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

Chapter 783 "If we're going to play, let's play big!"

"Yes, and someone will come knocking on our door very soon." Bei Zhehan took a sip of his coffee, his tone confident.

Sure enough, two days later a female client named Xia He walked into the private banking division of JPMorgan Chase's Hong Kong headquarters.

She claimed to be the manager of Anxin Future Trust, a Singapore-based private trust company, and that the purpose of her trip was to find a suitable hedging derivative for the volatility index product of A-share film and television sectors that she held in the international market.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Zifeng personally went to the VIP client room of the private bank to receive her.

He quickly scanned the client information in his hand, then looked up at the woman in front of him—in her thirties, tall and slender, with exquisite makeup, and a sharply tailored charcoal gray Dior suit, exuding an air of competence and elegance.

“Ms. Xia,” Lin Zifeng said with a professional smile, “our investment bank has just launched a new financial product that perfectly matches your needs.” He gestured for his subordinate to hand him a document.

Xia He took it, and the bold black characters on the cover immediately caught her eye: "Phoenix Accumulator".

She remained composed, calmly reviewing each page. After a moment, she looked up and said, "Mr. Lin, I'm very interested in this contract. But whether or not it will be signed ultimately depends on my team's evaluation and then giving you an answer. What do you think?"

"Of course," Lin Zifeng agreed readily.

Xia He carefully put the documents into her briefcase, stood up to leave, then seemed to remember something and turned back to ask, "Mr. Lin, there are two parties to the contract, A and B. If I am the B party, I wonder if the A party has already been chosen? Otherwise, the contract probably cannot be established?"

"Please rest assured on this point, Ms. Xia," Lin Zifeng replied immediately with a smile. "I might as well tell you something: a client has already clearly expressed their willingness to act as Party A."

"Thank you." Xia He nodded slightly, put on her sunglasses, and turned to leave.

Xia He took the elevator directly to the ground floor of the building, got into the Toyota Alphard waiting by the roadside, and returned to her suite at the Peninsula Hotel. When she entered, Fang Qingye was with her daughter, intently building blocks on the carpet.

"Qingye, I've retrieved that 'Phoenix' cumulative options contract." Xiahe smiled as she placed the documents on the coffee table.

“Great, now we just need to wait for news. Let’s go out and play… Qingqing, where do you want to go today?” Fang Qingye smiled and looked at her daughter.

"I want to go to Disneyland!" the little girl shouted without hesitation.

"Didn't we just go there the day before yesterday? Why do we have to go again?" Xia He asked helplessly.

"I haven't had enough fun yet, I want to go again!"

"Okay, okay, let's go again today!" Fang Qingye stood up with a smile.

"Sigh... Qingye, you spoil her too much." Xia He sighed. She had always wanted to raise her daughter into a girl who combined Eastern intellectual elegance with Western aristocratic temperament, but Fang Qingye's appearance disrupted all the rules.

Just as Fang Qingye and her family of three were happily heading to Disneyland, Xiao Jianhua, who lived in the Four Seasons Residence, received a report from his assistant Chen Mo.

"JPMorgan Chase just called, saying that a client has expressed strong interest in the contract and is willing to act as the second party. They are currently conducting an internal evaluation and expect to have definite news within two days. Let's wait patiently."

"Oh? What's the client's background?" Xiao Jianhua asked, exhaling a puff of smoke. "They haven't revealed any detailed information, only that she's a woman who manages a private trust company in Singapore. According to procedure, if she ultimately signs the contract, we'll obtain her detailed information."

Xiao Jianhua took a deep drag of his cigarette and said slowly, "I didn't expect that someone would actually be willing to gamble with us... I'd really like to see who this person is."

Two days later, Xiao Jianhua officially received a notification from JPMorgan Chase, agreeing to meet at the bank's headquarters at 3 p.m. for the three parties to sign the contract together.

Xia He met Xiao Jianhua for the first time in the VIP client reception room of Morgan Stanley Private Bank.

