Manhattan Reborn 1978

afternoon.

Oxford city.

Old Bank Hotel, fourth floor.

Kanes Rothschild, who came from London, stepped out of the elevator and knocked on the door of David's room.

The door was quickly opened, and a beautiful woman who made Kanes feel "dazzling" stood at the door and smiled at him.

"Hello~ I'm Elena, please come in!"

"Oh~ Hi, Elena!"

"You can call me Kanes~"

"Ok~"

"David and the others are here, please come with me~"

Kanes looked around and then followed Elena, who was wearing a casual home dress, as she walked through the hall and saw several people sitting in the living room.

. . .

in the living room.

David, Jellal, and Livlin all stood up and smiled at the visiting Kanes.

Jellal smiled and spoke first: "You really surprised me!"

"When I received your call just now, I thought someone was impersonating you~"

"Hahaha~ Hi, Jellal!"

"How long have we not seen each other?"

"Why are you still the same?"

"Hehe~"

"Aren't you too?"

"Hahaha~"

Jellal hugged Karnes gently, turned to introduce him: "This is my new friend, David Coleman."

"Hello, David!"

"Hello~ Rothschild..."

"Nono~Call me Kanes!"

"Blumer and I are good friends, and you are also an old friend of mine, right?"

"..certainly!"

"Hahaha~"

"Oh ~ these beautiful ladies..."

"They are Livlin and..."

. . .

After a few people exchanged pleasantries, they sat down together.

Elena poured black tea for Kanes and returned to sit next to David.

Jellal paid attention to Kanes's eyes with interest, and a hidden smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

David put his arms around Elena's waist, glanced at Livlin beside him, and smiled at Karnes.

"Kanes, last time we went to San Francisco, we played in your club~"

“The architectural style there is very beautiful, I like it very much!”

"Oh? You saw those on the dock..."

"Yeah ~ they're awesome!"

"Hahaha~Thank you!"

"I put a lot of thought into them and invited a lot of people..."

Carnes, with a proud smile on his face, introduced in great detail how much effort he had spent on the construction of Club No. 39 in San Francisco's North Bay.

David looked a little surprised and raised his own questions and opinions on the many detailed issues mentioned by Carnes.

ten minutes later.

After drinking a cup of tea, Elena stood up like a hostess and gave everyone a new cup of tea.

Kanes' eyes moved slowly along with her movements.

David felt a pain in his foot, looked at Livlin whose face was a little cold, and couldn't help but smile.

"Kanes~"

"Jeral just mentioned to us that you have known each other for many years, right?"

"Ah~ yes!"

Carnes raised his finger and pointed at Gerald, who was "paddling", and said with a smile: "We were alumni of Harrow School."

"He is older than me and entered school earlier..."

"But, I helped him fight~"

"fight?"

Jellal had an "I knew this would happen" expression on his face and shrugged: "You didn't get into a fight when you were in school, right?"

David put his arm around Elena who sat back beside him, held Livlin's little hand with his other hand, and smiled.

"When I was in school, I was always the one who got beaten..."

"Hahaha~"

"Then you should...just like Jellal, when you were in school..."

"cough~"

"Kanes, stop beating around the bush!"

"That's not your character!"

"Oh~ok!"

Karnes' eyes stayed on David's hands for a few seconds and he smiled.

"I know, you may already be talking about cooperation, or... you have already agreed on cooperation~"

"David, I came here specially from London because I also want to talk to you about cooperation."

"Yeah~ of course!"

"You want...in what way can we cooperate?"

Karnes shook his head slightly, spread his hands and said, "I called Bloomer and I know that you also like to talk about things openly and directly."

"So, let's just be direct, okay?"

"it is good!"

David sat up straight, put away his smile, and said seriously.

"Bloomer said that during the last oil crisis, you passed..."

"gold!"

"That's right!"

