This scene likely left many feeling confused, unsure of what these two were truly playing at.
Initially, it seemed like Dr. Cooper had orchestrated a plan to ensnare Professor Parkinson, luring him into a project destined for financial ruin for the sake of immediate gain, leading to his downfall.
However, the current situation suggested otherwise. Although Professor Parkinson hadn't seen the report Dr. Cooper left behind, Professor Parkinson had independently conducted his own investigation. The cost calculated in his report was astonishingly double that of Dr. Cooper's.
This was utterly preposterous. It implied that Professor Parkinson knew from the outset that the vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation pipeline train technology was bound to be a money-loser, yet he proceeded with it anyway. The question remained: why?
“Aren’t you afraid of losing money?” Professor Cooper asked, slightly taken aback.
“Dr. Cooper, you’re still a bit out of touch with the times,” Professor Parkinson replied with a slight smile, licking his lips. “Do you think such trivial tricks can ruin me? No, you simply don’t understand how we truly make money!”
“Or rather, do we really have to wait thirty years to start making money? By then, both of us will likely be six feet under. What difference would even the greatest achievements make to us then?”
“True profit should start now, even if I haven’t invested a single cent at this moment!” Professor Parkinson declared.
“I’m eager to hear your explanation!” Professor Cooper responded.
“Very well, today I shall magnanimously teach you what true profit is!” Professor Parkinson, perhaps stifled for too long by his rival, was now like a peacock eager to display its plumage, desperately wanting to showcase his brilliance and success. He stated without hesitation, “Firstly, there’s the surge in stock prices. Simply by holding this press conference, the stock of numerous railway-related companies we control has collectively soared. In just one day, I’ve generated hundreds of billions of dollars in profit for the company, with nothing more than a few words as the cost.”
“I recall you only generated $100 billion for the company over three years last year. I’ve accomplished it in a single day. This is what truly makes big money!”
“How laughable. The rise in stock prices is temporary, merely on paper. If you intend to cash out, I bet that if you dared to sell your shares tomorrow, countless others would follow suit!” Professor Cooper scoffed, clearly unconvinced by Professor Parkinson’s profit-making scheme.
“Indeed. If my intention was to profit from a press conference by deceiving people, then yes, I could only skim a little, not even enough to pick my teeth. Therefore, I’m not playing games; I genuinely intend to build the most technologically advanced and greatest vacuum high-speed railway in the United States, one that transcends the era. In that case, the stocks of these companies cannot possibly fall.”
“That would still only yield a profit of one to two hundred billion dollars, insignificant compared to the losses from building the actual railway,” Professor Cooper countered.
“No, you underestimate me. The rise in stock prices is merely a small sweetener for us. The real profits lie in the railway construction itself.”
“Your plan designates a 50-meter zone around the vacuum high-speed pipeline as a restricted area. That’s far too conservative. According to my plan, this figure should be multiplied by ten, extending the restricted area to 500 meters. When these pipelines traverse cities, even just the suburban areas, what do you think the value of that 500-meter strip of land will be?”
“You intend to employ the century-old railway land development trick?” Professor Cooper frowned. Railway land development was what attracted countless investments to railways back then.
Over a century ago, major railway companies worldwide were enthusiastically building railways in various countries, offering seemingly advantageous construction terms.
Firstly, all construction costs were borne by the companies themselves. Upon completion of the railway, local governments not only collected taxes from its operation but also received approximately 30% of the company’s shares for free, sharing in the ticket revenue.
To be fair, these terms weren’t excessively greedy. Even by 21st-century standards, they were considered relatively reasonable, a win-win situation.
So why did countries at the time oppose this method, viewing it as a profound humiliation?
The reason was simple: railway land.
According to the contracts drafted by these enterprises, a 500-meter radius on either side of the railway was to be designated as the railway company's exclusive economic zone. Ostensibly, this zone was to protect the railway from nearby interference. In reality, it was for obtaining the development rights of the land adjacent to the railway.
As for railways passing through suburban areas, their value was negligible. However, when railways traversed cities, the 500-meter radius around the railway would become the railway company’s exclusive economic zone.
The auctioning of development rights for such land alone could generate enormous profits.
