Chapter 544: Flying
On July 12, 2000, Sohu, one of the three major portal websites in China, was successfully listed on NASDAQ with an issue price of US$16. On the day of listing, its market value soared to US$490 million, just a stone's throw away from US$500 million.
By shamelessly copying Lu Yiming's SMS business, Sohu finally did not have to suffer a drop in price as soon as it went public like its two predecessors did, and its stock price rose all the way to around US$18.
Although the increase is not that big, Sohu has undoubtedly been recognized by the market for achieving such results at a time when countless Internet peers are collectively dying.
After all, although the business has not yet started, Sohu now has a story to tell, so it can easily reap profits in the stock market. This is the charm of the free financial market.
After completing the bell-ringing ceremony, Zhang Chaoyang immediately began to arrange the next work focus, asking his subordinates to imitate the business model of Quwen as soon as possible, develop software, and at the same time revise the homepage and remove all those websites that looked particularly irregular.
With the money raised from the stock market, Zhang Chaoyang would not be in vain even if there was a default. The most important thing now is to win back the lost customers and maintain Sohu's market share.
At the same time, as if by appointment, Ding Sanshi, the helmsman of NetEase, was doing the same thing.
Being one step behind your opponent is not a big deal, at most you can just catch up. But if you are several steps behind and still don't know how to catch up, don't bother trying, just dig a hole and bury yourself.
At this moment, on the other side of the ocean, in Xiaguo Zhonghai, Lu Family Garden.
Lu Yiming and Bill Gates were toasting to celebrate. The stock price of Quwen had skyrocketed in ten days and had reached a high of US$24.5.
When the two of them bought the shares, the average stock price was less than seven dollars.
This round trip is equivalent to the price of the stocks in hand more than tripling!
After making a lot of money, Bill Gates liked Lu Yiming more and more and praised him generously: " Lu, you are really a genius. Your advanced vision in the Internet field is simply unmatched."
Just one business successfully helped Quwen turn losses into profits. Not everyone has this ability.
What's more, Lu Yiming's abilities are not limited to business operations. His judgment of the stock market and economic situation is also terrifyingly accurate.
This is why Bill Gates is willing to make friends with Lu Yiming. Who wouldn’t want a friend who can bring huge benefits to oneself?
Facing Bill Gates' compliments, Lu Yiming did not get carried away. He knew very well that as long as it was profitable, these old men would say anything, and he could not take it seriously at all.
The two clinked their glasses, and Lu Yiming remembered another thing and asked, "How is the Salty Water Fund going?"
Bill Gates said indifferently: "Now there are more and more institutions shorting U.S. stocks, and our rate of return is declining. Many investors hope that you can personally take charge and go to America again to preside over the situation."
Before Lu Yiming could express his opinion, Bill Gates could not help but persuade him: "With your current ability and assets, you no longer need a diploma to endorse your life. You might as well just drop out of school and focus on your career like I did back then."
After hearing this, Lu Yiming felt very disdainful.
This is the national condition of the Celestial Empire.
Besides, what is your background, Old Angsa, and what is my background? How can they be the same?
After some complaints, Lu Yiming said tactfully, "I'm still young, and I don't want to become a slave to money so quickly. College life is so wonderful, shouldn't I experience more of it? There are not many opportunities to go to college. If you miss this opportunity, you'll never get it again."
Bill Gates expressed disdain for Lu Yiming's statement.
What’s so good about college life? Can it be as comfortable as a billionaire’s life ?
If you are not proactive in making money, there is something wrong with your brain.
"Microsoft has many graduates from world-renowned universities. They are people who have experienced the complete college life as you said. In the end, they will come to Microsoft to work for me, right?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Okay, let's talk about the Saltwater Fund itself. There is a saying in Xia Country, too much is as bad as too little. There are so many people shorting now. If we continue to sharpen our heads and get involved, we will not make more money than we do now, but will take on greater risks."
"Besides, we entered the market the earliest and have already taken the biggest piece of cake on the table. What else are you not satisfied with?"
Let’s not talk about anything else, just talk about the story of shorting America. Relying on a series of bold operations, Lu Yiming has invested a total of 2.7 billion US dollars. So far, the profit has exceeded 3.2 billion US dollars, and the rate of return has exceeded 120%. Not to mention that there has been no one before or after on Wall Street, it is also the best among the crowd.
Especially in the current situation, with everyone going bankrupt or jumping off buildings, this result is even more eye-catching.
If Bill Gates and others had not been involved, allowing Lu Yiming to hide behind the scenes, this achievement would have attracted a lot of jealousy. The FBI might even start to make moves, ready to cause Lu Yiming's accidental death at any time.
After all, this is cutting America's flesh and shedding America's blood.
Although it was great, Lu Yiming was actually quite worried, fearing that one day he would run into a speeding dump truck when he went out.
