Mixed in 1980

Chapter 537 Grand Ceremony
Zhou Wenya was indeed surprised.

The Chen family's gold reserves are more than those of many countries, placing them in the second tier, meaning they are among the few countries below the United States.

Given this scale, why continue purchasing?

"Keeping money is useless, and there's nowhere to spend it, so it's better to buy gold. But gold is hot right now, so it might not be easy to buy. We should also stockpile a lot of silver."

How pessimistic must one be about the future economy to be so persistent in buying safe-haven assets?
Zhou Wenya couldn't quite understand.

But she has a good habit: she will carry out her boss's orders diligently, regardless of whether they are right or wrong, and she never thinks that she is smarter than her boss or can make decisions for him.

Therefore, he was deeply trusted by two generations of the Chen family.

Zhou Wenya got busy, selling off gold futures quickly and focusing her main efforts on building silver acquisition channels.

It's not about acquiring some items, it's about large-scale procurement.

We need stable and reliable suppliers.

As for acquiring gold, it doesn't require much effort; the existing channels are sufficient. It's simply a matter of giving orders, and someone will naturally take care of it.

October arrived quickly!

Suddenly, almost overnight, the price of gold plummeted, and many investors who bought in large quantities at high prices are now suffering huge losses.

Due to the sharp drop in gold prices, many gold producers are facing enormous operational pressure and may even face the risk of bankruptcy.

On October 6th, the drop was even greater, with the price of gold falling from $2000 per ounce to $1300 per ounce.

"Increase leverage and buy a large number of long futures contracts."

"Activate the channels and start buying gold, no matter how much, as long as there is stock."

Chen Lao Er issued the order almost immediately.

The sharp drop is short-term; the fundamental reason is the gradual recovery of many economies around the world, which has led to the continued strengthening of the US dollar index.

Furthermore, expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike are gradually rising.

But geopolitics is the long-term driver of gold prices. Russia and Ukraine are constantly at odds, like camels sharpening their knives in the desert; they're bound to clash sooner or later.

A sharp drop is inevitably followed by a sharp rise.

The increase will be very substantial.

At this time, leveraging to go long on gold futures is tantamount to a money-grabbing feast, just like Chen Fan's crazy gold futures trading in the early 1980s.

"What the old man said has come true again."

Chen Yanyin grinned. Gold, like jade stock, is a safe-haven asset. When gold prices plummet, jade stock prices are inevitably affected as well.

Its decline was even greater than that of gold.

On the first day of October alone, the stock price plummeted by as much as 15%, wiping out more than 4000 billion yuan in market value. It seemed to fall out of favor instantly, igniting a sense of panic.

Many institutions are selling off their shares.

By October 6th, the overall decline had reached 40%, with a market value loss of over one trillion yuan, causing heavy losses for many speculators.

Chen Yanyin had been waiting for this day for a long time, and decisively issued an order to buy on a large scale.

Many others share the same thought.

Not only Chen Lao Er, but central banks around the world have also entered the fray, buying gold on a large scale, and many domestic banks have begun to buy seed jade stocks on a large scale.

"No wonder my second brother likes to play the financial game; he's really fast and ruthless at making money," Chen Yanyin muttered to herself, noting how much she had gained this time.

Buy low and sell high, with a price difference of 40%.

In the long run, the potential for growth is still significant, with substantial profit potential.

Thinking of this, Chen Yanyin smiled and said, "We've made money, so we should celebrate. How about we throw a feast today and treat everyone to a good meal?"

"Whatever makes you happy," Lu You said, gently coaxing his son as he held him in his arms.

Chen Yanyin glared at her husband, took out her phone, and ordered a hotel to send a chef over, along with the ingredients.

They went from house to house to inform them, and only after that did they go to the neighbor's yard. The little devil in the house ran back like the wind and snuggled up to her husband to see her younger brother.

The little girl made funny faces to amuse her little brother.

Chen Yanyin couldn't help but laugh. The little devil was mischievous, but he was really good to his younger brother. He would look at his brother for a while every night before going to bed.

She would be quiet for a while when looking at her younger brother.

Chen Yanyin even planned to hand her son over to the little devil to raise when he grew up, so that her son could teach the little devil a lesson.

After leaving the courtyard, we went directly to the neighboring courtyard, where the old man and his three mothers were chatting and enjoying the cool air with the grandparents.

Chen Yanyin has always been sweet-talking and good at coaxing people.

After a few words, Chen Fan made his grandparents beam with joy. He couldn't help but tease them, "Just like your mother, she used to coax your grandma in the same way."

"A girl with a sweet tongue is more attractive."

Guan Yuemei glared at her son. She liked all three daughters-in-law, but Zhao Yuanyuan was different. She had a natural mother-daughter bond with her.

