On the wall of the cafe is the classic American military poster, wearing a white top hat, a blue jacket, and white eyebrows, hair and beard. He is pointing at you with his right index finger, and below is a line of promotional slogan ".-army".

This white-bearded old man is Uncle Sam, who has become the five major symbols of the United States, along with the Statue of Liberty, Barbie Doll, "American Gothic" and Bison Nickel. Whenever a war occurs and the United States needs to recruit soldiers, Uncle Sam will inevitably appear on the recruitment poster of the United States.

In the cafe, opposite Chen Qiang was a middle-aged man with a beard and a little bald, which was the big real estate developer Fred-***.

Chen Qiang went to Washington but the money was not donated. Now Chen Qiang is holding more than 20 million in cash and has no investment projects, so he plans to continue buying a house.

For Chinese people, having money to buy a house and buy a land is the most traditional concept. What's more, Chen Qiang also knows that in the next few decades, housing prices in New York will only rise but not fall, especially in the core area of ​​New York, Manhattan, which has been worth every inch of land for more than a hundred years.

So Chen Qiang found the big real estate developer Fred-***, hoping that *** could recommend some suitable real estate.

"Chen, I heard you made tens of millions in the stock market! I didn't believe it at first, but later I realized that it was true. You are such a genius of investment. To be honest, I regret selling that apartment building to you now." Fred *** said half-jokingly.

Chen Qiang made a lot of money through the stock market, which is not a secret among the upper class in New York. What's more, in order to investigate the authenticity of Chen Qiang's testimony, the CIA investigators also went to Fred-***, so this matter cannot be hidden.

Chen Qiang asked, "Mr. ***, is your third child born?"

"I just got born, and I have another little princess." Fred-*** answered.

"Congratulations." Chen Qiang quickly told Fred-***, but he thought to himself that the baby in Mrs. ***'s belly was not the future president of the United States. It seems that the president will have to wait until the next baby will be born.

Fred-*** continued, "I'm quite sorry for my wife. I've been busy building apartments for the Navy recently, so I don't have time to go home and take care of my wife."

"The streets are full of posters of recruitment, and the US navy has also ushered in expansion. I think you will make a big profit." Chen Qiang said.

"In fact, I can't make much money. Building a house for the army has not had that much profit margin, and the prices of construction raw materials are also rising." Fred-*** explained.

Chen Qiang nodded: "I have heard a little bit, and I heard that the steel bars on the market are already in short supply. It is said that before the end of the war, it will be difficult to build new buildings in the city of New York."

The arrival of the war has a great impact on the American construction industry. The most important thing is the insufficient supply of steel bars. Many of the single-family villas in the suburbs of the United States are made of wooden structures, so they have not received the impact of insufficient supply of steel. In big cities like New York, all high-rise buildings are built, and it is not possible to have no steel bars. Due to the lack of supply of steel bars, high-rise buildings in New York City have basically been suspended.

Fred *** explained: "I am working for the Navy this time, so I don't have to worry about the supply of steel bars. The steel bars and cement used to build apartments for the Navy are military supplies, and they will be given priority supply."

"Then you are sure to make a profit!" Chen Qiang said with a smile.

"This is how the real estate industry is. As long as there is demand in the market, it is a sure profit and no loss. The difference is just how much you can earn in the end." Fred-*** explained.

The two of them exchanged a few more greetings before they got to the topic.

"Are you planning to invest in real estate in New York?" Fred *** nodded slightly, and then said, "Although this is a good idea, it is not that easy to do. You know, there are many refugees coming from Europe, and they gather in New York, which has also pushed up the housing prices in New York. The landlords in New York now convert their houses into apartments and rent them to refugees from Europe. The profits are huge. Few landlords will sell their houses. Even if they sell, they will open their mouths. Unless someone is rushing to use money like me, it may be difficult for you to buy the entire property at a suitable price."

Chen Qiang nodded. The reason why he was able to buy a whole apartment from Fred*** was that he thought Fred needed funds to build an apartment for the Navy, so he was willing to take action on the apartment. If Fred was not short of money, he could rent the apartment to those Jews who fled to the United States, and the benefits would be very high. In this regard, Chen Qiang got a bargain.

But not everyone is in a hurry to use money, so this kind of thing is hard to come by. Chen Qiang encountered it once and bought a whole apartment building, which was also very lucky.