Money is good, but life is more important.
Therefore, although the U.S. stock market is still falling, Lu Yiming has planned to stop for the time being. After all, he has to leave some water for others, otherwise it will attract too much hatred.
Seeing that Lu Yiming was about to quit, Bill Gates couldn't help but sigh again and said, "You are amazing for being able to control your greed at a time like this."
Bill Gates has seen many geniuses in his many years in the business world, but none of them is like Lu Yiming, who can retreat at the critical moment.
Especially for those who work in finance, being able to make money is not a skill; knowing when to stop is the real skill.
Lu Yiming smiled calmly: "When it comes to making money, the most important thing is to put it in your pocket. But next time there is such an opportunity to make a fortune, I will still choose to take action."
Seeing Lu Yiming so confident, Bill Gates couldn't help but ask, "When is the next time?"
"Who knows?"
It was obvious that Lu Yiming did not want to answer this question. Seeing that he was confident, Bill Gates did not continue to ask.
"Come, have a drink. The wine from your Xia country really different."
America, New York.
James Chanos and George Soros both had gloomy faces. They were almost bankrupt from the short selling in recent days. The total loss was more than 200 million US dollars, and they lost everything.
The stocks that they had borrowed to sell now had to be bought back at several times the price, which almost made the two of them angry to death.
James Chanos was so angry that he slammed the table and asked George Soros: "Are you teaming up with Lu Yiming to cheat me?"
Upon hearing this, George Soros was furious. In fact, he was even worse off than James Chanos. After all, falling into the same pit twice was already outrageous, and he had fallen three or four times.
Now that James Chanos was still mad at him, George Soros was even more upset and responded bluntly: "I joined him in cheating you? Obviously I lost more than you!"
But James Chanos still couldn't help but doubt: "This is the news you told me. If you hadn't said it was a sure thing, how could I have invested so much money to follow up?"
Soros was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and then he sneered: "Haha, do you think we are on the same side? I wish I could kill him, okay?"
The quarrel between the two naturally resulted in no results.
However, James Chanos couldn't accept the fact that he had lost so much money in one go. He slammed the table in anger and said, "Someone must be held accountable for this!"
George Soros, whose emotions had finally calmed down, looked cold and murderous. "Of course someone should be held responsible. You can go find Joe Bert. We both lost money because of him. He provided the information. Even if there is a problem, it is his problem, not mine."
Joe Bert, who had no idea that he was about to get into trouble, was still indulging in pleasure.
In a suburban villa in Baiyun City, in the master bedroom, all kinds of clothes were scattered on the floor. Joe Bert, who was sweating all over, was gasping for breath, and the long-haired beauty lying next to him was lying weakly on his chest.
It was obvious that the two had just had a fierce battle.
The long-haired beauty has an oriental face and is in her twenties. She is obsessed with Joe Burt, a Wall Street elite. After all, compared to Asians, Europeans and Americans are indeed gifted in some aspects, which gives her great satisfaction both physically and psychologically.
The long-haired beauty drew circles on Joe Bert's chest and asked reluctantly, "Honey, I heard you're going back to America soon?"
Although the battle had just ended, Joe Bert's hands were still wandering dishonestly on the woman's body, and he said with an unsatisfied look: "Yes, I will go back to America tomorrow to report to my boss."
The long-haired beauty said delicately, "Can you take me to America right now? I can drop out of school just for you. You promised to marry me."
Marry you?
Joe Bert's face remained expressionless, but his heart was already full of contempt and disdain. Joe Bert simply looked down on this beautiful woman whom he had seduced into bed with a glass of cocktail in the bar, let alone marrying her.
After all, he is a Wall Street elite. How can any slut marry him?
When you play with women normally, you can take advantage of them no matter how pretty they are. But when you marry one as your wife, she must be helpful to your career.
As a calculating man, Joe Bert would never let his judgment be influenced by emotional factors. Moreover, he and the long-haired beauty had no feelings for each other and were just a casual couple.
However, the long-haired beauty didn't know what Joe Bert was thinking. She believed that Europeans and Americans were very contractual and trustworthy gentlemen. She felt that since Joe Bert had said he wanted to marry her, he would definitely marry her.
Facing the long-haired beauty's eager eyes, Joe Bert said without hesitation: "Of course, my baby, I said I would marry you. But you must finish your studies, and I can't delay your studies. When you graduate from college, I will come and marry you."
Joe Bert once again promised her that she would work hard to complete her studies. Such thoughtfulness moved the long-haired beauty so much that she immediately opened her mouth and leaned under Joe Bert's body...
The next morning, Joe Bert flew back to America in high spirits.
At the airport, his good friend and colleague Horace Atlee drove to pick him up. Seeing his rosy face, he couldn't help but teasing him, "Joe, I heard that you found a very beautiful girlfriend in the distant and mysterious Eastern country?"