"A few years ago, the price of gold skyrocketed, which increased my wealth several times~"

"I still hold a batch of gold spot in my hand as a long-term investment~"

"Um...then what?" David asked with a trace of confusion on his face.

"You want to talk to me...?"

"Of course it's gold!"

Kanes picked up the tea cup and put it to his mouth. A large cloud of misty water vapor instantly covered most of his face.

"I'm not interested in the oil crisis or energy crisis~"

"I will only focus on opportunities that can make me money!"

"You were at the reception...I couldn't hear that speech with my own ears, which is a pity~"

"If possible, I would like to hear some of your unique insights on the future trend of the current commodity futures market."

"Oh~ now?"

"Yes~"

David raised his eyebrows, nodded slightly, and pondered.

Elena, who was sitting next to him, turned her head to look at Livlin. The moment the two women looked at each other, they seemed to have a tacit understanding and stood up at the same time.

"Excuse me, gentlemen~"

"We'll excuse you first..."

"No!"

David held Livlin with his left hand and Elena with his right hand, asking them to sit down again and smiled.

"You don't need to leave!"

"..OK!"

Elena smiles brightly~

Livlin raised her eyebrows, glanced at Jellal and Kanes, and leaned close to David's ear, just about to say something.

David shook his head, held her hand again, and smiled: "There are no secrets between us!"

"Huh..." Livlin breathed out gently, looked into David's eyes, and nodded silently.

"Hehe~"

David gently scratched Livlin's palm with his index finger twice, tightened his right hand around Elena's waist, and smiled at Karnes and asked.

"Have you found it?"

"..Yes!"

"when??"

"Well...in the past few months~"

"Then what? Do you think there will be any difference between this time and the last time?"

"Of course there is!"

Karnes leaned back, crossed his legs, glanced at Jellal again, who lowered his head and remained silent, and smiled.

"But... I want to hear your opinion more!"

"ok~"

David showed a confident smile: "Before 1968, London was the world's largest gold trading market."

"In 68, the temporary suspension of the London gold market gave the Zurich gold trading market in Switzerland an excellent opportunity to catch up and ended its monopoly era!"

"Now, Switzerland has become the world's second largest gold trading center by taking advantage of its special banking system and the convenience of assisting gold transaction settlement."

"Furthermore, the Zurich gold market has no formal organizational structure. Its gold pool is based on informal negotiations between several major Swiss banks. It is not subject to the jurisdiction of the government and only maintains the posture of a consortium of traders and a hybrid clearing system. , playing an intermediary role in the market.”

“Zurich’s gold market, unlike the London gold market, does not have a gold price fixing system~”

"It's at a specific time each trading day, depending on the day..."

. . .

After David briefly talked about his understanding of the Zurich gold trading market, he looked at Kanes and asked with a smile.

"I'm not very familiar with the situation here in London~"

"Can you please introduce me to it too?"

"Okay~"

Karnes smiled, sorted out his thoughts, and introduced: "The London Gold Market was officially established in 1919."

"It conducts gold pricing twice every day in the morning and afternoon. The five major gold banks: Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Scotiabank, HSBC, Societe Generale, etc., jointly set the gold market price for that day."

Gerald, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said: "You didn't mention the French Rothschild bank..."

Karnes smiled and shrugged: "Okay~ One of our family's businesses also enjoys a vote in the pricing power of London gold."

"But... Jellal~"

"I am me, and my family is my family!"

"Please don't confuse us~!"

Jellal raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly.

Karnes took a breath, put away his smile, shook his head and continued without explaining anything.

“The trading system of the London gold market is quite special~”

"To put it simply...the London gold market mainly refers to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)."

"It does not exist as an exchange, but as an over-the-counter (OTC) market."

"The LBMA has always acted as a mediator between its members and traders."

"Its primary role is to act as a bridge between the market and the rule makers, and through the work of staff or committees, to ensure that London can meet the growing trading needs of the international bullion market."

"The main members of lbma can be roughly divided into: market makers and ordinary members."

