After leaving the Li family estate, Huang Lixing looked thoroughly puzzled.
Once in the car, he said impatiently, “Brother Li Yi, what exactly was Chairman Li’s intention in summoning us? I’m a bit confused.”
Huang Lixing had assumed that since Chairman Li Fuqiao had taken the initiative to meet with them, there must be something important to discuss.
But he never would have imagined that Chairman Li would just ramble on about this and that with Li Yi for ages, and then simply let them leave after the two of them made a bet.
However, Li Yi, sitting beside him, remarked coolly, “Hmph, he was just trying to test me!”
“Why would he test you?”
“Heh, don’t forget we’ve heavily shorted the Hang Seng Index!”
“What does that have to do with anything? We’re just one of Far East Club’s clients. Whether we make a profit or a loss doesn’t really affect them, does it?” Huang Lixing asked, puzzled.
“It certainly doesn’t have much impact on the Far East Club as a brokerage firm, but Old Huang, don’t forget—this market rescue isn’t just the British Hong Kong government’s doing. The vast majority of Hong Kong’s listed companies and the families behind them are involved. In other words, they’ve all placed heavy bets on the British Hong Kong government!” Li Yi said.
After hearing Li Yi’s analysis, Huang Lixing swallowed hard.
Now he began to understand: Li Futao had placed a heavy bet on the British Hong Kong government, and Li Yi’s short position on the Hang Seng Index clearly indicated he didn’t have much faith in the Hong Kong stock market.
Therefore, he wanted to test Li Yi to see if he was truly acting with a clear strategy, or if today was merely a bad investment call!
“So… did he believe you?”
“I don’t know. A man like him isn’t so easy to read, but we’ll find out by watching Far East’s moves tomorrow!” Li Yi said.
In his previous life, during this stock market crash, Li Futao—known as the “Godfather of the Stock Market”—suffered massive losses.
But since he’s taken notice of me this time, I hope he doesn’t repeat the same mistakes.
But Li Yi didn’t really care about that. After all, the Li family had deep pockets; even losing a billion or two wouldn’t be a major blow to them.
He was just a small fry whose net worth had only just surpassed 100 million; there was no need to worry about a mega-family with assets exceeding 10 billion.
“Brother Li Yi, I still can’t quite figure it out. Why did you make that bet with Chairman Li, and why did he agree to it?”
It was no wonder Huang Lixing had this question. After all, the prize Li Yi had offered was a property on Victoria Peak.
That area is essentially a gathering place for Hong Kong Island’s top elite; any property there is worth at least tens of millions, and it’s not uncommon for them to exceed 100 million.
If Li Yi won, Li Futao would have to gift him a luxury mansion worth hundreds of millions.
Conversely, if Li Yi lost, all he’d have to do was cast a fortune for Li Fuzhao.
If Li Fuzhao knew Li Yi’s true abilities, this would certainly be a bargain.
But clearly, Li Fuzhao had no way of knowing Li Yi’s identity or abilities, which made the whole situation seem rather peculiar.
Yet, Li Yi made a startling remark: “This isn’t a wager at all—it’s the consultation fee he’s paying me!”
“Consulting fee?”
“Exactly. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been wasting my time chatting with him for so long!” Li Yi said nonchalantly.
“Well…”
Huang Lixing was even more baffled by Li Yi’s words. For someone like him, it was indeed hard to figure out exactly what kind of secret game Li Yi and Li Futao were playing!
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll find out in a few days,” Li Yi said.
“Alright…”
………..
Li Family Manor. Living Room!
Li Futao was still staring out the window, a cigarette still clamped between his fingers.
Yet he simply let it burn on its own, without taking a single puff!
After a long while, he snapped out of his trance and turned to Assistant Zhou beside him, saying, “Xinghua, what do you think of this young man?”
“I… I can’t quite figure him out. From what we’ve gathered, he doesn’t seem to know much about stocks, but there’s something off about him!”
“Go on,” Li Futiao said indifferently.
“The first time he shorted the Hang Seng Index, he put the money in and left. He didn’t come back to the exchange for several days afterward, as if he didn’t care at all about those tens of millions of dollars!”
Assistant Zhou continued, “But it was during those very days that the Hong Kong stock market took a severe hit. Both stocks and futures indices plummeted, and this young man raked in 180 million in just a few short days!”
“The second time he appeared in the market, he suddenly went long on the Hang Seng Index and raked in 190 million in a single day—his execution was flawless…”
At that moment, Li Futao suddenly interrupted his assistant and said, “This young man isn’t ignorant of the stock market—he knows it all too well!”
“Are you suggesting the market is going to crash again?”
“Barring any surprises, that’s exactly what will happen!” Li Futao said in a grave tone.
Hearing this, Assistant Zhou felt a chill run down his spine.
He knew full well how many shares the company had acquired in order to coordinate with the British Hong Kong government to prop up the market; if stock prices plummeted, the company would inevitably suffer massive losses.
At the very least, it would be three to five hundred million; at worst, it could very well bring the company down.
“So… what should we do?”
Li Futao was silent for a long moment, then said in a grave tone, “Immediately summon the managers of the Investment Department and all the traders. Have them report to the company and stand by!”
“First thing tomorrow morning, you go to the office in person and convey my orders: sell off all the low-priced shares the company has acquired. Set the asking price low—you must sell every last share before other companies catch on!”
“Yes!”
“Until then, do not reveal this to anyone—not even the traders!” Li Futao urged once more.
“Rest assured, Chairman. This information will not be leaked before tomorrow!”
“Hmm. Also, go to Cloudtop No. 9 tomorrow at noon and have someone tidy the place up. Wait for my further instructions!”
Upon hearing this, Assistant Zhou’s face immediately betrayed a look of shock, and he cautiously asked, “Chairman, you aren’t planning to give Unit 1 of Cloud Peak to that young man, are you?”
“Yes!”
“Your stake and his aren’t even close to being equal—why did you take that bet with him?” Assistant Zhou asked, looking completely baffled.
“Heh, Xinghua, your thinking is too superficial. Do you really think we’re just making a bet?” Li Fu said with a smile.
“Well… isn’t that exactly what it is?”
“Of course not. That kid is just openly asking me for a house!”
“Why?”
“Because he saved me from losing billions. I should give him a token of my gratitude!”
“But… what if his guess was wrong? After all, he lost tens of millions today!” Assistant Zhou said.
“That shouldn’t happen. If he didn’t have absolute certainty, he wouldn’t have made that bet with me—unless he never wants to set foot on Hong Kong Island again!” Li Fu said.
“That young man is incredibly bold!” Assistant Zhou remarked with a sigh.
“Young men like that are often upstarts who love to climb the ladder by stepping on local power players. Until we’ve figured out his true nature, we’d best not provoke him!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Go get ready. A storm is coming!”
“Yes…”
……..