Hong Kong Island. Mid-Levels Villa!
Li Yi, who had just returned from an outing, came back to Huang Lixing’s villa surrounded by Tie Ying and the others.
Going out for fun should have been a good thing, but now, with the exception of Li Yi, everyone’s expressions were a mix of exhaustion and discomfort.
Today they had gone to Victoria Harbour in Kowloon, where they’d been out from morning until past five in the afternoon.
Although they drove there, once they arrived, Li Yi led the group on a walking tour. Over the course of the day, they had practically walked the entire circumference of the Kowloon Peninsula.
Good grief, the whole group looked like fools, marching briskly along the outer boulevards of Victoria Harbour under the scorching sun, covering dozens of kilometers.
To be honest, it wasn’t just Lan Xinyi and the other women who were struggling—even Tie Ying and the others were starting to have enough.
Everyone was completely baffled by Li Yi’s behavior!
This wasn’t a fun outing—it was a test of endurance, or perhaps even a punishment.
Sure enough, as soon as they got back to the villa, Lan Xinyi and the others were completely wiped out!
“Mr. Li, can we discuss something with you?” Cai Bingyan, the youngest member of the team, asked with a grim expression.
Li Yi knew what the young girl wanted to say, but he asked, “What’s on your mind?”
“Can we please skip the walking tour tomorrow? It’s just too exhausting!”
“Yeah, Mr. Li, walking dozens of kilometers a day—we girls really can’t take it!” the plump girl Pang Qiaoling chimed in.
Worried that her friends might anger Li Yi, Lan Xinyi hurriedly interjected, “Stop it, everyone. Just do as Mr. Li says!”
Sitting on the sofa, Li Yi listened to the women chattering away. He cleared his throat and said, “Alright, since everyone’s been playing hard these past few days, let’s get to work tomorrow!”
Hearing this, everyone in the room froze!
Then, a burst of cheers erupted throughout the villa!
To be honest, they’d been going stir-crazy these past few days!
Starting on July 21, the already teetering Hong Kong stock market experienced a major turnaround.
As the British Hong Kong government stepped in forcefully to rescue the market, trading volume across Hong Kong’s exchanges rose steadily, and stock prices—which had nearly been halved—quickly rebounded.
In tandem with this, the Hang Seng Index continued to climb, breaking through the 1,700-point mark on the morning of the 21st and briefly reaching 1,715 points.
The market’s strong momentum made it seem as though every industry in Hong Kong had forgotten the terrifying stock market crash of the previous days, as if everything were already behind them.
Under these circumstances, as long as one avoided betting on stocks that were fundamentally rotten, it was basically possible to make a profit.
However, Li Yi, who was at the center of the storm, left everyone somewhat baffled.
Just as Huang Lixing, Lan Xinyi, Lan Xinming, and others were waiting for him to make his next move, Li Yi suddenly announced he was going to take a stroll around Hong Kong Island.
He said it, and he did it.
Apart from a visit to Far East Securities with Lan Xinyi and others on the 22nd for the settlement of funds,
the rest of the time, Li Yi spent sightseeing with Tie Ying, Lan Xinyi, and the others.
They visited Hong Kong Island’s busiest commercial district, Victoria Harbor, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and even an underground casino on the island, having a blast.
Man, if it weren’t for the over 400 million Hong Kong dollars from the settlement still sitting in his account, everyone would’ve thought he was calling it quits!
Although hanging out with Li Yi meant they had plenty to eat, drink, and do—especially when shopping, where Li Yi would even treat them to all sorts of things, including designer clothes they couldn’t normally afford—
But after all, they were traders at a securities firm. Not going to the office or trading stocks for several days in a row just felt like something was missing!
Especially since, although Li Yi hadn’t allowed them to interact with outsiders these past few days, he hadn’t restricted them from reading newspapers or listening to the radio to stay informed about what was happening outside.
Upon learning that the stock market was currently booming, they all started to get restless.
