September 2nd, the fifth day of the eighth lunar month!
When Li Yi woke up from the soft bed in Cloud Peak No. 1, it was already 10:00 a.m.
Last night, after instructing Lan Xinyi on the gold acquisition, he had retreated to his study to carefully devise his plan to use others as tools to achieve his ends.
Since their targets were the minions and henchmen of the British-owned conglomerates, and given that the conglomerates—led by Jardine Matheson and HSBC—might step in personally if necessary, they had to anticipate every possible scenario.
After all, the funds available for this operation were meager—a mere 180 million Hong Kong dollars.
Never mind Jardine Matheson and HSBC—even Lai Jiuying’s own net worth far exceeded that amount. He was essentially using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
After more than four hours of careful analysis, the entire plan was finally finalized.
And that was precisely why Li Yi couldn’t sleep that night.
Of course, aside from this matter, another reason for Li Yi’s insomnia was that he was homesick.
Yesterday was Jiang Xue’s first day of college—a day that should have been quite memorable. Li Yi had even planned to cook a delicious meal that evening to celebrate with her.
But man proposes, God disposes—at such an important moment, he couldn’t be by her side.
That was exactly why Li Yi had decided to teach that Li guy a harsh lesson—otherwise, he’d be letting down not only Old Huang but also his own wife.
After getting up, he changed into a light yet formal outfit, and then, under the protection of Zhang Ziqiang and the others, Li Yi drove to the company!
When Li Yi arrived at the company, he noticed that the people staking out the place were still there.
Moreover, according to Zhang Ziqiang, Zhou Wen, Yang Zhiwen, and the others, the number of groups monitoring Xingchen Company outside seemed to have increased today—there were as many as four groups.
However, Li Yi knew these people feared the Li family and the mainland government behind him, so they didn’t dare to openly take action against him. Therefore, Li Yi paid no mind to these rats hiding in the shadows.
Let them keep watching. In a few days, when they witness his thunderous methods, they’ll naturally scram.
Upon entering the office, before Li Yi had even settled into his seat, Lan Xinyi walked into his office!
As soon as she walked in, Lan Xinyi spoke up: “Mr. Li, I have something to report to you!”
“Alright!”
“As you instructed, starting today, our Investment Division will focus all efforts on acquiring physical gold. The plan is now finalized and awaiting your approval!”
With that, Lan Xinyi placed a thin stack of documents on Li Yi’s desk and slid it toward him.
Li Yi didn’t hesitate; he immediately picked up the document and began reading.
He read through it very quickly and finished the entire plan in no time.
“Not bad. It’s very detailed and well-thought-out. I can tell you’ve put a lot of effort into this. I approve the plan. Let’s get started right away!” Li Yi said.
“Yes, sir. However, given the size of the funds involved, you’ll need to personally speak with Manager Zhao in Finance!” Lan Xinyi added.
“Alright, I’ll speak with her!”
After saying this, Li Yi immediately had someone summon Zhao Xinlan, the finance manager, and briefly outlined his plan to her, instructing the finance department to fully cooperate with Lan Xinyi’s Investment Management Department.
When Zhao Xinlan learned that Li Yi intended to use all the company’s funds to buy up all the physical gold on the market in Hong Kong, she was completely taken aback.
It’s important to note that physical gold is different from financial gold. Financial gold products are actually more like stocks—once purchased, investors mostly wait for them to appreciate in value or close their positions when prices drop.
But physical gold is the real deal—once purchased, it needs a place to be stored.
Based on current gold prices, 180 million Hong Kong dollars could purchase at least 2,300 tons of gold.
Such a massive quantity of gold—not to mention the risk of attracting the attention of ruthless criminals—poses a major problem just in terms of storage alone.
But Zhao Xinlan, just like Lan Xinyi, knew her boss Li Yi very well. She knew that once he made up his mind, not even eight oxen could pull him back—especially when it came to investments.
So, although Zhao Xinlan really wanted to try to dissuade Li Yi, she ultimately gave up and chose to carry out his orders without question!
………
At Li Yi’s command, every investment manager and top salesperson at Starry Sky Company was mobilized. Waving wads of cash, they went on a buying spree at every gold shop on Hong Kong Island.
According to Li Yi’s plan, once inside the gold shops, they were to take anything made of pure gold—whether gold bars or jewelry—without exception.
They didn’t spare the banks either—anyone willing to sell gold bars was bought out.
In the blink of an eye, over a hundred gold shops across Hong Kong Island found themselves in this situation.
At first, the store managers and owners were overjoyed—they’d landed a major client, and it looked like they were about to strike it rich!
However, they soon realized something was wrong.
No sooner had someone swept up all the gold in their store than new stock arriving on the shelves was snapped up again, rapidly depleting the inventory of major gold shops.
In light of this, the owners of these gold shops had no choice but to raise gold prices, while simultaneously urgently mobilizing gold supplies from neighboring Macau and Lantau Island.
In just one afternoon, the local gold price on Hong Kong Island rose from around 3,800 HKD per tael to 4,500 HKD, equivalent to an increase of about 15 HKD per gram.
Since so many eyes were on him, Li Yi did not keep this gold-buying operation a secret, and his high-profile actions naturally drew the attention of other factions.
Everyone was speculating: what was Li Yi buying all that gold for?
Was it for investment, or did he have ulterior motives?
Although no one was entirely sure of his intentions, that didn’t stop some from jumping on the bandwagon!
It’s worth noting that Li Yi is a rather enigmatic figure. His first move on Hong Kong Island netted him a staggering 4 billion Hong Kong dollars, shocking the entire city.
His second investment involved betting heavily on gold. Although he hasn’t sold any of his gold yet, international gold prices have surged by about a third since he entered the market.
It is said that if Li Yi were to sell, the return on this investment alone could reach a staggering 30%.
Furthermore, he previously converted all of his company’s funds into US dollars and deposited them in the bank, and people weren’t quite sure what he was thinking at the time.
However, during this period, the Hong Kong dollar’s exchange rate against the US dollar has fallen repeatedly, depreciating from 5.07:1 to 5.97:1—a significant drop.
Li Yi’s recent string of investments has yielded staggering returns, leaving everyone in awe.
His sudden move to buy gold this time was clearly not a whim; it may well be his fourth investment on Hong Kong Island.
In light of this, some people couldn’t resist jumping in as well.
As a result, a craze for investing in physical gold swept across Hong Kong Island in an instant, with numerous wealthy families flocking to major gold shops to frantically buy up all kinds of gold.
Soon, this trend caught the attention of ordinary people as well. Upon learning that gold prices might skyrocket again, they could no longer sit idly by and rushed into the gold shops in droves…
………