The unparalleled talent of the country started from Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 317 What a waste!

September 17, 1987, was a Thursday.

On this day, the US stock market experienced violent fluctuations, with the share prices of many companies, including IBM, ExxonMobil, General Electric, and Ford Motor Company, fluctuating wildly.

Several of these companies saw their stock prices rise by more than 2.5%, while others fell by more than 3%.

The entire market was caught in a contradictory mood of fear and euphoria, and many people were unaware of what had happened.

Some experts on television pointed out that this was a sign of an impending economic crisis, while others disagreed, arguing that it was just normal market fluctuations.

Amid this stock market turmoil, Merrill Lynch Vice President David Nicholson was furious.

"Fuck, damn Hoodstone, he should go see God."

During this stock market turmoil, Nicholson's department at Merrill Lynch made over ten million US dollars in profit. Logically, he should have been very happy, but his department was being targeted by Hoddlestone.

To be precise, he was targeted by Houghton.

Because Houghtstone is the New York District Attorney and an independent prosecutor, federal prosecutors have no jurisdiction over him.

Over the past period, Nicholson has frequently sailed his luxury yacht out to sea, which Hodgstone believes he used to exchange information with his clients, a practice known as insider trading.

This resulted in substantial profits.

Therefore, Houghtstone set his sights on him.

Despite his dissatisfaction, Nicholson could only seek help from others to mediate the situation, feeling wronged.

After all, he didn't cross the line this time.

"Actually, you can ignore this person; he's just a lunatic. Time will prove you weren't up to any dirty tricks."

Douglas's words of comfort did not please Nicholson; in fact, he rolled his eyes.
"Ignoring them is definitely not an option. What if they dig deeper and investigate my past? I'm not that stupid idiot like Dwyer, and besides, I don't trust Houghton."

The Dwyer he was referring to was a finance official who committed suicide live on air in January of this year in front of a national audience.

This event caused a huge sensation throughout North America and even the world.

Dwyer's suicide by shooting himself was closely related to a tax-related incident.

At the time, a major tax error occurred in Pennsylvania, where a work mistake resulted in some employees of companies in the state being overcharged with taxes amounting to millions of dollars.

Since the taxes were over-collected, they must be refunded. However, the amount of work involved in the tax refund process is beyond the capacity of the government to complete independently.

Therefore, the government plans to let capable companies in society win the project through a bidding process.

But in the end, a little-known computer technology conglomerate won the project, which sparked widespread discussion in society: there must have been insider trading involved.

The prosecutor's office then received a report accusing Dwyer of embezzlement and bribery and launched an investigation.

Dwyer vehemently denied the allegations, claiming that he was being framed.

On January 23, 1987, the day the final verdict was announced, Dwyer held a live television broadcast the day before, proving his innocence by committing suicide by shooting himself.

That's why Nicholson so disdains Dwyer's foolish behavior.

There are many ways to explain yourself when you feel wronged; there's absolutely no need to choose such a foolish method.

Of course, everyone is in a different position and has different considerations, so the final choices will definitely differ.

"Well, you can decide for yourself then."

Douglas Ettore nodded, though he felt a little smug but didn't show it.

Because who knows, next time that madman Hodgstone might target him.

Meanwhile, outside the small, dark room at Maple Capital, Hela O'Brien was respectfully speaking to Wang Duoyu, describing the day's stock market volatility.

It's 8 p.m. in New York, but it's 8 a.m. here in Harbin.

Wang Duoyu had just sent his eldest son to school when he returned to his study at the villa and received a call from the United States.

This is, of course, an encrypted phone call. It's impossible for outsiders to eavesdrop unless they can crack the secret program that Wang Duoyu himself set up. Otherwise, it's impossible.

Even if the other party went to the undersea fiber optic cable to eavesdrop, it wouldn't work, because the undersea fiber optic cable is a public cable, and countless international calls and other information are transmitted every day.

The infamous submarine fiber optic cable eavesdropping incident was Project Spinner.

It was Pelton, an employee of the U.S. National Security Agency, who caused the leak, which led to the public disclosure of Project Spinner.

As early as the 1960s, the Russian Empire spent a huge sum of money to build a deep-sea cable in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to transmit information between the Pacific Fleet's nuclear submarine base and headquarters.

