Chapter 120: The Frenzied Money Game (First Subscription Requested)

After checking on the progress of Zhao Yuanxi’s work and his schedule for returning to Tokyo, Tao Zhiming had just hung up the phone when Lin Qiyu arrived.

Seeing her take a notebook and pen from her bag, Tao Zhiming quickly said, "Not today. I don't have time today."

"…Oh." Lin Qiyu put her notebook and pen back. "Then I’ll head back to the dormitory. How about tomorrow?"

"I’ll have to see how things go over the next couple of days." Seeing her efficient attitude—arriving to get work done and leaving as soon as it was finished—Tao Zhiming added, "Nothing else? If you're free, why not sit and chat for a bit?"

"Didn't you say you don't have time?" Lin Qiyu asked, looking puzzled.

Tao Zhiming gestured to the screen. "I have to keep my eyes on the market. Why did you start on this project again today, right after finishing that batch of data yesterday?"

Lin Qiyu paused, looked him in the eye, and said, "The professor is in a hurry for it."

Hearing the emphasis on the word "hurry," Tao Zhiming sensed a hidden meaning in her gaze. He chuckled. "Stop talking in riddles. I know the professor is involved in policy consulting, but no matter how urgent his research project is, it has nothing to do with what I’m focusing on these past two days."

Lin Qiyu nodded. "Since you can't check it today, I'll go back to the dorm and study. You go ahead and get back to work."

"Take care," Tao Zhiming said helplessly.

This girl’s head was filled with nothing but study and research.

How could a young man as outstanding as him fail to elicit any other emotion from her? When he used to talk to her about analyzing the Japanese economy, her expressions were far more varied than they were now. Up until now, the only time she’d shown anything else was when Yamamoto Akito first made her the liaison and she went out for a meal with them.

She was truly single-minded.

As the room returned to silence, Tao Zhiming could only stare dully at the television, watching the scrolling text news and the market data on the Bloomberg terminal.

No matter how urgent the data Yamamoto Akito wanted was, it had to be related to the grand strategy of the Japanese economy, not the minor tactical maneuver of this interest rate cut. Otherwise, he would have contacted him directly. And didn't Lin Qiyu just leave immediately when she heard he was busy?

Tao Zhiming frowned as he watched the exchange rate, which had climbed to 167.36 yen per US dollar.

He did some quick mental math to calculate how much profit he had made on the positions he opened after the last small devaluation.

Starting with an initial capital of 250 million yen, and after the massive windfall of over 600 million yen from the market volatility on March 12th, the subsequent primary capital injections were Kinoshita Hidekaze’s 1.5 billion and Suzuki Daiki’s 500 million. After two months of operation, the assets in the foreign exchange account had reached nearly 3.5 billion yen.

If he were to close the positions opened for this April market trend now, it would be quite substantial. Even though his leverage wasn't as high as it had been last time, his volume had increased several times over because he knew for certain that the trend would continue to rise before the April interest rate cut.

Having built his positions in the range of 176:1 to 173:1, the profit per lot at the current rate of around 167:1 was staggering. Back then, a 200-point spread meant a profit of over 1,000 USD per lot. Now, he was looking at a spread of 600 to 900 points.

With a total volume of over 13,000 lots, closing them all right now would net him a little over 50 million USD.

Tao Zhiming’s heart skipped a beat.

At the current exchange rate, that was over 8 billion yen in pure profit. Adding in his principal and deducting the 2.3 billion yen he had borrowed, Tao Zhiming had reached the threshold of 10 billion yen.

He was only a step away from 100 million USD.

Watching the market, which was still rising slowly but steadily, Tao Zhiming felt it was time to start closing his positions. The phase where he most desperately needed to accumulate initial capital was already behind him.

There was no need to chase maximum profit. He had too many lots; he should take advantage of the fact that retail funds were still pouring into the yen and sell off his holdings gradually.

He would keep a portion back and wait for Kawasaki Ichiro’s call. With that thought, Tao Zhiming dialed Kudo Tsuneo.

***

Inside the office of the manager of the Second Sales Department at Nomura Securities, Kawasaki Ichiro stood at the edge of a circle of people, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

"Same old rules! The next 24 hours will likely be the most dangerous! For accounts fully managed by us, do not chase high-risk operations! For those already in profit, close positions in an orderly fashion! Keep a close watch on stop-loss settings! Any account operation exceeding 50 million yen must follow the standard procedure! Is that clear?"

