Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 50 Roosevelt
Subtitle of this chapter: Aren’t the first two impressive enough? Then look at this one!
Our Master Yuan saw the look of disbelief on Gu Weijun and Meng Xiancheng's faces and sighed in his heart. It seemed that these two people did not know the power of movies.
There's nothing we can do about it. This isn't the world of entertainment.
He raised his hand and looked at the Haute Horlogerie watch. It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon.
Yuan Yan coughed and said, "Brother Shaochuan, this is all I have to say to Mr. Zhi. Whether you believe it or not will depend on when we get here. But you two must not be swayed by public opinion at home!"
How should I put it? The Seris folk patriots at this time are the same as the folk patriots of a hundred years later... well, folk patriots of all times and all countries are the same. Even if these folk patriots are highly educated intellectuals, they still have unrealistic and high expectations of the government.
The Beiyang government was a regime that was easily influenced by the "public opinion" of intellectuals.
In fact, in the original timeline, the Republic of China took back Shandong through this international conference. With the involvement of our Master Yuan, it would not necessarily cost more than it would have otherwise.
"Then I have a dinner date later, so I'll take my leave now. By the way, please let Madam take care of the Shih Tzu for a few days, I'll come pick it up later."
Gu Weijun politely saw the two out the door, and Yuan and Meng were not in a hurry to call a taxi, but just walked together.
"Bohong, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hongjian, you have really changed." Meng Xiancheng said with a complicated expression: "I can hardly recognize you."
“Hahaha…” Our Master Yuan laughed, “Bohong, ah Bohong. Haven’t you heard that once you enter the arena, it’s as deep as the sea, and from then on, moral integrity is a thing of the past!”
He smiled, hailed a cab, and waved goodbye to his old classmates.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but a 'high-end' restaurant like ours only serves familiar guests."
Yuan Yan glanced at the foreman and snorted, "I have an appointment with someone."
The foreman asked with a mocking smile on his face: "Well, sir, please tell me your friend's name."
"Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt!"
Some people believe that the Roosevelt family is a natural aristocracy, while others believe that they are just small landowners from the southern lowlands of the Netherlands.
This quote was said by FDR's niece, Alice Roosevelt Longworth.
Roosevelt is the Anglicized Dutch surname "vanRosevelt" or "vanRosefelt", which originally means "rose field". Yes, the ancestor of the Roosevelt family was one of the "sea coachmen" who bought Manhattan Island from the Indians with glass beads.
However, this ancient family was not very prominent in New York at the beginning. Their wealth came from real estate investments on Manhattan Island, sugar trade in the West Indies and careful financial management.
Until FDR's great-great-grandfather Isaac Roosevelt, he actively participated in the American independence movement and was a member of the Federalist Party. The sugar merchant participated in the Constitutional Convention, established the Bank of New York with Alexander Hamilton, and served as chairman.
Now, the Roosevelt family became a true American wealthy family.
Although the Roosevelt family has produced a US president, FDR's uncle Theodore Roosevelt, it is still inferior to FDR's mother's family tree, that is, the family of his middle name "Delano".
There were seven Delanos among the charterers of the Mayflower, and three Delanos signed the Mayflower Compact.
FDR's grandfather, Warren II, had a fortune of one million US dollars in 1850. It is said that there were no more than a dozen people in the United States with the same wealth at that time.
In fact, the tycoon's wealth came entirely from the tea and afro trade with Seris.
So how did NY and FDR know each other? They are now colleagues on Wall Street.
FRD was the vice presidential candidate of the Democratic Party this time, and he resigned from his post as Undersecretary of the Navy. After his election defeat, in accordance with the American "revolving door" practice, he went into business.
At the invitation of Van Lier Black, an important sponsor of the Democratic Party, FDR became the vice president of the American Fidelity Assurance Company, one of the four largest guarantee companies in the United States at the time, and also the nominal head of Wall Street.
FDR's annual salary at the company was $25,000, five times what he earned as Undersecretary of the Navy. He only had to work half a day at the company, and the rest of the time he could be busy with his own political activities and legal business.
On January 7 of this year, Mr. Black held a grand formal reception at the most famous Delmonico Bar on Wall Street, announcing that FDR, a rising star of the Democratic Party, would join his company. Many Wall Street celebrities came to congratulate him.
After our Master Yuan learned the news, he shamelessly followed Louis Baker and his uncle George Baker to attend the cocktail party, and thus got to know this savior of the free world.
There was no way around it. FDR was so important to his "grand plan" that he had to be involved no matter how shameless he was.
The foreman still insisted: "Sir, are you friends with Mr. Roosevelt?"
Yuan Yan was so angry that she raised her charm to 19 points in one breath and shouted, "Shut up and lead the way!"
"Mr. Yuan, long time no see. I never thought that we two living in New York would meet in Washington."
The savior, who was still alive and well, saw Jia coming in, stood up, shook hands with him, and made a little joke.
In fact, FDR came to Washington to bid farewell to President Woodrow Wilson together with the Democrats.
Master Yuan also smiled and said, "Mr. Roosevelt, who says we are all busy people?"
"clatter!"
The old man snapped his fingers at the foreman and said, "Order!"
"Ah!" The guy finally woke up from his dream and said, "Sir, what do you want to order?"
“Everything on the menu!”
The foreman was dumbfounded and said, "All of them?!"
"Yes, it's rare for a Chinese like me to eat at a 'high-end' restaurant in America, so naturally I have to try them all."
After the pale-faced foreman left, the savior of the free world sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Yuan."
"Hey..." Yuan Yan suddenly knew what he was apologizing for, so she sighed and smiled reluctantly, "Mr. Roosevelt, this is none of your business."
