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

Chapter 304 These two remote plots of land, I'll share your burdens.

Fifteen minutes later, Larry sat on the sofa in the law firm, watching Astor IV and representatives from the other two companies pointing at the map and loudly arguing over plots of land along the route.

After receiving the Larri instrument, Astor IV, who already came from a family with a strong academic background, quickly found the knack for "seizing land".

He first relentlessly pursued the wealthy family's residential land properties or townhouses, arbitrarily raising prices.

This made the two agents, who had already received instructions, extremely nervous.

The biggest weakness of agents is that they are not family members, and they can only negotiate within a certain scope of authorization.

King Astor IV was aggressive from the start, vying for key townhouses, which naturally led the two to believe that his aim was limited to the plots of land they were currently eyeing.

Of course, in order not to disappoint the client's expectations, the agent would not easily give up these shops that King Astor IV was fighting over.

Almost every time, when the price rises to a certain level, King Astor IV clicks his tongue, his face showing a reluctant yet painful expression, and reluctantly gives up those plots of land, then sets his sights on Broadway or the area around Lexington Avenue.

Because they had already spent a long time with Astor, the remaining two companies became rivals, so they had no choice but to continue bidding until one of them won the corresponding plot of land at a higher price.

King Astor IV acquired the two roadside plots relatively easily.

In this division of assets, each of the three families has a corresponding quota. If the price of a piece of land is too high, they often cannot choose other plots, or they will need to pay more to buy land.

The purpose of dividing the land is to ensure that the three families receive land of equal value as much as possible. Ideally, the head of the household would distribute the land among the three families, which would at least make everyone feel more at ease and prevent them from haggling over every single piece of land.

But King Astor IV was met with a spendthrift uncle and a cousin who was obsessed with Britain, viewed America as a barbaric and backward country, and never wanted to come back after leaving.

The other two companies originally intended to bypass the face-saving agents and compete for actual benefits, but Larry saw through their plan, allowing Astor IV to take the initiative and win the street-front plots on Broadway and Lexington Avenue at a relatively low price.

The lawyers from White Shoes Realty kept marking the areas divided among the three firms on maps and documents, while King Astor IV would occasionally look up at Larry with a delighted smile on his face.

Larry also had a smile on his face, but it wasn't just a smile of relief for his friend...

He hadn't lied; land along the subway line was sure to see prices skyrocket, and Larry had no intention of competing with them for those prime locations in the downtown and midtown areas.

Those are the prized possessions of the Astor family, and their land prices are extremely high! Some of them are even shops, which will bring profits once acquired.

Even if Larry hadn't told Astor IV about the subway, he still wouldn't have been able to acquire those plots of land.

But now things are different. Larry gave Astor a brilliant idea and agreed that if there were any leftover, unwanted corner plots of land, he would buy some himself…

This laid the groundwork for his future success in finding bargains.

Larry now watched the three families fiercely vying for land in the bustling downtown and midtown areas, feeling a sense of smug satisfaction.

This is also a limitation of their history!
At this point, the wealthy are easily convinced that expensive places will naturally be more expensive, especially since Larry's theory that the number of people determines the value makes a lot of sense.

Therefore, they will inevitably focus their attention on downtown areas.

But Larry knew that the land parcels that saw the biggest price increases were those previously overlooked plots of land further out along the subway lines.

Just like the land in the Upper West Side that I used to pass by by car, it is now wasteland, fields, and grassland, but after the subway line opens in the future, it will quickly be transformed into the best residential and commercial land.

Therefore, unlike the other three families, when Larry looks at the map, he only looks at the upper city area... The land area there is much larger, and with the same amount of money, he can buy a lot of land with greater potential for future appreciation!
I didn't lie, I just didn't tell the whole truth... Larry told himself.

The initial demarcation and confirmation of land rights took about an hour and twenty minutes. After the debate, all three parties felt their mouths were dry.

The old spendthrift butler hurriedly gulped down a cup of black tea to moisten his dry throat. His eyes involuntarily swept over the map, but he suddenly froze, because he discovered that most of the plots of land he and Mr. Waldorf's agents were buying and selling were located in the middle of the streets.

The blue lines that represent Astor IV are almost all located at street corners and are distributed in a regular straight line.

The old butler immediately sensed that something was amiss, but when he recalled the bargaining process, he couldn't pinpoint the source of his doubts.
King Astor IV leaned back on the sofa, lit another cigar, and wore a lazy smile.

"Larry! My mother is throwing a dance this Sunday. Come join us if you're free!"

Larry laughed and said, "I have things to do this weekend... a business partner is sending me a deposit."

Astor glanced at him sideways and said casually, "Your business is quite large now! I heard you rented five street-front shops at a high price..."

"My friend helped me with the arrangements. If I were to rent it out myself, I wouldn't be able to..." Larry said modestly with a smile.

"So, houses in the downtown and midtown areas are still the most valuable! Larry, you really need to consider my proposal. I'd like to buy your land. If that's not possible, you can consider contributing the land as equity," Astor said sincerely.

“Okay, let me think about it.” Larry nodded.

The lawyer checked the land parcels in Downtown and Midtown, then turned to the three companies and said, "Mr. Astor, and the two agents, I regret to inform you that your previous land allocation in the downtown area has resulted in a significant premium, even exceeding the allotted amount. You will need to pay an additional price for any subsequent land allocations in the Uptown area!"

The agents from both companies hesitated, because their authorization was to seize the land; the matter of paying more to buy land at a lower price was not something they could decide on their own.

King Astor IV had already promised Larry, and now, lighting a cigar, he said to the lawyer, "Since we've already exceeded the limit, how about this: I've already promised my friend..."

As he spoke, King Astor IV pointed to Larry beside him and continued, "He also wants some scrap land. I think we should just select those plots and let Mr. Livingston choose."
The amount he spent on land purchases will be added to the quota pool of the three entities, allowing us to allocate land without needing to add any new funds.

The other two agents' eyes lit up when they heard the plan, and they all nodded in agreement.

All three families approved the proposal, and everyone's attention turned to Larry.

Larry didn't stand on ceremony; he bent down and pretended to look at the various plots of land on the Upper East Side.

Before long, Larry made a decision. He turned to King Astor IV and asked, "Can I choose any land in the Upper City? If you have any reservations, please say so in advance."

"No! Don't be shy, hurry up and choose." King Astor IV said, squinting his eyes.

“Okay, then I’ll take this piece of land…” Larry pointed to the Upper East Side, “east of Yorkville, from Third Avenue to the East River, from 70th Street in the north to 96th Street in the south—this land should now be a brick kiln, brewery, and wooden houses built by German workers. It’s about 100 acres.”

King Astor IV scoffed. “That place? My grandfather called it Chimney Hollow. When the wind blows, the soot can blind you. Who would want to settle there except for German brewers and blacksmiths who repair carriages? Even ferries don’t want to dock there.”

“I just think it’s cheap, haha.” Larry turned his head and smiled.

"Okay, is this the land?" Astor asked again.

“And this place…” Larry pointed westward, “Morningside Heights! I’ve passed by there in a carriage, the scenery is quite nice, and I think the land is nearly 200 acres, so I’ll choose this place.”

(End of this chapter)