America: My Time

Chapter 1208 Shocking Changes in Hong Kong
Chapter 1198 Shocking Changes in Hong Kong

Walls have ears, and people's hearts are hard to fathom! Even if some smart people see through everything, no one talks about this issue. Even the best of friends don't gossip about this, because you never know if your best friend will betray you as a stepping stone to their next move. Such things are perfectly normal in this circle!
If you're not in the same company, the news won't spread too quickly. But if you are in the same company, and the news spreads quickly, it's tantamount to cutting yourself off from the company. After all, spreading gossip about the big boss is a foolish thing to do. No smart person would do something so stupid!
"Bingbing, as long as you can stay calm, I believe you will enter a period of rapid development. The company's resources will be open to you, not only here, but also in Hong Kong and Taiwan. I believe you will make the right choice. Don't make things difficult for me. Although you have successfully taken this first step, if problems arise later, the opportunities you can get will be limited!"

Although Wang Jinhua didn't go into too much detail, Li Bingbing understood her intention. If someone couldn't even grasp this point, they weren't qualified to stay in this circle. She also noticed a change in Wang Jinhua's attitude towards her. Now that she had a good start, she naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to ruin this hard-won opportunity.

"I will be careful and won't make things difficult for you!" Li Bingbing replied quickly, showing no arrogance.

"I believe you are a smart person. If you weren't smart, you wouldn't have taken this step. So I won't say anything more. Go back and prepare well. Seize this opportunity. If you want to go further in this industry, you must be extremely cautious! Don't do anything foolish on impulse, or it will be a disaster!"

Although it was just a brief exchange, it put considerable pressure on Li Bingbing. She understood Wang Jinhua's reminder and her good intentions, but she also knew that it all stemmed from what happened last night. However, this wasn't something she could rely on. She had the opportunity, but she also needed the strength to seize it.

Soon after Li Bingbing left, Fan Bingbing also appeared in Wang Jinhua's office. There was a hint of unease in her eyes because she hadn't seized the opportunity yesterday, and she was worried that she would be scolded! However, she was overthinking it. Wang Jinhua was not such a stupid or ignorant person.

"Bingbing, sit down. Don't be nervous. You're still young and don't care about temporary gains or losses. I understand how you feel, but opportunities are for those who are prepared. I hope you can learn from this experience next time. In many situations, you're not the only one vying for opportunities. If you hesitate for a moment, the opportunity will be snatched away from you. You know what happened last night. You're not enemies, not even rivals. Go back and think it over. Don't feel pressured. The quota for Hong Kong won't change; you're still in it."

Fan Bingbing was too young, which worried Wang Jinhua that she might not be able to handle the pressure and might impulsively do something wrong. If she did something foolish at this time, it wouldn't be a small matter; it would be tantamount to cutting herself off from the company. Wang Jinhua still thought highly of Fan Bingbing, seeing an admirable courage in her, which was why they had this conversation.

If it were an ordinary person, Wang Jinhua would never have done such a thing. Whether she could seize the opportunity, withstand the pressure, or act impulsively, none of that mattered to her. The company had more than one beautiful woman; one less wouldn't make a difference, and one more wouldn't make a difference either. Wang Jinhua was able to do this because she saw Fan Bingbing's performance. Even if she didn't ultimately succeed, she took that step, which showed courage and vision that others lacked.

Wang Jinhua had observed Zhang Ziyi's situation, but Zhang's hesitation caused her to miss an opportunity, leading Wang Jinhua to stop paying attention. Of course, it wasn't just Zhang Ziyi; several others were also interested, but none of them took the plunge. Perhaps if Wang Jinhua had reminded them beforehand, the outcome would have been different, but she didn't. Too many people showing interest could turn a good thing into a bad one!
While Wang Jinhua was talking to the two soldiers, John was also talking to someone, Mi Xue.

“You need to spend more time with Grandma. You can’t just stay in Shanghai all the time. You need to let her see her great-grandson. Grandma and Grandpa are getting old and like being around people. Even though they don’t say it, they still care about Yang Fa. You’re not as good at this as Naoko. If you don’t want to live together, you can live on your own. There’s no shortage of houses here!” John also owns quite a few properties in Beijing, including several courtyard houses. Laziness—that’s the impression John gets of Misha now. She’s completely changed. While this saves him a lot of trouble, this change also makes John somewhat amused and exasperated. After all, Grandma and Grandpa are getting old and crave family around. But his carefree younger brother is a real headache for John. Now, he can only rely on his women and children to keep the elderly company. Only Naoko and Martin are currently in Beijing, hence John’s words to Misha.

