How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 599

You Are All Pawns_What’s Wrong with a Ride-Hailing Driver Having Some Money? (1)

Although they didn’t fully grasp Yang Chen’s plan to safeguard his funds, his aunt and cousin trusted him implicitly.

The three of them collaborated to prepare a lavish and delicious lunch.

Yang Chen lit incense and set off firecrackers, and the three of them happily gathered to eat.

Li Xiaofei retrieved two bottles of auction-grade Romanée-Conti from the wine cellar in the basement, together worth over three million [currency not specified, but implied to be a significant amount].

However, Yang Chen didn’t begrudge sharing it with his aunt and cousin. What’s the point of making so much money if you don’t enjoy it?

Li Xiaofei poured three glasses of wine and said, “Come on, let’s make a toast.”

Yang Chen and his aunt smiled and raised their glasses. The three of them clinked glasses and took a sip.

“Eat, eat. Chenzi, try the braised pork balls I made today,” Chen Yuyan said with a smile.

Yang Chen picked up a braised pork ball and took a bite, smiling as he said, “Well, it’s as delicious as ever.”

“Haha…” The three of them laughed heartily, their laughter echoing across the island in the lake.

After lunch, they quickly cleaned up and went to visit Yang Chen’s parents’ graves.

Around four o’clock in the afternoon, Yang Chen was accompanying his aunt and cousin shopping when Huang Hongsen called.

Huang Chaoxin had returned to Macao safely, and Huang Hongsen was calling specifically to express his gratitude to Yang Chen.

Huang Hongsen: “President Yang, Happy New Year to you! Haha…”

Yang Chen: “Thank you, and Happy New Year to you too. I wish you good health and a long life.”

Huang Hongsen: “Haha… Thank you for your blessings, President Yang. Xinxin has returned safely. I’m calling to thank you. Also, I’d like to discuss the matter of those bastards with you. Please have them sent to Zhucheng, and I will arrange for someone to receive them. Also, please don’t leak any information from your side for the time being. I have already sent people to encircle and suppress the Big Circle Gang [a Triad organized crime group]. Is that okay?”

As the president of Macao Entertainment Group, Huang Hongsen wielded considerable influence in Macao. Dealing with the Big Circle Gang wasn’t insurmountable, but it would likely come at a cost.

After all, the members of the Big Circle Gang were hardened criminals or individuals desperate to strike it rich, constantly risking their lives.

However, since they had already targeted Huang Chaoxin, they needed to be dealt with regardless of the expense.

Naturally, Yang Chen was willing to cooperate in cracking down on criminals.

“No problem, I will instruct them to keep quiet. If you need anything, Mr. Huang, I can have the Star Defense Macao branch assist you,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

Huang Hongsen: “Haha… Thank you, President Yang. That would be great. If I need anything, I will definitely contact you. By the way, I wanted to ask your opinion on something. Do you still think gold prices will rise? Haha…”

Yang Chen: “Absolutely, at least to $2300/ounce. My prediction remains unchanged.”

Huang Hongsen: “OK! I’m relieved to hear that from you, President Yang. I’m also reassured to follow your lead and increase my gold reserves. It’s the only true hard currency; other assets are too volatile. Thank you, President Yang. I’ll let you get back to your day, bye.”

Yang Chen: “Okay.”

Everyone has a responsibility to combat crime.

Yang Chen immediately messaged Qiu Tian, instructing him to remind everyone who knew about the situation to remain silent and avoid spreading information.

Shortly after, the three of them arrived at the entrance of the Dragon Gold store.

Aunt and cousin wanted to buy some jewelry,

You Are All Pawns_What’s Wrong with a Ride-Hailing Driver Having Some Money? (2)

and pulled Yang Chen inside to browse.

Li Xiaofei: “Oh my god, gold is 450 yuan per gram today!”

One ounce is equal to 31.1 grams. With an exchange rate of 7.2 [assumed to be yuan to USD], that’s $1980 per ounce.

However, the gold price in the New York and other futures markets is $1950, which is $30 cheaper per ounce than spot gold in Dragon Country [China].

Clearly, these gold factories in Dragon Country weren’t paying attention to futures prices and were pricing based on their own market assessments.

Chen Yuyan: “I should sell all the gold I bought before to profit from the price difference.”

As she spoke, a staff member came to change the price tag.