Fred-*** continued: "Due to the shortage of steel, building steel bars are now scarce supplies, it is impossible to build new multi-story buildings in New York City in a short period of time, and the prices of existing multi-story buildings will continue to rise, and sellers will not take action easily. So I suggest that if you are brave enough, it is better to go to the city on the West Coast to gamble. Since the Japanese attacked the West Coast, housing prices in several cities on the West Coast have dropped sharply, and many residents even chose to move out of the West Coast and go to inland cities."

"This is a good suggestion. If you have the chance, I will go back and inspect it." Chen Qiang nodded.

In February, a Japanese submarine attacked a California refinery, which was the first time that the United States has been attacked by other countries since the War of Independence. Although the United States suffered little losses, the panic caused was unprecedented. Many companies on the west coast of the United States began to plan to relocate, and the people's reaction was faster. Many people were worried about being attacked by Japan, and sold their houses and moved to inland cities.

Especially those sea view rooms that rely on the Pacific Ocean were originally popular because they faced the sea and were blooming, but now they have become hot potatoes. If you wake up one day and find that the Japanese have landed on their own beach, or a Japanese submarine appears outside their own beach and give your home a shot, wouldn’t the whole family be finished?

Fred *** pondered for a moment, then continued, "Actually, if you invest in other real estate projects besides the apartment building, I think of a place."

"Oh, where is it? Commercial building? Or factory?" Chen Qiang asked immediately.

"Don't think about commercial buildings, it's harder to buy than an apartment building." Fred-*** continued: "I'm talking about stadiums."

"Sports venue?" Chen Qiang was slightly stunned, and then said, "Can it be a gym, golf venue, or indoor swimming pool or other things?"

"You must have heard of the name of Madison Garden Square, right?" Fred-*** replied with a smile.

"You mean Madison Garden Plaza is for sale?" Chen Qiang's surprised expression was a little distorted.

Chen Qiang's expression made Fred*** very satisfied. He smiled and nodded, and then said, "But the boss of Madison Garden Plaza is asking for a price not low."

"How much does it cost to buy it?" Chen Qiang asked immediately.

"About 6 million." Fred-*** replied.

"Can you give me a detailed introduction?" Chen Qiang asked again.

"Actually, I have heard of this news. It is said that in recent months, the holders of Madison Garden Plaza have encountered capital turnover problems. In addition, the profits of Madison Garden Plaza have been greatly reduced and the operating costs have remained high, so they plan to sell Madison Garden Plaza to relieve the pressure on funds." Fred *** answered.

Chen Qiang nodded slightly. He was of course very interested in Madison Garden Plaza. The future Madison Garden Plaza is not only a landmark in New York, but also a "basketball holy place". Such a place is a fatal attraction for a sports person.

So Chen Qiang immediately found a professional company to investigate the situation in Madison Garden Plaza.

...

The future Madison Garden Square is located directly above the Pennsylvania Station in New York, and this is not the case in Madison Garden Square in 1942. In fact, the Madison Garden Square I see modern times is the fourth generation Madison Garden Square, and before that there were three generations of Madison Garden Square.

The first generation of Madison Garden Square was built in 1879 on 23rd Street in Manhattan, where Fifth Avenue and Broadway meet. At that time, Madison Garden Square was a large garden with no roof and no competition in bad weather. This Madison Garden Square was demolished in 1890.

The second-generation Madison Garden Square was designed by the famous architect Stanford White at the time, and the investors behind it include ****, New York Life Insurance and other famous capitals. Basketball was invented two years after the completion of this Madison Garden Square. This second-generation Madison Garden Square has the largest indoor hall in the world, 110 meters long and 61 meters wide. The sideboard seats can accommodate 8,000 people, as well as a theater with a capacity of 1,200 people and a concert hall with a capacity of 1,500 people, as well as the largest restaurant and rooftop garden hotel in New York City. The construction cost of this Madison Garden Square is as high as 3 million US dollars.

In 1925, the New York Life Insurance Company, the owner of Madison Garden Square, decided to demolish it with the goal of building a new building, which will become a new landmark in New York, which is the current New York Life Insurance Building. The most conspicuous sign of the building is that it is the golden pyramid of 25,000 golden tiles on the top. If you go to Manhattan now, you will see a golden spire on the roof of a building, which is the New York Life Insurance Building.

