Manhattan Reborn 1978

new York.

It's approaching midnight~

Wildfire Bar, 42nd Street, Manhattan.

Susan and her best friend, sweet-dimpled Martha, sat side by side in front of the bar, chatting and looking up to wait for the TV series to be replayed.

The bartender Erica lay down next to the two of them boredly, playing with a Coke bottle cap with her fingers, and asked the bartender Bruce Willis who was in a daze across the way.

"Hey~ boy, are you hungry?"

"Hungry..." Bruce nodded honestly.

Erica twisted her waist and stood up, stretched out a lot, looked at the deserted bar, and shook her head helplessly at Susan.

"What would you like to have as a late night snack?"

"I'll go out for a walk and bring it back to you."

"Forget it, I want to lose weight and won't eat anything." Susan looked down at her belly and replied a little discouraged.

"Then I won't eat either." Sweet Dimple Martha also looked down at her belly and replied in annoyance.

"Hahaha~" Erica laughed when she saw the funny looks of the two of them, put on her coat, walked quickly to the door of the bar, nodded to the steel-toothed dog Menge, and left.

Menge, the steel-toothed dog, was sitting on a light green single sofa by the door. He tilted his head and watched Erica go out. He suddenly remembered someone and said to Susan.

"Madonna told me this afternoon that she was going out with her friends to shoot advertising posters, but she hasn't come back yet..."

"Should we go find her?"

"Looking for it? How to find it?"

"Did she leave you her phone number or address? Did she tell you exactly where she was going?" Susan asked, feeling very strange.

"Uh... no." Menge knew he had asked a stupid question and replied slightly embarrassed.

"So?" Susan shrugged helplessly.

Sweet-dimpled Martha held Susan's shoulders and smiled at Mengo: "A girl of Madonna's age is locked in our bar working all day. If she occasionally goes out for a day, she will definitely lose track of time..."

"Don't worry~"

"Oh..." When Martha said this, Menge felt that he might have been a little too worried, so he responded casually.

Ten minutes later.

Erica came back carrying two bags of late night snacks.

But when she walked to the door of the bar and was about to go in, she found that the lights were on in the breakfast shop diagonally opposite the bar. .

"Huh?" Erica walked to the street and looked at the breakfast shop from a distance. She turned back to the bar in a strange way and told everyone about the incident.

After listening to this, Susan and Martha also felt very strange and walked to the door of the bar, looking at the breakfast shop from a distance and started talking.

After Menge, the steel-toothed dog, heard clearly what the three of them were talking about, he held the pistol in his arms and "volunteered" to walk out of the bar, wanting to go and have a look.

Under the watchful eyes of the three Susans, he limped to the door of the breakfast shop across the street, and saw a petite figure busy inside through the door.

Menge stared at that figure for a while, feeling that she seemed a bit familiar, so he reached out and knocked on the glass of the window a few times.

Xu Cuizhen, who was busy in the breakfast bar, heard someone knocking on the glass and immediately looked back. She found that it was Menge, the doorman of the bar opposite, and then she put her mind down, opened the door with a smile and asked.

"Hi ~ Good evening!"

"Um.."

"It's so late, what are you busy with?" Menge carefully observed the breakfast shop behind Xu Cuizhen and found no other people, so he slowly lowered his guard and asked.

"That's it." Xu Cuizhen looked past Menge and saw the three Susan girls standing across the street, and explained with a smile.

“I’ve been learning how to make breakfast at Wildfire Restaurant recently, but I don’t have the conditions to practice when I get home at night.”

"So, I just wanted to come to the store in the evening..."

"Oh..." Menge looked at Xu Cuizhen in surprise, turned around and waved to Susan and the other three girls to indicate that it was okay, and asked with a smile.

"You're trying to practice making breakfast, right?"

"Yes." Xu Cuizhen opened the door and wanted to invite Menge in, smiling.

"I'm almost done, can you come in and help me taste it?"

"Okay~ I happen to be hungry too." Menge walked directly into the breakfast shop without being polite.

Ten minutes later.

Menge, the steel-toothed dog, returned to the bar with two large paper bags of fragrant breakfast cakes in his arms.

Susan curiously took the steaming paper bag from his arms, took one out and smelled it, and said in surprise.

"This is...pumpkin pie?"

"Hmm~" Menge handed another bag to Sweet Dimple Martha and smiled.

