money player

Patricia said calmly, "A little more than I expected."

“Duke is here, and she brought a male companion.” Lawford pulled out Sin Yiu-man’s check and handed it to Patricia. “Adam Hepburn, owner of Jorge Guinness’s agency.”

Patricia examined the check and exclaimed, "What beautiful printing! It's as standard as if it were machine-printed. I really want to see his Spencer style."

"His handwriting is beautiful, but the man... he doesn't seem like an ordinary male companion at Duke."

Patricia keenly sensed Lawford's deliberate belittling of Sin Yiu-man, but she pretended not to notice and asked, "When is Frank's fundraising private concert?"

Sin Yiu-man and Duke danced a song. As Duke said, as long as she didn't turn around, she was perfect. She had a great figure, a 24-inch waist, and delicate skin. He admitted that he had been superficial before. The headless Xing Tian was handsome, and Duke was extremely beautiful without looking at her face.

He said he would be back in a moment and headed to the restroom.

At the entrance to the restroom, he was stopped by a Chinese woman who said, "Sir, I'm sorry, the restroom is occupied. Please wait a moment."

The tones of level, rising, departing, and entering, the subject-verb-object word order—it's all instantly recognizable as standard pidgin English.

"Shanghai native?"

"Ningbo." The woman then carefully examined Xian Yaowen's face, before exclaiming in surprise, "Mr. Xian?"

"Oh." Sin Yiu-man scrutinized the woman's face. "From Hong Kong?"

“I lived in North Point for over a year.”

"Moved to Los Angeles, or look for opportunities in Hollywood?"

“My family is in San Francisco, and I’m all alone here.”

"Want to become an actor?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, I can't wish you well against my will. Hollywood is tough, and those who make it are lucky. It's even harder for Chinese people, and your chances of making it are slim."

The woman nodded. "I know there are many Chinese in Hollywood, but very few are famous. In the past few decades, only Anna May Wong and Luk Sik-ki have emerged."

Strictly speaking, Lu Xiqi doesn't count.

The woman nodded again, hesitated slightly, and said, "Mr. Xian is here at this party, does he... does he have a film company in Hollywood?"

“A sewer was so dirty and smelly that the sewage was up to chest level. Everyone said that no one could wade through it, but there are always brave people in the world. Someone did wade through, and he became a role model to inspire others. One after another, people jumped into the sewage and waded forward, but without exception, they all died in the sewage.”

Sin Yiu-man patted the woman's shoulder lightly. "Hollywood is like this sewer. There aren't many paths for Chinese people in America, but they don't have to go through the sewers."

I do have some connections in Hollywood and could easily get you a few roles, but I won't help you. We're not related by blood; the only connection we have is that we're compatriots. So I can only look at things from the perspective of all Chinese people.

"It's not a blessing for Chinese people if Hollywood produces another Anna May Wong. If you can endure the hardships of Hollywood, you can endure most hardships. There's a professor at Caltech named Qian who is respected and earns a high income. I think that's the golden path that Chinese people should take."

Sin Yiu-man patted the woman's shoulder again and apologized once more. His gaze fell on the open bathroom door, where Gao Dai emerged from the bathroom.

He went up to her, pinned Gao Dai against the wall, and held her chin with his fingers. "My aperitif lady, open your mouth and let me have a taste."

“Ha, I’m nothing today, neither your aperitif nor your dessert.” Gao Dai put her arm around Xian Yaowen’s waist and said softly, “Doris and I have reached an agreement that she will taste your dessert first, and I’m waiting for her evaluation.”

Sin Yiu-man smiled faintly, “I am a French chocolate soufflé. If you don’t eat it while it’s hot, you’ll miss the rustling sound. How about we change tonight to Pauline & Doris Night, so you can share desserts together?”

“No, I like to eat dessert alone.” Gao Dai released Xian Yaowen’s waist and pushed him away by placing her hand on his chest. “You should go back quickly, or Doris will think your dessert isn’t sweet enough.”

"If that's the case, that would be wonderful." Xian Yaowen kissed Gao Dai on the cheek. "Do you have plans for dinner tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow for dinner I'll be enjoying oak-smoked brisket at the San Fernando Valley Ranch. You can come find me if you have time."