The Security Bureau was already aware of the existence of this submarine cable in the early 1970s.

However, in the 1.58 million square kilometers of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, finding an undersea cable is like finding a needle in a haystack.

However, the net of justice is wide and its meshes are fine, yet nothing escapes it. American divers unexpectedly discovered that fishing boats in a certain sea area were frequently driven away by the navy of the Russian Empire.

So the divers unexpectedly discovered the 'Do Not Approach' sign and, following the clues, found the exact location of the cable.

Thus, Project Spinner was launched, deploying a cutting-edge listening system deep in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Everything went perfectly until ten years later, when the Polar Bear Empire discovered the listening devices and could no longer receive any information.

An investigation revealed that the leak was caused by Pelton, a former employee of the National Security Agency.

Regardless, let's not even talk about how high-profile O'Brien is, or how he's even worth being targeted by those top organizations.

Even if you are being targeted, there is no need to be too afraid, after all, eavesdropping is not an easy thing to do.

"I estimate it won't be long, but I can't pinpoint the exact day. A stock market crash will likely come very soon when the market collectively declines, with the average index falling by more than thirty points."

After O'Brien finished speaking, Wang Duoyu said in a deep voice:
"So your most important task right now is to keep an eye on the overall stock market. Today is Thursday, and tomorrow is Friday. The situation in the US stock market should be relatively stable this week, but next week may be different."

"Of course, it's also possible that things won't change until after October, so don't worry."

O'Brien nodded repeatedly, and then heard a voice on the other end telling Wang Jianchao to answer the phone.

The latter took the phone and heard his ninth uncle say the following:

"A stock market crash is coming soon. Once it happens, Pandora's performance will definitely plummet. Besides being mentally prepared, you also need to prepare for the Christmas shopping spree."

"Also, the year is almost over, so you need to keep an eye on other situations. By then, your work focus will shift to Japan."

After 1987, there will be 1988, and in that year Japan will rise completely, and the bubble will grow bigger and bigger.

Since the Louvre Agreement, the USD/JPY exchange rate has appreciated to 129, and the yen is expected to continue appreciating, especially as the year draws to a close.

On the other hand, influenced by the US stock market crash, a large amount of international speculative capital will rush into the Japanese stock market and real estate market, further accelerating the expansion of this bubble.

Therefore, Pandora's focus next year will naturally shift to Japan.

Not only Pandora, but also other subsidiaries such as Maple Capital have shifted their focus to the Japanese market.

"Yes, Uncle Jiu, you've told me many times. I remember."

Wang Duoyu heard this and shook his head:

"You say you understand now, but I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it when the time comes."

This huge sense of disparity is not something everyone can easily bear.

Take Wang Duoyu himself as an example. In his previous life, he bought a house at a high price during the period when masks were in use.

Furthermore, this was a house intended for investment, with very high loan interest rates. As a result, after the mask mandate ended, interest rates dropped, and house prices in many places also decreased.

If he hadn't been in such a hurry, things might not have turned out this way.

Wang Jianchao was just an ordinary person, and Wang Duoyu knew something about his mentality.

So whenever he had the chance, Wang Duoyu would offer a few words of advice. After all, if Wang Jianchao couldn't accept it or even wanted to resign, he didn't want to hand over Pandora to someone else to take care of.

Time flies, and it's now September 25th, Wang Yifei's one-month celebration.

This time, Wang Duoyu held a small event and didn't invite too many people to participate.

Wang Yifei is now a month old, and her little face has already grown out, but she's still so chubby.

I guess the nutrition is too good, so I haven't lost weight yet.

"Duoyu, do you think our Xixi will grow up to be a chubby girl?"

Liu Xiaoli asked with concern, and Wang Duoyu immediately gave an affirmative answer: No!
This little guy is still too young and hasn't fully grown up yet. His hair is also super short, with a head full of yellow hair.

It takes at least two or three years before you can tell whether a little one is a chubby girl or not.

Besides, girls change a lot as they grow up, and Wang Yifei should become more and more beautiful.

There are instances where parents have excellent genes, but their offspring don't inherit those genes very well.

