Chapter 650: Pig Factory
Listening to the roar on the phone, Ian Ball felt like his head was about to explode and quickly moved the phone away.
Then he mumbled, "I drank too much at the party last night and just woke up. What's wrong?"
"yesterday?"
The roar on the phone became louder, and it felt like he was using all his strength.
"That was the fucking day before yesterday! You slept for two nights and one day!"
Ian Ball was a little surprised: "Ah? How can I sleep so well? It seems that I am indeed overworked."
Ian Ball's confused attitude made the investor even more annoyed, and he said, "Go read the news first, and you'll know what happened. I hope you'll still be so calm after reading the news. Goodbye!"
After that, he hung up the phone without waiting for Ian Ball to speak.
"Isn't it just that I slept one more day? Why are you so mad? Even though it's a weekday..."
Ian Ball muttered as he turned on the TV.
No matter which TV station, they are all reporting an emergency.
After a moment, he felt his whole body tremble, the muscles on his face tensed, his eyes widened, and his eyes were full of fear.
"Yesterday morning... New Town... World Trade Center..."
Ian Ball immediately understood why investors were roaring.
Now he wanted to roar too.
But he couldn't roar anymore.
On this day, what was supposed to happen happened. Amidst violent explosions and flames, thick smoke billowed into the sky.
The two buildings were reduced to ruins, and the world was once again filled with terrible smoke of gunpowder.
This day is destined to go down in history and shock the entire world.
…
Along with the collapse of the Twin Towers, the stock prices of airlines also fell. The momentum of the plummet was like a flood that broke through a dam. No one could stop it!
In the office, Lu Yiming sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, looking at the shaking and flickering images on the computer screen, as well as various wailing voice-overs.
The coffee in my hand seemed to become sweeter.
Marcus Baker called, and although his tone was tearful and he was grieving for the suffering his motherland was going through, his heart was also filled with the joy of becoming rich overnight.
Saltwater Fund soared again.
"Boss, in just one day, we made $5.2 billion!"
Marcus Beck didn't know how to describe his feelings at this time. He originally only planned to short Beauty Airlines. The best estimate at that time was to make a profit of US$1.3 billion.
As a result, now, the other nine major airlines have also been able to take advantage of the benefits. If the time was not too tight and the chips invested were not enough, the profits this time would probably be even more astonishing.
Lu Yiming's gamble, which was like all-in, once again won him unimaginable returns. Even ten years later, this wealth would still be an unimaginable huge asset.
Lu Yiming said calmly: "Well, I understand. Everyone has worked hard these past few days."
Then, Marcus Baker said with mixed feelings: "I heard that Ian Ball has gone crazy. I don't know whether it is true or not."
Lu Yiming didn't care about it and said, "Whether he is really crazy or pretending to be crazy, it has nothing to do with me. Although he betrayed me, I am definitely not the one who wants his life the most now."
Marcus Beck was powerless to refute.
After all, Ian Ball’s betrayal was of no consequence to Lu Yiming, and he was even too lazy to take action.
But for those investors who believed Ian Ball's words and suffered huge losses, it is not so easy to deal with them. If Ian Ball had not been locked up in a mental hospital, these cruel capitalists would have given him a novel and creative death.
Lu Yiming was not very interested in the life or death of a traitor, and would not waste time on him.
Lu Yiming said to Marcus Baker: "I will be returning to China in a few days. From now on, the Saltwater Foundation will be handed over to you to manage. I hope you don't become another Ian Ball."
After seeing Ian Ball's miserable condition, how could Marcus Baker dare to have any other thoughts? He quickly said in fear and trepidation: "No, I will definitely serve you with all my heart. As long as you are my boss for one day, you will be my boss for the rest of your life."
Of course, Lu Yiming didn't even believe the punctuation marks of this kind of nonsense. But he didn't care. In his current territory, although the Saltwater Fund was relatively large, it was not even in the top three. Even if Marcus Beck did something, it would not hurt his bones.
Just after finishing his call with Marcus Beck, Lu Yiming received another call from Bill Gates.
"Congratulations, my friend, for once again achieving incredible success! Even God is helping you this time!"
There is no doubt that Bill Gates was talking about the plane incident. In his opinion, Lu Yiming's luck was too good. He had just shorted airline stocks and encountered such a thing.
People now have a huge . There have been long queues at flight refund windows in recent days, and many people have questioned the safety of aviation.
At this point, panic spread to the stock market and the share prices of all airlines began to fall sharply.
Not only the airlines, but also the companies whose businesses are related to the airlines, such as aircraft manufacturing, ticket sales, travel agencies, etc., have seen their stock prices plummet.
After hearing what Bill Gates said, Lu Yiming couldn't help but smile slightly and said in a thankful tone, "Yes, this is really a coincidence. I don't know if it was Jesus who heard my prayers or the Buddha who showed his spirit. If this hadn't happened, I'm afraid that even if the top ten airlines joined forces, we might not be able to make money."
After hearing what Lu Yiming said, Bill Gates would never have thought that this thing was bound to happen in Lu Yiming's opinion.
