Chapter 69: Listen to Mr. Zhou Ming

It was 8am. In the conference room of Wharton Insurance in the Sky Tower, Zhou Minglin Muqing, Tong Gang Li Cheng, and Irbeldov were all sitting around the long conference table. In front of them was an unhooked phone, with the microphone lying flat on the table, but with several wires branching off and connected to each person's desk. Everyone was also wearing a headset. This was a simple conference call setup.

Soon after, a voice came through everyone's headphones: 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I am currently at the New York Mercantile Exchange. I have successfully sold 3 million short contracts of light crude oil and 5 million short contracts of heavy crude oil. The current futures price of light crude oil is 16.23 US dollars per barrel, and the current futures price of heavy crude oil is 14.58 US dollars per barrel. The total contract price is 120 million US dollars, and the contract margin is 12 million US dollars.'

This voice belongs to Sun Wei, the manager of the American branch of the Harbor City Joint Investment Fund Company. After Zhou Ming and Tong Gang Li Cheng reached an agreement, he was sent to New York, with the purpose of entering the futures market.

Because the futures market and the stock market are not the same, and according to the New York Mercantile Exchange's time regulations, crude oil futures trading is divided into two trading methods: on-site and off-site. This method of staggered trading allows the US crude oil futures market to trade almost around the clock, but the prerequisite is that there must be someone on the trading floor to trade on behalf of others. Therefore, Sun Wei was sent there to work as an on-site trader.

In addition to the New York exchange, Zhou Ming also contacted trading markets in the UK and France, and even the futures market in Hong Kong, but for Zhou Ming, the most convenient and efficient was still the local futures market in the United States.

'Very good, please continue to pay close attention to changes in the price of crude oil in the market, and if you find a problem, report it to me immediately!'

Zhou Ming gave Sun Wei his orders and then hung up the phone. He then said to Tong Gang and Li Cheng, who were sitting opposite him, 'Chairman Tong, Brother Li, just wait and see the money come rolling in. I have to say, though, that margin trading in futures is really a good invention. We only paid ten million US dollars and were able to move a billion in the crude oil market. If it weren't for my inability to judge the impact of the situation in the Middle East on light crude oil, I would really want to buy some more.'

In the face of Zhou Ming's teasing, Tong Gang smiled and said to him, 'Little brother Zhou Ming, it's good to have confidence, but let's not be too blind. After all, as you said, this is just the prelude to the main event. If we invest too much now, how will the main event continue? So our main funds will wait until the time you said in the afternoon, when Iraq and Kuwait officially broke out in war.'

However, compared to Tong Gang's optimism, Li Cheng showed a little concern. He asked Zhou Ming, 'We have conducted a total of 8 million transactions, which is already a very large amount of transactions. I don't think the Adams family's energy should be unable to find out, even if he is not yet the head of the family.'

'Brother Li, this is indeed a problem, which is why I agree with your decision to invest only 10 million US dollars to test the water. If there are problems, we can just withdraw it immediately,' said Zhou Ming. 'Because if the situation we are in now is the same as the one we faced after the Gulf War broke out, and if we are afraid to invest 10 million US dollars first, then after the Gulf War broke out, how would we dare to invest 300 million?'

Ten million US dollars just to test the water?

Although Tong Gang, Li Cheng, and Irbekov were not the first day they met Zhou Ming, they still found it a little hard to accept after he said that. After all, that was ten million US dollars! Not to mention the average person, even for them, who were elites in their respective fields, it took at least half of their lives to accumulate such a huge fortune. But Zhou Ming just said ten million to test the water, so how could they not feel helpless?

In addition, there is an even more important point, and that is that futures trading is not as simple as paying a deposit and being fine. Because each account in futures trading must deposit a certain amount of additional deposit in the futures company to clear the default risk, once a trading risk occurs, or a futures price plummets to the point where the deposit is insufficient, they must sell the contract or use the deposit to close the position. And their deposit is the money they will use to invest in the future when the Gulf War breaks out and the price of crude oil futures plummets.

If there is really a risk now, this loss of 10 million will be lost, but the other funds must not be lost! Zhou Ming is after all a top student from Harvard Business School and the class teacher of the finance class, so he shouldn't be ignorant, so how could he make such a decision?

Li Cheng and Il'bekov were both a little surprised, but when they wanted to say something to Zhou Ming, Tong Gang spoke first, 'Since little brother Zhou Ming is so confident, we can only choose to believe.'

'Thank you very much,'

Zhou Ming thanked Tong Gang and then leaned back in his chair, took out the remote control, turned on the TV set on the other side of the table, and said, 'Does anyone have any TV shows they want to watch right now? After all, the futures market is different from the stock market. Since trading hours are almost around the clock, futures trading is not as intensive as stock trading, so the changes will not be so fast. We can totally watch American dramas or something.'

As they listened to Zhou Ming's words, Li Cheng and Il'bedov looked at each other, while Tong Gang just laughed and said, 'I think it's fine. I think the current broadcast of Man from the Bottom of the Atlantic is quite good. Judging by the broadcast time, it should be in rerun now. Let's watch this drama?'

'Chairman Tong, it seems that we share the same interests, because I've also been following this show recently. I personally think that the American's ability to imagine science fiction is still very impressive. Who knows, they might even come up with even more awesome science fiction ideas in the future, and have federal agents investigate them. Anyway, I don't know what they are, so let's just call them X-Files. Or maybe we can make a movie of Transformers, too, but with real people, not animated.' Zhou Ming said this while switching channels on the remote control.

