Wall Street. The NASDAQ Stock Exchange!
As soon as she stepped into the exchange, Jiang Xue was stunned by the bustling scene before her.
Although she had previously accompanied Li Yi to several stock exchanges in Hong Kong, compared to this one, those Hong Kong exchanges were no match—neither in scale nor in the sophistication of their equipment.
More importantly, the number of people trading stocks here far exceeded that of the exchanges in Hong Kong.
Stunned, Jiang Xue looked at Li Yi and asked, “Are all these people here to make money in the stock market?”
“Hehe, they’ve all come here with the intention of making money, but whether they actually succeed depends on their individual abilities and luck!” Li Yi said with a smile.
Pang Feiyan chimed in from the side, “Making money in the stock market isn’t easy. Many people enter the market full of confidence, only to end up losing everything!”
“Is it really that bad?”
“It gets even worse. Take those who invest in futures, for example. They might be billionaires one day and bankrupt the next—sometimes even saddled with massive debts. Many can’t handle the fall from grace and end up taking their own lives!”
Pang Feiyan continued, “During last year’s stock market crash, people were jumping off buildings every day. The exchange was forced to bar access to the top floor!”
Hearing this, Jiang Xue’s face paled, and her gaze toward Li Yi was filled with concern!
Li Yi knew what she was worried about. He smiled immediately and said, “Don’t worry, I know my limits!”
Pang Feiyan and Liang He, standing behind her, couldn’t help but twitch their lips. They knew Li Yi’s investment style all too well—once he spotted an opportunity, he’d go all in.
You call that a “measured” approach to investing?
That’s just to placate an investment novice like Jiang Xue—anyone who’s heard of Li Yi as a stock trader wouldn’t believe it.
But clearly, Jiang Xue believed him. Over the past few years, Li Yi had always presented himself to his young wife as someone who never took a shot in the dark.
So when Li Yi said this, Jiang Xue didn’t doubt him; instead, she asked curiously, “Is this where you made all that money last year?”
Clearly, Jiang Xue didn’t understand the investment market; she couldn’t even tell the difference between the stock market and the futures market.
“No, I mainly invested in the futures market last year. But before I left, I also invested in some companies on this exchange—I just don’t know if I made any money yet!” Li Yi said.
“We’ll just have to check to see if we made any money!” Jiang Xue said.
Li Yi nodded, then asked Navine to reserve a VIP lounge while he took Jiang Xue to check the current stock prices of various companies.
But when Li Yi saw Apple’s quote, he couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward.
“What’s wrong?”
“I lost money on the first stock!” Li Yi said with a hint of resignation.
“How much?”
“I bought them at an average price of $25 per share, and now they’re only $21 per share—a loss of $4 per share!” Li Yi said.
“So how many shares did you buy?”
“Over 800,000 shares!”
“So that’s a loss of 3.2 million?” Jiang Xue said, sounding a bit surprised.
“Yeah.”
Although he knew Apple was facing a very serious crisis over the past two years and the likelihood of a sharp rise wasn’t high, Li Yi hadn’t expected such a steep plunge—this is Apple, after all.
But considering Apple’s current situation, this price drop was actually quite reasonable.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xue was mentally calculating the value of that $3.2 million. When she realized that $3.2 million equaled 6.4 million RMB, she couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment.
“Losing this much… could it be…”
Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s fine. This stock is meant for long-term holding; short-term gains or losses don’t make much of a difference!”
“Oh!”
Jiang Xue didn’t know much about investing, but she trusted that Li Yi wouldn’t lie to her.
Li Yi then checked Intel and AMD; these two stocks were performing quite well.
Intel had risen by $6 per share, while AMD had gone up by $8. These two stocks alone had earned Li Yi nearly $13 million.
However, the performance of the remaining stocks was rather mediocre; there were no “miracle stocks” that had multiplied in value several times over.
After reviewing the prices of all the stocks he had purchased last year, Li Yi felt a bit helpless.
Just before returning home last year, he had gone on a spending spree on the Nasdaq, investing $380 million in 17 stocks all at once.
This caused a sensation across the United States at the time; people believed that media pressure had intimidated this man from the East, forcing him to back down in this manner.
Little did they know, however, that Li Yi hadn’t done this out of fear that the U.S. government wouldn’t let him leave; he simply found the prices of tech stocks on the Nasdaq too tempting at the time.
Just think about it: Apple stock at over $20, Intel and AMD at over $30—they were practically a steal!
Little did he know that when he returned here more than half a year later, he would find that six of the 17 stocks he had invested in were in the red, resulting in a total loss of $12.8 million.