"OK, I'll try my best to get there."

Time flew by, and it was already two in the morning.

Duke fell into a deep sleep on the sofa, and Xian Yaowen carried her to bed.

I poured myself a cup of coffee in the living room, stood by the window, and looked towards London.

London.

July 7, nine o'clock in the morning.

In the office of Grace's Deputy Manager at Dean Corporation, company secretary Eve Ashley sat at the head of the table, while Eileen and Judy sat on the office sofa, watching her work.

The office door was open for easy access.

Whoosh, Soros flew into the office, “Rumors are starting to circulate in the pubs that a Caribbean hurricane has damaged crops.”

"Unilever is about to ship, with worldwide delivery, hurry up."

"Yes."

With another whoosh, Soros flew out of the office.

"Judy, could you please make a trip and sell the Cuban sugar we traded for with Indian sugar? It needs to be done quickly, by the morning."

"immediately."

Judy jumped up and quickly strode out the door.

Sin Yiu-man received £10 from her and gave her a 10% stake in the Dean Group. The Dean Group is currently finalizing its sugar futures battle, which concerns her interests, so she can't afford to be indifferent.

When Judy arrived at the main office, it was already empty; everyone had gone out to settle accounts with their counterparties.

In 1951, there were no proper sugar futures in London. Instead, people would place bets on each other outside the exchange. These bets were made without any physical sugar; neither party actually held any sugar. They simply bet on whether the price of sugar would rise or fall on a specific delivery date. Banks acted as intermediaries to protect the interests of both parties, similar to rubber futures in Singapore.

Even if the delivery period has not arrived, either party can initiate delivery. The two parties will negotiate a price for delivery. If one party does not agree, they can only wait until the delivery period to settle at the real-time price.

The current situation is filled with positive news. First, the price of sugar in British pounds (settled in British pounds) is lower than that of sugar in US dollars. Arbitrage can be made by exchanging Indian sugar for Cuban sugar, with a price difference of about £10 per ton.

Prince Trading secured 1.2 tons of sugar from Taiwan Sugar Corporation at a book price of US$22 per ton. The actual cost required an additional US$2 as a "signature" payment. The sugar was shipped from Taiwan Sugar Corporation, but before it could even be loaded onto a ship, the contract had already been sent to London.

Adding another $1 per ton to the cost, Taiwanese sugar becomes Indian sugar, with a cost of approximately £9.3 per ton. Entering May, the price of sugar futures in London has broken through £50 per ton, and today's real-time price is even higher at £65.6. Once delivery is completed, a profit of £67.56 can be made.

Two-tenths belong to the Dean Group, eight-tenths to Prince Trading, and half of the eight-tenths still needs to be "gifted" a second time, with Prince Trading ultimately earning approximately £27.

The price difference between pound sugar and dollar sugar belongs to Dean Group and has nothing to do with Prince Trading.

Since the sterling crisis of 1949, Britain began to restrict the import of sugar in US dollars. Based on the Commonwealth preferential system, it prioritized the purchase of sugar from Caribbean colonies, suppressed the price of Brazilian sugar, and pushed up the premium of Commonwealth sugar such as Cuban sugar and Indian sugar.

Since the outbreak of the Korean War, the U.S. military has been purchasing sugar cane to produce military rations, leading to a global shortage of supplies.

As sugar production declines in various countries this year, British companies, led by Unilever, have rushed to build up their stocks, spreading false information or exaggerating the impact of real information in order to drive up prices and sell off their stock in the short term.

Dean Group possesses crucial information: first, the US military has placed an additional order for 5 tons; second, the Cuban strike crisis is nearing its end and is about to be resolved, no longer affecting the sugarcane harvest.

Then, the British Ministry of Food (1939-1954) was gearing up to release reserves to curb the speculative bubble. The date was set for July 12th. Those with connections had already been notified and were rushing to complete their transactions and leave.

Dean is a relative, and he's timing things perfectly, every second counts. He can't afford to miss the deadline. A few days ago, the short sellers released a series of negative news, which drove the sugar price down. It has just rebounded in the last two days, and the current price is basically at its peak. The upward momentum is no longer strong enough, and it's time to deliver and short the market.

