I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 763 Fang Qingye's Relaxed Retreat and Wall Street's Angry Retreat

"Everyone has worked hard these past few days." Fang Qingye chuckled. "How about this, once this is done, we'll give everyone a ten-day break. Take turns bringing your wives, kids, or girlfriends on a trip abroad—London, New York, Maldives, Vancouver… pick whichever you like, and the company will cover all round-trip airfare!"

"Oh—!" came a cheer from the other end of the phone.

Fang Qingye then instructed Ouyang Shaoqiang to stop while he was ahead, and then hung up the phone. He knew that the employees were happy about more than just the ten-day holiday. Performance bonuses were tied to the company's annual profits.

Take Ouyang Shaoqiang as an example. Although his fixed annual salary is HK$300 million, the real bulk of his income comes from performance bonuses.

Company policy stipulates that 10% of the annual profits will be allocated to a bonus pool, and as the fund's general manager, Ouyang Shaoqiang will receive 5% of the total bonus pool. In other words, based solely on this net profit of US$32.6 billion, he will personally receive US$1600 million, equivalent to approximately HK$1.24 million!
How could I not be happy?

Of course, this money is subject to personal income tax – Hong Kong people call it “salaries tax”, but the highest tax rate is only 17%.

Then, Fang Qingye called Wei Xinghua of Tomorrow Cube back. The other party spoke calmly and reported that the short selling of the London FTSE 100 index and related stocks involved a total investment of 30 billion RMB, equivalent to about 3.12 million pounds sterling, and currently had a floating profit of 3.8 million pounds sterling, equivalent to about 36.1 billion RMB.

It naturally cannot compare to the returns of Hong Kong's Top Fund, but the reasons are simple: firstly, the investment capital is not as much; secondly, the leverage ratio of stock index futures is not as high as that of the foreign exchange market, only 10 times; and thirdly, the index decline is not as severe as that of the British pound.

That's already pretty good!
"Have they started closing out their positions?" This was Fang Qingye's biggest concern.

If you don't close your positions in time, the huge profits you've made could evaporate quickly or even turn into losses if the FTSE 100 index rebounds.

"It has already begun, and all positions will be closed out within the next two trading days."

"OK, then you all get a ten-day holiday! Let everyone take turns bringing their family and friends abroad for a trip, and the company will reimburse the airfare!"

Fang Qingye repeated what she had said to Ouyang Shaoqiang.

On the other end of the phone, Wei Xinghua muttered, "Let others go first... It's pointless for me to travel so far alone. I'll take a vacation in August and go back to my hometown in Northeast China. My dad said that we planted more than 30 mu of early-maturing corn this year and it's time to harvest. I'll go back and take a look."

Fang Qingye was both amused and exasperated.

With your annual salary, bonuses, and performance-based pay, you must have at least five or six million a year, right? Especially with this profit, you'll personally receive a ten million bonus!

Are you still thinking about those thirty-odd acres of corn?

Aren't you afraid of being pressured by your parents to get married when you go home?
Forget it, let her be.

The call with Wei Xinghua lasted a bit longer, mainly because the Brexit referendum, as the biggest "black swan" event of the year, will continue to impact the financial markets. Tomorrow Cube's high-frequency quantitative trading model often exhibits prediction biases during such special periods, requiring increased human intervention.

Fang Qingye also received a text message from Chen Delin, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, two hours earlier. The message was very brief:
"The market is stable and the banking system is sound. Mr. Fang, you are welcome to visit Hong Kong often."

Fang Qingye smiled, paused for a moment, and replied, "President Chen, I apologize for not checking my phone earlier while fishing by the lake. You're right, financial stability is fundamental. I look forward to reporting to you in person soon on the specific plans for Ele.me's development in Hong Kong."

He also sent text messages to apologize for the other missed calls.

The matter has finally come to an end.

Fang Qingye put her phone back in her pocket, gazed at the bright summer scenery outside the window, and softly hummed a popular tune from this year:

"The king summoned me to patrol the mountain."

I'll take a stroll through the human world~
Beat my drum, bang my gong!
Life is full of rhythm~
......"

...While Fang Qingye was humming a tune and returning home with a full load of goodies, the top executives of Wall Street investment banks across the ocean were experiencing a completely different night.

Morgan Stanley, James Gorman's office.

"Crack-!"

A sharp crack shattered the silence as James Goleman slammed his beloved bone china coffee cup onto the carpet, leaving a dark brown coffee stain that mirrored his gloomy mood.

His face was ashen, and his chest heaved violently, showing none of the composure usually reserved for the head of a top investment bank.

“Model! Polls! Seventy percent chance of remaining in the EU!” He practically roared, his eyes fixed on the dismal exchange rate of the pound and the internal loss report on the screen.

"A bunch of good-for-nothings! And that Fang Qingye... that damned, arrogant Eastern gambler! What makes him so special?!"

He whirled around, his bloodshot eyes glaring at his trembling assistant, his voice hoarse with rage: "Immediately! Connect me to all the heads of the European region! Also, pile all the information about Tuofang Fund and Fang Qingye onto my desk! I need to know exactly how he did it, I'll dig three feet into the ground to find out!"

Unlike the thunderous fury in James Gorman's office, the top-floor office of David Solomon at Goldman Sachs headquarters was deathly silent.

Chairman David Solomon stood alone by the floor-to-ceiling window, his back still straight, but his tightly pursed lips and prolonged silence betrayed the turmoil within him. The precipitous drop in the pound's exchange rate on the screen felt like a cold needle piercing his proud professional judgment.

He said nothing, simply gazing silently at the city lights outside the window, his mind replaying the heated debate in the "Submarine" conference room and the intelligence that ultimately led him to choose to "wait and see."

After a long while, he slowly turned around. His face showed no emotion, only a barely perceptible weariness hidden deep in his eyes.

He said to John Waldron, the president who had just walked in, "John, we made a mistake. It wasn't the model that was wrong, but that we underestimated the 'human' factor, that we hesitated."

He paused, his expression turning solemn: "Initiate the highest-level review. I don't want explanations, but to find the loopholes in our intelligence system, and how to identify the real 'Fang Qingye' next time."

John Waldron nodded: "Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

After Waldron left, the office fell silent again.

David Solomon looked ahead again, lost in thought.

At JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon sat in his large office chair, his posture almost relaxed. He glanced at the report in front of him—his bank had suffered limited damage in this storm due to its proactive defensive strategies.

"Hmm." He made a nasal sound devoid of emotion, put down the tablet, and looked out the window as if deep in thought.

“He proved that intuition and firsthand experience are sometimes closer to the truth than cold, hard numbers.” Dimon said, as if speaking to another executive in the room, or perhaps to himself.

His face showed no trace of smugness at having "foreseen" anything, only caution.

“Notify the strategic analysis department,” his instruction was clear and calm, “to designate ‘Fang Qingye’s approach’ as an independent research topic. Note—I don’t want a biography, but rather an understanding of the logical network and intelligence sources behind his decisions. He is not an accident; he represents a new variable that we have not yet fully grasped.”

"In addition, inform Bei Zhehan in Hong Kong to use all of the company's resources in Hong Kong to fully promote Fang Qingye's 'Ele.me' Group's successful listing in Hong Kong. Consider this a gift from us."

At this point, a meaningful smile finally appeared on Damon's face.

(End of this chapter)