Chapter 103: Glorious Achievements

Fang Ruohai wasn’t as relaxed as Xiao Ran—he had too many things to consider. For example, why did Xiao Ran get into securities trading, and why futures? But now he understood one thing: after some probing over this period, he had roughly figured out how much capital Xiao Ran had.
Over 100 million! Fang Ruohai didn’t think much of this figure, as he himself had a full 600 million at his disposal. With a good opportunity, he could surely crush Xiao Ran in one go. Without Tony needing to say anything, Fang Ruohai could tell that the market makers were ready to push up stock prices. After those few dismal days, everyone hoped for a turnaround, so once the market makers took action, the Hang Seng Index would surely rise.
But Fang Ruohai faced the same problem as Xiao Ran—they had to be on the same side this time. Fang Ruohai wasn’t stupid; missing out on making more money during this good opportunity would be foolish. Even though he had a grudge against Xiao Ran, now wasn’t the time for a decisive battle.
Yet he was frustrated about the timing of the showdown—when exactly should they act? Given the current situation, it seemed impossible to find an opportunity to confront Xiao Ran head-on. This question kept him pondering for a long time, but he still couldn’t come up with a definite answer.
Forget it. Focus on what would happen on October 10th at the exchange. As soon as trading started that day, several stocks that had been plummeting suddenly rose sharply. Coupled with some positive news, it drove other similar stocks upward as well.
“170 million…” Xiao Ran hesitated for a moment—should he bet everything at once? With little hesitation, he made a decision before trading began: “Buy them all. Tell Xiao Yi and the others to act quietly.”
As trading started, Xiao Ran placed 10,000 lots. If the Hang Seng Index rose by 100 points that day, he could earn over 40 million. But if it dropped by 100 points, he would lose over 40 million. He didn’t think Fang Ruohai could defy the trend even with the market makers pushing in that direction.
As soon as the order was placed, Fang Xiaoqiang excitedly shouted, “Fang Ruohai has placed an order—15,000 lots!”
Doing some quick calculations, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Judging from Fang Ruohai’s actions earlier, he must have around 300 to 400 million in capital. On such an important day, Fang Ruohai only placed orders worth about 200 million, which clearly proved this point.
He called Xiao Yi and the others. They started placing orders an hour later, totaling 5,000 lots in all. Xiao Ran smiled. If they won this time, the gap in their capital would narrow further.
Earlier on, Fang Ruohai had had opportunities to make money, but he had been determined to take down Xiao Ran. Moreover, the daily drops weren’t very large, and he didn’t want to reveal his strength, so he gave up those chances to make big profits.
Perhaps stimulated by these large orders, the stock market gradually showed signs of a general upward trend. By the time trading stopped at noon, the Hang Seng Index had risen by 30 to 40 points. In the afternoon, the stimulating effect became even more apparent.

Fang Ruohai kept holding back. He was well aware that under such circumstances, if he placed just over ten thousand more contracts, the Hang Seng Index would surely rise by a hundred points that day. But he forced himself to restrain himself, making one last confirmation to see if Xiao Ran truly only had those nearly two hundred million in funds.

Yet he never expected that Xiao Ran actually had more than those ten thousand futures contracts worth two hundred million—yet he truly had no money left. He also had the fund money, which Xiao Ran had asked Xiao Yi and A Qiang to secretly invest in. If Fang Ruohai had sufficient financial resources, it would be a piece of cake for him to bring Xiao Ran down at this moment.

Futures trading was a form of gambling, betting on whether the index would rise or fall, with larger fluctuations meaning greater losses or profits. Moreover, orders placed on the same day were settled after the market closed. This was what Xiao Ran was most confident about, as he knew the exact fluctuations for those three days. So, he didn’t choose stocks that could yield higher profits.

By the end of the day, the Hang Seng Index had risen by over sixty points. Fang Ruohai truly believed now that Xiao Ran had no ulterior motives—he really had no money left and simply loved taking risks.

A few days later, according to Fang Xiaoqiang, the market makers were ready to withdraw. Xiao Ran began to feel nervous. If the market makers were leaving, it would be a battle between him and Fang Ruohai alone.

