Chapter 884: A Major Settlement of Profits!

It had been two days since they returned to Hong Kong Island, and Li Yi had spent the entire time busy with investment settlements.

After all, his second round of investments had been centered on the appreciation of the British pound. Now that the exchange rates between the pound and other currencies had largely stabilized, it was time for him to reap the rewards of his investments.

First up was London, which accounted for the bulk of Li Yi’s investments.

This wasn’t just about whether Li Yi could make money; it was about whether he could pay off his massive debts.

That’s right—debt!

Although Li Yi currently possesses considerable assets, he is also saddled with massive debts.

First, there are the bank loans. The Royal Bank of the British Empire alone holds $8 billion in loans, plus an additional 60 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Moreover, the interest rates on these two loans are quite high—6.5% and 6%, respectively—amounting to over 100 million US dollars in interest alone each month.

Furthermore, he has yet to settle the principal and interest from his previous investment in London futures with the investors, which also counts as a liability.

Fortunately, this investment was essentially a “scam,” so everything went smoothly.

Moreover, to capitalize on the benefits of this exchange rate adjustment, Li Yi not only left the funds settled from the futures market untouched but also borrowed 8 billion US dollars from the Imperial Bank and converted it into pounds.

Converted into pounds, these two sums totaled a full 12 billion pounds; now, following the exchange rate adjustment, they could be exchanged for 29.4 billion US dollars.

With such a massive sum, he could not only pay off all his debts but also have a significant surplus.

Therefore, as soon as the funds were received, Li Yi’s first move was to repay his debts.

After all, to raise enough capital for his speculative ventures, Li Yi had not only taken out bank loans but also used his sterling deposits as collateral—creating a complex web of financial ties.

To transfer this money back to China, he had to untangle all these messy financial ties.

Fortunately, when Li Yi took out the loans, he had already signed an agreement with the bank allowing for early repayment.

Fortunately, since Li Futao’s people were handling this investment on the ground, he didn’t need to go there in person.

On August 23, Old Li received word that, after deducting the loans and interest, 14.996 billion US dollars remained, and this money had already been transferred back to Hong Kong.

However, this wasn’t the end of it, as the sum also included the principal and profits he had brought from Hong Kong during the first round of investment.

It’s important to note that last time, neither the corporate funds nor the chamber of commerce members’ contributions—not even the portion from the state—had been settled; Li Yi had invested all the principal and profits into the second round of investments.

Now that the funds here have been settled, it’s time to repay the principal and interest to everyone.

After deducting $6.6 billion from the corporate fund, $4.075 billion from chamber of commerce members, $1.15 billion from the state, and various taxes and fees, Li Yi was left with $2.4 billion.

In addition to the returns from London, the Hong Kong Island operations have also yielded substantial gains.

The investment amount here was 94 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to 5.53 billion pounds.

Of this, 60 billion came from the company’s own funds, most of which Li Yi had borrowed from London.

Of the remaining 30 billion-plus, 8 billion was borrowed by the company from local banks on Hong Kong Island, and 14 billion was raised by members of the Wei Hua Chamber of Commerce.

With the pound having appreciated by 62%, the total value converted to Hong Kong dollars is 152.3 billion.

In other words, through this investment, Star Investment instantly made a profit of 58.3 billion Hong Kong dollars.

However, Li Yi won’t see much of this investment in his own pocket, as most of the funds belong to the company, and Li Yi can only receive dividends from the company’s money.

What truly belongs to him consists only of the commissions from Chamber of Commerce members and Huang Lixing, the individual shareholder—a total of 6.5 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Once all funds were fully settled, the next step was to repay principal and interest to all investors.

The first to receive returns was Star Investment Company: a total of HK$63.585 billion in principal and interest was allocated to the Dahai Private Equity Fund, and HK$89.6 billion in investment returns was allocated to the company’s own funds.

In addition, the returns distributed to members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce from the two investments totaled 86.66 billion Hong Kong dollars, with a combined return on investment of 182%.

As for the company’s two shareholders, Li Yi and Huang Lixing, in addition to receiving substantial dividends from the company, Huang Lixing invested HK$4 billion and ultimately received HK$11.2 billion in principal and interest.

Li Yi’s gains were even more substantial: he earned $2.4 billion in London, $4.6 billion in New York, and nearly HK$8 billion on Hong Kong Island.

And these are merely financial gains; the real windfall lies elsewhere!

For instance, in the British Isles, he acquired Sheffield Steel Company almost entirely on his own. Based on the company’s current market value, his shares are worth over 10 billion pounds.

Furthermore, by using that fool Gusta as a front, he secured a 90% stake in New Territories Warehouse.

In the near future, this company’s market value will be at least 100 billion.

Furthermore, he has acquired nearly all of Hang Seng Bank’s non-tradable shares and a 15% stake in Huifeng Bank—assets of considerable value.

Of course, there’s also the Green Brothers Company in New York. Not to mention the substantial shareholder dividends he’ll receive by the end of this year, the soaring stock price has also doubled his net worth.

On top of that, he’s earned 1.15 billion US dollars for the country this time around.

It can be said that in just over five months, whether it was Li Yi himself, his brothers and friends, or those willing to trust him, everyone has made a fortune!

Once the principal and interest were distributed, it was time for the investors to celebrate.

This includes members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, other investors in Star Investment, and even the company’s employees.

They say when one person succeeds, everyone around them benefits—and that’s exactly what’s happening now.

As news spread that the company was distributing principal and interest to Chamber members, virtually every media outlet on Hong Kong Island was soon abuzz, rushing to dig deeper into Star Investment’s latest investment venture.

At the same time, they interviewed members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

In no time, every newspaper and magazine on Hong Kong Island—even the most unscrupulous tabloids—was reporting on the story.

Before anyone could catch their breath, another scoop emerged: Star Investment had awarded all employees a massive bonus in August.

According to reliable sources, Star Investment had granted all employees an additional six months’ salary, while each member of management received a 500-square-foot luxury apartment as a bonus!

It wasn’t just Star Investment; other companies in the Star Group—including Shield Security, New Territories Warehouse Management, and Hang Seng Bank—all received notices of bonus payments in the final days of August.

The only difference was the amount of the bonuses!

Overnight, the media and public across Hong Kong Island were once again in an uproar, as everyone was stunned by Star Investment’s extravagance.

But the shock gave way to envy, and soon a flood of talent poured into Star Group companies, all hoping to secure a position—to the point where even a janitor’s job was in high demand.

Li Yi, however, paid little attention to all this. At that moment, he was busy preparing to return to the mainland.

First, having been away for so long, he was genuinely homesick.

Secondly, Jiang Xue’s school term was set to begin in a week. Not only would she need to return to school, but his mother-in-law, Ye Lingyun, would also have to go back to teach her students.

So he had to wrap up his affairs here as soon as possible and see them both back home.

In the days that followed, Li Yi first laid out the investment plan for the second half of the year.

In contrast to the cautious approach of the first half of the year, Li Yi instructed the company’s investment department to give it their all in the second half. Whether it was real estate companies or other manufacturing firms, as long as their internal conditions were sound, they were open for investment.

In addition, taking advantage of the available funds, Li Yi allocated another 10 billion Hong Kong dollars to New Territories Warehouse, instructing them to proceed with the comprehensive development of the facility according to the original plan.

At the same time, Li Yi set aside another sum of funds to facilitate the delisting of New Territories Warehouse Management Company, intending to acquire New Territories Warehouse as a sole proprietorship.

The primary reason for this was his understanding that, given the region’s high population density and limited land supply, land resources would become increasingly valuable.

New Territories Warehouse’s most valuable asset was its land, which was poised to appreciate by tens or even hundreds of times in the future. Yet, given the company’s potential, its current stock price was simply beyond description.

Given this situation, and with no shortage of development capital, why should he allow others to share in the company’s equity for a pittance?

More importantly, Hong Kong Island has strict regulations regarding the equity structure of listed companies, with major shareholders not allowed to hold more than 37% of the shares.

Clearly, New Territories Warehouse has already significantly exceeded this limit.

Furthermore, after the revelation that Li Yi had previously used proxies to hold shares, it also impacted the company’s operations, so he simply chose to delist the company.

Furthermore, in light of this regulation, Li Yi also adjusted his shareholding in Hang Seng Bank.

After some maneuvering, Li Yi promptly transferred a portion of his shares to Jiang Xue to hold in trust. This way, while the combined holdings of the two exceeded the controlling stake threshold, they did not exceed the limit on major shareholder ownership.

Only after completing these steps did Li Yi feel at ease as he set off on the journey home with his wife, children, and relatives…

………

Over the next two days, since the investment plan had wrapped up perfectly, the group shifted their focus to sightseeing.

Not only did they explore all the fun spots around New York, but Li Yi even took the time to take Jiang Xue on a trip to the capital of the Beautiful Lighthouse.

It wasn’t until Green Reggie notified them that all the funds had been settled that the group began making preparations for their return trip.

Although they had been busy sightseeing these past few days, Li Yi and Jiang Xue had remained closely attuned to stock market fluctuations, particularly the performance of their own company.

Just as Li Yi had predicted, when Green Brothers’ stock reached a high of $79, it finally couldn’t hold up.

By this point, JPMorgan Chase and other investment institutions had already begun quietly offloading their shares. Once these institutions had sold off most of their holdings, speculative retail investors in the market also sensed something was amiss and rushed to exit en masse.

This quickly triggered an avalanche in the company’s stock price, which plummeted in an instant!

Fortunately, Green Brothers’ performance was solid. Although the stock price fell sharply, it was merely shedding its own bubble—it wasn’t sliding all the way into the abyss of junk stocks.

When the stock price hit $42, the decline finally stopped.

Just then, institutional investors entered the market and began buying up Green Brothers’ shares, causing the stock price to rebound slightly, though the increase was not substantial.

From then on, Green Brothers’ stock price stabilized around $44, and the company’s market capitalization settled at roughly $35 billion!

Relatively speaking, Li Yi not only raked in a massive $4.6 billion from this move, but the value of the Green Brothers shares he controlled also soared to $10 billion—truly a windfall!

With matters here concluded, Li Yi and his team set off on their return journey—after all, investment returns from Hong Kong and London were still waiting for him to settle…

……..

On August 20, after two days of turmoil, Li Yi and his team finally returned to Hong Kong Island!

Outside Kai Tak Airport, Li Fu sat in the car, his eyes fixed intently on the airport exit.

He hadn’t gone to the exit to greet Li Yi—not because he didn’t want to, but because Li Yi wouldn’t let him.

Not only did he forbid him from making an appearance, but Li Yi also specifically instructed him not to tell anyone else about his return.

In Li Yi’s words, his friends on Hong Kong Island were simply too enthusiastic; every time he returned, the heads of the major clans would come to greet him in person—it was too high-profile, and he didn’t like it.

Li Futao understood Li Yi’s personality and knew he wasn’t the type to seek the spotlight, so this time he hadn’t notified anyone else in the Chamber of Commerce; he’d simply brought a few cars to pick him up himself.

To avoid attracting the attention of the media, Li Fuzhao decided not to get out of the car himself!