"Market makers are all well-known banks, such as Barclays, HSBC, UBS, etc."

"So, if we want to trade in the London gold market, we have to conduct spot transactions with these market makers!"

After Kanes finished speaking, he looked at David and looked attentively.

David played with Elena's earlobe with his right hand, gently scratched Livlin's palm with his left hand, and smiled.

"With the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, the gold futures market was born in response to market demand."

"In 1972, Chicago's International Monetary Market began operating gold futures, with a daily limit of 50 yuan."

"In 1975, the New York Mercantile Exchange also began trading gold spot and futures, with a daily limit of 25 meters."

"In August this year, Singapore became Asia's first international gold futures trading market."

"What about London?"

"Is there a similar gold futures trading market?"

"No~"

“There is no formal gold futures trading market in the Financial City~”

"However, some international gold banks and gold merchants are urging the management of the Financial City and the LBMA to speed up the creation of an independent cross-market gold futures trading market that is separate from the original gold trading market."

"Um...what do you mean?"

"We'd better conduct gold futures trading in the United States or Singapore."

"Oh~?"

David narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Karnes and smiled.

"Hehe~"

"You seem to have forgotten to mention... Xiangjiang, right?!"

Kanes hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Singapore, isn't that enough?"

"Hehe~"

David shook his head, exhaled and said: "According to the current time division, Singapore, like Xiangjiang, belongs to the East Eighth District."

"London is zero time zone"

"New York is the fifth west borough;"

"Chicago, it's the Sixth West."

"Singapore, although still a member of the Commonwealth..."

"But it had already declared independence in 1965 and was recognized by the United Nations."

"Well..." Kanes stretched out his right hand to David with a calm look and gestured.

David shook Livlin's little hand vigorously and continued: "As far as I know, the Hong Kong government lifted its controls on gold import and export in 74."

"Hong Kong and Singapore, in terms of opening time, are right between the New York market and the London market."

"Due to the time difference, as long as the Hong Kong market extends some trading hours and settlement times, it can just fill the gap between the closing of the New York and Chicago markets and the opening of the London market, providing the market with higher liquidity and cross-border trading. Opportunities for market arbitrage.”

"It allows the three major global financial markets of America, Asia, and Europe to form a complete and coherent new pattern of the international gold trading market,~"

“So, in terms of location and people, I think Hong Kong is more suitable than Singapore!”

"Pah~pah~pah~pah~"

Carnes smiled and applauded David: "Wonderful!"

"You are very confident!"

"Of course ~ you too!"

"Hahaha~"

David and Kanes looked at each other and smiled~

Both of them saw a trace of themselves in each other's eyes.

This inexplicable feeling made the two of them initially recognize each other and send them the due kindness.

Karnes slowly stopped laughing and kicked Jellal, who was lowering his head and pretending to be a "meditator".

"Hey~ it's your turn!"

"Ok??"

"Why are you pretending to be stupid?"

"Don't tell me you don't know, David has a gold deposit at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York!"

Jellal smiled and shrugged: "I only found out last night..."

"Hehe~"

Kanes stared at Jellal for a few seconds, frowned and asked David: "Besides Jellal, who else did you see today?"

"what??"

"And... Angres Holm~"

"fxxx!!"

Kanes opened his mouth and uttered a curse word, stared at Jellal sideways, and sneered disdainfully: "Do you need to be so sneaky?"

"Gerald!"

"Last time, I..."

"cough~"

"That... wasn't my idea this time!"

"fxxx!"

"Are you still using this crappy excuse to try to prevaricate me?"

Jellal smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "It's not what you think..."

"Hehe~"

With a sneer on his lips, Karnes hummed, "You can even recruit that guy Holm..."

"You have grown up again ~ Jellal!"

"I.."

. . .

The wind blows, the grass is low, and you can see cattle and sheep~

David really didn't expect that it was just a speech and a briefing at a cocktail party. .