In any case, FDR was a rare American politician at the time who was not prejudiced against minorities.
In addition to serving as the legal advisor to the Hongmen, he was not so discriminatory .
According to what he heard, Roosevelt's wife, Anna Roosevelt, and his half-brother, Roosevelt, were both radical anti-Semites. However, he himself relied heavily on Jews in his career, especially in his current career on Wall Street.
He believed that Jews were loyal, professional, and skilled in business. So when he entered the White House, Jews only accounted for 3% of the US population, but 15% of his cabinet. So much so that some people later suspected that he had Jewish ancestry.
So, this great savior did bring in Catholics and Jews, and single-handedly changed the situation where WASPs controlled the federal government. For this reason alone, he is indeed a great politician.
FDR said very seriously: "Mr. Yuan, I am not only sorry for this incident, but also sorry for your experience with the New York Police Department."
Yuan Yanshu also said seriously: "Mr. Roosevelt, thank you very much. For me, that is all in the past."
The great savior of the free world licked his lips and said, "Since Mr. Yuan said that everything is over, can you please... um, pause your article in Le Monde?"
"To be honest, Mr. Roosevelt, I didn't plan to write any more." Master Yuan, who had already written nine articles and didn't plan to write any more, said honestly.
FDR breathed a sigh of relief, raised the cup in his hand and said, "Thank you. Cheers."
"Cheers." Yuan Yan took a sip of the aperitif and said, "Mr. Roosevelt, I called your secretary. I think you know why I want to see you."
"Mr. Yuan, I am not paddy, but I have not forgotten, you want to talk about that movie that's been making a lot of noise, right? "
What is a guarantee company?
Generally speaking, in order to reduce risks, banks do not lend directly to individuals and small businesses, but instead require borrowers to find third-party guarantors, hence the emergence of guarantee companies.
However, guarantee companies can become very large and even monopolize the loan channels of certain industries, such as second-hand housing transactions, vehicle loans, the film industry, and there are also financing guarantee companies that specialize in financial derivatives.
On the other hand, if retail investors give their money to these guarantee companies, they can get much higher interest than banks, but of course the risks are also much greater.
Therefore, a guarantee company is a financial enterprise between a real bank and a loan agent.
Our Master Yuan went to FDR to discuss financing for "Orphans of Famine". This was a big deal, so he was naturally qualified to approach this vice president.
He nodded and said, "Yes, it's that movie."
"Three million dollars..." FDR said with difficulty, "I'm afraid there's nothing we at Fidelity can do."
Yuan Yan smiled and said, "Mr. Roosevelt, I won't hide it from you. The actual budget of this film will not exceed one million US dollars. The figure of three million is just a publicity gimmick."
"I see. But I heard that your Baker family is very well connected. Can't you just get a loan from the First National Bank of New York?"
FDR is now also one of the vampires on Wall Street, so he is naturally well-informed.
Our Master Yuan thought to himself, if I hadn't wanted to hook up with you, the savior of the free world, I would never have been willing to let Fidelity get this great opportunity.
He answered frankly: "Of course, Mr. Roosevelt, as you said. I do have a good relationship with the Baker family, but..."
Yuan Yan suddenly spread out her hands and said, "But the film industry is different from other industries."
"Oh, Mr. Yuan. How is it different?" the future savior asked with interest.
"Mr. Roosevelt, although it's a bit advanced to say this now, I think that film is first and foremost an art. For example, if a novel is not completed by one writer, but by several writers with different opinions, styles and concepts, will the novel be successful?"
Master Yuan said without hiding anything: "Let me be frank. The reason why I came to Fidelity on behalf of DreamWorks is to find more investors for "Orphans of Famine". Mr. Roosevelt, do you understand what I mean?"
A distinguished figure like FDR naturally had a quick mind, and he understood what the Chinese man meant after just a moment's thought.
The more dispersed the investment in this movie is, the less say the investors have, and there will not be an overly powerful investor, which would allow DreamWorks, the producer, to take control.
"Mr. Yuan, I understand." The savior nodded and said, "Then the next question is, how can you guarantee that Fidelity can recover its investment?"
He continued, "Even if it's not three million dollars, it's still a huge budget of one million dollars. And the director is Mr. David Griffith. Of course, I admire his movies, but he has been a veritable box office poison recently."
"Well, Mr. Roosevelt's concerns are quite normal." Yuan Yanshu said without hesitation, "David's films are indeed a bit behind the times, too highbrow and unpopular..."
He suddenly changed the subject and said, "Mr. Roosevelt, I gave you two tickets for the movie "Twelve". Did you and your wife go to see it?"
Upon hearing this, FDR immediately said happily: "Thank you, Mr. Yuan. Eleanor and I have already watched it. It is an excellent movie, really excellent. Even from the perspective of a lawyer like me, it is very touching."
"The artistic effect of sound films is indeed stronger than that of silent films, and much stronger..."
"Ms. Lillian Gish's directing skills are beyond my expectations..."
"The actors in the film are really amazing, especially the actor who plays juror No. 6..."
The great savior of the free world spoke for a long time, and finally said decisively: "Of course, the biggest contributors to this movie are you screenwriters...
He said with a bit of yearning: "What an unprecedented strong lineup! It is hard to imagine that Ms. Willa Cather, Mr. Theodore Dreiser, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Eliot, Mr. Brown, Mr. Pulitzer, and Mr. Yuan would actually work together to write a movie script..."
The savior of the free world said with a sense of loss: "I think there will never be so many literary masters co-writing a script together in the future."
Yes, FDR was also a movie lover, especially after he became a cripple.…
