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

Chapter 18 Buying a Bicycle

The situation was so urgent at noon today that Larry went to the betting shop to make a deal without telling anyone.

Now that he's back, he actually expected to be scolded by Mr. Potter, and he was mentally prepared for it.

Larry is now basking in the glory of his $3,000 profit. He'd be happy even if he were scolded or whipped.

But Larry's expectations didn't come true. Mr. Porter had left his office at noon and disappeared without a trace. So, although the other young men at the brokerage knew Larry had skipped work, they thought of Mr. Porter's kindness to him and assumed it was intentional, so they weren't surprised.

Tom also did Larry's job as a quote transcriber, even though the latter was called "stupid" several times because of his slow reaction time.

Because the general manager was not present, almost all the employees of Paine Weber Securities Company had left by 3:30 p.m.

Larry stuffed the thousand-dollar bill and two five-hundred-dollar bills into the back pocket of his underwear, stood at the entrance of the trading hall for a long time to make sure there were no suspicious people nearby, and then walked out of Paine Weber Securities Company with his hat pulled down.

There was no other way; his past life experience told him, "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime."

A fourteen-year-old boy carrying $3000 is enough to attract the covetous eyes of bad people.

What offered Larry some solace was that Boston was still one of the most exemplary cities in New England in terms of law and order, with police officers in grey uniforms patrolling the streets day and night. Every so often, patrol officers on tall horses wearing pointed helmets would ride back and forth through the streets, questioning any suspicious individuals who appeared disheveled.

At least in the city, Larry is safe enough.

Larry had his hands in his pockets and his ears perked up, listening for any unusual sounds around him.

Fortunately, the journey was safe, and after a short while, they arrived at the west side of Newbury Avenue, which is adjacent to the industrial area and is where Larry usually takes public carriages.

On the platform, many passengers were waiting for the public carriage. They gathered together, their backs to the cold wind, and the white steam they exhaled looked as if the boiler pipes had just cracked.

Larry felt a little guilty and stopped far away from the platform.

Larry had never noticed before that the group of people waiting for the carriage were so suspicious, each of them hunching their necks and burying themselves deep in their high collars, looking like zombies about to pounce on him and steal the three thousand dollars he was carrying.

Larry looked at them with suspicion, while some of the passengers waiting for the carriage also noticed Larry and cast cold glances at him.

Larry became increasingly hesitant to approach the platform...

He even despaired, thinking that perhaps a band of bandits were lying in wait there, waiting to ride in a public carriage with him, and then rob and kill him in the desolate countryside...

Damn, if only I were still in 21st-century China...

Larry couldn't help but think.

Larry is now facing a real dilemma: taking a public carriage home is very unsafe, but walking home is even more unsafe.

We can't just stand here forever, can we?

"Clatter clatter clatter..." The sound of hooves approached, and two thin horses slowly pulled the heavy carriage. The rude coachman cracked his whip and gave Larry, who was standing by the roadside, a suspicious look.

Larry was startled and shrank back slightly.

Good heavens! Why can't I see a single good person on the street these days?

Larry glanced around instinctively, deciding to miss the public carriage.

However, as Larry looked around, his eyes were suddenly drawn to a shop on the side of the street!

The shop has a beautiful red brick wall, and the light blue wooden threshold and shop window gleam in the winter sunset. The wooden sign above the door reads "Franklin Machinery".

None of the above are important.

Most importantly, inside the gleaming glass display case was a quaint bicycle with a glossy black paint job!

A thought flashed through Larry's mind—I need a bicycle!
Although this thing is very conspicuous, it can minimize the possibility of being robbed on the road. If he can change his route home frequently, the effect will be even better! Larry had previously noticed that there were people riding bicycles on the street, especially some government departments that could not be equipped with horse-drawn carriages.

But before seeing the Franklin Machine Shop window, Larry had never thought he would need to own a bicycle.

Because bicycles at that time were very clumsy, with a large front wheel but a small rear wheel, and the pedals were still on the front wheel, riders were prone to falling.

But the bicycles he saw at Franklin Motorbike today were completely different from those he had seen before!

Its front and rear wheels are the same size, and it has standard pedals and a chain. These improvements make this bicycle almost identical to the one Larry saw in his previous life!

I need a bicycle!

After making up his mind, Larry carefully observed his surroundings one last time before pushing open the door and entering Franklin Machinery Shop.

The shop owner was a balding middle-aged man with a cigar in his mouth. He looked up and saw Larry enter, quickly wiped his hands with his oil-stained apron, and asked, "Young man, what's on your mind?"

Larry didn't say anything, his eyes fixed on the bicycle in the shop window.

The shop owner frowned slightly and chuckled mockingly, "Kid, you want wheels of freedom? No, no, this isn't for you. This thing costs $95!"

But Larry still didn't answer. He took two steps forward and looked at the bicycle carefully.

Exquisite nickel-plated handlebars, diamond-patterned frame, and pneumatic rubber tires...

Nearly perfect!

Seeing Larry staring at the bicycle, the shop owner's expression turned serious. He then took the cigar from his mouth and said earnestly,
"Oh, sir, if you really like it, you can give it a try. But I want to emphasize again, this thing costs $95 each, and no bargaining!"

Larry turned around and looked at the shop owner.

The shop owner shrugged and said with a smirk, "There's nothing I can do! This is a genuine high-end product imported from Britain, which is incomparable to our country's cheap and low-grade domestic products."

Larry remained silent.

The shop owner was getting anxious. Faced with Larry's silence, he felt he should say something more, so he took the initiative to compromise.
"Okay, I'll throw in the first year's bicycle license, which usually costs $2 a year, plus a $2 riding lesson. And I'll reduce the bike price to $92!"

Larry laughed and waved his hand, saying, "I don't want the cycling lesson, $90!"

The shop owner hesitated for a moment, then frowned and nodded. "Alright, sir, this bicycle is yours!"

Larry pulled $100 from his pocket and slapped it on the counter.

The shopkeeper stared at Larry, thinking that the blond boy's decisiveness in pulling out $100 seemed much easier than when his peers bought a lollipop.

After checking that the bills were correct, the shopkeeper gave Larry $10 in change and helped him take down the bicycle that had been displayed in the shop window.

The shop owner explained the key points of repair and maintenance to Larry, and taught the person who hadn't arrived yet how to ride a bicycle.

Larry had already stepped onto his bicycle, the springs under the seat creaking and rattling.

"Can you ride it?" the shopkeeper asked in surprise.

"Yes! I've known how to do it for a long time!" Larry replied with a smile, then pushed open the store door, slammed on the pedal, and sped off onto the street outside.

“…Remember to come back tomorrow to get the license plate!” the shop owner called out from behind Larry.

After the door closed, the shop owner realized something was wrong. He muttered to himself, "This is the latest model of bicycle that came out last year. How could this kid have known how to ride it for so long?"

(End of this chapter)