On this day, John Pierpont Morgan had just arrived at the company (hereinafter referred to as Morgan), and his assistant reported to him: "Boss, there is a Mr. Downing from New Orleans waiting for you in the living room!"
"Southerners?" Morgan muttered, frowning.
"He said he has a big deal to discuss with you!" the assistant added.
"But I don't want to buy cotton!" Morgan shrugged.
Just when the assistant thought he would refuse, Morgan unexpectedly changed the topic and said: "Well, for the sake of New Orleans, let him come in!"
The assistant knew that the reason why Morgan said this was because his first business was done in New Orleans. At that time, a ship owner was entrusted to transport a ship of coffee from Brazil to New Orleans. Unexpectedly, the American buyer had gone bankrupt.
The boat coffee fell into his hands. He happened to meet the well-dressed Morgan on the road, so he struck up a conversation with him. Unexpectedly, Morgan bought it without hesitation. (Of course, the price was very cheap, but even so
, JP Morgan, who was still in school at the time, also borrowed money from his father JS Morgan.)
What's more, the price of coffee rose sharply due to a cold wave in Brazil not long after. Morgan made two or three times the price difference when he switched hands. Although this income is nothing in the eyes of the Morgan family, after all, JP Morgan is the number one coffee maker.
It was my first time doing business and it was a huge profit, so I was very impressed.
After the assistant brought Tang Ning in and introduced her, Morgan didn't bother to exchange pleasantries and directly asked Tang Ning: "Mr. Tang Ning, you said you have a big deal to discuss with me. What kind of deal is it?"
Tangning took out a light bulb from her purse and replied, "It's this little thing!"
In fact, Tang Ning found Morgan for a reason, because historically it was Morgan who invested in Edison's incandescent lamp business, and also helped him participate in the Paris Exposition. It can be said that Morgan was the important promoter of bringing electric lights into thousands of households, so
Tangning felt that the probability of cooperating with him was very high.
Another important reason is that Morgan at this time
"What is this?!" Morgan asked curiously.
"The electric light can last for 400 hours!" Tang Ning introduced.
"Is this true?" Morgan asked in disbelief.
"Of course it's true. If you don't believe me, look at this as a patent certificate!" As she said that, Tangning handed the certificate in her hand to Morgan.
Tangning saw that Morgan still didn't believe it after seeing it, so she said, "Mr. Morgan, I can install it at your home, but I need a small generator!"
Morgan thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed: "Okay!"
When he saw the electric light shining on, Morgan couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh my God! This light is so soft!"
The reason why Morgan said this is because there were already electric lights at that time, but they were just arc lamps. Because the light was too strong, they were used for street lights and could not be used in homes. Candles and gas lamps were still used at home, so Morgan
That's why I feel this way.
Tang Ning added next to him: "Not only that, electric lights are more energy-saving, environmentally friendly and efficient than gas lights, and they are cheaper, so the future application prospects are very broad!"
"Well, not bad!" Morgan nodded in approval, and then asked: "Mr. Tangning, do you want to sell this patent to me?"
Tangning shook her head and replied: "I hope, Mr. Morgan, you can invest in our electric lighting company, because if you want to send electric lights to all households in New York and even the United States, the central power station alone will require a huge amount of funds."
Morgan thought for a moment and then said: "Mr. Tangning, you are right, this does require a very large amount of funds, so you have to give me some time to think about it!"
"It's natural!" Tangning nodded and agreed, because he also knew that such a big thing could not be achieved with just one meeting. Morgan was not as careless about business as Goebbels, and after all, he provided the money.
Another thing about him is that the person in charge of the Morgan family at this time was his father JS Morgan, so even if he wanted to invest in this project, it would take time to discuss such a large amount of money with his father.
But unexpectedly, Morgan changed the topic and said: "But I can install this kind of electric light in my house first. I took a look at your principle. It is to use this generator to make the electric light light up, right?"
At this moment, Tang Ning suddenly had a flash of inspiration in her mind and quickly replied: "Yes, that's it, but I think since the generator has already been installed, it's better to install a lighting system directly in all the places in your home."
Install such electric lights in the room, so that when you invite your friends to your home for a party, you can gain their surprise and admiration!"
"And you can also take the opportunity to promote your electric lighting business, right?" Morgan said sharply.
Tangning nodded disapprovingly and replied, "This is normal business promotion. After all, if you don't display the best thing and let customers understand its advantages, customers won't buy it, right?"
"Mr. Downing, I think you really don't look like a farmer, but a successful businessman!" Morgan sighed.
Tangning shrugged and said, "There's no way around it. Who told me to be born in New Orleans!"
"Who made the current cotton business so profitable?" Morgan added, imitating Tangning. (JP Morgan was only 21 years old at this time.)
So Tangning installed a lighting system in Morgan's Fifth Avenue mansion, including 4,000 feet of wires and more than 400 light bulbs. The effect not only satisfied Morgan, but also shocked the wealthy friends Morgan invited.
, for a time it became common practice for wealthy people in New York to install lighting systems.
However, there was also a wealthy man who was not only uneasy, but also slandered him in every possible way. He was Rockefeller. In fact, there was a reason for his opposition, because he could see that the emergence of electric lights would definitely affect his business, because his oil refinery controlled absolutely everything in the United States.
Most of the refined kerosene is supplied, and one of the main products of refined kerosene is household kerosene. If everyone starts to install electric lights, they will definitely give up kerosene lamps, and his kerosene sales will be greatly affected. (In fact, this is also true.
In this way, after Edison's electric light company officially started operations, the stock price of the gas company fell by 25%...)
PS: Nowadays, you can often see some jokes about the differences in culture and customs between the North and the South on Douyin, but in this regard, the United States is the most ruthless. The North and the South started fighting directly, and the fight lasted for four years, and many people died.