This man's name is Ma Taihua, the vice president of this small brokerage firm, a true high-ranking official. When Liao Chengde took the initiative to come to him, Ma Taihua was overjoyed and personally took on Liao Chengde as his client. He never expected that a wealthy man like Liao Chengde, who was quite famous in the stock market, would think of his brokerage firm, and even more so, that Liao Chengde would invest tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars, which surprised him even more. Liao Chengde was actually fully shorting the Hang Seng Index.
After hinting a few times and seeing that Liao Chengde had no intention of changing his strategy, Ma Taihua put aside his thoughts and every day only reported the changes in the market and the floating profits and losses to Liao Chengde. After all, no matter how he operated, there would be a substantial commission, and since the client insisted on doing it this way, he was helpless.
Liao Chengde had an account at this brokerage firm, with about 300 short positions, the margin (security deposit) being around 4.5 million Hong Kong dollars, making him the largest client of the firm. Therefore, the entire firm paid great attention to Liao Chengde's operations.
The brokers also discussed Liao Chengde's operations in private, not taking this single-direction strategy seriously, but they could not go against the client's wishes. Although the Hang Seng Index had been performing poorly recently, the future prospects still looked good. They never imagined that the fragile Hong Kong stock market would be one of the most severely affected in the upcoming stock market crash.
Roughly following the opening trend, Liao Chengde's short positions had already earned him 1.8 million Hong Kong dollars in profit, nearly half of the funds he had invested in the futures market. No wonder Ma Taihua was so excited and shouted.
"What? Earned so much?" Liao Chengde was stunned, then shook his head, a bit disbelieving of the reality before him, and glanced at Zhong Shi.
Liao Xiaohua, who was beside him, was also very excited, his hands tightly clasped together, his face flushed red. It was clear he was trying hard to control his emotions and not lose his composure in public.
Zhong Shi, standing in front of the Liao father and son, though not very old, had the best self-cultivation. He did not even blink at the astronomical figure, still maintaining a calm and composed demeanor.
Before entering the company, Zhong Shi had instructed Liao Chengde not to reveal his identity, treating him as an ordinary passerby. Therefore, Liao Chengde only dared to secretly glance at Zhong Shi, hoping to get some operational instructions from him.
"Liao Sir, what should we do next?" Ma Taihua said excitedly, not noticing Liao Chengde's unnatural behavior.
"Of course, we should continue to invest the profits in shorting!" As soon as Ma Taihua finished speaking, Liao Xiaohua said excitedly. However, after he spoke, he still felt uneasy and secretly looked at Zhong Shi, who nodded slightly, putting him at ease.
"Let's start then!" Seeing Liao Xiaohua's indication, Liao Chengde understood and no longer hesitated, boldly instructing Ma Taihua.
The four of them talked for a long time at the brokerage firm's entrance. The receptionist had been waiting by their side and, seeing that their conversation was over, tactfully approached and led them into a private room. A graceful waitress served them a few cups of coffee at the right temperature, glanced at Liao Xiaohua with her expressive eyes, and winked provocatively before leaving.
Their conversation had been heard by the meticulous receptionist, who recognized Liao Xiaohua as a well-known rich young man in the city. She seized the opportunity to flirt with Liao Xiaohua, hoping to catch his attention.
To her surprise, the usually promiscuous Liao Xiaohua did not even look at her, just politely said "thank you," and turned his gaze elsewhere. "The goddess has intentions, but the emperor has none," which made her quite sad.
The Hang Seng Index futures market in Hong Kong is different from other places. Each Hang Seng Index contract requires a margin of only 15,000 Hong Kong dollars, meaning that as long as the Hang Seng Index falls below 300 points, the contract becomes invalid.
The Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited set this rule to encourage investors to enter the market, and they believed that the Hang Seng Index would not fluctuate around 300 points. However, this situation would clearly be broken today.
At this moment, there were at least 100,000 active contracts in the Hang Seng Index market, with over a billion dollars invested in the Hang Seng Index futures market.
After the three of them sat down, Ma Taihua excused himself and quickly went out to issue the trading instructions.
"Xiaohua, what's with the change?" Zhong Shi took a sip of coffee, finding the taste not quite right, and put down the cup, teasing Liao Xiaohua.
Liao Xiaohua, who was staring at the green numbers rolling on the screen with a furrowed brow, was stunned, and Liao Chengde also looked puzzled.
"Didn't you notice that the waitress was flirting with you?" Zhong Shi had a half-smiling, half-serious expression.
"Really?" Liao Xiaohua's face first showed surprise, then embarrassment, glancing at Liao Chengde, unsure of what to say.
Liao Chengde grunted in dissatisfaction, turned his head as if he hadn't heard, and after a light cough, asked Zhong Shi, "Mr. Zhong, how long do you think the decline will continue?"
