The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 367 The Treacherous Nature of Human Hearts (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

What happened to Shanji certainly wouldn't reach Wu Feng's ears immediately. His strength and status had reached a certain point, making it very difficult for ordinary news to reach him.

Lei Gong poached his boyfriend, a plot involving both brotherhood and a honey trap, which seemed thrilling, but in reality it wasn't such a big deal.

That's exactly how it is for Hung Hing!

What the gang needs is a platform to establish itself. As for the transfer of important members like Chicken, as the saying goes, out with the old, in with the new.

There are plenty of capable and ambitious groups in 49, so adding or removing one more Shanji won't make a big difference, and it won't cause any drastic changes.

As for Wu Feng, he was even less likely to care.

At most, when Wang Zhi returns to Hong Kong to report on his work, he will treat this matter as a joke during a meal and drinks, without causing any ripples.

Wu Feng's attention was naturally focused on the stock market.

To avoid trouble, ATV and its affiliated newspapers have consistently and steadfastly promoted Wu Feng's views.

In short, the stock market is about to crash. Those who haven't left the market yet should run away as soon as possible, or they'll be in big trouble if they get trapped.

After more than a month of continuous promotion, there must have been some effect.

According to feedback from ATV news anchors who were on location and their newspaper reporters, many white-collar workers who had invested in the stock market have successfully exited the market due to the influence of the publicity.

They didn't invest much capital, so they didn't have to worry about not getting their money back after cashing out.

As for how many people still don't believe it and firmly believe that the stock market will continue to rise, he can't be bothered to care.

To have gone this far is already quite conscientious.

Most of the time, we can only say that these guys have to fend for themselves, unlike those in Taiwan who engage in debt-financed stock market investments.

Before we knew it, it was mid-December. Just like in normal times, the stock index reached a high of nearly 40,000 points before suddenly crashing.

In an instant, the two television stations on Hong Kong Island, as well as all the financial newspapers, were frantically reporting on this major world economic event.

The entire Hong Kong Island was thrown into a strange unease by this event, which was quite perplexing.

In a housing estate, several elderly women gathered together, chatting about everyday matters and the price fluctuations of daily necessities.

An elderly woman, who was into fashion, casually mentioned the stock market crash, adopting the serious demeanor of an economic expert, as if she wanted to give it a proper talk.

Unfortunately, the other grandmothers had no interest in this at all and didn't respond at all, which made the grandmother who wanted to show off quite frustrated.

Well, things like the stock market crash and other such matters have little to do with the residents of this housing estate, if not completely unrelated.

Indeed, the stock market crash was still quite distant from the lives of ordinary people in Hong Kong.

They don't even participate in the Hong Kong stock market, let alone foreign stock markets; they simply don't have any spare cash to dabble in.

Even if they have spare money, they don't have much ability to make mistakes. If something unexpected happens, the whole family might have trouble feeding themselves.

It wasn't until news broke of people who had lost everything in the stock market and jumped off buildings near the stock exchange that the concerns of ordinary people at the bottom of society began to surface.

The tea restaurant was extremely busy during mealtimes.

The lobby was filled with a cacophony of noise. The large color TV hanging on the wall was so loud that even the guests in the corners couldn't hear it unless the volume was turned up to the maximum.

At that moment, the television screen was broadcasting news of a man who had committed suicide by jumping off a building after failing to invest in the stock market.

"It's such a pity that such a healthy person is gone like this!"

"What a pity! They deserve it. ATV and the newspapers warned them long ago that the stock market was likely to crash, but they just wouldn't listen!"

"Indeed, Wu Sheng is quite benevolent. If it were any other top-tier tycoons, they wouldn't have bothered to remind us so many times; they'd rather empty the pockets of ordinary people like us so we could work for them and increase their wealth!"

"That's not entirely true. After all, death is a serious matter, and they have already paid the price with their lives for their actions!"

"Heh, they couldn't bear the heavy debt anymore, so they ended it all. They don't have to live in fear anymore, but what about their wives and children back home?"

"Yes, the finance companies in Hong Kong are not to be trifled with. No one dies, and their debts are supposed to be wiped out. Their families are going to suffer!"

"So, unless you're absolutely desperate, never borrow money from a finance company. There are some things that are beyond your control, and you have to think about your wife and children!"

"We have people jumping off buildings here, so wouldn't people over there have to line up to jump off buildings one by one?"

"Haha, they deserve their good life, let's just watch the show!"

"..."

