Chapter 38: The Big Shot's Gathering

Adults often restrain their emotions, and various identity labels gradually rob them of the ability to express emotions like children do.

In theory, Carter is not yet a complete adult, but he has also lost this ability. Dreaming of celebrating with drinks: hearty drinking and laughter; reality of celebrating with drinks: sipping quietly and laughing softly.

Although not very enjoyable, the familiar taste of hometown dishes, coupled with the satisfaction brought by the local dialect, also satisfies Carter's psychological need for recognition. It can be considered as contentment.

After drinking, Carter took a nap in the room upstairs of the Sichuan restaurant, belonging to the fat boss. After refreshing himself, he would be ready to attend the banquet at Rogers's place in the evening. One advantage of being at the Sichuan restaurant is that Carter can confidently leave Melis here. She has food to eat and Chen Shuzhen, a playmate of the same age, to keep her from getting bored.

Before the appointment, Carter asked the fat boss for some white wine as a gift to bring along. Carter is not familiar with American etiquette, so he can only rely on his own understanding. In China, it's customary to bring a small gift if it's not a very close visit, even if the gift may not be valuable.

That night, Carter, carrying a bottle of white wine, instantly became the most eye-catching figure at the dinner party. Not because he brought an odd number of bottles, but because, among a group of people who didn't bring gifts, he was the only one who did. Coupled with his overly youthful appearance, it was hard not to attract attention.

"Good evening, Mr. Blake! Julian has already told me about you. I'm Jim Rogers, and I've been looking forward to meeting you. Let me see what you've brought. Is this wine?"

Jim Rogers, born in 1942, is only about 37 years old. He is in the prime of his life. Among the many middle-aged and elderly wealthy clients who are thinning on top, Carter noticed him immediately.

"Yes, this is Chinese liquor brewed by a friend of mine. I hope you like it. You can call me Carter, that's what Julian and the others call me. Calling me Mr. Blake will make me feel old."

Even though he didn't know the specific social etiquette in the United States, Carter knew from his future experiences that foreigners like to unwrap gifts on the spot, unlike the polite behavior of the Chinese. Watching Rogers inspect his gift, Carter naturally didn't show any displeasure, but instead smiled and talked with him happily.

"Haha, that's great! I don't like being called Mr. Rogers either. Just like you, you can call me Jim. Carter, your gift is thoughtful. I've never tasted Chinese liquor before. I think I'll find some time, like on a leisurely afternoon, to slowly savor it."

After looking at the simple bottle of wine, Rogers laughed heartily, then warmly invited Carter into the house.

"Please come in, Carter. Julian and the others have already arrived. According to Julian, you're on your first round-the-world trip, right? Is your next stop Washington?"

"Yes, in about a week or so, I'll be setting off. I need to be in Washington by early August; I have some business to attend to there."

As they walked side by side towards the house, Carter didn't conceal his itinerary. He just kept the event of Volcker taking office in Washington a secret.

"Then you probably won't have to wait a week. The Great Lakes on this side of New York are worth a visit. Even if you just skim through, it will take some time. And the industrial pearls of the Northeast are also worth seeing. When you get to Montana, Glacier National Park is also worth a visit. If you leave in a week, you might miss out on these beautiful landscapes."

Indeed, Rogers, a travel enthusiast often mentioned by Julian, seemed to know all the sights within the United States by heart. Just by listening to Carter's itinerary, he listed the attractions along the way like reading a menu.

However, Carter's core purpose for this trip is not sightseeing, so he's not particularly interested in the attractions Rogers mentioned. But Rogers, who was in high spirits, seemed not to notice this and continued to enthusiastically introduce them. However, soon after the two entered the house, Rogers had to end his tour guide experience.

"Come, Carter, let me introduce you to these friends. You already know Julian, and this is Mr. Slope Mackenzie, a good friend and client of Julian's, just like you."

"I know Mr. Mackenzie; I've met him with Julian before. Good evening, Mr. Mackenzie!"

Smiling and nodding at Mr. Mackenzie, Carter continued to wait for Rogers to introduce the others.

"Haha, that's great. Now, my friend and current partner, George Soros! Don't be fooled by his appearance; he's actually quite young at heart, and you two could be good friends as well."

"Hey, Jim! You can't talk about me like that in front of a new friend!"

George Soros laughed and scolded Rogers, kicking him playfully to prove that he's not old. Then he turned and smiled, extending his right hand to Carter:

"Hello, Carter! Welcome to our gathering. I'm George."

George Soros. Quantum Fund.

Numbly shaking hands with him, Carter's scalp was tingling now. With the keywords strung together, he already knew why he always felt the name Quantum Fund sounded familiar.

Isn't this the hedge fund managed by Soros?! Daring to single-handedly challenge national financial institutions, isn't the damn gambler, madman in front of him the same Soros who looks harmless?!

Damn it, what kind of place did I stumble into?!

From 1989 to 1992, attacking the Bank of England, attacking the pound, attacking the Italian lira, as well as the Spanish peseta and later the German mark, and the Japanese yen in Southeast Asia, none of them escaped his clutches.

Although the subsequent attack on the yen plan seemed to have failed, it couldn't hide this guy's reputation. At least, he successfully targeted the pound, which was arguably even stronger than the dollar at the time. The currency that had been the hegemon of the currency world for more than two hundred years was almost overturned by him personally!

Thinking about these crazy actions, even just thinking about them made Carter's scalp tingle. As a time traveler, he had never thought about these major events, no, not only did he not think about them, but he didn't dare to think about them. And now you're telling me that this seemingly ordinary old uncle in front of me dared to think, dared to do, and in the end, he actually succeeded?!

This magical reality left Carter dazed for a while. And Carter's abnormality quickly caught the attention of everyone, with Julian, who was most concerned about him, being the first to ask:

"Carter, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Oh, no, I mean, I had some drinks at noon, and my head was a bit dizzy just now. You know, I just made one and a half million dollars, so I was a bit too excited."

Carter explained dryly, not arousing suspicion among the others. Instead, they all laughed heartily, watching Carter with understanding. Soros even patted Carter's shoulder and said with a smile:

"Julian said you're only 16 years old this year. When I think about what I was doing at 16, let alone one and a half million, even if I could earn fifteen hundred dollars, no, a hundred and fifty dollars, it would have made me ecstatic!"

"Yeah, let me think about what I was doing at 16? It seems like I was selling peanuts and drinks. After more than five years, I only made two hundred dollars. After giving my dad a hundred dollars in capital, I had only a hundred left. But I was still over the moon."