Out of nowhere came Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, Angelus Holm and Carnes Rothschild! ?

Old Morgan, Weasler, and Julie, these three damn old guys, arranged for him to come to London and make a public appearance. Is there any subsequent plot?

David withdrew his arm from Elena, frowned, and thought quickly.

Livlin seemed to understand a little bit, and looked at David silently with an expression of dissatisfaction and anxiety, but couldn't think of any solution.

Elena, a trace of warmth flashed in her eyes~

She put her arms around David's waist and whispered in his ear.

"The five major gold merchants in London and the three major banks in Switzerland have each set up their own branches in Hong Kong in the past few years."

"Their trading and buying and selling activities in London have already begun in the Xiangjiang market, forming an invisible London gold and silver market."

"This is not a secret in the Financial City~"

David patted Elena's arm a few times with his hand and said softly: "Thank you!"

"Um.."

"I only know this, I can't help you much..."

"Ha~"

"Enough is enough!"

David hugged Elena very gently, kissed her cheek, looked at the "angry" Kanes and the "innocent" Jellal, and smiled.

"Hey~ guys."

"..Um?"

"The gold I have in Chase Manhattan Bank... I never intended to invest it all!"

"Oh?"

Kanes and Gerald looked at each other and asked: "Are you saying that you won't invest all of the more than 1000 million yuan that belongs to you, or...?"

"The ones that are my own."

"..ok!"

it is as expected!

David cursed in his mind, took two deep breaths, stood up, and pulled up Livlin and Elena.

"Guys, you know what?"

"The rapid rise of the U.S. gold market is inseparable from the rapid depreciation of the US dollar and the enthusiasm for idle funds created in the stock and bond markets."

“The hedging and investment value-added properties of gold futures are one of the fundamental reasons for the prosperity of the U.S. gold market.”

"Coupled with the fact that Wall Street is generally not optimistic about the domestic and international economic and financial development situation in the next few years, this has created a new round of gold price surge that may erupt!"

"but!!"

David put his hands around the waists of Livlin and Elena respectively, and smiled at Karnes and Jellal.

"I'm just a little shrimp!"

"My predictions on market trends are only mine..."

"No! David~"

"we do not have.."

"Okay, Jellal!"

"I can understand~"

"Hehe~"

David simply stopped Jellal's explanation with his eyes, turned to look at Elena, and asked.

"Let's go take a break, okay?"

"it is good!"

"Livlin, how much do you weigh?"

"..What?"

"Hahaha~"

"Let me try it... Hey~"

David didn't care about the reactions of Livlin and Elena, he lowered his figure, used both arms to pick up the two women, and walked to the bedroom.

"Guys, I'm sorry~ I have a headache, let's go take a rest first!"

"Bang~click~"

David walked into the bedroom and closed the door with his heel.

. . .

in the living room.

Karnes had a smile on his lips: "It seems that our new friend is angry~?"

Jellal sat down helplessly, stared at Kanes for a few seconds, shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"I haven't had a chance to explain it to him yet."

"Is there any explanation for this?"

"If it were me, I wouldn't listen to your bullshit explanations~"

"..."

Jellal rubbed his temples with his hands, was silent for a moment, and said softly: "David..."

"Ha~ What do you want to say again?"

"Let's go and come back later~"

Jellal stared at the teacup for a while, shook his head and said, "You want to go back to London? You go, I'll stay!"

Karnes raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Stay?"

"Um.."

"Hi~hu~you..."

Jellal calmly picked up the cold black tea cup and said softly: "You, me, and David, we are different!"

"What?" There was a big question mark hanging in the corner of Kanes' eyes.

Jellal took a sip of herbal tea and smiled: "We are used to the AA system, and we like to carefully calculate the pros and cons of everything."

"He is different!"

"He... prefers to get along with people like old friends~"

"Let acquaintances become more familiar! Haha~"

"Um...what do you mean?"