“Today’s gold price is 470 yuan/gram.”

Yang Chen was taken aback and quickly asked, “Excuse me, isn’t that price increase a bit excessive? You’ve pushed the gold price to $2000 per ounce. Will anyone still buy it?”

The waiter smiled and replied: “Of course, look at how many customers are shopping in the store. This is the headquarters’ directive; we just follow instructions. Whether anyone buys it or not is not our concern.”

They were profiteers, exploiting the herd mentality of ordinary people and their trust in Yang Chen to maximize profits in advance.

Buying gold at this price meant potentially being trapped at a high level if one was slow to react to market changes.

Yang Chen understood the psychology of retail investors [often referred to as “leeks” in Chinese investment slang] all too well. If they made money, they’d attribute it to their investment acumen. If they lost money, they’d blame Yang Chen for misleading them, and some would even try to gain attention by criticizing him for causing their losses.

Yang Chen quickly contacted the person in charge of the gold reserve center and requested a joint announcement with Star Investment and Yang Chen, cautioning everyone to invest prudently and avoid blind buying.

Half an hour later, Yang Chen, Star Investment, and the National Gold Reserve Center jointly issued a statement reminding everyone to approach the current gold rush rationally and invest cautiously. The market is risky, and investment requires prudence.

However, their good intentions weren’t universally appreciated.

Consider the comments from netizens:

“Boss Yang said it will rise to $2300/ounce, which is 530 yuan per gram. There’s still plenty of room for price appreciation, everyone should keep buying.”

“There’s still a lot of upside potential, don’t hesitate now, stop when it hits 500.”

“Boss Yang has already shown us how to play the game. If you still don’t know how to play, don’t invest in the future, just deposit your money in the bank.”

“I recommend that novices stay away. The recycling price is lower than the daily gold price. If you can’t handle that, you’ll definitely lose money if you buy high.”

“Tch, who are you looking down on? The recycling price is only 3%-5% lower. As long as it doesn’t reach 500, you can buy it. Everyone just rush in, but be careful when it reaches 500.”

……

Aunt was watching the Spring Festival Gala [a popular Chinese New Year television program], and Yang Chen couldn’t help but feel concerned seeing the netizens’ reaction to the “joint statement”.

Perhaps the gold factories were taking advantage of the situation, deliberately encouraging people to buy gold.

Once this wave of investors was trapped, it was hard to say how long it would take them to recover.

To prevent people from losing their hard-earned money, Yang Chen decided to act decisively.

Yang Chen returned to his study and called Jin Ming.

You Are All Pawns_What’s Wrong with a Ride-Hailing Driver Having Some Money? (3)

phone.

Yang Chen: “Hello, Jin Ming, tell everyone to be ready to work before nine o’clock. We’re not sleeping tonight. Find a chance to close our positions. I’ll have Africa take action now; we only have one shot.”

Jin Ming: “Okay, I’ll call them immediately to get ready.”

Hanging up, Yang Chen called Qiu Yuhong.

Yang Chen: “Chairman Qiu, it’s time to act.”

Qiu Yuhong: “Okay. I’ll notify them immediately.”

Hanging up, Yang Chen called Qiu Tian again.

Yang Chen: “Qiu Tian, tell Zhang Lijun it’s time to move.”

Qiu Tian: “Okay. I’ll notify him immediately.”

Hanging up, Yang Chen continued to call Tang Xia.

Yang Chen: “Xia Xia, it’s time to act.”

Tang Xia: “Okay, I’ll call them immediately.”

Then Yang Chen called the chairman of Jinling Mining and instructed him to execute the plan.

Hanging up, Yang Chen opened his computer and waited for the foreign gold futures market to open.

Due to the sudden release of a large amount of gold by the US market, the spot price fell, which in turn caused the futures market to decline.

Therefore, after the New York gold futures market opened, the gold price initially fell slightly.

However, this downward trend was short-lived, and the gold price soon reversed and soared.

Previously, the rise in gold prices was driven by Star Investment’s long positions, but now the rise was fueled by international news.

At that moment, the trading software displayed a news alert.

“Breaking! Multiple gold mines in Southeast Asian countries such as Southern Myanmar and Thailand have experienced riots. Local gold mines belonging to companies including Tang’s Group and Jinling Mining have been destroyed or occupied by local armed forces, forcing all production to halt.”