Just as Li Fuzhao was deep in thought, he saw Li Yi, flanked by several bodyguards, walking toward the car.

Seeing this, Li Futao immediately stepped out of the car!

As soon as they met, Li Futiao said cheerfully, “Hahaha, welcome home, Brother Li Yi!”

“Old Li, you already know?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“I do. I’ve never looked up to anyone in my life, Old Li, but when it comes to you, I’m truly in awe!” Li Futiao said with a look of deep emotion.

He had already learned of Li Yi’s achievements in New York from his son, Li Yunbao.

Upon learning that Li Yi had practically made a fortune out of thin air—raking in a staggering 4.6 billion US dollars in New York—Li Futiao didn’t even know how to describe his feelings.

Everyone knew Li Yi made money easily, but no one had imagined it could be this easy.

Good heavens! He left with just over 50 million and returned with 4.6 billion—Li Futiao felt completely numb!

“Hahaha, Old Li, you’re exaggerating. Besides, everyone made a profit this time. Just give me a moment to catch my breath, and I’ll settle up with everyone!” Li Yi said with a laugh.

“Alright, everyone’s waiting for you right now!”

“Alright, let’s head back first!”

“Alright…”

One by one, the group boarded the Li family’s motorcade and headed straight for Cloud Peak No. 1…

In the car, Li Yi glanced at Li Fu and asked, “Old Li, how have things been on Hong Kong Island while I was away?”

“Brother Li Yi, what specific matters are you asking about?”

“The British-owned conglomerates and the stock market!” Li Yi said.

“The British-owned conglomerates haven’t made much of a stir, but it seems they knew the pound was going to appreciate, so they’ve poured a lot of money into it. They must have made a tidy profit!”

Li Futao continued, “As for the stock market, it’s still the same old story—stagnant and lackluster. Real estate companies, in particular, are having a really tough time. Just in the past month, two more real estate firms have gone bankrupt!”

At this point, Li Futiao couldn’t help but sigh, his face filled with gloom.

As a godfather-level titan of Hong Kong’s securities industry, he was well aware that if this situation persisted, it would inevitably lead to unimaginable consequences.

But he was powerless to do anything about it; after all, it was a problem with the broader economic environment.

“Don’t worry, things will turn around soon!” Li Yi said with a smile, trying to reassure him.

“A turnaround?”

Li Futao then asked excitedly, “Brother Li Yi, are you saying that Hong Kong’s stock market is about to bottom out and rebound?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s not just the stock market—every industry, including real estate and manufacturing, is about to see a recovery!”

“Brother Li Yi, what’s the basis for your prediction?” Li Futiao asked in surprise.

“Of course I have a basis, but I can’t say!”

Li Yi certainly couldn’t tell him that in just one month, the Iron Lady of the British Empire would be visiting China to negotiate with the Chinese side regarding the issue of Hong Kong.

Although these negotiations didn’t yield any concrete results, they demonstrated to the outside world both sides’ willingness to resolve the issue. At the very least, unlike in the Falklands, neither side would resort to war to decide Hong Kong’s future.

This outcome was exactly what capitalists wanted to see. After all, hadn’t Hong Kong’s economy been in a steady decline over the past two years precisely because of political instability and an uncertain future?

Now that the possibility of war was negligible, the adverse factors constraining or affecting economic development had been completely eliminated, and an economic recovery was entirely to be expected.

However, he clearly couldn’t discuss such matters with Li Futao, and he was confident Li would understand.

Sure enough, Li Futiao, mindful of Li Yi’s special status, did not press the matter further. Instead, he said cheerfully, “If that’s the case, that’s truly wonderful. If the slump continues, many companies won’t be able to survive!”

“That won’t happen. Once this round of funding is settled, I’ll set aside a portion of the proceeds to provide financial assistance to companies in difficulty. I hope this will help them!” Li Yi said.

“Count me in!” Li Futiao said.

“Alright, let’s discuss this further when we get back!”

“Alright!”

Li Futao then added, “By the way, while you were away, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce approved membership applications from 14 families and companies. We now have 46 members, and there are another 55 candidates under review!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Leave that up to you guys. Our principle is to err on the side of quality over quantity!”

“Right. Also, there’s been a real surge of interest in investing across the strait within the Chamber lately. Every single member currently has investment projects there, and even quite a few non-members have invested over there!”

Li Futiao continued, “Even quite a few people from the British-funded group have followed suit. Isn’t that strange?”

Li Yi thought for a moment, then smiled and said, “Dawson is a smart guy. He’s someone worth dealing with.”

“Dawson… playing to their interests?” Li Futiao said thoughtfully.

“Right. He knows what I’m after. Those few people were just a test.”

“A test?”

“Hmm. If I give them a positive response, the British-funded group might eventually follow the Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s lead and invest heavily in the mainland!” Li Yi said.

“Then what should we do?”

“What do you mean, ‘what do we do’? I’ve said it before: our goal isn’t to destroy them, but to maintain the prosperity of Hong Kong’s economy. Everything else is secondary!” Li Yi said.

“I see…”

Just as they were speaking, the car suddenly slowed down!

Li Yi looked out the car window and realized they had arrived at the Yunding Villa District—they were home!

The next day, while Li Yi was still fast asleep, a sharp knock suddenly sounded at the door.

Li Yi immediately climbed out of bed, yawned as he made his way to the door, and asked through the door, “Who is it?”

Immediately, Zhang Ziqiang’s voice came from outside: “Brother Yi, Miss Navine is here with two lawyers. She says she wants to see you!”

“Got it. Tell them to wait a moment. I’ll wash my face and be right down!” Li Yi said.

“Yes!”

Just as Li Yi turned around to get dressed, he noticed Jiang Xue had already sat up in bed and was rubbing her eyes.

Since they’d gone at it so hard last night, Jiang Xue hadn’t been wearing any clothes when she fell asleep.

Now, sitting on the bed, her upper body was completely bare, and her two plump, full breasts hung prominently before her, causing Li Yi to involuntarily swallow several times.

“Wow, so this is what they call ‘testing cadres’? Are they kidding me?”

Coming to her senses, Jiang Xue looked up as if sensing something. She saw her husband staring straight at her, his gaze fixed squarely on her breasts.

Instantly, Jiang Xue’s pretty face flushed slightly. She covered herself with the thin quilt while playfully scolding Li Yi, “Don’t look!”

As she spoke, her eyes darted around the bed, searching for something.

Li Yi knew she was looking for her large-frame glasses, so he smiled and said, “No need to look—they’re right there!”

Following the direction of Li Yi’s finger, Jiang Xue saw the small glasses case hanging on the bedside lamp.

Her face flushed even deeper.

“H… help me get it!”

Li Yi chuckled, then walked over to the lamp, took the little cover off, and walked toward Jiang Xue.

When Jiang Xue reached out to take the embarrassing item from him, Li Yi didn’t hand it over. Instead, he whispered something in her ear.

Hearing her man’s “unreasonable demand,” Jiang Xue blushed even more and pouted again, “You… you’re being a pervert!”

“Hehe, have you ever heard the saying, ‘True love always begins with one person acting like a hooligan’?” Li Yi said with a smile.

“That’s nonsense…”

“Just tell me—will you let me help you get dressed or not?”

Jiang Xue hesitated briefly, knowing that if she didn’t give in, this guy would definitely keep pestering her. She immediately closed her eyes and said, “You… go ahead!”

Seeing his wife looking as if she were heading to the execution ground, Li Yi couldn’t help but laugh. He immediately grabbed his “oversized glasses” and moved behind her…

Feeling the large hands at work on her chest, Jiang Xue’s eyes quickly narrowed into a seductive gaze, and she began to pant heavily…

“Don’t… don’t get carried away… Navine… Navine and the others are still waiting outside…”

Li Yi smiled, stopped what he was doing, and walked into the bathroom alone.

By the time he came back downstairs, twenty minutes had already passed!

As soon as he came downstairs, Li Yi saw Navini sitting in the living room on the first floor, flanked by two middle-aged white men in their thirties or forties.

In addition, Li Yunbao, Pang Feiyan, and the others were all there as well!

They were chatting idly among themselves!

“Thump, thump, thump…”

Hearing footsteps coming from upstairs, the group immediately stopped talking and turned their gaze toward the staircase!

Upon seeing Li Yi, they all stood up immediately.

As Li Yi approached the group, Navine stepped forward and said, “Let me introduce you. These two are professional lawyers from our company’s legal department. Mr. Green asked me to bring them here!”

At that moment, the older lawyer took a document out of his briefcase and handed it to Li Yi.

At the same time, he said respectfully, “Sir, please sign here, and the agreement will be finalized!”

Li Yi was taken aback for a moment, then asked, “What agreement? Weren’t you here to show me the property?”

At this remark, Navine and the two lawyers were all taken aback. The three exchanged glances, each seeing confusion and bewilderment in the others’ eyes.

The lawyer asked cautiously, “Sir, this is Mr. Green’s property gift agreement. Didn’t you know?”

“A gift?”

Li Yi instantly began to understand. Clearly, after learning that he wanted to buy a house—and upon hearing his criteria—Green Reggie had decided to gift him this estate.

Thinking of this, Li Yi felt a touch of emotion welling up inside him—the guy was actually quite decent.

But he didn’t want to accept it!

They say that money talks, but favors are the hardest to repay.

Besides, he wasn’t exactly short on money.

In the past few days, he’d raked in 4.6 billion US dollars. Not only could he afford a mansion like this, but even a more luxurious, sprawling oceanfront estate—so why burden himself with such a debt of gratitude?

With that in mind, he immediately asked the two lawyers to wait a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed Green Reggie’s office!

“Ring ring…”

After a few rings, the call was picked up, and Green’s cheerful, familiar voice came through: “Hello, who is this?”

“It’s me, Li Yi!”

“Li, have Navine and Haineson arrived yet? Are you satisfied with the gift I sent you?” Green Reggie said with a laugh.

“Green, that gift is far too valuable—I can’t accept it!” Li Yi replied immediately.

“Compared to what you gave me, what’s a worthless house?”

“Green, that’s different. We’re business partners—you earned that money, but this estate is a whole different story!” Li Yi hurriedly explained.

“Li, as you Chinese say, you’re being too polite!”

“This isn’t a matter of politeness…”

Before Li Yi could finish, Green Reggie cut him off: “Li, honestly, you could have handled this investment entirely on your own. If you’d just pledged your company shares as collateral, you could have made a huge profit too. But you didn’t do that—I’m already very grateful.”

“Not to mention, you told me the entire plan before investing, giving me the chance to invest on my own as well!”

“To be honest, in addition to those $500 million, I also had my younger brother and my parents each invest $400 million. On top of the company’s dividends, our family has made at least an additional $600 million. And with the company’s market value skyrocketing, this investment has increased our family’s net worth by at least $20 billion. What’s a mere estate worth less than $100 million compared to that?”

“But…”

“Li, please don’t refuse. Besides, this isn’t just my decision—my parents and my younger brother are all deeply grateful to you. If you don’t accept it, they might just buy you an even bigger estate!” said Green Reggie.

