Chapter 167 This Year is an Election Year
"Over at the United Fruit Company, Mr. Keane is a very motivated man. We have made tremendous progress throughout Central America and acquired a lot of land. Now we are starting to reap the benefits. Finally, we losers can make a living." Gail spoke with a self-deprecating look on his face. Although more than a year has passed, he still feels bad about the failure.
Sheffield smiled and consoled him, "United Fruit Company is a good business, but we still have too many shareholders, so it seems like there are too many wolves and too little meat. Compared to the families that migrated back, each family has to feed a lot of people. The plantations in small Central American countries cannot absorb so many people. After all, it is their country. We can't not hire locals and replace them with our own elderly people. Moreover, the cost is too high. The greater the investment, the smaller the profit."
"In fact, if necessary, United Fruit Company can also go public." McHale's mind moved, and he proposed a way to recover funds faster. Many companies will choose to go public to cut leeks when they are short of funds. First, I will ensure that I will not lose money. Of course, it would be better if I can continue to develop in the future. If I encounter a bottleneck, I will decisively cash out and leave.
Sheffield rejected this suggestion and lowered his voice and said, "The stock market has not been very kind to me recently. It seems that someone wants to teach me a lesson. Coca-Cola has received special attention from an unknown person."
After explaining the recent strangeness of Coca-Cola's stock, many shareholders nodded in understanding. Many people said, "It seems that the financial industry is also quite exclusive. If we don't want to go public, then we won't go public. We are not short of money."
"That's not the case. Who would complain about having too much money? Even if we recruit workers, they won't work hard if we don't pay them enough. Fortunately, I still found these workers under special conditions." Sheffield boasted habitually, and then said, "We will first consolidate our hegemony in the fruit industry to a position that no one can shake, and then we will go public for acquisitions. Anyway, we don't have much financial pressure now. We just need to wait patiently. There will always be a time for us to reap the rewards. I can use Coca-Cola to see how long a financial giant can violate market rules. I will spread out channels and occupy the market. I don't believe that the market will not respond."
Although the descendants of these slave owners had never heard of the saying "planning in the tent and winning the battle thousands of miles away", when they saw Sheffield's regular and calm planning, they all agreed and said that they had no shortage of time to wait.
McHale talked about Standard Oil's exploration work in Texas. So far, Standard Oil has not found a suitable place and is still working hard. But this is normal. Texas is the largest state in the country, and you can't just let people take off their underwear.
If others can find it themselves, Sheffield will accept the reality. If they can't find it, then don't blame him. He will not take the initiative to remind Standard Oil where the oil resources they need are.
The reason why McHale talked about the oil issue was that after McHale came back, he directly hired a manager to run the estate, and his father was also making use of his remaining energy. He himself was wandering around the southern states, helping Sheffield keep an eye on Standard Oil in Texas for a while. He was bored and heard that Sheffield had arrived in California, so he came here without stopping.
In fact, this is also the state of many families after they return, and they are thinking about what to do. They are looking for new industries to operate. The most important thing is that the pattern of the southern states is different from before. After these families leave, there must be new groups that get rich and replace their original positions. It is impossible for all the southern states to rely on Sheffield United Company.
As the population increased, many of the best lands already had owners, and they didn't care about the ordinary lands. Sheffield knew that if they were idle for too long, these families might miss life in Brazil. So it was not enough to tie up these shareholders with a United Fruit Company.
This was also the purpose of him calling these shareholders. He could not manage so much land by himself, and someone had to help share the burden. These people were also looking for better land and had the same need.
"What do you think of Texas?" After asking about his hometown, Sheffield leaned over the table, but raised his head and asked in a weird posture of the times, "Is it a good place?"
"It's the largest state in the continent, with a good climate, close to the sea, and developed agriculture and animal husbandry. It's really a good place..."
Sheffield's inquiry aroused a warm response. In fact, whether it was good or not could be seen from the fact that the Sheffield family did not flee the United States after the defeat. Now they have developed so well. Thirty years ago, everyone was the same, but now the gap is obvious. Fortunately, people expressed the solidarity of the Dixie people and accepted them back, otherwise these people would not know where to go.
