The Young Lady is a Bit Unruly [Fragrant Harbor] - Chapter 63: Making a Fortune

Chapter 63: Making a Fortune

Thursday, October 8, 1987.

The Hong Kong stock market opened with a sharp drop of 6%. Ye Qingtang, which had risen significantly earlier, fell by 15%, and Su Manzhu dropped by 13%, both declining more severely than the broader market.

After Chen Jincai reported the situation to Ye Qizu, Ye Qingtang Group’s think tank was quickly summoned.

The consensus was that market stabilization was meaningless at this point, as the entire market was in decline.

When the market reopened in the afternoon, retail investors rushed in, attempting bottom fishing, which slowed the decline and triggered a rebound.

Just as everyone thought they could breathe a sigh of relief, the rebound was met with large-scale panic selling, ultimately closing with a loss of over 15%.

This marked the largest single-day decline in the history of the Hong Kong stock market.

During the midday rebound, Ye Huaizhang called Ye Baoling to caution her: Don’t rush in for bottom fishing. It’s not the right time yet.

I’m not that foolish, Ye Baoling replied leisurely, sipping tea in her office. She then asked, When is the right time for bottom fishing?

Ye Huaizhang responded, It depends on whose stocks you’re targeting.

Half-jokingly, Ye Baoling said, I’d like to bottom fish Hongtong Industry.

Ye Huaizhang gave an honest suggestion: Hongtong Industry hasn’t fallen too sharply. If you want to bottom fish, target the ones that have dropped more severely.

True, Ye Baoling laughed, teasing him, I invested 1 million in Hongtong Industry and only made 280,000. Since your stocks didn’t rise much earlier, they probably aren’t falling too badly now.

Ye Huaizhang chuckled, You’re something—making a 28% profit and still complaining? Do you know that a 10% annual gain is already considered impressive?

That’s under normal circumstances. During the recent stock market frenzy, your stocks rose too slowly, Ye Baoling teased. I made the wrong investment.

Even after being criticized by a minor shareholder, Ye Huaizhang remained confident: Those who complained about our slow growth earlier are surely grateful now that we’re more stable than the broader market.

Ye Huaizhang then asked if she wanted to watch a movie with him that evening.

Being seen dining together was one thing, but watching a movie together could lead to complications.

What kind of unrelated man and woman would go to the movies together?

Ye Baoling didn’t want to invite trouble: No. If you want to watch a movie, you can rent a DVD and watch it in my room.

After dinner, Ye Baoling stayed in her room, listening to the radio and keeping an eye on the U.S. stock market’s opening.

When she heard about the sharp decline at the opening, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Her 300 million with tenfold leverage was secure.

Liu Haonan, who was working overtime at the securities firm to monitor the market, called, exhilarated. Though he had been excited all day, nothing compared to the news of the U.S. market’s decline.

Under the current circumstances, if the stocks they shorted fell by 10%, they would earn 300 million.

In a stock market crash, individual stocks could easily drop by 30% or more.

Liu Haonan laughed, Congratulations, boss. We’re definitely going to make a huge profit this time.

Ye Baoling smiled and reminded him, Stay vigilant today. I’m worried there might be a rebound in the U.S. market around noon or afternoon, and we need to guard against margin calls on specific stocks.

Liu Haonan assured her he would monitor everything closely.

As soon as she hung up, Ye Huaizhang arrived with several video tapes.

Ye Baoling had assumed a man of his high-quality appearance would choose refined art films, but she was wrong.

Of the three tapes, two were horror movies, and one was an adult film.

Should they watch the thrilling horror movies or the even more stimulating adult film?

This was a profound philosophical question.

You choose, he said.

Ye Baoling smiled as she pulled out the adult film, justifying it with: We’re both afraid of ghosts, so let’s watch a love action movie instead.

Love action movie?

Ye Huaizhang was amused by her description: That’s a clever way to put it.

The subsequent scene was predictable.

While the television screen showed intense action, outside it, weapons were being sharpened and water roared thunderously—the battle raging even more fiercely than on screen.

They went through every challenging position mentioned in the film.

The key point was, perhaps because they hadn’t done it for a while, he proved even more tireless than the male actor on television.

Ring-ring-ring!

Her mobile phone rang.

Who could be so inconsiderate at this late hour?

He pinned both her hands, preventing her from answering: Ignore it.

At this critical moment, Ye Baoling originally had no intention of answering either, but today was an exception.

Both Liu Haonan and Lisa might call her—career mattered more than fleeting pleasure.

She said: Hold on, I might have an important call.

Her mobile phone was on the desk beside the sofa.

