Chapter 2

On March 26, 1980, at 77 Broadway in Manhattan, on the 15th floor, in the various trading rooms, traders began making phone calls with great enthusiasm as soon as the market opened.

"Silver is currently holding at $33.80 and is still slowly declining."

"There's no good news or bad news."

"Most banks are still watching and have not given a specific response to the Hunt brothers' proposal."

Voices rose and fell, with many traders intently watching the rudimentary screens while speaking loudly on the phone, exchanging glances to communicate.

Suddenly, one trader stood up and shouted, "Just received news, First Bank has started formal discussions on the Hunt brothers' collateral transaction."

Another trader stood up in a chain reaction, "The price of silver is rising, currently at $34.20 per ounce!"

The middle-aged white man who looked like a supervisor immediately picked up the phone, "Mr. Lee Jr., the current price of silver is $34.20 per ounce, with good news, First Bank has started formal discussions on the Hunt brothers' proposal for a loan collateralized by their family businesses."

After a moment, he put down the receiver, his expression somewhat complex, and waved at the traders looking at him, "Continue!"

A murmur of voices rose, but quickly subsided as the traders resumed their phone calls, dialing or preparing to dial.

Time passed minute by minute, the price of silver fluctuated, and news of good and bad developments continued to come in. As the trading day progressed, the price of silver officially fell below $30, but the boss still took no action. Then—

"God! Bache & Co. has announced the forced sale of the Hunt family's silver futures!" A trader, after listening for a few seconds, suddenly jumped up and shouted excitedly.

Following this, several traders who were in constant contact with the exchange also shouted, "Lord! The price of silver is plummeting, $27, $26, $25..."

Everyone was in an uproar, picking up their phones and looking at the screens, various voices emerged, buzzing and chaotic.

The supervisor immediately picked up the phone to notify the boss, but after a few words, his expression became somewhat呆滞, but he still called out loudly, "Sell immediately once it drops to $15!"

March 26, 1980, was later known in the futures industry as "Silver Wednesday." The well-known Hunt family in the United States suffered huge losses in this silver speculation case and had to sell off their family businesses over the next few years to repay debts.

This was also the last major speculative case in U.S. financial history. After this, financial speculation was dominated by various derivatives.

It is estimated that the Hunt family lost at least $3.4 billion, including $1.1 billion from the federal government. The Hunt family held at least 50 million ounces of silver, and if they had dumped it all, the market would have collapsed. The federal government had to provide funds to save the Hunt family and the banks that had lent them money.

Although many people suffered losses in this speculation, a small number of people still made money by shorting. Among them were insightful traders, white-gloved insiders, lucky fools, and... a fifth-generation rich man who had been reborn.

---

"Thank you, Mr. Wood. Without your help, it would have been difficult for me to profit from this silver crisis." After signing his documents, Li Xu stood up and extended his hand to the middle-aged man behind the desk.

"My pleasure, Mr. Lee Jr.," the middle-aged man stood up, "I must say, it was a truly brilliant battle. For months, even years to come, both Wall Street traders and bank executives will talk about it."

"That's not what I want," Li Xu said half-jokingly, shook hands with the other party, and then left the office.

He walked to the restroom, used the facilities, and then tidied his clothes while looking at his clearly mixed-race face in the mirror, sighing silently.

Although he said that, it was impossible not to be noticed. He looked in his early twenties but was actually just two months shy of his 18th birthday. Making $50 million in the market through shorting before he was of age was a feat that even many well-known figures in investment banks had not achieved. This was $50 million in 1980.

"Only a tenfold profit, still far from my goal," Li Xu muttered, then turned and left the restroom.

His goal was simple: to earn $10 billion in pocket money by 1993, and then to earn more money while spending it freely.

This goal was not difficult given his current family situation, but it was also not easy. Although the 1980s offered many opportunities to make money, the only way to achieve his set goal was through financial speculation.

However, to play financial speculation, he had to be careful about the storm his butterfly effect might cause, even though his golden finger of rebirth allowed him to remember some money-making opportunities clearly.

For example, in the Hunt brothers' silver speculation case, his memory told him that on Thursday, March 27, Bache & Co., which had lent money to the Hunt brothers, could no longer hold out and announced a forced sale, causing the price to plummet, eventually falling to $10 before rebounding to $15.

