Introduction to the story of the financier

The story takes place in Philadelphia, near the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern United States in the mid-19th century. At that time, new gadgets such as telegraphs, telephones, and trams had not yet been invented. Traveling by carriage had to be carried out, and messages had to be sent by special persons. However, the prosperous commercial trade and active financial market make this eastern industrial and commercial center with a population of 250,000 very lively. Here, people can see banks, exchanges, and bustling transactions in front of shops. . Look, it's a street dedicated to importers and wholesalers' shops, called Qian Street. There is an auction flag hanging in front of a grocery wholesale store. Many people are watching around, and the auctioneer is shouting loudly:

"Who wants to buy this batch of fine Javanese coffee, one *** twenty-two bags...how much will it cost? If you want to buy the whole batch together, how much will you pay?..."

"There is now a batch of excellent Castile brand soap, seven boxes per one. This soap sells for eleven dollars and seventy-five cents a box no matter where it is. How much do you pay? How much do you pay?"

"Twelve yuan," one person asked.

"Fifteen dollars," another person shouted.

"Twenty yuan." "Twenty-five yuan." "Twenty-nine yuan." "Thirty yuan." "Thirty-one yuan." "Thirty-two yuan." A young man The voice finally said firmly.

The auctioneer paused and shouted again:

"Thirty-two yuan is the first bid! Does anyone bid thirty-three yuan? Thirty-two yuan is the first bid. Called twice! Anyone offered thirty-three dollars? Called a third time. Once, twice, anyone offered more?" - He raised his hand. The gavel on the top, "Sell it to -?" He leaned forward and looked at the buyer who shouted "Thirty-two yuan" in surprise. It turned out that he was a child!

"Frank Koppau, son of a teller at the Third National Bank," the boy replied firmly. "Would you please wait while I go to the bank to get the money?"

"Ah, yes," said the auctioneer, dazed with surprise.

This child is the protagonist of this novel, Frank Aggieron Coppau. This was the first business he made when he was thirteen years old. He rushed to the bank to ask his father After borrowing money, he asked a porter to take the seven boxes of Castile soap to a grocery store near his home, and sold them to them at a price of sixty-two yuan per box. In this way, Frank Copperau changed hands. I easily made a full thirty yuan per box! When he told his parents about the transaction, his father smiled proudly and his mother was stunned. His mother said to him:

"Okay, Frank, I hope you do this kind of business often."

"I hope so too, Mom." He replied.

Copause's father, Henry Washington Cowperwood, was originally a clerk at the Third National Bank and later promoted to cashier. He was a cautious but ambitious man. He hopes that one day he can become a bank manager, and that his children will also become capable people in the financial trading world in the future. This hope is mainly placed on his eldest son Frank. Frank has shown a superhuman ability since he was a child. At home, he is the natural commander of his younger brothers and sisters, and at school he is considered a natural leader, brave, fearless, and strong. Once, he saw a scene of lobsters eating squid from a water tank in front of a shop, which established in his young mind the belief that all living things eat each other for a living. Of course, humans The same is true.

After the success of the soap business, Frank was no longer interested in reading. Once he knew the trick to making money, he couldn't help but put all his energy there. He learned a lot about financial transactions from his father, such as what promissory notes are, how to do the bond business, etc. He also brought business to the school, selling youth newspapers, selling skates, and purchasing straw hats for his classmates. He believes that you can't get rich by saving. To get rich, you have to do business. Apart from making money, he is only interested in women.

Since the age of fifteen, Frank has gone dancing, watching theater, shopping, and even kissing their female classmates one after another!

When Koppau was seventeen years old, he decided to drop out of school before graduating from high school. By this time, his father had been promoted to the accountant director of the bank. After being introduced by his wealthy uncle Senaga, Frank joined Henry Waterman Company, a grain business, first as an assistant bookkeeper, and two weeks later became the company's director of bookkeeping. He won the praise of his boss with his outstanding talent in business. But Frank doesn't want to deal with food. His interest is in financial business, and that's big business! When he was eighteen and a half years old, he left Waterman Company and joined Taiyi Company, which operated banking and brokerage businesses. Of course, in the final analysis, Frank never wants to stay in Taiyi Company for the rest of his life. His ultimate goal is to be his own boss and open an exchange. He was dissatisfied with his father's behavior, being so cautious. He wanted to stand out and dominate. That was the spirit of Frank Koppau! He regarded Taiyi Company as nothing more than a springboard. Once he became familiar with the business and his wings became strong, no force could hold him back. He first bought stocks in the street car company, and then bought land, and gradually accumulated a considerable amount of property. In addition, the wealthy uncle Senaga had just passed away, and he received an inheritance of fifteen thousand yuan, so he started to operate independently. The conditions are ripe. He finally broke up with the boss of Taiyi Company. The old man Taiyi said with emotion: "He is a shrewd little guy." Yes, Koppau is by no means a hired person, he wants to command others. people.