Is it Mi Xue's problem that she doesn't want to accompany the elderly? No, it's not like that. Rather, she has concerns in her heart. She doesn't want to put John in a difficult position, and she worries about conflicts and disagreements with Naoko or even the two children, or even tiring out the old lady and the old man. It is precisely because of these concerns in her heart that she has stayed in Shanghai and in the Jiangnan region.

"Okay, it's my fault. I didn't consider the elderly person's feelings. From now on, we will stay in Beijing with the child!"

“There’s no need to rush. I’ll be going to Hong Kong in a few days. Have you ever thought about going home to visit your parents? If so, we can go together. After you come back from Hong Kong, you can take care of Grandma and Grandpa. There are a few courtyard houses here. You can choose one that suits your taste.” John quickly made arrangements. He couldn’t fulfill his filial duties to Grandma and Grandpa himself, so letting his wife and children do it was a good option.

"Go back to Hong Kong? That's fine, I want to go back and visit too!" Mi Xue was taken aback at first, then agreed. With her departure, she had lost contact with many of her former friends, and many friendships had faded away! However, compared to Hong Kong, she preferred life here. It wasn't as busy, and she didn't have to worry about paparazzi. She could finally relax.

Misha didn't ask what John was going to do in Hong Kong. She knew it must be related to business, and she couldn't interfere. Besides, the Southeast Asian financial crisis had affected Hong Kong to some extent, though not too much, but she had heard about it. After all these years, Misha naturally knew how powerful the man she followed was!
As John predicted, everything unfolded exactly as he had anticipated. Soros and his cronies launched their attack on Hong Kong ahead of schedule. The National Day holiday had barely ended when they struck, leaving the people of Hong Kong still reeling from the celebrations before this brutal financial attack struck. Many were outraged by this unexpected turn of events, but the hearts of Hong Kong's tycoons were heavy. Soros and his ilk targeted exchange rates, and as John had suspected, the Taiwanese authorities immediately abandoned their defenses of the New Taiwan Dollar, causing it to depreciate by 3.46% in a single day, further increasing pressure on the Hong Kong dollar and the Hong Kong stock market.

Faced with the sharp drop in the Hong Kong currency market, John finally set off. However, he was not only accompanied by Misha and the child, but also by a group of beautiful women heading to Hong Kong. This left those who had been watching John completely bewildered, wondering what John was up to!
The news quickly reached Hong Kong, and Soros immediately learned of John's impending arrival. However, Soros and his associates at Yau Tai Capital weren't worried at all; this was entirely within his expectations. If John had remained in Beijing without any response, that would have been problematic and unsettling. Now that John had made his move, it proved they held the initiative and possessed an absolute advantage.

But is the advantage Soros believes he has really that significant? Is he truly determined to fight this battle in Hong Kong? Probably not. This is merely a small test; the real decisive battle will take time. After learning of John's reaction, Soros believes his decision was correct. By maneuvering John, he has already won half the battle. Everything is now under his control. Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong isn't as powerful as he imagined, nor does it possess the enormous funds he feared. Standard Chartered's funds are all invested overseas, in the expansion of John's companies. Otherwise, such a frenzied expansion in Southeast Asia wouldn't be possible; all of this requires capital.

John's move was eagerly anticipated by the bigwigs in Hong Kong, given his formidable reputation for surviving repeated financial crises. While they had previously worried that John and Standard Chartered Bank might be acting as accomplices, seeing Standard Chartered react even faster than HSBC relieved them. They were no longer afraid that Standard Chartered would deliver a fatal blow to them or the Hong Kong foreign exchange market!
While this perspective might seem like judging others by one's own petty standards, these Hong Kong tycoons had to be cautious for the sake of their men's lives. After all, John's status as a major American financial figure naturally warranted their attention. Even if some knew of John's conflict with the oil and gas giants, they dared not let their guard down!
(End of this chapter)