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

November 1987, Stuttgart, Germany, in the heart of continental Europe, at the headquarters of Daimler-Benz.

As the largest shareholder of Daimler-Benz, the head of Duchy Bank, Schifflemann, personally visited the site today.

President Edward Ruth personally led a delegation to receive the big boss, Sifleyman.

After the tour, everyone returned to the conference room. Sifleyman took a puff of a Cuban cigar and suddenly asked:
"Edward, what is the projected profit for Daimler-Benz this year?"

Edward Ruth was unaware of the situation at Duchy Bank, so he continued to enthusiastically explain it to Sifleyman.

Daimler-Benz is expected to earn at least $750 million this year, but $500 million of that has already been spent.

According to the "integrated technology group" development strategy proposed by Edward Luc when he took office, Daimler-Benz's profits are basically used to acquire and merge with related technology companies.

For example, Edward Root recently contacted a shareholder of Airbus, hoping to take over 1.2 percent of the shares held by that shareholder.

Don't underestimate the small percentage of shares (1.2%). This is a joint venture established by various European countries, and many of Airbus' components come from those countries.

For example, with the Airbus A300, France was responsible for the main parts of the fuselage and wings, Germany was responsible for the landing gear and part of the fuselage structure, Great Britain was responsible for part of the wings and tail, and Spain was responsible for part of the fuselage and wing components.

As is well known, Rolls-Royce, the British company, produces world-renowned aircraft engines. The engines for the six Vickers Viscount aircraft that our country purchased in the 1960s were developed and manufactured by this company.

Initially, the A300 engine was intended to be the Rolls-Royce RB211, but Rolls-Royce withdrew from the project, so the project team switched to the CF6-50A engine produced by General Electric.

As the only aircraft manufacturer in the world that can rival Boeing, Airbus is undoubtedly very impressive.

Therefore, if Edward Roth does acquire that 1.2% stake, even if it's just a financial investment, it would still be a very good investment for Daimler-Benz.

The development direction of the [Integrated Technology Group] is absolutely correct, and Edward Ruth needs the support of his big boss, Sifleyman.

However, at this moment, Sifleyman was preoccupied with nothing but money.

Duchy Bank suffered heavy losses in last month's U.S. stock market crash, losing at least $2.5 billion.

It's not just a loss on paper, but a real loss.

And a significant portion of it is foreign debt, which is a real problem.

None of the above are the most important factors. Due to the US stock market crash, all industries are facing severe difficulties and are in a state of depression.

Meanwhile, many of the stocks held by Duchi Bank have shrunk significantly, and many of its branches and subsidiaries have suffered substantial losses.

Given the current economic environment, it is unlikely that the economy will recover in the short term.

If they don't manage to secure funding, Duchi Bank itself could face bankruptcy.

Therefore, Duchi Bank can only try to make up for its losses in other ways.

Although Daimler-Benz is a cash cow, Duchpie Bank is currently suffering heavy losses, so even a cash cow has to be sold to raise money.

After Edward Ruth finished speaking, Sifleyman looked disappointed and said:
"Can you raise two billion US dollars in a short period of time?"

Upon hearing this, the former almost fainted; this was too terrifying!
Two billion US dollars is no small sum.

“Mr. Lyman, you mean two billion US dollars, in cash, right?” Edward Ruth asked earnestly.

My mood has sunk to rock bottom.

Because he didn't mishear; he wasn't deaf, Sifleyman's demand was two billion US dollars, not stocks or anything else, but cash.

It's a sum of money that can be withdrawn and used at any time, not two billion US dollars in paper cash.

The global dollar base money supply certainly exceeds five hundred billion US dollars, but this money is distributed all over the world, and no one is actually taking out two billion US dollars in cash.

After Sifleyman confirmed it, Edward Rutt's anxiety finally subsided.

The dream of becoming an "integrated technology group" has likely come to an end.

"Why, Mr. Lyman? Is it because of the US stock market crash last month?"

Edward Ruth asked in a deep voice.

He couldn't think of any other reason besides this.

After all, Duchi Bank is a bank, and it has no shortage of money.

Even a bank can run out of money sometimes. Depositors' money is not the bank's money; the concepts should not be confused.

However, Duchampagne Bank itself does not only operate savings and loan businesses, and in fact, this part of the business accounts for a small proportion of Duchampagne Bank's total business.