"Large area, good climate, close to the sea, developed agriculture and animal husbandry? In fact, California, where you are now, also has these conditions. Haven't you noticed that the most important thing is that the three states along the Pacific coast have a population of only two million. California is the most important. Even if it accounts for half of the population, it is still a very sparse population, but there is a vast land. All of this is similar to Texas back then. We are all partners. You should know best that my grandfather moved his family there and used superior conditions to attract citizens of Louisiana and occupy a dominant position in Texas." Sheffield's fingertips tapped the table rhythmically, and he said word by word, "God bless, there is a second chance. I am so lucky..."
The entire conference room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and everyone had a thoughtful expression. Looking back now, the move to Texas was an important step in the rise of the Sheffield family. Success with precedent always makes people want to replicate it.
While everyone was thinking, Sheffield said calmly, "To be honest, I have already decided to develop here, and my grandmother also agrees. Now I am waiting for the state government to transfer the land. The most basic reason for calling you here is that I cannot take over such a huge piece of land by myself, and I don't have enough power. After thinking about it, I think you guys are trustworthy, so I want to share the good things with everyone."
"Evelyn, bring the land here!" Sheffield signaled his secretary to take out a map of the United States. Soon a map including California appeared in front of everyone.
In fact, most people were not interested in the map, but were quite interested in the female secretary beside Sheffield. Several people exchanged glances obscurely, as if guessing the identity of this girl.
"She looks very clean, just like a lily. Guess why William kept her by his side."
"Hehe!" Another one laughed quietly, revealing an expression that everyone understood, but immediately changed his face and said seriously, "I don't know!"
Such a pure girl standing aside seemed out of place in the slave owner's party, but Sheffield didn't think it was wrong. Flowers are flowers because they are compared to cow dung, right? He was not hypocritical, he was the cow dung.
Holding a pencil, Sheffield gestured on the map and drew a few arrows. People who didn't know would think he was planning a battle in the name of a general, just like Rockefeller's speculation during the Civil War.
"California's location is actually more advantageous than Texas, and Los Angeles' location is comparable to New York on the East Coast. If we use the South as a comparison, it is equivalent to New Orleans, which is located in the middle of the southern states. It can radiate a large area. In fact, as long as we gain a foothold here, we can have an impact on many states in the Great West."
Sheffield put away his pencil and said, "The only difficult part is that, just like Texas decades ago, the infrastructure here is not very developed and needs some development. But if we gain a foothold, the benefits in the future will be immeasurable."
Sheffield didn’t know whether the benefits to other shareholders would be immeasurable, but he would definitely benefit greatly, and he himself would be the one who would benefit immeasurably.
"There is another important issue. This year is an election year. If we act quickly, we can do our best to help our candidates in the election and control California, so that we can better realize our dreams." Sheffield stated the last important reason.
The huge amount of money behind these shareholders can be used to hire more local workers and increase their influence on these voters. Sheffield knows the power of a financial sponsor. In the face of so many opponents, especially many large companies, it is almost impossible for him to help the Democratic Party win the election again.
But if it is limited to just one of the many states in the mainland, we can definitely concentrate our efforts and give it a try. However, although California has a population of only one million, it is inevitable that one person cannot take care of it all, so we need help from others, as there is strength in numbers.
Is this an election year? This reminder once again shocked the shareholders who had just come to their senses. They were not short of money. They already had what most people pursued. If they wanted to go further and get the pleasure of manipulating power, they had to get involved in politics. Regardless of success or failure, this was something they had to do.
Moreover, the vision of a second Texas was enough to attract people's attention. Gail was the first to agree, "Okay, let's turn this place into the second Texas."
"As long as land transfer is feasible, I will definitely acquire the land," McHale also said.
After snapping his fingers and asking someone to bring the wine, Sheffield raised his glass and said, "My dear friends, you will definitely not suffer any loss, because I will also buy a large piece of land next to the border, and we will suffer the loss together, but this is impossible."
"Cheers!" Sheffield's statement dispelled everyone's last bit of doubt, and the sound of wine glasses clinking rang out.
(End of this chapter)
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