Manhattan Reborn 1978

On the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii.

Honolulu Island, the highest point of a branch ridge in the southern part of the Koolau Mountains, No. 398 Corudilla Avenue.

This holiday home is different from the one at No. 396 Corudilla Avenue that I visited before.

The biggest difference between them is that holiday home No. 396 is a three-story building + a small basement + a large yard in the front and rear.

The main building of Holiday House No. 398 has a larger usable area, but it only has two floors above ground + a semi-underground floor + a slightly smaller front yard + a utility room in the backyard.

Another important thing that makes David like this building is No. 398. .

In the backyard, there is a winding path that leads directly to the top of the mountain~

It only took him about half an hour to reach the summit of this branch of the Koolau Mountains.

Being able to climb high and look far away every day and have a sweeping view of the surrounding scenery ~ David enjoyed it very much!

. . .

The sunset in the west turns half the sky red ~

In front of the holiday home, at a long dining table that was combined, David opened a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red wine very skillfully and smiled at David Romano.

"Come on, try the wine from California compared to the wine from Italy. How does it taste?"

"Thank you!"

Romano took the wine glass from David's hand and nodded slightly to thank Klein, who had arrived with the good wine.

Klein shook his glass and made a little joke with Romano in Italian.

"Hahaha~" Romano laughed out loud at this humorous guy~

When David saw the two of them talking and laughing freely, he simply turned around and walked into the holiday house.

In a vacation home.

Aclade, the butler, passed David with all the new tableware he bought today.

In the direction of the kitchen, Cui Yingying quickly completed the work of plating several dishes with the help of the maids Chasida and Zina.

David walked up the stairs to the second floor, found his suitcase in his new bedroom, found some long-sleeved clothes and pants, changed into them and went downstairs.

. . .

After more than 20 minutes.

Everyone sat around the dining table and made some amusing jokes on Mr. Gardener and Lawyer George, who had arrived late.

Mr. Gardener smiled and handed the "gift" he was holding to the maid Chasida.

After Cui Yingying saw the "gift", she couldn't help laughing and said: "Do all New Yorkers love steak the most?"

David smiled and gave the gardener a thumbs up sign in praise.

"You still understand my appetite!"

George opened his "gift" bag and took out several bottles of common drinks in David's bar and a set of brand-new cocktail mixers. .

"Wow~" David was a little surprised and took the cocktail shaker and played with it a few times, then asked everyone with a smile.

“Do you want to try new flavors?”

“Juice cocktail tastes great!”

"Hahaha~" Neither Romano nor Klein had tried David's bartending "skills" before, and both expressed great interest in it.

The housekeeper Acklade called the maid Chasida, moved another small table from the holiday home, and set up a temporary mixing station for David.

As the owner of the "new house", David waited until everyone was seated, raised his glass to express his gratitude and welcome to Klein and David Romano~

The "housewarming" dinner officially began.

. . .

Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Karnes changed clothes in the bedroom and walked out of the room to prepare for David's "new house" dinner.

In the lobby on the first floor.

The two people who had been waiting for a long time saw Kanes coming out of the elevator and immediately stood up to greet him.

"Hi Bill."

"Car, is it ready?"

"Yes~"

"Then let's go~ I hope we can catch up..."

The man Carnes calls Bill is named Bill Gutherland.

He is about 30 years old, not very tall, and the Hawaiian shirt he is wearing makes him look like a college student who has just graduated. .

The person following Bill was the down-and-out Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud (hereinafter referred to as Walid) whom Karnes's uncle Schroeter had mentioned to him.

. . .

398 Corudilla Avenue.

Under the bright moonlight.

A gentle breeze blew through the newly mowed lawn, causing many broken leaves to return to the embrace of the earth.

The chatter and laughter of everyone made this vacation house, which had been vacant for a long time, regain its popularity~

The belated arrival of the three Kanes made David, who was very happy to drink, deliberately put on a "very unhappy" look and joked.

"Oh~ You're a busy man, you're here!"

