Hong Kong. The Mid-Levels Villa!
When Huang Lixing arrived, Li Yi had just finished his shower and was getting ready to take his men out to dinner.
After returning from the city center at noon, he’d been holed up in his room resting and had only just woken up.
As for the stock market, he hadn’t paid it the slightest bit of attention—what was meant to be would happen regardless of whether he watched it or not.
After his shower, Tie Ying came up to ask whether they should order in for dinner or go out to eat.
Li Yi thought for a moment. He’d never gone out to eat, drink, or have fun in downtown Hong Kong Island at night, so he immediately decided to have a big meal in the city that evening, and then have Tie Ying take him around afterward.
However, just as the group had gathered, Huang Lixing pushed open the door and walked in.
Seeing Li Yi and the others like this, Huang Lixing immediately asked, “Brother Li Yi, are you guys heading out?”
“Yeah, we were just about to head out for dinner. What brings you here, Old Huang?” Li Yi said with a smile.
“I need to talk to you about something!”
Seeing that he seemed rather urgent, Li Yi replied immediately, “Alright!”
Li Yi then turned to Lan Xinyi and the others and said, “You guys wait downstairs for a bit. Huang and I are going upstairs to talk about something!”
Without waiting for Lan Xinyi and the others to reply, Li Yi headed upstairs with Huang Lixing.
The two entered the study one after the other. As soon as they walked in, Huang Lixing said somewhat excitedly, “Brother Li Yi, did you know the Hang Seng Index has dropped to 1,645 points?”
“I hadn’t noticed—I just got up!” Li Yi replied honestly.
“How could you not know? We made 600 million this afternoon—600 million!”
As he spoke, Huang Lixing’s expression was visibly elated.
No wonder he was so excited. Counting the money they’d made in the previous few days, the two of them had raked in 1 billion Hong Kong dollars in the stock market in less than two weeks.
Although he would only get less than half of that, it had already doubled his net worth.
Li Yi smiled and said, “Old Huang, you didn’t come all this way just to tell me that, did you?”
“Not exactly, but aren’t you excited? That’s 600 million!”
“Of course I’m excited! Who says I’m not?” Li Yi said with a laugh.
“But I don’t see it…”
“There’s no need to show how excited you are on your face. Besides, we haven’t closed the deal yet. It’s not too late to get excited once the funds have been settled!” Li Yi said.
“So when are we settling up?”
“What’s the rush? Just wait and see!”
“Are you saying the Hang Seng Index is going to drop further?”
“Heh, Old Huang, you don’t really think this stock market crash will end that easily, do you?” Li Yi said casually.
“Uh, probably not. Every time there’s a stock market crash, it lasts at least half a year, sometimes three to five years—it rarely recovers in just a few months!”
“Exactly. Just wait. I’ll let you know when it’s time to settle!”
Li Yi knew full well that this stock market crash lasted a full year and a half, and it wasn’t until 1983 that there were finally signs of a rebound.
As for the Hang Seng Index, it plummeted from 1,810 points all the way down to 676.30 points.
In other words, even based on current levels, it would need to drop nearly another 1,000 points before hitting bottom.
Of course, Li Yi wasn’t going to wait until the market bottomed out before cashing in. Not only would that take too long, but the British Hong Kong government wouldn’t allow them to drain the Hong Kong stock market in one fell swoop.
After all, the total market capitalization of the Hong Kong stock market was minimal at the time; if they had actually waited for the Hang Seng Index to bottom out, the British Hong Kong government and major institutions would have suffered losses of at least 17 to 18 billion.
Even if the British Hong Kong government were willing to grit its teeth and accept it, the wealthy aristocratic families wouldn’t tolerate it. After all, the stock market is where they go to fleece the little guys—how could they possibly stand being fleeced themselves?
Therefore, Li Yi’s bottom line is to close the deal at the trough of the first wave of the stock market crash—around 1,200 points.
Once that level was reached, although the Hang Seng Index would continue to fall, the declines wouldn’t be significant.