Zhao Yuanyuan chimed in, teasing her husband: "That's right, unlike you, who has a sharp tongue. When you were young, all you could do was annoy people and never say anything serious."

"Mom, how does Dad get so angry?" Chen Yanyin asked curiously.

"What's it to you?" Zhao Yuanyuan snorted.

"You're curious!"

"I suppressed my curiosity."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanyin pouted and said, "Fine, I'll hold it in. Let's get down to business. I made a fortune today, so I'm going to throw a feast and treat everyone to a meal."

"You, making a pittance, have the nerve to celebrate?" Zhao Yuanyuan sneered.

"Damn it, don't look down on people."

Chen Yanyin showed off her gains for a while, and even reached out to lift Zhao Yuanyuan's chin: "Quickly praise your daughter, isn't she amazing?"

Unsurprisingly, I got a beating.

"That's about right. Fourth brother did a great job. He made quite a splash this time."

Xu Jinqiu stopped Zhao Yuanyuan and looked at her youngest daughter: "Fourth sister, now that you have two children, it's time to think about them."

"Both children need to have a business when they grow up."

"Why don't you consider selecting two shares from the family business to save for the children?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanyin hurriedly shook her head: "I don't care about that. Not to mention the industry, what I have right now is enough to keep them busy."

"Still not satisfied? You deserve a beating."

After hearing what she said, no one tried to persuade her anymore.

The fourth sister does indeed have quite a lot of stuff. When she sold Hetian jade and jadeite, she kept all the money as her private savings.

The Mentougou Wildlife Park should definitely be given to her; it was originally built for her. Also, her own efforts in jade identification, markets, and stock markets constitute a whole industry.

In the early years, some assets were divided up, and quite a lot of them ended up in the hands of the fourth son.

Two large courtyard houses in Beijing, a luxury mansion in Hong Kong, a property in another residential complex, and fifty residential plots in ancient cities and towns.

She also received a considerable share of antiques, including Hetian jade pebbles and high-end jadeite. She received the most, taking half of the total – an enormous fortune.

As for the future division of the family property...

Cash, gold, and shares in some companies are certainly indispensable; even if future generations are spendthrifts, they will still squander it all in several generations.

If everyone were like the fourth son, disliking entrepreneurship and career, life would be more stable. There's a saying: "It's not that we're afraid of the second generation spending money, it's that we're afraid of them starting their own businesses."

The eldest brother shared the same idea as the fourth brother.

Even after graduating from school, she had no interest in taking over the business. She possessed a large number of exquisite antiques, which could be passed down as family heirlooms.

It's best to avoid business altogether. While we were chatting, the hotel's chef came over and set up several tables for a lively meal. A few days later, the second son returned from Hong Kong and hosted another banquet.

Compared to the fourth brother's small-scale operations, the second brother made a fortune.

After the gold price plummeted, people quickly bought more long positions, and then the squid in the desert started fighting, making the situation even more chaotic.

A surge in gold prices is to be expected!

"Fight hard, it's good to cause chaos." Chen Lao Er watches the news every day, especially war-related news, he's always eager for chaos.

Ye Wan joked, "You have a bit of sympathy."

Chen Lao Er rolled her eyes at her husband: "What is compassion? Are Chinese people human? Are foreigners human too? They're just a bunch of leeks to be harvested."

"It's their honor to make money off their lives, I feel no guilt about it."

"Don't try to act like a saint!"

Ye Wan choked.

There's no way to refute that. Two generations in the family share the same idea: foreigners are all easy targets, and when it comes to exploiting them, they're all ruthless.

The same is estimated for the third generation.

If you're taught this way from a young age, your values ​​will be set as you grow older.

Ye Wan didn't think anything was wrong; she was just teasing her husband, but he retorted. Furious, she grabbed her husband's arm and bit him.

"Hey... Comrade Ye Wan, why are you copying Ye Ling? Let go right now." Chen Lao Er gasped in pain; this woman was like a dog.

Ye Wan released her mouth, annoyed: "Who told you to make me angry? Speaking of which, the world is getting more and more chaotic, and I don't know when it will end."

"Chaos is good."

Chen Lao Er rubbed his arm and said sarcastically, "They're making money off the war. Just watch, according to Dad's prediction, half of the desert will be involved."

"Neither Russia nor Ukraine can stop."

"If we continue this for a few more years, the price of gold will skyrocket, and we can make a fortune in gold futures."

“That makes sense.” Ye Wan nodded slightly.

They quickly put these things out of their minds. Whether they fight or not doesn't affect their lives. Instead of worrying about these things, they'd rather spend more time with their children.

I've been thinking about something lately: I'd like to take all the children to the Taklamakan Desert sometime so they can experience the hardships of desertification control.

Thinking of this, Ye Wan looked at her husband: "The border-locking project in the Taklamakan Desert is expected to be completed by the end of next year. Should we publicize it?"