“Multiple gold mines in South Africa, the largest gold-producing country, have experienced riots. Workers have collectively gone on strike, and even bloodshed has occurred. Angry workers have occupied multiple gold mines. The local area has entered a state of high alert. The embassy urges Dragon citizens in South Africa to prioritize their personal safety and avoid going out unless absolutely necessary.”

“Riots have erupted in African countries and regions such as South Africa, Congo, and Zimbabwe. Multiple mercenary groups, including Wagner [a Russian private military company], are engaged in chaotic battles. It is currently impossible to distinguish friend from foe, and the reasons for this situation are unclear. However, all forces are fighting over gold mines.”

“The largest gold mine in Canada, a major gold-producing country, has experienced a serious production accident. The mine has collapsed. There is no news of casualties yet, but the mine’s production cannot continue and cannot be restored in the near future.”

……

Watching the stream of news, Yang Chen happily lit a cigar, poured another glass of Romanée-Conti, and watched the gold price skyrocket.

“You are all pawns, and I am the chess player. The pawns move according to my will.”

Fueled by this series of events, the gold price successfully broke through $2000/ounce, then $2100 and $2200, with no sign of slowing down.

Yang Chen sent a message to Jin Ming.

“Sell everything and close our positions above 2200, break it up into small orders, don’t use large orders.”

Jin Ming received the message and immediately instructed the traders to sell and close positions in small increments.

At this time,

You Are All Pawns_What’s Wrong with a Ride-Hailing Driver Having Some Money? (4)

The Goldman Sachs Group conference room was in chaos.

“We can’t add more positions, close the position immediately and admit defeat.”

“Major problems have occurred in gold mines worldwide. Gold production will be limited in the short term, and gold prices will only rise or remain high; they can’t fall.”

“But we’ve added too many positions in a row. If we close the position and admit defeat now, we’ll lose at least $20 billion. The president said that as long as we don’t close the position, it’s just a floating loss on the account, and closing the position makes it a real loss.”

“Damn it! Are you serious? Is it still a floating loss? We have no money to add positions, and gold prices are unlikely to fall in the short term. We might not see it fall even if we hold it until the delivery date. Why should we keep holding and lose even more?”

……

Watching the executives and analysts arguing, President John sighed helplessly, then knocked on the table and said, “Okay, stop arguing. I’ve decided to close the position and leave the market, and abandon our plan to short the Dragon Gold market.”

Everyone had been arguing fiercely, but once the president made a decision, everyone accepted it calmly.

So, Goldman Sachs Group quickly bought 900 tons of gold in the futures market to cover their short positions.

The long positions that Star Investment had bought earlier were mostly sold to Goldman Sachs, and all the money Goldman Sachs lost went into Star Investment’s account.

Subsequently, Goldman Sachs issued an announcement.

“Due to the current turmoil in the international gold market, to protect the company’s interests, our company has closed all gold short positions and terminated our shorting plan.”

This announcement further fueled the frenzy in the international gold market.

At this point, the mentality of investors in the United States collapsed.

“What the hell! Goldman Sachs admitted defeat? They gave up like that? What am I supposed to do? I followed them to short, and I mortgaged my house to add positions at the peak. I don’t have any more money to add positions. If it rises another 5%, I’ll be forced to close my position.”

“Isn’t there news that the New York Gold Reserve Center released a lot of spot gold? Why are gold prices still rising like this? Does that mean the reserve center has suffered serious losses and can’t buy back so much gold in the short term?”

“I shouldn’t have believed that any company on Wall Street could defeat Yang Chen. Gold has gone crazy, and I actually shorted with Goldman Sachs. Fuck!”

……

At this time, the New York International Gold Reserve Center was also in chaos.

Originally, they thought that the gold price had reached $1950/ounce, which was already extremely high, and it would definitely fall soon.

They planned to sell a little first, then buy it back when it fell, essentially performing a “T” [a day trading strategy] in the stock market. In the end, the total amount of gold would remain the same, but they would earn an arbitrage.

After all, the gold was just sitting idle in the warehouse, and it would be good to earn some extra money.

They never expected the gold price to skyrocket like this, completely disrupting their plans, and everyone was brainstorming how to solve this problem.