"Haha~ It's not because of the two of them." Kanes rolled his eyes helplessly and pointed at the two people behind him.

"Oh?"

"Who are these two?" Of course David saw the two people following Kanes, stood up and went to meet them and asked.

Kanes waved his hand casually and said, "Would you like to introduce yourselves?"

"Ok!"

Bill Gutherland quickly glanced at the people behind David and smiled: "You can call me Bill."

"Who is this.."

"I am Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, you can call me Waleed."

"Um...welcome!"

"Please come and sit down~" When David heard Walid's name, he glanced at him a few more times in surprise, turned around and threw a wink at the butler Aclade, inviting him.

by the dining table.

Cui Yingying and Zina, who had just sat next to David, took the initiative to help the maid Chasida, sort out the empty plates and cutlery on the dining table, and enter the holiday home.

Mr. Gardener also stood up, carrying his own plate, and walked into the holiday house feeling very interesting.

After a few minutes.

Butler Aclade brought brand new tableware and three dinners made by Cui Yingying to the three of Canes.

David also made three homemade juice cocktails for the three of them and smiled at Karnes.

"Klein, you should be very familiar with it~"

"Romano, he just flew over from New York today..."

"His name is David, just like me~"

Carnes took a sip of the juice cocktail, smacked his lips a few times with a "surprise" expression, and waved to David Romano.

"Hi~ I'm Kanes."

"Haha~ Hello, Mr. Rothschild."

"..."

"Hahaha~" David couldn't help but laugh when he saw Carnes' toothache.

He wanted to give Romano a look and smiled at a few people.

"Each of us has different identities, backgrounds, ages, careers, and experiences."

"Today, I must thank you all for being able to gather here!"

"cheers?!"

"Cheers!" Klein, who was the first to respond positively to David, raised his glass and smiled.

"Cheers~"

"Hahaha~"

. . .

A small cup of fruit juice cocktail with a unique taste and high alcohol content, after you finish your meal.

The strangeness between the few people is also dissipating little by little~

Zina and the maid Chasida brought freshly fried steaks to the three of Kanes.

The butler Aclade opened a bottle of red wine and poured it into the newly brought wine glasses for the three of them.

Cui Yingying also sent a vegetable salad, a fruit platter and a dessert bought in the afternoon.

Kanes glanced down at the steak on the plate, then glanced up at Zina, who was sitting next to David and acting affectionately, winked and joked.

"You treated us to steak in New York... Now in Hawaii, you treat us to steak??"

"You know the shit!"

"Eating seafood here all day long, the purine level is so high...sooner or later you will get gout!"

“What a great steak!”

“It’s delicious and filling~”

"Haha~" Kanes laughed dryly. The cutlery in his hand first focused on the vegetable salad and launched a fierce attack on it.

Klein, Romano, Bill, and Walid watched the "interaction" between David and David with smiles on their faces, and kept quiet with different thoughts.

Seeing that there was a bit of a chill, David stretched out his arms, hugged Cui Yingying and Zina respectively, and asked Klein with a smile.

"Where were we talking?"

"Well...the most common money-making business~"

"right!"

David tilted his head and thought for a while, then continued the topic.

"Most of our common businesses can be summarized as: providing products or services of general value, or providing high-quality goods and services to meet people's growing needs~"

“For example: children especially like all kinds of interesting and novel toys; women especially like trendy fashions and cosmetics that can make themselves more beautiful; young people most like those that can show their unique personality and make themselves feel stimulated. Something~"

"However, these businesses are now firmly in the hands of many large companies."

"If we want to seize market share from the consumer market they have already occupied... it will be too difficult!"

"So, we might as well look for a profitable business from another angle."

David looked at Bill sitting next to Karnes and asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Bill, what do you think...which existing businesses are the most profitable?"

"Uh..." Bill, who had just put a piece of steak into his mouth, chewed it a few times, thought about it, and said.

"Oil company?"

"Well~ not bad!"

"Any more?"

"..bank?!"

"That's right~"

"and also?"