Li Yi immediately replied, “All right, fine, I’ll take it. Thanks!”

“Hahaha, now I can finally report back to my family!”

Hearing the relief in Green Reggie’s voice, Li Yi knew he was now in his debt.

But at the same time, he knew all too well that if he didn’t accept this estate, it would be Green and his family who would be left feeling uneasy.

After all, for the Green family, this was nothing short of a windfall.

While they were reveling in the joy of their family’s rapidly growing power, they were also worried that this opportunity might suddenly vanish or be taken away.

So, all they could do was try their best to curry favor with him and maintain a good relationship between the two sides.

If he accepted their offer, it would put their minds at ease; the opposite would be true.

Consequently, he had no choice but to accept this estate!

After hanging up the phone, Li Yi asked Attorney Hainsen to thoroughly explain the contents of the property transfer agreement to him. He then had Li Yunbao review it as well. Only after confirming there were no issues did he sign his name.

After finishing these matters, Li Yi returned upstairs.

He then discussed the house with Jiang Xue, who had just finished her shower. As they talked, Li Yi couldn’t help but veer off-topic!

Before long, the two were playing a little game to spice things up!

Nothing much to do today, so they decided to have a little fun…

………

Downtown New York. Green Brothers Company!

Upon returning to the office, Reggie Green immediately had his assistant give Jiang Xue and the others a tour of the company.

Meanwhile, he and Li Yi returned to the CEO’s office, where he summoned Joyce, the CFO, and asked him to report the profits from this investment to Li Yi, the major shareholder and vice president!

Joyce was a long-time employee of the company and an old acquaintance of Li Yi, so he proceeded to report on the basic details of the investment:“Boss, for this investment, our company deployed a total of 14.42 billion US dollars, including 8.2 billion in company funds, 5.5 billion in bank loans, and 720 million in personal funds from the two of you (500 million from Green and 220 million from Li Yi). Based on the current exchange rate, we’ve made a total profit of 8.94 billion US dollars…”

Although Green Reggie had already known this result, hearing the figure again still stirred his emotions.

Li Yi, on the other hand, remained relatively calm. He looked at Joyce and asked, “What about the returns from the stock market? Have you calculated those yet?”

“We’ve already calculated it. We purchased a total of 41.25 million shares on the stock market at an average price of $21 per share and sold them at an average price of $70 per share, resulting in a profit of $49 per share. After deducting various taxes and fees, the total profit amounts to $1.957 billion.”

The CFO then summarized, “So, from this investment operation, our company has made a total profit of $10.897 billion.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Green Reggie couldn’t help but exclaim excitedly, “Hahaha, Li, you’re a true investment genius… no, you’re the god of investing… I’m going to hang your photo in my office and worship you every day…”

Hearing Green Reggie’s incoherent ramblings, Li Yi instantly felt a few black lines appear on his forehead.

He’d heard of people hanging photos of national leaders in their offices, and he’d seen people display photos of their wives and children on their desks, but he’d never seen anyone hang a photo of a business partner.

“Alright, Reggie, let’s have Joyce calculate my returns. I’m counting on that money!” Li Yi said, changing the subject.

Green Reggie immediately replied, “No problem. Joyce, go ahead and calculate Li’s returns right now!”

Joyce turned to Reggie Green and said, “That’s no problem, but how should we allocate the stock market returns? Should we still give 50% to Vice President Li as before?”

“Right, 50% after taxes goes to Li…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi interjected, “Green, those stock market profits are part of the company’s regular investments and have little to do with me, so there’s no need to allocate them to me separately. Let’s just calculate the profits from the earlier portion!”

“How can that be? If it weren’t for your strategic planning, we…”

Before Green Reggie could finish, Li Yi cut him off, saying, “No, no, no. I didn’t really help much with the later stock market investments. Getting my share of the shareholder dividends is enough. Taking an additional 50% of the profits on top of that would be a bit excessive!”

Although the returns from those investments amounted to a full ten billion dollars, Li Yi knew full well that even without him, Green Reggie wouldn’t have missed out on those opportunities.

Besides, in those subsequent investments, it was entirely Green Reggie and the company team who handled everything. He hadn’t contributed a thing—how could he possibly have the nerve to ask for that money?

Seeing that Li Yi was insistent, Green nodded immediately and instructed Joyce to simply include the profits from the earlier forex trading.

Joyce finished the calculations in no time!

“Boss, Vice President Li stands to earn a total of 4.38 billion US dollars from this investment. This includes 4.247 billion in profit commissions, 136.4 million in returns on his own capital, plus 220 million in principal—totaling 4.6 billion US dollars!”

After hearing Joyce’s report, Reggie Green exclaimed enviously, “Li, 4.6 billion US dollars! And that doesn’t even include the company’s profit share. I’m truly envious!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “No need to envy me. From this investment, your returns won’t be less than $2 billion!”

“Hahaha, I’ll have to thank you for that…”

After a round of mutual business praise, Li Yi turned to Joyce and asked, “When will these funds be available?”

“It’ll take at least two days. The exchange’s settlement process has to follow a specific procedure, so two days is the absolute fastest we can do!” Joyce replied.

“Alright, then I’ll wait a couple more days!”

Then, Li Yi turned to Green Reggie and said, “Green, could you help me find a reliable real estate agent?”

“What, are you planning to buy a house?” Green Reggie asked curiously.

“Yeah, I’ll be coming here a lot in the future. I can’t just keep staying at your place, so I want to buy a place of my own!” Li Yi said.

“Li, what kind of house are you looking for? Or rather, what are your requirements?” Green Reggie asked.

“I don’t really have any specific requirements—something similar to your estate would be fine!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll have my lawyer get in touch with you tomorrow!” Green Reggie said with a smile.

Although Li Yi wasn’t quite sure why a lawyer had contacted him instead of a real estate agent, he wasn’t very familiar with the local home-buying process either, so he didn’t ask any further questions.

Just as Li Yi was about to tell Reggie Green that he had to leave, the office door suddenly swung open. Green’s assistant walked in to report that the hotel for the celebratory banquet had been arranged and they could head over!

Hearing this, Li Yi said no more. He then went out to the reception area to meet up with Jiang Xue and the others, and the group set off in a large procession for the hotel hosting the celebratory banquet…

………

Manhattan Island. Green Manor!

Late at night, the young couple—who had just finished playing some icebreaker games—lay nestled together, panting slightly.

After a long while, Jiang Xue finally ran her hand over Li Yi’s rock-hard abs and asked, “During dinner, that Mr. Green said the company made over ten billion dollars. Is that true?”

“Of course it’s true!”

“So how much will we get?” Jiang Xue asked curiously.

“Not counting the 1.7 million dollars you settled from the exchange, we can walk away with 4.6 billion—and that’s after taxes!” Li Yi said.

“How much… 4.6 billion?”

Jiang Xue looked utterly stunned. Although she had expected Li Yi to have made a substantial profit this time, she never imagined it would be this much.

That’s 4.6 billion!

More importantly, she knew they’d only brought 57 million USD with them when they arrived. In such a short time, it had multiplied by a full 80 times—you couldn’t even rob a bank that fast…

“With this money, does that mean you won’t have to travel for the rest of the year?” Jiang Xue asked, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Li Yi.

“Yeah, I’ll be home with you and the kids for the rest of the year!” Li Yi said with a look of pure adoration.

Although there was still one more opportunity to make money in the second half of the year, the return on investment wasn’t particularly high, and he couldn’t be bothered to make the trip again.

He’d just remind Green to handle it then, and all he’d have to do was wait for the company’s dividends.

“So when are we going back? I’m starting to miss the kids,” Jiang Xue asked again.

“Soon. The funds will be settled in two days. As soon as the money comes through, we’ll head back!” Li Yi replied.

“Okay, I’ll leave it up to you!”

Just then, Li Yi suddenly said, “Xiao Xue, I’m thinking of buying a house here. That way, when we come back in the future, we won’t have to stay at other people’s homes anymore. What do you think?”

“Go for it. I support you!”

If this had been earlier, Jiang Xue might not have agreed.

But once she realized just how big her husband’s business had become here, she knew they’d be coming back often, and that it really made sense to buy a place of their own.

“Great, then let’s go look at some houses together tomorrow!”

“Mm-hmm…”

Just as they were talking, Jiang Xue suddenly felt her husband’s hands getting a little too forward again. She immediately teased him, “What are you doing?”

“Do it!”

As he spoke, while Jiang Xue was still dazed, Li Yi rolled over and began telling his wife a story about a monkey:

“You know, the Jade Emperor really didn’t treat monkeys as human. He knew full well that the Great Sage was a monkey, yet he still put him in charge of the Peach Garden…”

“Those peaches truly lived up to their reputation as divine fruits—big, white, fragrant, and soft. Monkeys love peaches the most. Eating them was one thing,

……..

The next two days were holidays, so the stock market was closed!

But neither the Green Brothers Company nor the brokerage firms looking to get a piece of the action were sitting idle.

Taking advantage of these two days, they used local media to heavily promote Green Brothers’ investment performance.

In their publicity campaigns, Green Brothers’ financial reports from recent years were all disclosed.

According to these reports, Green Brothers had not posted a single loss in the past five years, with an annual minimum return on capital of 8%—far exceeding Wall Street’s average of 4.6%.

In particular, during the first half of this year, their return on investment surged past 150%, creating a Wall Street investment miracle.

And that doesn’t even include the $10 billion they raked in from speculating on exchange rates this time around; if you factor that in, a conservative estimate puts their return on investment this year at 200%.

Amid all the media hype, Green Brothers has emerged as the most formidable newcomer on Wall Street, and Reggie Green has even been dubbed the “Wolf of Wall Street.”

Of course, as the majority shareholder of Green Brothers, Li Yi inevitably became the focus of this media hype.

Soon, reports of Li Yi’s achievements began appearing in the newspapers.

Clearly, these outlets had conducted in-depth investigations into Li Yi, providing comprehensive coverage ranging from his background and personal capabilities to his achievements since “breaking into the scene.”

In particular, his expedition to London this year—where he raked in over 10 billion pounds in just three or four months and dealt a crushing blow to the Sassoon family—was widely covered by major media outlets such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Global Times.

In their coverage, these outlets emphasized that Li Yi was the largest individual shareholder of Green Brothers, explicitly stating that the company’s massive profit of 10 billion pounds was entirely due to Li Yi’s efforts.

Wow, it all seemed like a well-orchestrated plan. In just a few short days, Li Yi, Reggie Green, and Green Brothers became the darlings of the media!

As a result, Green Brothers’ phone lines were instantly flooded with calls from the public inquiring about investment opportunities!

Li Yi knew this was Wall Street’s way of hyping up Green Brothers—the goal, of course, was to raise public awareness of the company and set the stage for the upcoming “harvest.”

With the company’s stock price pushed so high, someone had to be the one to take the fall, didn’t they?

However, for Green Brothers, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Even if these institutions did cash out and exit in a few days, causing the stock price to plummet, the impact on the company wouldn’t be significant.

After all, this wave of frenzied publicity alone has skyrocketed the company’s visibility—in terms of impact, it’s worth at least hundreds of millions in advertising.

