After seeing off the previous group of guests, the old man turned around and walked towards George.

George also stood up, took two steps forward, and extended his right hand first. Because, as a Chinese who had received many years of moral training in his previous life, he had to return to the board of directors to lead the company in the face of such a man who was nearly 80 years old.

The old man admired him.

The old man obviously saw George's kindness, shook hands with George and said: "Young man, are you the lucky little guy George Orwell that Woodruff mentioned?"

"Haha, yes, sir. I am the lucky guy." Faced with the old man's friendly ridicule and calling himself a little guy, George was not angry. Because in terms of age, there was no problem at all for the other party to call himself a little guy.

.

"Haha, luck is also a skill of its own. I heard from Woodruff that you also like guns. Come on, I will show you my collection. Although you are not old enough to buy guns, there is always no problem in taking a look.

And you seem to be prepared." After saying that, he looked at Paul.

The old man may have thought that George brought Paul here to buy a gun in Paul's name and use it himself. George did not explain this directly, but slowly followed the old man to a display room.

The four walls of this room are filled with display racks, with all Winchester firearms engraved in various patterns. There are several firearms of each model.

The wall at the entrance displays the Volcano pistols and rifles produced by the Winchester Company in its early days, and later produced the Henry rifle, which played a major role in the victory of the Union Army. After the war, the gun was improved and launched into the

The M1866 rifle of the "Winchester Rifle" was further improved in the 1870s and the M1873 rifle was launched. In 1878, the first rotating bolt action rifle was launched, called the Winchester-Hatch rifle.

Sri Lankan rifle,

On the right hand side of the door and on the two opposite walls are displayed the company's cooperation with Browning in 1883 to produce rifles and shotguns designed by it. There are a total of 10 types of rifles designed by Browning, including the most famous M1894 rifle.

This gun,

Displayed on the last wall are M1903, M1905, M1907, M1910 self-loading rifles and M1912 shotguns designed by young designer Thomas Johnson.

What is displayed here is not only a handful of cold firearms, but also a narrative history of Winchester Company since its establishment. George can hear the reluctance to leave this company in the old man's explanation.

In fact, the Winchester family is still very rich, but this family has its own investment philosophy, and when the older generation is old and the younger generation is unable to take over, they have to sell the business.

After such a visit, it was almost noon. After George and the old man had lunch together, they returned to the office and sat down.

The old man was able to accompany George to visit for a whole morning. George guessed that one might be that George's previous attitude had gained the old man's favor, and the other might be that the two people in the morning had stimulated the old man and made him decide to sell the factory, so he browsed the collections again.

, it is also a memory and farewell to myself.

After the two of them sat down and drank lipstick tea, the old man said: "George, you have also seen my collection. If you like it, I can have it handmade and give it to you. This is a thank you for listening to this old man like me.

Talking about the reward for a whole morning, hahahaha."

"Haha, thank you then. However, in fact, the main purpose of my coming to see you is not just to buy a gun."

"Oh, haha, how many do you want? Agree in advance. Handmade guns are very time-consuming, so you may not be able to make them in time."

George understood what he meant, which was that the factory was going to be sold soon, and at that time he would not be able to let workers make guns for him for free.

George also laughed and said: "I want to buy the entire Winchester company."

The old man was stunned when he heard George's words, "Haha, George, are you kidding me?"

"Of course not. I learned that Winchester has been losing money in the past two years. Although it is also engaged in the production of razors, military knives and other things, there seems to be no improvement."

George paused, looked at the old man's expression without any change, and then continued: "My father is a soldier, and he also has some firearms in his collection at home. Among them, several models produced by the Winchester Company are his favorites.

.I also like firearms very much, and I have even designed one. Now I have this opportunity, so I want to see if I can reach a cooperation with you."

After another pause, the old man saw that George was indeed not joking, so he said: "George, do you know how much the Winchester Company is worth now?"

"Well, I'm also waiting for your quotation."

"Haha, you, you really haven't done any specific investigation. Let me tell you, in the morning, Western Ammunition Company made an offer of US$6 million. I'm still hesitating now."

George was stunned after hearing the old man's quotation. The price was indeed higher than George expected. George originally thought it was worth up to 4 million, but after adding his own firearm design, he gave the Winchester family some shares.

It should be possible. However, it seems that there is still a slight gap, but it is not impossible to discuss.

It’s not that he can’t get the money, but the key is that he needs it in three months. And it’s unnecessary to pay too much. Winchester is not George’s only choice no matter how sentimental he is.

George still has 4.5 million in bank deposits, and more than 1 million US dollars in cash in the space. George calculated his chips for a while, and then said to the old man: "Mr. Bennett, my offer may be

On the lower side, I can only offer 4 million US dollars for the time being, but I only require 70% of the shares, and I also attach a rifle design drawing. I also only need a licensing agreement for all the previous patents of Winchester Company.

.If you don’t want to manage the company in two years, then I can also use 5% as management dividend shares to reward the managers. Moreover, the company will always use the current name."

"Are you very confident in the gun you designed? Then take it out and let me see it."