"The little girl named Xu Cuizhen learned how to make pumpkin pie desserts at the Wild Fire Restaurant these days, so she wanted to use her evening break to try it at the breakfast restaurant."

"I have eaten it just now, it tastes very good~"

"You guys should try it too."

"Okay~" Susan put the pumpkin pie in her hand into her mouth, rejected it for a few times and nodded feeling very good.

"good to eat!"

"I didn't expect that she could make such delicious pumpkin pie after only learning it for a few days."

"That's right!" Martha turned to Erica and sighed as she ate the steaming pumpkin pie.

"You said learning cooking...does it also depend on talent?"

"Of course!" Erica took a bite of the pumpkin pie and smiled.

"But you'd better give up~"

"I guess no one would dare to eat the food you made..."

"Hahaha~" Susan, Menge, and the bartender Bruce who came to join in the fun all looked at Martha and laughed.

Martha also knew that she had no talent for learning cooking, so she shrugged and laughed at herself.

"I may not be born in the kitchen, it always makes me feel uncomfortable..."

Erica hugged Martha's shoulders and complained very sharply: "That's because all your talents are used in eating!"

"Hahaha~" Several people laughed again.

At this moment, at the door.

Madonna opened the door and walked in.

She saw several people gathered around talking and laughing, so she walked over curiously and asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Talk about you!" Susan put the last bit of pumpkin pie into her mouth and asked with a smile.

"How was your day out?"

"happy?"

"Hmm~" Madonna sat next to Susan very happily and said to several people.

“We went to watch two plays at the small theater on Broadway, and went shopping at Macy’s Department Store. Finally, my friends said they wanted to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center Plaza, so I took them to see it~ "

"Oh ~ not bad."

"and then?"

"..." Madonna rolled her eyes, picked up a piece of pumpkin pie and whispered.

"Then they wanted to visit the filming location, so I went to Mike Bai for help and asked him..."

"Making a film?" Susan turned to look at Mike Bai's girlfriend Erica and asked with a frown.

"Your friend came to New York just to make money from small films?"

"...Yes!" Although Madonna didn't want to admit it, she knew in her heart that this kind of thing would be known to them sooner or later, so she simply confessed.

"A few days ago, when I called them, they saw in the newspaper that there are many filming opportunities in New York, and many film crews are looking for actresses."

"I told them that those are all fake advertisements that deceive people. I know a few friends who are professional in making small films. They often ask people to publish these fake advertisements in newspapers to trick girls into coming to New York to make small films."

"But they don't believe it. They have to come and see it with their own eyes before they give up..."

"So, I asked Mike Bai to help me and took them to the filming location of the short film..."

Erica was surprised and asked with a smile: "Then after reading this, do they still want to stay in New York?"

"..." Madonna carefully observed the expressions of several people and nodded slowly.

"The director of the studio where Mike Bai took us was very optimistic about my friend and wanted her to be the heroine of the next film."

"For this reason, the director also offered a high price of 1500 yuan for a film..."

"After my friend heard the price, he decided to stay and seize the opportunity to give it a try."

"Wow~ha!" Erica looked at Susan and Martha and said with some inexplicable exclamation.

"What are girls thinking about these days?"

"Are you willing to take off your clothes in front of the camera for that little money?"

"Don't they know that it's easy to take off these clothes, but it's difficult to put them back on..."

"Of course they know." Sweet Dimple Martha continued without caring that it was me eating pumpkin pie.

"Didn't Madonna say so~"

"Her friend came to New York just to find a chance to make money and become famous for her acting!"

"Now that they are here, they are lucky enough to have the opportunity and want to give it a try. How else can you ask Madonna to persuade them?"

"Are we going to tell them that this is a road of no return and they must never agree to that director?"

"Haha~" Martha's sneer made several people fall silent.

Erica's eyes stayed on Madonna's face for a moment, and then she suddenly asked.

"Where's Mike Bai? Where is he now?"

"Uh..." Madonna couldn't help but shrugged, indicating that I didn't know either.

Erica rolled her eyes, cursed a few times, and turned to look for the phone.

Susan also stared at Madonna for a while, feeling that she didn't need to worry about this smart girl, so she simply picked up a pack of pumpkin cakes and waved to a few people.

"I'm going back."

"Oh well."

Susan, gone.

