Chapter 40: The Terrifying Industrial City
Quantum Fund's investment philosophy is not something Carter cares about. When it comes to the future, knowing that you can make money is enough; as long as you can make money, who cares about the philosophy?
In contrast to Soros's speech, Carter is more concerned about Julian's preparation to leave Kiddell Corporation. Whether from previous interactions or Julian's circle of friends displayed this time, Carter feels that this person is not ordinary.
The investment company or fund he establishes after going solo will probably not be bad in the future. As a target worth investing in, and compared to Soros, Lynch, and others whom Carter just met, Julian is naturally more familiar, and Carter is more confident in entrusting his money to him.
However, Julian currently has no plans to go solo or does not want to rush into it. In that case, Carter has no choice but to temporarily invest his funds in Quantum Fund and Magellan Fund.
Investing in Quantum Fund is more complicated. Due to the high leverage of hedge funds, in order to bypass the regulation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Carter also needs to find a way to transfer the money overseas first, and then invest the money in Quantum Fund as a foreign investor.
Carter always feels that this kind of operation is like a cover-up, but considering that he has entrusted Julian to do it, he doesn't have to worry about it himself, so he doesn't mind.
On the other hand, investing in Magellan Fund is much easier. The day after the banquet, Carter eagerly called Peter Lynch and signed the investment contract. After transferring $1.5 million to Magellan Fund's fundraising account, obtaining the investment certificate, this investment was considered complete.
In Carter's mind, investing $1.5 million of his hard-earned money in Magellan Fund is relatively safe. As for the risk fund of $6 million, it will be invested in Quantum Fund, taking a small risk for a chance at a big return. After resolving the credit crisis with the Blake Bank back home, there is usually no need to reserve too much cash. Just leaving a few tens of thousands of dollars on hand for travel expenses should be more than enough.
After quickly resolving the major issue of investing the money, Carter also doesn't plan to stay in New York for long. After bidding farewell to Julian and agreeing that he will help mail the investment certificates for Quantum Fund later, Carter set off on the journey with Melissa.
Entering New York with $6 million and leaving with only a few thousand dollars, Carter finds it somewhat amusing. But thinking about the potential returns from these two investments in the future, Carter feels a surge of excitement.
Now he doesn't need to worry about lending money anymore. He can enjoy life with peace of mind. In a dozen years or so, he will have enough money to invest in companies like Microsoft, Google, and Alibaba.
Leaving New York, Carter heads westward. The first destination he arrives at is the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes region is often referred to as the Northeast Industrial Belt of the United States. After leaving New York, he travels south along Lake Huron, briefly passing through Pennsylvania before entering Ohio.
Carter suddenly had the idea of going to see the industrial pearl mentioned by Rogers. Cleveland, the city nearest to Lake Erie in Ohio, also happens to be one of the cities with high visibility in the future United States.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of Carter's favorite NBA teams in the future! Why "one of"? Because he's just a fake fan.
He was a fan of the Bulls when he first heard about Jordan, then became a fan of the Lakers when he learned that Jordan retired. After Kobe's unfortunate accident, he shamelessly turned to LeBron.
With a sense of shame, Carter eagerly drives towards Cleveland. However, before he even enters the city, he sees a terrifying scene ahead, as if doomsday has arrived.
The billowing smoke almost completely obscures the sunlight. Rows of towering blast furnaces stand upright on both sides of the road into the city, and thick smoke billows straight into the sky from the tops of the blast furnaces.
The dim red sunset flickers in the gray-black smoke, shining through the gaps and casting on the ground. The city in front of Carter seems to be shrouded in a huge wildfire, with dark shadows of tall buildings mixed with a eerie red, making the whole city appear extremely gloomy.
Is this what you call a pearl?! Carter's heart roars.
"Bro, this looks terrifying. Should we not go?"
He slammed on the brakes and stopped by the roadside, listening to Melissa's words, Carter nodded repeatedly.