"I called you today to congratulate you on your success, and I also want to tell you something. Richard, the president of Lehman Brothers, said he really wants to meet you. Even many big shots want to meet you. Lu, you are popular again in the investment circle! And you are even more popular than before!"
When saying this, Bill Gates was also quite excited. After all, he participated in this short selling, but because he was afraid of the high risk, he did not dare to go all in like Lu Yiming, so he only made $500 million.
But even so, Bill Gates was still upset. Even though he was the richest man in the world, $500 million in cash was not easy to earn. Moreover, he earned the money in just two days!
This is liquid capital, real money, not some kind of asset with a valuation.
Those investors in the Saltwater Fund who did not believe in Lu Yiming before are now regretting their decision. They also want to cut profits from the top ten airlines in North America!
In just one month, Lu Yiming once again earned money that 99.999% of the people on the planet could not earn in their entire lives, and his title of "U.S. stock market harvester" was completely established.
Although there are still many people on Wall Street who are extremely hostile and hateful towards Lu Yiming, more financial practitioners are full of fanatical admiration for him.
Because this is the purest capitalist country. There is no hereditary aristocracy, no wealthy families passed down from generation to generation. The only thing that measures your social status is money.
Many people think that racial discrimination is very serious in the United States. In fact, the more serious problem is the discrimination against the poor! Only poor people discriminate against each other, while rich people only discriminate against the poor and never against rich people of other races.
Not to mention philanthropists like Lu Yiming who have helped many people get rich together.
Even Richard Fuld, president of Lehman Brothers, who had previously thought that Lu Yiming was doomed to fail due to his youthful vigor, began to look at him with new eyes and admitted that he had indeed misjudged him.
Richard Fuld found Bill Gates privately and implicitly expressed that he wanted to meet Lu Yiming and make friends with him. That's why Bill Gates made this call to act as a middleman.
When Lu Yiming heard the name Lehman Brothers, he thought of the subprime mortgage crisis and decisively refused, saying, "I'm busy now. It's September now and I have to go back to school. It's the beginning of the school year, and you know I've always been a good student."
Bill Gates: “…”
What a good student.
How long will a meeting take you?
That's Lehman Brothers!
At its peak, Lehman Brothers had a market value of $80 billion and managed $700 billion in assets, making it one of the top five investment banks in the United States!
The boss wants to see you, and you tell me you have to go to class?
You are a person who can make billions of dollars just by waving your hand , what the hell is that?
Although he was very dissatisfied in his heart, Bill Gates would not say anything to persuade him. Anyway, his words had already been heard, and it was none of his business whether Lu Yiming met him or not. On the contrary, if he spoke too much and made Lu Yiming disgusted, it would be disadvantageous to him.
"Okay, that's your own business. I'm hanging up now. Bye."
"goodbye."
After Bill Gates hung up the phone, other wealthy people in the United States also called to convey messages to Lu Yiming, such as Epstein and others, but he rejected them all with the same reason.
For a moment, the wealthy people in the United States were collectively stunned.
Why don't you make money and go to school? What kind of weird move is this?
If you are sick, never give up on treatment. Our beautiful country has the best psychiatrists in the world.
Because this is where the largest number of mentally ill people in the world are concentrated!
After making a few phone calls, Lu Yiming quickly called Li Yiwen over and said, "Pack your things. We will return home tonight."
"No way? Are you in such a hurry?"
Li Yiwen still wants to spend a few more days in the beautiful country.
Lu Yiming said: "We are running for our lives, how can we not be anxious?"
The most sensational thing at the moment is the building being hit, and all other news is drowned out by this world-shaking event. So it is better to run away as soon as possible. After all, shorting the US airline stocks during this sensitive period is likely to arouse the suspicion of the investigation bureau, and it would be funny if someone detained you.
A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. If you take the benefits and don't leave, will you stay and wait to be punished?
Li Yiwen, who originally wanted to attend banquets everywhere to show off, panicked after hearing this. The two of them boarded a private plane and flew back to China overnight, not daring to stay any longer.
After returning to Fu Ri University, Lu Yiming hurried to report to Long Qiquan.
Walking around the campus, people everywhere were talking about this major event that shocked the world.
In just a few days, almost everyone in the world knew about it, which shows how big a sensation this incident caused.
Of course, Lu Yiming would not get involved in these discussions. After all, he had already made a fortune in someone else's territory, and it would be too inhumane to say bad things about them behind their backs.
Mid-September is probably the hottest time of the year. The scorching heat makes people sweat profusely. The only place that is cool without turning on the air conditioner is probably the bleak US stock market.
Today's stock market, especially Internet-related technology stocks, have fallen to rock-bottom prices due to panic selling.
Others were trying to avoid it, but Lu Yiming knew that this was a good opportunity to pick up a bargain.
When Lu Yiming had nothing to do during the break, he browsed the news on his computer and saw that the pig farm had become a worthless stock on the Nasdaq.
As early as June 29, 2000, the pig farm was listed on NASDAQ.