In this transaction, Dean Group leveraged its connections with Erin Jomondley to go long on sugar at an average price of £420 million at £51.8 per tonne. Successful delivery would yield a profit of over £110 million. Combined with the physical sugar transaction, the total profit would be approximately £150 million.

Sin Yiu-man took a sip of coffee and looked in the direction of Kaesong.

It was already 6 PM in Kaesong. The ceasefire negotiations should have ended today. Neither side showed any sincerity, and nothing could be reached. The fighting would continue, but Seoul would not be occupied again. The abnormal commercial activities that occurred during the war could proceed as normal. Kong Lingxian would have some trouble in the coming days. Some shameless people would probably come to renege on the previous deal and try to get the land deeds back.

"Wartime is great! If someone is killed, the blame can be shifted to the People's Army guerrillas or special agents. This is a golden opportunity that cannot be missed. South Korea should seize the opportunity and carry out a brutal expansion. However, Kong Lingxian may not be able to grasp it."

After standing by the window for a long time, Xian Yaowen entered the bedroom and pressed himself against Duke.

"Oh God, you want more?"

"God is asleep. Listen to a story from Daddy Adam."

"Damn it, ahhh~"

early morning.

Sin Yiu-man sat at his desk, typing away on his typewriter, working on a project proposal.

Besides the New York Stock Exchange, there is also the OTC (over-the-counter market), which is a gray area on Wall Street. It mainly trades unlisted stocks, local corporate bonds, and bank notes, and operates in a completely different way from the stock exchange.

He plans to establish a YMCA-C (YMCA Capital), which will not conduct any business. Its only asset will be a 15% stake in YMCA. He will then take the YMCA-C shares to the OTC market for trading.

On the positive side, although OTC companies are required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to disclose stock financials regularly, enforcement is lax and there are no price limits. Daily fluctuations of ±50% are common, which means that it is not difficult to drive up stock prices, especially if there is genuine positive news.

In addition, there are no barriers to entry for OTC trading. You just need to establish a relationship with a market maker, ask the market maker to send elite telemarketers to promote your stock, and then you can sit back and wait to collect money.

Of course, this is the practice of shady companies. For example, they might build a simple tool shed in their own yard as an office, register a "First Moon Landing" company, and falsely claim that the company is developing a lunar spacecraft. In reality, they don't need to do anything. They just spend a few dollars to draw a few blueprints, pretend that they are doing something, and leave the rest to stock telemarketers.

His idea was to be a breath of fresh air in the OTC market, and those who were "tricked" into buying YMCA-C stock would become lucky winners, because the main purpose of the YMCA-C plan was to inflate the stock price of YMCA and raise some funds along the way.

Waiting until it is qualified before listing on the stock market is a perfectly legitimate cultivation method, while going to the OTC market can be considered a heretical cultivation. Everyone knows that the cultivation progress of heretical cultivators is incredibly fast, it's just that they are less famous.

He plans to register YMCA separately, not as a subsidiary of Jorge Guinness, and will do everything possible to improve its performance. Once the time is right, it will go public, and then warmly welcome others to acquire it.

In addition to YMCA-C, a separate company, YMCA-Copr, needs to be registered. This company does not conduct any business; its sole purpose is to hold a portion of the song copyrights spun off from YMCA.

Basically, the copyright of each singer's or group's songs is divided in two, with one part remaining with the YMCA and the other with the YMCA-Copr. In this way, as long as the singer or group is still active, the YMCA-Copr will continue to collect royalties.

YMCA-Copr is 30% owned by the YMCA Singers' Mutual Aid Association, which was established to help people with musical dreams become singers free of charge. To this end, YMCA-Copr allocates 35% of its profits to this work every year.

35% of the profits are borne by the Singers' Mutual Aid Association (28%), and the remaining 7% by other shareholders.

Simply put, YMCA-Copr pays singers to buy them a good reputation, and also to silence them so they don't dare to complain about where the 65% of the profits go. The company spends money to make you look like good people, so don't be foolish and ruin your good person image for petty gains.

After countless notifications, Xian Yaowen finished the project proposal. Guinuo said he would go to the company today to review the proposal and obtain his authorization.