"I don't know!" Zhong Shi's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "It depends on the stock markets in other regions and the situation in the United States, as well as what measures the Stock Exchange will take!"
In fact, in his heart, he was very clear about this! The chairman of the Stock Exchange, after consulting with the Financial Secretary, the Monetary Authority, and other relevant parties, announced that the Hong Kong stock market would be closed for four days this week, resuming trading on the following Monday.
Who would have thought that this action would further undermine the confidence of Hong Kong stock investors. When the market reopened on Monday, investors, affected by the general decline in global stock markets, sold off Hong Kong stocks without regard for cost. On Monday, October 26, the Hang Seng Index plummeted by more than a thousand points, leading to the resignation of the Stock Exchange chairman.
"..." Seeing that the usually wise Zhong Shi was at a loss, Liao Chengde was startled and, after some thought, still had no clue.
"It's still falling!" Liao Xiaohua pulled up data from the Japanese stock market, the Singapore stock market, and other important Asian capital markets, all showing a downward trend, and sighed.
Initially, he had some doubts about Zhong Shi's judgment, but now it was clear that Zhong Shi was right, and the Asian markets were in a state of despair.
"Continue to add to the short positions, determined to short until the end!" Zhong Shi suddenly said in a serious tone. He then solemnly told Liao Chengde, "Investing is like the path up Mount Hua; once you have chosen a direction, boldly go forward, and never waver, or you will lose more than you gain!"
Mount Hua is known for its steepness, and its paths are extremely dangerous and narrow. If climbers cannot maintain a firm resolve, they will be frightened by the dangerous conditions and retreat.
"Besides, even if the Hong Kong stock market rises, you will only lose a few million Hong Kong dollars!" Zhong Shi said firmly.
With Zhong Shi's command, Liao Chengde no longer hesitated and nodded resolutely. The three of them left the lounge and entered the hall.
At this moment, the hall was bustling with noise, and the brokers were still extremely busy, with phones ringing non-stop. Everyone was placing orders or liquidating positions at the top of their voices. The brokers were still divided into two camps: some with smiles on their faces, some even crossing their legs and casually reporting numbers over the phone, indicating they had made the right call. Others were full of worry, listening to the phone and writing notes, their foreheads sweating profusely.
"3610, 3609..." Just as the three of them were engrossed, a few brokers suddenly shouted loudly. They were shouting the changes in the Hang Seng Index, which had already fallen by 170 points, approaching the 3600 mark.
Everyone's actions paused, staring at the numbers on the screen. Those who had made the wrong call mostly clasped their hands together, praying to heaven, hoping the Hang Seng Index would hold the 3600 psychological level. Those who had made the right call shouted each number that appeared, their faces full of excitement, even their voices becoming hysterical.
"3603, 3602, 3602, 3601, 3600..." Amid the shouts and prayers, the Hang Seng Index struggled slightly at 3602 but then broke through this important level, plunging into the 3500 range.
Those who were bullish let out a piercing wail, but it was quickly drowned out by the cheers of the bears. Some brokers even clapped wildly, as if they had just won a great victory.
After a brief frenzy, the brokers resumed their calls, reporting the latest situation to their clients and giving trading advice, making the hall busy again.
"Liao Sir, I have already used all the floating profits to buy short positions. The index is still falling. Should we continue?" Just as Liao Chengde was marveling, Ma Taihua quietly appeared and said respectfully.
When the Hang Seng Index fell below 3600 points, the floating profit in Liao Chengde's account had reached nearly 3 million Hong Kong dollars, almost equal to his initial investment.
In just a few hours, he had earned nearly double his investment, which could not help but drive investors crazy and make the futures market even more active. There was no faster way to make money than this!
"Continue to short, short crazily, short at all costs!" Liao Chengde said through gritted teeth, his face twisted with a fierce expression, which startled Ma Taihua. It seemed that the previous scene had deeply affected Liao Chengde, making this middle-aged man unable to resist the surge of excitement.
"Xiaohua?" Zhong Shi's hand lightly rested on Liao Chengde's shoulder, pulling him back from his frenzied state. Liao Chengde, regaining his composure, smiled apologetically and said to Ma Taihua, "Sorry, Mr. Ma, please proceed as we discussed."
Ma Taihua turned and left, secretly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, and couldn't help but think, "The stock market and the futures market are truly places that drive people crazy!"
"Xiaohua? Probably flirting with a girl!" Zhong Shi smiled and pointed to Liao Xiaohua, who was not far away, flirting with the pretty receptionist. (I am very honored to receive a tip from the reader "Aixiang," and I am deeply grateful. I would like to express my special thanks here. Your support is my motivation, and I also hope that more readers will recommend and collect this book.)