"Old Liao, quickly stop! Don't kill him!" Lu Hu and others, who had been watching coldly from the side, hurriedly stepped forward to pull the furious Liao Chengde away.
Liao Chengde's attack was extremely vicious. In the blink of an eye, the young man in the floral shirt had a blood blister the size of an egg on his forehead, and two palm-sized marks on his pale face.
Even after being pulled away by Lu Hu and Zhao Xingyun, Liao Chengde did not calm down. He kicked the young man in the chest and continued to curse, "You little brat, if I don't discipline you, the fortune I've worked so hard to accumulate will be squandered by you!"
"What? He's your son?" Zhong Shi and Zhong Yi finally understood. It turned out that the young man in the floral shirt was Liao Chengde's son, whom he had kicked out of the house. They must have met by chance here, and it seemed that the young man had not informed Liao Chengde about buying a car.
Not only were the Zhong brothers stunned, but even the young man's followers were taken aback.
"Zhong Sheng, I'm really sorry. My son is unruly and rarely disciplined. I will definitely educate him more when I get home and make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble!" Liao Chengde bowed deeply and said cautiously.
If Liao Xiaohua had offended anyone else, Liao Chengde would still be able to handle it, but offending the young man in front of him was no joke. If Zhong Shi gave him a little trouble, he might be forced back to his previous life. As the saying goes, "It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality." Liao Chengde was unwilling to return to his previous life. In such a short time, he had to think of so many ways, which was really difficult for him.
Looking at the bruised and swollen Liao Xiaohua, Zhong Shi found it amusing. He wondered if Liao Chengde was overreacting, not knowing that his status in Liao Chengde's heart was much higher than that of his wasteful son.
"Never mind, Old Liao, I have no interest in your family affairs."
Zhong Shi said this lightly and, accompanied by the frightened salesgirl, entered the VIP room of the car dealership with Zhong Yi.
"Huh, what does he mean?" Liao Chengde was puzzled and looked at Lu Hu, who was about to follow. Lu Hu shook his head in disappointment. He had been with the Liao family for more than half a year and naturally knew what kind of person Liao Xiaohua was. But due to his position as a driver, he had never mentioned it to Liao Chengde. Now that Liao Xiaohua had dared to provoke Zhong Shi, it was no wonder Lu Hu was so disappointed in Liao Chengde.
"Ouch, it hurts so much! Brothers, what are you waiting for? Beat him up for me! I'll take the blame!" Liao Xiaohua, lying on the ground, couldn't see who had hit him. With black eyes, he shouted at the blurry figures in front of him.
The people behind him, who had been following him, now saw the situation clearly and found excuses to avoid it, quickly running away.
"Take him to the hospital. Once he's better, lock him in the basement. No one is allowed to let him out without my order!" Liao Chengde, seeing that Zhao Xingyun and the others were trying to suppress their laughter, felt a surge of anger and malice.
Liao Xiaohua, lying on the ground, also sensed something was wrong. He vaguely recognized his father's voice but didn't know what to say, so he just lay there moaning in pain. Zhao Xingyun and the others, seeing this, each grabbed one of his arms and carried him to the Mercedes-Benz outside. Zhao Xingyun whispered in Liao Xiaohua's ear, "Young Master, you're in big trouble this time! You've provoked a money god! Wait until the master skins you alive!"
Liao Xiaohua's body trembled in the air, causing the three of them to chuckle again.
...
After everything was settled, Zhong Shi and Zhong Yi looked out the window, feeling a bit dazed. They had stayed in a large house in Hong Kong for a few days and now returned to their hometown, feeling a stark contrast.
After a while, Zhong Yi sighed, "I wonder if our place will develop like Hong Kong?"
"It might have towering skyscrapers, but in terms of cultural and moral standards, it may not surpass Hong Kong!" Zhong Shi said with a sigh, his eyes returning from the window.
Hong Kong is a rule-of-law society, and this alone is far beyond what the mainland can match. Moreover, Hong Kong is a place where Eastern and Western cultures blend, which even Taiwan cannot compare to. In terms of anti-corruption, Hong Kong is far ahead of the mainland and Taiwan.