Tong Gang shrugged uselessly, 'Maybe, after this Gulf Project is over, Brother Zhou Ming, if you have time, you can also make a movie.'

'That's right, I don't worry about money anyway, even if there is no box office, it doesn't matter as long as my idea is filmed,' Zhou Ming said.

Zhou Ming's seriousness made Tong Gang a little dumbfounded, because he just casually mentioned it earlier, but he didn't think that Zhou Ming had actually really moved this idea and wanted to enter the film industry? Although the American film industry is already stable, with major consortia having carved out their territories, it is difficult for outsiders to get in, but if Zhou Ming is really willing to spend tens of millions or even billions of dollars, it is not impossible to fight his way in.

And the key point is that, based on Tong Gang's understanding of Zhou Ming, he really dares to do so!

Tong Gang then thought: if Zhou Ming really enters the film industry, should he follow suit? I think he also needs to share the investment.

But just as Tong Gang was seriously considering this question, Zhou Ming's next sentence made him so depressed that he nearly couldn't catch his breath.

Zhou Ming said, 'But this is a joke. Maybe in the future, when I've made enough money and retired, it's possible, but at least right now I'm not interested. After all, first of all, I don't understand the film industry. What if I lose money? As a successful businessman, I don't want to do a losing deal, and even if it succeeds, I won't make much money, so it's better to forget about it.'

Zhou Ming's words not only irritated Tong Gang, they also left Irbedov dumbfounded. He couldn't understand why Zhou Ming and Tong Gang, with their big hearts, weren't preparing for the Gulf project today, to make money from crude oil futures? Why were they suddenly talking about the movie industry?

Li Cheng on the other hand frowned. He could understand that Tong Gang's big heart was the result of the experience he had accumulated over a lifetime, but Zhou Ming, who looked no more than his twenties, was also so calm.

This kind of thinking made Li Cheng can't help but sigh in his heart: it seems that there really are those kind of geniuses in the world, just like Zhou Ming.

But compared to Tong Gang and Zhou Ming's same calmness, Li Cheng's learning calmness, and Irbeldov's lack of calmness, the simplest person in the meeting room would have to be Lin Muqing. For her, as long as it is something that Zhou Ming has decided, she will support it unconditionally, even if in the end she really loses everything. She thinks this way not because she is more composed than Zhou Ming and Tong Gang, but because of her natural disposition as a woman.

Lin Muqing is a very mature woman and a strong woman, but this is the strength she must have when facing outsiders. Once she encounters someone she can rely on, then she will give her all to the man who has conquered her, which is Zhou Ming.

It is precisely for this reason that she can care less about the outcome, as long as it is Zhou Ming's decision.

In this way, amidst the different ideas in the conference room, an entire episode of The Man from the Bottom of the Atlantic ended. And just as if it had been timed perfectly, at this moment, the phone on the conference table rang again.

Everyone immediately pressed the headset on their heads and held their breath, because everyone knew that this phone was only connected to New York.

Zhou Ming connected the call without any hesitation, and Sun Wei's voice immediately came through the headset. His tone was a little evasive: 'Mr Zhou Ming, I am currently in the New York Mercantile Exchange, and I have been keeping an eye on the crude oil futures market...'

Zhou Ming interrupted Sun Wei directly and said, "Get to the point. You know what news we are all waiting for.'

Sun Wei subconsciously answered with a "yes' before saying, 'I'm sorry, Mr Zhou Ming, but at the moment, both the light crude oil futures price and the heavy crude oil futures price are rising.'

This answer made everyone in the conference room freeze for a moment, and they subconsciously looked at Zhou Ming.

Under everyone's gaze, Zhou Ming thought for a moment and then asked, 'Is the range large?'

'At present, the light crude oil futures price has risen by four percentage points compared to the opening of the floor auction, and the current price is 16.88 US dollars per barrel; the heavy crude oil futures price has risen even more, reaching six percentage points, and the current price is 15.45 US dollars per barrel,' Sun Wei replied.

Since this was a conference call format, everyone in the conference room was connected to the phone, so Sun Wei's words immediately reached everyone's ears. Irbedov immediately said to Zhou Ming, 'I must have been affected by the breakdown of negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait this morning. This news is really negative. The market will worry about the situation in the Middle East and keep buying contracts, so the price will definitely rise. Should we continue to buy?'

Tong Gang and Li Cheng did not immediately express their opinions, but the worried looks they gave Zhou Ming already indicated their attitude. Only Lin Muqing secretly shook Zhou Ming's hand, indicating that she would support him no matter what decision he made.

Zhou Ming gently patted Lin Muqing's small hand to reassure her, and then Zhou Ming said, 'My thoughts are just the opposite of yours. I think the price of crude oil will definitely fall, not only because of the breakdown of negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait. Kuwait originally used increased oil production as a weapon, and he will definitely want the price of oil to continue to fall. Another reason is from a capital perspective. If it doesn't continue to fall, and a war breaks out later, how can there be a more substantial rise?'

'Therefore, I believe that the Brighton and Rockefeller consortia will not sit idly by as crude oil futures prices rise.' Zhou Ming made a decision: "Therefore, Sun Wei, continue to short sell, and we will add another million lots!'

'This...'

Sun Wei was obviously in a difficult position, until Lin Muqing said, "Manager Sun, listen to Mr. Zhou Ming and do as he says.'