Chapter 47

Zhou Ming is not the type of person who would nitpick or fuss over trivial matters. The reason he made Shen Xin apologize just now was merely to stand up for his woman. To Zhou Ming, it doesn’t matter if you bully or ignore him, but if you bully his woman, that’s a different story! And Lin Muqing… Although she has never admitted it, after all the kissing and touching, she can be considered his woman, right? At least, that’s what Zhou Ming thinks!

After this little interlude, Zhou Ming and Shen Xin sat down together. Shen Xin, being the chief financial journalist of Hong Kong, quickly adjusted her mindset and reminded Zhou Ming, "Mr. Zhou, once our interview begins, every word you say will be recorded, and I will publish the parts I consider important without any modifications. Are you ready, Mr. Zhou?"

Zhou Ming nodded and said, "We can start."

"Alright, I know that this morning there was a fund purchase event at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. I didn’t see it with my own eyes, but I heard that the scene was very intense, and the amount of money involved reached several million. Is that correct?" Shen Xin asked.

Zhou Ming smiled and shook his head, "The scene was indeed intense, but it wasn’t as exaggerated as you said. Our fund only had six million shares in total. How could it possibly be purchased for several million? That’s an exaggeration."

"I see, but to sell several million in a single morning is still quite impressive," Shen Xin said. "Since the stock market crash, our city’s financial industry has been in a very low state. Many fund companies have suffered severe losses, and many have been forced to sell. What made you decide to launch a new type of fund at this time? And what made this fund able to achieve such sales in such a depressed environment on the day of its launch?"

"Actually, it’s not hard to understand. The new type of fund I launched is a guaranteed fund," Zhou Ming said.

Shen Xin asked curiously, "A guaranteed fund? Mr. Zhou, do you mean that your fund can guarantee the principal of investors under any circumstances?"

"Yes, my guaranteed fund can ensure that the principal of the fund will not be lost and will steadily appreciate. Of course, it’s not under all circumstances. For example, if a war breaks out and I or my company die in the war, facing such an irresistible force, I can’t guarantee it," Zhou Ming added after some thought.

"Mr. Zhou, you’re really humorous," Shen Xin chuckled. "As far as I know, the concept of a guaranteed fund was proposed by Professor Brand from California. However, this investment technology is currently still in the confidential and experimental stage. I wonder how Mr. Zhou learned about it. Are you a student of Professor Brand, or an executive of a financial institution in California?"

"No, I’m from the mainland," Zhou Ming said.

Shen Xin’s eyes widened in surprise, "From the mainland?"

"What? From the look on your face, it seems you think that people from the mainland can’t come to Hong Kong to invest in funds?" Zhou Ming joked.

Shen Xin shook her head, "No, Mr. Zhou, you misunderstood. I didn’t mean that. Hong Kong is very open and free, and we welcome anyone to make legal investments. However, the fact that Mr. Zhou is from the mainland does surprise me. After all, the mainland is poor and backward, and the economic system is rigid. It’s said that barter trade still exists, and the authorities are constantly suppressing all possible economic activities. Under these conditions, it’s surprising that someone like Mr. Zhou, who understands finance, could emerge."

"Furthermore, to be frank, in a situation where many people in the mainland can’t even afford to eat, Mr. Zhou, you can come to Hong Kong with several million to invest. This is hard to believe," Shen Xin added, "Mr. Zhou, are you a corrupt official who fled from the mainland? Or a spy who came to disrupt our Hong Kong economy, like what happened twenty years ago?"

Shen Xin’s words made Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing very angry. Although she controlled her emotions well, her words clearly showed disdain for Zhou Ming’s mainland identity. Even her gaze towards Zhou Ming changed from equal to condescending, especially the last sentence, which was insulting to Zhou Ming’s character.

"Ms. Shen, I don’t know where you heard these things, but I want to say that the mainland is not as you think. And the money I invested in Hong Kong, I earned it myself," Zhou Ming said.

"All by yourself?" Shen Xin said with a skeptical look, "If you’ve been in the financial industry for a long time and have been running Jinming Fund for many years, I would believe it. But from your accent, I can tell that you haven’t been in Hong Kong for long. Also, if I’m not mistaken, your Jinming Fund Company was still called Wanhe Fund Company half a month ago, right? Even after the stock market crash, the market value of Wanhe Fund Company should still be around five to six million. It’s hard to imagine how you could have so much money unless you were involved in corruption or espionage."

Zhou Ming deliberately looked Shen Xin up and down and said regretfully, "If someone else said this to me, I could understand, but for Ms. Shen to say this, it makes me doubt whether you are just a name without substance."

