Chapter 235: First Meeting with Lincoln (4k)

Two lawyers, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin, walked into Liang Yao's office and accepted Liang Yao's interview.

There was no doubt that the tall lawyer was Lincoln.

Lincoln's distinctive feature was that he was taller than 9% of his contemporaries. With a height of 193 centimeters, Lincoln also became the tallest president among all American presidents.

The average height of the president of the United States has always been very high, exceeding 180 centimeters.

It's just that when God opens a door for you, he will inevitably close a window for you.

Compared with Lincoln's astonishing height, Lincoln's appearance can only be said to be hard to describe. Lincoln's face was thin and he did not have the habit of growing a beard before participating in the presidential campaign. This undoubtedly magnified the shortcomings of Lincoln's appearance.

Paired with his melancholy eyes, a bitter face, and a baggy, ill-fitting suit, Lincoln's image was definitely not flattering.

On the contrary, the image of Herndon next to Lincoln, who was a head and a half shorter than him, was more likable. Although Herndon was fat, he had good features and was well-dressed. More importantly, Herndon's face always looked Keeping a friendly smile makes it easier for people to feel friendly.

"Hello, Mr. Liang, we are lawyers from the Lincoln-Herndon Law Firm."

Lincoln and Herndon briefly introduced themselves to Liang Yao.

"Boy, sit down."

Liang Yao pointed to the sofa and motioned for the two of them to sit down.

Lincoln and Herndon had long heard that Liang Yao was very young, but after seeing Liang Yao with their own eyes, they still showed very surprised expressions.

It is difficult for them to associate the 21-year-old young man in front of them with the identity of the richest man in the United States and the California State Speaker.

Lincoln recalled his 21-year-old self. He had no fixed career before the age of 25, and it was only when he was 30 that he became clear about his life direction.

Before the age of 30, he worked as a farmer, carpenter, sailor, salesperson, soldier, peddler, postmaster, blacksmith, customs inspector, lawyer and politician.

It can be said that he has a rich life experience and many talents. He has come into contact with people from all walks of life.

Among the many professions he had engaged in, Lincoln finally chose lawyer and politician, because he deeply realized that if he wanted to get ahead, only the last two professions had hope.

After the two sat down, Liang Yao folded their resumes and placed them on the walnut desk.

"I have read both of your resumes. To be honest, your resumes are both beautiful, but this does not move me to offer you a contract. In New York, there are many lawyers with more beautiful resumes than yours. By the way , how many lawyers does your law firm have?”

"Just the two of us." Lincoln replied without hesitation.

"Just you two?" Liang Yao couldn't help but frown,

“I value your law firm’s lawyers’ abilities more than their resumes. I don’t care how beautiful your past resumes are, I only care about how many lawsuits you can win for me.

Other law firms have at least seven or eight lawyers, but you only have two. "

Edward from the Sewing Machine Factory is the most famous patent lawyer in New York. Edward can be responsible for the patent lawsuit of the American Group.

But leaving aside patent disputes, Atlantic Railway Company alone faced 165 lawsuits of various types, most of which were land disputes. How many lawsuits can two lawyers handle, even if they are iron men who can work 24/7?

“Two people are only temporary and we will be able to recruit more lawyers soon.

"

Herndon said hastily.

As soon as Herndon finished speaking, Lincoln took over Herndon's words: "A mediocre lawyer can only resolve seven or eight lawsuits a year, and my highest record is 51 lawsuits a year. I am not saying this to you." You are boasting about my past, but you are stating the fact that one outstanding lawyer with outstanding ability is worth seven or eight mediocre lawyers.

And compared with other lawyers, I have a unique advantage, that is, I have rich political experience, I am familiar with how various government departments in the United States operate, and I know how to deal with people in government departments efficiently.

As far as I know, many of the Atlantic Railroad lawsuits involve various levels of government, and I think this special experience of mine can come in handy.

You don't have to sign a contract with me too early, you just need to give me a chance, a chance to prove my ability and prove that I can impress you with my ability and win this contract. "

Since the vast Midwestern region of the United States is sparsely populated and many places do not have fixed courts, the circuit court system is commonly used in the Midwestern region of the United States.