And for an investment firm, name recognition and public trust are the very cornerstones of survival and growth—they are capital.

So when Green Reggie asked him how to handle the situation, Li Yi gave him four words: “Go with the flow.”

While keeping a close eye on how the situation unfolded, Li Yi was also making preparations to return to Hong Kong Island.

His purpose in coming to New York this time was to make money.

Now that the money had been made, they just had to wait for the stock market situation to resolve before they could head back.

Besides, there were still quite a few matters on Hong Kong Island that required his attention…

………

Monday, August 16!

The New York Stock Exchange was as bustling as ever. After two days of media hype, public anticipation for the Green Brothers Company had reached a fever pitch.

As soon as the market opened today, the company’s stock price shot up like a hypertensive patient who hadn’t taken their medication.

In just two and a half hours that morning, Green Brothers’ stock price soared from $38 at the opening to $49, on the verge of breaking the $50 mark.

By the afternoon, the stock price had been driven up to $65 per share.

Compared to $14 on the 12th, Green Brothers’ stock price had already risen nearly fivefold, but judging by the trend, there was still room for further gains.

This left Li Yi marveling: when it comes to market madness, you really have to look to the U.S. stock market!

Just think about our A-shares: protected by the daily price limit mechanism, listed stocks can only rise or fall by a maximum of 10%.

Once the daily limit is reached, no matter how many people try to push the price, it simply won’t move any further.

Under such a system, for a stock to double in price, it would require hitting the daily limit up for multiple consecutive trading sessions.

In contrast, in the U.S. stock market, there are no limits on price movements. To them, price fluctuations are a natural market phenomenon that should not—and cannot—be constrained.

This economic system has also fostered an unprecedented speculative mindset among investors.

As long as there is speculation—or, put another way, as long as there are buyers willing to take the other side of the trade—there will be those willing to take the plunge. Consequently, the U.S. stock market frequently sees “monster stocks” whose prices surge by tens or even hundreds of times.

There are also giant corporations whose stock prices have skyrocketed tens of thousands of times—take Berkshire Hathaway, for example, the company led by the “Oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffett. Since its IPO, the company’s stock price has risen by a staggering 70,000 times.

Take McDonald’s, for instance: since its IPO in 1965, its stock price has surged as much as 9,000-fold at its peak. Johnson & Johnson, which went public in 1944, has seen a gain of over 10,000-fold; Disney, 13,000-fold; Walmart, 20,000-fold; IBM, 33,000-fold; Altria (the manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes), 170,000-fold; and Coca-Cola, 500,000-fold…

So, while the 5x increase at the Green Brothers Company may seem a bit crazy, it’s actually just standard practice in this context.

After all, Green Brothers’ return on investment is truly off the charts, and its $10 billion in profits are very real—a company like this is naturally favored by the market.

However, Li Yi was well aware of one thing: the higher the stock price is driven up now, the harder retail investors will get hit when those institutions cash out.

To avoid becoming the one left holding the bag, Li Yi immediately instructed Green Reggie to stop buying when the stock price hit $72 and cash out right away!

Although Reggie Green was somewhat reluctant—he believed the stock price could easily reach $80, and selling now would mean missing out on significant gains—

But he trusted Li Yi’s judgment. Since Li Yi believed it was time to cash out, there was no point in holding on.

Besides, they had already made a substantial profit, and there was no need to wait until the stock hit its absolute peak to sell.

Subsequently, under Green Reggie’s orders, the team began quietly selling off the company’s publicly traded shares.

Over the past few days, Green Reggie and the company’s team had collectively snapped up over 40 million shares of the company’s stock, accounting for about 5% of the total shares.

To avoid causing fluctuations in the stock price, the team could only place small-batch orders each time, and it wasn’t until just before the market closed that they finally managed to sell all the shares.

Meanwhile, Li Yi’s side also sold off the more than 36,000 shares they held and directly submitted a settlement request to the NYSE.

After completing these tasks, Green Reggie, overcome with excitement, immediately notified all company employees to attend a celebratory banquet that evening, and also invited Li Yi and Jiang Xue to join.

Naturally, Li Yi wouldn’t refuse such an invitation; after all, as a major shareholder, it wouldn’t make sense for him not to attend.

However, since it was still early, the group decided to return to the office to carefully calculate the returns on this investment.

Subsequently, the group made their way back to Green Brothers Company in a grand procession…

………

Friday, August 13!

At 9:00 a.m., Li Yi arrived at the New York Stock Exchange with Jiang Xue and the others.

Shortly after they arrived, Green Reggie showed up with the company’s investment team, and the two groups proceeded to a massive VIP lounge.

Once inside the VIP lounge, Green Reggie exchanged a few brief pleasantries with Li Yi before getting down to business.

He knew that a tough battle lay ahead.

After his meeting with Li Yi yesterday, he had ordered an investigation into whether there had been any fluctuations in the company’s stock price, but the results were not very encouraging.

According to the report from the company’s investment manager, twenty minutes before the market closed yesterday afternoon, a large sum of money suddenly entered the market, buying up the company’s stock at a high price.

In a very short time, the company’s stock price had risen from $14 per share to $18, a surge of 28%.

Trading was halted only because the market closed; otherwise, the stock price would undoubtedly have risen further.

All signs point to someone having already begun a large-scale acquisition of the company’s shares.

Moreover, Reggie Green knew that this force must be from JPMorgan Chase, because only they knew how much Green Brothers had made in this round.

Having missed their chance to cash in, they were now looking to snap up Green Brothers’ stock before others caught on, hoping to at least get a small share of the profits.

Of course, major investment firms are no strangers to business intelligence. After a night of speculation, other investment institutions have surely picked up on the news as well.

Barring any surprises, there would undoubtedly be no shortage of institutions scrambling to buy their company’s stock today.

Fortunately, the foreign exchange department had already completed the synchronization with the pound sterling exchange rate yesterday afternoon, and Green Reggie immediately ordered his staff to submit an application requesting that all pounds in the account be converted into U.S. dollars.

Just moments ago, on his way here, Green Reggie made a special trip to the bank and had already exchanged billions of dollars.

With such a massive amount of capital at his disposal, Green Reggie wasn’t afraid of any challenge.

“Ring-ring-ring…”

As the opening bell rang, the New York Stock Exchange quickly sprang into action.

The already noisy trading floor instantly turned into a bustling marketplace, with stockbrokers of all ranks and retail investors alike rushing to place orders for the stocks they had their eyes on.

At the time, stock trading on the NYSE still relied on traditional manual methods, with most tasks requiring human intervention.

With so many people crammed into the trading floor, the chaos was overwhelming, so communication could only be done by shouting.

Once trading began, the entire NYSE resembled a giant nightclub—save for the lack of music, the passion, frenzy, noise, and commotion were indistinguishable from those of a nightclub.

Just before the market closed yesterday afternoon, Green Brothers’ stock suddenly skyrocketed as if it had been injected with adrenaline, which had already caught the attention of many.

As soon as the market opened today, everyone’s attention was focused on this stock.

And Green Brothers’ stock did not disappoint; the price began climbing immediately after the opening bell, surging by 20% in less than ten minutes with incredible momentum.

Soon, investors realized that in less than twenty minutes, at least three major brokerage firms had poured substantial capital into the market, vying for shares of Green Brothers.

During this period, the turnover rate and trading volume of Green Brothers’ stock skyrocketed, making it the market’s most dazzling dark horse of the day.

Neither Li Yi nor Reggie Green was surprised by this outcome; they had anticipated it long ago.

Although their actions were discreet, they could not be hidden from everyone.

Previously, those who didn’t know what they were up to dared not follow suit and place bets.

However, after the British Empire adjusted its exchange rate, a quick review of the market made it clear what Green Brothers had been aiming for all along. Firms like JPMorgan were even able to calculate exactly how much Li Yi and his associates had profited.

Under these circumstances, how could they possibly miss the chance to cash in?

Now, the only thing they could do was keep raising their bid price and compete with those brokerage firms for the company’s publicly traded shares.

And with Green Brothers entering the fray at full speed, the already intense battle instantly reached a fever pitch.

While Green Reggie led his team in a full-scale bid for the company’s shares, Li Yi was guiding Jiang Xue on how to take advantage of the chaos.

They poured all 880,000 USD of their recovered investment into the fray, joining the major institutions and corporations in the race for Green Brothers’ shares.

Since they only had $880,000 in capital, Li Yi adopted an aggressive strategy.

While most companies were offering between $18 and $20 per share, he immediately drove the price up to $22, adopting a strategy of charging ahead recklessly and without hesitation.

After all, with so many institutional investors backing them up, paying a few dollars more per share was no big deal; these major institutions would soon bid even higher.

And so, led by Li Yi, Green Brothers’ stock price skyrocketed without pause.

Before noon, the stock price had already broken through the $30 mark and was charging toward new heights…

The general public found the sudden surge in Green Brothers’ stock price baffling; there had seemed to be absolutely no warning signs beforehand.

Meanwhile, the companies and institutions in the know all tacitly turned a blind eye. In an instant, speculation about Green Brothers Company ran rampant in the market!

Just as everyone was wondering why the company’s stock was behaving so erratically, a bombshell was dropped: Green Cleanup had struck it rich, raking in nearly $10 billion overnight.

According to the leaked information, Green Brothers had recently pooled a massive sum of over 10 billion US dollars, intending to invest in London.

However, as soon as the funds were converted into pounds, a currency adjustment occurred. Without even making any investments, the Green Brothers Company raked in over 10 billion dollars.

As soon as the news was released, it caused a sensation throughout the entire capital market.

As a result, Green Brothers’ stock price once again went into a frenzied surge.

30… 32… 35…

In just a few short hours, the company’s stock price surged from $18 at the opening bell to $35, nearly doubling in value.

Compared to yesterday afternoon’s price of $14, it had nearly tripled.

As a result, the company’s market capitalization surged from $11.5 billion to $28.7 billion in less than a day.

Honestly, even Li Yi was stunned by the stock’s疯狂 surge. Based on the current share price, his net worth had skyrocketed by 7 to 8 billion dollars in just a single day.

At this rate of making money, it’s far faster than robbing a bank.

As for the inexperienced Jiang Xue, she was even more terrified by this situation.

They had invested only $880,000 today, purchasing a total of 367 lots—36,670 shares of Green Brothers—at an average price of $24 per share.

However, by the market close, the share price had reached $38, yielding a profit of $14 per share.

In other words, in less than a day, they had made $510,000—it was absolutely insane.

But what they never could have imagined was that this was just the beginning. Once the Beautiful Lighthouse stock market went wild, it became utterly irrational and completely ruthless…

………

Manhattan Island. Green Manor!

In the living room, Li Yi’s eyes were fixed intently on the television screen.

On the screen, the Iron Lady was speaking eloquently to a group of reporters: “…To enable the national economy to recover rapidly from the state of stagflation and recession, the government has decided to adjust existing economic policies. The state will withdraw from major enterprises, pushing them into the market, free from government intervention…”

Hearing these measures, Li Yi knew that the Iron Lady was about to begin implementing her privatization policy.