However, with only $5 million in principal, Li Xu not only caused the price to plummet early but also saw it rebound to $18.

Fortunately, his stop-loss point was set at $20, and being cautious in his first short, he had planned to act when the price fell to $13. The lowest price in his memory was $11, but to profit from shorting, he couldn't wait for the lowest price, as no one might take the position, leading to a miscalculation.

$13 was not safe either, being too close to the lowest price, so Li Xu raised it to $15. Earning less was fine, but he couldn't afford to fail in his first battle.

Fortunately, his luck was good, and due to these various factors, he achieved the desired result.

The biggest help, however, came from his family, such as introducing him to mature teams, providing the information he needed, and, of course, the "meticulous cultivation" over the past 17 years, as well as... a sufficiently powerful background.

After all, he had visited Goldman Sachs at age 6, Morgan Stanley at age 8, and by age 16, he had toured the headquarters of all the well-known banks on Wall Street, whether commercial or investment banks.

"Why do I have to be so careful to make $50 million, relying on my family? Why can't I easily make billions like in those rebirth novels?" Li Xu muttered as he came downstairs and got into the waiting car.

"To my father's place," he said to the driver.

After two streets, the destination was reached, not far away, and it wouldn't take long to walk, but the car ride was mainly for... well... style.

Looking at the distant Morgan Stanley building, Li Xu entered the office building, took the elevator to the 24th floor, and after greeting the receptionist, went straight to the chairman's office.

"Mr. Li is already waiting for you, Mr. Lee Jr.," the female secretary standing outside immediately stood up.

"Thank you, Mary," Li Xu nodded, watched her open the office door, and gestured for him to enter.

She looked to be in her late twenties but was actually in her early thirties, with brown hair and blue eyes, a great figure, and a very charming presence in her OL attire. She was usually low-key and almost unnoticed, but her abilities were excellent, no wonder she was the old man's favorite.

Thinking this, Li Xu walked in, wondering how great it would be to have such a secretary in the future.

"Hi, Dad." Closing the door behind him, he sat in the chair in front of the large desk and greeted his father.

"Hi, Son." The middle-aged white man behind the desk put down his documents, looked up, and smiled.

Although he was 48, he looked in his early forties, wearing a well-tailored suit, with thick brown hair neatly combed back, and very defined features, exuding the charm of a mature man and the authority of a leader.

Such charisma would make him a focal point for women anywhere.

Edward Pierpont Lee, this was the name of Li Xu's father in this life, and his name, of course, was Edward Pierpont Lee II.

Well, at least he still had the surname Li.

"Did you know?" Li Xu asked directly.

"Yes, well done, Son," the elder Edward smiled, "I couldn't have done better myself."

However, upon hearing his father's praise, Li Xu only twitched his lips, "So, according to our agreement..."

The words on the tip of his tongue suddenly stopped as his gaze fell on the documents on the desk, and his brows furrowed.

"What is this..." Li Xu narrowed his eyes at the elder Edward.

"These are the gains from the past few days, you know, with the silver crash," the elder Edward said calmly.

"Alright, let me guess," Li Xu sighed, "You had your traders follow my traders, doing exactly what they did?"

"Bingo!" the elder Edward snapped his fingers.

"So," Li Xu sighed again, "How much capital did you put in, Dad?"

"Um... about $10 million," the elder Edward recalled carefully.

Damn! Li Xu couldn't help but curse in his heart. The Hunt brothers lost a total of $3 billion, and you took one-thirtieth of it? No wonder Bache & Co. couldn't hold out and acted early, and no wonder the price rebounded to $18...

Taking a deep breath, he quickly controlled his emotions. This was inevitable; he couldn't be the only one to profit while others just watched, especially his own father. Besides, the connections and information all came from his family.

"Alright, so our agreement?" Li Xu brought the topic back.

"I've already spoken with President Derek Curtis. With this performance in the silver market, you have no problem applying to Harvard Business School after high school, as long as your SAT or ACT scores are good enough," the elder Edward said quickly. "Of course, even if you don't do well, it's just a matter of more donations, and you still have plenty of pocket money, right?"