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

Chapter 47 An Unexpected Encounter (Bonus Chapter for Over 1000 Favorites)
That evening, Larry spent the night in Hartford with Mr. Wallace.

After Mr. Wallace fell asleep, Larry quietly slipped into the bathroom and, by the moonlight streaming through the window, reviewed the previous transaction records.

In the shipbuilding frenzy following the USS Baltimore, the Navy placed a large order with DuPont, a gunpowder manufacturer, for propellant for new 16-inch (approximately 406mm) main guns. At the same time, DuPont was tasked with researching new armor-piercing projectiles.

DuPont's initial order of $200 million caused its stock price to surge by 20% in the ensuing rally.

After Larry sold his shares, the stock subsequently saw a significant increase.

The problem is that this is only preliminary research funding and initial orders.

But Colt's order is completely different. It's a spot order, with an initial purchase of 5 pistols. Colt will also be responsible for providing holsters, ammunition, and maintenance tools for these pistols. The total purchase price for each set of pistols is $120.

The first order was $600 million.

Furthermore, Colt executives emphasized that this is only the initial order, and if the military approves this rapid-reload weapon, not only will the Navy place additional orders, but the U.S. Marine Corps will also be interested in the weapon.

Larry closed his laptop, thinking to himself that Colt's stock price was currently at $45, and it was very likely to exceed $100 in the future, at which point he would make the biggest profit of his trading career...

The key issue now is to keep a close eye on Colt's financing plan, like a leech clinging to its back!
The next morning, Mr. Wallace first sent a telegram to the company headquarters to report and discuss how issuing bonds could further reduce financing rates. He then had further detailed discussions with Colt executives.

In the afternoon, company executives accompanied Mr. Wallace on a tour of Colt's latest products at the gun factory.

At the Colt Firearms Company headquarters, the air is always filled with the sharp sounds of metal cutting, the slightly sour smell of cooking oil, and the faint scent of gunpowder.

Larry followed behind Mr. Wallace, carrying a suitcase full of documents.

Next to Mr. Wallace was the Colt executive who had initially picked them up at the train station—Larry now knew that this man was Mr. Harper, the Colt test director.

“Mr. Wallace, welcome to the heart of Colt…” Mr. Harper raised his arms, showing Wallace and Larry the shooting range.

In the distance is a shooting test range with eighteen gun lanes. At different distances, various iron, straw, and wooden targets are prepared. At the same time, test ranges simulating sandstorm tests, rainstorm tests, and stream tests are also prepared.

Nearby, there were various types of firearms, both long and short. Those fine guns that were treasured by the gun shop owner were now hanging on the wall like bags of nuts casually placed in a general store.

After everyone entered, Mr. Harper opened a wooden box with dark blue velvet padding and two guns inside.

Mr. Harper held up the first one and introduced it, “The Colt Single Action Army Model 1873 pistol, nicknamed ‘Peacemaker,’ .45 caliber, silver-plated frame, was once my favorite.”

As he spoke, Mr. Harper showed the gun to Wallace and Larry. Then, he took out the bullets and loaded them one by one through the loading port. He then walked to the firing arc, first deflected the hammer, and then pulled the trigger to fire at the target 15 meters away.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The gunshots were incredibly loud; Larry felt his eardrums vibrate. The roar of the gunfire was simply deafening.

After the shooting was over, Mr. Harper took the bullets out of the magazine one by one. The cartridge cases were a little hot, but he didn't care.

After demonstrating a complete firing process, Mr. Harper placed the M1873 single-action pistol on the table, then picked up another similarly silver-plated pistol and introduced it again.

"The new Colt Navy, the Revolver Type 1889, is also .38 caliber, but it's much more straightforward..."

Mr. Harper lightly pressed the latch, quickly flung out the magazine, grabbed a handful of bullets, loaded all six bullets into the magazine, and then clicked the cylinder shut.

"A double-action pistol that can be fired without manually triggering the hammer each time! Look..."