But on that very day, the Hang Seng Index plummeted by nearly a hundred points, leaving everyone pale with fear. Both Fang Ruohai and Xiao Ran suffered heavy losses. They asked their top traders, who gave a ridiculous excuse: “We’ve made so much money from them for so long—everyone’s annoyed. If we don’t teach them a lesson before leaving, how can that be right?”

Two days later, the Hang Seng Index quickly rose to 3,771 points. The third day was October 19th, the day Xiao Ran had chosen for the final showdown. On that day, he would face Fang Ruohai in a decisive battle. By now, Tianxia Fund’s accumulated funds had reached 140 million, while Xiao Ran’s own funds had reached 300 million.

October 19th would undoubtedly be an unforgettable day for Hong Kong stock investors. Xiao Ran waited quietly for the market to open, his emotions surging—the moment to defeat Fang Ruohai and take control of the accumulated funds had arrived.

Xiao Ran didn’t reveal his plans to anyone. He simply smiled faintly, trying to suppress his excitement. At 10 o’clock sharp, the market opened. Watching the Hang Seng Index rise slowly, Xiao Ran suddenly felt like a sinner, for what he was about to do would only add more hardship on top of what Hong Kong stock investors were already facing.

“Three thousand contracts—I want it to fall! Go ahead!” Xiao Ran quickly gave the order. Fang Xiaoqiang glanced at him in confusion but still acted swiftly.

“Three thousand contracts? Buy down? What on earth is Xiao Ran up to?” Fang Ruohai was more talking to himself than asking someone else. “Could it really fall? Tony, what’s the situation?”

“No problem. There are no negative news affecting Hong Kong’s economy. Sino-British relations are very good now—there’s absolutely no possibility of a decline!” Tony shrugged and joked, “Unless the U.S. and the Soviet Union go to war, it won’t fall!”

“Since that’s the case…” Fang Ruohai had never hesitated like this before. After thinking for a long time, he gritted his teeth and made a decision: “Buy up—five thousand contracts!”

“Still go short—8,000 lots!” Xiao Ran wore a faint smile as he saw Fang Ruohai had fallen for the trap. He needed to lure Fang Ruohai into it before 11 o’clock; there was only half an hour left, which he believed should be enough.
Three minutes later, Xiao Ran placed another 10,000 lots long, while Fang Ruohai immediately countered with 15,000 lots short. The market became extremely volatile—everyone in the stock exchange knew two groups were clashing fiercely, as if locked in a deep-seated feud.
At 10:55, Xiao Ran anxiously checked the time. If history changed, he would be done for. It was time for the final decision—Xiao Ran no longer needed to stir things up: “How much money is left? Buy it all. Xiao Yi still has 30 million left—buy short that too, but don’t make it too obvious.”
“What? He’s crazy!” Fang Ruohai sensed he had fallen into a trap. Xiao Ran was placing orders at lightning speed, as if insane: “What should we do? Don’t go crazy like him—stop!”
“Really stop?” Tony looked displeased, feeling Fang Ruohai had insulted his intelligence. “If we stop now, the Hang Seng Index will definitely drop further, and we’ll surely lose!”
“We can’t stop!” “We must stop!”
Wang Yu and Wang Minggui could no longer hold back. They had made good profits these days but didn’t want to see Xiao Ran steal their money. Fang Ruohai’s expression showed anger as he growled, “Xiao Ran’s crazy. We don’t need to go crazy with him. There must be another reason—he would never make such a losing bet…”
Wang Yu and Wang Minggui, used to Fang Ruohai’s polite demeanor, were shocked by his rude interruption. Their faces paled instantly, and they stared at the monitor in disbelief. Tony also had a pale face, staring at the screen. In just a few seconds since they spoke, the Hang Seng Index had plummeted by over 60 points—it was already 11 o’clock.
At that moment, a massive wave of selling swept through the stock exchange. All blue-chip stocks opened lower by several points, with sell orders pouring in like an avalanche. Stocks in the second and third tiers dropped even more sharply; many stocks had only sellers and no buyers at all. Everyone in the stock exchange stared in shock at the numbers on the screens, frantically picking up phones to call.
What was worse, rumors started spreading—some asked if the Soviet Union and the U.S. had gone to war, while others went even further, claiming Hong Kong had sunk. But it all happened so suddenly, with no prior signs, and no force could do anything.
Fang Xiaoqiang and Guan Xin watched the numbers on the screen, staring at Xiao Ran in awe, as if looking at a god. Xiao Ran said nothing, smiling faintly on the surface, seemingly indifferent to it all. But his heart was pounding wildly—he knew history was still moving along its original path. Perhaps his interference would cause slight changes, but nothing drastic.