Ye Baoling grabbed the remote and turned down the television volume.

Meanwhile, Ye Huaizhang lifted her entirely, continuing the motion at his waist as he moved. When she reached for the phone, he placed her on the desk—the height was just perfect.

Hello!

Lisa’s voice came through the phone, Dear Ling, something terrible has happened.

Lisa! What’s wrong? Ye Baoling quickly restrained Ye Huaizhang, making a shush gesture at him.

This was one of his good qualities—when she told him to stop, he actually stopped.

Americans do tend to exaggerate, The witch doctor’s prediction came true! The stock market crashed at opening today. Daniel’s stocks have already dropped nearly five million USD. Darling, what should we do?

Five million USD was roughly forty million HKD.

Such a steep drop right at opening was indeed significant.

Ye Baoling deliberately emphasized that she had tried to help, Darling, I specifically called to remind you the day before yesterday. It’s a pity you didn’t listen.

After a mournful sigh, Lisa spoke rapidly: It’s all Daniel’s fault—I did warn him. Tell me, what should we do now?

From her tone, Lisa was clearly panicked.

Ye Baoling: First, calm down. Our market crashed too. But when it reopened this afternoon, stocks rose before falling again. Wait until afternoon to see if there’s a rebound. If it rebounds, sell everything.

Lisa immediately told her husband beside her: The divine says to sell during the afternoon rebound.

Ye Baoling could hear Lisa’s husband asking what if it didn’t rebound?

Without waiting for Lisa to relay the question, Ye Baoling replied: Sell even if it doesn’t rebound. Because it will continue falling sharply tomorrow and the day after.

According to the scripted world description, the U.S. stock market rebounded fastest, but only after a week of heavy declines before beginning to recover.

But she couldn’t reveal too much to Lisa now.

Lisa asked: Then when should we buy back? Can you ask the witch doctor for me?

Ye Baoling became evasive: Alright, I’ll ask her tomorrow and see what she says.

Lisa: OK, OK, thank you, darling. Please tell the witch doctor we will definitely show our gratitude.

Ye Baoling laughed: Of course, if she helps fulfill your wishes, you must come personally to make offerings. Sincerity is extremely important.

Oh. I understand. I’ll wait for your good news tomorrow, dear. Hopefully the stock market will rebound this afternoon.

Ye Baoling reminded her again: Whether it rebounds depends on fate. But whether it rebounds or not, you must sell this afternoon.

Lisa agreed.

After hanging up, she remembered he was still inside.

She was about to tease him, wondering if he could last all night if she talked on the phone that long, when he suddenly launched an aggressive assault, thrusting heavily and hitting all the right spots, releasing all the accumulated heat from before before finally stopping.

After cleaning up, he asked her: Why are you still directing Lisa and her husband in stock trading?

Ye Baoling evaded: The Hong Kong stock market crashed today, I guessed the US market would definitely fall too, and unexpectedly I was right. I lied to her saying the Witch Doctor taught me.

But her conversation with Lisa didn’t seem entirely like that. Since Ye Huaizhang hadn’t heard everything clearly, he didn’t press further, only reminding: Teaching people to trade stocks is thankless work, better to do less of it.

You don’t understand.

Where would she have such good intentions? She was just expanding into the American market.

These roundabout methods of saving the nation through indirect means were impossible to explain to him. Nor did she want to explain.

Ye Baoling lay comfortably on the bed, stretching her entire body. What a wonderful life, such a beautiful day where she could hear the sound of money.

Ring ring ring ring ring!

Her mobile phone rang again.

Ye Huaizhang happened to be coming out of the bathroom and brought her the mobile phone, handing it to her: You’re quite busy!

Shh, don’t speak. Ye Baoling reminded, pressing the answer button, Hello.

It was Liu Haonan calling.

Liu Haonan asked: I forgot to ask earlier – if the US market rebounds this afternoon, how should we operate? I was afraid you’d be asleep in the middle of the night and we wouldn’t have time to communicate.

Ye Baoling: If there’s a rebound this afternoon, reaching the opening price would be good enough. It’s impossible for everything to rebound more than 7% above our cost price. If any individual stocks rebound strongly, just follow our original plan to supplement funds.

Liu Haonan was now completely convinced by Ye Baoling. In Hong Kong stocks she might have insider information, but in US stocks, where would insider information come from?

She was simply the Stock Goddess!

He was just the Stock Goddess’s lackey!

He chuckled in response: Okay, understood. I’ll communicate with you tomorrow then. Good night.

Good night. Ye Baoling waited until she hung up.

Ye Huaizhang roughly guessed, You’re trading US stocks?