"Bang!" A bullet struck the target, and then the cylinder spun, the hammer automatically rising to prepare for the next shot. "Bang bang!!" The next two shots fired in quick succession, clearly much faster than a single-action pistol.

After firing all six bullets, Mr. Harper pressed the latch again, rotated the magazine to the left, and the excess spent cartridge cases fell to the ground with a clattering sound.

Mr. Harper said proudly, "Look, it's quick to load, fast to fire, and the ejection of spent cartridges is superb. This rapid-fire capability is incomparably valuable in emergency situations. At the same time, the military also recognizes its robustness and ease of maintenance."

This simple and intuitive comparison immediately impressed Wallace and Larry. The most important reason why the new Colt M1889 was chosen as the Navy's standard weapon was that the firearm truly had a groundbreaking technological innovation.

Secondly... the US Navy is really rich right now, with a huge budget to afford the large ordering costs.

Colt executives complained at a meeting yesterday that, due to the unique geographical environment of the United States, Congress believes that the U.S. Army does not need to maintain a large size, so the budget allocated to the U.S. Army is very small, which has even affected Colt's firearms orders.

The US Navy is currently in high demand, which is why the Colt M1889 revolver was the first one procured by the US Navy.

Larry remembered the tall executive emphasizing yesterday that this gun's net profit margin was 32% higher than other firearms, and Colt expected it to become the company's flagship product.

The purpose of this demonstration was clear: to tell Mr. Wallace and his securities firm that by keeping interest rates as low as possible and raising more funds than needed, the company's future output and profit margins would increase dramatically!

Mr. Wallace nodded, indicating that he was impressed with the gun.

Larry stared at the still-smoking M1889 and fell into deep thought.

Next up was the demonstration of the water-cooled machine gun, but so far only some rough prototypes were available, and it couldn't be tested yet. It's said that the designer in charge of the project is searching the world for Mr. Browning, who holds several revolutionary firearms inventions and is also lobbying other arms companies for better cooperation terms.

Larry stared at the sample that looked more like a toilet, unable to see any connection between it and a machine gun.

But Mr. Wallace's eyes lit up, and he patted the casing of the water-cooled machine gun, boasting to the Colt executives,

"God is my witness! This revolutionary weapon is truly suitable for issuing new shares. Investors who are optimistic about your company will compete to buy the newly issued shares of Colt, and your company will receive oversubscribed funds at almost zero cost, without any interest."

Mr. Harper nodded. He was there to accompany Mr. Wallace on the tour; he wasn't involved in making the final decisions.

Mr. Wallace pondered for a moment over the water-cooled machine gun, then made his request to Mr. Harper again, “I strongly request to see Mr. Andrew again. I personally believe that Paine Weber should make significant contributions to both of your company’s expansion financing plans.”

Mr. Harper thought for a moment, then walked aside and made a phone call to the company's senior management.

Soon after, Mr. Harper received the latest instructions from the company's senior management, who invited Mr. Wallace alone to the company headquarters' conference room for further discussion.

Mr. Wallace agreed and instructed Larry to wait for him at the entrance of Colt Firearms Company.

Larry obeyed the order, carrying a small leather suitcase filled with documents, and went to the Colt company's gatehouse and customer reception room, where he sat on a bench to wait.

Colt's reception manager had met Larry before and quickly poured him a cup of coffee. Larry exchanged a few pleasantries with him, then sat alone, holding his coffee and lost in thought.

Just then, a man with an odd tone appeared outside Colt's customer reception room and requested to meet with the reception manager.

Larry frowned, feeling that he had heard the man's accent somewhere before. Curious, he stood up to take a look and discovered that it was Mr. K standing at the entrance of Colt Company.

There's no doubt about it. Even though he's wearing a regular American shirt and suit today, the X-shaped scar on his face is far too conspicuous.

　Bonus chapter to celebrate surpassing 1,000 favorites
　　
　
(End of this chapter)