????每天凌晨4點(diǎn)鐘，時(shí)思糖果公司（See's Candies）的工人們就開始陸續(xù)抵達(dá)位于洛杉磯和舊金山的工廠。他們站在各自的工位前，一些人把軟糖料灑在楓葉核桃糖上，或者數(shù)著每個(gè)皇家杏仁巧克力中的堅(jiān)果數(shù)量。另一些人則把甜醉杏仁糖鋪在平底鍋里，或者用手捏碎腰果塊。工人們穿著類似實(shí)驗(yàn)室工作服的白大褂，衣服的前方縫著每個(gè)人的名字，顏色為黑色——與1952年攝制的著名情景喜劇《我愛露西》（I Love Lucy）中的服飾非常類似，這部戲的主演露西爾?鮑爾還曾專門在時(shí)思糖果公司體驗(yàn)過一段時(shí)間。到了早上9點(diǎn)鐘，許多工人已經(jīng)開始吃午飯了。

????與此同時(shí)，在奧馬哈市法鈉姆街的基維特大廈，沃倫?巴菲特基本上不知道時(shí)思糖果公司正在發(fā)生的一幕。他的伯克希爾哈撒韋集團(tuán)（Berkshire Hathaway）于1972年（整整40年前），以2,500萬美元的價(jià)格收購(gòu)了這家小型糖果制造商。盒裝巧克力是一個(gè)規(guī)模較小的產(chǎn)業(yè)，據(jù)估算，美國(guó)一年的盒裝巧克力總銷售額還不到20億美元，而且并不是每年都會(huì)增長(zhǎng)，盡管在2012年增長(zhǎng)了4%。巴菲特同時(shí)還持有其他資產(chǎn)，包括美國(guó)運(yùn)通（American Express）、可口可樂（Coca-Cola）和IBM公司的大宗股權(quán)，它們2011年實(shí)現(xiàn)了3.76億美元的銷售額。相形之下，時(shí)思糖果公司8,300萬美元的凈利潤(rùn)不啻為“滄海一粟”。但在他所有的投資中，這家區(qū)域性糖果制造商時(shí)至今日依然是巴菲特的最愛。

????當(dāng)然，這位奧馬哈先知并不擔(dān)心旗下公司的日常管理工作；2006年，巴菲特對(duì)時(shí)思糖果公司進(jìn)行了40年來最大一次干預(yù)：當(dāng)時(shí)，已經(jīng)為時(shí)思糖果公司效力54年之久、并擔(dān)任了33年首席執(zhí)行官一職的查克?希金斯榮休之后，巴菲特安排伯克希爾哈撒韋集團(tuán)保險(xiǎn)事務(wù)的長(zhǎng)期負(fù)責(zé)人布拉德?金斯特勒接掌了這家公司的運(yùn)營(yíng)工作。

????現(xiàn)在，59歲的金斯特勒正著手從事一項(xiàng)雄心勃勃的計(jì)劃，意欲把時(shí)思糖果帶往全美各地。在前往美國(guó)西海岸的旅途中，大家或許在機(jī)場(chǎng)商店中見過時(shí)思糖果的身影，但在該公司的211家專賣店中，沒有一家設(shè)在芝加哥以東的地區(qū)。未來3年，時(shí)思糖果計(jì)劃在佛羅里達(dá)州、佐治亞州、賓夕法尼亞州、馬里蘭州和華盛頓特區(qū)等地區(qū)開設(shè)專賣店。這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃能否成功依然是個(gè)未知數(shù)；過去進(jìn)行的類似嘗試并不太奏效。對(duì)于一家素以耐心和審慎著稱（就像巴菲特本人）的企業(yè)而言，（雖然經(jīng)過了仔細(xì)考慮，）如此規(guī)模的擴(kuò)張計(jì)劃往往依然孕育著風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。但金斯特勒比他的前任更有決心實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)。

????譯者：任文科

????The plant workers of See's Candies start arriving each day at 4 a.m. In Los Angeles and San Francisco they stand at their stations and drizzle fondant onto maple pecan bonbons or count the nuts in each almond royal. They spread rum nougat into flat pans or break up chunks of cashew brittle by hand. All the while, they wear the signature white lab coats with their first names embroidered on the front in black stitching -- similar to the ones in the famous 1952 I Love Lucyepisode, for which Lucille Ball trained at See's. By 9 a.m., many of the workers break for lunch.

????Meanwhile, in the Kiewit Building on Farnam Street in Omaha, Warren Buffett is largely unaware of what is beginning at See's. His Berkshire Hathaway group (BRKA) acquired the little candy company in 1972 -- exactly 40 years ago -- for $25 million. The boxed-chocolate industry is small, with total sales estimated at just under $2 billion a year in the U.S., and does not often grow year to year, although it is up 4% in 2012. See's, which had sales of $376 million in 2011, $83 million of it profit, represents an infinitesimal drop in the bucket of Buffett's other holdings, which include fat stakes in American Express (AXP), Coca-Cola (KO), and IBM (IBM). But of all his investments, the regional candy maker remains Buffett's fondest.

????Of course, the Oracle doesn't worry himself with the day-to-day management of companies he owns; his biggest act of participation in four decades was in 2006 when he installed longtime Berkshire insurance man Brad Kinstler to run things after Chuck Huggins, who had been with the company 54 years and was CEO for 33 of them, retired.

????Now Kinstler, 59, is embarking on a plan to spread out across the country. You may know See's from airport kiosks on trips to the West Coast, but of the company's 211 shops, none are east of Chicago. In the next three years See's plans to open stores in states like Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and in Washington, D.C. Whether it will be successful is uncertain; past attempts have not worked that well. The plan means risk -- though measured -- for a business that, like Buffett himself, is usually about patience and caution. But Kinstler is more determined than anyone before him to make it happen.