- 21 hours ago
Two African-American men in the 1960s hire a Caucasian man to pretend to be their business empire's head. However, with time their little arrangement falls prey to many suspicious eyes.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Just because he was rejected for a loan by all the banks, this black man came up with a crazy
00:03idea. If he could buy that office building that housed seven banks, those banks would become his
00:07tenants. At that point, who would dare to easily reject his loan applications? He took decisive
00:12action, coming to the building every night to estimate the occupancy rate by counting the
00:15number of lit windows. Combining this with other information gathered on site, he accurately
00:19calculated the building's annual rental income and actual profit, finally arriving at his own
00:24valuation. Then he found a capable real estate developer named George and laid out his acquisition
00:28plan in full. George was stunned upon hearing it, that was the most expensive building in Los
00:32Angeles, and the owner was white. In the 1950s America, white people generally looked down on
00:36black people, and trying to acquire their property in their territory was simply impossible.
00:40Charlie did not rush to refute, instead, he calmly listed his reasons. The building housed seven banks,
00:45buying it would not only make it easy to obtain loans but also allow him to grasp financial and
00:49real estate trends firsthand, making his business smoother. More importantly, through his investigation,
00:53he found that although the building was in a prime location, there were still many offices long-term
00:57vacant. This meant the owner had limited rental income while also bearing heavy operating costs.
01:01Additionally, Charlie learned that the owner urgently needed funds for a new project, and this
01:05building was clearly a burden he was eager to shed. Finally, Charlie also presented the various data he
01:10had calculated, proving to George that this was absolutely a surefire deal. George was amazed.
01:14He realized that Charlie was not a dreamer but a practical strategist who advanced step by step.
01:18Partnering with such a person could not go wrong, but they now faced a practical problem.
01:22Because of their black identity, they did not even have a chance to negotiate,
01:25so they had to find a reliable white person to represent them. And Charlie already had someone
01:29in mind, Matthew who had recently helped him renovate his house. Although he was just an
01:33ordinary worker, he had ambitions. Most importantly, he never discriminated against black people.
01:37However, when Matthew heard about this acquisition plan, he looked completely confused. He did not
01:42understand anything about loans, nor did he know how to buy a bank. Charlie patiently explained,
01:46they were not buying the banks, but the building where the banks were located. He also offered
01:49Matthew 10% of the shares and promised to teach him all the necessary knowledge. All they needed
01:53was for him to represent them. From the next day on, Charlie and George began to comprehensively
01:57train Matthew. They taught him financial knowledge, negotiation skills, and business models.
02:02They guided him on how to package himself, from playing golf to dining etiquette,
02:05leaving no detail overlooked. Three months later, Matthew did not let them down. Although he could
02:09not fully understand some complex financial knowledge, he had an amazing memory and memorized
02:13everything he did not understand. Combined with his talent in golf, no one could tell he had once
02:17been a renovation worker. They crafted a flawless identity for him, a young oil tycoon from Texas
02:21who had inherited a large fortune. When contacting the building owner, Matthew won his attention
02:25with a beautiful opening shot in golf, smoothly securing the negotiation opportunity. Although
02:30Matthew was unsure inside, Charlie had already calculated all the data in advance and made
02:34him memorize it. At the negotiation table, no matter how the owner raised the price, Matthew
02:38always responded fluently, quoting data precise to the decimal point, even making the financial
02:42experts beside the owner feel inferior. Ultimately, the building originally priced at $2.4 million
02:47was successfully acquired for only $1.56 million. After buying the building, Charlie analyzed the
02:52root of the previous poor management. The problem lay in the leasing strategy. The original owner
02:56only wanted to rent to prestigious white large enterprises, but most of these companies had
03:00their own headquarters, so their leasing demand was limited. Charlie decisively turned to capable
03:04doctors, lawyers, and accountants. They had office needs and were eager to enhance their image
03:08and win client trust by moving into a high-end office building. With this single step, the building's
03:12vacancy problem was quickly resolved, and rental income steadily came in. But Charlie's ambition did
03:16not stop there. He used this building as the core, connecting resources such as banks, law firms,
03:21medical services, and consulting, empowering each other. As this system operated, the building's value
03:25soared. After that, the cooperation among the three became smoother, and Charlie's real estate
03:30kingdom expanded rapidly. He not only broke racial barriers in Los Angeles but also promoted
03:34community integration, allowing more black families to move into white neighborhoods. His achievements
03:38even attracted the attention of the vice president, and he received an audience. However, success did
03:43not satisfy him. Charlie returned to his hometown Texas with capital and ideals, determined to shake
03:47the deep-rooted prejudice there. But reality remained harsh. Racial discrimination in Texas had not
03:52changed at all. They could not obtain loans from white banks. Even the black shoe shiners at the bank
03:56entrance only served white customers. This scene deeply pained Charlie and evoked his past memories.
04:01Charlie had also been a shoe shiner, but from a young age. He was curious about finance and
04:05intentionally set up his stand at the bank entrance, so his customers were mostly business elites.
04:09Sometimes he deliberately shined shoes slowly just to hear more of the financial information
04:13revealed in their conversations. As soon as the customers left, he immediately wrote down what he
04:17had heard. Through accumulation over time, Charlie developed a dream of becoming a banker. But his
04:21father anxiously told him that his ideal was impossible to achieve. Because this was Texas in 1939,
04:26black people doing business would not be received by white people at all. Despite this,
04:30Charlie's eyes still shone with determination. 15 years later, he went to Los Angeles with his wife to
04:34pursue his dream. Although they could only temporarily stay in a relative storage room,
04:38this place was relatively tolerant towards black people. So he decided to start a business here.
