News of Li Yi’s plan to acquire Sheffield Company quickly reached the Sassoon family and, at the same time, Sheffield Steel Company.
Both the Sassoon family and the company’s other shareholders were furious. They never imagined that the despicable man’s repeated short-squeezes were not merely for profit, but that he had actually set his sights on the company.
To them, this was utterly unforgivable!
After all, Sheffield Steel was not merely a cash cow for the Sassoon family; it was also a crucial bargaining chip for the family to influence the Empire’s political arena.
Over the years, they had frequently used the company to engage in quid pro quo deals with certain figures in the Empire’s political arena, all to secure benefits for the family.
Now, asking them to hand over control of the company wasn’t just a matter of undermining their foundation—it was like digging up their ancestors’ graves!
Immediately, the Sassoon family reacted by rejecting Li Yi’s acquisition offer.
At the same time, upon confirming that Sheffield Steel’s outstanding contracts totaled less than 10 million tons and that the actual shortfall was less than 8 million tons, the company immediately mobilized all its resources to raise funds and secure steel supplies to ensure on-time delivery.
Furthermore, the company’s other shareholders, united in a common cause, decided to stand with the Sassoon family through this difficult time.
Upon learning of this situation, even the front-line workers—who had been causing trouble for management over the past few months—temporarily chose to compromise and agreed to resume production.
For a time, the entire Sheffield United Steel Company was united in its determination to defend the company.
However, just as they were brimming with confidence, a piece of unexpected news spread throughout the London futures market.
On the afternoon of June 21, word spread that Sheffield Steel was facing an unprecedented short squeeze.
But on that day, the news did not cause much of a stir, and no one took it seriously.
But just one day later, early on the morning of the 22nd, authoritative media outlets such as The Times and The Oxford Gazette once again reported a bombshell as their front-page headline: Sheffield, the Empire’s largest steel producer, was facing bankruptcy!
At the same time, multiple newspapers reported that Sheffield Company was facing an unprecedented short squeeze, with over 20 million tons of spot steel—worth nearly 8 billion pounds—required to be delivered to short sellers within a maximum of five days.
However, the company currently holds less than 2 million tons of steel in inventory, and its cash reserves stand at less than 500 million pounds. Even when combined with the 1.5 billion pounds obtained through pledged equity and assets, the total falls far short of the funds required to “settle the accounts.”
Therefore, the likelihood of Sheffield Steel defaulting this time is extremely high, and once the squeeze is successful, bankruptcy is almost inevitable.
This news instantly sent shockwaves through the entire futures market, especially given that three steel companies had already gone bankrupt over the past two months following short squeezes by long positions.
Even so, prior to this, there had been considerable confidence in Sheffield United Steel Company.
On the one hand, as the Empire’s largest steel enterprise, Sheffield’s strength was beyond question.
After all, not only did it rank first in the country in terms of production capacity, but it also owned numerous high-quality iron ore mines worldwide.
Furthermore, over the past few years, the company had made a fortune by manipulating steel prices, effectively fleecing investors.
Regardless of how one views such behavior, it is undeniable that they possessed sufficient strength to weather the crisis.
On the other hand, although Sheffield Steel has faced repeated short squeezes in recent times, it has managed to weather the storm time and again, leading many to believe the company would be able to overcome this challenge as well.
And Sheffield Steel did not disappoint investors and shareholders; they responded swiftly, stating that the company’s contracts nearing expiration amounted to less than 10 million tons, not the 20 million tons reported.
Although there is indeed a certain shortage in the company’s spot inventory, all shareholders are actively working to rescue the company, the workers have withdrawn their previous demands and returned to their posts, and the company has resumed production.
Company CEO Sandy made a high-profile statement, expressing confidence that with everyone’s efforts, the company would certainly overcome this crisis!
However, their response not only failed to allay the concerns of shareholders and investors but actually caused them even greater panic.
For shareholders and investors, there is essentially no difference between 10 million tons and 20 million tons—it is clear that the company does not have sufficient inventory.
As a result, on the 22nd, Sheffield Company’s stock price plummeted by 12% in a single day, and even more shareholders began dumping their shares!
For a moment, Sheffield Company’s shareholders were left speechless…
……….
Just as Li Yi was dominating the futures market in the British Empire, Jiang Xue, far away in Beijing, was also working hard to pursue her dreams.
In the courtyard house, Jiang Xue had gotten up early.
After a quick tidy-up, she carried the two little ones, Yunrui and Yunjin, to her eldest sister’s room, then headed out with Zhang Feng.
Half an hour later, the two arrived in front of a quaint, historic building in the city center.
This was the temporary headquarters of Star Investment’s mainland branch, converted from the former Beijing Municipal Education Bureau’s office.
It was also where Jiang Xue currently worked… or, more accurately, where she was interning.
At Li Yi’s suggestion and arrangement, Jiang Xue now spent every Saturday and Sunday interning in the company’s finance department.
The reason for this was, on the one hand, to allow Jiang Xue to learn and adapt to international accounting standards, and on the other hand, Li Yi wanted his wife to gain a better understanding of the company’s operations.
After all, this young lady is determined to manage his finances herself; as the lady of the house, she deserves the opportunity, doesn’t she?
Jiang Xue and Zhang Feng, knowing their way around, walked into an office with a sign that read “Finance Department.”
The others in the room greeted her warmly and enthusiastically.
Everyone knew that this beautiful young woman, who was always accompanied by a female bodyguard, was the boss’s legitimate wife—the boss’s wife.
As soon as she reached her desk, her mentor, Zhou Weiping, came over with a smile and said, “Little Xue, Manager He just stopped by and said to swing by his office as soon as you arrived!”
“Sure thing, Sister Zhou, thank you so much. I’ll go right away!”
Jiang Xue knew that these employees from Hong Kong were extremely dedicated and highly efficient, so she didn’t dare to delay.
After speaking with Zhou Weiping, she immediately walked over to the manager’s office next door and knocked on the door.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
“Come in!”
Jiang Xue pushed the door open and said to He Tiansheng, the finance manager and her direct supervisor, “Manager, you called for me?”
He Tiansheng took out a document and slid it toward Jiang Xue.
Then, speaking in broken Mandarin, he said, “This is about the rooster’s tight-lipped nature during the banquet…”
It took a lot of effort, but Jiang Xue finally understood what He Tiansheng meant.
He meant that this report detailed the company’s recent financial expenditures and wanted her to take it to General Manager Lan immediately!
“Okay!”
With that, Jiang Xue picked up the document and headed out.
Jiang Xue had done this sort of thing quite often over the past two or three months. At first, she thought Manager He was training her, but later she realized it wasn’t training at all—He Tiansheng simply valued her status as “the boss’s wife.”
After all, all company finances required General Manager Lan Xinyi’s approval, and even He Tiansheng, as the finance manager, had to toe the line and do as she said.
Before Jiang Xue joined the company, documents from the finance department would often go through several layers of review after being submitted—a process that was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also offered no guarantee of approval.
But ever since He Tiansheng had Jiang Xue submit an application once, he discovered that General Manager Lan signed it off on the very same day.
From that point on, He Tiansheng felt as though he’d cracked the code to getting funds approved—whenever he needed something, he turned to the “Madam.”
What Jiang Xue didn’t know, however, was that today’s document was different—she was about to face her company’s arrogance head-on for the first time…
……….