Chapter 822

On Monday, Li Ye and the others’ import negotiations proceeded with unexpectedly smooth results; the Mr. Inoue section chief agreed to “cooperate happily” within two hours.

“Mr. Ma, we basically agree to your key conditions—can we discuss the remaining details tomorrow?”

Ma Zhao blinked in surprise, then beamed and said: “Thank you, Mr. Inoue, for your trust. I’m certain this cooperation will be extremely smooth and highly successful.”

Absolutely, absolutely. Cooperation is pleasant.

Cooperation is pleasant.

“.”

Li Ye watched as Ma Zhao and Mr. Inoue tightly shook hands, neither letting go for a long while, and he was genuinely puzzled.

Yesterday they’d only had dinner together, hadn’t even stepped into a brothel—how had their relationship suddenly become so smooth?

In his past life, Li Ye had always heard others speak of the “Three Irons of Life,” but his nearsightedness kept him from carrying a rifle, his timid and kind nature prevented him from doing anything reckless, and at best he’d formed “one-iron bonds” with a few compatible classmates.

Only after adulthood, by chance at his workplace, had he barely tried the “half-iron bond” of singing and bathhouse outings with a few colleagues.

I have to admit, this thing actually has some real merit; although it doesn't have the pure friendship of childhood classmates, it actually gets things done for you!

Thinking back to yesterday at the brothel’s entrance, where Mr. Inoue had repeatedly invited Li Ye and the others inside to relax—could this already count as a half-iron bond?

Regardless, Li Ye, Ma Zhao, and Lu Zhizhang were all pleased: Mitsubishi not only agreed to deliver the complete set of production molds and technical documents, but also offered to sell some used production equipment.

And the price fell within Ma Zhao’s group’s acceptable range—even Gu Jianqi, who had been nitpicking all along, had nothing to complain about.

The remaining details—delivery timelines and such minor issues—were trivial, since clearing and packing the sealed equipment naturally took time.

“Going back to the hotel this early? Isn’t that too soon?”

“True. How about we go shopping instead?”

Since the negotiations ended early, everyone had stepped out before noon.

With nothing else to do, someone suggested visiting a mall first to check prices on small appliances they fancied, so they could choose the most suitable items to buy upon returning home after the negotiations.

But after receiving a phone call, Gu Jianqi announced he was going to visit a Japanese friend’s home.

“My Japanese friend gathered some materials for us—I’ll go over to understand them. It should help with our upcoming detail negotiations.”

Li Ye: “.”

【I’m telling you, Grandpa, you’re nearly sixty—no matter how wonderful the thing is, you’ve got to have restraint and know your limits!】

But blocking someone’s path to wealth is like killing their parents; ruining a good opportunity invites thunder and lightning. Since Liu Muhan didn’t stop him, Li Ye had no business meddling.

But Li Ye had misjudged Old Gu this time—he returned before dinner and immediately sent Secretary Guo to consult Li Ye.

“Deputy Factory Director Li, these past few days, Old Gu and I have been studying Japan’s economy and heard a new term—technical adjustment. Deputy Factory Director Li, you’re a top economics graduate—surely you know what it means?”

【Technical adjustment? I’m way too familiar with that—those damn brokerages have used this trick to swindle me out of countless sweat-and-blood earnings.】

But after a few seconds of silence, Li Ye frowned and said: “Technical adjustment? I once heard this term from a classmate who studied abroad in the U.S.—it’s an economic term from Western stock and futures markets. Are you asking about something related to stocks and futures?”

Secretary Guo’s eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously: “Exactly! It’s about stocks and futures. I heard from Old Gu’s Japanese friend that Japan’s stock and futures markets are closely tied to the nation’s economy.

By analyzing their fluctuations, we can gauge the country’s overall economic strength and development direction. You know—family affairs, state affairs, world affairs—Old Gu cares about all of them.”

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.”

Li Ye nodded repeatedly, then added: “But I only know the term—I understand it only partially.

My classmate said technical adjustments can be real or fake: if real, stocks and futures will soon surge; if fake, they’ll crash catastrophically.”

“Can Deputy Factory Director Li tell whether a technical adjustment is real or fake?”

“Of course not.”

Li Ye smiled: “Anyone who can tell the difference doesn’t rely on knowledge—they rely on their social tier. For example, Japan’s Finance Minister would almost certainly know the truth.”

“Oh~ So it’s all about connections!”

Secretary Guo fell into a daze, his gaze drifting, his spirit clearly shaken.

After Secretary Guo left, Liu Muhan leaned close to Li Ye and whispered: “Don’t you find it strange? These two have been acting mysterious lately—clearly not focused on our project’s import at all?”

Li Ye smiled: “Isn’t that better? I was worried they’d drag us down. Now everything’s going smoothly—doesn’t that suit you perfectly?”

Liu Muhan rolled her eyes: “I’m being serious! Don’t play dumb. Unusual behavior always hides something—I don’t believe someone as sharp as you hasn’t noticed.”

Li Ye humbly replied: “What sharpness? Compared to you, I’m just a plain fool.”

“Oh, please!” Liu Muhan sneered. “Xiao Yu and I have analyzed several things involving you—you’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing, with a heart deeper than the ocean.”

“.”

Li Ye was speechless—how could his own little wife be digging up her husband’s secrets with outsiders?

At ten p.m., Lu Zhizhang, sharing a room with Li Ye, was already asleep—but Li Ye was still awake.

Because if the world’s trajectory hadn’t changed, a phone call should arrive soon.

“Ding ling ling~”

The portable phone, set to its lowest ring volume, finally rang.

Li Ye silently picked up: “Hello? What is it?”

Fu Guiru’s voice came low and serious: “The U.S. stock market opened—abnormally. Trading volume in the opening auction was less than one-fifth of normal.”

“Mm, understood. I think it’ll drop twenty percent. You decide what to do. I’m going to sleep.”

“.”

Fu Guiru paused, then burst into curses: “Sleep, sleep, sleep—do you think you’ll die if you don’t sleep? I’m on the line going ‘hello, hello, hello?’ Hello? You damn bastard, how dare you hang up on me?”

What else could Li Ye do but not hang up? The plan had been set months ago—what did he need to do now?

He’d already given Fu Guiru, Pei Wencong, and the others a god’s-eye view—he’d laid out a full banquet right at their mouths. Did he have to spoon-feed them each bite and ask if it was too salty?

According to the established path, today the U.S. stock market would open down three percent, then unleash a cascade of thunderclaps.

At opening, there were no buyers—no trades at all—and this bizarre silence lasted a long time.

Then sell orders surged like tidal waves, crashing the computers; the index display lagged behind actual trades by twenty minutes.

Many traders were stunned: they’d seen the index down three percent on their screens, but actual trades had already plunged past ten percent.

In just two hours, the Dow Jones Index plunged over twenty percent.

Looking back historically, Black Monday in ’87 wasn’t a massive financial crisis—but its single-day drop was among the fastest and cruelest ever.

This speed of decline wiped out longs and small investors completely, plunging them into darkness.

Especially the small investors—they bore the heaviest damage.

Statistics show that in 1987, forty percent of U.S. households with spare cash had invested in stocks, but their orders had very low priority—many didn’t execute until midnight.

Decades later, the same thing happened once in Shanghai’s market. Li Ye remembered how bitterly those helpless compatriots cursed afterward.

Such a disaster falling on ordinary families could ruin them for life.

But let the other guy die—don’t let the poor man die. None of this had anything to do with Li Ye.

All short-sellers holding positions on Friday would wake up rich as if in a dream.

And Li Ye slept soundly all night—even had a few good dreams.