Chapter 189: Hang Seng Index Crash: The Craziest Day in Hong Kong Island Financial History

It was 1:30 p. m., and the Hong Kong Island stock market resumed trading.

Lu Qingshan leaned by the window, holding a freshly brewed Tieguanyin, his expression as calm as if watching a movie whose ending he already knew.

But the others in the Trading Room were a different scene—Ye Ning stared at the screen, ten fingers rapidly tapping the keyboard, sweat beads on his forehead already soaking his bangs; Li Zhi'an and Wang Yuyun held their breath, fearing they'd miss any number's movement.

"Mr. Lu, the Hang Seng Index is at 1,378 points now, down 2 points from the morning," Ye Ning said, a little nervous, "Do you think we need to adjust our positions?"

Lu Qingshan took a light sip of tea, his gaze still out the window: "No rush, the real show hasn't started yet."

Lu Qingjun spun anxiously beside him: "Second brother, our position is so large now; each point drop means millions of profit! How can you stay so calm?"

"Because I know what's going to happen today," Lu Qingshan turned around, "Qingjun, remember today's date; this will be the darkest day in Hong Kong Island financial history."

Lu Qingjun scratched his head: "Second brother, you speak so mystically—what if it doesn't fall but rises instead?"

"Then I'll publicly perform eating a keyboard," Lu Qingshan said offhand.

"No, second brother!" Lu Qingjun laughed, "Keyboards are so hard to eat; how about swapping for an Apple?"

At that moment, the numbers on the big screen began to jump wildly.

The Hang Seng Index slid rapidly from 1,378 points—1,375, 1,370, 1,365…—each change tugging at everyone's heartstrings.

"Oh my God!" Wang Yuyun exclaimed, her voice shifting, "What's happening? It's dropping so fast!"

Li Zhi'an's voice trembled: "Mr. Lu, is something serious happening? This kind of drop is abnormal!"

Lu Qingshan set down his tea cup, walked to the main display: "Very normal. Panic has always looked like this."

The Hang Seng Index kept plummeting—1,360, 1,350, 1,340…—in just ten minutes the drop exceeded 30 points!

In the Trading Room, aside from the clatter of keyboards and the hum of monitors, the only sound was everyone's rapid breathing.

"My goodness!" Lu Qingjun stared at the ever‑jumping numbers, nearly losing his balance, "Each point drop nets us millions! It's already down nearly 40 points, that means…"

"Stop calculating!" Ye Ning shouted suddenly, voice a bit hysterical, "I'm afraid the result will scare me unconscious!"

"That's not right, Ye Ning," Lu Qingjun widened his eyes, "Weren't you a math prodigy? Why are you afraid to do the math now?"

Ye Ning gave a wry smile: "Isn't this fear? What if I miscalculate…"

"Don't worry," Lu Qingshan said calmly while refilling tea, "If today's numbers are wrong, it's on me."

But the plunge kept going.

The Hang Seng Index raged down from 1,340, then 1,320, 1,300, 1,280… each jump pushing everyone's perception limits.

Li Zhi'an could no longer speak, only pointing at the screen with trembling fingers, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

Wang Yuyun collapsed onto her chair, eyes hollow as she stared at the ceiling, as if questioning life itself.

"Wang Yuyun, what's wrong with you?" Lu Qingjun asked concernedly.

"I'm wondering…" Wang Yuyun murmured, "Am I dreaming?"

Lu Qingjun reached out and pinched her arm: "Does it hurt?"

"It hurts!" Wang Yuyun jumped up, "Then it's real! We're really going to get rich!"

"Mr. Lu," Ye Ning's voice was already trembling beyond recognition, "Now… what should we do?"

Lu Qingshan remained as calm as ever, even leisurely brewing another pot of tea: "We don't need to do anything; just watch quietly. History is unfolding before our eyes."

At 2:30 p. m., the Hang Seng Index fell below the 1,250‑point mark, and the entire Hong Kong Island financial sector plunged into unprecedented panic.

The exchange was filled with desperate wails, countless investors watching their wealth turn to bubbles before their eyes.

"Second brother," Lu Qingjun's voice trembled, "How much longer will this last? I feel my little heart can hardly take it."

"Almost there," Lu Qingshan glanced at his watch, "Wait another twenty minutes, then we should haul in the net."

"Haul in the net?" Lu Qingjun asked, puzzled, "What net?"

"Catching fish," Lu Qingshan laughed, "The fatter the fish, the more valuable the net."

Sure enough, at 2:50 p. m., the Hang Seng Index had fallen to 1,215 points, with only ten minutes left before the close.

The whole market was completely dominated by panic, sell‑off orders surging like a tide.

"Enough," Lu Qingshan finally said, "Ye Ning, start closing positions!"

Ye Ning, as if waking from a dream, let his ten fingers instantly dance across the keyboard.

Li Zhi'an and Wang Yuyun also sprang into action; the three, like a perfectly synchronized orchestra, performed a financial fantasia on the keyboards.

Lu Qingjun watched, mouth agape: "Second brother, their speed is almost on par with the masters in wuxia novels!"

As massive short positions were closed, the Hang Seng Index rebounded a few points in the final minutes before close, finally settling at 1,210 points, a single‑day drop of over 12%!

When the closing bell rang, the entire Trading Room fell into death‑like silence.

Everyone stared wide‑eyed at the final number, as if still dreaming.

"It's over," Lu Qingshan said lightly, as if he had just finished an afternoon stroll.