According to the economic restructuring plan formulated by the Iron Lady and her cabinet, they would, in the coming period, completely release a portion of the state-controlled enterprises with poor economic performance into the market, free from government intervention.

It must be said that this woman was indeed a visionary with a masterful grasp of strategy; she possessed the boldness to let enterprises survive and thrive through market competition according to the law of survival of the fittest, thereby enhancing corporate competitiveness and economic efficiency.

But that wasn’t all. She also implemented a consumption tax system nationwide, linking taxation to personal income to stimulate public enthusiasm and encourage people to start businesses and make investments, thereby driving the country’s economic development.

Li Yi, well-versed in history, listened to the voice coming from the television, his mind immediately drawn to the economic reforms the Iron Lady would implement a few years later—reforms that nearly upended the British Empire.

That reform began in 1985, and its core was what is now referred to as the privatization of state-owned enterprises. However, compared to the policy she had just announced, the 1985 economic reform was larger in scale and broader in scope, affecting virtually every aspect of the British Empire.

Of course, as this reform enjoyed widespread public support, the results were quite positive.

In just three years, the Gross National Product had reached 384.778 billion US dollars, inflation had dropped from 18.1% in 1978 to 4.4%, the number of unemployed had fallen below 2 million, labor productivity had increased by an average of 5.5% annually, and the annual growth rate of per capita income was approximately 3%—creating an economic miracle that astonished even the Iron Lady herself.

However, these economic measures were merely laying the groundwork for reforms to come a few years later.

However, none of this concerned Li Yi; what truly mattered to him was not these developments, but the Iron Lady’s policy adjustments in the financial sector.

Soon, the television broadcast what Li Yi had been waiting to hear: “…The government is implementing a policy of monetary tightening by strictly controlling the money supply and reducing currency issuance, with the aim of stabilizing market prices and lowering the inflation rate… Personal income tax will be reduced to stimulate the production incentives of both businesses and individuals…”

“Additionally, effective immediately, the government will raise the exchange rate of the pound, adjusting the pound-to-dollar rate from the current 1.54 to 2.45…”

Hearing this news, Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension on his face completely melted away.

The announcement had finally been made; his previous strategic maneuvers had finally borne fruit.

Now, all he had to do was wait for the news to take effect and for exchange rates across the globe to stabilize before reaping the rewards.

As soon as the Iron Lady’s announcement was made public, it quickly sent shockwaves through the capital markets.

As the world’s second-largest reserve currency, fluctuations in the pound’s exchange rate, while not as influential as those of the U.S. dollar, still exert a significant impact on the global economy.

Some, like Li Yi, saw their assets surge by over 60% without warning, and were naturally overjoyed.

Others, however, had just converted their pounds into dollars, only to see their assets plummet by half in an instant, nearly causing them to lose their composure.

For a moment, it was truly a case of some rejoicing while others grieved…

………

Downtown. Green Brothers Company!

Reggie Green was busy in his office when his assistant rushed in, pushing the door open.

“What’s the matter? What’s going on?” Reggie Green asked, furrowing his brow.

“Boss, there’s news regarding the matter you asked me to monitor—the British government has adjusted the pound’s exchange rate…”

Upon hearing this, Reggie Green jumped right out of his seat and asked, with a hint of tension, “Has the pound appreciated or depreciated?”

It was no wonder he was so nervous. After all, he had not only converted the company’s entire $8.2 billion in reserves into pounds, but had also poured in the $5.5 billion the company had borrowed.

Furthermore, to ensure he didn’t miss this opportunity to make a fortune, Green Reggie had also invested his entire personal fortune.

If the pound depreciated, his losses would be substantial—though not enough to bankrupt him, they would likely deal a severe blow to his finances…

Fortunately, his assistant’s next words did not disappoint him. Upon hearing the word “risen,” he felt an immediate sense of relief.

“By how much?”

“According to the exchange rate announced by the British government, the pound has appreciated by 62% against the US dollar…”

Upon hearing that figure, Reggie Green was instantly stunned!

After the initial shock wore off, he immediately called Brian at the bank to inquire about the current exchange rate between the pound and the dollar.

Upon receiving confirmation of a 1:2.45 exchange rate, Green Reggie immediately had a car prepared and headed straight for his estate…

Back at the estate, Li Yi was in his study calculating the profits from this venture when a series of “knock-knock-knock” sounds suddenly came from outside the door.

Immediately afterward, Zhang Ziqiang walked in, pushing the door open with Green Reggie in tow.

As soon as they entered, Green Reggie exclaimed excitedly to Li Yi, “Li, you must be the favorite son of Lady Luck—this is absolutely incredible…”

Seeing how excited and incoherent Green Reggie had become, Li Yi smiled and said, “Green, it’s just a small profit. Is it really worth getting this worked up?”

“Li, you Chinese are just too modest. We made at least 8.5 billion pounds this time—that’s a massive windfall!” Reggie Green said.

Li Yi smiled and asked, “Want to make another killing?”

Green Reggie’s face lit up, and he hurriedly asked, “Yes, how do we do it?”

“When can we convert this money into US dollars?” Li Yi asked.

“Anytime!”

“Are you sure?”

“I specifically asked Brian about this before I came. He shouldn’t be wrong!” said Green Reggie.

“Alright, then. Exchange all the pounds into US dollars right now. We need at least 3 billion to be in the account by tomorrow morning. Can you do that?” Li Yi said.

“Yes, I can. What happens once the funds are in?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “As soon as the funds are in, buy shares in our company!”

Green Reggie was taken aback at first, but quickly caught on: “You want to go long on our own company’s stock?”

“Exactly. Not many people know that our Banbanhaobang Company has heavily bet on the pound, so the stock price hasn’t changed much yet. But as soon as we leak this news, the stock price is bound to rise, and we can make a huge profit!” Li Yi said.

Green Reggie thought for a moment and said, “I’m afraid it might be a bit too late to act tomorrow. After all, I’m using Brian’s channels to exchange pounds, and I’m worried…”

“Are you worried that Brian has already started moving?”

“Yes! I know Brian well. He has a unique and sharp eye for investment opportunities, and JPMorgan Chase has its own investment division. He wouldn’t miss this chance!” said Green Reggie.

“No problem. The stock market closes in about ten minutes. Even if they do take action, they won’t have much time to maneuver. We still have a chance.”

Li Yi continued, “Besides, when we’re trading our own company’s stock, making money is only one aspect—what’s more important is driving up the share price. If we handle this well, the company’s market cap might just break through the $20 billion mark in one go!”

Hearing this, Reggie Green was once again stunned by Li Yi’s vision.

Wow, he really had been too narrow-minded.

He had assumed Li Yi merely wanted to take advantage of the situation to line his own pockets, but he never expected the other party to be aiming to drive up the company’s stock price and market capitalization.

As an investor, Reggie Green was well aware of the benefits of a rising stock price and market capitalization. Setting aside the massive increase in shareholder wealth, the advantages for the company’s own development were obvious.

If the company’s market capitalization could break through $20 billion, Green Brothers would leap to become the fifth-largest investment firm in the world. At that point, whether in terms of raising capital or market standing, it would be in a completely different league compared to now.

With this in mind, Reggie Green could hardly sit still. He first called the company’s CFO, then exchanged a few brief words with Li Yi before hurrying out of the estate…

………

Downtown. Green Brothers Company!

After seeing Li Yi off, Reggie Green fell deep in thought.

Deep down, he had already accepted Li Yi’s prediction that the pound would appreciate.

After all, Li Yi’s earlier argument was well-reasoned and backed by evidence, and Reggie Green himself was an investor with keen insight; he was confident he could tell whether this was an opportunity or a trap.

Moreover, although he was the CEO of Green Brothers, Li Yi was the majority shareholder.

If they lost money, Li Yi would bear the brunt of the loss, not him.

That was precisely why he was willing to take this huge gamble alongside Li Yi.

However, Reggie Green had some doubts: would the pound really appreciate as much as Li Yi claimed?

After all, exchange rate adjustments between the pound and the dollar are quite common—sometimes occurring several times a year—but the fluctuations are usually minor.

Could this adjustment really reach over 50%?

This doubt left Reggie Green torn; he was hesitating over whether to withdraw his money from the stock market to speculate on the pound.

If the situation really unfolded as Li Yi predicted, his assets could double in an instant.

But if the pound didn’t appreciate—or if the appreciation was only modest—it simply wouldn’t be worth it.

After all, his stock portfolio contained several stocks he was very bullish on; if he sold them and failed to put the funds to good use, he’d truly be giving up the big picture for the small details!

Yet, considering Li Yi’s impressive track record, Green Reggie was also worried he might miss this opportunity—after all, if executed correctly, this could mean hundreds of millions in profits.

He sat in his chair deep in thought for quite a while, when suddenly a person came to mind.

He immediately picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number.

“Ring… ring…”

The call was answered quickly, and an aged voice came through the receiver: “Harvard Business School. Who’s calling?”

“Uncle Walken, it’s Reggie. I have something I’d like to discuss with you. Do you have a moment?” Reggie Green said respectfully.

This uncle of his was not only his father’s closest friend but also a renowned university professor and economist. Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Uncle Walkerson had provided him with plenty of sound, effective, and highly forward-thinking advice.

“Oh, it’s Green. Go ahead and tell me what’s on your mind!”

“Uncle Woxen, as an expert on the economic development of the British Empire, do you think the pound will appreciate in the near future?” Green Reggie asked earnestly.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then Walker’s voice came through: “I didn’t expect your company to be so quick on the uptake!”

“So, does that mean the pound will indeed appreciate in the near future?”

“That’s right. According to our research, the British Isles are currently facing an extremely severe economic crisis. The Iron Lady at 10 Downing Street has been trying to find ways to rescue the economy, but unfortunately, most of her policies haven’t gained public approval, causing her approval ratings to remain very low!”

Walker continued, “But the recent war changed everything. The victory has earned the Conservative Party a great deal of public support. Margaret Thatcher has used this war to reverse her declining approval ratings.”

“At the same time, the victory in the war catapulted Margaret into the role of a national hero. Newspaper cartoons depicted her as a female general, personally leading her people into battle. After the war ended, the public’s perception of the Thatcher government shifted; they began to recognize and appreciate the achievements of the reforms, and this will undoubtedly encourage her to continue pushing forward with her reforms.”

“And in her reform plan, the key focus is on elevating the pound’s international status and making it an international currency for payments on par with the U.S. dollar, so the pound is bound to appreciate!”

Reassured, Green Reggie was in high spirits and immediately asked, “Uncle Walken, how much will the pound appreciate this time? Could it reach 50%?”

“That’s hard to say, but I can assure you it will appreciate by at least 30%!” Walker replied.

Green Reggie’s eyes lit up instantly, and he replied, “I understand. Thank you, Uncle Walkerson…”

After hanging up, Green Reggie made up his mind on the spot: he would stake his entire fortune and join Li Yi in this gamble.

Not only did he sell off all his stocks, but he also mortgaged his real estate, luxury cars, a brewery, and several gas stations!