However, Wang Yifei would definitely not do that, Wang Duoyu is very confident about this, and the little chubby girl would not either!
"Really? Are you that sure?" Liu Xiaoli almost rolled her eyes because she felt that Wang Duoyu was too certain, making her feel that he was being a bit perfunctory.

Wang Duoyu shrugged and said:
"Look, you don't believe me when I tell the truth, do you expect me to lie for you to believe me?"

"Don't think about these things. As the old saying goes: 'Children and grandchildren have their own blessings; don't be a beast of burden for them.'"

Liu Xiaoli interrupted:

"I know the first part, but is the second part really true?"

"Of course!" Wang Duoyu began to spout nonsense with a straight face, forcibly instilling this idea in her, and then quickly changed the subject.

Why think so much?
Don't dwell on yesterday's events; deal with them tomorrow. Focus on making the most of today; that's what you should be doing right now.

After the full moon celebration, the National Day holiday in October is just around the corner.

The temperature in Harbin is getting cooler, and it's even getting a bit cold.

The lingering heat wave of late summer hasn't returned, but this winter might arrive even sooner.

On the morning of the last day of September, Wang Duoyu had just gotten up when he suddenly felt extremely cold.

Looking out the window, hey, there was frost! Everything was frozen over.

The Siberian cold winds arrived way too fast!
"I need to wear more clothes today. I'm calling Lao Liu to tell him to get the heating on as soon as possible, otherwise we won't be able to stand it."

Upon hearing Wang Duoyu's words, Liu Xiaoli, who was still snuggled in bed, got up, glanced at the two siblings, Wang Yifei and Wang Junkang, next to her, and then lay back down to continue sleeping.

She hasn't had enough sleep yet, so she's definitely going to be grumpy right now.

I'm not getting out of bed!
Seeing this, Wang Duoyu ignored Liu Xiaoli and her two children, got dressed, got out of bed, and left the bedroom.

The bedroom was occupied by the family of four. The two brothers, Wang Junhong and Wang Junan, had already moved to the next room to sleep; they each had their own separate room.

Although Wang Jun'an is only three years old, he shouldn't be sleeping alone.

But with so many children in the family, there's no other way but to cultivate his ability to sleep alone.

After having breakfast, it was the weekend, so Wang Junhong didn't need to go to school.

So after breakfast, Wang Duoyu went to the study villa next door.

The team in Europe called with a new proposal regarding negotiations to acquire Daimler-Benz, BMW, and Audi.

Daimler-Benz remains very proud and unwilling to back down.

The latest offers from both BMW and Audi are identical, and neither is willing to compromise on certain terms.

Wang Duoyu clearly spent money to acquire the company, but ended up buying a "father" instead, which is unacceptable.

Cars have many patented technologies. Whether it's Mercedes-Benz, BMW, or Audi, they all have their own patented technologies.

Wang Duoyu's idea was to acquire all three companies, then combine their technologies to create a new car brand.

Daimler-Benz, BMW, and Audi were all very unhappy, believing it to be disrespectful to their cars.

That's ridiculous. He's not doing charity work. He acquired Mercedes and the other two companies because he was interested in their car brands.

Now look what's happened! They want money and they want to keep acting like big shots. What does that make Wang Duoyu?
Should I find myself a 'father'?

"Then let's suspend negotiations and talk again in two weeks!"

After listening to the report from the European acquisition team, Wang Duoyu immediately said the same thing.

Tomorrow is October, and once October arrives, the global economy will definitely experience unexpected events.

Because the US stock market will continue to decline, that's inevitable.

The US stock market is closely related to the global market and even profoundly affects the global economy.

Simply put, if the US stock market sneezes, the global economy will tremble.

The US stock market in this era is just that amazing.

In the heart of Europe, in Stuttgart, at the headquarters of Daimler-Benz, inside the CEO's office.

Edward Ruth was sitting in his executive chair, listening to his subordinates standing in front of him report on the latest response regarding Phoenix International's acquisition of their Daimler-Benz company.

Bokramzi, head of the acquisition team at Phoenix International, responded by suspending negotiations.

“If they want to stop negotiating, then let them be.” Edward Rutt was somewhat calm, then frowned and asked:

"By the way, it's been so long, who exactly is Phoenix International representing in this acquisition of Daimler-Benz? And who is their real boss?"