If Duchy Bank takes money raised from depositors, private equity funds, etc., and invests it in the stock market.

That seems to explain why Sifleyman is so desperate for money now.

"This is a secret, Edward, you must not reveal this to anyone!"

Sifleyman gave a warning, then pressed Edward on whether he could raise such funds.

Without a doubt, the latter is simply incapable of doing so.

Although Daimler-Benz makes money, its annual revenue and profits are what they are.

However, profits began to decline after the Plaza Accord. In 1985, Daimler-Benz had profits of over one billion US dollars, but now it only has seven hundred and fifty million US dollars.

The decline is very severe.

The negative impact of the appreciation of the mark was a fatal blow to Daimler-Benz.

Now that another stock market crash has occurred, the owner of Daimler-Benz will have to change.

After a long silence in the office, Sifleyman finally spoke:
"Edward, I'm afraid I have to apologize to you; I can no longer support your development strategy."

Despite having prepared himself mentally, Edward Rutt was still very upset to hear the other person say it to him.

But if it's going to rain, it's going to rain; if a mother wants to remarry, no one can stop her.

Two days later, Phoenix International's head, Bokramzie, received a notification from Duchbank that acquisition negotiations had been restarted.

This matter quickly reached the ears of Wang Duoyu in Dahonggou Village, Northeast China.

Meanwhile, Wang Duoyu was in the study having a meeting with Zheng Baoyin and the others.

After answering the phone, Wang Duoyu spoke with Bokramzi for a while before telling him not to rush to give a quote.

According to the previous plan, the acquisition of Daimler-Benz was at a 60% premium. Now, Duchy Bank is probably short of money due to the impact of the US stock market crash.

Since the other party was in such a hurry, Wang Duoyu didn't want to spend that much money.

At most, the premium will be 20% or 30%. As for whether the other party will sell or not, that's their decision.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Duoyu smiled and looked at everyone, saying:
"It was Ramsey who called just now. Duchbank contacted us, requesting to restart the acquisition negotiations for Daimler-Benz. I guess Duchbank is short of money."

"At this rate, we are certain that we will be able to successfully acquire Daimler-Benz this month, or at the latest by the end of next month."

"Therefore, we need to set aside five billion US dollars from the profits earned this time."

"We will reduce oil investment by $3 billion and appropriately reduce domestic investment as well, but our plans to buy US stocks at the bottom and short the US dollar remain unchanged!"

clap clap!

Everyone immediately applauded.

Acquiring Daimler-Benz was Wang Duoyu's obsession. He had been planning to acquire Daimler-Benz since the beginning of January 1986. The negotiations had been going on for almost two years, and now there was finally a result. Everyone was happy for Wang Duoyu.

Money is all-powerful, but sometimes it can't buy anything.

Want Want Group has money, but it took them nearly two years to successfully buy Mercedes-Benz.

So money isn't necessarily everything, but you can't do without it.

Wang Duoyu smiled and reached down, and the applause gradually subsided.

"Once Daimler-Benz acquires the company, we will immediately establish the Harbin Mercedes-Benz Company, and the joint venture car manufacturing plant will start immediately. We absolutely cannot miss out on this huge domestic market."

"There are already several Japanese car manufacturers in Guangzhou, including Toyota, and Volkswagen in Shanghai. Harbin also needs to have a joint venture brand car."

"In addition, we will need to utilize Mercedes-Benz's technology to incubate our own domestic car brand."

Whether it's a high-end luxury car brand or a low-end car brand, Wang Duoyu needs a domestic brand.

To be honest, the cars produced by domestic automobile manufacturers such as FAW Group, BAIC Group, and Beijing Jeep Automobile Co., Ltd. cannot be fully considered as domestic brands.

Later domestic brands such as Changan, Trumpchi, and BYD were not bad, but they always felt like they were missing something.

New energy vehicles have indeed been developed by domestic automakers, but traditional gasoline vehicles have not.

Zheng Baoyin and the others either nodded or applauded.

In these crucial decisions, Wang Duoyu basically made all the decisions, and the suggestions of others were not important.

Since the establishment of Want Want Group, all the decisions made by Wang Duoyu have been proven to be absolutely correct.