Soon, the $500 million in funds was raised…

………

Over the next few days, Li Yi wasn’t as busy trading in the stock market as he had been in the days prior.

Once the settlements in the stock and futures markets were finalized, he handed over the entire sum—including Navine’s 120 million US dollars—to Reggie Green and instructed him to convert it into British pounds through special channels.

For the rest of the time, Li Yi spent his days with Jiang Xue, using the remaining $600,000 to practice trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Furthermore, when the market was closed, Li Yi would take Jiang Xue and the others to nearby tourist attractions for sightseeing, and their days passed in a relaxed and pleasant manner.

Before they knew it, the date had arrived: August 12!

Early that morning, Li Yi woke up and roused Jiang Xue as well.

He knew that today was the day the British government would announce the exchange rate adjustment.

After planning for so long, the time had finally come for everything to fall into place. Even Li Yi, whose assets exceeded 10 billion pounds, couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

This wasn’t just because he was genuinely short on cash at the moment; more importantly, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange was on the verge of collapse.

Although he had recently sent two hundred million US dollars back to Old Xu through Zhou Rui, that amount was simply insufficient to bridge the massive shortfall at the Foreign Exchange Bureau!

But as long as the Iron Lady announced her reform plan today and officially raised the pound’s exchange rate, the Foreign Exchange Bureau’s problems would be solved in a flash.

After all, the two hundred million he had managed on behalf of the state had, following the London operation, grown to 336 million pounds.

Once the pound appreciates and is converted back into US dollars, that will amount to over 800 million—enough to keep Old Xu afloat for a while.

That morning, Li Yi accompanied Jiang Xue to the stock exchange as usual and guided her in purchasing two stocks.

However, unlike before, he didn’t stay with her until the market closed; instead, after the midday break, he took Jiang Xue and the others back to Green Manor.

Li Yi’s excuse was that he was tired and wanted to get back early to rest.

Jiang Xue believed him completely; after all, she knew better than anyone just how busy her husband was.

Others only saw him working hard every day, but they didn’t see how hard he worked at night as well—he certainly deserved a good rest.

Afterward, the group had a simple fast-food meal in the city before driving back to Green Manor.

However, upon returning, Li Yi didn’t immediately go to his room to rest. Instead, he turned on the TV in the living room and tuned it to the news channel.

Seeing Li Yi—who rarely watched TV—showing interest in an all-English program today, Jiang Xue was a bit surprised.

“This looks like the news. You actually like watching this?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Don’t underestimate the news. Often, it contains crucial investment insights. A great investor is someone who’s good at spotting information, and the news is definitely the best source of it. If you want to become a top-tier investor, you have to watch the news more often.”

He wasn’t just trying to impress Jiang Xue; in fact, many top investors have a habit of watching the news.

In his previous life, Li Yi had known a big-time investor who said that before he made his fortune, the vast majority of his information came from watching the news—especially the *News Broadcast*.

“Then why haven’t I ever seen you watching TV at home before?” Jiang Xue asked curiously.

“We didn’t have a stock market back then, and besides, even though I don’t watch the news, I do read the newspaper—it’s actually the same thing!” Li Yi explained.

Of course, he was only saying this for Jiang Xue’s benefit. The real reason he didn’t watch the news—aside from the fact that the TV was simply not very good—was that he didn’t need to.

As someone who had been reborn, he was essentially on a cheat code; there was no need to rely on such channels for information.

“I see…”

Just then, the TV screen flickered, and a news report came on!

Seeing the familiar figure of the Iron Lady on the screen, Li Yi’s heart leapt with joy—the news he’d been waiting for had finally arrived…

………

Manhattan Island. Green Manor!

When Li Yi returned from the office, Jiang Xue, Pang Feiyan, and Navine were discussing something in the living room. A pile of documents lay scattered on the coffee table in front of them.

The women were so engrossed in their discussion that they didn’t notice Li Yi’s arrival.

Standing behind Jiang Xue, Li Yi saw his wife holding a notebook and constantly jotting something down; her elegant handwriting danced across the page.

Just then, Navine spotted him and was about to greet him.

Jiang Xue, noticing Navini’s reaction, instinctively turned around and realized her husband had somehow slipped up behind her without her noticing.

Closing her notebook, Jiang Xue asked happily, “When did you get back?”

“Just walked in!”

Li Yi then asked with a smile, “What are you discussing? You look so focused.”

“We were discussing whether Gillette’s stock will go up tomorrow!” Jiang Xue replied.

“And what’s the verdict?”

“All three of us think that based on the current trend, Gillette’s stock should go up. I think it’ll rise by at least 5%, Feiyan thinks no more than 3%, and Navini thinks it’ll go up by 2% at most!” Jiang Xue said.

“Does the percentage of the increase affect your investment decision?” Li Yi asked.

“Of course it does. If the increase doesn’t exceed 3%, I might as well invest in Coca-Cola instead.”

Li Yi nodded, then asked, “By the way, have you guys made a profit or a loss lately?”

Jiang Xue said proudly, “Of course we’ve made a profit. The 4 million you gave me has now turned into 4.6 million—a 15% return on investment!”

“According to Navini, a return like this would be considered quite impressive even on Wall Street. Aren’t we amazing?”

“Impressive. A true trailblazer—the Hua Mulan of the investment world!” Li Yi said with a smile.

Jiang Xue, however, replied modestly, “I’m not nearly as impressive as you make me out to be. Besides, Feiyan and Navini deserve credit for these great results—I still have a lot to learn from them!”

“You’ve got the right attitude—you haven’t let a few small achievements go to your head. Keep it up!” Li Yi said.

“By the way, how have things been going for you lately?” Jiang Xue asked Li Yi.

“Me? Not bad—I’ve made a little profit!”

Jiang Xue was about to speak when she noticed Li Yunbao, sitting next to Li Yi, pull a face as if he were constipated. She knew immediately that this scoundrel was lying to her again.

Without hesitation, Jiang Xue looked Li Yi straight in the eye and asked, “So, how much exactly did you make?”

Li Yi was about to blurt out a random number, but when he saw his wife staring at him intently with her beautiful, big eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to lie to her.

“170 million!”

“What do you mean 170 million… Are you saying you’ve made a total of 170 million these past few days?”

“Right!”

“In US dollars?”

“Yep!”

Now it wasn’t just Jiang Xueya and Ma who were stunned—Nawini looked completely dumbfounded, while only Pang Feiyan remained calm.

Having followed Li Yi as he dominated the Hang Seng Index and ventured into the London markets, she had long been well aware of his capabilities.

In Pang Feiyan’s eyes, Li Yi was a stock market genius. Making 170 million US dollars in a few days was nothing out of the ordinary—let alone 170 billion.

After a long moment, Jiang Xue suddenly jumped up from the sofa, grabbed Li Yi’s arm, and said with a mix of excitement and disbelief, “You… how did you do that?”

Li Yi smiled as he ruffled his wife’s hair, replying casually, “All it takes is a pair of hands, doesn’t it?”

Jiang Xue: @#￥%……&

Pang Feiyan: !@#￥%……

Nawini: @#￥%……&

Seeing his wife’s dazed and adorable expression, Li Yi couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

This immediately drew a playful scowl from Jiang Xue, whose little hand shot straight for Li Yi’s waist. Li Yi immediately started begging for mercy…

Everyone in the room was single and inexperienced. Watching the couple force-feed them this dose of romance, they all instinctively turned their heads away—that’s just mean!

After the laughter died down, Li Yi grabbed Jiang Xue’s two little hands and said, “There’s a money-making opportunity coming up. Do you want to team up with me and banbanhaobang, or keep playing the stock market on your own?”

“Can I make a lot of money?”

“It should turn your 4.6 million into 7 million!” Li Yi said with a smile.

Jiang Xue didn’t reply immediately. After a moment’s thought, she said, “How about I set aside 4 million for you? I want to keep the remaining 600,000 in the stock market. I’ve finally figured out a strategy, and I don’t want to give it up just yet.”

“That works too…”

Just then, Navini, who had been standing nearby, suddenly spoke up: “Mr. Li, may I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead,” Li Yi said.

“I’d like to hear your thoughts on the future trends of the stock market!”

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “The future of the stock market lies in consumer goods!”

“Consumer goods!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “That’s right. Over the past nearly twenty years, your stock market has experienced four major booms: electronics and technology, mergers and acquisitions, thematic concepts, and the ‘Nifty Fifty.’”

“Since most lacked the underlying performance to support them, the stock market bubbles gradually burst. Market speculation has subsided, and investors have begun to act more rationally. They no longer chase those exciting concept stocks but instead choose shares of well-known companies with solid fundamentals and steady long-term growth. Barring any surprises, consumer goods companies like General Electric, Polaroid, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s are poised for a wave of explosive growth.”

Li Yi isn’t just spouting off here; this isn’t limited to the U.S. market—it’s the same across the globe.

After inflation subsided following the two oil crises of the 1970s and the economy rebounded, the profitability of leading consumer goods companies generally began to recover, and their market share further increased. The ultimate result was that these consumer leaders universally experienced a “Davis Double Hit,” creating a golden age for consumer stocks that comes along only once in several decades.

By early 1990, consumer companies occupied four of the top ten spots in U.S. market capitalization, completely overturning the situation of the 1970s when oil companies dominated the list.

More importantly, these consumer leaders would remain dynamic for decades to come; even before Li Yi’s rebirth, they remained industry leaders across the United States and the world.

Examples include tobacco giant Philip Morris, retail giant Walmart, the “King of Beverages” Coca-Cola, and consumer goods leader Procter & Gamble.

If you invest in these companies now, even a pig could take flight!

After listening to Li Yi’s analysis, Navini fell deep into thought.

Before being assigned to host Li Yi and his wife, she had firmly believed that the future of the stock market lay in technological innovation and the NASDAQ.

But her experiences over the past ten days or so had made her doubt her previous judgment.

After all, Jiang Xue—a complete novice in investing—had managed to achieve a 15% return on investment in just over ten days simply by buying food and beverage companies.

This figure is the stuff of dreams for countless Wall Street traders, and Li Yi had raked in a staggering $170 million in such a short time.

Given that this was the assessment of such an investment genius, she simply couldn’t afford to ignore it!

“What about ten years from now?” Navine asked again.

“Heh, being able to predict the trend a week from now is already quite impressive—who could possibly say for sure what will happen ten years from now?” Li Yi said with a smile.

Of course, he knew the stock market’s trajectory for the next decade, but there was no need to share that with Navine.

She was merely a mid-level manager at the company. Considering how diligently she’d cooperated with them over the past period, offering her a little guidance was already more than he owed her.

If she truly took his advice to heart, perhaps there would be a place for her on Wall Street in the future.

As for anything beyond that, he wouldn’t say another word to her!

Nawine clearly understood what Li Yi meant. After saying “Thank you,” she didn’t press the matter further. Instead, she changed the subject and asked, “Mr. Li, could I ask you for a favor?”

“What kind of favor?”

“I have some funds available. Could I participate in your investment plan? I’m willing to pay you a commission, and I won’t interfere with the specifics of the investment process!” Navine said.

Li Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Forget the commission. Consider it a thank you for all your hard work over the past few months!”