“What the hell! Who would have thought so many gold mines around the world would have problems at the same time? Gold production can’t return to normal in the short term, which will inevitably raise international gold prices, and we can’t buy back so much gold in the short term.”

“It’s useless to say these things now; we need to think about what to do.”

“What are you afraid of? Anyway, other countries aren’t allowed to transport it back, and they aren’t allowed to inspect it. We’ll just wait for the gold price to fall back below the cost line and then buy it back. The only annoying thing is that we’ve been harvested, which is very irritating.”

“I think so many gold mines having problems at the same time is too coincidental; someone must be manipulating it behind the scenes. We should entrust the CIA to investigate and see if there’s a mastermind behind this series of events.”

“I agree! If someone is really manipulating things, we have to find him and hold him accountable, and kill him!”

……

The gold market’s frenzy overshadowed the embarrassment of companies like Qualcomm.

Since Star Investment released the short report, the stock prices of these companies had fallen by 40%.

But these companies were powerless and couldn’t find any way to save their stock prices.

Why?

Because the core issue was that Longxin International wanted to exclusively control the $300 billion chip market in Dragon Country every year, and a large portion of that market originally belonged to them.

Moreover, Longxin International had begun supplying goods to the outside world, seizing the international market share of these companies.

It was foreseeable that these chip manufacturers would enter a period of decline, and there was no solution.

Investors believed that the future performance of these companies was poor, so they naturally chose to sell their stocks, and their stock prices would continue to fall to a reasonable level before stabilizing.

As for what constituted a reasonable price, it depended on the investors’ opinions. These companies were powerless and couldn’t control the investors’ thoughts.

Since they couldn’t solve the problem themselves, and there were no technological breakthroughs on the horizon, the only remaining option was political intervention.

For example, prohibiting certain countries from using Longxin International’s chips, or requiring Star Investment to immediately stop shorting, etc.

Other countries couldn’t do this, but the Americans could.

They immediately began contacting Dragon Country to discuss these issues.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, according to Dragon tradition, everyone should stay home with their families to play cards, watch TV, etc.

But this year was different; wealthy individuals arrived at gold stores early in the morning to line up and buy gold.

Yang Chen also woke up early and called Chen Xi as soon as he opened his eyes.

Chen Xi: “President Yang, Happy New Year, I wish you a Happy New Year.”

Yang Chen: “Haha… Thank you, I also wish
you a happy new year. Please immediately use my and Star Investment’s accounts to issue an announcement, reminding everyone that gold prices are high now, and they should only sell, not buy.”

Chen Xi: “Okay. I’ll post it right away.”

Hanging up, Chen Xi quickly opened his computer, drafted the announcement, and sent it out.

Soon, Yang Chen’s reminder spread across the internet.

Some people listened to the advice and only sold, not bought.

But some people were stubborn, believing that gold prices would continue to rise and they could still buy.

Dragon Gold Lujiazui Store.

The waiter opened the store door and placed the advertising sign outside.

“Today’s gold price is 540 yuan/gram, jewelry gold price is 600 yuan/gram, and the recycling price is 520 yuan/gram.”

Clearly, gold stores had begun to mitigate risks.

Gold bars were sold at 540 yuan per gram based on the international gold price, and jewelry was sold at 600 yuan per gram plus processing fees, but the unified recycling price was reduced to 520 yuan per gram.

This meant that anyone buying gold would lose at least 20 yuan per gram immediately. For gold jewelry, the loss was 80 yuan per gram.

Unless the gold price continued to rise by more than 15%, anyone buying would lose money.

Seeing this price, some people’s reason overcame their impulse and they abandoned the idea of buying.

However, some people were still reckless and continued to buy, convinced they could accurately sell at the highest point.

These people were like stockholders who buy at the daily limit, believing they had unique insight and could sell at the peak.

The stock market trapped those people, and now the gold market was trapping these people.

Regardless of their choices, Yang Chen had kindly warned them, and they deserved to be trapped in the future; they couldn’t blame anyone else.

Although the gold market’s frenzy continued, the contest between Yang Chen and Goldman Sachs had ended.

If the duel between the two sides was compared to playing chess, Yang Chen was playing white chess with his left hand, and simultaneously controlling the black chess pieces of Goldman Sachs and all the people who participated in this gold game with his right hand. From the moment the chessboard was set, Yang Chen’s victory was assured.