Besides, the people in the study, Zheng Baoyin, Wang Jianchao, Wang Meili and all the other relatives of the Wang family, none of them have any education or vision. What can they do besides being yes-men?
Li Efra, O'Brien, Yu Kexue, Wen Shixuan, and others are all highly educated, knowledgeable, and have a broad perspective, but when it comes to corporate development direction and overall development, all of them combined cannot compare to Wang Duoyu.

Therefore, no one questions Wang Duoyu's decision.

Just sit back and win!
After Wang Duoyu finished speaking, it seemed that investing in the domestic sector was almost over.

The two new areas are automobiles and petrochemicals.

After a while, and with everyone filling in the gaps and making corrections, today's meeting could finally come to an end.

Of course, the meeting about Want Want Group has ended, but the discussion about Wang Jianchao and his team's personal profits from this stock market crash has just begun.

The people who profited the least were Yu Kexue, Qiao Hanliang, and Wen Shixuan. The first two had joined Want Want Group for too short a time and did not have much capital, while the latter had little foreign exchange because he had been staying in China for many years.

Secondly, there are Wei Ruolai, Qu Haiping, Liang Shengzhi, and Xue Lisheng. These four people made profits of approximately five to twenty million yuan during this stock market crash.

Not many, but not few either.

Next came Lee Evra, O'Brien, Fuller Carson, and the other heads of regional financial companies under Maple Leaf Holdings, who each profited at least twenty million US dollars.

A more extreme example is Fuller Carson, who borrowed $10 million from a bank a week before the stock market crash and then leveraged it fiftyfold.

A leverage of 50 times is 500 million US dollars.

Fuller Carson directly diversified the investment of this money into companies such as Magellan Fund, Salomon Brothers, and General Electric, but not all of them were taken on by other companies.

Because short selling requires borrowing shares of the target company from institutions like the Magellan Fund, but not all institutions are willing to lend to them.

Especially in the week leading up to the stock market crash, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to decline, and even if these institutions had great confidence in the US stock market, they might not dare to lend out their stocks.

Therefore, although Fuller Carson only invested less than $300 million, he made a profit of $90 million from the 33% drop and successfully exited the market.

Of the ten million US dollars in principal, only one and a half million were his own funds, such as mortgage loans and savings, while the remaining eight hundred and fifty thousand were borrowed.

This gamble made him rich overnight, and it won't be long before he becomes a billionaire.

The last tier consists of Zheng Baoyin and Wang Jianchao, who are definitely billionaires.

"Uncle, I didn't actually make much money this time. I wasn't as daring as Jianchao."

As soon as Zheng Baoyin opened his mouth, he betrayed Wang Jianchao.

"My financial investment company put up a total of $51 million this time, of which $20 million was leveraged twice, and the profit was over $10 million."

"There's still $31 million left, some of which was leveraged tenfold, some twentyfold, and the final $10 million was leveraged fiftyfold."

"The total profit from this stock market crash was $230 million. After deducting $25 million in bonuses and other costs, that leaves $205 million."

hiss!
After Zheng Baoyin finished speaking, a collective gasp filled the study.

Two hundred and five million US dollars! That's terrifying!

Even Fuller Carson was envious; the principal was too substantial, only lacking a bit of courage, otherwise the profit would have been even greater.

Then came Wang Jianchao, who indeed profited more than Zheng Baoyin because his principal amounted to a whopping 76 million US dollars.

Moreover, over 30 million of them were leveraged 50 times, resulting in a profit of nearly 400 million US dollars from this alone.

"You're all gamblers! I told you to leverage yourselves, and you really went all in, risking your life savings!"

After listening, Wang Duoyu glared at him helplessly and said:

"This time, when shorting the dollar, leverage as much as you can, but absolutely do not exceed 100 times. Also, if your true identities are discovered, hmph..."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded solemnly.

Everyone has tasted the benefits, so they certainly won't give up easily. As for betrayal?
How can it be!

The reason they were able to hide was because Want Want Group was willing to spend money.

For example, the alien technology products exported by Walsin Technology are manufactured in China, with a cost of 700 RMB.

By the time the product arrived at the US port, the cost had already reached $370.

Based on a selling price of $399, Walsin Technology's US subsidiary would only make a profit of $29.