04:42With his sharp business acumen, he quickly discovered a business opportunity. The vacancy
04:46rate in white neighborhoods was high, while black neighborhoods were overcrowded. So he became a
04:50real estate agent, specifically buying houses in white neighborhoods and renting them to black
04:54families with good economic conditions. Soon he took a liking to a white apartment adjacent to the
04:58black neighborhood. Although it looked shabby, the location was ideal. When he found the owner to
05:02negotiate, the other party asked for $35,000, but Charlie only had $30,000 in savings. He proposed
05:08paying a down payment first and clearing the balance after the house was rented out. But the owner
05:12rejected his proposal. As Charlie was about to leave, he unintentionally saw a calendar on the
05:17owner's desk given by a bank manager. So he had a sudden idea and immediately went to that bank.
05:21Charlie went to the bank to apply for a loan, but he was treated coldly because of his race.
05:25With no other options, he had to wait patiently at the entrance for the manager to finish work.
05:28When he approached to speak, he falsely claimed he had been referred by the property owner,
05:32hoping to get a $5,000 loan to complete a deal, but he was still rejected. Just as Charlie felt
05:37disappointed, the property owner called him proactively. Not only was the owner not angry,
05:41but he was also impressed by Charlie's courage and intelligence. In the end, the owner not only
05:45agreed to sell the apartment to Charlie but also offered to guarantee his loan. So, Charlie finally
05:49bought his first property. But when he prepared to renovate the house, he faced strong opposition from
05:53an elderly female tenant. She told Charlie to inform the landlord that no matter how much he
05:57renovated, she would not pay more rent. However, when Charlie explained that he was the new owner,
06:01it completely angered the old woman. She yelled that there should not be people like you in a
06:04white building. Then she called the police, claiming a black man was impersonating the landlord.
06:08Charlie calmly showed the purchase contract. Even though the police checked repeatedly,
06:12they still found it hard to believe that this black man had really bought the building.
06:15In the end, they had nothing to say and could only leave. That night, when Charlie returned to
06:19the apartment, the old woman was guarding the door, trying to stop him from entering.
06:22Charlie smiled and told her he was the owner and would live there permanently.
06:25The old woman was stunned and the next day, she packed her bags and moved out. She could not
06:29accept living in the same building as a black person. Sure enough, there was high demand for
06:33quality housing in the black community, and Charlie quickly paid off the remaining balance.
06:37The owner greatly admired Charlie's ability and proactively proposed a win-win cooperation.
06:41He would sign the contracts publicly, while Charlie operated behind the scenes,
06:44thus avoiding racial discrimination barriers. Charlie rarely met a white person who did not
06:48discriminate against him so he gladly accepted, and they agreed to each hold 50% of the shares.
06:52They worked together wholeheartedly. The business grew larger and wealth accumulated rapidly.
06:57Charlie finally fulfilled his promise to his wife, moving from a storage room to the villa he had
07:01always dreamed of. However, fate played a trick. The partner owner suddenly passed away,
07:05and control of the company fell into his wife's hands. This woman was full of discrimination
07:09against black people. She not only wanted to drive Charlie out of the villa but also intended to
07:13buy his shares at a low price. Facing such unreasonable demands, Charlie refused to compromise.
07:18But the other side was aggressive, threatening to take him to court if he did not comply.
07:21His lawyer also reminded him that a black person suing a white person had little chance of winning,
07:25especially since he had been operating behind the scenes, making it hard to prove he was a partner.
07:29Unwilling to admit defeat, Charlie thought of the bank manager from before,
07:33but found that the manager had been hired by that woman as a high-paid financial advisor and was
07:36avoiding him. Standing in the bank lobby, Charlie saw that the building housed seven banks.
07:40Suddenly, he had a crazy idea. He wanted to buy that building so that the banks could never refuse
07:44him again. Many years later, Charlie returned to his hometown in glory. His father,
07:48seeing his son's achievements, still advised him not to do business in Texas, because the rules here
07:52could not be changed by one person. But Charlie's eyes remained determined. He went to the bank
07:56entrance where he used to shine shoes and looking at the shoeshine boy, he seemed to see his former
08:00self. Charlie immediately decided to buy that bank. He knew well that in the business world,
08:04whoever controls the bank controls the economic lifeline. If he owned his own bank, he could fund
08:08his massive real estate acquisition plans and no longer be constrained by others. However,
08:12when George found out, he strongly opposed it. He believed that Texas and Los Angeles
08:16were completely different. They could not possibly survive here, let alone change the rules.
08:20But Charlie insisted on moving forward, even preparing to complete the acquisition alone.
08:24Although George thought it was irrational, he ultimately chose to join him in the adventure.
08:28Perhaps a true friend is not one who only shows up in good times, but a close friend willing to go
08:32through hard times with you. This time, they repeated their old tactic, having Matthew act as the
08:36front man, while George posed as a driver to observe secretly. But the plan changed. The boss,
08:40to protect his son's position, was only willing to sell 80% of the equity. This meant that there
08:44was still a white person in the bank's upper management, and Charlie could not appear publicly.
08:48Even though limited, he still operated behind the scenes, providing loans to his black compatriots,
08:53quietly changing the financial landscape of his hometown. However, things were soon exposed.
08:57That day, the boss's son suddenly stopped Matthew and questioned why the number of loans had surged
09:01this month, increasing by 70 compared to before. Matthew panicked and claimed it was to expand
09:05business and increase shareholder profits. But the other side did not easily believe it.
09:09He secretly followed several borrowers and found that they were all black.
09:12At the same time, Matthew felt the situation was serious and urgently met with Charlie to discuss,
09:16but unexpectedly he was followed and photographed by the other side.
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