Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 306: The Curtain Rises

As December drew to a close, a north wind swirled around the eaves of the courtyard house. The faint midday sunlight quickly lost its brilliance, and the chill in the blue-brick courtyard deepened. Inside, the air conditioner steadily provided warmth, keeping out the biting cold outside.

He Yuzhu sat at his desk, tapping his fingertips lightly on the surface. After a moment, he picked up the landline and dialed a number in Hong Kong. It rang twice before Manager Liu answered.

"Boss."

"We'll start building our positions tonight," He Yuzhu said calmly. "Four hundred billion US dollars, leveraged five times, shorting all of the US, UK, German, and French government bonds. The US will take 50%, the UK 30%, and Germany and France 10% each. We'll complete the position building by the end of January."

The sound of writing came from the other end of the phone. After he finished writing, He Yuzhu continued, "He Xin is in charge, you keep an eye on things. Lao Liu, have your son join in too. They'll make mistakes, let them make them. Write it all down, and then review it with them after the operation. If there are no major mistakes, just let them be; consider it tuition."

"I understand. Thank you, boss."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything more and put the receiver back on the landline. He opened the window a crack, and a cold wind blew in, carrying with it the playful laughter of He Yang from the neighboring courtyard.

The Liu family's bread truck ran more and more steadily. Every day at two o'clock in the morning, the driver would start the Tianjin Dafa van on time. Liu Guangfu, wrapped in a military overcoat, would sit in the passenger seat, holding a thermos in his hands.

The van pulled up to the back gate of the sanitation station. The driver lit a cigarette, and the two men sat inside waiting. At 2:30 a.m., the gate opened, and a figure waved at them. The driver stepped on the gas, and the van glided into the yard.

Waste cardboard was haphazardly bundled together, and old newspapers and plastic products were packed into burlap sacks. Liu Guangfu got off the truck and watched the people loading it, stuffing the waste into the cargo compartment. After the last bundle was stacked, Guangfu handed over an envelope, which was accepted. The iron gate closed, the van turned around, and returned the way it came.

Liu Guangtian and two helpers waited at the recycling station. After they unloaded the truckload of goods, they started sorting the recyclables, and the driver went home after get off work.

One early morning in late January, the inter-hospital phone rang. He Yuzhu got up to answer it; it was He Xin's voice.

"Dad, the position building is complete. Four hundred billion US dollars, five times leverage, all short positions in the four countries' government bonds are in place." He Xin's voice was filled with excitement, as if he had been holding back for a long time and had finally waited for this moment. "Uncle Liu has been watching closely, and we haven't made any major mistakes."

"That's because you two thought you didn't do anything too wrong. You'll see tomorrow when Lao Liu reviews your performance. You brat, don't call me at this hour next time. You're a grown man, don't you know your limits? I know you were too excited about operating independently for the first time, so I won't punish you."

"Yes, yes, Dad. I have nowhere else to share my joy, so I can only call you. Older people don't sleep much, you know? It's already past five o'clock, you can get up now."

"Bullshit. That's someone else," He Yuzhu said. "Am I old? I look no older than forty. Next time we meet, I'll test your Xingyi Quan skills." He hung up the phone and went back to his room.

Shen Zhixia had been woken up. "Brother He, who made the call?"

"Hong Kong. Your good son says we're old people, it's about time we got up."

"That brat is getting bolder and bolder. Brother He, you should teach him a lesson next time."

"Yes. That's what I think too. Let's teach his mother a lesson first today."

"Brother He... wait a minute. I'll go brush my teeth first..."

In early February, the wind was fierce in Beijing. He Yuzhu didn't go out much for several days, sitting in the main room drinking tea, listening to Peking Opera, and playing with He Yang.

On the afternoon of February 4th, Washington time, the Federal Reserve unexpectedly announced an interest rate hike. The news triggered a frenzied sell-off in the New York bond market, with 2-year Treasury yields plummeting. By the time markets closed on the other side of the Pacific, it was already past midnight in Asia, and European markets had not yet opened, so British, French, and German bonds did not yet fully react.

On the afternoon of February 5th, He Yuzhu coaxed He Yang to sleep and sat at his desk for a while. He Yang turned over and put his little hand outside the blanket.

Zhu Lin is compiling teaching materials for her son, while He Yuzhu says he doesn't want to send his son to kindergarten next year and will keep him with him and teach him himself.

He Xiao stayed up all night, and the markets in London, Paris, and Frankfurt opened one after another. The impact of the sharp drop in US Treasury bonds spread across the ocean, and European long-term bonds followed suit and began to decline.

He stayed in the trading room all day, tracking the price fluctuations of bonds from the four countries. Only after the European market had completely closed and he had compiled all the statistical data did he call the courtyard house.

"Dad, all the data has been checked. Last night in New York, the 30-year US Treasury bond closed down 2.8% compared to the previous day. Today, the European market opened with a negative impact, with UK long-term gilts experiencing the largest drop, falling 3.5% in a single day; French bonds fell 2.3%, while German bonds were relatively resilient, falling 1.6%. The order of market movement is very clear: the US market sold off first, and only after the European market opened did the chain of sell-offs fully unfold."

He Yuzhu tapped the table lightly and calmly asked, "How large is the panic selling by the bulls in the market?"

"A large amount of leveraged capital has been forced to liquidate, and liquidity continues to tighten, which perfectly aligns with our previous strategy. Dad, is it too risky to wait until the end of the year to clear out all positions?"

"I'm not a god, that was just a prediction."

He Yuzhu didn't need to think before he lied; he just blurted out, "This is just the beginning. You two just keep an eye on things. By October, we can close out 50% of the positions to reduce risk. Your suggestion is good; I'll leave it to you. I'll let you know when the final liquidation is complete."

Hearing his father's praise on the other end of the phone, He Xin was very happy: "I know. Dad, I'll keep a close eye on things."

"Remember," He Yuzhu said, "never try to earn the last penny."

He Xin replied, "I will remember it well."

He Yuzhu hung up the phone and turned to go back into the inner room. He Yang was thankfully still awake, breathing evenly as he slept. Zhu Lin gently patted her son's back: "Brother Zhu, who called?"

"He Yang," He Yuzhu sat down on the edge of the bed, "the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates."

Zhu Lin sat up abruptly. "Then you made money again."

"Not much, just starting out. The main thing is that my son can earn money, so I can finally enjoy life." He Yuzhu pulled the blanket up and hugged He Yang. "I'll sleep for a while too."

Zhu Lin laughed and punched him lightly. The wind was still blowing outside the window, and the withered branches in the yard were rustling.

He Yuzhu closed his eyes, listening to the wind outside the window, a thought swirling in his mind: From this moment on, the global bond market will be sliced ​​open from top to bottom by an invisible knife. His 40 billion yuan short position will generate astonishing returns for him in the coming months. Especially since He Xin, after this experience, is now capable of handling things independently.

Inside this courtyard house, the Liu family's bread cart was hauling goods in the early hours of the morning, Yan Jiekuang was still turning the beads on his abacus, and Qin Huairu and her two children were desperately saving money. The tens of thousands of yuan they were fighting over was not even a fraction of what was being earned on another battlefield.