Shen Xin’s eyes became sharp, "Mr. Zhou, please watch your words!"

"Ms. Shen, please watch your words too!" Zhou Ming didn’t back down, "As the chief financial journalist of Hong Kong, don’t you know that there’s money to be made everywhere in Hong Kong?"

"Money to be made everywhere? Mr. Zhou, are you telling me a fairy tale? If that were true, wouldn’t everyone in Hong Kong be millionaires?" Shen Xin mocked.

"Perhaps it’s just that the people of Hong Kong lack the vision," Zhou Ming said, "Anyway, since I came to Hong Kong, I’ve been making money. In less than a month, I’ve earned over twenty million."

Shen Xin reminded him, "Mr. Zhou, I hope you remember that you are being interviewed by Hong Kong Finance. Every word you say might be published in our newspaper. If what you said is published, I believe you will become a laughingstock in Hong Kong tomorrow."

"But what I said is the truth," Zhou Ming said, spreading his hands, "On my first day in Hong Kong, I met my current general manager, Wang Yunlong, at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He helped me operate my stock account and earned a few thousand Hong Kong dollars. Later, I went to the jade market in Tsim Sha Tsui to play with gemstones and earned ten thousand Hong Kong dollars. Then the stock market crash happened, and I placed a short sell order on the Hong Kong stock index. That’s how I earned over twenty million. Now, I’ve used this money to buy this fund company and launch the guaranteed fund."

Zhou Ming then reminded Shen Xin, "If Ms. Shen still doesn’t believe me, you can verify it. I believe, as the chief financial journalist of Hong Kong, you should have the means to do so."

Shen Xin immediately gave a signal to her partner, Chen Fu, who got up to make a phone call. After a while, with no response, Shen Xin became impatient and urged, "How’s it going?"

Chen Fu was startled and returned with a blank expression, "He… Mr. Zhou, what he said is true."

"What? How is that possible?" Shen Xin exclaimed, her face full of disbelief.

Shen Xin couldn’t believe her ears, but she knew Chen Fu wouldn’t joke with her. This meant that Zhou Ming really did earn over twenty million as he claimed.

"Ms. Shen, do you believe me now?" Zhou Ming asked.

Shen Xin sat down in a daze and nodded, "I believe you. Mr. Zhou, you are truly a magician in the financial world. I apologize for my inappropriate words earlier."

If Shen Xin’s previous apology was forced, this time it was heartfelt. She genuinely admired Zhou Ming. As the chief financial journalist of Hong Kong, Shen Xin had met many business tycoons, but never one as capable as Zhou Ming. Other tycoons had to invest a lot of capital to make money, but Zhou Ming’s story of success was like starting from scratch. Almost every investment he made brought in returns of several times the initial investment, which was a miracle—no, a divine feat!

At this moment, Lin Muqing brought a cup of tea to Shen Xin, "Ms. Shen, please have a cup of tea to calm down."

"Oh, thank you," Shen Xin took the teacup, not daring to look Lin Muqing in the eye, as her actions earlier were embarrassing.

However, Shen Xin found her hands trembling involuntarily, making the teacup rattle. Clearly, Zhou Ming’s story had a significant impact on her.

Shen Xin blushed and lowered her head to take a sip of tea. After a while, she calmed down and asked Zhou Ming, "Mr. Zhou, you said you made a short sell order on the Hong Kong stock index futures and earned twenty million. But as far as I know, after the stock market crash, it was impossible to place short sell orders. How did you manage to do it?"

"Of course, it was impossible to place short sell orders after the stock market started to crash. But what if you placed the order before the crash?" Zhou Ming countered.

"Mr. Zhou, are you saying that you predicted the stock market crash and placed the short sell order beforehand?" Shen Xin asked, disbelieving.

Zhou Ming nodded, and Shen Xin gasped, "My goodness! Mr. Zhou, your foresight is truly remarkable. You are amazing, and I admire you so much!"

Shen Xin’s words made Chen Fu turn his head, looking at her as if she had seen a ghost.

To him, compared to Zhou Ming’s feat of earning twenty million in a month, Shen Xin’s words were even more unbelievable.

Chen Fu knew that for Shen Xin to become the chief financial journalist of Hong Kong, she not only had to have a keen eye for financial figures and events but also had to adhere to journalistic principles, never showing personal emotions during interviews. This allowed her to always find the best breakthrough points and ask the most critical questions.

But this time, in front of Zhou Ming, Shen Xin unconsciously expressed her admiration for him. Was this still Shen Xin?