Manager Hatano Masahiro emphasized loudly. After hearing a resounding chorus of agreement, he raised his fist. "I know everyone hasn't rested well these past two days, but hang in there! For us, this is the most critical time in April! I hope that by the last day of the month, everyone is in high spirits. Understood?"

"Understood!"

"Good! Don't waste time. Back to your posts!"

Kawasaki Ichiro was just about to follow the crowd out when he heard Hatano call out, "Kawasaki, stay behind."

Someone in front heard this and looked back at Kawasaki with an inexplicable smile.

Kawasaki stopped and turned around. "Manager, what are your orders?"

The office fell silent. Hatano walked over to him and said calmly, "I know you’re anxious to make up for previous losses, but this time, you must maintain a conservative attitude. Don't let your losses grow larger in the pursuit of gains. Do you understand?"

"Understood..."

Hatano frowned. "What did you say? I can't hear you."

"Understood!" Kawasaki straightened his posture and shouted.

Hatano nodded and patted his shoulder. "That Tao Taro—his gains and losses are his own responsibility. The higher his transaction frequency and the larger his scale, the more we earn. But the managed accounts you are handling are different. From our perspective, even if you could generate higher short-term returns for clients, you must remember one thing: what we can promise is only the baseline return from a long-term perspective."

"Understood!"

"Normally, achieving a 20% to 30% return for a client over a year really tests our abilities. If we suddenly achieve over 10% in a single month, can we still satisfy them if we only promise the same annual rate? People are greedy. If we can't consistently perform that well, we won't be able to satisfy such clients anymore. There are many 'funds' and 'investment firms' out there using that as a gimmick; if you do that, you will end up losing your clients instead."

Kawasaki nodded vigorously. "I understand!"

"Good," Hatano said, satisfied. "Keep that attitude and settle down for a while. There will be opportunities for promotion in the future."

After giving a few more words of encouragement, Kawasaki left the office.

He wasn't unaware of these principles. That was why he stood there with a bitter frown; closing the profitable positions now wouldn't be enough to cover his previous losses.

Helplessly returning to his department's office area, he forced himself to pull it together and resume his leadership persona. He stood up and called out to everyone, "Listen up!"

He saw Kudo Tsuneo on the phone; Kudo looked up, his lips moving silently.

Kawasaki understood: he was saying, "Tao-kun."

Kawasaki raised his voice even louder. "Listen carefully, everyone! The next 24 hours are the most critical! The risk to the accounts of clients who have entrusted their assets to us is paramount! Every operation over 500,000 yen must go through the formal process. Understood?"

On the other end of the line, Tao Zhiming, hearing Kawasaki’s shouting, curled his lips into a smile.

So, Kudo was letting him know this way?

It seemed the frenzied money game was truly about to begin.

Tao Zhiming said, "Hurry up and do as I said!"

***

"So, why must you insist on that factory?" Komori Masami’s mother said, pointing at the news on TV. "Look, even a big company like Hanwa is pulling out capital to invest in foreign exchange. In my opinion, Takanao should just accept someone else's terms. 7 billion yen! With that much money, if you took just a portion as principal, you might earn over a billion in a year. That’s much better than working yourself to the bone managing a factory!"

"Mother!" Masami, already in a bad mood, complained. "Takanao is willing to share his work frustrations with me, and I’m telling you this not so you can give advice! I just wanted to vent a little. Don't you think the life we have now is the result of Takanao’s hard work? Is there anyone more capable than him? He certainly understands these things better than you! What 'foreign exchange trading'? How could it be possible to make so much money just by making a phone call?"

Her mother sighed. "Do you think just because I don't live in Tokyo, I’m ignorant? If you don't believe me, ask the neighbors next door tomorrow. And stocks, too! Oh, did you hear the news today? The reform plan for Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) has been finalized, and they are going to issue shares on the stock market. I don't have much money, but I’m planning to apply for these new shares. With over 2 million yen, I should be able to get two shares! Just think, they own all the telephones in the country; it’s a guaranteed rise!"

"Mother..." Masami never expected that upon returning to her hometown, her mother would be obsessively talking about foreign exchange and stocks.

After Onodera Runa received a call from Tao Zhiming saying he would be sleeping at the school, she received calls from other housewives. "Mrs. Runa, have you heard the news today? NTT is going public! Does your 'husband' have any way to get a few more new shares?"

"…Sister Sanae, isn't foreign exchange trading enough? I haven't asked him about stocks yet..."

"This is a guaranteed win! It's NTT! Maybe in a few months, it will double!"

"…You’re exaggerating."

"Not at all! It’s NTT! Ask him! If he can get more NTT shares, each one could earn us millions!"

"..."