The litigation cases that Lincoln participated in in his early years were basically conducted in circuit courts. Under this system, Lincoln was able to achieve the astonishing result of resolving 51 lawsuits in one year, which fully illustrates his ability.

Of course, Lincoln's work experience in government departments, state parliaments and Congress also impressed Liang Yao.

Liang Yao decided to give Lincoln a chance. He pulled out a document from the walnut desk. Kony came over and handed the document to Lincoln.

The document concerned a land-ownership conflict between the Delaware-Hudson River Company, now the Atlantic Railroad, and a large New York State planter.

In order to encourage and support the development of the state's railway industry, the New York State government rashly approved the Delaware-Hudson River Company's route application and promised the company land along the railway line, including those that have now become the burden of the Atlantic Railway Company. A land of ownership.

After browsing the documents attentively, Lincoln looked up and asked Liang Yaodao: "Are most of the other lawsuits of the Atlantic Railway Company also related to this type of land dispute?"

"Most of them are this type of lawsuits. Of course, there are also some license and franchise disputes, assessment and tax disputes." Liang Yao said.

"Can you give me more of these?" Lincoln said.

Lincoln's confidence exceeded Liang Yao's expectations, and Liang Yao couldn't help but say: "Many law firms may not be able to solve a case in half a month."

“That is what they have not found, or they are deliberately avoiding the root of the problem. On the surface, these land disputes are disputes between the railway company and the land owners, but in fact the biggest responsible party should be the place that awarded the land to the railway company. government," Lincoln said.

“Litigation with landowners one by one is definitely inefficient and may not always be successful.

But if you unite the landowners in each state, take the state government to court as the defendant, convert the civil lawsuit into an administrative lawsuit, and then use your power in the press to put pressure on the government, as well as the professional capabilities of our law firm, I think It is not impossible to resolve these pesky lawsuits efficiently.

Although laws vary from state to state, in the states I know of, the trial period for administrative litigation is shorter than that for civil litigation.

Maybe some of my colleagues also know this, but they are afraid of trouble, do not want to go to administrative litigation, and do not know the relevant laws very well. I am different. I am a person who naturally likes to make trouble. In Yinli Nuoyinzhou has accepted many administrative litigation cases. "

Liang Yao took out five more such documents about the Atlantic Railway Company in New York State from his desk and handed them to Lincoln.

After receiving these cases, Lincoln said to Liang Yao: "If I can solve these cases within a month, I hope you will pay more agency fees."

"If you can handle these cases within two months, I will pay an agency fee of US$100 for each case." Liang Yao agreed.

When they heard the agency fee of US$100 per piece, Lincoln and Herndon couldn't help but their eyes lit up. The rich man was indeed as well-off as the rumors said.

What Liang Yao values ​​​​is efficiency. Laying the railway as soon as possible and seizing the market are the top priorities. As for the agency fees paid to Lincoln, he is just a small amount of money.

Finally, Liang Yao added: "If we lose more than two cases, I will remove your law firm from my shortlist and will not consider offering you a contract."

In the evening, Erics, Yin Sak, and Edward brought the first sewing machine off the assembly line of the sewing machine manufacturer to the manor for Liang Yao to take a look.

Due to cost considerations, mass-produced sewing machines have simplified unnecessary structures to reduce costs and facilitate mass production.

Erics and Yinsak opened the wooden box in which the sewing machine was packaged and took the sewing machine out of the box.

In addition to the necessary packaging box, according to Liang Yao's requirements, the sewing machine is also equipped with an illustrated instruction manual.

Although the mass-produced sewing machine has some simplifications, it is a new type of foot-operated sewing machine after all, and its design is relatively mature. Compared with the hand-operated sewing machine produced by the two men before, this foot-operated sewing machine is still much more refined.

There is a butterfly pattern printed on the body of the sewing machine, and below the butterfly pattern, there is the word butterfly (butterfly) printed in cursive characters.