Yes.

For a broker to call her in the middle of the night, she must have bought quite a lot.

Ye Huaizhang asked: You told Lisa she must clear her stocks today, but why didn’t you have your stock broker clear yours?

Ye Baoling smiled faintly: I cleared my stocks long ago. I’m short selling US stocks.

You’re short selling US stocks? Ye Huaizhang was stunned, quite surprised. He thought his wife was at most a beginner stock trader who had just learned how to trade stocks. When did she start playing at such an advanced level?

Ye Baoling didn’t hide it, since she might need to cooperate with him later – better let him know her movements sooner.

I saw it coming earlier that the US stock market might fall too, so I raised some funds to short sell US stocks. So, shouldn’t I move now? Wait until it falls harder, until it can’t fall anymore, then buy back the stocks to return to the broker?

Ye Huaizhang was curious: Who taught you how to trade stocks?

Fortunately, he wasn’t nosy enough to ask how much she had bought, otherwise it would have been hard to explain how she had earned several hundred million in such a short time.

You see I’m studying economics, don’t you? If I didn’t have some talent, I wouldn’t be learning it.

Ye Huaizhang believed she truly was naturally gifted. He reminded her, Better safe than sorry. Short selling can easily leave you reduced to bones.

Can’t you say something nicer?!

If you ever need funds, just let me know.

Ye Baoling lay on her pillow, smiling as she asked, If I need money, you’ll give it to me?

I can give you money, but you’ll have to give me the Ugly King Jade Pendant in return. He had his own calculations too.

Ye Baoling kicked at him, I knew you had ulterior motives. Don’t worry, I won’t beg you.

Ye Huaizhang grabbed her foot to stop her from moving around, Go to sleep. Wake up tomorrow and earn even more money, you money-grubber.

He never believed that she didn’t love money.

She did, deeply.

When she woke up the next morning, Ye Baoling had just finished brushing her teeth when she received a thank-you call from Lisa.

Just as Ye Baoling had predicted, the US stock market experienced a brief rebound after opening in the afternoon, before continuing its downward trend.

Lisa and her husband took advantage of the rebound to sell all their stocks, ultimately reducing their losses by over a million dollars.

October 9th, Friday. Affected by the global stock market crash, the Hong Kong stock market opened directly downward, falling even more sharply than the previous day.

The entire stock market was in turmoil.

Su Manzhu’s stock price plummeted by 30%, while Ye Qingtang fell below its IPO price.

The Stock Exchange called on companies to use their funds to rescue the market.

Ye Qizu, who had raised over a billion from Ye Qingtang’s listing, was reluctant to invest large sums. In the end, he only spent less than 100 million on buybacks.

Investing less than 100 million HKD into a panic-driven falling market was like pouring a cup of wine into the ocean—barely making a difference.

Ye Qizu furiously criticized the traders’ incompetence, If I throw a coin on the road, I can at least hear it clink! I throw 100 million in, and there’s not even a splash! A bunch of useless, good-for-nothing idiots!

Unwilling to put more money into market rescue, he could only watch the stock price continue to fall.

Other members of the Ye family also traded stocks, with Ye Kaimin being the most active—and consequently, suffering the heaviest losses.

After spending most of the day frowning and sighing, he went out to the balcony in the afternoon to watch his youngest son basking in the sun.

He couldn’t help but sigh with relief—at least he still had a son. With a son, everything was sufficient.

During dinner that evening, the conflict between brothers Ye Kaimin and Ye Kais, which had intensified recently, was evident. The two hadn’t spoken properly in a long time.

Ye Kais, with his good memory, deliberately brought up a topic, Baoling, your fund must have suffered heavy losses, right?

Heavy losses in her fund?!

She was practically making money hand over fist.

Oh, she remembered now.

That closed-end fund her father had made her sign an agreement for to prevent her from withdrawing the money.

Ye Kais had been the witness.

She later secretly withdrew the money through Lu Tianyou, but her father never found out.

Ye Baoling put on a pained expression, Don’t even mention it. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I withdraw now, the losses are too heavy. If I don’t, I’m worried it’ll keep falling tomorrow.

Ye Kais declared, I think it’ll continue to fall tomorrow. This is a global stock market crash, not just a Hong Kong issue. You should withdraw early and salvage whatever you can.

You’re right, Second Uncle.

Seeing that he had reminded her to this extent and she still wasn’t taking the bait, Ye Kais wondered if she had really forgotten about the bet she made with her father back then.

He had no choice but to remind her: It’s fine if you lose money. Didn’t your father promise that if you don’t make a profit, he’ll refund you twice your principal? I was your guarantor, have you forgotten?

