Chapter 325: Heroes think alike?

Harvard University, 365 Charles Avenue, outside the main gate. This is a very tall residential building. On the 12th floor, a man is eating bread, looking out of the window with binoculars while talking on the phone.

This person is very messy, his hair is messy, and the beard on his chin has not been shaved in a long time. In his room, there are leftover hamburger bags and pizza boxes scattered everywhere, as well as chicken bones with meat attached, and cups of Coke. This mixture gives off a sickly and unpleasant smell, which is very out of place with the luxurious decor of the room.

'Mr. Brook, don't worry, I've been watching Zhou Ming and the others non-stop,' he said into the phone.

This person is Walden, who after reaching an agreement with Brook, had Brook buy the house for him, because it had the best view of the dormitory where Ming and his friends were staying. After moving in, Walden kept a close eye on Ming every day, intent on seeking revenge on him and not bothering to tidy up, so naturally the room became increasingly messy and dirty.

'But Mr. Brook, these Chinese people are really stupid. It's the third day today, and they still haven't decided what project to start,' said Wharton.

The man on the other end of the phone laughed and said, 'That's normal. Although Massachusetts law does not restrict the scope of business operations, securities companies require qualifications. Securities companies without qualifications are not protected by the Securities Industry Association and are not trusted by customers. The same goes for fund companies. They are just finance students who don't understand the American market, so naturally they are like farmers in Rome for the first time and don't know what to do.'

Wharton angrily slammed his hand on the table and said, 'That's really outrageous. I really hope they can make a decision quickly, because then I can teach them a lesson!'

'Don't worry, I've already helped them, and I'm sure they'll make a decision soon,' said Old Brook.

'But Mr. Brook, those Chinese people are very cunning, will they believe it?' Wharton was a little worried.

'Why wouldn't they believe me? I haven't deliberately misled them or lied to them. I've really helped them choose a shortcut to Rome. That's the best and most suitable investment advice at this stage. Even if I don't help them, I believe they can find the way themselves, but it will take longer.' Old Brook seemed confident.

'That's great!' Wharton said, 'Hey? That Chinese guy Ming seems to be leaving!'

...

At the entrance to the Chinese dormitory, Zhou Ming got into his Buick and went directly to a coffee shop on campus. Danny, the president of the Harvard Student Union, was waiting here. When he saw Zhou Ming coming, he got up and shook Zhou Ming's hand to say hello.

'This time, I am very grateful to Danny and your father for your help. If it weren't for your help, I'm afraid I would really have to bow to the old Brook family this time,' Zhou Ming said.

'Zhou, you're too kind. I wanted to help, but unfortunately I'm not yet capable of doing so,' Danny said.

Zhou Ming felt a little surprised: "Didn't Chairman Danny send me an email with a photo?'

'Email with a photo? I've never sent anything like that. But we're both at Harvard, so if I really wanted to send an email, why not just send it directly to you? That way, we could avoid the postal service's handling fees, and our meeting wouldn't seem to cause stock market turmoil," Danny said.

Zhou Ming frowned, feeling that something was wrong, because the photo of the presiding judge having dinner with the old butler Brook was the key to his being able to turn the tables at the end of the trial. Without that photo, he would not have been able to appeal to the circuit court, the FBI would not have been dispatched to investigate the case, and there would be no evidence of the remittance records of Brook Jr. to Hem.

Zhou Ming originally thought that Danny had sent him this photo as a timely help, but now it seems that someone else did, because Danny had no need to deny it.

These thoughts made Zhou Ming feel that his original thoughts seemed to be wrong again, as if there were other forces involved in this matter, or there were other reasons...

However, at this time, Zhou Ming did not have time to think deeply, because Danny was still sitting across from him, and at this time, he saw that he had wandered off and was shouting at him, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, are you okay? Did something else happen?'

Zhou Ming shook his head and said, "It's fine, I've just been thinking about the direction of the new company lately, and I'm a little nervous.'

'Then you must rest well, after all, you are an important partner of mine," Danny said, 'and can you tell me about the problems in the new company direction?'

'Of course,' Ming said, "it's just that I've now got Wharton in my hands, and I want to start my capital journey with this company. But as you know, in the United States, qualifications are required for securities and funds, not to mention banks, otherwise it will be very troublesome. Not only will business be difficult, but there will also be many legal issues. So I'm wondering how I can solve this problem faster and better.'

'So that's the problem, it seems to be a difficult problem," Danny said, looking at Ming and suddenly asking, 'So Ming, have you thought about insurance companies?'

'Insurance company?'

Zhou Ming looked at Danny and showed some interest. Danny told Zhou Ming, 'It's an insurance company. He doesn't need to have complicated qualifications, as long as you have enough security deposits. More importantly, insurance companies are also an important force eligible to participate in capital competition.'

