Chapter 499: Star Sea International

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed!

Over the past few days, the entire Hong Kong stock market had been shrouded in gloom.

With the British Hong Kong government’s failed market rescue efforts, coupled with the impact of the mainland’s stance, the entire Hong Kong stock market had completely collapsed.

With no daily price limit system in place, and nearly everyone desperate to cut their losses and exit the market, everyone was holding their stocks high, eager to sell and hoping someone else would take them off their hands.

But who was willing to be the sucker at a time like this? Consequently, while there were many sellers, there were very few willing buyers.

Consequently, whether individual investors or institutions, everyone was forced to keep lowering their asking prices. The share prices of nearly all listed companies plummeted; some had even fallen by nearly half—truly a freefall.

With the stock market crashing, the Hang Seng Index was bound to fall.

On July 29, after the Hang Seng Index broke through the 1,500-point threshold, it plummeted another 100 points just one day later, falling below 1,400 points.

Although the decline moderated slightly in the following days, there was still no sign of a bottom.

By the close of trading on August 2, the Hang Seng Index had fallen to 1,321 points.

This relentless stock market decline has completely shattered investors’ already fragile confidence, and the entire Hong Kong Island—from the stock market to everyday life—has descended into chaos!

However, this had little impact on Li Yi. Over the past few days, aside from occasionally checking the Hang Seng Index, he had devoted almost all his attention to his investment firm.

Since the Far East Association had agreed to release them, they had terminated their contracts with Lan Xinyi and the others without any conditions attached.

Consequently, Lan Xinyi, Lan Xinming, Cai Bingyan, and others have now officially signed contracts with Li Yi’s Star Sea International Investment Company, becoming the first employees of this conglomerate destined to go down in history.

Subsequently, under Li Yi’s instructions, Lan Xinyi and the others first rented a large open-plan office in an office building near the city center to serve as the company’s temporary headquarters.

The reason they didn’t rent a larger space was mainly because Li Yi knew that property prices on Hong Kong Island were about to plummet. Rather than spending a fortune renting someone else’s property now, he preferred to wait until he could withdraw his funds from the stock market and then buy a standalone property at rock-bottom prices to serve as the company’s headquarters.

Although it was only a temporary office, Li Yi was unwilling to settle for anything less than the best.

After all, a good office environment not only lifts people’s spirits but also boosts employee productivity.

Therefore, after securing the office space, he immediately had it lightly renovated.

It didn’t need to be luxurious, but it had to be clean and tidy at the very least.

While the office was being renovated, Li Yi, along with Lan Xinyi and others, began a large-scale recruitment drive.

A qualified investment firm requires not only investment specialists but also professionals in finance, legal affairs, human resources, public relations, risk management, project evaluation, and more.

Even the smallest investment firm needs at least a dozen employees.

Li Yi had ambitious plans, so he needed a significant number of people. According to his plan, the first batch of employees alone would number no fewer than 50.

As the core team of the company, Li Yi had extremely high standards for every new recruit, and he personally interviewed every applicant who came in.

Because Li Yi’s standards were so high, they interviewed a total of 228 people over three days, but only 17 met his approval—an acceptance rate of less than 10%.

Although the company’s acceptance rate isn’t very high, the salary is quite attractive.

At the time, the base salary for most employees was only around 1,800 Hong Kong dollars; even in the financial industry, where wages were slightly higher, they rarely exceeded 3,000 Hong Kong dollars.

However, Star Ocean International Investment offers a base salary of HK$3,500, and the contract explicitly states that meal, transportation, and housing allowances will be provided, which add up to an additional HK$500 per month.

In other words, even the most junior staff at Star Ocean International can earn HK$4,000 a month, which is absolutely top-tier pay in the industry.

In comparison, someone like Lan Xinyi, who has been appointed as a department manager, has a guaranteed monthly base salary of HK$5,000. When you add up all the various allowances, her monthly take-home pay is no less than HK$7,000.

In addition, the company promises an end-of-year bonus, the amount of which will be determined based on the company’s year-end performance.

With such high salaries, especially in the midst of a full-blown stock market crash, the appeal was undeniable.

Every day, Star Ocean International Investment received a flood of resumes, many from highly educated candidates.

Determined to get the company up and running as quickly as possible, Li Yi went all out, personally conducting employee interviews first thing every morning. Finally, by the end of the workday on August 3, he had successfully recruited 50 new employees…

………..

Taiping Mountain, Cloud Peak No. 1!

Li Yi had just returned home and was about to take a shower when the phone suddenly rang.

Li Yi stopped immediately and answered the phone: “This is Li Yi, who’s calling?”

“Mr. Li, the boss is here!”

“Tell Old Huang to come up. I’ll be waiting for him in the study!”

“Yes, sir!”

Li Yi had just stepped into the study in his robe when he heard the sound of footsteps thudding down the hallway. Fortunately, the floor was covered with expensive carpets, so the sound wasn’t too loud.

Less than a minute later, Huang Lixing walked in, holding a bottle of red wine.

“Have a seat!”

Then Li Yi asked with a smile, “What made you think of coming to see me today?”

“I’m feeling a bit restless. I thought I’d come over for a drink!” Huang Lixing said with a sigh.

“What’s wrong? What’s got you so worked up?” Li Yi asked immediately.

“A friend of mine died!”

“Uh… Who? Do I know him? How did he die?”

“His last name was Lin. You don’t know him. He was also in investments. This stock market crash not only bankrupted his company overnight but also left him with debts he could never pay off in a lifetime, so he jumped off the roof of his office building!”

As he spoke, Huang Lixing had already opened the bottle of red wine in his hand, poured himself a glass, and downed it in one gulp!

It was clear he held this friend in high regard and was deeply saddened at that moment.

Li Yi didn’t try to comfort him. Instead, he poured himself a glass and silently took a sip alongside him.

The stock market is risky; invest with caution.

It’s easy to make money in the stock market, but it’s just as easy to lose it—especially under current conditions where price fluctuations are unregulated.

A single piece of good news can easily double a stock’s price, while a single piece of bad news can halve it in an instant—it’s truly a case of heaven one hour, hell the next.

And in the event of a market crash, the vast majority of people could lose their entire investment. Huang Lixing’s friend is not the first, nor will he be the last.

It wasn’t until he’d downed three glasses that Huang Lixing’s mood finally calmed down a little.

“Lin Shaolun called me before he killed himself, asking me to help him!”

“Did you refuse?”

“No, I just told him that all my money is tied up in the stock market right now, and that I’d help him resolve this once I’m done with my business there!”

At this point, Huang Lixing’s tone couldn’t help but turn bitter and angry: “That bastard thought I was stuck in the stock market just like him. He hung up the phone and jumped right after!”

Hearing this, Li Yi began to understand Huang Lixing. It was clear he had wanted to help the other man and had the means to do so.

But the other guy had completely misunderstood, and it ultimately led to a tragedy. This whole thing was just a total mess.

“So what are you going to do?”

“What else can I do? I’ll just keep an eye on his wife and kids, make sure no one takes advantage of them. Sigh!”

“Life and death are in the hands of fate. Just let it go,” Li Yi said.

“By the way, Li Yi, when the stock market closed this afternoon, the Hang Seng Index had already dropped to 1,256 points. When are you planning to cash out?” Huang Lixing asked.

“Tomorrow!”

“You’re really going to settle tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I reckon the Hang Seng Index will drop below 1,200 points tomorrow. When that happens, we’ll settle our contracts with the institutions, and the money will be safely in our pockets!”

“Alright, I’ll go with you tomorrow!”

“Alright!”

……….