Ye Baoling seemed to suddenly remember: That’s right! My dad promised to refund me twice the principal! I almost forgot.

Ye Kaimin pretended not to hear and wanted to put down his chopsticks and leave.

But his younger brother stopped him, Big brother, you’re not thinking of reneging on your debt, are you?

Ye Qizu, sitting at the head of the table, asked: What’s going on?

Ye Baoling explained: I had over four million in my bank account. My dad used it to buy a closed-end fund managed by Lu Tianyou. I don’t trust Lu Tianyou’s ability and wanted to withdraw the money, but my dad wouldn’t let me. He said if I lose money, he’ll pay me back double the principal.

Hearing Lu Tianyou’s name made Ye Qizu inexplicably furious. He scolded Ye Kaimin: Ridiculous! Instead of properly saving Baoling’s pocket money in something secure, why did you buy a closed-end fund?

Ye Kais didn’t miss the chance to add: When Baoling wanted to withdraw the money, he wouldn’t let her. I don’t know why big brother trusts that scoundrel Lu Tianyou so much. He even signed an agreement guaranteeing it would make money, promising not only to pay Baoling double the principal if it didn’t profit, but also to kneel in the ancestral hall and admit to our ancestors that he’s a worthless piece of roast pork.

Bastard! Ye Qizu was so angry he nearly smashed his bowl. What nonsense is in your head? That father-son pair, the Lü family – Lü Dexiang caused a stock market crash in Hong Kong stocks, costing us at least several hundred million! And Lu Tianyou… Lu Tianyou is even worse. He… he caused Baoling to lose money.

He also caused Ye Baoshun to lose her virginity. This was what the old man cared about most.

Ye Baoling pressed her lips together, suppressing a laugh.

Ye Kaimin retorted: Back when Lü Dexiang helped Ye Qingtang with the IPO, you yourself told me to win him over. And as for Lu Tianyou, you even said he was an elite talent who studied abroad and that Baoling wasn’t good enough for him!

This completely enraged Ye Qizu. With a smack, he threw his spoon into the soup bowl.

Ignoring Ye Kaimin, he said to Ye Baoling: How much does your father owe you?

4.3 million principal, double would be 8.6 million. Ye Baoling didn’t quite remember the exact principal amount and casually gave an approximate figure.

Ye Qizu pointed at Ye Kaimin: Within three days, give Baoling 8.6 million. If you don’t, I’ll take two of your Huayang Street street-front shops and put them under Baoling’s name.

Two large commercial properties on Huayang Street were worth far more than 8.6 million.

Ye Baoling hoped her father would stand firm and not give her the money.

She wanted the shops.

Ye Kaimin didn’t dare talk back anymore. I have matters to attend to outside.

With that, he left first.

Ye Kais didn’t forget to call after him: Big brother, when are you going to kneel in the ancestral hall? If you don’t go, I’ll remind you every day.

Liang Meiyun had been holding back her laughter all this time. After so many days, the couple finally felt relieved.

After the meal, once the old man had gone upstairs, Liang Meiyun didn’t forget to advise Ye Baoling: Take the street-front shops, not the cash. Those Huayang Street shops were originally bought under your mother’s decision. Five such large shopfronts, and that vixen Zheng Junni gets to collect the rent every month for nothing.

Ye Baoling asked: Which two should I take?

Pleased that her niece understood so well, Liang Meiyun analyzed for her: Of course, the ones closer to Huanzhong Road are better.

Understood. Thank you, Second Aunt.

That evening, Lisa called right on time to ask what the Witch Doctor had said.

Ye Baoling replied to her: The Witch Doctor suggested you wait at least a week before picking up some worthwhile stocks to buy. There will be a low plateau period lasting over six months ahead. During this time, buy on dips and wait for the market to recover. You’ll definitely earn back the money you lost, and even more.

U.S. stocks continued to plummet today, and Lisa was in high spirits. With funds on hand, they could indeed slowly accumulate some bargain stocks.

That’s great! What the Witch Doctor said aligns perfectly with our planned strategy. But with divine guidance, we’ll be even more determined.

After their conversation, Lisa understood that Ye Baoling’s kindness was entirely because she wanted Lisa’s husband’s company to become Ye Qingtang’s U.S. agent. She tactfully said, I’ll do my best to persuade Daniel to represent your products.

Ye Baoling smiled and said, Thank you, Lisa. You really know what’s on my mind. However, if possible, I sincerely invite you both to Port City. You can tour our factory, fully understand our Jasmine Iced Tea, and conveniently visit the Witch Doctor to fulfill your vow.

