Sir John Newbigin stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the office of Jardine Matheson, with his back to his large but depressing mahogany desk.
The view of Victoria Harbour outside the window was still bustling with activity, ships passing by and skyscrapers rising, but none of this could dispel the heavy gloom in his heart. His brows were furrowed, and his right hand unconsciously rubbed his aching temple.
Several telegrams and financial reports lay scattered across his desk, like a nauseating pile of death warrants. A recent briefing from London detailed the plummeting silver futures market. The glaring losses burned through his mind, his heart tightening with every beat. Several key Jardine Matheson investments in North America and Australia had also suffered setbacks, and the bright red deficits on the reports seemed to mock the reputation he had built over years of business forging.
"Cash flow... damn cash flow..." Newbigin's breathing became heavy, the words practically squeezed out through gritted teeth. He felt his throat tighten, as if an invisible hand were strangling it. He could still hear the warning call from HSBC regarding the pledge of Hong Kong Land Holdings' shares. Jardine Matheson was the undisputed controlling shareholder of Hong Kong Land Holdings. The massive Hong Kong Land Holdings shares pledged to HSBC were a crucial asset collateral and the lifeblood that kept the group afloat.
Now, this vein, drained dry by the massive loss of silver futures, was at risk of being forcibly severed—forced liquidation! If Hong Kong Land's share price continued to slump or even fell further, HSBC would absolutely ruthlessly strike to protect its own interests. In that event, Jardine Matheson would not only lose a huge amount of equity and its reputation, but it could also trigger a chain reaction, dragging the entire group into a vortex of debt. He could already see the covetous Chinese business tycoons waiting to pounce on Jardine Matheson's weakness and devour its remains.
"Sir? Sir?" The secretary's voice was filled with a hint of barely perceptible panic as he cautiously pushed open the heavy door.
Newbigin turned around abruptly, his eyes as sharp as a hawk, filled with anger at being interrupted and anxiety that had not yet faded: "What's the matter? If it's a call from HSBC, tell them I'll deal with it later!" His tone was full of impatience and fatigue, and he didn't want to hear any more bad news.
"No... not HSBC, sir!" The secretary's voice trembled with excitement, even ignoring basic etiquette. He tightly grasped a quotation sheet that had just been quickly delivered from the trading hall. "It's... it's Hong Kong Land! Hong Kong Land's stock... is crazy! Completely crazy!"
Newbigin's heart felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer, then stopped for a beat. He strode back to his desk, snatched up the sweat-stained slip, and searched it eagerly. Yesterday's closing price of HK$66 was clearly printed there, but the number that followed it made his gloomy eyes suddenly widen!
The numbers are beating violently, as if carrying the pulse of the market:
Opening price: HK$66.50.
9:15: HK$70.20!
9:30: HK$75.80!
10:00: HK$84.60!
10:15: HK$91.30! Breaking the 90 mark!
10:30: HK$97.80! Approaching the 100-yuan mark!
10:40: 101.15 Hong Kong dollars! !
"Breaking through 100?!!" Newbigin's voice suddenly rose, filled with disbelief and astonishment. His knuckles turned white from the force he exerted on the note, but his entire body felt as if it were infused with a tremendous force. The previous dejection and anxiety melted away like thin ice under the scorching sun.
"Increase...increase above HK$100?! Are you sure?!" He practically shouted to confirm, staring at the secretary, needing a positive signal to confirm that this was not an illusion.
The secretary nodded excitedly, speaking rapidly, "It's absolutely true, sir! The trading floor is boiling! All the major banks are ringing up with orders to buy 'Xiaolin concept stocks'. Hong Kong Land is the most important of the most important! Retail investors are chasing high prices. The orders placed in the market are snapped up as soon as they appear. It's really hard to get a single share! The HSBC position assessor called to inquire about the price half an hour ago, and his tone has changed... The quote is still rising, 105, 107... It's crazy! It's all crazy!"
"'Kobayashi concept stocks'... Kobayashi Tenwang, the Chinese citizen of Japan?!" The mysterious young man Kobayashi Tenwang and the bizarre news about him being in a jealous rivalry with the playboy of the Fok family, Fok Chun-ting, flashed through Niubijian's mind.
When he first heard about these two men competing in the media for wealth and power over an ordinary woman who had just entered the Miss Hong Kong pageant, he dismissed it as idle gossip and even scoffed at it. The shenanigans of the young dandy were as insignificant as dust compared to the global crisis facing Jardine Matheson.
Even when he later collaborated with Hong Kong Governor Murray MacLehose in a play and had a brief phone call and "friendship" with Mr. Kobayashi Tenwang, Newbigin only regarded it as a "trick" that he didn't care about.
But he never imagined that this jealous feud, which everyone had been talking about after dinner, would become like a spark in boiling oil, igniting a raging fire in the panicked stock market! And this blazing flames precisely warmed the core of his nearly frozen assets: his shares in Hong Kong Land!
An indescribable surge of ecstasy erupted from the depths of his heart like volcanic lava, rapidly sweeping through Newbijian's every limb. He felt his blood coursing, and could even hear the strong, joyful beating of his heart in his ears. The cold sweat of anxiety hadn't yet dried on his forehead, but the corners of his mouth were already curling up uncontrollably, the grin growing wider and wider until it finally turned into a heartfelt laugh.
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