Unlike the imposing, authoritative figure she had imagined, the middle-aged man before her had a round face, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and possessed a refined appearance that even hinted at a simple honesty.

But who would have thought that this seemingly gentle and honest middle-aged man was actually a powerful and influential figure in the mainland financial world, controlling more than 30 financial institutions of various types!

Xiao Jianhua was also scrutinizing the woman named Xia He in front of him. Judging from her clothing, speech, and demeanor, she did indeed resemble a typical financial elite—he already possessed Xia He's basic information provided by JPMorgan Chase.

“Ms. Xia,” Xiao Jianhua said with a smile, but his tone carried a hint of inquiry, “the records show that you previously worked at the New York branch of Oriental Bank?”

“Yes. Later, I resigned and started an accounting consulting firm, which is still in operation. Currently, I manage Anxin Future Trust in Singapore. The purpose of purchasing this ‘Phoenix’ cumulative option is precisely to preserve and increase the value of the trust fund. What, Mr. Xiao, do you have any questions about this?” Xia He asked in return.

“No, no, I have complete faith in JPMorgan Chase’s professionalism and impartiality.” Xiao Jianhua immediately denied it, then changed the subject, “I’m just a little curious, why is Ms. Xia so interested in such a contract? To be frank, it’s essentially a betting contract, which doesn’t seem to fit the stable and prudent style that private trust funds have always pursued.”

"Old fox."

Xia He sneered inwardly, but her face remained calm: "Mr. Xiao, your understanding may be somewhat flawed. In my view, this is not a gamble, but a reasonable hedging mechanism. This Phoenix Options contract is equivalent to an insurance policy for me."

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."

“Mr. Lin has probably already briefly mentioned our purchase intentions to you, so I can explain a little more.” Xia He elegantly picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and continued, “This ‘Phoenix Cumulative Option’ is just the ‘B-side’ of our overall strategy. In fact, we also have an ‘A-side’ position: my trust company has purchased volatility derivatives related to the A-share film and television sector on the international market with several times leverage.”

"The strategy is this: if Mr. Xiao wins, it proves that you have an incredibly strong control over Wanjia Culture and that the stock price is rock-solid. Then the losses we incur on the B side, namely the premiums and dividends paid to you, can be regarded as 'insurance premiums' paid for the 'A side' hedging positions. Because at that time, our 'A side' positions betting on increased volatility will also lose money, and the losses on the B side actually limit and lock in the total risk on the A side."

"Of course, if Mr. Xiao loses: that is, if Wan Jia's stock price plummets and the market experiences huge volatility, then according to the terms of the B-side contract, we can force you to buy back the shares at a higher price, thereby striving to keep Wan Jia Culture stable. At the same time, our high-leverage volatility position on the 'A-side' will yield extremely astonishing excess returns!"

“So, Mr. Xiao,” Xia He leaned forward slightly, her gaze sharp, “in our view, we are simply trying to mitigate market uncertainty. And you, as the client, are the most crucial link in this strategy. Your ability to maintain stock price ‘stability’ is precisely the core of whether our hedging strategy can succeed.”

After hearing this, Xiao Jianhua fell into a brief moment of contemplation.

His gaze swept over the pledge terms: Tomorrow Group would pledge 2 million shares of Hengtai Securities, worth approximately HK$8 million, to JPMorgan Chase as margin for the contract. Similarly, Anxin Future Trust would open a dedicated account at JPMorgan Chase and deposit US$1.02 million, worth approximately HK$8 million.

One hundred million US dollars.
A glint of greed suddenly flashed in Xiao Jianhua's eyes. He pointed to a clause in the options contract, his gaze fixed intently on Xia He:

"Ms. Xia, regarding this clause: During the contract's validity period, on each monthly settlement date, if Wan Jia Culture's share price is higher than the exercise price of HKD 20, our Mintian Group will receive a fixed amount of royalties from your company. I propose that this amount be increased from HKD 1000 million to HKD 3000 million! ...If we're going to play, let's play big!"

(End of this chapter)