“You don’t need to look at me like that; I’m not God!” To ease his mood, Xiao Ran joked with the two stunned guys, “If I’m right, there should be a slight rebound in a moment—the market will drop by at least 200 to 300 points throughout the morning! Don’t ask me why!”
Of course, they shouldn’t ask him why, because he didn’t know himself. Even experts in stocks couldn’t understand the cause of the crash in 1987. The only thing Xiao Ran knew was that the market dropped by about 100 points in the first half hour and another half that amount in the second half hour.
In fact, he also knew that this crash was caused by the U.S. stock market. Similarly, the U.S. market also plummeted due to this external factor, which in turn affected the Steel Valley market, creating a tragic vicious cycle.
But it was only later that Xiao Ran learned that on this very day, anyone in Hong Kong who paid even the slightest attention to the stock market noticed this extremely abnormal decline. In Central, queues formed outside every bank’s quote machine, with people looking as grave as if Hong Kong had fallen.
By noon, various media outlets such as TV stations and radio stations spread the news wildly. But as the news spread, so did panic. The whole of Hong Kong seemed to be in an uproar, with fear spreading to every corner—this situation was no less severe than what Xiao Ran had seen in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
When the market reopened in the afternoon, the situation was even worse; it dropped another 150 points in just one hour. Even the previously strong Land Development Corporation finally collapsed after holding on for an hour, with overwhelming selling pressure but hardly any buyers. Investors lost all their savings in this bottomless pit, left crying helplessly.
Everyone’s attitude shifted from absolute optimism just a few days ago to utter pessimism. On this day, the only stock with a positive gain was the Peralta Bear Bonds. Almost every stock plummeted, with some dropping by as much as one-third. The Hang Seng Index dropped by nearly 300 points in the morning and another 300 points in the afternoon, closing at 3,168.
Throughout Hong Kong, there was only despair. Some people couldn’t wait until the market closed and committed suicide—truly impulsive. In one word, it all seemed premeditated, like a punishment from God.
At 11:30 a.m., Xiao Ran received a call from Lin Qingxia, which deeply moved him. He hadn’t expected her to keep an eye on the stock market just for him. Thinking of this, Xiao Ran said warmly, “It’s okay. I bought futures; the more it drops, the more I make!”
Lin Qingxia fell silent immediately and just asked Xiao Ran to come to her place that night. Xiao Ran was puzzled at first but realized later that Lin Qingxia had also figured out that his strategy was to deceive the people of Hong Kong. Shaking his head, he began to worry about how to convince her.
“Boss, you’re really a fucking genius!” By the time the market closed in the afternoon, Fang Xiaoqiang, who had been extremely anxious the whole time, shouted loudly, rushed at Xiao Ran, and kissed him. His face lit up as if flowers had bloomed there: “We really made money today!”

After going through these days, Guan Xin was no longer someone who knew nothing about stocks. Yet even seeing today’s profits still left him stunned. If anyone was the happiest, it had to be Xiao Ran.
After simply calculating today’s earnings, he was shocked—utterly dumbfounded. Not including the funds from Tianxia, just the 16,000 shares he held had already earned him nearly 500 million. Adding the 200 million earned from the 7,000 shares in Tianxia, today’s total profit amounted to 700 million!
Xiao Ran was almost driven mad. He never could have imagined that just one day’s work would make him worth a billion. The stock market truly was the best place to make money grow. With over a billion at his disposal, he would have no trouble expanding his company.