92: Chapter 92: The First Transatlantic Communication in Human History is Born!
Hearing Franklin's deduction, Lin Tian burst into laughter.
Sara Delano, who was standing to the side, also smiled and said, "Mr. Bruce, this child has simply become a die-hard fan of 'Harry Potter,' pestering me every day to go to Diagon Alley and King's Cross Station in Great Britain."
Franklin puffed out his chest, his little face full of innocence and anticipation: "Big Brother Bruce, when will you release the third installment?"
"Well, as for that…" Lin Tian deliberately drew out the tone, though he felt somewhat helpless inside.
He had been swamped with a large number of industrial projects recently; how could he possibly find the time to write every day?
Elizabeth and Anna had also urged him for manuscripts before, but he had always brushed them off with jokes.
Facing this future big shot before him, he blinked and smiled, "The new plot is still being conceived. But Big Brother promises you, as soon as I finish writing it, you will definitely be the first reader. How about that?"
Although he didn't get an exact release date, a happy smile appeared on Franklin's chubby little face: "It's a deal!"
...
The next day.
James Roosevelt and J.C. Fargo, both known for their decisive actions, each transferred a massive sum of one million dollars into a special account at Wells Fargo.
Once the funds arrived, both men successfully received equity certificates bearing the words "Lin Steel Company."
Meanwhile, another giant in the steel industry, Andrew Carnegie, also completed a major move.
Having just secured a large loan from Morgan, he logically annexed two other large steel enterprises in Pittsburgh.
Once these two large steel mills completed capacity integration, the annual steel production under Andrew Carnegie would skyrocket to over 800,000 tons, swallowing one-fifth of the entire American steel market alone.
To outsiders, Andrew Carnegie appeared infinitely glorious and unstoppable.
But he could never have anticipated that over ninety percent of the iron ore consumed by his own steel mills was tightly controlled by the Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota.
This meant that for every ton of iron ore Andrew Carnegie burned in the future, he would have to obediently hand over more than a dozen cents in net profit to Lin Tian and Rockefeller.
Furthermore, Lin Tian and Rockefeller had the capital to flip the table at any time.
As long as they were willing, they could directly raise the price of iron ore or even cut off the supply.
Disagree? Then Andrew Carnegie was welcome to go find mineral sources elsewhere.
By then, transportation costs would double, and Andrew Carnegie's steel prices would be several percentage points higher than his peers. Let's see who would still buy from him.
On the surface, Andrew Carnegie was a steel king making money hand over fist; in reality, Lin Tian and Rockefeller had long since placed an invisible collar around his neck, and he himself was completely unaware of it.
...
Time flew by to early September.
In New York, the weather was beautiful and the sky was clear. The morning sea breeze blew with a hint of coolness, refreshing everyone's spirit.
In the South Fork region at the eastern end of Long Island, a massive structure standing 187 feet tall had already risen from the ground, with a hemispherical dome 68 feet in diameter at the top of the tower.
This giant tower forcefully pierced through a three-story concrete building, shooting straight into the clouds.
Inside the building, Nikola Tesla stood before a massive machine entangled with countless wires, calmly giving instructions to the researcher beside him: "George, prepare to start the wireless transmission test."
"Understood, Director Tesla!"
The young man called George was a top student from the Harvard University Department of Electrical Engineering. Ever since he was headhunted by the Umbrella Laboratory with a high salary, he had become completely obsessed with the research environment here and admired the scientific madman, Tesla, to the point of worship.
Tesla raised his hand to check his watch and decisively ordered: "Start transmitting!"
"Received!"
At this very moment, far away in Lisbon, Portugal, in Europe, on a quiet, deserted beach, a young white man was crouching on the ground, nervously adjusting a wooden box connected to a small antenna.
Just a few seconds after the telegraph key was pressed in Long Island, New York, the protruding copper cap on top of the wooden box in the young man's hands actually began to hum and vibrate rhythmically!
Success!
The young white man was overjoyed. Suppressing his excitement, he immediately reached out and pressed the protruding metal button on the side of the wooden box, beginning to transmit a return signal.
A few seconds later, inside the radio receiving room far away beneath the Wardenclyffe Tower in New York, America, a crisp "beep-beep" sound suddenly rang out.
In an instant, the Harvard top student, George, skillfully translated the received Morse code.
He jumped up abruptly and shouted: "Success! Director, it's really a success! Felix has sent back a confirmation message from Lisbon, Portugal; he received the content we sent!"
When Lin Tian received the call in his office and learned that the content of the first long-distance transatlantic radio communication in human history was actually "BOSS, pay the bonus," he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He didn't hesitate at all and waved his hand: all thirty-two employees of the Electronics Department of the Umbrella Laboratory would each be rewarded with two thousand dollars on the spot!
Two thousand dollars was equivalent to nearly ten months' salary for a top-tier researcher.
When the news reached the laboratory, all the researchers excitedly shouted "Long live the boss!"
Of course, compared to the massive profits Lin Tian was about to reap, this mere tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses wasn't even a drop in the bucket.
With the radio telegraph test successfully concluded, Lin Tian began to assemble the "Lin Communications and Telegraph Company" with lightning speed.
Besides giving the inventor, Tesla, a 5% equity stake as a reward, the remaining shares of this company were solely controlled by the Lin Group, and for a long time to come, they would absolutely not accept any external capital investment.
Once all the preparatory work was done, various media outlets with good personal relations with Lin Tian received a special invitation at the same time.
This was actually a "press conference" that Lin Tian had copied from later generations.
He intended to invite all the reporters from large and small newspaper offices in New York City to Long Island, letting them witness this era-defying transatlantic communication miracle with their own eyes.
In just two days, the entire New York newspaper industry was completely stirred up by this invitation.
The "New York Art Newspaper" was a very small private newspaper, and the owner, Rodney, was a young man who had just started his business.
Aside from him, the "lone commander," the entire newspaper office only had his girlfriend, Eliza, who usually doubled as the editor-in-chief, assistant, and cleaner.
The content of this newspaper was usually nothing special, mainly introducing some cutting-edge art, such as the new art style in Paris or Italian fashion trends.
Because it was just starting out, it could barely sell over a hundred copies a day, and the money earned wasn't even enough to pay the rent and utilities.
However, Rodney was full of energy every day because sales were increasing little by little, and he firmly believed that one day his newspaper would be on equal footing with "The New York Times."
Until today, when a gold-stamped invitation was delivered to his desk. It clearly read a line of text: [ Legendary tycoon Bruce Lin cordially invites you to the South Fork of Long Island to witness the first public unveiling of the new wireless telegraph technology! ]
Rodney's eyes widened, and he shouted at his girlfriend who was mopping the floor: "Oh! My God! Eliza! Come and see what I've received! A personal invitation from Bruce Lin! A big shot of that level is actually inviting us to go to Long Island to attend a press conference!"
Upon hearing this, his girlfriend Eliza threw down the broom and rushed over. When she saw the name on the invitation through her thick glasses, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and exclaim: "My God, Rodney! Bruce Lin actually knows about a small newspaper like ours? This is incredible!"
"Haha, such exquisite craftsmanship cannot possibly be a prank! This is great; it means our newspaper already has some recognition in the mainstream circle!"
Rodney was so excited he forgot himself, picked up his girlfriend, and jumped around the office like crazy.