"..." Bill swallowed the steak in his mouth, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Carnes also stop eating, waiting for his answer. .

He slowly put down the tableware, thought seriously for a moment, and said.

"Monopoly, speculation and deception are all businesses that can make huge fortunes in a short period of time."

"..." After hearing his words, everyone began to think quickly in silence.

With a smile on his lips, Karnes raised his eyebrows at David.

Cui Yingying suddenly whispered to David at this time: "I... also prepared a steamed fish. It's almost time~"

"Oh... then you go first~" David let go of Cui Yingying with some surprise, and held Zina's hand with his other hand, seeming to feel the instant tension in her body. .

David watched Cui Yingying walk into the holiday home with a smile, hugged Zina's arm tightly, kissed her gently on the ear, and smiled.

"exactly!"

"I don't need to say more about how profitable a monopoly business is and how disgusting it is to the public."

"Speculation... Most of them rely on relatively accurate predictions + keen price capture + accurate trend judgment to make money~"

"As for cheating...hehe~"

"The most classic one is the Ponzi scheme~"

"However, in the past few years, some people on Wall Street have begun to use deceptive methods to make money from customers~"

"They like to call this method of repeatedly persuading customers to invest oil squeezing..."

"For example: a stock trader, after finding a certain stock in the market, will highly recommend it to his clients~"

"When he makes money from this stock for his clients, he will be able to get a good commission + the client's initial trust."

"With this first successful foundation, he can use his oil-squeezing methods on this customer bit by bit~"

"Until the client listened to his advice and lost most of his investment..."

"Or the customer took his advice and made a lot of money..."

“But no matter whether the client makes a profit or loses, the trader does not lose!”

"Because he has already earned enough transaction fees from frequent transactions..."

David's hand gently stroked Zina's back, looking at Bill sincerely, and continued.

"I keep asking you questions because I already have an answer in my heart."

"Monopoly can be counted as one."

"But it's getting harder and harder to do~"

"Speculation, according to my understanding, it should be called... an investment method that takes advantage of information differences to earn income."

"For example: Iran announced a few days ago to stop oil exports~"

"cheat!"

"Hehe~"

"My understanding of it is more inclined...people's blind trust in certain professionals gives them the opportunity to defraud large amounts of money~"

"But all of this is based on two very simple basic factors!"

"Greedy thoughts + blind trust!"

"If people are indifferent to the deception of some professionals... they will not be deceived~"

"This is also one of the pain points of the concept of rational people in traditional economics."

"Don't be greedy, don't trust people easily, won't be swayed by various emotions, and won't have the knowledge blind spots that most people have."

"When people maintain absolute rationality, any external factors are just a reference for him to make judgments and cannot completely affect his rational choices."

David moved his gaze to Carnes's face again and said with a smile: "In addition to what I just said, there is one more thing that Bill didn't have time to say..."

"Addictive!"

"We like to drink, which is a kind of dependence and addiction to alcohol."

"Similarly, some people like smoking, some people like shopping, some people like to keep changing girlfriends, and some people like speculation... They are all manifestations of addiction~"

"and also!"

"Coke, tea, salt, sugar, vinegar, chili, etc., are all on the table in front of us, and they are also very addictive to us...profiteering business!"

"But these things are not as good as...the various drugs that have become popular around the world in recent years!"

"It really explains to people... what addiction is and can ruin a life!"

"If we just talk about huge profits, it can definitely be ranked among the top three in all business rankings."

"Most people who are infected with it have a very common similar experience~"

“When they feel lonely, painful, empty, confused, and disappointed, they hope to seek novelty, excitement, momentary pleasure, and hallucinatory comfort from drugs~”

"Are you right? Walid!"

"..Um??"

None of them expected that David would change the subject, and they all looked at Walid, who looked equally astonished. .

Walid put down the tableware, wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, and frowned: "Are you asking me?"

"Yes!"

David looked at him seriously and asked, "You are not contaminated with it, are you?"