"Nothing~ literally."

Kanes chewed these two sentences for a few times, and still stared at Jellal with a trace of doubt in his eyes for a few seconds.

"Whoo~"

"Okay~"

"Anyway, London is in chaos right now..."

"I'm going to get a room too, and I'll have a nice chat with him later!"

"Haha~ Please!"

Kanes stood up, touched the wallet he was carrying, and looked at Jellal strangely.

"Are you OK?"

"Hahaha~ get out of here!"

"Cut~"

. . .

On the other side of the room, in the bedroom.

After David closed the door with his foot, he slowly put down Livlin and Elena, walked to the bed, fell in, and murmured.

"Headache ~ I need to rest for a while ~"

Elena and Livlin looked at each other.

Livlin sighed, walked to the bed and sat down, watching Elena gently take off David's shoes, straighten his body, and gently rub his temples with her hands.

"David, let's go home!"

"Huh? Why?"

Livlin curled up her legs, sat on the edge of the bed, and frowned: "Since you have already predicted the possible crisis, why don't we go back to New York?"

"The money in my hand should be enough for your plan!"

"I'll invest in you!"

"Oh?"

David, who was lying on his back, supported his upper body with his elbows, looked at Livlin seriously for a few seconds, shook his head and smiled.

"it is good!"

"Based on your words ~ If that bastard Leslie doesn't want you anymore, I will!"

"Hey~" Livlin waved her small fist and struck in a series of blows. .

"Hahaha~"

David moved his body, resting his head on Elena's lap, putting his feet on Livlin's legs, and smiled.

"The answer is very simple~"

"Come on, beat your legs for me, and I'll tell you!"

"Tch~ take your stinky feet away!"

"Do my feet smell? No~"

"..."

After a few jokes and slapstick, Livlin bit her lips and acquiesced to the existence of the two smelly feet on her legs. .

David twisted his neck happily and explained softly.

"I just said it~ I'm just a little shrimp!"

"Of course~ Compared with the total amount of funds in the international financial market, the combined wealth of the Morgan family and the Rockefeller family can only be regarded as slightly larger... Xiami!"

"In the United States, there are many financial groups as famous as Morgan and Rockefeller~"

"Livlin, the total amount of funds and influence that your father's California consortium can control is no longer weaker than those of the old consortiums, right?"

"What about Britain? What about France? What about Germany? What about Europe? What about Asia?"

"Hehe~"

"People can only stand on the boat and see the tip of the iceberg floating on the water~"

"No one knows the true face of the iceberg hidden under the water!"

David raised his hand, took Elena's little hand, put it on his forehead, and continued.

"No one person, one consortium, or one country's government can influence the direction of a crisis sweeping the world~"

"Every time a crisis breaks out, even the instigator hiding behind it doesn't dare to pat his chest and say... that he has taken control of the overall situation~"

"There are too many uncertain factors!"

"There are so many... Even if all the financial groups in the United States unite, they will not be able to control the direction of the crisis."

"So, when crisis comes~"

"Everyone who predicts its arrival will actively prepare speculative chips and spread the news that is beneficial to their own speculation~"

"Remember the Bo-Stupid Theory?"

"As long as there are bigger fools than me in the market, I will be invincible!"

"Hehe~"

David gave a wry smile, which made Elena feel inexplicably distressed. .

Livlin pressed her hands on David's calf, frowned, silently stared at David's wry smile, and said softly.

"Can I... be of any help?"

"Of course~!"

"If everything goes well, you will become one of the richest women in the United States in ten years!"

"Huh~?"

"What do you mean?"

David nuzzled Elena's thigh with his head and sniffed: "Hmm~ You smell so good~"

"..." Elena smiled, looked at Livlin and said.

"I think you should call your dad!"

"...Okay!" Livlin quickly turned her eyes around and was about to get out of bed to make a phone call.

"Hey~ don't go yet!"