Danny's answer surprised Ming very much. It wasn't because Danny was talking nonsense, but because what he said was indeed a feasible way. More importantly, Ming originally told him about the company just to change the subject. After all, he didn't know about the photos, so Ming just wanted to avoid trouble. But who knew that he would actually give a good answer to a casual mention.

Perhaps for many people who don't understand, an insurance company is just a company that handles claims. People pay money to buy insurance, and if they have an accident, they can claim compensation from the insurance company.

It seems that an insurance company is an organisation that uses the money people pay for insurance to pay for an accident. However, this is not actually the case. Insurance companies are the biggest financial players apart from banks, funds and securities companies.

The reason is simple. In order to ensure their own profitability, insurance companies cannot pin their hopes on luck. Otherwise, if, in a certain month, the planes they insure have repeated crashes, or the people they insure have repeated accidents, and when their claims reach tens of millions or even billions of dollars, won't insurance companies that have lost their cash flow go bankrupt?

Although the probability is very small, it is not impossible. Moreover, such behaviour itself is a kind of speculation. It is not impossible to make money, but if you want to continue for a long time, this kind of thinking is definitely not feasible.

It is precisely for this reason that after all insurance companies have collected premiums, they will not put them in the bank and wait for interest, but will invest them as soon as possible. They will participate in all kinds of financial activities that can make money, such as usury bonds and stocks. Among them, in order to ensure that their investments can be realised at any time for claims settlement, the biggest direction for insurance companies to invest is stocks or funds.

You have to know that banks only have huge financial resources because they have absorbed a large amount of deposits from depositors. The situation with insurance companies is similar to a large extent, so insurance companies are often also an important force in the financial market. Even a small insurance company can easily come up with tens of millions of dollars in cash, and isn't that what you and the finance class want?

Thinking about this, Zhou Ming said to Danny, 'Danny, your suggestion is fantastic. Insurance companies are indeed the most suitable direction for Wharton's development.'

'If you really plan to set up an insurance company, I think I will definitely buy one of your largest insurance policies,' Danny said.

'Okay, Chairman Danny, I will remember your words. I will prepare it for you at that time, but now I have to go back and notify my friends. We will talk about the rest next time.'

After saying this, Zhou Ming got up and left, returning to the Chinese dormitory. However, at this time, most of the classmates in the finance class had also gone out to find inspiration and had not yet returned. Zhou Ming waited here for a while, and then saw the monitor Chen Shu return first. He was very happy, and before Zhou Ming could ask him what was wrong, he took the initiative to come over and tell Zhou Ming, 'Teacher, I got a very good piece of information today, and that is an insurance company!'

Zhou Ming was a little surprised, 'How did you also think of an insurance company?'

Chen Shu nodded vigorously: 'I originally knew that insurance companies were engaged in finance, but I forgot about their composition and their business methods. It wasn't until today when I heard two seniors talking about it in the library that I remembered, we can also be insurance companies!'

After saying this, Chen Shu reacted: "Teacher, looking at your expression, it seems like you already thought of it?'

Zhou Ming nodded and said: "I was just having coffee with Danny, the chairman of the student union, and he also mentioned insurance companies to me. I think this will be a very good direction.'

While Zhou Ming and Chen Shu were chatting, Ye Ning suddenly returned. She was happy to see Zhou Ming and Chen Shu here and came over happily, holding up the newspaper in her hand and saying, 'Teacher and monitor, look, I just saw this on the street. Someone was talking about the business of insurance companies, which reminded me that insurance companies are companies that can engage in the financial industry without qualifications. This can be our direction!'

Ye Ning paused for a moment, saying, 'Teacher and monitor, you don't seem very happy.'

Zhou Ming shook his head and said, 'No, we are very happy, because Chen Shu and I were just discussing this.'

'Ye Ning, I got there first this time,' Chen Shu said.

Ye Ning snorted and wrinkled her little nose, saying, 'So what, you got lucky. Teacher and I see eye to eye.'

Zhou Ming just smiled helplessly at the two students' bickering. Then Zhou Ming's phone rang. He answered immediately. It was Li Yang calling. He said, 'Teacher, I know. We can work in the insurance industry!'

'So you thought of it too, Li Yang. I'm talking about this with Chen Shu and Ye Ning right now,'

Zhou Ming said, holding the phone, when the door to the dormitory opened again and several classmates from the finance class ran in at the same time, all saying the same thing to Zhou Ming: 'Teacher, we've thought of it too, insurance companies!'

Zhou Ming frowned the following week: everyone had thought of it? Was it really the case that heroes see the same thing?