The pictures and fonts are brand trademarks that Liang Yao spent US$300 to design from a well-known designer in New York. The moment he saw the finished product, Liang Yao felt that the US$300 was well spent.

In addition to the sewing machine body, the sewing machine also comes with a large roll of thread and a 500 ml bottle of whale oil for lubricating mechanical parts.

After trying out this sewing machine, Liang Yao was very satisfied with its performance, both in terms of appearance and use.

"Boss, can this sewing machine be put directly into the market?"

Yin Sak asked anxiously. He asked about Liang Yao's character from Kony. Kony once told him that Liang Yao was a very demanding and picky person.

"Okay." Liang Yao said with great satisfaction, and then asked Yin Sak and others, "How many US dollars does it cost to produce this sewing machine?"

"The total cost is $35 and 50 cents."

Yin Sak is well aware of the production costs of Butterfly sewing machines. After all, they built the production line of Butterfly sewing machines themselves. Yin Sak still knows how much it costs from purchasing raw materials to production.

"The price is set at US$150 per unit." Liang Yao said after thinking for a while.

"150 US dollars?" Edward scratched his chin after hearing this. "Isn't it too high? The price is too high. I'm worried about whether the sales will increase. 150 US dollars is a lot of money for a middle-class family."

"Not high." Liang Yao said with a smile, "With our current output of 150 units per month, we don't have to worry about sales. If we want to seize the sinking market in the future, we can launch a simple version, which can seize the sinking market." The market should not offend consumers who have already purchased sewing machines.

Furthermore, our price of US$150 includes three years of after-sales service. If there is a problem with the sewing machine within three years, it can be sent to the factory's repair office to provide consumers with free after-sales service. "

If there are strong competitors, Liang Yao really has to weigh things up when pricing a sewing machine.

The problem is that he has acquired the only two manufacturers in the United States that have the ability to manufacture sewing machines. The threshold for producing sewing machines is high, and Liang Yao now has the protection of the Patent Office.

In the short term, he does not have to worry about other machinery factories copying his products. He has the final say on how to set the price.

Moreover, Yin Sari and Erics previously sold hand-cranked sewing machines for $50-70 each. Liang Yao's foot-operated sewing machine is twice as efficient as hand-cranked sewing machines, so there is nothing wrong with doubling the price.

"What a good idea!" Erics took out a pen and a notebook to write down Liang Yao's words just now. The boss always has so many novel ideas.

For the sake of the factory's reputation, although some parts of the first batch of sewing machines were streamlined, the materials used were still very solid, and there is indeed room for further compression.

In the later period, the proficiency of the workers increased, and the output could be further increased, which can be regarded as a disguised reduction in production costs.

In addition to the progress made in sewing machines, Walter and Nobel also made progress in the research and development of new guns.

The two of them brought a sample to Liang Yao.

When he first saw the gun, Liang Yao thought it was a flintlock rifle and was a little disappointed.

But when Walter opened the chamber and took out a copper-cased pin-rim bullet from his pocket and stuffed it into the breech, Liang Yao realized that this was a rear-loading pin-rim bullet rifle, but it was ignited by the gunshot of a flintlock.

"Sir, please try this gun. This gun is very powerful. One shot can knock down an American bison!" Walter handed the gun to Liang Yao.

After seeing the caliber of the bullet that Walter had just stuffed into the chamber, Liang Yao did not doubt Walter's words at all. The caliber of the ammunition used by this gun reached an astonishing 15mm millimeter. According to the ammunition caliber standard of Germany in World War II, it can be directly classified as a machine gun.

"It's a pity that bison can't be obtained in New York."

Liang Yao said with some regret.

The best large animal to get in New York is the horse. Liang Yao asked Connie to get an old and sick horse.

Liang Yao ordered his men to tie the old sick horse to an open space 150 meters away, aiming at the horse's lungs and pulling the trigger.

After a gunshot, the old sick horse hit by the 15mm caliber bullet let out a shrill whine and was relieved.

Even though he was mentally prepared for the recoil of the gun, Liang Yao's body still leaned back involuntarily.