Previously, Edward Luc was quite angry when he learned that someone wanted to acquire Daimler-Benz.

Because he had only been president for a short time, someone came to disrupt things; wasn't that a sign of deep contempt for him?

As the president of Daimler-Benz, Edouard Lucien also holds a portion of the shares, though not a large one, he is still a shareholder.

He firmly believes that his previously formulated strategy of "integrated technology group" is absolutely brilliant and the right direction for development.

The major shareholder of Daimler-Benz is Duchy Bank, whose head strongly supports the development direction set by Edward Roth.

However, everything changed the year before last.

First of all, the Plaza Accord was a huge slap in the face for Daimler-Benz.

The appreciation of the Mark led to increased costs for Mercedes-Benz vehicles, a decline in their international competitiveness, and a drop in profits.

Although it hasn't reached the point of causing serious damage, it has already greatly dissatisfied shareholders such as Duchi Bank.

The shareholders' idea was simple: they wanted Edward Lucien to do everything he could to protect Daimler-Benz's profits.

One of the board representatives even threatened Edward Ruth, saying he should be fired if he didn't perform well.

Secondly, the Phoenix International acquisition team emerged, offering a staggering $6.7 billion to acquire Daimler-Benz.

The shareholders, including Duchi Bank, all had their eyes shining.

The person who could come up with $6.7 billion in cash to acquire Daimler-Benz is definitely not an ordinary person.

Because Phoenix International offered such a high price, the shareholders, including Duchi Bank, held a meeting and concluded that the other party would definitely be able to come up with more funds.

So they 'firmly rejected the acquisition,' yet acted rather ambiguously.

In reality, it's an ambiguous attitude. They just want to see how much Daimler-Benz is really worth. If the price is high enough, then they wouldn't mind selling the company.

The actual market value of Daimler-Benz is around four billion US dollars. There may be some inflation, but it is definitely not much, because it also includes the premium of the Mercedes-Benz brand itself.

Brand value is something that is difficult to measure in monetary terms.

You can name any price you like, as long as it's not too outrageous, I'll accept it.

However, if it is necessary to spend real money to purchase this so-called brand value, then a lengthy negotiation is required.

Therefore, from the first half of 1986 to the second half of 1987, the shareholders, including Duchi Bank, remained deadlocked and were not very willing to sell.

But they didn't want Phoenix International, this big fish, to really slip away, so they decided to play the long game.

There's a saying that high-level hunters often appear as prey. As for Phoenix International's acquisition of Daimler-Benz, who is truly the prey remains to be seen until the final outcome.

For President Edward Rutherford, the changes of the past year or two have filled him with anxiety.

The main reason is that the attitude of the major shareholder, Duchi Bank, has changed.

If the CEO of Daimler-Benz changes, Edward Roth needs to know the new CEO's identity and preferences in advance; he doesn't want to be ousted from the position in disgrace.

"No, we haven't found any clues at all."

While answering, the subordinate was thinking to himself: "They're unwilling to pay, how could they possibly find out anything?"
Phoenix International was acting on behalf of a client who is still keeping the client's name confidential.

Besides, even if a customer's name is leaked, it doesn't matter, because it's just a name.

The Phoenix International team only knew that the boss behind the client was Wang Jianchao, president of Pandora, a US luxury goods giant, as well as Hela O'Brien, head of Maple Capital, Lee Efra, head of Summit Global, and Fuller Carson, head of Horizon Capital, among others.

These people are just shareholders; the real boss is the 'professor' whom no one has ever even seen!
He only had one code name: Professor.

Every so often, I had to report the progress of the acquisition to the 'professor'.

Therefore, even Bokramzi, the head of Phoenix International, did not know exactly who wanted to acquire Daimler-Benz.

Among Wang Jianchao, Hela O'Brien, and others, Bokramsey had no idea who the real big boss behind them was.

The only certainty is that the organizations they want to acquire include both white and Asian people.

Wall Street giants are involved, but strangely enough, Horizon Capital is a Singapore-based company.

It's worth noting that Wall Street giants are notorious for hoarding their profits; how could they possibly be willing to share with Singapore's Horizon Capital?

Even when Wang Meili and Wang Meihe, the two representatives, came to Bokramzi and his team to discuss the progress of the acquisition, it might all have been a smokescreen, designed to mislead outsiders.