Assuming that ten million units were sold in the US domestic market, the total gross profit would be $290 million.

However, after deducting labor costs, advertising expenses, shop rent, and other miscellaneous expenses, there is naturally very little left.

Even if there's still some left, you still need to spend money to win people's hearts.

For example, if someone investigates Walsin Technology's profit situation, the first thing they need to do is spend money to buy connections.

The IRS, the Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, and even members of Congress—all of them require funding.

The higher-ups requested that a certain official from the Security Bureau investigate Huaxin Technology. This official accepted money and then submitted the case close to the deadline.

The investigation then revealed that two of the suspects possessed very important information, but these two individuals had already traveled abroad last week and are currently under investigation.

After several months, the person was finally found, but it was a corpse.

Otherwise, they simply haven't found the person, and there are no other clues either.

In short, the matter was already firmly blocked by the person in charge.

No detailed information was submitted at all.

This is the 'service' you pay for!
Furthermore, regarding this recent US stock market crash, let's not even mention companies like Maple Tree Capital, which are themselves financial companies registered on Wall Street.

Horizon Capital is based in Singapore, but its parent company is not based in Singapore.

Horizon Capital also participated in the "robbery" during the US stock market crash, but this is only one part of international speculative capital.

Furthermore, Horizon Capital will definitely remain hidden and will not be easily discovered.

Another possibility is that these funds are transferred to other banks, then to Swiss banks, then through Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, and other places, before entering the United States and disappearing without a trace.

Otherwise, the best option is to buy US stocks at the bottom; that way, the money stays in the US.

How did NSA employee Ronald Pelton leak the secret?

It was simply because they were desperate that they sold the intelligence to the KGB for $5000.

He betrayed his country for just $5000.

Well, let alone in capitalist countries, there are quite a few traitors like this in many countries around the world.

Because people are products of their environment, the social environment turned Pelton into a gambler. When he lost all his chips, he had no choice but to try something else.

Wang Duoyu's current approach is quite simple: use money to bribe these executives.

Rich people are afraid of death; they are all afraid of losing everything they have.

In this way, there would naturally be no traitorous behavior.

Unless someone else is willing to pay a higher price, but is that even possible?

Take this stock market crash for example. Maple Capital made at least a billion US dollars from the stock market. If Goldman Sachs executives found out about this, what would they do?
Are they using off-market channels to target Maple Capital?

It's unlikely, because only a completely opposing enemy would resort to such tactics, aside from offending Maple Capital.

So, from the very beginning they were complete strangers. Following the inertia of capital, the only options were either to acquire O'Brien and put it to use by Goldman Sachs, or to acquire Maple Tree Capital.

Besides that, the only other option is to partner with Maple Tree Capital to make money; that's the survival rule on Wall Street. If all else fails, then the next step is to find the real person in charge at Maple Tree Capital—the one who can make Maple Tree Capital a fortune—and then try to bribe them.

In this process, Goldman Sachs spent money to bribe those traders. How much did that cost them?

Goldman Sachs isn't looking for enemies; it's simply looking to make a profit, nothing more, because that's what capital is all about.

When Goldman Sachs realizes that the costs far outweigh the potential benefits, it will certainly find another way.

This is the point that O'Brien reported to Wang Duoyu before: some people want Maple Capital's private equity funds to make money for them, while Maple Capital earns management fees.

Therefore, the possibility of O'Brien becoming a traitor is virtually zero, given the method Wang Duoyu employed.

Unless Goldman Sachs is willing to give O'Brien hundreds of millions of dollars, but Goldman Sachs isn't stupid, why would they do that?

"Brother, can my sister and I also use leverage?"

Suddenly, Wang Meili asked expectantly.

She and her sister also shorted US stocks during the past stock market crash, and the two sisters each made $23.59 million.

Because their principal and leverage are the same, and they invest in the same things, the profits they make are naturally the same.

Wang Duoyu rolled his eyes: "You can add more if you want, just don't come crying to me if you lose money."

Wang Duoyu always said he wouldn't interfere with the two sisters, but as long as they acted cute and it wasn't something that violated his principles, he would help them.

Just like with investing, their desire to invest was merely a side effect.

Moreover, this time it's shorting the US dollar, so using leverage is perfectly fine.

This is simply because the depreciation of the US dollar is an inevitable trend after the stock market crash.