However, in the circle of Hong Kong's tycoons, each family has close ties with some mainland politicians, a long-standing practice in China. Of course, this is not within the jurisdiction of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
After Hong Kong's return, a large number of children of the elite entered Hong Kong's financial sector, their influence and wealth astonishing those who knew the inside story. Even the daughter of a high-ranking official in Beijing gave birth in Hong Kong, and the Chief Executive had to visit her.
From Zhong Shi's perspective, as someone in finance, he should keep as much distance as possible from the officials, especially in China. After all, Nian Guangjiu was being investigated again, and it wouldn't be long before he was imprisoned again.
Now, it was really a headache. He had no power or influence, and if the forces of the state came one day, they could sweep away all his wealth and make it public property in an instant.
"Fortunately, I haven't been exposed. All the money is in Hong Kong, and I have made complete preparations. If I am arrested by the state, all my assets will be donated to the United Nations Children's Fund." Zhong Shi thought to himself. As his wealth increased, his unease grew. On this trip back, he had instructed Liao Chengde to find some information on capital transfer policies.
No matter how many times he was reborn, he could never match those who held power. In the future, a shocking event occurred: a U.S. intelligence officer defected and revealed that the U.S. government was monitoring ordinary citizens, causing a global uproar. Countries, especially China and Russia, which were rivals of the U.S., pointed their fingers at it. The defector was forced to flee overseas, and among the intercepted files were many secrets about other countries, including the transfer of trillions of dollars by officials to the U.S.
"Trillions of dollars?"
"Even in my rebirth, I don't know if I can earn that much money!"
Although it didn't concern him, Zhong Shi couldn't help but feel uneasy. He suppressed his agitation and focused his gaze on the thin Zhong Yi.
By this time, Zhong Yi was already a graduate student at the University of Hong Kong, and it was 1987.
1987 was a significant year in Chinese history. In this year, an enlightened leader was forced to resign, and the initial benefits of reform faced a critical juncture. Social contradictions caused by power rent-seeking would erupt in the coming years, leading to a significant event at the end of the 1980s, which remained unresolved even in Zhong Shi's future.
For Zhong Shi, these events were irrelevant. The most significant event of 1987 was the stock market crash on October 19.
On October 19, 1987, a Monday, the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street experienced a massive stock market crash, the largest in history. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 508.32 points, a 22.6% drop, the largest single-day drop since 1941. In 6.5 hours, the New York stock market lost $500 billion, equivalent to one-eighth of the U.S. annual GDP. This stock market crash shocked the financial world and had a "domino effect" on global stock markets. Stock markets in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Singapore were all severely impacted, with stock prices falling by more than 10%. The stock market crash caused panic among investors, turning many millionaires into paupers overnight, and thousands of people suffered mental breakdowns, jumping to their deaths. This day was called "Black Monday" and described by The New York Times as "the worst day in Wall Street history."
People could not explain why there were so many stock sales and a loss of confidence. Even in the future, there was no definitive and authoritative conclusion. Perhaps only the "herd effect" could explain why people frantically sold their stocks, but the initial cause was not just one or two people; it was the collapse of confidence among most investors, which the "herd effect" could not fully explain.
Regardless, this was the best opportunity for Zhong Shi to make money, even greater than the opportunities brought by the major economic crises he had anticipated.
He could make a fortune in the U.S. capital market without any suspicion of insider trading. Such an opportunity was rare. Zhong Shi clenched his fist and said to himself with satisfaction.
If he liquidated all his yen positions in the options market, he could earn hundreds of millions of dollars from the appreciation of the yen. Then, he could invest this money in the Japanese capital market and gradually establish short futures on the U.S. Dow Jones Index. When "Black Monday" came, he could sit back and collect his profits.
With the Dow Jones Index falling over 500 points, a 20% drop, it would be a shame not to make a fortune on the S&P 500. In fact, Zhong Shi planned to use this crash to accumulate enough capital to compete with international financial giants.
To play with those major hedge funds, he needed at least a billion dollars in capital, which he might not even have enough to fill their gaps. This was because in Hong Kong, some derivative transactions were delayed compared to New York, and many related derivatives were not even traded, which frustrated Zhong Shi.
In fact, at this time, Li Xianglin, who invented the "Gaussian copula function," was still studying in Canada, and the notorious credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations had not even been theorized yet.
These financial instruments were the culprits of the 2008 U.S. financial crisis. (Starting from tomorrow, the climax will gradually unfold. I hope everyone will pay more attention, recommend, and collect. Thank you for your support!)