37: Chapter 37 Shorting the entire grain market!

One week later.

Lin Tian took his people on a train, rushing all the way to Chicago, and immediately booked the most luxurious Kona Hotel in the city.

Having lived two lifetimes, this was the first time Lin Tian had traveled so far.

Previously, the furthest he had been was Utah, but today he had plunged straight into the Great Lakes metropolitan area in the heart of the USA.

As the largest city in the Midwest, Chicago's population had already surpassed the 600,000 mark, exactly twice that of San Francisco.

By the beginning of the 20th century, its population would exceed one million, making it undoubtedly one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.

Lin Tian had come to Chicago not only to prepare for the National Rifle Championship but, more importantly, because he had set his sights on the local grain Chicago Futures Market.

However, the current Chicago Futures Market had not yet developed into the super financial center of the future, which would encompass government bonds, stocks, gold, and silver.

The current grain exchange only traded wheat, corn, and oats.

It was purely a marketplace where farmers, grain processors, and middlemen gathered to trade.

Lacking the grandeur of the 45-story skyscraper of the future, the exchange at the end of the 19th century was just a large warehouse built of red bricks.

The people coming in and out included bosses in suits and ties, as well as Western cowboys covered in mud; it was a mix of all kinds of people.

When Lin Tian arrived from the hotel in the morning and saw the front gate, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

He had fully expected the exchange to be a magnificent building, but who would have thought it would be as unpretentious as a country brick factory.

Lawyer Paul, who was following behind him, watched Lin Tian standing motionless outside the main gate and asked:

"Boss, are we going in now?"

Hearing Paul speak, Lin Tian snapped back to reality and shook his head:

"Not yet. I just stopped by to get familiar with the place. We need to go see Mr. Foss first; we've already spoken on the phone, and he is waiting for us!"

Paul nodded repeatedly; he had long wanted to meet this business tycoon.

In fact, Lin Tian's original plan was to go to Buffalo first.

This time, he intended to pull off a big job by shorting grain, which required mobilizing a massive amount of capital.

Relying solely on the cash he had on hand was definitely not enough, so he had to use his shares in factories and oil fields as collateral.

But the valuation given by Citibank was simply too low, so Lin Tian, without hesitation, kicked Citibank to the curb and set his sights on another financial giant in the USA—Wells Fargo Bank.

This bank was founded in 1852, and its predecessor was Wells Fargo & Company, which started out in the Midwest doing postal transport.

There were two founders, Henry Wells and William Foss.

Mentioning this company, one cannot avoid the famous American Express.

In 1850, Henry, William, and John Butterfield merged their three express companies and established American Express in Buffalo.

As soon as American Express opened, it quickly monopolized the express business in New York, and then headed west, controlling the transport lines to the Great Lakes.

But by the 1850s, the Gold Rush in the West arose.

Henry and William were jealous of the California market and wanted to expand their business there.

The other shareholder, John, adamantly refused, and the two sides completely fell out.

Henry and William hit it off and immediately started their own business.

In 1852, the two invested $300,000 in registered capital in New York, specializing in the transport business from California to the East Coast, and Wells Fargo & Company was officially established.

Developing to this day, although the founder William had just passed away last year, the company had expanded into a large business empire with assets of tens of millions, mainly engaged in banking and express transport.

Lin Tian had originally gone to the San Francisco branch to borrow money, but unfortunately, the amount was too large for the branch manager to decide.

He had to ask the current head, who was William's own younger brother—J.C. Fargo.

It happened that J.C. Fargo was inspecting in Chicago.

After finishing the phone call, Lin Tian changed his route directly to Chicago for a face-to-face meeting.

The carriage stopped in front of the Wells Fargo & Company branch.

After being announced by the blonde receptionist, Lin Tian pushed open the door and walked into the chairman's office.

Standing in the room was a thin, white-haired old man.

He was the current helmsman of Wells Fargo & Company and American Express, J.C. Fargo.

The old man had an easygoing attitude, with an apologetic look on his face: "Hello, Mr. Bruce. I am truly sorry for making you come all the way to Chicago!"

J.C. Fargo did not look down on Lin Tian at all because he was young.

On the contrary, he gave him full respect, and his attitude was very polite.

Lin Tian stepped forward and replied very politely: "Mr. Foss, you are too kind; it is my honor to meet you!"

After shaking hands, Foss smiled and asked: "Mr. Bruce, would you like something to drink?"

"No need for trouble, let's talk directly about the mortgage loan deal!" After sitting down, Lin Tian got straight to the point.

Foss nodded and asked: "Mr. Bruce, please forgive my intrusiveness. May I ask what you intend to do with this huge loan?"

"I plan to go play in the Chicago Futures Market."

Lin Tian did not hide anything.

After all, if he wanted to get money from Wells Fargo Bank, the destination of the funds couldn't be hidden.

"The Chicago Futures Market?"

Foss knitted his white eyebrows and analyzed: "If you'll excuse my bluntness, railways are being built everywhere across the country right now, and it looks quite prosperous. Chicago's grain trade has always been stable, and with a large number of people heading west to open up wasteland, grain prices have risen quite a bit."

He stared at Lin Tian and asked tentatively: "Could it be that you intend to go long on grain?"

In fact, Foss himself wasn't sure.

Going long could indeed make some money, but this time Lin Tian was using his factories and oil field shares as collateral.

You have to know that in the eyes of the bank, whether it was the Lin Tian Smith Oil Field or the razor factory, they were all top-tier quality assets.

Especially the oil field; after linking up with Standard Oil, it was making money every day.

Lin Tian's own profits were enough to offset the small change earned from going long on grain, not to mention having to pay loan interest.

Since going long wasn't cost-effective, a surprising thought flashed through Foss's mind.

He couldn't help but exclaim: "You want to short grain? How is that possible!"

"Why not? I am certain that grain prices are about to plummet, which is why I am borrowing money from you to short it!" Lin Tian revealed his cards directly.

"Mr. Lin Tian, if you cannot provide a convincing reason, I absolutely cannot approve this loan. The deal you want to do is simply too crazy." Foss looked solemn.

"You can send your men to check," Lin Tian said in a calm tone. "Check how much land around Chicago has been planted with wheat and corn, and then calculate how much new farmland has been opened up in the entire West. Don't forget, Europe and India have also had favorable weather this year; there will definitely be a bumper harvest of grain!"

Lin Tian continued: "Plus, the railway boom is about to pass, and the economy will definitely decline. Ordinary people have no money in their pockets, and consumption will definitely not keep up with production..."