Chapter 261: Five Crabs

Advancing into real estate has always been an indispensable part of Chen Mo's business plan.

Previously I kept stopping Lu Bin Sun from getting into real estate because the timing was wrong.

At that time Chen Mo's foundation was unstable and his available capital was limited.

Moreover, after this stock market crash the Hong Kong stock bubble burst, and the consumption desire of Gangdao residents will overall drop by a large margin.

Housing prices will fall by at least 20%.

Getting into the real estate industry too early will inevitably lose a lot of money.

But now it's different.

Chen Mo now holds hundreds of billions of cash; the stock crash is passing, making it a perfect time to move into real estate.

"Old Sun, spend the next few days researching to see if there are suitable listed real estate companies; we'll directly buy them at the bottom."

Now many companies' stock prices are already below net assets, which is an ideal bottom‑buying opportunity.

Chen Mo now has money; directly acquiring a mature listed company is far better than starting a new company from scratch.

"Really?" Lu Bin Sun said half‑believing, after all Chen Mo had stopped him from entering real estate several times.

"Really! When have I ever joked with you?" Chen Mo said with a serious face.

Lu Bin Sun shook his head again: "It's not easy; the stock price is falling too sharply, and we don't know when it will bottom out!"

Chen Mo smiled confidently: "You don't need to worry about that. By my estimate, tomorrow, the market will have nowhere left to fall."

Moreover, because the exchange was mysteriously suspended for four days, there likely won't be any major rebound in the short term.

So this matter doesn't need to be rushed; taking it slowly is still fine."

Although Lu Bin Sun didn't know where Chen Mo's confidence came from, considering Chen Mo had previously predicted the stock crash, he took it as a deep understanding of the market and nodded in agreement with Chen Mo's idea.

"I'll trust you this once. In the next few days I'll look into the data of those listed real estate companies."

Chen Mo added: "How about this—later I'll find a lawyer to help you. Be sure to pick companies that hold undeveloped land reserves and have no major debt defaults."

"Don't worry, I understand."

With Chen Mo's decision to move into real estate confirmed, a hint of a smile finally appeared on Lu Bin Sun's face.

However, while they were talking, the situation in the trading hall outside grew increasingly severe.

The Hang Seng Index has already slipped to 2,500 points and continues to fall.

Now Hong Kong stocks are in a worse state than the U. S. stocks were last Monday.

Of course, where some lose money, others profit.

Through the trading room's glass, Chen Mo saw a few people cheering and celebrating, and they didn't seem like ordinary folks.

"Jimi, send someone to find out who those people are."

Jimi looked in the direction Chen Mo pointed, about to go out and look for someone, when Lu Bin Sun stopped him.

"No need to go. I know those people; they're the Five Crabs of the Five Crab Group. The oldest is called Ding Xie, and the four younger ones are his four sons—a whole family of scums!"

Speaking of the Five Crabs, Lu Bin Sun's tone carried some resentment.

Chen Mo understood in his heart—they were indeed them.

"Old Sun, your tone sounds unfriendly; did they offend you?"

Lu Bin Sun replied angrily: "It's not exactly an offense. Back when we were in Chi Zhu, I dealt with Ding Xie a few times. He's a bastard, a brute; his whole family are brutes.

Half a month ago their Five Crab Group listed, and I saw someone sniping their stock, so I lent a hand.

I didn't expect the stock crash to hit; these bastards abandoned their own company and tried to drag us down with them, causing me to lose a lot of money!

Oh, right, they also have a triad society, what's it called… Loyal Youth Society, yes, the Loyal Youth Society!

Honestly, Chen Mo still admires those five father‑sons a bit.

The four brothers: one a doctor, one a lawyer, one a businessman, and one a triad boss; all are capable and talented.

Their father Ding Xie may be a fool with little skill and an odd mind, but his luck is off the charts, comparable to a destined child.

This time they relied on Ding Xie's luck, short‑selling the Hang Seng Index with a full position, raking in HK$2 billion, and are celebrating wildly!

Chen Mo, his mind racing, asked: "Old Sun, do you know who was sniping the Five Crab Group's stock?"

Lu Bin Sun replied: "I don't know. I only inferred from the Five Crab Group's trading that someone was sniping them, probably two groups; I really don't know who exactly."

Lu Bin Sun doesn't know, but Chen Mo does.

If nothing goes wrong, the snipers are probably Fang Zhanbo and Chen Taotao.

Fang Zhanbo should still be on Wan Island, operating via email with people on Gangdao.

But Chen Taotao is on Gangdao, and now should be inside the exchange.

Being under thirty and already a vice president of Meiliguo Tongbao Bank, Chen Taotao is not only a financial prodigy but also has exceptional management skills—a rare talent.

I wouldn't say his ability surpasses Lu Bin Sun's, but it's certainly far stronger than Jimi's right now.

Chen Mo began to consider recruiting Chen Taotao; such talent can't be let go.

He glanced at the time; the exchange was about to close.

After briefing a few of his subordinates, Chen Mo led his men out.

That night, in the apartment where Ann and Liu Piaopiao lived.

The five of them happily ate dinner together.

That's right, five people. Besides Liu Lili, who Chen Mo brought, Qin Huilian also returned with Liu Piaopiao.

After dinner, Chen Mo sat on the sofa, hugging on both sides.

"Piaopiao, Chin, what's the recent box office total?"

"It seems to have reached about 27.7 million, but now few people go to the movies, probably won't hit 30 million; this year's box‑office champion is out of the picture."

Speaking of box office, Liu Piaopiao felt a bit down.

She had expected the box office to steadily surpass 30 million, but it suddenly stalled, which was truly disappointing.

Chen Mo had anticipated this result. Fortunately, it was released at the end of September, which allowed it to achieve this box office figure.

If it had followed the normal shooting schedule, the film would have only been released a few days ago, and its box office would have already ended.

"Recently Gangdao has been experiencing a stock market crash, so probably no one is paying attention to movies. It's normal for the box office not to rise; it'll get better after a while."

"Anyway, we have our own film company; we can just make another good movie later and win next year's box office championship as well!"

"That's all we can do; I just don't know whether the box office of the next film will be that high!"

Chen Mo rubbed Li Piaopiao's hair and said, "Don't worry, the box office will keep getting higher in the future."

"By the way, have you had a conflict with someone from TVB?"

"TVB? No, right?" Liu Piaopiao frowned, thinking.

In her impression, she had never offended anyone.

"If you haven't offended them, why would they leak information about you for no reason?"

Hearing Chen Mo say that, Liu Piaopiao thought carefully again and said, "Actually, I've had dealings with them, but I haven't offended them."

"Before, a TVB person said they wanted to sign a five-film contract with me, but I refused—does that count as offending them?"