Early the next morning, Li Yi got up very early!
But when he came down from the fourth floor, he realized he was the last one to get up.
Not to mention Lan Xinyi and the others, who were staying temporarily at Cloudtop No. 1, but even Huang Lixing and his group, who lived at the Half-Mountain Villa, had already arrived.
Everyone was waiting quietly for him in the first-floor lobby, and it seemed they’d been waiting for quite some time—the pile of cigarette butts in the ashtray in front of Huang Lixing was the best proof of that.
But come to think of it, it makes sense—after all, today might be the day the final accounts are settled, so everyone is excited.
Needless to say, once the settlement is complete, Huang Lixing’s net worth is bound to skyrocket.
Lan Xinyi, Lan Xinming, Cai Bingyan, and the others were equally thrilled. Setting aside the substantial bonus they were sure to receive once this trade was closed, what mattered most was that they would be creating a miracle alongside Li Yi.
An investment yielding tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars in a single go—this is a first in the Hong Kong stock market. They are about to make history.
Regardless of whether they ever experience such a moment of glory again, this achievement alone would be enough for them to brag about for the rest of their lives.
When they saw Li Yi coming downstairs, everyone instinctively stood up from the sofas, their eyes all fixed on him.
“Brother Li Yi, are we ready to go?”
Glancing at the obvious dark circles under Huang Lixing’s eyes and the faint red veins in them, Li Yi smiled and said, “Old Huang, you didn’t stay up all night last night, did you?”
Huang Lixing replied with a touch of embarrassment, “I dozed off for a bit just before dawn!”
Li Yi chuckled. “You’re a billionaire, for crying out loud. Is this really necessary?”
“Is it that serious…? Of course it is! We’re talking about tens of billions in potential profits here. Who could sleep soundly until it’s safely in the bank?”
As he spoke, Huang Lixing gestured toward Lan Xinyi and the others standing nearby. “Just look at them—every single one of them is just like me!”
Li Yi glanced at Lan Xinyi and the others. Just as Huang Lixing had said, although they all looked somewhat excited, the exhaustion in their eyes was impossible to hide.
Lan Xinyi hurried forward and said, “Boss, we’re just so excited that we haven’t been able to sleep, but we promise it won’t affect our work!”
Li Yi shook his head and said, “If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have told you yesterday!”
Huang Lixing, Lan Xinyi, Lan Xinming, and the others shared an awkward smile, yet their excitement remained evident.
“Alright, let’s go!”
However, when Li Yi led the group out of the villa, they were stunned by the scene before them.
A row of cars was parked at the entrance to the villa—no fewer than twenty of them.
Apart from the five or six luxury sedans at the front, the rest were all minivans.
More importantly, looking through the windows, Li Yi saw that the vans were all packed with people.
Good grief, even if there were just six or seven people in each van, that would add up to over a hundred people in all those vehicles.
“Old Huang, we’re going to the stock exchange to make an investment—why does this look like we’re heading into a brawl?” Li Yi asked in astonishment.
“Bro, who knows how many people are watching you, both openly and covertly. And since today’s situation is a bit special, it can’t hurt to bring a few extra people along!”
Li Yi was about to argue, but considering the current state of public safety in Hong Kong, he ultimately kept his mouth shut.
After all, Old Huang was the local big shot here; he knew the situation better than Li Yi did, so there must be a good reason for his decision.
Li Yi nodded and got into a car.
Immediately afterward, the massive convoy set off in a grand procession toward the city center…
………
August 4th—the second trading day of August on Hong Kong Island!
As the largest stock exchange on Hong Kong Island with the highest daily trading volume, the Far East Stock Exchange was once again packed to the brim today.
Although the recent stock market crash had everyone on edge, the more anxious people felt, the more people flocked to the exchange.
The reason is simple: when the market is doing well, some people are naturally happy to hold onto certain high-performing stocks for the long term, sometimes not visiting the exchange for a month or two.
But now that the market is in a slump, with stock prices plummeting, no one dares to hold onto their shares for the long term.
With everyone looking to cut their losses and exit the market, it’s only natural that more people are flocking to the exchange.
When Li Yi and his entourage arrived at the Far East Club, they naturally attracted a lot of attention; after all, with such a large entourage, it was impossible to keep a low profile.