Ye Ning trembled as she opened the profit‑statistics page; when she saw the final figure, her whole body froze.

After a full minute, she finally whispered in a voice so shaky it was barely audible: "Lu… Mr. Lu, you… you look at this number…"

Everyone gathered around; upon seeing the string of numbers on the screen, each first inhaled a sharp gasp of cold air, then fell into prolonged silence.

"Own capital five million, after financing total 56 million, five‑times leverage operation scale 280 million," Ye Ning's voice was stiff, "From shorting at 1,397 points to 1,210 points, net profit…"

She paused a full ten seconds, then continued: "Today's net profit is HK$410 million!"

"What?!" Lu Qingjun leapt up, "Four hundred million?! Second brother, did I hear that right?"

"And there's proxy investment funds!" Wang Yuyun suddenly recalled, voice even more trembling, "80 million of proxy funds, five‑times leverage, a four‑hundred‑million operation scale!"

Li Zhi'an swallowed with difficulty: "From 1,397 to 1,210 points, a drop of 187 points; a 400‑million scale calculated based on different entry points, the profit is…"

"720 million!" Ye Ning blurted out the astronomical figure, then collapsed onto the chair.

The air in the Trading Room seemed to solidify. Lu Qingjun stood with his mouth open, unable to speak for ages.

Li Zhi'an and Wang Yuyun looked at each other, their eyes filled with incredulous shock.

"So," Ye Ning summarized in a trembling voice, "In one day, we earned a total of HK$1.138 billion?!"

The moment that figure was announced, the entire Trading Room erupted in deafening cheers!

"My God!" Lu Qingjun rolled on the floor, "1.1 billion! 1.1 billion! Second brother, have we gotten rich or robbed a bank?"

"Robbing a bank never happens that fast," Lu Qingshan said with a smile, "and we don't even have to go to jail."

"Mr. Lu! You're a deity! You're a deity!" Li Zhi'an was so excited he could barely speak, "This is nothing short of a miracle!"

Wang Yuyun burst into tears, "I've never seen this much money in my life! Mr. Lu, you have truly made history!"

"Don't cry," Lu Qingjun handed over a tissue, "this is a good thing; we should be laughing!"

"I'm happy!" Wang Yuyun said while wiping her tears and laughing, "I'm too excited!"

Ye Ning tried to calm herself, her voice trembling as she continued the calculation: "At a 20% proxy investment return, the management fee alone is 145.6 million! Adding the 410 million profit from our own capital…"

She inhaled deeply, summoning all her strength to state the final figure: "Mr. Lu, your net profit today is 555.6 million Hong Kong dollars!"

"Over five hundred million!" Lu Qingjun spun around in excitement, "Second brother, you made over five hundred million in a day! Hong Kong dollars! That's faster than printing money!"

"That's because printing money also requires paper and ink," Lu Qingshan teased, "our costs are even lower."

Just as everyone was immersed in the revelry over the huge profits, Lu Qingshan's phone rang suddenly. He glanced at the number—it was Li Fuying calling.

"Mr. Lu!" Li Fuying's trembling voice came through the phone, "You... you really... I don't know how to describe it today!"

Lu Qingshan smiled, "Chairman Li, are you satisfied?"

"Satisfied? That's no longer a question of satisfaction!" Li Fuying's voice was filled with awe, "Mr. Lu, what you created today is not just the history of the Hong Kong Island stock market, it may even be the history of the world stock markets! A single‑day profit of over five hundred million—that's legendary!"

Soon, calls from several other big‑shots followed in one after another.

In each voice there was shock and admiration, some even so excited they could barely speak.

After hanging up the last call, Lu Qingshan looked at the still‑celebrating crowd, a complex feeling welling up inside him.

In his past life he could never have dreamed that one day he would create such a miracle.

"Everyone," Lu Qingshan clapped his hands, "today truly deserves celebration, but this is only the beginning."

Ye Ning, wiping the tears from the corner of her eye, asked excitedly, "Mr. Lu, you mean…"

"The Hong Kong Island financial market still holds more opportunities for us. Today's success only proves one thing—" Lu Qingshan's eyes flashed with resolve, "as long as you follow me, you will witness miracle after miracle being born!"

Lu Qingjun was still there, counting on his fingers, "Second brother, over five hundred million! If we convert that to RMB, how much would that be? My brain can't even keep up!"

"Stop calculating, you'll blow your brain out," Li Zhi'an teased beside him, "Anyway, it's just one word—'a lot'!"

Wang Yuyun nodded, "Now I finally understand what an astronomical figure is. I used to think being a multi‑millionaire was impressive, but I never expected Mr. Lu to earn five hundred million in a single day!"

"This is only a warm‑up," Lu Qingshan said calmly, "Before Hong Kong's reunification, we will have even bigger opportunities. Real estate, finance, technology—each field harbors massive wealth."

Lu Qingjun's eyes lit up, "Second brother, what's our next move? Keep trading stocks?"

"Let's rest a few days and let the market cool down," Lu Qingshan glanced at his watch, "After all, you can't become fat in one bite; we need to give others a chance to survive."

Ye Ning couldn't help but laugh, "Mr. Lu, that's hilariously said. Giving others a chance to survive? With this move today, who knows how long how many people will stay up sleepless!"

Just as everyone was still immersed in the relaxed, pleasant atmosphere, the Trading Room door was suddenly pushed open.

A few strangers in suits and leather shoes entered, each with a solemn expression that made everyone's skin crawl.

Laughter abruptly stopped, and the entire Trading Room fell silent in an instant.