After all, there are quite a few people involved, and quite a few shareholders behind them, and the only 'professor' who can make all the decisions has never shown his face.

Bokramzie was completely confused and had no idea who the real boss was.

If even he didn't know, then it was undoubtedly wishful thinking for Edward Roth, the president of Daimler-Benz, to have his subordinates investigate the matter.

"What a waste!"

Edward Ruth cursed, then hesitated for a moment before speaking sharply:

"We must investigate this matter immediately. I'm giving you a special grant of 500,000 marks for this activity. If you still can't find out the truth, you should resign."

Upon hearing this, the subordinate quickly nodded.

The benefits at Daimler-Benz are quite good, so he doesn't want to resign.

Meanwhile, Duchy Bank soon received a notification from Edward Ruth.

Now that we know the latest results, let's wait and see who has more patience.

Suddenly, Sifleyman, the big boss of Duchy Bank, asked:

"How much money have we invested in the US stock market? What are the current profits?"

Over the past few months, the US stock market has been acting erratically, with stock prices either falling or rising.

This is actually a normal market reaction, but the magnitude of the rise or fall was a bit too large, making Sifleyman feel a little uneasy.

"Our securities division has invested a total of $860 million, all concentrated in large companies such as ExxonMobil, AT&T, Motorola, and Sony. Currently, the total profit is a loss of $67.28 million."

The vice president reported some data, but became hesitant when it came to total profit.

"Fuck, is this what you call making a profit?"

At first, Sifleyman didn't realize what was happening, but when she did, she flew into a rage.

The use of the phrase "total profit" is quite clever; he's a real genius.

The vice president who was being scolded could only lower his head, because there was nothing he could do.

When Sony was shorted, they had to cut their losses.

Fortunately, I cut my losses, otherwise I would be losing even more now. Since May, Sony's stock price has risen a few times, but the increases have been very short-lived and small.

Looking back now, we can see that Sony's stock price had been steadily declining.

Logically, with the yen appreciating, Sony, as a Japanese company, shouldn't be doing this.

However, Sony does not invest much in Japan; most of its business is concentrated in the international market, especially the US market.

The advent of MP3 players destroyed the profits of Sony's portable CD player segment, with revenue plummeting to just a few hundred million US dollars.

The financial reports for April, May, and June have been released. Revenue in May and June saw a precipitous drop. Although the financial reports for the third quarter (July, August, and September) have not yet been released, Nielsen, a US business research company, has already published Sony's sales and revenue data for July and August.

Therefore, Sony's stock price has been steadily declining.

Unfortunately, as of this point in time, Dodge Bank still holds a large number of Sony shares, some of which were bought by Summit Global, because the latter wanted to short Sony.

Duchy Bank went against Summit Global, and it seems that Summit Global has actually profited a little.

Therefore, considering the unrealized losses of other companies, it is quite normal for Duchi Bank to have a negative profit.

After hurling insults for a while, Sifleyman finally stopped.

Focusing on the two major sectors of technology and energy was a development strategy personally decided by Sifleyman, because that was the direction of development.

Let's not even talk about energy; there's no company in the world that doesn't need energy.

ExxonMobil is an oil company, and oil is the lifeblood of modern industry; it is absolutely indispensable.

Not to mention technology, IBM started with computers and is now one of the world's largest companies by market capitalization.

Sony, Apple, and Excellence Technology are all technology companies with phenomenal revenue and profit figures. It would be a lie to say that Sifleyman isn't envious.

Even though Sony's stock price has fallen, Sifleyman has no intention of selling any more shares.

When will Huaxin Technology and Zhuoyue Technology go public? Have you done your research? Is there any possibility that we can get on board?

Taking a deep breath, Sifleyman asked.

Inside the office, none of the vice presidents and senior executives uttered a sound.

Because they didn't know how to answer, and Sifleyman was in a bad mood at the moment, and they might get another scolding from him.

Excellence Technology is a Chinese company that is unlikely to go public, as it is said that its shareholder is a school, a state-owned enterprise.

China is a magical place, and state-owned enterprises mean that the possibility of them going public is very small.

As for Walsin Technology, although the company's name is entirely that of a Chinese company, its shareholders are actually American capital.