Sweet-dimpled Martha rested her chin on one hand, stared blankly at her retreating figure, and murmured.

"Although it's been so long..."

"But every time I think about it, I feel...very regretful!"

"Why couldn't I have been bolder?"

"Bold?" Menge, the steel-toothed dog, understood the trace of "resentment" revealed in Martha's words and joked.

"It's not too late for you to be bold now, right?"

"Tch~" Martha raised her middle finger to him, curled her lips and turned away.

Madonna picked up a piece of pumpkin pie and put it in her mouth, looking at Menge and asked.

"Did she just regret not becoming David's girlfriend like Susan?"

"I don't know~" Menge knew in his heart that Madonna had guessed it right, but he couldn't say it with his mouth.

He stood up with a smile, returned to his beloved sofa and sat down, crossed his legs and relaxed comfortably enjoying the tranquility of the night.

Madonna ate the pumpkin pie in silence, and saw Erica holding a microphone in her hand and spraying curse words continuously to the opposite side. Martha sat in front of the bar and looked up at the TV in a daze, and gradually felt a trace of jealousy towards Susan in her heart. .

David Coleman!

. . .

At the same time ~

Upstairs at Wildfire Bar.

David sat in the study, facing a thick pile of information, holding his forehead and lost in thought.

Ten minutes later.

"Dangdang~"

Polly knocked on the study door and saw David sitting in a chair with a tired look on his face. She stepped forward and asked with concern.

"You should go and rest first. Can't you watch it again tomorrow?"

"..." David took Polly's hand, put it on his forehead, and whispered.

"Today's meeting was somewhat beyond my expectations."

"So I have to revise some plans tonight and find alternatives with lower risks..."

"Revise?" Polly glanced at the large stacks of information laid out in front of David, and a sense of powerlessness slowly made her rely more on David. .

She bent down and gently hugged David's head, smelling the scent emanating from him: "Then I'll go to bed first."

"Well, you go ahead~ You have to go to work tomorrow."

"Should I ask Cui Yingying to come over and accompany you?"

"Isn't she asleep yet?"

"Yes~ She is worried that you will be hungry later and want to have a midnight snack, so she is busy in the kitchen."

"Oh.."

David felt warm in his heart, stood up and walked out of the study with Polly in his arms: "If you didn't mention eating, I would almost forget that I was hungry."

"Let's go~ Let's go have something to eat together?"

"I won't eat, I'll stay with you!"

"Hahaha~ok!"

----

Manhattan.

Blue Crystal Hotel, eighth floor.

In Professor Armstrong Bartley's room.

The professor, wearing a nightgown, looked at Old Morgan and Julie helplessly and asked.

"Did you just come back?"

"Yeah..." Old Morgan nodded with a tired look.

"Mediterranean bad old man" Julie complained as she unbuttoned her collar.

"These damn bastards have been claiming to be elites in the field of economics all day long, but let them..."

"Okay!" Old Morgan interrupted Julie's complaint, looked at Professor Bartley and said apologetically.

"He was angry just now, and he wasn't targeting you..."

"Haha~ I understand!" Professor Bartlet said with a self-deprecating smile.

“Since inflation broke out frequently and continued in various countries around the world more than ten years ago, the good days of economists have come to an end~”

"The economics community has been arguing about which economic and monetary policies should be adopted to effectively curb inflation. They have been arguing for more than ten years and have not been able to give a satisfactory answer."

"So, I think about it sometimes~"

"If I changed my research direction, wouldn't I need to do it now?"

"Haha~" Old Morgan waved his hand to the professor and said with a smile.

"You are thinking of changing your major and topic now. Isn't it too late?"

"Hahaha~" Professor Bartlett laughed, pointed at Julie and said unceremoniously.

"It's not like you haven't seen those people bragging in the media over the years. Why are you really angry?"

"If they had real skills, they would have shown them long ago!"

"..." Julie also felt that she had spoken quickly just now, and by the way, Professor Bartlet was also involved.

He smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore."

"What do you think of this afternoon's meeting?"

“Are the theoretical research and solutions they talk about to solve stagflation really feasible?”

"No~" Professor Bartley shook his head firmly.

"Among the dozen or so people who took the stage to discuss and speak today, only Milton Friedman and Murray Rothbard made some relatively pertinent suggestions."

"Friedman's advice was pretty much the same set of monetary theories he always adhered to."