Twenty-year-old Frank Koppau started a bill brokerage business in an office room at No. 64 South Sanzian. His business was slowly but steadily rising. He was happy to find that none of the customers he had dealt with in the past had forgotten him. He often went to some companies that he thought might need cash to buy their bills or checks, and then sold the bills to people who were willing to invest safely and earn a commission. . In the first year, after excluding all expenses, he made a net profit of 6,000 yuan. That's not much, but he's looking for ways to increase his income, and he believes he'll be able to make huge profits in the future.

Kopau's eyes were filled with roses at this time, and the business he founded was gradually prospering. He used his own money to invest in new businesses, and he was still feverishly pursuing Mrs. Lily Shampol, a beautiful, dignified, wealthy widow who was five years older than him. Mrs. Samble was puzzled by this young man who was so attentive to her. One night, when Cowper came to visit again, she asked:

"Why do you come so often?"

"Ah, don't you know?" He looked at her meaningfully and replied.

“I don’t know”

“I like you, I like to be with you. Do you like me too?”

“Ah, I never I never thought of this. You are much younger, and I am five years older than you." But Koppau replied: "Of course you are older in terms of age, but I am older than you in other aspects. Fifteen years older. In some ways," he added softly and sweetly, "I know more about life than you can - don't you think so?"

Then, Cowper's proposal to Mrs. Samble was so frightened that the little widow cried out: "It's impossible, Frank, it's impossible!" Cowper's arms went to hug her. She broke free and went upstairs to the bedroom, but he pushed open the door, caught her, and held her in his arms. In the end, it was Cowper's victory again, and Mrs. Samble finally agreed to marry him three months later. When she hesitantly suggested that her widowhood was so short and she was afraid of being gossiped about, Coppawu shouted irritably: "Oh, it doesn't last long! I don't agree with you - you Too concerned about other people's opinions. They don't care about your life, and they certainly don't care about my life. You have to think about your own life first. Don't you let other people's opinions hinder what you want to do. Something?"

Hey, what a great Cowper! What he decided to do cannot be stopped by anyone, everything is for himself, others-don't care! This is the logic of life in Koppau.

Since marrying Lian Li, his wealth has increased significantly. He has renovated his house and purchased a large number of new furniture and works of art. His business is going smoothly and his social circle is getting wider and wider. His family was very warm. Mrs. Lianli Koppau gave birth to a son and a daughter within four years, named Little Frank and Little Lianli.

At this time, the Civil War broke out. However, Cowperwood was not interested in this war that determined the fate of the country. He did not understand why workers who had just got off work with lunch boxes in their hands would leave their children and wives to join the army without hesitation. He even expressed his displeasure with Lincoln, who led the war. The president is not without a touch of ridicule. He only cares about one thing, and that is how to make a fortune in the war. The opportunity came as expected. During the state government's bond issuance process, Copa Uba became acquainted with the powerful local Edward Maria Butler, an Irish immigrant who started his career as a garbage contractor. With Butler's support, he obtained the right to promote a million-dollar bond, which alone would make him twenty thousand dollars.

The war is coming to an end and the North has won. Cowper was still not interested. He did not think that the liberation of the black slaves was a great thing. He felt that the war was wasteful, tragic, and unfortunate. This war was not fought for him, and he did not participate. Now that the war was over, he cheered it, not as a patriot but as a financier. After several years of training, the twenty-eight-year-old Coppawu is now a rising figure in Philadelphia. After he earned the money from issuing public bonds, he began to build a beautiful house. He often visited Butler's home, and Butler also led his family to visit him. He also met the newly elected city treasurer George W. Steiner, who played a major role in Cowper's subsequent economic development and spiritual life. After some planning, Steiner deposited a large sum of bond notes belonging to the city government into the company, and they were congratulated each other for finding the person they needed.

The proud Cowper not only showed off his talents in career, but also displayed extraordinary tricks in life. In order to satisfy his inner selfish desires, he captured Butler's eldest daughter, Miss Ailing.

