"Little Swift, congratulations, you're a big star now!" Huang He said with a smile when he saw Little Swift again. Little Swift had become a celebrity throughout America, and Huang He had to look up to him, even though the path to fame was quite comical.
At the same time, it had once again refreshed Huang He's understanding of America. Honestly, if he hadn't seen America's fantastical performances from 2019 to 2021 in another world, Huang He wouldn't have had the capacity to accept such ridiculous things.
"Boss, please don't tease me. All of this is fake. Don't look at how famous I am now. It won't be long before this fades, and I'll go back to being the ordinary Little Swift. All of this will be irrelevant to me!"
"Some people will even try to use me and treat me as a pawn, just like that boss did to me before. I'm worried to death!" Little Swift said.
"You're quite insightful!" Hearing Little Swift say this, Huang He truly began to see him in a new light.
From Huang He's understanding, whether they were black or white, Chinese or American, anyone who experienced such overnight fame would become so deluded that they'd forget who they were, believing they were exactly as the media portrayed them. This often led to a harder fall.
As the saying goes, "Their rise is swift, and their fall is equally swift," because they fail to see themselves clearly.
Little Swift's words now indicated that he understood his true nature.
"Then what do you need me for? I'm flying back to China tomorrow, and our employment relationship will end then. What's the point of you coming to me?" Huang He asked with a smile.
"Sir, I want to continue working at the company!" Little Swift said, clenching his fists. "Even though I don't understand anything, I'm willing to learn. Please keep me in the company, even if it's just as a cleaner. Just let me stay in the company and have a stable job to support my family."
"That doesn't seem right!" Huang He shook his head. "If you expressed your intention to switch jobs now, I'm sure plenty of companies would be willing to hire you with significant pay, perhaps even tens of thousands of dollars a month. Why would you come to my company to sweep floors?"
"That's only temporary. They'll just use my fame. Once it disappears, I'll be back to square one and kicked out by them!"
"What's more terrifying is that most of the people who hire me will probably be white. They can't stand a black person getting famous and stepping all over them. So, if I work for them, they might go to great lengths to ruin my reputation to prove their so-called white supremacy!" Little Swift said.
"So, rather than working for them, I'd rather continue working for you. At least you're not white, and you won't betray me. I have some fame now, and I'm willing to dedicate this fame to the company, as long as you're willing to keep me here!" Little Swift said sincerely.
"Is that so!" Huang He touched his nose. "Would you be willing to continue working for me if I still pay you only $2,000 a month?"
"Yes, $2,000 a month is excellent. When I was in the gang, I had no stable income, yet I was treated like trash and ordered around!"
"And you're willing to sign a long-term contract with me, at least 20 years?" Huang He asked again.
"Of course, I'm willing! This means I'll have 20 years of stable work. You don't know how many black people in America hope to get such stable jobs. I'm more than happy to accept!" Little Swift said excitedly.
"...Alright, I don't even know how to refuse you!" Huang He sighed and then smiled. "In that case, I won't look for a new company president. You will continue to serve as the president of Westward Horse Investment Company. However, currently, besides a financial officer and a lawyer, you will be the only person in this company. You will be responsible for all company operations... Of course, the company won't have any other businesses. Your existence is merely to maintain the existence of Westward Horse Investment Company. Do you have any objections?"
"No!" Little Swift said decisively. Then he hesitated and added, "But boss, I've actually been working at the company for the past few days, and the company has been receiving millions of dollars in funding."
"..." Huang He was stunned. "Where did this funding come from? I don't recall transferring any more funds to this company."
"Someone is heavily purchasing the investment funds issued by our company!" Little Swift said with a wry smile. "The company actually had investment funds for sale before, but because of continuous losses, no one was buying our funds, even though our funds were listed on the trading market."
"But since I became famous, it seems many people have become very interested in our company's funds. Nearly $4 million worth of funds have been sold in just a few days, and this money is gradually arriving in our company's accounts. What should I do?"
"Should I cancel the funds offered to the public and refund the money to the buyers, or..."
"Why refund? This is money!" Huang He slapped his thigh. "Good heavens, this is truly remarkable! I never imagined that this Little Swift would have such an effect."
An investment company that was practically worthless and had only a few employees had, in just a few days, attracted millions of dollars. If given a year, wouldn't it attract hundreds of millions of dollars?