David spoke out to dissuade her, sighed, and said.

"The time has not come yet!"

"Livlin, this kind of gambling can lead to bankruptcy at any time... No amount of caution is too much!"

"Let's wait until we return to the United States and find a time for him and I to meet and chat~"

"...Okay~"

Livlin "consciously" hugged David's legs again, tilted her head and thought for a while before asking.

"How many more days are we going to have here?"

"Um.."

"Just wait two more days~"

"If nothing unexpected happens, we will go back this weekend."

"it is good!"

"...Huh?? That's not right!"

"Aren't we going to Paris?"

The corners of David's eyes twitched rapidly, and he grinned and said, "Why are you going to Paris?"

“Shopping!”

"You...are so confident!"

"nonsense!"

"I can spend my own money however I want!"

David opened his eyes, made a face at Elena, and responded feebly: "Yes, okay! I'll listen to you!"

"Haha~" Elena was so amused by him that she couldn't help but laugh.

"Cut~"

Livlin rolled her eyes and hit him hard on the calf.

"Ouch~ be gentle! My legs are about to break..."

"Hahaha~"

David's exaggerated reaction relaxed the atmosphere in the room.

"Um.."

"I want to listen to music~"

"Can you play the piano?"

"Yes~"

"I will~"

The two women looked at each other at the same time, both looking a little surprised~

David sat up interestingly, looked at them left and right, and smiled.

"Go~"

"Let me experience your... talents!"

"Okay!" Elena responded simply and helped David put on his shoes.

Seeing her actions, Livlin pouted and walked to the door of the room, opened the door, and walked towards the piano placed in the living room.

"..."

in the living room.

Jellal, who was closing his eyes and concentrating on life, looked at Livlin in confusion as he sat at the piano, checked the keys, raised his hand and gently tried a few notes. .

Then, David walked out of the bedroom, glanced at the living room, and waved to Jellal.

"Hi~"

"I didn't know Livlin could play the piano~ Let's enjoy it together?"

"..ok!"

David smiled and hugged Elena, and the two of them were like. .Like conjoined twins, he stood behind Livlin, quietly waiting for her "performance" ~

"Clang~clang~clang~"

Livlin soon found the familiar feeling, and her fingers pressed lightly on the keys a few times.

A piece of piano music with a very cheerful rhythm echoed in the living room.

David looked at Livlin's hands in great surprise and asked Elena in a low voice.

"You too... are you so powerful?"

"Absolutely~ I have practiced piano specifically for several years."

"Oh~"

David suddenly remembered the stories Elena had told, raised his hand to smooth the broken hair around her ears, and said no more.

in the living room.

A very coherent piano music flowed out between Livlin~

It seems that every note can make him feel the relaxation that music brings to people ~

David closed his eyes, feeling a little irritable just now, and was slowly soothed by the sound of the piano~

After a few minutes.

A song ends.

The three people in the living room all applauded Livlin~

"Clap clap clap~"

"You are awesome!"

"Haha~" Livlin raised her eyebrows proudly, gave up her position, and made a gesture of invitation to Elena.

Elena raised her head and glanced at David. Under his encouraging eyes, she sat on the piano bench, looked at each key carefully, and tapped it a few times with her slender fingers.

Then, a sound of piano sounded like a storm, echoing in the living room.

Jellal, who was sitting on the sofa, stood up in surprise, walked not far from Elena, and said softly: "Is this...?"

Livlin glanced at him sideways, bit her lip unconsciously, walked to David, and took his arm.

David also looked at Elena in great surprise. Her hands seemed to have transformed into elves, beating and dancing gracefully on the keys~

Just from the difficulty of playing the music, even a rookie like David can tell that this music is definitely not easy. .

After a few minutes.

Elena slowly stopped her "performance", stood up, hugged David's waist again, smiled happily and said nothing.

"What's the name of this piano piece?"

"Chopin's etude, "Winterwind"!"