"..." Walid immediately felt extremely disgusted when he heard David's direct question. He stared at David coldly and said nothing.

Karnes, who was sitting next to him, turned to look at Bill and asked.

"He did drugs? Did you know that?"

"Well...I guess, maybe a few times~"

"At many parties, people bring some... drugs and let their friends play together..."

"Hehe~"

He turned to look at David again and asked curiously: "How did you tell?"

"..."

David let go of Zina, rested his elbows on the dining table, and said with a smile: "If you have seen hundreds of drug addicts in a bar... you can tell it the same as me~"

"Bill, how long has it been since you met?"

"Almost... sixteen hours."

"Oh~ Then you have seen him..."

"That's enough!" Walid interrupted David coldly, stood up and walked towards the courtyard gate.

Karnes shrugged at David and said to Bill without even looking back: "Go ahead and watch him get on the plane!"

"...Okay~" Bill looked at David deeply and chased Walid away.

Klein and Romano, who were sitting next to them, looked at each other in a "tacit understanding", smiled and said nothing.

David felt a strong pinch from Zina on his thigh, smiled and hugged her shoulders again, and said to Kanes.

"Don't worry!"

"We can wait~"

"Wait?"

"You mean... he will come back?" Kanes picked up the wine glass with interest and asked.

"Yes~"

David deliberately put his face in front of Zina, raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Strong desire and willpower can inspire unimaginable power."

"As long as he doesn't completely lose his mind, he will definitely know how to control his emotions and come back..."

"After all...he's already here!"

"Isn't it?"

"Cut~"

"What will happen if he comes?"

"If my uncle hadn't mentioned him to me on a whim..."

"Who is he?"

"Just a down-and-out prince who has no inheritance rights and is not recognized by the Saudi royal family~"

"..Ha~"

"So~ How about we bet ten dollars?"

"He's definitely coming back!"

"..??"

"Can you bet on this?"

"Of course~"

"Just tell me whether you want to bet or not!"

"Uh..." Karnes hesitated. .

Klein next to him turned his head to look at Romano and asked, "What about you? Do you want to bet?"

"It's a bet! Ten swords, right?"

"I bet too...he will come back!"

"Hahaha~"

"Then I'll stop him from coming back."

"ok~"

"Take all the money!"

"Our bets will not be credited!"

"Hahahaha~"

. . .

The cool night breeze + the bright moonlight + a long downhill road made Walid slowly "break free" from the unstable emotions in his heart~

He stopped by a small forest with no street lights, took a deep breath a dozen times, looked at the dotted lights under the mountain, and recalled all the details in his mind.

That David, was he deliberately provoking him? !

That's right!

That’s definitely the case~

But he does. .

"Drip~drip~"

Walid turned to look at the car that was catching up behind him, frowning, and asked.

"Are you here to take me back?"

Bill stuck his head out from the driver's seat, looked at Walid, and said, "Whatever you want~"

"The flight back to California won't be available until tomorrow morning..."

"If you want to go somewhere, I can take you there."

"..Do you have a cigarette?"

"Yes!" Bill got out of the car with a pack of cigarettes and threw it to Walid.

Walid took out a lighter from his pocket, lit one for himself, took a few puffs, exhaled a large cloud of smoke, and said.

"Who is that David?"

"I don't know~ It's also my first time seeing him."

"Oh?"

"You don't want to say it, right?"

"..."

Bill sat back on the hood of the car, looked at the scenery below the mountain, and whispered: "Just treat this as an unexpected trip~"

"When you go back, do whatever you need to do~"

"..." Walid smoked his cigarette in silence until the cigarette butt burned into the filter, then he threw it on the ground and stamped it out. .

"Let's... go back!"

"where do you want to go?"

Walid took another look at the scenery down the mountain, gritted his teeth and said to Bill, "I haven't finished my dinner yet!"

"...Haha~" Bill patted the hood gently with his hand, looked at Walid's serious look, and asked with a smile.

"Then I'll take you back to continue eating?"

"Ok!"

"ok~"

"Let's go!"