"No, let's not go. This is freaking dangerous! Look at this haze, it's insane."
Carter might understand Americans' pride nowadays; after all, it's not easy to have such exaggerated pollution emissions in other places. In the minds of Americans today, this isn't pollution; it's the charm of industry, the visual impact of large machinery!
But for Carter, living in or even just visiting such a city is tantamount to courting death. People who haven't seen the industrial development period of other countries always like to complain about how heavy pollution is in the future motherland. Carter admits that there will inevitably be a period of environmental destruction during industrial development.
But to destroy to the extent that the smoke obscures the sun, Carter finds it astonishing. Cleveland today is no weaker than the foggy London he saw in photos!
In a place like this, taking a breath means inhaling much more haze than oxygen. Thinking about his two investments that he just made, Carter decisively chooses to turn back. This cursed place, he won't stay a moment longer!
"Let's go, let's go. How about camping by Lake Erie tonight?"
"Okay."
Comparing the sense of shame of sleeping in a tent with his brother to staying in a hotel amid the current scene, Melissa quickly made a decision, equally frightened by the sight ahead.
And, well, with his brother... that doesn't seem like a big deal, right?
In Melissa's complicated thoughts, Carter turned the car around decisively and headed straight for Lake Erie. Until they approached the lake area and the scenery gradually became clear and bright, Carter barely shook off the shadow cast by Cleveland. Facing the sunset about to set, Carter drove the car off the road and all the way to the lake, finding a wind-sheltered small hill, where he parked the car.
"Alright, let's rest here for the night. Come help me set up the tent, let me see how this thing is assembled."
Walking to the back of the car, opening the trunk, taking out the tent and instructions, Carter read them while walking. After reading the instructions and starting to work, Melissa also joined in, starting to set up their bed for the night.
After finishing up, Carter went around to collect some dry branches and started a small bonfire in front of the tent. The significance of this bonfire far exceeds its practical purpose; neither needing to cook nor to keep warm, the brother and sister sit by the small fire, feeling quite novel.
"Hehehe, this feels just right. Wait, let me go put on some music from the car. Oh, and there's beer, do you want some?"
Snapping open two bottles of beer with excitement, Carter asks Melissa.
"Sure, I'll take some."
As Carter eagerly returns with the beer, Melissa also struggles to sit up. Secretly poking Carter with her finger:
"Um, are we sleeping together tonight?"
After a second of hesitation, weighing the embarrassment of sleeping in the same tent with his sister against the view ahead, Melissa quickly makes a decision.
Sleeping together might lead to pregnancy, but going into that city could lead to death. In comparison, isn't one's life more important than a dog's life?
Besides, with her brother, it's not like there's anything wrong with that, right?
With Melissa's complicated thoughts, Carter decisively turns the car around and heads straight for Lake Erie. Until they approach the lake area and the scenery gradually becomes clear and bright, Carter barely shakes off the shadow cast by Cleveland. Facing the sunset about to set, Carter drives the car off the road and all the way to the lake, finding a wind-sheltered small hill, where he parks the car.
"Alright, let's rest here for the night. Come help me set up the tent, let me see how this thing is assembled."
Walking to the back of the car, opening the trunk, taking out the tent and instructions, Carter reads them while walking. After reading the instructions and starting to work, Melissa also joins in, starting to set up their bed for the night.
After finishing up, Carter goes around to collect some dry branches and starts a small bonfire in front of the tent. The significance of this bonfire far exceeds its practical purpose; neither needing to cook nor to keep warm, the brother and sister sit by the small fire, feeling quite novel.
"Hehehe, this feels just right. Wait, let me go put on some music from the car. Oh, and there's beer, do you want some?"
Snapping open two bottles of beer with excitement, Carter asks Melissa.
"Sure, I'll take some."
As Carter eagerly returns with the beer, Melissa also struggles to sit up. Secretly poking Carter with her finger:
"Um, are we sleeping together tonight?"