The plane arrived at New York Airport, and the Moran family's people were already waiting there as soon as they disembarked.
In a hurry to get home, as soon as they entered the house, they learned that Janet was in the audiovisual room watching a movie with Mr. Quentin.
Watching a movie! She rushed here in a hurry, and she was in the audiovisual room watching a movie with a man!
Laila first introduced Roy and Abel to her grandmother. When she took the two of them to their rooms to drop off their luggage, her face turned serious, and she walked toward the audiovisual room.
Opening the door to the audiovisual room, a barrage of battle sounds rushed out from inside. Looking up, she saw that they were watching the movie "Independence Day." At this moment, the movie was playing the scene where the city was in ruins, and the soldiers were fighting against aliens to save the civilians.
Janet, who was holding popcorn, felt a breeze and turned around to see Laila standing there.
"Darling! You're finally here!" She joyfully tossed aside the leftover popcorn and rushed over to her daughter, giving her affectionate kisses on both cheeks. "I felt like I hadn't seen you in ages!"
Laila wiped off the lipstick marks from her face with resignation. "It hasn't been that long, just a few months, Mom."
"In the East, there's an old saying that goes, 'One day without seeing each other is like three autumns.' We haven't seen each other for so many autumns!" Due to their relationship with her grandmother, Janet's Chinese was still quite good, although she rarely showed it in front of outsiders.
Laila couldn't argue with that; she just had to go along with it.
"So, you urgently called me here just to watch a movie with a man?" she asked, then saw Quentin, who had been showered with popcorn by Janet, approaching. After being showered with popcorn and still calmly fixing himself up, he displayed an unusual level of composure.
"Hello, Laila," Quentin said, not bothering about the popcorn falling into his collar, nodding at Laila.
"Hello, Mr. Quentin. I hope you're enjoying my mother's enthusiastic hospitality," she replied, looking at him with a somewhat mischievous smile.
Quentin nonchalantly smiled back at Janet, replying, "I've always enjoyed her enthusiasm."
Janet didn't expect this guy to speak so casually in front of her daughter; at the time, she wanted to show her anger. But Laila didn't give them a chance to flirt; she didn't want to witness the sight of that man completely taming her mother like a trained animal.
"Independence Day? It's a great movie," she said as she walked over to the viewing area. "I'll join in and watch it."
Janet quickly sat down next to her daughter. "Darling, it's not that I don't want to watch your movies, but Quentin can't handle them. Your movies can frighten him."
It's not him; it's you, Laila couldn't help but think. She knew that her mother hadn't dared to watch her movies since she watched "The Blair Witch." She rarely even attended premieres. It wasn't until she transitioned into action films that her mother started watching them with her. Even so, the sight of bloody scenes still made her turn pale.
As she watched the city in ruins on the screen, a thought flashed through her mind. She casually asked, "It's a terrifying disaster. If a city faced this destruction, it would probably have a significant impact on the United States, wouldn't it?"
"Definitely! I wouldn't dare to live in a place that had been ravaged by aliens, even if I knew they were gone," Janet replied, feeling frightened at the thought.
"It seems like disasters would have a considerable impact on property and housing prices," Laila nodded knowingly.
After 9/11, the Twin Towers in New York collapsed, and property prices in the surrounding area plummeted due to the prolonged smoke and dust. Many people who no longer trusted New York began moving to safer places. Did this mean she could take advantage of the situation to make some money? However, in 2008, the United States experienced the subprime mortgage crisis, which might be an even better opportunity to invest.
"Mr. Quentin, what are your thoughts?" She wanted to know his opinion as it would guide her investment direction in the future.
Don't ask why she didn't try to prevent the tragedy; she was just a soul from the East who had come from the future, not a compassionate deity. Would anyone pay attention to her if she made an anonymous report to the authorities? How would she explain how she knew about it if she went to the authorities in her real name? One wrong move, and she would either fail in her mission or cause trouble for herself. Between other people's troubles and her own, she always had a rational and almost ruthless answer.
Quentin seemed quite interested in her question. "If New York were to face such a major disaster, I think it would drag the entire United States into an economic whirlwind."
"Why?" Janet asked curiously on behalf of Laila. "It's just one city; perhaps it would require a lot of manpower, resources, and funding for reconstruction, but would it really drag the entire United States into it?"
Quentin smiled, "I'm not talking about the resources needed for reconstruction. Regardless of how much money is spent, that's just a matter of finances. Moreover, the reconstruction of a city would create many job opportunities, which wouldn't be a disaster for the United States, which still has a high unemployment rate. What I'm talking about is another, more precious resource. Don't forget, that New York is the world's largest, most developed, and most prosperous city. Can any business that doesn't occupy New York claim to be the world's best brand?"
Laila had already guessed what he meant. "You mean people?"
"That's right. The elite of the world gather in New York, and their influence on New York, the entire United States, and even the world is immense. Losing these people would be the greatest disaster to befall America."
Laila nodded thoughtfully. Indeed, it would be impossible to cultivate so many talents in just a few decades. The World Trade Center, which collapsed on 9/11, was a gathering place for elite professionals from major companies around the world. In that disaster, nearly 3,000 elite individuals from around the world were lost. It's no wonder someone said that America lost a decade because of that incident.
She had to admit that Quentin was a professional; he saw things much deeper than she did.
In the following conversation, Laila tentatively probed, and they discussed many things related to this topic, allowing her to learn a lot.
"So, Mr. Quentin, if I want to invest, where do you think I should put my money?" she asked. This would provide significant guidance for her future investment direction.
Quentin glanced at Janet, who was completely engrossed in watching the movie and smiled indulgently. Then he replied, "This isn't something that can be explained in just a few words. First, I need to know how much capital you can provide, and then I can suggest suitable investment options. You see, there are investment methods for a few thousand dollars, and there are also investment methods for tens of millions."
Laila raised an eyebrow, suddenly realizing that she didn't actually know how much money she had.