He first read the telegram sent by Baruch, a trader appointed by Reading itself—Baruch's telegram was forwarded to him by Goldman Sachs.
巴鲁克的电文说的是：「7789帐户，已经收集到美国菸草12万股股票。股价较之前提升16%。已按计划完成买入，目前总持股36万股。占股比例约6%。
The futures account has accumulated losses of $1.35, all of which were executed according to instructions; profits were closed and losses were held for longer periods, with no abnormalities observed.
Baruch conducted all the transactions exactly as he had instructed. Larry viewed American Tobacco as a strategic investment, believing that the more shares he held, the better.
Larry's order to Baruch was to trade on quiet trading days as much as possible, so that his buying activity would be both reckless and conspicuous.
For his own futures account, Larry instructed Baruch to act as a novice futures trader as possible, with losses being a planned outcome.
The key now is this "no anomaly".
Larry was certain that the expert who was secretly targeting him was still watching his account.
The "clumsy futures trading style" displayed in the futures account must have already caught his attention.
But clearly, these minor skirmishes won't provoke the other side to take drastic action.
If you want the "expert brother" who is lying in ambush to show his face, you have to offer a bigger bait.
This is Larry's purpose in coming to Chicago: before launching a covert war against the "masters," he must be on the scene in person to gather intelligence and assess the possibility of victory.
Before getting involved, Larry didn't believe he could "win against fate." All his plans and arrangements had to be based on solid intelligence and logic.
At the very least, you must be in an invincible position before considering how to attack.
However, Larry felt that Cargill should be his breakthrough point. They were now one of the largest wheat spot traders in Chicago, with a large wheat inventory that wasn't registered as warehouse receipts.
Cargill is currently suffering huge losses, making it the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation and acquire the company's assets or shares.
Once they have the power to dispose of Cargill's huge wheat inventory, they will have a greater chance of "manipulating" September wheat futures.
No rush! Absolutely no rush! We absolutely cannot afford to lose both our wife and our army!
It's better to do nothing than to act blindly and lose money; that's 100 times better.
Larry repeatedly reminded himself of this.
Now, one should act like a spider lurking in the center of its web. Only when all the threads tremble with the struggle of the prey should one step in to reap the harvest.
But the premise of all this is that you must not be impatient!
Larry closed his eyes and took a few minutes of deep breathing meditation before opening them to prepare for the second task.
He began to take stock of his current assets to see if he had enough money to cope with this futures battle.
Larry faced a liquidity crisis some time ago. At his worst, he only had 6 [units of currency] left in his two bank accounts.
More than 10,000 US dollars.
However, after this legal gambling operation in Boston, Larry's cash flow has recovered considerably.
Now, he not only has a $15 bank draft provided by Kennedy, but also $20 after the judicial notarized gambling account was unfrozen.
In addition, Goldman Sachs paid him $116,000 for his first month's commission.
If you include the $1.5 in cash taken from the safe in his Boston apartment.
Larry has $48.1 in cash and near-cash available.
Although it's not a lot, less than $50, because futures trading involves leverage, this amount of money is enough to make a profit.
If all else fails, I'll use the money in my Paine Weber Securities and Reading accounts.
Larry's idea was very good.
But the next day, the information that came from Mr. Dunbar made Larry realize a real problem: the money he had prepared was really not enough!
"Cargill's cash flow is in dire straits right now; their farmer members are even preparing to default on their payments! If you could raise $50 to invest now, Mr. William Cargill shouldn't be offended!"
As Dunbar spoke, he gently placed a piece of paper filled with intelligence on the table in front of Larry.
>