Of course, nobody really knows who the actual controlling shareholder is.

Because the American capital that controls Walsin Technology has a parent company from the islands, the relationship is complicated and it is difficult to determine who the real boss is.

Walsin Technology's Alienware computers are manufactured in China, and the products sell very well in Europe and America.

With low costs and very low prices, sales were phenomenal, and Walsin Technology made a fortune.

Sifleyman's desire to invest in Walsin Technology is nothing but wishful thinking; does he even have a chance?

Just then, someone knocked on the door and came in; it was the head of the securities department of Duchi Bank.

Seeing the other person, Sifleyman, who was in a fit of anger, immediately became furious and launched into a tirade of abuse.

The head of the securities department was dumbfounded. What was going on?

After finishing her tirade, Sifleyman then said:

"So, what brings you here? Did you lose money again?"

"No, Mr. Lyman, several companies want to purchase shares of ExxonMobil, IBM, AT&T, and other companies from us. They want to short sell."

"Let them short sell if they want. You're in charge, don't you know what to do?"

"Mr. Lyman, they want to short the entire stock, and the total amount exceeds five hundred million US dollars."

hiss!
Upon hearing this, all the executives in the office gasped in shock.

Sifleyman and his ilk are all in finance and are very familiar with investing.

How dare several companies do this?

It seems like they're very confident!

So Sifleyman and his team took it seriously. After all, this involved a business deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and such a bet had to be treated with caution.

But this is a rare opportunity, and if we miss it, things will get complicated.

Should we make money, or continue holding these stocks for the long term?
Unfortunately, companies like Yuexiu Group won't give Duchi Bank much time to consider, because it's almost October, and if they don't act now, it will be too late.

After discussing it for more than half an hour, Sifleyman finally couldn't resist the temptation and took the gamble!

Yuexiu Company's move to short the market means they are bearish on the market and believe that US stocks will definitely fall in the future.

However, Shiffremann believes that US stocks will definitely rise in the future, and that companies like ExxonMobil are energy and technology companies, since Duchy Bank only invests in these two areas.

Neither of these two directions will result in losses for Duchy Bank; its future is bound to rise.

In fact, Sifleyman was not wrong. However, he did not have a clear understanding of the global economy and capital flows, nor did he understand why the US stock market had been fluctuating for the past few months.

Otherwise, he would never have easily agreed to short-selling requests from companies like Yuexiu Group.

At the headquarters of Yuexiu Company in Hong Kong, they had received a reply from Duchi Bank and began to take action.

The news quickly reached Guangzhou. Inside the municipal government office on Gongyuan Road, Yuan Youlan breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the news.

Then, I started to feel anxious and uncertain again.

“We will definitely win!”

For the sake of Guangzhou's development, Yuan Youlan and his team once again sought loans of US$500 million from other banking institutions.

All the funds previously used for short selling have been invested, and there are still more than 200 million US dollars left. Together with CITIC Securities and other companies, they contacted Duchy Bank and acquired all the shares held by them.

Yuexiu Group has invested more than 2 billion US dollars, and if leverage is taken into account, it has exceeded 3 billion US dollars.

This is fundamentally different from the Louvre Agreement at the beginning of this year and the Plaza Agreement the year before.

After all, the stock market is highly volatile, and if you have too much leverage and insufficient margin, it is easy to get liquidated.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, we definitely cannot use too much leverage.

Now that Yuexiu Company has already invested, they can just wait for the stock market crash to arrive.

"Old Yuan, aren't you guys afraid at all of doing this?"

Guan Chonggui, Xia Huarong, Qi Xingbang, and several others gathered together and started smoking in their office on Park Road in Guangzhou.

Everyone is quite worried. If we really lose money, it will be a really, really bad situation.

"Afraid? Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to fear."

Yuan Youlan said disdainfully:

"Two years ago, our Yuexiu Company made a profit of US$2.16 billion. This year, we will certainly not be any less."

"Everyone here is here because they trust Professor Wang's judgment. The leaders in Beijing had some doubts and wanted to find out exactly how much money Want Want Group had invested."

"Hehe, let me tell you the truth. I went to Southeast Asia for an inspection a few days ago. Can you guess who I met with in Singapore?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Huarong and the others shook their heads.