After all, this was money absorbed by a fund company, with no guarantees. If the company lost money on investments, it would be gone, and there would be no need to worry about repaying debts like a loan.
So, this money was essentially funds that Huang He could utilize. The only difference was that these funds could only be used for various investments. Huang He would use the money of these Americans to purchase shares of American companies, meaning these shares would ultimately fall into the hands of Westward Horse Company, not Huang He.
However, it didn't matter. Huang He had 100% control of Westward Horse Company, which was equivalent to complete control for Huang He.
What was even more wonderful was that this company would have no apparent connection to Jiangnan Group, and Huang He could choose to hide his identity as an investor. Besides the government, no one would know who the actual controller of this company was. This would allow Huang He to use this investment company in the future to accomplish many things that Chinese people could not achieve in America.
"I've changed my mind!" Huang He patted Little Swift's shoulder and then smiled. "If the company has so much funding, then with your current capabilities, you indeed cannot handle it. I will send people to recruit a team of talent to assist you. You can be a hands-off manager, responsible for supervising these talents working for you, and also convey my instructions to operate the company according to my orders."
"This way, you will have a bit more work, so your monthly salary will increase from $2,000 to $5,000. What do you think?"
"Thank you, boss!" Little Swift said gratefully.
"Alas, it seems I won't be able to return home tomorrow!" After seeing Little Swift leave, Huang He scratched his head. This Westward Horse Company had unexpectedly become a great treasure. Huang He couldn't just let it sit idle; he had to equip the company with various legitimate staff members.
This meant Huang He had to stay in California to instruct Little Swift to contact headhunting firms and recruit various personnel.
Thus, Huang He extended his stay in California by another week, truly beginning to operate Westward Horse Company as a normal investment company. In the end, he assembled an operation team of as many as 20 people for the company, and Little Swift genuinely became the president of a company, with graduates from Ivy League universities in finance working under him.
One could imagine the disdain and contempt that Little Swift, a black man who hadn't even graduated from high school, would receive when appearing before these bright graduates. However, Little Swift didn't care; he was well aware of his own limitations and wouldn't be angered by their gazes.
He then told his subordinates that their contempt was irrelevant, but they had to diligently complete their assigned tasks, or he would fire them without hesitation.
Concurrently, the news of Westward Horse Company's expansion was quickly reported by the media.
This time, all the media outlets had learned their lesson. They no longer attempted to criticize Little Swift but instead praised him, saying that as someone who hadn't graduated from high school, he led a team of 20 Ivy League graduates, fully demonstrating Little Swift's extraordinary leadership skills and charisma. They predicted that this company would reach new heights and create unprecedented investment legends.
In essence, all sorts of unreserved praise were showered upon Little Swift. As a result, in the following month, Westward Horse Company's funds actually sold $240 million, a sales speed and volume that astonished all American fund companies.
An investment company that was previously in debt by millions of dollars had, in less than a month, accumulated a staggering fund pool of $240 million. This was even more legendary than Warren Buffett; it was simply unbelievable.
According to post-event investigations, almost all of this $240 million was purchased by black people, almost entirely so.
This left industry insiders in awe, while also eagerly anticipating Little Swift's downfall.
The industry had thoroughly investigated Little Swift's background. He was merely a high school dropout, used as a pawn for the investment needs of a mysterious figure. Now, he genuinely believed he was an investment genius.
It was widely believed that this high school dropout would lose all $240 million in a few months. At that point, the black investors who bought these funds would no longer see Little Swift as a black pride and glory, but as a complete fraud and scoundrel.
"President, this is the list of 30 people we've compiled. We unanimously agree that these stocks have significant investment value and can bring astonishing profits to our customers!" After Huang He's departure, the team of 20 elite graduates presented a list to Little Swift.
He carefully reviewed the entire list and then asked curiously, "Why isn't Apple Inc. on this list?"
"Because this company will not have significant growth in the next few years!" the graduates stated proudly. "This company's potential has peaked; it will not grow further."
"No, I think all the funds should be used to purchase Apple's stock!" Little Swift said firmly, tucking the list away carefully.
He remembered Huang He's words before they parted. He had asked Huang He which stock he should invest in, and Huang He had calmly replied, "Don't look at any other company's stocks. Just keep buying Apple's stock, and that's the right thing to do!"