Mentioning the vow, Lisa quickly said, I’ll arrange it as soon as possible.

Zheng Junni walked out of the nursery and happened to meet Ye Baoxin returning from outside.

She immediately instructed someone to bring a bowl of Double Fish Maw and Chicken Soup and personally carried it to her daughter’s room.

Were you on a date with Fang Shanxing today?

He lost money in the stock market and was in a bad mood, so I accompanied him to watch a comedy movie.

Come, have some soup to soothe yourself. Zheng Junni sighed. Your father is the same—he lost at least twenty to thirty million and still has to compensate Ye Baoling over eight million. He was so angry he didn’t even eat dinner.

Ye Baoxin was surprised. Why does he have to compensate Ye Baoling over eight million?

Zheng Junni explained how she and her father were egged on by Ye Kais to make a bet. It happened to coincide with the old man’s anger. If we don’t pay the eight million, we have to give Ye Baoling two street-front shops on Huayang Street.

Knowing that her mother collected rent from these shops, Ye Baoxin asked, What are we going to do?

What can we do? It gives me a headache just thinking about it. I absolutely won’t give her such well-located street-front shops.

Any news from the private investigator yet?

Zheng Junni said irritably, After tailing Ye Baoling for so many days, they haven’t found any interaction between her and Ye Huaizhang. You go to work diligently, never daring to be late, working overtime at night, afraid of any negative rumors reaching the old man’s ears. But her? The private investigator said she only wanders around the company for two or three hours a day. The rest of the time, she’s either shopping or dining with friends. She’s living a carefree life. Oh, and she’s been to Lihua Building twice. No idea what she was doing there.

Lihua Building? Ye Baoxin thought for a moment. There are many financial companies there. What would she be doing at a financial company? Opening an account at Lihua Securities to buy stocks?

Zheng Junni was uncertain. The private investigator said it wasn’t convenient to follow too closely. Once, they saw her go up to the 18th floor, but the 18th floor is mostly small companies. The most likely possibility is that she was visiting a friend. That woman who came with her before works on the 18th floor of Lihua Building.

Which woman?

Zheng Junni described to her: A rather sturdy girl, she came to our house at least two or three times with Ye Baoling. Your father once suspected she was in a relationship with that girl and even specifically investigated her. Her surname is Chen, she’s the granddaughter of Bao Ling’s maternal grandmother’s neighbor.

Ye Baoxin recalled the rumors about Ye Baoling preferring girls and mused, Could Ye Baoling really be into both men and women?

This amused Zheng Junni, who thought of Ye Baoshun’s preference for men and remarked, Must be a tradition in the Ye family.

If we can dig up evidence of her swinging both ways, Mom, you’re guaranteed to win.

Exactly! It was a new angle, and Zheng Junni smiled. You’re not involved, but I still need to chat with you more. You young folks have plenty of ideas.

Ye Baoxin took a sip of soup and grinned. The soup today is delicious.

Made it specially for you. Next time I cook some, you can bring it to Fang Shanxing. Get to bed early tonight—no staying up late. She needed to quickly instruct someone to communicate this new direction to the private investigator.

If they found Ye Baoling getting cozy with a woman, they had to take photos.

A week later, Ye Baoling judged that U.S. stocks had basically hit rock bottom. She instructed Liu Haonan to start buying back the short-sold stocks at low prices.

It took three days to cover all the short positions.

Aside from the 400 million principal, they netted a profit of 1.69 billion.

Combined with the over 70 million in her bank account, she was now a wealthy woman with more than 2 billion Hong Kong dollars.

After Liu Haonan reported the results, the office fell silent for several minutes.

With 2 billion as her backing, she was confident she could get her hands on the Ugly King Jade Pendant and the company from her grandfather.

She smiled at Liu Haonan. Congratulations, you’ve struck it rich too.

Liu Haonan, who had been working day and night monitoring U.S. stocks and fearing any mistakes, finally broke into a bright smile on his weary face upon hearing his boss congratulate him.

With over 10 million in commissions, he could live comfortably without working for the rest of his life.

What’s the next move? Liu Haonan asked.

Go home and get a good sleep first. After that, we’ll keep some funds in U.S. stocks for 5x leveraged long positions and withdraw the rest…

She was preparing to target Ye Qingtang.

Ye Qingtang’s stock price wasn’t low enough yet; she needed to find a way to drive it down to the absolute bottom before making her move.

Author’s Note:

Ye Huaizhang: My wife is more than just a little impressive.

Ye Baoling: Shh. Keep it low-key. [Mischievous grin]