It can only be said that the stock market crash has little to do with ordinary people in Hong Kong; at most, they just watch it for amusement.

However, the white-collar workers in major companies in Central looked gloomy and depressed; the atmosphere in the entire company was not good. An outsider might have thought the company was in financial trouble.

This greatly displeased the bosses, but they were helpless to do anything about it.

We can't just fire all the white-collar workers who create low air pressure, can we? Would the company still be able to operate?
All they can do is try to motivate their employees and give them pep talks, assuring them that if they work hard, they can get promoted and receive a raise, and they will soon make up for their losses in the stock market through their salaries and bonuses.

As for how long it will take to earn it back, there's no need to say that.

The nearest tea restaurant, which used to have a lively atmosphere during mealtimes, has recently become lifeless.

The white-collar workers still ate as usual, but they ordered the cheapest dishes and their voices became noticeably heavy.

"If only I had listened to the experts on TV, I would not only have kept my principal, but I would have made a lot of money!"

"Isn't this just hindsight? There's no going back in life. We were just too greedy!"

"Back then, the stock market was booming, and the money we invested was generating profits almost every day. Who could easily give up such an easy way to make money? We were just too naive!"

"Nonsense! I've heard that Mr. Li, the big boss of a certain company, also invested in the stock market and probably lost a lot of money!"

“I’ve also heard that several bosses have suffered considerable losses. They used to go to Du Laozhi’s place in Tsim Sha Tsui every day, but recently they’ve been very well-behaved and have been going straight home after get off work every day!”

"Hehe, hearing what you all said has inexplicably improved my mood. It's true that a good mood is relative!"

"Hey, do you think the ATV boss made a lot of money in the stock market? It must be a lot!"

"Of course! He predicted the stock market crash long ago and must have cashed out his principal and profits beforehand!"

"It's not that easy. I have a brother who holds a high position in the gang. I heard that in order to successfully recover the principal and profits invested in Little Life stock, many gangs have sent their best men to Little Life to oversee things!"

"Who can say for sure about these things? In my opinion, we've suffered considerable losses, and ATV bears some responsibility. If it weren't for their publicity, how would we have known about investing in Little Life Stocks?"

"That's a really heartless thing to say. Back when the stock market was booming, why didn't you say you wanted to share some of the profits with the ATV boss?"

"..."

In fact, although the losses suffered by white-collar workers are considerable, they are not to the point of being unsustainable.

At worst, they'll just lose all their available cash.

There's no other reason than that the 1990s were quite different from the information and network era that followed.

White-collar workers in Central who want to invest in the Little Life stock market face several obstacles before their money can be successfully channeled into the market, especially given the lack of cooperation from foreign banks and securities institutions.

How high can the so-called friends that white-collar workers know be?
For the sake of financial security, it's impossible to invest all of one's wealth, let alone take on reckless debt for investment.

If any joint malfunctions, the money spent will be wasted.

Those who are truly willing to invest their entire fortune, even taking on debt, are basically middle and senior managers in securities and finance companies.

They have connections and channels, and information is relatively readily available, so at least they don't have to worry about their invested funds being taken away halfway through.

However, these same people suffered the most severe losses when the stock market crashed, and were the most likely to choose to jump off buildings.

ATV and Wu Feng's newspapers didn't hold back in completely exposing their information.

In an instant, the sympathy that ordinary people had for them vanished without a trace, replaced by disdain and insults.

Ordinary viewers and readers aren't stupid!

These guys who jumped off buildings used to drive luxury cars, frequent upscale nightclubs, and pick up beautiful women without ever thinking about sharing with ordinary people.

At this point, how could ordinary people possibly empathize with their plight? Isn't that just making things difficult for them?

As for the wealthy, the amount of money they lost in the stock market during their ordinary lives was not much.

It wasn't that they followed the advice of Wu Feng's propaganda agency, but rather that their own investment was not significant.

Even if the investment is made through younger family members or other intermediaries, they dare not invest too much.

Unlike Wu Feng, most wealthy people in Hong Kong have to give face to the financial system centered on HSBC, so they naturally dare not play too big a game.

Of course, some people suffered losses themselves but blamed Wu Feng for it, spreading rumors and making trouble in high society circles, and even using newspapers and television to label Wu Feng.

It seems as if Wu Feng was behind this stock market crash.

As a result, many Hong Kong newspapers with British investment backgrounds and obvious biases, both Chinese and English, actually made a big deal out of this, as if they wanted to drag Wu Feng down with them.

(End of this chapter)