“Thank you so much!” Navine said happily.

“By the way, how much are you investing?” Li Yi asked again.

“120 million!”

Li Yi: @#￥%#$%

Wow, she’s a real rich lady…

……….

Earning 180,000 USD on her very first stock trade finally put Jiang Xue’s previously anxious mind at ease, and she began to feel confident.

In the days that followed, Li Yi assigned Pang Feiyan and Naveen to work with her, instructing them to assist Jiang Xue with her investments.

After all, with only 4 million in principal, whether they made a profit or a loss depended entirely on their skills.

After making this decision, Li Yi left them to their own devices and, accompanied by Liang He and the two team members Naveen had brought along, began his high-stakes trading.

Over the next few days, Jiang Xue, Pang Feiyan, Naveen, and the others stayed at the New York Stock Exchange, arriving as soon as the market opened in the morning and leaving only after it closed around 4:00 p.m.

Even when they returned to the estate, the group didn’t rest; they were busy gathering data and conducting analyses.

Meanwhile, Li Yi shuttled back and forth between the NYSE and NASDAQ, and even made several trips to the futures market.

Before long, more than ten days had passed. During that time, Green Reggie had stopped by a few times. First, he informed Li Yi that the company’s $8.2 billion had been fully converted into British pounds and transferred to the company’s account at the Royal Bank of Great Britain, where Li Yi could access the funds at any time once he arrived in London.

Green Reggie’s “thoughtful” service left Li Yi somewhat at a loss for words—he had merely wanted to convert the US dollars into pounds, not have all the funds transferred to London.

However, he didn’t say much about it; as long as it was in pounds, it didn’t matter which bank held the funds.

A couple of days ago, Green Reggie had also informed him that a bank had agreed to grant them a loan. The paperwork was currently being processed, and the funds were expected to be released in another two or three days.

On the afternoon of August 8, while Li Yi was busy in the futures market, Green Reggie’s assistant suddenly came to find him in person, informing him that Green Reggie had an urgent matter to discuss and hoped he could come to the office.

Li Yi knew the company’s loan had likely been approved, so he immediately sold all his contracts, cashed out, and left the market.

After doing so, he left Liang He and another local employee to handle the settlement with the exchange, while he, under the protection of his bodyguards, headed straight for Green Brothers.

When Li Yi arrived at Reggie Green’s office, he found not only Reggie Green but also two middle-aged white men dressed in suits.

Upon seeing Li Yi enter, Reggie Green immediately stood up and said, “Li, you’re here. Let me introduce you: this is Brian, Vice President of JPMorgan Chase, and this is Anders, the Chief Financial Officer!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the older man, Brian, extended his hand and said, “I know you—Li from the East. You created a miracle in the futures market last year!”

Li Yi smiled and replied, “Mr. Brian, it’s a pleasure to meet you. It seems Green has chosen J.P. Morgan as his partner this time!”

“That’s correct. However, to ensure the security of the funds, we need to verify the flow of your company’s loan proceeds. Additionally, since you’re using company shares as collateral, we require your signature as the major shareholder!” Brian explained.

Li Yi nodded in understanding and replied, “I understand. The funds are primarily intended for investment, but the specifics of those investments are confidential, so I’m afraid I can’t disclose them.”

“As far as we know, your company has already transferred a substantial amount of funds overseas. Our bank takes the security of funds…”

Before Brian could finish, Li Yi interrupted him, saying, “Mr. Brian, our partnership is secured by collateral, and our company’s market value far exceeds the loan amount.”

“Furthermore, the interest rate we’re offering is well above the market average, so I hope your bank won’t interfere too much with how these funds are used.”

Anders, standing nearby, immediately interjected, “Mr. Li, we’re only concerned about the security of the funds. After all, we’re under a lot of pressure with this partnership. If anything goes wrong, both Brian and I will be held accountable!”

Green Reggie added, “Li, Brian and Anders are both my friends. They’ve been instrumental in helping this loan get through the approval process so quickly!”

Li Yi understood what Green Reggie was implying: that these two men were on his side, and he shouldn’t accidentally harm his own allies.

Once he understood, Li Yi nodded and turned to Brian, saying, “In that case, I can assure both of you that these funds will not leave your country. That should put your minds at ease, right?”

Brian’s face immediately lit up. “That puts our minds at ease. Thank you for your cooperation. It’s been a pleasure working with you!”

“It’s been a pleasure working with you…”

………

After seeing Brian and Anders off, Li Yi and Reggie Green returned to the CEO’s office.

As soon as they entered, Green Reggie said to Li Yi, “Li, barring any surprises, this $5.5 billion loan should be in our accounts tomorrow. Can you tell me your investment plan now?”

Li Yi thought for a moment. With only five days left until the Iron Lady at 10 Downing Street announced the exchange rate adjustment, there was no harm in sharing his plan with Green Reggie now.

“The pound is going to appreciate!”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, Green Reggie was taken aback for a moment, then frowned and said, “Li, are you planning to speculate on the pound?”

“That’s right!”

“How can you be so sure the pound is going to appreciate?” Green Reggie asked, looking skeptical.

Li Yi smiled and said, “Green, it seems you don’t pay much attention to politics!”

“Um… I’m actually not interested in the political situation in the British Isles!” Green said.

“That won’t do. As an investor, you need to understand the situation in the world’s major countries. Otherwise, you might not only miss out on many investment opportunities, but you could even suffer losses without even realizing it!”

Before Green Reggie could respond, Li Yi changed the subject and asked directly, “Green, you know about the Falklands War, right?”

“I know. Those Anglo-Saxons won!”

As he spoke, Green Reggie’s tone was laced with contempt.

Li Yi knew that Green Reggie was a German immigrant, and since his father had fought in World War II, he didn’t have much affection for those Anglo-Saxons.

“Then do you know what kind of price the British Empire paid to win that war?” Li Yi asked again.

“Well…”

Realizing he didn’t know, Li Yi immediately explained, “To send troops to the Falklands, the British Empire nearly emptied the national treasury. And before the war broke out, the economic stagnation and inflation caused by the oil crisis hadn’t been resolved yet. Before the war, the inflation rate in the British Isles was as high as 21.9%, and unemployment was also on the rise.”

“An economic recession beyond imagination directly led to a sharp drop in the Iron Lady’s approval ratings, which plummeted to a record low of just 25%. Fortunately, they won the Falklands War. The victory boosted public confidence and made people feel that the Thatcher government was reliable.”

“However, while the victory allowed the public to temporarily forget their economic woes, it couldn’t erase them forever. Moreover, the Iron Lady had to prepare for the next general election; if she wanted to secure re-election, reviving the economy was an insurmountable hurdle…”

Green Reggie listened intently to Li Yi’s words, his mind already analyzing the possibility of a pound appreciation.

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him. He looked at Li Yi and asked, “Li, do you have some inside information?”

Li Yi neither confirmed nor denied it.

He glanced at Reggie Green and said, “Reggie, I’ve never fought a battle I wasn’t sure I could win, so please don’t doubt me!”

“Can the pound really appreciate by 50%?” Green Reggie asked curiously.

“More than that—at least 60%!”

Green Reggie was secretly stunned. If Li Yi’s deduction—no, if the inside information Li Yi had obtained was true—then they would hardly have to do anything. All they’d need to do was exchange their US dollars for pounds, and they’d instantly make a 60% profit.

And unlike investing in the stock or futures markets, there would be absolutely no taxes to pay—it was simply too good to be true.

At this thought, Green Reggie couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. He looked at Li Yi and said, “Li, could I…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “You can do whatever you want, but you must ensure that our entire loan is converted into British pounds. And you only have five days!”

“Li, trust me—I won’t let you down!” Green Reggie declared, pounding his chest.

“Alright…”

………

After leaving the NYSE, Jiang Xue seemed deep in thought.

Just moments ago, she had invested all 4 million US dollars in the stock market—3 million in Coca-Cola and 1 million in PepsiCo.

It felt pretty thrilling while she was buying, but once she’d actually poured several million into the market, she started to worry.

Seeing her like this, Li Yi immediately tried to reassure her: “What’s wrong? Afraid of losing money?”

“Well, that’s 4 million dollars. Even if the stock price drops just a little, our losses would be huge!” Jiang Xue said.

“That’s just how the stock market works—high risk, high reward. Since you want to learn how to trade stocks, you have to be mentally prepared for this!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“But…”

“No ‘buts.’ It’s your first time in New York—I’ll take you to see the sights around here!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, then!”

Then, as if she’d just remembered something, Jiang Xue turned to Li Yi and said, “I saw you over in the lobby earlier. It looked like you were buying stocks too!”

“Yeah, I’ve invested in a few stocks myself!” Li Yi replied.

“Which stocks did you pick, and how much did you invest?” Jiang Xue asked curiously.

“I’m not going to tell you which stocks I picked, but I can tell you I’ve invested a total of 50 million dollars!”

“Whoa, 50 million?”

Jiang Xue knew that they had only brought a total of 57 million US dollars with them on this trip.

After setting aside the 4 million for her and reserving funds for upcoming expenses, Li Yi had essentially invested all his available capital—that was just crazy.

Li Yi wanted to test Jiang Xue’s emotional resilience, so he didn’t want to discuss stocks with her too much. Instead, he took her to see the sights in downtown New York.

Li Yi spent the entire afternoon showing Jiang Xue around downtown New York. They visited Central Park, Times Square, and saw the Statue of Liberty.

They also went to City Hall and Broadway, though unfortunately, time was tight, so they didn’t go inside to see a show.

By the time they returned to Green Manor, it was already past six in the evening.

As soon as they got back, Li Yi saw Reggie Green waiting for him in the living room downstairs.

Knowing that Green Reggie had called him over to discuss something, Li Yi told Jiang Xue to go upstairs to shower and rest, while he went to the conference room with Green.

As soon as he walked in, Green Reggie said to Li Yi, “Li, I went over the numbers with the company’s finance department today. We’ve recovered 8.2 billion in funds. If we use our shares as collateral, we could borrow about 5.5 billion, but this will take some time!”

“How long?” Li Yi asked immediately.

“At least twenty days!”

Li Yi shook his head and said, “That’s too long. Ten days at most. If it takes longer than that, there’s no point in taking out the loan!”

As far as he knew, the British government had announced an adjustment to the pound’s exchange rate in the middle of the second month following the end of the Falklands War.

At the very latest, they had only 15 days left.

Therefore, they had to raise sufficient funds and convert all of it into pounds before the decision was officially announced at 10 Downing Street.

This was by no means an easy task for the average person.

After all, currency speculation was strictly prohibited in the UK. For an ordinary person, converting tens of billions of US dollars into pounds was virtually impossible.

Although Li Yi believed that with Green Reggie’s networking skills and connections here, it was certainly possible, they still had to allow for enough time.

“It’s a bit of a challenge. The bank’s review process alone won’t be completed in ten days!” Green Reggie frowned.

Li Yi didn’t answer his question but changed the subject: “What’s the current interest rate on loans?”

“5.6%!”

“What if we raise the interest rate to 7%?” Li Yi said, making a startling suggestion.

