Chapter 501: A Gathering of Bigwigs
Hong Kong. Far East Stock Exchange!
“Ding!”
Amid everyone’s tense anticipation, the opening bell finally rang.
At the same time, all staff took their positions, and a new day began on the Hong Kong stock market.
However, today’s situation was almost identical to yesterday’s: as soon as the market opened, the wave of sell-offs once again drove prices down sharply.
Especially those who hadn’t broken even yesterday—they were ready to cut their losses today, with their stock prices plummeting to rock-bottom levels.
Judging by the scene, it was clear this would be another day of sharp declines.
However, just as the trading floor was filled with despair, convoys of luxury cars began arriving one after another at the Far East Stock Exchange.
At first, people didn’t notice anything unusual—after all, this is a stock exchange, and luxury cars are a common sight here.
But people soon realized something was amiss when the head of the Li family’s car appeared in the Far East Exchange parking lot.
Soon after, the motorcades of the Ho family, the Lee Hysan family, and the Lo family also arrived. These four families are collectively known as the “Four Great Families of Hong Kong Island,” and it was indeed rare to see their vehicles gathered simultaneously at a single stock exchange.
As for how ordinary people knew which cars belonged to the heads of these families, the answer was simple: this was Hong Kong Island, after all!
In this tiny place, basic information about the wealthy and powerful families isn’t exactly a secret; the tabloids are full of scoops about them every day.
Over time, just by seeing the license plates of those luxury cars, ordinary people could tell which family’s motorcade it was.
The heads of the Four Great Families suddenly gathering at the Far East Club—this is no small matter; something big is definitely about to happen!
In an instant, everyone was buzzing with speculation!
However, just as everyone was speculating whether the Hong Kong government was about to bail out the market again, the heads of major conglomerates like Cheung Kong, Jardine Matheson, and Wharf Holdings began arriving one after another at the Far East Stock Exchange.
By 10 o’clock, even the Governor’s Office had sent representatives!
Goodness, I doubt the Governor could gather this many heads of major families even at a charity gala.
With so many people in attendance, every VIP lounge at the Far East Club was completely filled—not a single seat was left empty.
Under normal circumstances, most of these VIP lounges at the stock exchange sit empty; a 25% occupancy rate is considered decent.
A scene like this, with every seat taken, had never happened before.
Given this, some of the families who arrived later either gathered together in a VIP lounge, chatting among themselves.
Or they went straight to Li Futiao’s office to catch up with this stock market heavyweight.
These bigwigs were all on the same page; upon arriving, none of them made any grand gestures, acting as if they were simply there to have tea and a chat.
In reality, everyone understood the unspoken truth: they had come today to witness the investment genius from across the strait and see how he single-handedly wiped out the entire Hong Kong stock market!
……..
In VIP Room 9, Li Yi was completely oblivious to the commotion outside; at that moment, his full attention was fixed on the Hang Seng Index!
Of course, given his personality, he wouldn’t have cared even if he had known.
If those British bastards dared to play dirty and strike him from behind, he wouldn’t let them off easy—at worst, it would be a case of mutual destruction.
Besides, he was confident that as long as he didn’t intend to drain the Hong Kong stock market dry, those hypocrites were highly unlikely to take action against him.
At the very least, it was unlikely to happen openly—after all, money lost could be earned back, but once credibility was gone, there was no saving it.
The stock market is just like a casino—you can’t let people lose but not win. If you renege when they win, who would dare to go there in the future?
While Li Yi sat calmly in his seat, the stock market was already in turmoil!
Just past 10 o’clock, the Hang Seng Index had already fallen to 1,300 points, on the verge of breaking through that threshold.
At that moment, everyone in the VIP lounge was on edge.
In the mere eight days since the 27th of last month, they had witnessed the Hang Seng Index plummet from a high of over 1,700 points to below 1,300.
Even if they bought futures contracts at the current price and returned them to the institutions, their net profit would still be around 3.7 to 3.8 billion Hong Kong dollars.
This was undoubtedly the most profitable single investment in the history of Hong Kong stock trading.
Just then, Lan Xinming, who had been monitoring the market outside, suddenly burst through the door and exclaimed excitedly, “Boss, 1,299 points—the Hang Seng Index has broken below 1,300!”
Hearing his report, the others grew even more excited.
“Boss, can we make our move now?” Lan Xinyi asked immediately.
“No rush. Let’s wait a bit longer. It won’t be too late to act once it drops below 1,200 points!”
“Yes!”
But Huang Lixing, sitting nearby, couldn’t sit still any longer. He immediately asked, “Brother Li Yi, do you think the Hang Seng Index will drop below 1,200 points today? That’s a full 100 points!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I know you’re anxious, but even if it doesn’t drop below 1,200 points today, I’ll still close out my positions!”
“Don’t worry about that. Don’t take my words to heart—you’re the one in charge of the investment…”
Just then, the door to the VIP room suddenly swung open, and two people Li Yi hadn’t expected to see appeared in the doorway.
Li Yunbao, noticing the slight look of surprise on Li Yi’s face, said smugly, “You didn’t expect me to show up here, did you?”
“Are you here to settle our bet?”
“No, I’m here to see how you lose!”
Li Yunling, standing nearby, immediately tugged at her brother’s sleeve, signaling him not to be so confrontational!
“I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. There’s a high probability I won’t lose. Have you prepared to start your new job yet?” Li Yi said with a smirk.
“You’re just being stubborn. I just checked—the Hang Seng Index is at 1,300 points, a full 100 points above the 1,200 we agreed on. And with only a few hours left before the market closes, there’s no way it’ll plummet 100 points!”
Li Yunbao was brimming with confidence about this wager. Although the stock market had indeed been plummeting over the past few days just as that big shot had predicted, the likelihood of a drop of over 120 points in a single day was still slim.
Judging by the situation over the past few days, the Hang Seng Index had been falling by about 50 to 60 points daily.
If that “Big Circle Guy” had pushed the deadline back by just one day, Li Yunbao would have been the one to lose.
But right now, Li Yunbao felt certain he’d win!
Yet Li Yi’s reaction left him feeling a bit frustrated. Li Yi said calmly, “Young man, don’t be so sure of yourself—anything is possible!”
“Big Guy, who are you calling ‘young man’? You might not even be as old as me—what gives you the right to call me that?” Li Yunbao snapped angrily.
“Brother, if you’re going to act like this, I’m starting to regret asking you to come over!” Li Yunling said, frowning.
Li Yi was taken aback for a moment, realizing that what he’d just said was indeed a bit inappropriate.
After all, in terms of actual age, he was indeed younger than Li Yunbao, and calling the other party “young man” would certainly give the impression of looking down on him.
But apologizing to Li Yunbao was out of the question—at least not until he’d taught this kid a lesson!
Li Yi’s lips curled up slightly as he said calmly, “Being older doesn’t necessarily mean you’re mature. Even if you’re a year or two older than me, in my eyes, you’re still just an immature little kid!”
“Mr. Li, who are you calling a little kid…”
“Look at you right now—jumping around all over the place, unable to keep your cool. Isn’t that exactly what immaturity looks like?”
Li Yunbao was instantly dumbfounded. This guy was truly shameless, but upon closer reflection, what this big guy was saying did make some sense.
If he lost his temper with this annoying guy right in front of him, he’d indeed look like an immature kid who couldn’t handle a little provocation.
But if he just swallowed his anger, he’d feel a bit resentful.
For a moment, the Li family’s billionaire heir could only glare at Li Yi, puffed up with anger like an angry pufferfish.
However, just as Li Yi and the Li siblings were chatting inside, the situation outside took another earth-shattering turn…
………