Before the second generation Madison Garden Square was demolished, the third generation Madison Garden Square had already been selected. The third generation Madison Garden Square was located on Eighth Avenue in New York, between 49th and 50th Streets. The third generation Madison Garden Square was famous designer Thomas W-Lamb. At that time, he basically involved the famous theaters in the United States, such as the Fox Theater, the New York Congress Theater, the Boston Opera House, the Warner Hollywood Theater, etc.

The person who invested in the construction of the third generation Madison Garden Square was named George Ricard, who was a boxing promoter.

The so-called boxing promoter, you can tell that he is specialized in boxing, and he is considered a practitioner in the sports industry, but in fact, the identity of boxing promoter is not simple.

When it comes to boxing, the most closely related thing is the gambling industry. Since the day of boxing, gambling has never left the boxing ring. It is no exaggeration to say that boxing is a sport born for gambling.

People who are familiar with boxing or those who are familiar with gambling must know the inseparable relationship between boxing and gambling. So George Ricard, the so-called "boxing promoter", is actually a gambling promoter, or he is a big dealer in the gambling industry. The reason why he promotes boxing is to make people participate in boxing and gambling.

At the end of the 19th century, the gold rush in Alaska rose, and many gold diggers came to Alaska to try their luck, and George Ricard's first pot of gold came from Alaska. However, he went to Alaska not to make gold, but to open a casino and betting. Many gold diggers worked hard to earn all the money they had fallen into George Ricard's pocket.

After having money, George Ricard began to promote boxing, which was actually selling dog meat with a sheep's head. He held boxing competitions everywhere to attract audiences and bet a lot, and he made a lot of money.

By 1925, when the third generation of Madison Garden Square was built, George Ricard had several salons and nine o'clock, and had a casino in Las Vegas. He was also the founder of the Cavalry Team in New York.

The third generation Madison Garden Plaza cost 4.75 million to be built, and can accommodate nearly 20,000 spectators. If it weren't for the rich, they wouldn't be able to afford so much money. Of course, George Ricard built Madison Garden Plaza to hold boxing competitions and make money through gambling.

George Ricard died of illness in 1929. The cause of death was a complication after appendicitis surgery. His wife and daughter inherited his legacy. However, his daughter is still only 15 years old, so George Ricard's business was managed by Mrs. Ricard.

After the outbreak of World War II, many sports were affected, and the same was true for boxing. With the large-scale recruitment of the US military, many excellent boxers joined the army. Without boxers, there was no way to continue the boxing competition.

It is true that many boxers are brave and fierce people. If someone with a gentle personality is not able to be a boxer.

As a boxer, I must enjoy the feeling of knocking people down on the ring. However, the ring with rules is more exciting than a battlefield without rules. Maybe those boxers with violent tendencies will be eager to go to the battlefield and can kill people legally.

Boxers are also better than ordinary people, and their fighting skills are much better than ordinary people. At least ordinary soldiers trained in the US military are not as good as boxers in fighting skills. Therefore, boxers have become the main recruitment targets of the US military. The recruits of the US military will even visit the boxers in person and invite them to join the army.

In the 1942, Madison Garden Square was not a basketball holy place. It mainly relies on holding boxing competitions to earn profits. If you really calculate it, the tickets for boxing competitions can be guaranteed at most, and it still depends on boxing gambling.

Now that boxers have joined the army, the boxing competition can’t be handled anymore. It would be strange if Madison Garden Plaza is not losing money!

More importantly, the Ricard family still runs a casino in Las Vegas, and the arrival of the war has also caused the casino business to plummet. Looking at the three major casinos in the world, they are all in a stable environment around them. If there is war, the gamblers will not come. Most gamblers just gamble money, not life.

If the Ricard family was an industrial business, they might make a lot of money during World War II, but their business was basically related to gambling and was a non-stop player. When it came to World War II, the Ricard family's business naturally plummeted.

So Mrs. Huricard made the decision that she had to sell some industries to recover funds so that she could save other industries.

"Casino" Las Vegas casino and Madison Garden Plaza choose one of them, choose one from them and sell them. The fool knows how to choose! No one will foolishly sell the casino, so Mrs. Huricard had to put Madison Garden Plaza on the shelves.

However, no one is willing to take over the offer of up to US$6 million.

—————
Chapter completed!