When George saw something about it, he immediately got the drawings from Paul. Of course, they were just appearance drawings, including some basic data. As an old man who has been dealing with guns all his life, Thomas Gray Bennett could of course easily analyze the gun.

Excellent.

Next, the two discussed the gun for a long time, and their initial intention was reached. The rest of the matter was handled by his subordinates. After George signed the contract, he stayed in the company for three more days, leaving a group of people behind.

With a check for 4 million, a set of blueprints for the M1 Orwell rifle, and leaving Paul to deal with some matters, he returned to New York. Since then, he has owned a small arms arms company after the Coca-Cola Company.

George's actual shareholding of 4 million US dollars should be 66%, which is more appropriate. This should include all the company's previous patents. In other words, those patents should also have George's part. Now, George has voluntarily given up this part, mainly

He obtained the production authorization. It seems that George suffered a loss in this regard.

But, in fact, as long as George can produce the guns previously produced by Winchester, it doesn't matter whether he wants those patents or not. Now, through Winchester's connections and workers, the production line is what George is interested in. As for what he wants in the future,

Just buy it again.

The next day, George returned to the villa and asked someone to send a telegram to Ryan, asking him to come to New York to meet him.

A week later, it was June and Paul had come back. Before Paul came back, Bennett also called and told George that he had chosen a successor and was now taking him with him to study so that George could go there when he was free.

Take a look.

After Paul came back, he also told George about his impression of the other party. However, George did not interfere. George also put the two antique guns that Paul brought back on the display rack. Both of these guns had antique collection certificates, so

I’m not afraid of being caught by the police.

Looking at these two handmade firearms, George was really thinking about old Bennett's room full of collections. George felt that it was necessary to build such a room in the future.

The old man was required to sign each gun. In later generations, a gun was sold for tens of millions of dollars.

After Paul comes back, ask him to pay attention to the stock market, and then communicate with him about the items that need to be displayed at the exhibition, and let him arrange the rest.

The next day, Ryan also came to the villa from Panlong Winery. George arranged for him to rest for a day. The next morning, after breakfast, the two went to the study. George took out a piece of paper from the desk with a name written on it.

and approximate address.

Then he said: "Uncle Ryan, this is for you. I asked you to come here this time because I want you to help me go to the UK and invite Baird here. He should be living in Hastings in southwest England now.

No matter how specific it is, you need to go to more trouble to find him.

After saying that, George thought of something again, and then said: "He is not in good health now, so you can show some differences appropriately. This is why I arranged for you to invite him. And, you tell him that when he comes,

, I fully support his experiment."

Baird, whose full name is John Logie Baird, was born in England. He was frail and sickly since childhood and was almost killed by illness many times. However, his physical fragility tempered his courage and perseverance to overcome difficulties. After graduating from university, he

Work in an electrical company.

In 1906, Baird, who was only 18 years old, moved from his hometown in Scotland to Hastings in southwest England, where he established a laboratory and began research on television. In the spring of 1924, he finally successfully launched a cross

Flower, the image is just a flickering outline, the emission distance is only 3 meters. The materials used are all kinds of substitutes he found from junk stalls and garbage dumps, and assembled a complete set of glue and fine

Rope, fire paint and dense wires were glued and connected in series. On October 2, 1925, he finally created the first mechanical television that could transmit images. This was the prototype of television.

He can be said to be the "Father of Television".

After Ryan invites him back, George plans to invite Philo Farnsworth. Compared with Baird's mechanical TV, what Philo Farnsworth invented can be called an electronic TV.

TV.

But Farnsworth's road to research and development was quite bumpy. When the U.S. Patent Office finally determined that Farnsworth should be the holder of all major patents for television, it was already in the late 1930s.

It was too late for Voss; his funds were almost exhausted.

As World War II approached, the federal government soon announced a moratorium on the development of the television industry. As a result, it had to be postponed until 1946 before television could legally begin to be manufactured. By then, Farnsworth's patent

The protection period has expired.

Farnsworth went through many hardships to invent television, but he gained nothing in terms of personal gain.

In this life, George decided to bring these two people together and obtain the patent for the television in advance. Even in this era, the market is worth hundreds of millions.

After George communicated with Ryan about how to hire someone, he arranged for Ryan to go to London, England in two days. It would take five to six days to arrive in the UK, but George didn't know how long it would take to find Baird.

After arranging things for Ryan, George started the wine delivery business again in June. A week later, George returned to New York, met Tessio again, and got the contract for buying and selling antiques and 1.5 million US dollars from him.

Check. It seems that the price of drinks has increased a lot again. Looking at Tessio’s burning eyes, George just smiled.

After receiving the money this time, George personally called Corleone and expressed to him his idea of ​​buying a casino with a gambling license in Reno. He hoped that through his introduction, a deal could be concluded. Corleone also said on the phone

Said that he would help him inquire about this matter as soon as possible.

The only place where gambling is legal in the United States is in Nevada, and the largest gathering place is in Reno. George is buying a casino now, firstly for the convenience of money laundering, and secondly for the legal gambling card. This gambling card will

This will be a preparation for George to intervene in Las Vegas in the future without being threatened.
Chapter completed!