It would drop by three to five points a day, occasionally rebounding by two or three points, and eventually settle at around 600 points over the course of a year and a half. There was no need to drag this out for so long.
However, it was enough for him to know these things himself; there was no need to tell anyone else.
Huang Lixing had long been utterly in awe of Li Yi’s investment acumen, so he didn’t press the matter further.
“Brother Li Yi, you can handle this as you see fit. I was just asking out of curiosity—don’t let it weigh on your mind!”
“Got it!”
“By the way, I got a call from Chairman Li this afternoon!” Huang Lixing said.
“I expected as much. Did he ask you about me? Did he say he wanted to meet me? And was he very polite about it?” Li Yi asked.
Huang Lixing looked stunned. “Brother, you even figured that out?”
“Haha, there’s no need to ‘calculate’ that—a little analysis is all it takes to reach that conclusion!”
“You really didn’t calculate it?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “I really didn’t have to calculate it. Once that news was released, investors sensing the whiff of war wouldn’t have the heart to invest. The small investors have all fled, so the stock market is bound to crash.”
“And Chairman Li, following my warning, quietly slipped away this morning. If things go as expected, the Far East Association should have made a killing this time!”
“Right, they definitely made a killing. My informant on the stock market side reported that the Far East Association was dumping a lot of shares this morning, and since the asking prices weren’t very high, it actually sparked a scramble among investors!” Huang Lixing said.
“Heh, that’s exactly right. Under these circumstances, Chairman Li must have wanted to check in with me about the situation. But since he couldn’t reach me directly, he had no choice but to come to you!”
Li Yi continued, “Since he’s coming to you for help, he’s bound to be a bit more polite. Don’t you think that makes sense?”
Huang Lixing nodded and said, “You’re right. But don’t worry, Brother Li Yi—I didn’t tell him a thing!”
“Actually, it wouldn’t have mattered much anyway. With Chairman Li’s connections, it was inevitable he’d figure out my identity!” Li Yi said nonchalantly.
“If he finds out, that’s his problem. In any case, without your permission, I’ll never reveal your identity, Brother Li Yi!” Huang Lixing declared.
Li Yi nodded; Old Huang’s words pleased him greatly.
He hadn’t misjudged him—this guy was someone he could count on!
“Brother Li Yi, Chairman Li asked me to tell you he’d like to host a dinner for you at the Li family estate tomorrow night. Will you be coming or not?” Huang Lixing asked again.
“I’ll go. If I’m not mistaken, he’s finally ready to honor our bet. Someone’s giving me a house—why wouldn’t I go?” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Brother Li Yi, are you really planning to accept Chairman Li’s property?”
“Are you worried he might get upset about it?”
“Not really. I just think we’ve made a decent profit this time—there’s no need to take risks over a mere piece of real estate!”
Huang Lixing knew all too well that the waters of Hong Kong were far too murky. No one could tell what lurked beneath the surface—whether it was a human or a demon—especially with a powerful family like the Lis, who were truly the kind to devour their prey without sparing a bone.
However, Li Yi just smiled and said, “Old Huang, only by taking this property will Chairman Li feel at ease!”
“Well…”
“Heh, you know, the hardest debt to repay is a debt of gratitude!”
Hearing this, Huang Lixing fell silent instantly.
After a long moment, he finally said, “Brother, you really see things clearly. I’m truly in the dust compared to you!”
“Alright, enough with the musings. Let’s hurry down and eat—we’re starving!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Hahaha, look at me—once I get started, I just can’t stop! Come on, come on. Tonight, I’m treating everyone to the most expensive steak on Hong Kong Island!”
“That sounds great—and we’ll have to pair it with the finest red wine!”
“No problem…”
After that, the two left the second-floor study together.
When Li Yi announced that Big Boss Huang was treating everyone to the most expensive steak and wine that evening, the living room erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
Then, led by Huang Lixing, the group set off in a grand procession from the Mid-Levels villa, heading straight for the city center…
……..