Consider this: if a railway line passed through Shanghai, and the entire 500-meter radius around it belonged to the company, that land would be sufficient to develop dozens of residential communities or hundreds of commercial properties. The land value of just one community could amount to tens of billions in revenue.
It was precisely for this reason that the term "railway land" came into being. The more important cities a railway traversed, the more development rights for urban land would be seized by railway companies. These represented incredibly vast revenues.
If a railway company managed to secure the railway development rights for a medium to large country, it could potentially become a Fortune Global 500 company overnight.
Of course, if the land acquisition was conducted ethically, and if certain countries demanded not only railway land development rights but also the stationing of armed forces along the railway for its protection, it was essentially a dagger thrust into their own hearts, capable of changing the political landscape in an instant. Who could tolerate such a situation?
Therefore, if a country lost its railway construction rights, it would essentially be reduced to a semi-colonial state.
To return to the present, the railway land development ploy is no longer effective. Everyone has become smarter, and no country is willing to cede a 500-meter radius around railways to railway companies. Wouldn't it be more beneficial to develop the land themselves?
While operating in other countries might still allow for coercion through threats like missiles, attempting such a maneuver within the United States was utterly inconceivable.
Thus, when Dr. Cooper heard that Professor Parkinson intended to revert to the century-old tactic of demanding a 500-meter commercial zone, he found it utterly unbelievable.
“No, this is not the same as the old trick from a hundred years ago!” Professor Parkinson chuckled. “The 500 meters from a hundred years ago involved compulsory land acquisition. It didn’t cost much; in fact, it was essentially free to demolish the houses on that land and declare it the property of the railway company. That’s how railway land development thrived.”
“The reason this method doesn’t work now is because everyone has become civilized and can no longer resort to the old ways. If you want land around the railway, you have to pay exorbitant demolition fees.”
“Furthermore, even large tracts of suburban land are private property, requiring substantial relocation or acquisition fees.”
“I’ve estimated that if we were to proceed with relocation within a 500-meter radius, the total construction cost would increase by approximately 2.2 trillion US dollars for relocation fees!”
Dr. Cooper stared blankly for a moment, unable to comprehend why Professor Parkinson still wore an expression of ecstatic joy when an additional 2.2 trillion dollars in relocation fees was involved.
However, Dr. Cooper, being a seasoned executive, after a brief moment of contemplation, looked at Professor Parkinson as if he had seen a ghost and said, “You don’t intend to pay this 2.2 trillion dollars in relocation fees; you intend to *earn* this 2.2 trillion dollars in relocation fees?”
Upon hearing Dr. Cooper’s words, Professor Parkinson felt a pang of disappointment. Such a perfect opportunity to show off was gone.
So, he could only nod dejectedly, “That’s right. While you haven’t completely lost your mind, this 2.2 trillion dollars in relocation fees will be our income!”
“Normally, the price of an acre of farmland is around $4,100. This is for arable land. If it's barren desert or other land with no economic value, an acre might only cost a hundred or two hundred dollars.”
“We just need to arrange for some partners beforehand to acquire those lands at reasonable prices before the detailed pipeline routes are finalized, especially the barren plots. The total expenditure won’t exceed $20 billion.”
“But when we pay compensation, we will only compensate at the price of arable land. This $20 billion will instantly become $800 billion. Aren’t we making money from this?”
“And Goldman Sachs already controls several companies in suburban areas. We can have the tracks pass through the land owned by these companies and pay relocation fees at the highest local land prices. That will be hundreds of billions more.”
“Tell me, isn’t this money earned before the pipeline railway even begins construction?” Professor Parkinson said with a smile, his eyes gleaming with large dollar signs.
“Then where do you plan to get the 2.2 trillion dollars to purchase this land?” Dr. Cooper asked irritably.
“There are two avenues. The first is through the stock market. These over twenty railway companies have already formed a joint venture, and this joint venture will soon be listed. The funds raised through the IPO will be used to construct the ultra-high-speed vacuum pipeline railway. I estimate that we can raise at least a trillion dollars through this method. We can’t let the title of the world’s highest market capitalization company be held by a Chinese enterprise forever.”
“The second avenue is even simpler, but let’s discuss it only if the first avenue fails!” Professor Parkinson seemed hesitant, ultimately not revealing his second plan.