"Of course I want it!"

Chen Lao Er put his arm around his wife and kissed her lips, asking, "We officially joined the edging project in 2015, and next year will mark nine years."

How many nine-year periods are there in a lifetime?

"This is a great achievement of yours, and we must publicize it extensively."

Hearing this, Ye Wan raised the corners of her mouth: "That's true. Over the past nine years, our family has invested so much manpower and resources. We do need to promote ourselves, which is also a way to give ourselves an explanation."

Chen Lao Er nodded vigorously: "It's not only an explanation to ourselves, but also an explanation to the foundation's employees and the desertification control workers."

"makes sense."

Ye Wan grinned and said happily, "A while ago, the fourth brother had a fight with the eldest sister and insisted on doing something big. Now there's progress, and we're planning to put it into action."

"What big thing is it?" Chen Lao Er asked curiously.

"It's related to the foundation. The fourth brother has an idea: he plans to invite all the volunteers to Beijing to hold a grand ceremony so that everyone can get together."

"That's good," Chen Lao Er agreed.

The Xu Jinqiu Charity Foundation has a large number of volunteers, and the Liyuan Charity Foundation also employed a considerable number of volunteers after its launch.

They've been a great help over the years.

After thinking about it carefully, Chen Lao Er frowned again: "It's just not easy to organize. There are over ten thousand volunteers. Organizing them will be a real challenge..."

Spending money is secondary; the real issue is how to arrange our food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.

It's very troublesome.

"If the fourth sister wants to cause trouble, let her. She's been provoked by her eldest sister, and she won't stop until she gets things done," Ye Wan said with a smile.

"The fourth sister is a stupid girl. She's been completely controlled by her eldest sister since she was little."

Chen Lao Er curled his lip in disgust, then said, "But she did a really good job. I'll pay for it. If we're going to do it, we have to do it big."

“We’ll use the foundation’s accounts,” Ye Wan said.

After thinking about it, Chen Lao Er did not object. Since it was the foundation's business, it was better to handle it officially.

After thinking for a while, he simply called the fourth brother over: "If you're going to hold a grand ceremony, how do you plan to operate it? The scale can't be small."

"Am I a stingy person?" Chen Yanyin immediately retorted.

Planning began during her pregnancy, and the scale of this grand event is sure to be unprecedented, almost to the point of sparing no expense. The organizer has already been contacted.

Chen Lao Er had no doubt about this.

Unlike the fifth child, the fourth child is neither good at spending money nor at saving it. He always maintains the same attitude towards money: eat when you want to eat, spend when you want to spend, because he's never short of money.

How should we arrange our clothing, food, housing, and transportation?

"We're coordinating, and I'm having a headache too. Food, accommodation, transportation, and sightseeing are all big problems. There are too many people, and it's hard to make arrangements." Chen Yanyin rubbed her temples.

Chen Lao Er laughed and said, "Liberalization is all that's needed. Just give them money and let them arrange things themselves."

Chen Yanyin's eyes lit up: "That makes sense. If we make the arrangements, others might not be satisfied. It's better to just give them the money and let them make the arrangements themselves."

How much is appropriate for one?

"Calculate it yourself, just don't be stingy, don't embarrass yourself over this," Chen Lao Er emphasized.

Chen Yanyin nodded slightly.

Living in the capital is not easy. A round trip costs a lot in terms of travel expenses. Since it's a rare opportunity to come here, you'll definitely want to stay for a few days, and you'll need money for food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation.

All of these need to be taken into account.

Volunteers must not spend a single penny; the funds must be ample enough to cover all of this.

When Chen Yanyin returned home, she took out paper and pen to do the accounting. Based on the seven-day trip to Beijing, she added an extra sum of money to make sure she had enough surplus.

Just as she was busy, Zhou Jingshu walked in carrying her youngest son: "Fourth Sister, what are you busy with?"

"Settling accounts."

"Oh, you just made a fortune a few days ago, and now you've made another killing?" Zhou Jingshu teased.

"You think you're finding money on the street?"

Chen Yanyin put down her pen and picked up the child: "What brings you here today? Why are you visiting?"

"When are you not free?" Zhou Jingshu asked with a smile.

Chen Yanyin joked, "Didn't you say a few days ago that you were going to Hong Kong to take care of company matters?"

"I was originally planning to go, but there's some good news, so I'll stay for a few days and then go."

"What happy event is it?" Chen Yanyin asked curiously.

Zhou Jingshu smiled slightly: "Brother Niu Zhuang, you still remember him, right?"

Chen Yanyin nodded. How could she not remember? The young man who rode a motorcycle with Zhou Jingshu's biological father to search for his relatives.

Over the years, they've been searching for their relatives while also livestreaming, and they've done a pretty good job; I've been following their posts myself.

(End of this chapter)