After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 448 - 443: The Main Force is Frightened, The Future is Promising

"Mercenaries? That description is pretty spot on."

Daqiangzi laughed heartily, steering the conversation to his own experience after returning to the country over the past half month.

At the time he was arrested overseas, it actually blew the cover of quite a few clowns back home. Thankfully, the charges weren't proven, otherwise JD might have faced some trouble.

"Liangzi, people like us can't afford even the slightest error. We always need to think thrice before acting."

Daqiangzi's tone was filled with sincerity. He wasn't lecturing Lu Liang, but expressing how much Lu Liang's help meant to him.

If Lu Liang hadn't extended a helping hand at that time, once the news of the arrest had leaked, no one could predict what would have happened next.

Perhaps his position on JD's board would have plummeted or he might have even been kicked out—those outcomes weren't impossible.

The help Lu Liang offered him was so profound it could be described as life-altering. That's why he would spare no effort to support him if he ever asked.

"Dong, I know you value loyalty. If I ever need help, I'll definitely reach out to you."

Lu Liang couldn't help but smile, suddenly finding Daqiangzi somewhat adorable, stubborn yet genuine.

This just showed that his efforts in helping weren't in vain.

He raised his teacup, "The past is behind us. We're brothers. If you bring this up again, I'll get mad."

"Alright, let's not talk about it anymore."

Dongzi waved his hand cheerfully, then with a look of disdain, asked, "Using tea as a substitute for alcohol? Do you have plans tonight?"

"Nothing much, I guess."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Lu Liang regretted it.

Dongzi's eyes lit up, he opened the wine cellar behind him revealing shelves stocked with Moutai and Wuliangye liquors. There had to be at least a hundred bottles.

He carefully selected two of the older bottles, tucked them under his arm, and called his assistant to bring some appetizers.

"I know you're not a big fan of strong spirits, but you really have to try this one. Moutai from '74, it's quite different."

Dongzi uncorked both bottles, poured the liquor into a decanter, and handed it to Lu Liang for a sniff, "Doesn't it smell different?"

"It seems not as strong."

"Definitely. This liquor is about as old as I am. The alcohol content must have dropped by over fifteen percent. It's like aged steak—normal grilling can evaporate some of the aromas, but with aging the flavors fully permeate the meat."

Talking about aged steak made Dongzi lick his lips, like a sudden craving had been awakened. It had been too long since he had enjoyed a hearty meal with a good drink. He made another phone call.

He wasn't like Old Xu at Hengtai, who had a dance troupe at his HQ. Dongzi had a team of chefs at JD's HQ.

If you're alive, might as well enjoy good food and drinks.

Seeing Lu Liang's surprise, Dongzi put an arm around his shoulders and laughed, "People like us should live lavishly. If we clutch our money tightly like a Pixiu, how will the country's GDP grow?"

He was proud of one thing.

Even though Shunfeng used to contract out labor, they didn't—everyone was a formal employee with benefits like the Five Insurances and One Fund, heat stipends, meal subsidies, service awards, and more.

Someone once suggested that cutting these benefits would increase the company's profits by several billion a year, but he never went that route.

The Five Insurances and One Fund are the most basic protections for employees. If he made money, the brothers should get a cut too.

He'd mentioned in media interviews that if he ever treated his brothers badly, it would not mean he had changed, but simply that he was no longer in charge.

At that time, he might completely step away and live out his days carefree and unburdened.

"Noble of you, Dong."

Lu Liang looked at him with admiration, raising his glass. Although Dongzi was boasting, he had actually done these things, so he deserved his moment to show off.

They ate, drank, and talked about everything under the sun.

Time flew, and soon it was 9 p.m.

Bitcoin officially launched on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, taking the international stage and entering the sight of global investors.

Sakurada Miyuki in Tokyo was also constantly monitoring Bitcoin's market movements.

Lu Liang had given her 2 million US dollars as starting capital, hoping she would turn it into 20 million in two years.

So at that time, she invested 600,000 dollars in Ningde Era based on Lu Liang's predictions, and another 600,000 in Bitcoin. Her 2 million had already grown to 3.4 million.

Ningde Era had been quiet recently, with its market value hovering around 150 billion yuan, mainly due to the continuous increase in Bitcoin's value.

She had built her position early, even half a month earlier than Wen Chao, buying in at a cost of 1,592 dollars and owning 376 Bitcoins. Now, with Bitcoin at 5,152 dollars, she had earned 1.338 million dollars.

"If it were Uncle, what choice would he make?"

Miyuki gently furrowed her brows, biting on the end of her pen. She wanted to fulfill her promise to Lu Liang ahead of time.

But the current market trends scared her a bit. Logically, a slew of good news should lead to bad news eventually.

Yet Bitcoin did the opposite. The second it listed on the exchange, it surged another 5%.

Breaking through the 5,000-dollar mark,

It kept soaring, as if there were no limit.

In just a month, it had risen over 200%.

She had become afraid of heights.

At the same time, not far away in Ginza.