The remaining 11 had risen, though not by much, and together they earned Li Yi $29.7 million.
After settling the accounts, the 380 million invested over the past year and a half yielded a profit of only 16.9 million.
This return on investment is truly shocking. Not only does it pale in comparison to Li Yi’s track record in London and Hong Kong, but it doesn’t even hold a candle to the interest earned on a regular savings account.
Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Navine walked over in her high heels and said to him, “Mr. Li, the VIP lounge has been reserved. You can go there anytime!”
“Lead the way!”
“Yes…”
The group then followed Li Yi to the VIP lounge on the north side of the lobby.
Upon entering, Li Yi mentioned the names of several companies and asked Navine and Pang Feiyan to inquire about and compile information on their stock performance.
Meanwhile, he remained in the VIP lounge to personally teach Jiang Xue the basics of stock trading and the key considerations to keep in mind.
Li Yi’s main purpose for coming here was to trade the exchange rate between the British pound and the US dollar.
As for the stock market, he wasn’t really interested; he was just tagging along with his wife for fun.
Jiang Xue, on the other hand, was quite interested in the stock market. She wanted to dominate the investment world just like her husband, so she studied with great earnestness.
When Pang Feiyan and Naveen returned to the VIP lounge, Li Yi was sharing his investment insights with Jiang Xue: “The primary objective of stock market investing isn’t to make money, but to avoid and mitigate risks. Before investing, you must first consider the risks—ensure you don’t lose money, and only then think about making a profit!”
“Next, when trading stocks, you must follow the trend of stock prices—that is, buying on the rise and selling on the dip. This is the only way to survive in the market. At the same time, you must track the movement of stock prices; don’t delude yourself into thinking you’re smarter than the market…”
Both Pang Feiyan and Naveen were well aware of Li Yi’s track record and knew he was a true investment master. To be able to listen to such a person share his investment insights up close was a rare opportunity for both of them.
So, the two stood by Li Yi and Jiang Xue’s side, listening intently for a good ten minutes or so. It wasn’t until Li Yi noticed them and stopped that they reluctantly began to report their situation to him.
After listening to their report, Li Yi turned to Jiang Xue and said, “They say that knowledge gained from books is always superficial; to truly understand something, you must put it into practice. Since you already know what stock trading is, let’s move on to some hands-on practice!”
“P-practical trading right now? Can I really do this? What if I lose money?” Jiang Xue asked, sounding a bit unsure.
“It’ll be fine!”
Li Yi then whispered a few words in Jiang Xue’s ear, instantly causing a flush to rise on her cheeks. The look she gave him was a mix of playful reproach and a touch of unique allure.
This display of affection caught the single guys—Pang Feiyan, Liang He, and the rest—off guard, and they all instinctively turned their faces away, refusing to watch the couple.
After teasing his wife a bit, Li Yi continued, “Intel, AMD, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Gillette, Procter & Gamble… The stocks of these dozen or so companies are performing well on the market and are likely to rise. Take a look and pick one you’d like to invest in!”
Jiang Xue glanced at Li Yi, then asked nervously, “Does that mean once I pick one, I have to put my money into it?”
“Exactly! And from now on, I won’t give you any hints. Whether you make a profit or a loss depends entirely on your own performance!” Li Yi said.
This really flustered Jiang Xue. Although she could tell her husband probably didn’t care about those few million dollars, she was genuinely afraid of wasting that money.
Meanwhile, Pang Feiyan, Naveen, Liang He, and the others standing nearby were equally baffled. They could all tell Jiang Xue was a complete novice when it came to investing. For Li Yi to have her jump straight into the thick of it—he must really have more money than he knew what to do with!
Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Li Yi glanced at his watch and said, “Feiyan, Navini, the two of you are responsible for accompanying my wife throughout this process. However, you’re only allowed to provide her with information—you must not offer any investment advice. Can you handle that?”
“Yes!”
Li Yi nodded and turned back to Jiang Xue. “Xiao Xue, it’s 9:40 a.m. right now. I’m giving you one hour to select and analyze stocks. In one hour, you must pick the stocks you’re confident in!”
With that, he led Li Yunbao and the others out of the VIP lounge…
PS: Ever since I caught a cold after returning from a business trip to Guangdong last month, I haven’t fully recovered and have been feeling terrible.
On top of that, the local Writers’ Association has been preparing a major event these past few days—a symposium inviting renowned writers from China, Mongolia, and Russia. Lao Cang is scheduled to speak at the event, so I’ve been busy writing speeches and rehearsing, which has delayed updates.
Once this event wraps up in a day or two, updates will resume!
………