Crazy Cowper! He forgot about his family, wife and children, morals and sentiments. In order to achieve the purpose of having a long-term affair with Ai Ling, he secretly rented a house, pretended to be busy with business in front of his wife, and often did not go home. And fooling around with Ai Ling.

In the summer of 1871, Coppau was nearly thirty-four years old. His trading company already has 2 million yuan in capital, and his personal accumulation has reached 500,000 yuan. He did many secret missions for Butler, Steiner, and State Treasurer Nostrand. He bought a large number of stocks in the city's railways. The power of the railway company was taken over and became his personal monopoly.

Just when Cowper's business was going smoothly and his love life was going smoothly, an unprecedented fire broke out in Chicago, a large city in the middle of the United States, on October 7, 1871. The fire not only destroyed the entire business district of Chicago, but also spread throughout the United States: stocks plummeted, the economy collapsed, and even Cupau as far away as Philadelphia suffered a heavy blow!

First of all, the 500,000-dollar public bond transaction between him and City Finance Director Steiner was about to go bankrupt. Coppau found Butler in desperation, and Butler worked for him in many ways, trying to negotiate a deal with the other two "Big Three" of Philadelphia - one of whom he was one of - Morenjo and Simpusheng. Come down and save Cowper's life. It seems that Koppau still has hope, because he has the backing of the "Big Three", not to mention Butler has clearly told him that the difficulties can be overcome.

Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, Butler received an anonymous letter exposing the affair between Cowper and his daughter Aileen. The old Irish man was furious. He immediately withdrew all the money he had lent to Cowper, and then gave the letter to Aileen. Although Ailing denied it, the old man could tell that she was lying. Butler vowed to use all his strength to punish "the scoundrel" Cowper's.

Now Koppau is besieged on all sides: the money owed to the bank cannot be repaid, the illegal business cooperation with Steiner has been exposed, and his wife Lianli also received an anonymous letter at the same time, making severe accusations against his debauchery... It's over, All is lost.

Frank Corpau's company finally declared bankruptcy. After accounting, it was found that he actually suffered a loss of 1.25 million yuan, and was also involved in illegal activities in government bond transactions. Koppau was already thinking that he might be facing a lawsuit and maybe even go to jail. Of course, he had to do his best to avoid such an outcome, otherwise his business reputation would be ruined and he would not be able to stay in this city.

On the fifth day after Cowpert announced its bankruptcy, a secret meeting to decide the fate of Cowpert was held at the home of Senator Simpusson. The meeting was attended by the "Big Three": Butler, Molunhuo and Xin Pusheng. At the meeting, Butler insisted that Cowperau be brought to court for severe punishment, which puzzled the other two Philadelphia authority figures. Of course, they still agreed, and Koppau would reap the consequences. Although they suspected that there must be another reason for Old Butler's tough attitude, they did not have to sympathize with this smart, capable and sharp-edged Cowper. It would not be a bad idea to let him suffer a little, because he was arrogant!

Butler's plan to punish Cowperwood seemed to be successful, but he failed in persuading Aileen to sever ties with Cowperwood. The old man took Ai Ling back from the secret residence rented by Keppu, but his daughter did not give up her attempt to elope with Keppu. Later, Butler wanted Ailing to travel abroad to Europe, but she also refused. Finally, the daughter made it clear to her father that she loved Koppau. In order to show her determination, she finally ran away from home and broke with the family.

The day for Koppau's trial arrived. After a long and tedious trial, summons, and collegial discussion, he was sentenced to four years and three months in prison and fined 5,000 yuan. When the judge of the court announced the verdict, Butler came specially. He felt victorious, because he was finally sent to prison by himself. However, if he saw that Ailing was also present that day, and she was here, Having visited the prison guardhouse many times before while awaiting sentencing, the old man would definitely not be so proud.

Kopau went to jail, his house and furniture were auctioned off to pay off his debts, and his family was in a desolate situation. His wife came to visit him in prison, but all she got was his request for a divorce. Lian Li became angry and scolded him for having "no conscience". It doesn't matter whether he has a conscience or not. What matters is how to achieve what he needs. "It's okay to be angry", he thought to himself when his wife went out, "A person is not finished until he is finished. I still want to show it to these people."

Kopau’s plan did not fail. Due to the mental shock of his daughter running away privately, Butler suddenly suffered a stroke and died six months later. Coppa was released early after only being imprisoned for one year and one month. He was determined to revive his old career and leave Philadelphia to rebuild the world elsewhere. Two years later, in the financial world of Chicago, a young banker and his beautiful wife appeared. They were Frank and Eileen Koppau.