"Murray Rothbard, on the stage, opposed low-tax liberalism and more government intervention in the free market. He believed that the anarchic economic system itself is self-regulating. If it is subject to excessive government intervention or regulation, it will definitely Let the domestic economy get worse..."

Julie frowned and thought for a moment, then sighed: "Rothbard is now regarded as one of the most important anarchists of the Austrian school of economics."

"He talks about it in his published books and articles..."

Old Morgan sat silently next to him, seemingly listening carefully to the discussion between the two, but the figure of David appeared in front of his eyes. .

Emm. .

A few minutes later.

Julie turned to Old Morgan and asked, "What about you? Did you gain anything today?"

"Ok!"

Old Morgan took a deep breath, stood up, nodded apologetically to Professor Bartley, and smiled.

"Have you already taken the medicine?"

"It's too late today. If you have any questions, let's talk tomorrow."

"Haha~ ok!" Professor Bartlet deliberately winked at Julie, who was still a little unwilling, stood up and grabbed old Morgan, and whispered.

"The Mundellian Trilemma that boy David talked about today, I went to find its proposer, Robert Mundell, and relayed it to him."

"Mundell was very surprised and thought that David's in-depth interpretation of the theory he proposed brought him a lot of great inspiration."

"So, he believes that if we really analyze the current economic conditions of various countries in the world according to the simple diagram of the trilemma proposed by David, we may be able to get a very simple and clear conclusion."

"Oh?"

"Professor Mundell and you both think...?"

"Yes!"

Professor Bartlet took the initiative to walk to the door, held the door handle and smiled: "Do you still remember that picture?"

"David has actually made it very simple and clear."

"After 73, the independence of our monetary policy and the free flow of capital were realized in the United States, but the floating exchange rate system that began to be implemented made exchange rate stability no longer exist." "

"As for the island country, another largest economy in the world, it has been insisting on restricting foreign capital from entering the country since 73, which means restricting the free mobility of capital, insisting on the independence of monetary policy and a relatively fixed exchange rate system."

"But with the official listing of Japanese yen foreign exchange futures in Chicago in 75, the island country has actually lost control of its own currency exchange rate and handed over part of it to the international free market~"

When Professor Bartley said this, his eyes flashed with a light that made old Morgan and Julie feel "sparkling", and he smiled.

"Therefore, if the island country is still unwilling to relax restrictions on the free flow of international capital, it can only rely on continuous adjustments to external and internal monetary policies to stabilize domestic economic trends until..."

Julie showed an incredible smirk and continued: "Independence of monetary policy, fixed exchange rate system, and free circulation of capital..."

"If the island country restricts or gives up two of these three stable triangles and only retains the independence of monetary policy, then..."

"Haha~"

"So, that guy David specifically chose today to talk about the Three Yuan Paradox just so that we can focus more on... Japanese yen futures?"

"I don't know either~" Professor Bartlet shook his head, indicating that he did not acknowledge what he had just said.

Old Morgan walked to the professor with a smile, watched him open the door, nodded and said.

"Thank you for your understanding and suggestions, see you tomorrow!"

"Ok ~ See you tomorrow!"

. . .

In the corridor outside the room.

Old Morgan stood by a window at the end of the corridor, holding his hands on the window sill, looking at the brightly lit Manhattan outside, silent.

Julie took out a box of thin cigars from her pocket, lit one, blew out a cloud of smoke, and whispered.

"Once, twice, three times..."

"It seems like this is already the third time?"

"No, it's the fourth time!" Old Morgan continued with certainty: "This is the fourth time, David asked us to pay attention to Japanese yen futures."

"Panaris has already been to Chicago and opened a position in the Japanese yen futures contract?"

"Um.."

"So... what's next? What are you going to do?"

"Haha~"

Old Morgan bent forward and stuck his head close to the chilly glass, looking at the neon-lit streets downstairs: "Before he makes a mistake, before he gives us another reminder, we might as well believe him this time! "

"Uh... Okay!" Julie took a long drag on the cigarette and began to think about whether to attend the upcoming extraordinary meeting of the Trilateral Commission. .

Old Morgan had obviously made up his mind. He tapped the glass in front of him twice with his fingers and said with a smile.

"Let's go back and rest first~"

"There are still many things waiting for us tomorrow!"

"Okay~" Julie also showed exhaustion on her face and threw the cigarette butt on the ground.