He put the proposal into his briefcase, glanced at the time, made a call to Bill Bufalino, briefly explained the YMCA plan, and obtained verbal authorization, with the formal procedures to be completed later.

After a flurry of activity, around nine o'clock, Duke, wrapped in a thin blanket, came to his desk.

"Morning."

"Good morning." Xian Yaowen opened his arms to welcome Duke into his embrace. "Why don't people who don't need to work sleep a little longer?"

“I’m a disciplined person, I never sleep in.” Duke reached back and wrapped his arms around Xian Yaowen’s neck. “I had a great time last night.”

"Me too, please forgive me for misunderstanding what you said."

"Which sentence?"

"My face is my least important asset; the word 'asset' is too misleading."

"It's not too late to understand now," Duke chuckled. "You got up very early?"

"Hmm, I'm a disciplined person, and I exercise every day."

“That’s a good habit.” Duke stroked Xian Yaowen’s face. “Adam, I want to give you a gift. Please tell me what you want, whatever it is.”

"Royal Enfield India has just launched a 350cc single-cylinder motorcycle."

"That's so obscure, why isn't it Harley-Davidson?"

"I enjoy cycling."

"I understand, you already have a Harley."

"uh-huh."

"Okay, I'll get it to you as soon as possible."

"You gave me a gift, so I should give you one too. What would you like?"

"I already told you what I wanted yesterday."

"That doesn't count."

"Hmm..." Duke thought for a moment, "Want to come with me to Las Vegas for a couple of days?"

"You like playing cards?"

Duke turned around, straddled Xian Yaowen's lap, hugged his neck, and said excitedly, "Adam, I'm a master at playing cards. At the poker table, my money is just as green as any man's, and they always forget that until it's too late."

"So, you just enjoy playing cards, and you don't go to the card table for anything else?"

"Of course not. You can socialize at the poker table. I've closed several business deals there."

Xian Yaowen hugged Duke's waist tightly and said with a faint smile, "I'm different from you. I like to talk business while hugging my clients. Ms. Duke, who is the most crucial person to lobby for the Lucky Strike cigarettes advertising campaign?"

"You also own an advertising company?"

"uh-huh."

“Have your people come and talk to me. If I approve the advertising plan, I will recommend it to the board, but I can’t guarantee success. I don’t have much say in the tobacco company.”

“It’s okay. My advertising company is just starting out, but I believe in its capabilities. It just needs an entry ticket.”

"Are you very confident?"

"of course."

Duke kissed Sin Yiu-man for a while, then said, "I like confident men."

"Would you like some dessert before breakfast?"

Duke chuckled, "No, you savage man, I'm about to explode, I need time to recover."

Sin Yiu-man shrugged. "Okay, go wash up. I'll order breakfast for you and eat with you. I have to go to the company."

"OK."

morning.

Sin Yiu-man was still sitting in the music room, where Hepburn was also there. He taught Hepburn to play the guitar, but after less than fifteen minutes he concluded that Hepburn was hopeless. She had no talent for learning musical instruments at all; no, she was an instrumental idiot. She could forget about playing and singing on her own.

"Okay, all your talent is in playing innocent. It's a waste to give you '500 Miles'. I should write you a children's song with a simple melody and two lines of lyrics repeated for three minutes."

"Adam, you only taught me for a few minutes, and you expect me to play a piece?"

“Nonsense, I just want you to play a tune. Anyone can play a tune on a guitar, but you can’t.” Sin Yiu-man waved his hand. “Forget about the guitar. I’ll arrange two handsome guys who can play guitar to stand on either side of you, to accompany you and provide harmonies. You just need to stand in the middle, play with your fingers, and act innocent. What the hell, why do you even want to sing?”

Hepburn held a guitar in her hand, looking completely innocent.

"Fuck you, put away your innocence, this isn't an acting class."

Hepburn's expression grew even more innocent. "You made me play innocent."

Sin Yiu-man raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, okay, I give up. You can learn the guitar on your own. Next, I'll tell you how to perform the key points of this song. I'll give your brain a call and ask it to hurry up and come over."

Hepburn pouted. "My brain is always on."

Sin Yiu-man shrugged. "Let's begin." (End of Chapter)