When it comes to finding women, men never bother to hide it, and they even show it off like a medal.
"It's just for fun. It doesn't cost any money. It would be a waste if you don't play."
Horace Atlee had never been to Xiaguo, but he had heard a lot about its wonders. He asked curiously, "What kind of country is Xiaguo?"
Joe Bert said disdainfully: "Xia Country is poor and backward, ignorant and superstitious, without any technology, it is simply a primitive society. Except for the lack of pig tails, it feels no different from a hundred years ago. But to be honest, many women there are very enthusiastic about foreigners, but they are silly and cute. They think that they can get a green card by having sex with foreigners. It's really funny."
The more he spoke, the more proud he became, as if being able to take advantage of Xia country women was something worth boasting about. His words were full of disparagement of Xia country and its people.
After all, he lost money in Xia Country again.
Not just the company's money, but his own money as well.
Therefore, he certainly had to vent his dissatisfaction in this way and relieve the huge pressure he received from shareholders.
As they were chatting, Joe Bert looked out the window and suddenly asked in confusion, "Horace, where are you going? The company doesn't seem to be in this direction, right?"
Horace Atlee said, "There's a big shot who wants to see you."
For some reason, although the tone was calm, the words uttered by Horace Atlee made Joe Bert feel a little uneasy.
"What big shot?"
Horace Artes did not directly answer Joe Bert's question, but said: "I can't tell you yet, but the big man said that you will know it when you get there."
"All right."
Although he had some doubts in his heart, Horace Artes had been Joe Burt's colleague for more than ten years. The two knew each other well and even played with women together. They had a very close relationship, so Joe Burt could only comfort himself that he must have been under too much psychological pressure during this period and was a little neurotic.
After a while, the car arrived at the Hudson River. Joe Bert looked out the window and saw a desolate scene outside, with only the turbulent river water. Even if he was slow to react, he knew something was wrong. He shouted, "Stop the car! Stop the car! Horace, why did you bring me here?"
However, Horace Artes did not reply. Instead, he locked the car door and stepped on the accelerator to the bottom.
Joe Bert was sitting in the back seat. He wanted to reach the front to grab the steering wheel, but he had no chance. After all, the space in the car was small. Moreover, the car was moving fast and slow and was extremely bumpy. It was difficult for him to even stand up, let alone touch the steering wheel.
Fortunately, the process was not long and the car stopped at the edge of a deserted cliff.
Joe Bert opened the car door and got out. He saw a black full-size SUV not far away. There were two burly men standing beside the car. They looked like two lumps of meat. The arms exposed outside his short-sleeved shirt were thicker than his thighs and had tattoos on them. He looked very ferocious.
He had a bad feeling, so he got off the car without stopping and turned around and ran away.
However, two burly men soon caught up with him, held him on the left and right, and brought him back.
By this time, Joe Bert knew what was going to happen next even if he used his butt to think.
After all, this is America.
And he is an American.
He understands this country and its people so well.
He looked terrified.
A burly man took out a cell phone and approached Joe Bert. The phone showed that it was in the call status.
Joe Burt knew that the person on the other end of the phone was the big shot that Horace Artes had been talking about.
The burly man let go and Joe Bert picked up the phone.
"Who are you?"
"Mercy."
"I……"
Joe Bert had time only to utter a few brief words.
A sharp roar came from the other end of the phone: "Do you know how much money I lost because of you?"
Joe Bert originally wanted to determine the identity of the speaker by the voice, but because the voice was too distorted and was not a normal voice at all, Joe Bert could not tell it at all.
Lost money?
This was the only information Joe Bert was able to get.
However, there were so many people who lost money through his fund that he didn't know who the other party was for a moment.
Joe Bert was very smart at this time, as his life was at stake. He immediately promised: "No matter how much money you lose, I will pay it!"
However, there was silence over there.
"Hello?"
"Hello!"
Joe Bert shouted several times, but there was complete silence on the other side.
In the end, he just hung up the phone.
"No……"
Joe Bert yelled.
Clearly, communication failed.
"No, you can't kill me, you can't kill me..."
Joe Bert turned and ran.
But before he walked two meters away, the burly man next to him was prepared and grabbed him in an instant.
They took Joe Bert to the river, and looking at the turbulent waves, Joe Bert was so scared that he wet his pants.
However, he had no chance to beg for mercy and was pushed directly into the river.
Not far away, Horace Artes watched this scene and couldn't help but sigh.
Joe Bert fell into the river without making even a large splash.
The surroundings were still quiet, as if nothing had happened.
Horace Artus got back into his car, drove into town, had it washed, and returned to the office.
Facing his colleagues in the company, he said: "It's so unlucky that I didn't get through to Joe. I called him several times but no one answered. I made a wasted trip."