After all, while managing others’ portfolios, they also invested in the stock market themselves. If they’d been able to trade as they usually do, they would have made a tidy profit these past few days.
Unfortunately, they didn’t even have the chance to go to the office, which was somewhat frustrating.
Now that this near-confinement was finally coming to an end, the girls were naturally overjoyed.
Li Yi watched their excited expressions and couldn’t help but smile. He reminded them to get some rest early, as they had to be there early tomorrow.
Then, he went up to the second floor alone…
………
Early the next morning, Li Yi got up!
As soon as he reached the living room, he found Lan Xinyi, Cai Bingyan, Lan Xinming, and the others already waiting for him.
Upon seeing Li Yi, Lan Xinyi and the others all stood up from their seats and said respectfully, “Mr. Li!”
Li Yi nodded and said, “Since everyone is ready, let’s get going!”
“Yes!”
Everyone then followed Li Yi out of the villa and, escorted by Tie Ying and the others, headed straight for the city center!
Since the market wouldn’t open for another two hours, Li Yi first had Tie Ying take everyone to find a place for breakfast. Only after finishing breakfast did they head to the Far East Association’s stock exchange.
Upon arriving at the exchange, Li Yi didn’t immediately assign tasks; instead, he had Lan Xinyi summon the portly manager first.
When Zhang Qiusheng was summoned by Lan Xinyi, his heart was filled with excitement.
Although Li Yi’s recent rampage on the stock market had been kept under wraps, as Li Yi’s account manager, such matters naturally couldn’t be hidden from him.
It was a trading day, and the fact that Li Yi had summoned him so early in the morning clearly meant he wanted to collaborate with him again.
Upon entering, Zhang Qiusheng said with a hint of flattery, “Mr. Li, you wanted to see me?”
“Manager Zhang, let’s be frank. For the funds in my account with five times leverage, what’s your lowest commission rate?” Li Yi asked.
Hearing this, Zhang Qiusheng’s heart skipped a beat.
He knew full well that Li Yi’s account held a whopping 420 million yuan; with five times leverage, that would amount to 2 billion yuan—far exceeding the funding limit a low-level manager like him could authorize.
“Mr. Li, the amount you’re requesting is simply too large—I don’t have the authority to approve it!”
Li Yi glanced at his watch and then asked, “Then get someone who can make that decision over here!”
“Please wait a moment!”
With that, Zhang Qiusheng turned and left the VIP lounge!
Less than five minutes later, a lean, middle-aged man hurried in, accompanied by Zhang Qiusheng.
As soon as he entered, the man extended his hand and said, “Mr. Li, I’m Xiao Yingcheng, Deputy General Manager of the Far East Association. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
“General Manager Xiao, Chairman Li’s right-hand man—I’ve long admired your reputation!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Mr. Li, I heard from Qiusheng that you’re looking to borrow 1.68 billion?”
“That’s right!”
“According to industry standards…”
Before Xiao Yingcheng could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “General Manager Xiao, if I were following industry conventions, there would be no need to invite you here, would there?”
“So what do you mean, Mr. Li?”
“A flat fee: five million in commission!”
“Mr. Li, three million is too low…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off again: “Mr. Xiao, you should know what I do. In reality, your funds are completely risk-free. Under such risk-free conditions, 3 million is already a substantial amount!”
“If the Far East Club doesn’t agree, then I’ll have no choice but to transfer the funds to the Kowloon Club or the Elite Club. I’m sure they’d be delighted to welcome a major client like me!”
Xiao Yingcheng already knew that Li Yi had over 400 million Hong Kong dollars in his account—a major client, no doubt. If he were to actually transfer that money to a competitor, it would indeed be a huge loss.
After much hesitation, he immediately said, “Four million. That’s the lowest I can go!”
“Deal!”
Shortly after, both parties swiftly signed the contract!
Once the funds were in place, Li Yi immediately issued an order to Lan Xinyi and the others that left everyone speechless…
………