Hearing this, Reggie Green’s expression froze.

Although the increase from 5.6% to 7% was only 1.4%, the loan amount was substantial.

A whopping 5.5 billion US dollars—which meant they’d have to pay an additional 77 million US dollars in interest.

If the return on this investment didn’t meet expectations, that interest alone would be enough to give them a headache.

“With such high interest rates, some banks might indeed cooperate with us and disburse the funds quickly, but our cost of capital would be much higher, and the pressure…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi interjected, “I’m very confident in this investment. A 50% return is just a conservative estimate!”

Green Reggie looked at Li Yi’s serious expression, paused to think for a moment, and then said, “Alright, I’ll contact the bank as soon as possible and ensure this loan is finalized within ten days!”

“Great!”

Li Yi then asked, “By the way, Reggie, could you arrange to convert all our available funds into pounds for future use? Would that be difficult?”

“Pounds? Li, do you mean we’re investing in London this time?” Reggie Green asked, looking at him.

“Pretty much. Just tell me if there’s a problem,” Li Yi said.

“No problem, but converting such a large sum requires an application to the foreign exchange department, which will take about three days!”

“Alright, first convert all the company’s funds into pounds. Once the loan comes through, convert that into pounds immediately as well, then wait for my further instructions!” Li Yi said.

“Got it!”

Green Reggie agreed without giving it much thought. He knew that Li Yi had recently made nearly 10 billion pounds on the London futures market, so he assumed he was planning to stir things up over there again.

The two chatted for a while longer before Green Reggie left the estate and returned to his other large mansion in the city.

………

The night passed without incident!

Early the next morning, Li Yi felt an itch in his nose while still asleep. He sneezed several times in quick succession, and that woke him up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Jiang Xue sitting cross-legged by the bed, smiling at him, a strand of hair in her hand.

Li Yi knew exactly what was going on—the little minx was teasing him.

Without hesitation, he reached out, pulled Jiang Xue into his arms, and prepared to give her a playful scolding.

Seeing this, Jiang Xue quickly pleaded, “Stop messing around! Get up quickly and come with me to the exchange!”

Li Yi glanced at his watch and said with a sigh, “The exchange doesn’t open until 9:30. It’s not even seven o’clock yet…”

“I… I’m just so anxious!” Jiang Xue said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Li Yi knew this was her first time trading stocks, and she’d invested a whopping 4 million US dollars all at once, so it made perfect sense that she was anxious.

With that in mind, he stopped teasing Jiang Xue.

After letting her go, he immediately got dressed and got out of bed…

At 9:00 a.m., Li Yi and the others arrived at the New York Stock Exchange once again!

Upon arrival, Li Yi first had Navine reserve a VIP lounge in the company’s name, then waited quietly for the market to open.

“Ring-ring-ring…”

With a series of rapid chimes, the New York Stock Exchange kicked off another busy day.

As soon as the bell rang, Jiang Xue couldn’t wait to lead Naveen and Pang Feiyan out of the VIP lounge to check the stock prices of Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

After five or six minutes, Jiang Xue rushed back to the VIP lounge like a whirlwind and excitedly exclaimed to Li Yi, “They’re up… they’re up… I made money…”

“By how much?”

“Coca-Cola is up 5%, and Pepsi is up 3.1%!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “So can you figure out how much you’ve made?”

“Isn’t it just 180,000 dollars? Don’t underestimate me—I’m a college student majoring in accounting, after all. If I can’t even figure out a simple calculation like this, what’s the point of going to college!”

Then Jiang Xue asked again, “Now that the stock price has gone up, what should I do?”

“If you think the stock price will keep going up, then hold onto it. If you think it might go down, then sell it—that’s called liquidating your position!” Li Yi said.

“So should I hold on or sell everything?” Jiang Xue asked again.

“It’s up to you!”

Hearing this, Jiang Xue shot her husband a glare, then fell deep in thought.

After a long while, she finally said, “I’m going to hold onto them!”

“Why?” Li Yi asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

“I don’t know much about other stocks either. Until I find better ones, I think it’s best to keep holding these two!” Jiang Xue said.

“Alright, then!”

Just then, Jiang Xue looked at Li Yi and asked, “By the way, did the stocks you bought go up or down?”

“They went up!”

“How much did it go up?”

“5%!”

“Which stock did you buy?” Jiang Xue asked again.

“Coca-Cola!”

Jiang Xue: @#￥%……

………

New York. NASDAQ Stock Exchange!

After leaving the VIP lounge, Li Yi led Li Yunbao, Zhang Ziqiang, Punk, and the others into the trading floor, where they began closely observing the performance of the major companies listed there.

Unlike the NYSE, the Nasdaq is primarily home to tech companies such as Apple, AMD, and Intel, which is why it has long been regarded as the hub for tech stocks.

However, after taking a look around, Li Yi realized with some resignation that the stocks of those world-renowned tech companies from the future were currently underperforming.

Take Apple, for example—the company that had created four billionaires in just the previous two years. Since the beginning of this year, its stock price had been on a steady decline.

It has now been falling for nearly half a year, with its market capitalization evaporating by one-fifth—a truly dismal situation.

The situation for other tech companies wasn’t much better; most stock prices had fallen, and very few had managed to hold steady compared to last year. Profitable stocks were few and far between, a mere handful.

It can’t be helped—the current macroeconomic environment is simply unfavorable. After more than two decades of low inflation and high growth following World War II, the nation’s competitiveness and corporate vitality have begun to decline.

The shock to crude oil supplies ushered in the Second Oil Crisis, plunging the local economy into a prolonged period of stagflation.

Compounding this, in the 1970s—aiming to revitalize the economy after the Vietnam War—the Federal Reserve largely pursued loose monetary policies, while the government implemented universal social welfare programs. Together, these measures drove aggregate demand to grow too rapidly, transforming the U.S. from a net exporter to a net importer and sowing the seeds for long-term inflation.

It was truly a combination of natural and man-made disasters that nearly brought the economy to its knees.

With the overall economic environment in poor shape, the stock market naturally suffered as a result—meaning that the New York stock market is currently in a bear market.

Making money in a bear market like this is no easy feat.

Thinking of this, Li Yi couldn’t help but wonder which stock Jiang Xue would choose.

Although most of the dozen or so stocks he had selected for her had performed reasonably well—even if they didn’t yield huge profits, they certainly didn’t result in significant losses—

Of course, there were some that could see significant gains; as far as Li Yi knew, at least three of those stocks were poised for a major rally in the near future.

Now it was up to his wife to see if she could pick out the real gold from a pile of scrap metal.

After wandering around the trading floor for nearly half an hour, Li Yi lost interest in the place; tech stocks in a bear market were truly a sorry sight.

The only upside here was that it was a good place to buy the dip; as for making money in the short term, forget about it.

So Li Yi decided to head over to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) later. After all, compared to the Nasdaq, the NYSE primarily lists shares of traditional large-cap companies like IBM, Coca-Cola, and ExxonMobil.

By comparison, there were more opportunities over there…

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Navini came over and told him that Jiang Xue had already picked out some stocks and wanted him to come over!

With a touch of curiosity, Li Yi and the others returned to the VIP lounge!

As soon as they got back, Li Yi looked at Jiang Xue and asked, “Have you picked one?”

“Yes, I have!”

“How many did you pick in total?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“Two—one is Coca-Cola, and the other is Pepsi!” Jiang Xue replied.

Hearing this, Li Yi was completely taken aback. He turned to Naveen and asked, “Was that your suggestion?”

Naveen immediately shook her head and said, “No… no, it was your wife who chose them herself. I just gave a brief overview of the two companies; I didn’t say anything else.”

Pang Feiyan chimed in, “Boss, Navine really didn’t say anything—I can vouch for that!”

Li Yi nodded, then turned to Jiang Xue and asked, “Why did you choose these two companies?”

“I don’t know much about these companies, and I have no idea which ones are profitable—especially those tech companies; I know absolutely nothing about them. So I asked Navine to help me find companies that sell food and beverages, since those kinds of businesses usually don’t lose money.”

Jiang Xue continued, “As long as their companies aren’t losing money in their actual operations, they shouldn’t lose money on the stock market either. And according to Navine, among all food and beverage companies, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi are performing quite well, so I chose these two stocks.”

At this point, Jiang Xue lowered her head slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed. She was worried that her choice might not quite satisfy Li Yi.

More importantly, Navini had just told her that the two companies she’d chosen weren’t listed on the Nasdaq; to buy these stocks, she’d have to go to a different exchange.

So as she spoke, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but wonder if her choice might cause some trouble…

However, what Jiang Xue didn’t know was that Li Yi’s mind was already in a state of turmoil.

He truly hadn’t expected his young wife’s investment acumen to be so precise—she had actually picked two out of the three stocks poised for a major surge.

Of course, that wasn’t the point. After all, everyone has moments of serendipity or gets lucky by chance—even Yang Bailao gets to eat dumplings once a year during the New Year.

The key point was the method his wife used to select stocks—a method typically reserved for top-tier investors.

She didn’t go for those flashy, overhyped tech stocks, but instead chose consumer goods companies—and that was absolutely the right call.

At the very least, for the next decade, this was definitely the right bet.

With that thought, Li Yi’s gaze toward Jiang Xue changed…

Feeling rather uneasy under Li Yi’s gaze, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but ask, “Did I pick the wrong stocks…?”

Before she could finish, Li Yi shook his head and said, “That’s not what I meant. Since you’ve chosen these two stocks, let’s get in!”

“I heard from Navini that these two stocks aren’t available here; we have to go to another exchange!” Jiang Xue said.

“Right, the NYSE. It’s not too far from here!” Li Yi replied.

“Are the two stocks I picked okay? Will they…”

Seeing Jiang Xue’s lack of confidence, Li Yi smiled and said, “Since you’ve made your choice, don’t hesitate. The worst thing in stock trading is a lack of decisiveness.”

“Besides, I told you before—I won’t give you any advice. It’s all up to you. Now just tell me: are you sure you want to invest in these two stocks?”

Jiang Xue paused for a moment, then clenched her teeth and said, “I do!”

“All right, then. Let’s head to the NYSE right now!”

Immediately, at Li Yi’s command, the group left the Nasdaq and headed straight for the New York Stock Exchange.

A dozen minutes later, the motorcade arrived at the NYSE!

Unlike the electronic trading system used at NASDAQ, the NYSE still employs traditional trading methods—that is, open trading on the floor.

This meant that traders and brokers conducted transactions in a designated trading floor, communicating through hand signals and verbal calls.

So as soon as they walked in, everyone noticed that the NYSE side was more crowded and livelier.

Li Yi then had Navine open two trading accounts at the NYSE in the company’s name—one for Jiang Xue and the other for him to manage.

Since Navine was the top trader at Green Brothers and represented the firm—a rising star in the investment world—the exchange gave her the green light throughout the entire process.

The two trading accounts were set up quickly.

Li Yi then transferred $4 million into the account for Jiang Xue, and $50 million into his own account.

Next, Li Yi had Navine take Jiang Xue to the trading floor to buy stocks, while he began trading himself…

……