In the foreign exchange market, there's no need to worry about being liquidated; as long as you're cautious, there shouldn't be any major problems.

"Uncle Nine, are there any charity projects that require donations this time? I'm planning to donate one hundred million US dollars."

Just then, Wang Jianchao, who was rich and powerful, suddenly spoke up.

He felt very satisfied with donating money last time.

The people of Dahonggou Village respected him greatly, and even his father, Wang Duozhi, praised him highly.

Realizing that donating money has so many benefits and can satisfy his vanity, he is naturally happy to donate money.

Although he can be a miser at times, it depends on the time and circumstances.

"Wow, Jianchao, you're really rich! You actually offered to donate money?"

Wang Meihe immediately laughed, and Zheng Baoyin immediately rolled his eyes:
"You're already showing off with just a few cents, huh? Donating money, huh? Just don't feel bad about it later."

Lee Evra, O'Brien, Wei Ruola, and others echoed this sentiment, expressing their willingness to do their part and show their goodwill.

After they had all expressed their opinions, Wang Duoyu finally spoke with a smile:

"Whether you're sincere or not, thank you in advance."

"Speaking of which, there is indeed a project that needs donations, but please do what you can afford and don't act blindly."

"Want Want Group will be launching a Hope Primary School project. You can donate a little bit, whether it's ten yuan or a hundred yuan, it's all the thought that counts, but please don't compare yourselves with each other!"

The Hope Primary School project is just a very ordinary charity project.

It's just the inevitable trend.

Want Want Group has indeed made money, and it can quietly carry out charitable projects behind the scenes. It also participates in public projects such as Hope Primary Schools, keeping up with the trend.

Although Wang Duoyu knew that this Hope Primary School project wouldn't be of much help to impoverished areas, it was better than nothing.

This is the situation in our country: vast land with a sparse population, and each place has its own unique circumstances, making it extremely difficult to do well.

Take the Southwest region as an example. There are hundreds of thousands of mountains there, and many small villages are located deep in the mountains.

In the past, it would have been a secluded paradise far removed from the hustle and bustle of the world.

But in today's terms, that would be considered an impoverished area.

Difficulties in going to school, difficulties in accessing electricity, difficulties in transportation, everything is difficult.

According to Wang Duoyu's idea, to help these children in the mountains get out of poverty, we should teach them how to fish, not just give them fish.

The Hope Primary School Project can only help for a certain period of time, but in less than 30 years, many Hope Primary Schools will most likely be abandoned.

After all, China's urbanization will develop rapidly over the next two or three decades.

Many people who leave the mountains never return.

Therefore, before Wang Duoyu traveled through the mountains, there were many vacant villages and abandoned fertile fields.

This is the stark reality.

Wang Duoyu hopes that people living in those remote mountains and forests can move to small towns, so that the Hope Primary School built here can help more people.

On the contrary, building a Hope Primary School in the deep mountains costs a lot of money but doesn't help many people.

Many Hope Primary Schools in those days had only a few dozen students.

In about ten or twenty years, the number of students in these Hope Primary Schools will gradually decrease, or even disappear completely.

Therefore, there is absolutely no need for it.

Such a waste!

That's just how the trend is these days, and there's not much Wang Duoyu can do about it.

"Uncle Jiu, then I'll donate one hundred million US dollars!"

"Stop trying to be a show-off here!"

Upon hearing Wang Jianchao's words, Wang Duoyu immediately replied:
"You've made so much money this time, you better watch out, or you'll end up with nothing but someone else's green card."

"Once you become one of them, hehe, if you want to leave, they'll take at least half of your fortune, or even all of it."

"You don't understand the capitalist games of America's upper class, with that face of yours, haha."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jianchao wanted to ask more questions, but Wang Duoyu didn't say anything more.

Since none of these things have happened yet, Wang Duoyu naturally wouldn't say anything more.

He's already warned him many times. If his nephew wants to court disaster, then let him be.

The meeting had already gone on until after 8 p.m.

Before ending, Wang Duoyu once again reminded everyone to keep a low profile and not to be too high-profile.

Even if you can't wait any longer, you should wait until later.

Over the next few days, Zheng Baoyin and his group stayed in Dahonggou Village for a few days before returning to Bingcheng with Wang Duoyu and the others.