Unfortunately, this decision caused the pig factory to run head-on into the bursting of the Nasdaq bubble. At that time, the Nasdaq index plummeted from its highest point of 5048 points in 2000 to its lowest point of 1114, a drop of 78%, comparable to the Nicaragua Falls, which plunges three thousand feet.
Affected by this, the pig factory's stock price fell all the way from 15.5 when it was listed to a low of 0.48, a drop of 97%. Its market value also fell from 470 million US dollars when it was listed to less than 20 million US dollars, becoming a veritable salted fish stock, and the kind that is so salty that it is about to stink.
However, Lu Yiming, who was reborn, knew very well that this situation would not last long. By 2003, the market value of the pig farm would exceed the 7 billion US dollar mark, an increase of more than 145 times!
This money was picked up for free.
Lu Yiming quickly called Li Yiwen and asked, "Cousin, how much money do you have available now?"
Li Yiwen was shocked when he suddenly received this call from Lu Yiming. He asked quickly, "What's wrong? Is your funding chain broken? Don't scare me. If your funding chain is broken, we will all be finished."
Lu Yiming said quickly, "What are you thinking about? How could my capital chain be broken? I recently found a potential stock on NASDAQ, and I want you to take out all the money you can move and go all in. I can guarantee that within two years, you will make a fortune."
"Holy crap, what stock is so awesome?"
Li Yiwen was shocked.
No matter what, Lu Yiming still has the title of "Stock God", plus he just made a huge profit from the United States.
Now, Lu Yiming actually said that there was a stock that he could go all in on. How could Li Yiwen not be shocked?
What kind of stock is that that allows Li Yiwen to go all in?
This means that even Lu Yiming will go crazy for the future earnings of this stock! !
Lu Yiming said: "Zhuchang, I'll tell you the stock code."
Li Yiwen got the stock code and quickly turned on the computer to check it.
As a result, after taking a look, Li Yiwen felt unwell.
It's not just because the market value has fallen to a point where it's simply unbearable to look at, but also because the related information has simply belittled the company to the point where it is described as "the most trashy of the junk stocks."
All major rating agencies also gave it the lowest rating.
It can be said that it is a miracle that this stock has not been forcibly delisted from Nasdaq.
Li Yiwen was not even sure which would come first, tomorrow or the pig farm going bankrupt.
After browsing through the information, Li Yiwen complained to Lu Yiming on the phone, "Brother, did you say the wrong number? It's all written in the news that the pig farm was found to have been involved in accounting fraud in the second quarter, and more than half of its revenue was missing, causing the already rapidly falling stock price to fall even further, once dropping to $0.64, with a market value of less than $20 million. Are you sure you want me to buy this stock?"
Lu Yiming said firmly: "Of course, quickly contact their boss Ding Sanshi, I want to buy their stocks!"
At this time, Ding Sanshi was still in the capital, looking out the window with a melancholy look on his face.
The weather in the north began to get colder, but what was colder than the temperature was his heart.
Ding Sanshi was born in Mingzhou, Zhejiang Province, in the early 1970s into a family of senior intellectuals . Because his father was an electronic engineer, he was influenced by his father and fell in love with radio since he was a child.
At the age of fifteen, Ding Sanshi assembled his first six-tube radio.
Two years later he graduated from high school and was admitted to the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.
He was a restless person. One year before graduating from university, he started working part-time as an engineer in a computer company, getting in touch with new equipment such as modems and Windows NT.
After graduating from university, Ding Sanshi returned to his hometown and worked at the Minnesota Telecommunications Bureau.
In 1994, Ding Sanshi logged on to the Internet for the first time and began to get in touch with the Internet.
Born restless, he couldn't stand the oppression and boredom of working in a state-owned enterprise, so he resigned and went south to Guangdong Province to make a living.
In May 1997, Ding Sanshi gathered three people and set up a pig farm in an eight-square-meter rental house. He held more than 50% of the shares and became the real boss.
Within three years, he successfully listed his company in the United States and listed it on NASDAQ. Unfortunately, he was unlucky and suffered from the stock market crash. The pig factory's stock price fell below the issue price just after it was listed, and it was about to become worthless.
But Ding Sanshi's troubles did not end there. After May 1, 2001, the pig factory employees no longer saw Chen Suzhen. On June 12, Li Jinghui resigned, and on August 28, He Haiwen left.
The collective departure of the three top executives seemed as if the building was about to collapse. The company's employees were all worried, and many of them were ready to get off the ship and escape at any time.
And that was not too bad. In September, Nasdaq announced that the pig farm’s stock would be suspended from trading due to doubts about its financial report. This was the first time a Chinese company was suspended from trading in the U.S. The U.S. Internet bubble broke the pig farm’s stock price in half, from $15 to 64 cents, not even a fraction of the original amount.
At this time, Ding Sanshi was furious, because the person who cooked the accounts was none other than Li Jinghui, who had already resigned. Not only did he cook the accounts, he also secretly transferred the funds belonging to the pig farm to his old French employer, Saatchi & Saatchi Company.
Now, even Ding Sanshi, the founder, feels that the pig farm is beyond salvation.
