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

Chapter 428 Anchoring the World, Foundation Forever Solidified

In early autumn, the weather in Beijing was neither too hot nor too cold, and life in the courtyard house remained peaceful and normal.

The pomegranate tree was lush with leaves; as the autumn wind swept through, a few yellow leaves drifted slowly to the ground. The He family continued with their daily routines; all the children were at school, except for Jingchuan, who was still too young to go to school in the other courtyard. The sounds of reading, talking, and the aroma of cooking remained unchanged.

But no one could have imagined that the global capital landscape across the ocean had quietly changed.

In-depth reports from major overseas financial newspapers and foreign media magazines followed one after another. Some reviewed the equity structure of US stocks, some analyzed the flow of funds behind the financial crisis, and some compared the changes in the global financial landscape of major conglomerates.

Xu Damao has been staying at home lately, spending his days online reading news articles one by one.

Online, there are all sorts of financial posts and translated news from foreign media, and even publicly available announcements from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding shareholding increases can be found online.

Various rumors and hearsay, some true and some false, circulated everywhere, all saying that a large sum of money from the East had taken advantage of the financial crisis to acquire a large number of shares in major overseas companies.

When ordinary netizens see this, they mostly treat it as a morbid fascination, enjoy the spectacle, and then forget about it.

Xu Damao became increasingly alarmed as he looked.

Online speculation suggests that Zhonghuan Group holds a number of shares in companies including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Coca-Cola, Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, General Electric, Disney, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Siemens, LVMH, L'Oréal, Nestlé, Shell, Honda, Sony, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Hyundai, and more.

He only read out the company names he recognized; he didn't know the names of most of the other companies and what they did.

Xu Damao recalled the morning after 9/11. The satellite TV was on, and the screen showed smoke rising from the World Trade Center. He and Brother Zhu were drinking and celebrating, and he had asked, "Brother Zhu, when those Americans bullied us back then, did they ever imagine this day would come?"

"These bastards, they never think of that. Da Mao, just you wait and see, this is only the beginning. There will be more and more anti-Americans in the future, they'll suffer. Zhu Ye, in a few years, we'll teach him a lesson financially."

At the time, he didn't take it too seriously, just thinking it was a way to vent his anger when he was in trouble in America. Looking back now, it turns out that Brother Zhu had been planning this all along.

Xu Damao is a smart man with a sharp mind. These days he spends all his time in front of the computer, browsing through various online materials and repeatedly pondering each news article.

Last year, the economic situation was terrible. Customer traffic at Da Mao Supermarket dropped, and Ma Hua Ma Qiang's restaurant business was also slow.

Every industry is struggling, and everyone is panicking. No one knows how many more years this crisis will last. Xu Damao was uncertain, so he went to the courtyard house to find Brother Zhu, wanting to get a definite answer: when will this financial crisis finally come to an end?

Back then, Brother Zhu said things would get better after this year. During that conversation, he even specifically reminded me to think back to what he said during 9/11.

That was also when his retirement was settled. Once things settle down this year, he won't need to worry about the supermarket anymore; he'll hand it all over to his son, Jia Hui.

Brother Zhu promised to give him that old private jet. He could then travel the world with his wife, Sun Mei, and enjoy their retirement.

Xu Damao kept these words firmly in mind. Brother Zhu had told him not to talk nonsense outside, which had been keeping him bottled up for ages. Now it was the latter half of 09, he should be able to speak up.

Having figured all this out, Xu Damao could no longer sit still and happily dashed towards the courtyard.

He Yuzhu was lounging in a deckchair, looking relaxed and carefree.

"Father-in-law! Brother Zhu!"

Xu Damao, with a loud voice, moved closer to sit down on the chair next to him.

He Yuzhu looked up at him and smiled faintly: "How old are you? Still so impetuous."

Xu Damao didn't mince words, "I finally understand today, I almost choked on my words. Last year you told me this year would be better, and I've always remembered that. Now it's really come true!"

"And what you said back in 9/11, I still remember it clearly to this day! You said you would deal with them financially in the future, and at the time I thought you were just venting."

His face was full of admiration. "So, it turns out you've been preparing for this game for eight years!"

"You lay in wait in 07, avoided risks in 08, and bought at the bottom in 09, keeping a low profile the whole time while watching institutions around the world lose money and go bankrupt, while you steadily seized every opportunity!"

He Yuzhu picked up the purple clay teapot, sipped it slowly, neither denying nor boasting, but simply listening quietly to what he was saying.

Xu Damao's explanation became increasingly insightful, and his admiration for him grew, with a hint of smugness in his voice.

"No wonder you dared to promise me a plane eight years ago so I could travel the world! It turns out you already knew back then that the Ho family would rise to the forefront of global capitalism."

He Yuzhu then spoke, his tone as casual as if he were chatting with someone.

"The ups and downs of the situation follow certain patterns. Those who see it early and remain calm will fall into traps and get trapped if they are greedy for short-term profits. I only seek to be steady and act when the time is right."

Xu Damao nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with joy, and he even took the opportunity to flatter him.

"Brother Zhu, you're amazing! Outsiders are all kept in the dark, and those idiots are losing everything. Only we can benefit from your success."

"Brother Zhu, from now on, Jia Hui will manage the supermarket. I'll be traveling everywhere with my wife, and we'll also need to bring along Ma Hua and Ma Qiang. Brother Zhu, when are you going to give me that private jet?"

He Yuzhu was amused by his appearance and took out his phone.

"You old bastard, you're here to collect a debt today. I'll make a call right now."

The courtyard was peaceful and serene, with gentle breezes and warm sunshine.

However, the capital landscape on the other side of the ocean has already been completely rewritten.

The Ho family holds the core lifelines of various industries worldwide. They have veto power over top US technology and consumer leaders, core European industrial assets, high-quality Japanese and South Korean companies, and resource industries in Australia and Brazil.

These are the foundational industries that support the global economy, and the Ho family is now involved in them all.

After more than half a year of review and analysis, the top overseas circles have figured out the publicly disclosed equity structure and financial network of the He family.

No one dared to speak out, and no one challenged or questioned the action.

The once-dominant European and American families and Wall Street giants, who had dominated the scene for a century, all chose to remain silent on the surface, but secretly contacted the He Xiao brothers, wanting to establish a cooperative relationship.

Everyone knows that the balance of global capital has already shifted.

The Ho family keeps a low profile, avoids official announcements and hype, and remains hidden in the domestic market, yet firmly grasps the lifeline of the world's top economy.

No one can check or balance it, no one can shake it.

Internally, the He family has always upheld its family traditions, focusing on nurturing children and ensuring the family's stability. The younger generation is encouraged to study, cultivate their character, and live honest lives. Even with immense wealth, there is no trace of extravagance or restlessness within the family, and the family tradition remains upright and stable generation after generation.

Externally, its global asset portfolio is firmly established and anchored to the world.