No one was in the mood for guessing. Qi Xingbang even shouted, "Old Yuan, stop keeping us in suspense! You're driving us crazy!"

"I met Wang Jianchao's sister, Wang Yumin. You can guess what she's talking about, I'll just tell you directly. Wang Yumin said she took out three million US dollars and gave it to her third brother for investment."

Yuan Youlan immediately said:
"Her third brother is Comrade Wang Jianchao, who owns a financial investment company in the United States, and has invested all his funds in shorting US stocks."

"I had someone check, and this investment firm holds more than fifty million US dollars in capital."

“We all know that Wang Jianchao absolutely doesn’t have that kind of vision, and his annual salary is no more than two million US dollars, yet he has so much money.”

At this moment, Xia Huarong couldn't help but interrupt:
"Old Yuan, is it possible that this is Professor Wang's funding?"

"Impossible!" Yuan Youlan said decisively.
"Old Xia, you may have forgotten that among the donors for the highway from Bingcheng to Shuanghe County, Wang Duoyu's personal donation was not large, but Wang Jianchao and his family donated a lot of money, totaling more than 20 million US dollars!"

“You don’t know this information, but Wang Yumin told me about it.”

"So that money all belongs to Wang Jianchao and his siblings. More than 50 million US dollars is not a small amount. Wang Yumin has 3 million US dollars. This should be the most normal family property of the siblings."

"Wang Jianchao's personal assets certainly exceed forty million."

"So how did he make that money? That's not important. What's important is that they all invested that money in shorting US stocks."

After Yuan Youlan finished speaking, Xia Huarong and the others fell silent.

They were less worried, but Yuan Youlan's heart was still unsettled.

No matter how much she trusted Wang Duoyu, Yuan Youlan was still very worried until she saw the money safely landed.

Because this isn't just thirty-odd yuan, it's over three billion US dollars.

Two years ago, it didn't matter if we leveraged up as much as we could, since we had nothing to lose.

Although I'm still barely barefoot, it's okay to say it's alright, but to say I'm not worried at all is impossible.

Qi Xingbang suddenly spoke up:
"If I want to add more bets, I wonder if it's too late?"

"Old Qi, you'd better save your breath!" Guan Chonggui rolled his eyes and said.

"You've invested too much in Kunming this time. If something really goes wrong, even if Professor Wang is willing to lend a hand, it will be very difficult to get you back."

It's best not to gamble lightly.

"Come on, let's drink. Let's not talk about this anymore. The money's already invested, there's no need to worry about it anymore."

"Yes, cheers, a toast to Professor Wang."

While Yuan Youlan and his friends were drinking together in Guangzhou, thousands of kilometers away in the northern ice city, Wang Duoyu and his friends were also drinking in a warm and comfortable room.

This time, Wang Duoyu didn't go to the private room in the Harbin Institute of Technology cafeteria for drinking; instead, he went to his living room on the island in the lake.

Besides his third brother Wang Duozhi, the people drinking together included his long-lost tenth brother Wang Duoshi, as well as Yan Daowen, Liu Deben, Lü Gongliang, and Han Jue.

Yan Daowen brought Wang Duoshi over, so he stayed to drink with them.

"Ninth Brother, thank you for sending me to the army. Otherwise, I might really be lying dead in the street. This drink is for you!"

Wang Duoshi raised his glass with great respect and shame. He had been ignorant before, but now that he had started a family and established a career, he had to be more sensible.

In 1982, Wang Duoshi was sent to the army by his ninth brother, and it has been more than five years since then.

In the army, no matter how picky or rebellious a person is, they are all tamed and have no temper at all.

More than five years have passed, and Wang Duoshi has become a platoon leader. Although his rank is not high, he is still considered a minor leader.

"Let bygones be bygones. As long as you know how to love yourself, that's enough," Wang Duoyu said with a faint smile.

Today's drinking session is indeed quite different. There's a saying that life can be made do with what you have, but drinking must be done with care.

So there were six plates of snacks to accompany the drinks, with peanuts, pig's ears, and smashed cucumbers being the most plentiful.

This is the second round. We already had one round of drinks during dinner, so tonight we're definitely going to drink until we drop.

(End of this chapter)