Lee Efra and the others did the same, and were not in a hurry to leave.

For these 'outsiders,' this was a rare opportunity to get close to Wang Duoyu, so how could they possibly leave early?
After so many interactions, they were completely convinced of Wang Duoyu's abilities.

Even though shorting the dollar was imminent, they were still in no hurry to leave.

Instead, he would assign tasks to his subordinates who were overseas by phone and follow up on their progress daily.

November 8th, Weizigou Campus of Harbin Institute of Technology, the island in the middle of the lake.

Liu Deben and Lü Gongliang walked in, beaming with joy as they discussed matters with Wang Duoyu.

"Duoyu, Black Monday in the US stock market is over. Our Lotte Group has made a total profit of over 800 million this time."

This is good news, and both Liu Deben and his partner are very satisfied.

Wang Duoyu simply nodded in response.

Lotte Group used over two billion US dollars of its own capital to short sell without any leverage, and did not increase its position in the week before the stock market crash.

Therefore, the profit was only a little over 800 million US dollars, which is equivalent to the profit of Zheng Baoyin and Wang Jianchao.

This amount of money is far less than the 23 billion US dollars in profits that Maple Leaf Holdings made.

In fact, the US stock market crash occurred on Monday the 19th, and the stock market alone wiped out $500 billion.

In the following days, several hundred billion dollars evaporated, and in less than a week, the US stock market lost trillions of dollars.

And the effects continue to this day.

This is not as simple as the butterfly effect; its impact has swept the globe.

On the 19th, before the opening bell of the Tokyo Stock Exchange had even faded, stock prices plummeted, with the Nikkei index falling 630 points, a drop of more than 15%.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 421 points, the Straits Times Index in Singapore fell 170 points, and the FTSE 100 Index in the UK fell 252.9 points, resulting in losses of more than £50 billion for ordinary investors.

Stock markets in Paris, Frankfurt, Stockholm, London, Amsterdam, and other cities all experienced declines ranging from 6% to 12%, creating a global stock market shockwave.

On this very day, governments around the world, shocked by the situation, quickly took a series of measures to rescue their economies.

The Hong Kong stock market was immediately suspended for four days.

The reaction was strongest across all sectors of American society at the time, with radio, television, and newspapers publishing numerous related reports and commentaries.

These comments can be summed up in one sentence: the national economy is performing well, the employment rate is at its highest level, production is increasing, and the trade balance is improving.

Despite all the positive news, the stock market still fell.

Because market panic had already formed, and with Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, leading the short selling of US stocks, many small and medium-sized financial companies such as Maple Tree Capital, Summit Global, and Horizon Capital were also taking advantage of the situation.

This further exacerbated the decline in US stocks.

This series of chain reactions made this Black Monday outbreak even more ferocious.

Liu Deben and Lü Gongliang were hiding at Harbin Institute of Technology, completely unaware of what was happening outside.

After the stock market crash, the land was like a typhoon-ravaged landscape, devastated and a pitiful sight.

Wall Street in Manhattan is the worst affected area.

There are still large amounts of bloodstains on the streets in front of many buildings.

These are the last traces left in the world by desperate investors who ended their lives by jumping off buildings.

Even though several heavy rains fell in New York in the days following the stock market crash, they could not completely wash away these traces.

"Old Liu, Old Lü, you must have other things to do, right? The little money Lotte Group makes shouldn't be worth making a special trip for, right?"

Wang Duoyu asked with a faint smile.

He had already said before August that he no longer wanted to be involved in Lotte Group's investments.

Liu Deben and the other man were both very aware of this, so they wouldn't casually discuss it with him.

"Yes, now that the stock market crash has happened, the sales of many of our products have plummeted, which has had a huge impact."

Lü Gongliang took the initiative to speak:

"After discussing it with Lao Liu, I wanted to come and ask you if you have any other solutions?"

"No!" Wang Duoyu shook his head without hesitation.

Since everyone knows it's a stock market crash, why would anyone be willing to spend money to buy stocks?
MP3 players are indeed trendy technological products.

But it was already on the market in May, and now it's November. Anyone who wanted to buy it has already done so.

Now, after the stock market crash, the middle class is the group that has been most severely affected, and this group is also the largest customer of products such as MP3 players.