Mr. Lu handed over 10% position authority to Wen Chao, allowing him to handle it himself, with a total of 25,000 Bitcoins and 50 million dollars at his disposal.

"A constant rise doesn't heat up the market; only massive fluctuations and a steady increase can attract enough investors."

Wen Chao's face showed contemplation as he looked towards Panda on the Nasdaq, his mind weighing the trading maneuvers of Wall Street institutions, worthy of his study.

Though since Mr. Lu had handed over the reins of market-making, Panda's stock price had risen only by 1.2 dollars over half a month.

Yet, it had become the most dazzling new star on the Nasdaq, with a daily turnover rate as high as 25%, and a guaranteed trading volume of 2 billion dollars.

Sometimes it would surge at market opening, only to plummet at closing,

a fluctuation of 10 points in one day was just commonplace.

Rumors had it that since Wilson, the investment director of JPMorgan, had become the market maker, his profits had already exceeded 1.5 billion dollars.

Because US stocks unlike A-shares where one could only buy and not short, the more frequent the trading, the more the institutions earned.

Like banks, with savings in the left hand and loans in the right hand, making money was natural and required no effort.

Investment banks were the same, with financing on the left hand for those who wanted to go long, and short selling on the right hand for those who wanted to speculate.

Thus, even if he accepted Mr. Lu's chips at a high price and the stock price didn't rise much, he could still earn a full pot.

Mr. Lu knew, but there was nothing he could do about it; this was home field advantage, the advantage of a century-old enterprise.

At 10 p.m., one hour after the market opened,

the continuously rising Bitcoin suddenly plummeted.

An order of over 10,000 Bitcoins, valued at over 50 million dollars, appeared abruptly.

The bullish candlestick of the day with a 7.23% gain was suddenly truncated, and the market sharply reversed course.

Normally, transactions were of 0.1 or 0.2 Bitcoin, but 10,000 Bitcoins was like a hundred-thousand-hand big brother in the A-shares market.

Almost instantly, the price fell below 5000 dollars, the bullish momentum was met with nothing but air beneath, as if plunging into an endless abyss.

Tens of thousands of high-leverage investors were too slow to react, some didn't even manage to submit additional margin, and they were directly liquidated.

Bitcoin, as a new product, offered 1 to 10 times leverage automatically without application in any trading software.

With twice the leverage, a drop exceeding 35% would trigger a forced liquidation; for three times leverage, it was 23%, and for five times leverage, just 14%. Once it was ten times, the margin for error was only 7%.

Wen Chao aggressively pressed the market right at the critical 7.5% threshold, in an instant, Bitcoin went from red to green.

Numerous high-leverage retail investors went from surges to releasing a large number of sell orders, and he switched from short to long, aggressively buying in.

He pushed the price back up to the 5000 dollar high and after a cycle of selling and buying, the 25,000 chips were still in play, but his liquid funds had increased from 50 million dollars to 65 million.

"Shakeout, accumulating chips, the damn market makers, but this exactly indicates that Bitcoin will continue to rise."

The night in Han City was filled with the howls of countless men and women.

Their eyes were red; their judgment was not wrong, Bitcoin was the future trend, the currency at the world's core. Their mistake was using high leverage.

Had they reduced their leverage by even one fold, they wouldn't have faced a liquidation and could've taken advantage of the low prices to buy cheap chips along with the main forces.

They were like mad, cashing out credit cards, applying for emergency loans, regrouping for another entry into the market.

A large number of liquidated retail investors returned to the fray, and Bitcoin's price broke to a new historical high, reaching 5200 dollars.

"It's insane, where are all these aggressive retail investors coming from?" Wen Chao's expression tensed, feeling a lingering fear.

Fortunately, he only planned to make a quick trade, but had his reaction been just a few minutes slower, he would have been washed out by the retailers.

"Mr. Lu, still so prescient, Bitcoin might indeed become one of the world's mainstream currencies."

Wen Chao furrowed his brows, setting aside his contempt; previously, he viewed Bitcoin as if it were just a private bet.

Thinking that by holding more than 2.3% of the total amount,

they could do whatever they wanted with the market.

But the insanity of retail investors almost taught him a lesson.

"The main force is scared, the future is promising."

Sakurada Miyuki was beaming with joy, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

Just when Bitcoin had fallen below 5000 dollars, she thought of Lu Liang.

She decisively used the last 800,000 dollars of her reserve fund to buy the dip, and just seconds after her successful purchase, the market rebounded, breaking a new historical high.

Thus, she earned an additional 60,000 dollars.

"When will you come to see me, Uncle?"

Miyuki rested her chin in her palm, swinging her legs excitedly under the table.

She had gone all in, planning to hold Bitcoin for the long term, optimistic about the future market, so the current fluctuations no longer bothered her.

She thought of Lu Liang, wanting to share the news with him; if all went well, she should be able to fulfil their agreement ahead of time.

She hoped to gain his approval and also looked forward to the moment when he might pat her head and say how amazing she was.

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