Fortunately, they had a private VIP lounge, so they didn’t have to wait outside like retail investors.
Upon entering the VIP lounge, Li Yi told Huang Lixing to take a seat nearby, while he set about assigning tasks to Lan Xinyi and the others.
What Li Yi didn’t know, however, was that the moment he appeared at the Far East Stock Exchange, nearly half of Hong Kong Island’s elite families had already received word.
At the Li Mansion, Li Futao was having breakfast with his daughter, Li Yunling, in the dining room when his assistant, Zhou Xinghua, rushed in and said, “Chairman, Mr. Li Yi has made a move!”
Li Futao immediately put down his cutlery and asked in a grave tone, “Has he gone to the exchange?”
“Yes, we just received a report from the company stating that Mr. Huang and Mr. Li arrived at our exchange five minutes ago. Moreover, Mr. Huang brought over a hundred people with him today—it’s quite a show of force!” Assistant Zhou replied.
“It seems that young man is preparing to close his positions and exit the market!” Li Futiao said in a low voice.
Zhou Xinghua said with some surprise, “Chairman, didn’t Mr. Li predict that the Hang Seng Index would drop to around 700 points? Isn’t he giving up tens of billions in potential profits by exiting now?”
Li Futiao shook his head and said, “You don’t understand—that’s precisely where that young man’s brilliance lies!”
“Brilliant?”
Li Futiao didn’t offer further explanation but asked in return, “Xinghua, if we really wait until the Hang Seng Index drops to 700 points, do the math—how much do you think Brother Li Yi will make?”
Zhou Xinghua had already done the math and replied immediately, “Around ten billion!”
Hearing this figure, Li Yunling, who was eating nearby, looked stunned—so much so that she didn’t even notice the piece of bread she was holding had fallen to the floor.
As a top-tier second-generation heiress—no, make that an Nth-generation heiress—she didn’t pay much attention to the family business, but she knew exactly what 10 billion Hong Kong dollars meant.
Don’t let the fact that the Li family was revered as Hong Kong Island’s premier dynasty and the head of the Four Great Families fool you—the total assets of the entire family amounted to just over 10 billion.
As for the other families on Hong Kong Island, only three or four—such as the He and Lo families—could be considered on par with hers; the rest were far behind.
If Li Yi could really rake in over ten billion in a single go, he would instantly become one of the wealthiest people on Hong Kong Island—a thought that sparked a renewed curiosity in Li Yunling.
Li Futao didn’t notice his daughter’s unease and cut straight to the point: “Think about how much the total market capitalization of the entire Hong Kong stock market is left. If he were to siphon off 10 billion in one fell swoop, what do you think would happen?”
“The stock market would completely crash!” Zhou Xinghua said with some difficulty.
“Neither the Governor’s Office nor the families counting on the stock market for financing and wealth would stand idly by and let this happen. If Li Yi insists on doing this, his fate will inevitably be to be quietly eliminated by these forces!”
Li Futiao continued, “Yet this young man knows when to advance and when to retreat. He didn’t seek to exterminate his opponents completely; by leaving others a way out, he also secured a path for himself. Who knows, the Governor’s Office might even end up owing him a favor. Don’t you think that’s brilliant?”
“It is indeed brilliant!” Zhou Xinghua said sincerely.
“As the saying goes, ‘Men die for wealth, birds die for food.’ The greatest enemy of life is greed. I can’t believe someone so young could see things so clearly!” Li Futiao remarked.
“Chairman, what should we do now?”
“Today will undoubtedly be the most significant day in the history of Hong Kong Island Securities. Since Brother Li Yi is set to make history, we must at least be there to witness it!”
Li Futiao then added, “Get the car ready. We’re heading to the company!”
“Yes!”
Just as Zhou Xinghua turned to leave, he saw Li Yunling look up and say, “Daddy, I’d like to go to the company too. Is that okay?”
Li Futiao had no idea what his daughter was thinking, but he didn’t stop her. Instead, he smiled and said, “Sure, let’s all go together!”
“Thank you, Daddy. You’re the best…”
Similar scenes were unfolding simultaneously in other wealthy and influential families. Before they knew it, the attention of Hong Kong’s elite had all converged on Li Yi!
………