Other products such as Powerbook laptops, handheld game consoles, and pet egg game consoles will also see significant price drops.

It is almost impossible to recover.

Even with price reductions, it will be difficult to return to the sales levels seen before September. Moreover, while lowering prices is easy, raising them back later will be extremely difficult.

"Even you can't do anything?" Liu Deben and Lü Gongliang both looked disappointed, but Wang Duoyu's expression remained unchanged as he calmly said:

"I'm not a god, can I really make people who have lost money in the stock market spend money on unnecessary things?"

During the Great Depression in the United States in the 1920s and 30s, a child asked his mother, "It's so cold, why don't we burn coal at home?"
His mother responded that the family didn't have money to buy coal, and his father had lost his job.

Ironically, the child's father was a coal miner, working in a coal-producing factory.

The reason the factory laid off workers was that after a large amount of coal was produced, no one bought it, so the factory had no money to pay wages and had no choice but to lay off workers.

The more employees were laid off, the less people bought the products; this was the background during the Great Depression in the United States.

Although the current stock market crash is different from the Great Depression, it has one thing in common: a decline and sluggishness in consumption.

Even if Wang Duoyu has many marketing strategies that can stimulate some consumers to spend money, he will never be able to get people with no money in their pockets to buy his products!
Moreover, it's important to know that since the Great Depression, the United States has introduced various credit cards and other advance consumption models, allowing people to use something first and pay later.

Now, more than half a century later, many Americans have become accustomed to this model of advance consumption.

As a result, many people who experienced the stock market crash not only found themselves broke, but also deeply in debt.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be people lining up to jump off buildings on Wall Street.

Seeing that Wang Duoyu was truly helpless, Liu Deben and Lü Gongliang fell silent.

"Well, since that's how it is, let's just tough it out here for now. Things should get much better after next year."

After sighing, Liu Deben suddenly looked at Wang Duoyu and asked:

"Duoyu, how much money did your Want Want Group make this time? Is it convenient for you to tell us?"

Wang Duoyu had only raised two fingers, and before he could even speak, Liu Deben and Lü Gongliang both gasped.

"Two billion US dollars? You made that much money? That means you invested at least five or six billion US dollars? You guys are really bold to dare to put so much money into shorting US stocks."

Hearing their misunderstanding, Wang Duoyu rolled his eyes and said:
"Old Liu, you guys are just cowards. I've said it so many times, the US stock market crash will definitely happen as scheduled, but you just don't believe me, so I really can't do anything about it!"

"However, it's good that Lotte Group didn't follow suit, so they won't be targeted by those Wall Street giants."

During this stock market crash, there weren't many Wall Street investors shorting US stocks, with Bridgewater Associates being the most noteworthy among them.

Although Maple Leaf Holdings earned US$23.7 billion, the profits were distributed among more than 40 subsidiaries, including Maple Capital.

If divided like this, each company would only earn an average of four or five hundred million US dollars. It seems like a lot, but in reality, it's scattered all over the world, and the funds are extremely well hidden, so it's not that much.

Rakuten Group earned over 800 million US dollars. On the surface, it's just a Japanese financial company, so there's not much to say about it.

When the time comes, Japan will definitely be held accountable for this.

Anyway, Japan has no problem with its debts, so whether there's one more or one less Lotte Group won't make much difference.

Capital giants such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, First Citibank, and Merrill Lynch have all failed to profit from this so-called stock market crash.

On the contrary, they suffered very serious losses.

This is similar to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, because giants like Goldman Sachs either hold a large number of shares in publicly traded companies like ExxonMobil.

Or, like Buffett, they heavily invested in companies like Salomon Brothers in the week before the stock market crash.

After all, investment gurus like Soros firmly believe that the US stock market is in a bull market and will not experience any decline.

Some even believe that the Japanese stock market will decline.

But it's already November, and the US stock market is still at a low level, with stock prices remaining very low and not rising at all.

Conversely, the Japanese stock market has rebounded and even risen slightly.

This is because after the US stock market crash, a significant portion of international speculative capital left the US and headed straight for the Japanese stock market.

The reason is simple: Japan is currently benefiting from the bubble economy and is on a steady upward trajectory.

Just then, the phone on Wang Duoyu's desk suddenly rang. (End of Chapter)