Chapter 79: The best companies are balanced

Inside the conference room of the Wharton Company in the Tian Ti Building, Zhou Ming put down the phone. He looked up and saw Tong Gang, Li Cheng, and Irbekov all looking at him with surprise. Obviously, this was because of the decision he had just made. Even Lin Muqing next to him frowned.

'Zhou Ming, did something happen?' Lin Muqing asked the first question. Of course, she unconditionally supported Zhou Ming, but that didn't mean she would blindly follow. For such an important decision, she had to find out the reason, no matter how much she trusted Zhou Ming, just to be on the safe side.

Zhou Ming also understood, so he didn't waste any time and immediately replied, 'Sun Wei just said that someone at the exchange is quietly selling contracts. I'm worried that the market situation will change, so I told Sun Wei to take action in advance.'

Although Tong Gang, Li Cheng, and Yerbedov had long expected this answer, after all, they had just discussed it before, and Zhou Ming also said to act within three days; but now it was only a matter of a phone call, and Zhou Ming told Sun Wei to act. From what they knew of Zhou Ming, he shouldn't be so unreliable, and there must have been some sort of mishap; but when Zhou Ming really gave this answer, it still made them feel a little unbelievable.

They couldn't understand how there could be an accident when the war in Kuwait had only broken out the day before, the situation in the Middle East should be chaotic, and oil prices were soaring due to the situation.

Could it really be Robert, the headstrong member of the Addams family?

Zhou Ming could see what they were thinking and said to them, 'I don't know if it's Robert, but they will definitely do it, either today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. Perhaps Mr. Robert has just brought it forward a bit.'

'But there is one thing I still don't understand, Mr. Zhou Ming,' said Il'bedov. 'The current trend is for oil prices to rise. If they insist on suppressing oil prices, it won't be that simple, will it? This requires tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars, and since they are going against the market trend, they will definitely lose a lot. Will this be a bit too much to gain and not enough to lose?'

Zhou Ming did not directly answer Irbedov's question, but instead thought for a moment and then asked, 'Mr. Irbedov, if it were you, what would you do if you wanted the stock price of your bank to rise? Would you simply keep buying it with money and quietly push up the price?'

'Of course not. I would first release some good news about the bank, and then use my capital to acquire a large amount of my own stock. In this way, the market, in the face of the news and the facts, would easily believe and follow suit. At this time, I would not have to make any effort, and the price would naturally be pushed up...'

Irbeldov suddenly realised something as he spoke, and he immediately added, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, what you mean is that the current sell-off is just one of the steps taken by the Brighton consortium, and that they should have prepared enough news for the market to make oil prices fall?'

'That's definitely the case,' Zhou Ming said. 'But now that things have developed this way, we can't judge it for a while, and we can only wait for follow-up news.'

After saying this, Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing got up and left, getting into the car together and heading back to the hotel where Lin Muqing was staying.

In the car, Zhou Ming said to Lin Muqing, 'Muqing, I think you'd better find someone who can take up the position of general manager of the American branch as soon as possible. Don't put Sun Wei in that position.'

'Did Sun Wei just disrespect you or disobey your orders?' Lin Muqing asked.

Zhou Ming shook his head and said, 'On the contrary, this person is too obedient.'

Lin Muqing was a little confused: "I don't understand.'

Zhou Ming organised his thoughts in his mind before replying, "I said before that Sun Wei is somewhat capable in market analysis, but that's about it. He can do a little market analysis, but to make the market bigger, his vision is not enough. Of course, an even more important point is that he lacks the courage and determination to open up new territory.'

'When I called him just now, he was very arrogant. I understand that he is very impressive at the stock exchange, after all, what happened yesterday made him a star, but is this not being too complacent? Can someone like this carry a branch on his shoulders?' Zhou Ming said.

'This is indeed a big problem. In fact, I had no choice but to send him to the United States. After all, I don't have complete control over the Hong Kong City side. I am picking a general among the cripples. If I had a better choice, I would definitely fire him.' Lin Muqing said.

'I understand that Sun Wei is a stopgap measure, but it's not a long-term solution,' Zhou Ming then changed the subject and continued, 'But there's no need to fire him. After all, he is still loyal. In addition to being obedient, he also has a certain ability to analyze the market. Someone like this can't be made marshal, but he can be assuredly made deputy marshal.'

Lin Muqing's eyes lit up: 'Zhou Ming, do you mean to make him vice president? This is indeed a good idea. Sun Wei is indeed a bit prone to arrogance, but overall he is not a bad person, and he also has certain abilities. He will be loyal to the company, and he has been with me since Jinming Fund Company. This is also the reason why I will send him here when the American branch is established.'

Having said that, Lin Muqing hesitated again: 'But that's also why it's not easy, right? Although it is true that a new company needs a capable person to lead the way and a loyal person to keep watch, the two of them are interlinked to maintain a balance, but right now Sun Wei hasn't done anything wrong. He has completed everything that has been handed to him very well. Now that I'm saying that I want to make him vice president, I'm worried that he will have some reservations.'

Lin Muqing said, casting her gaze at Zhou Ming, but Zhou Ming simply put his arm under his head and said leisurely, 'Sister Muqing, this has nothing to do with me, you are the chairman of the Gangcheng United Investment Fund Company!'

Lin Muqing glared at Zhou Ming in annoyance at this answer, which was downright irresponsible!

But then Lin Muqing gave Zhou Ming a seductive wink and leaned over his body, whispering in his ear, 'Zhou Ming, just tell me, and I'll thank you properly.'

Although the beauty's breath was like orchid flowers in his ear, and the moist fragrance beating against his ear made Zhou Ming's heart itch, he still resisted and asked, 'Then I'll have to hear the conditions first. If the conditions are good, I might consider it.'

'The conditions are of course very good. Zhou Ming, didn't you say last time that you really wanted to see me for the first time? In fact, I also brought that outfit. If you can help me, I might be able to change into it when I go back. I actually like it very much too!' Lin Muqing's words kept getting closer and closer to Zhou Ming's ear, and in the end they were almost whispering in his ear. At the end, Lin Muqing even teasedingly stuck out her little, fragrant tongue and licked Zhou Ming's earlobe.

This made Zhou Ming jump, and he immediately wrapped his arms around Lin Muqing's plump body: Damn it, I must teach this woman a good lesson when I get back!

Twenty minutes later, Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing returned to the hotel. As soon as they entered the room, Zhou Ming kissed Lin Muqing, and the two of them just kept kissing like that until they reached the bed in the bedroom. At this point, it was clear that Zhou Ming had already forgotten about Lin Muqing's uniform, and Lin Muqing had also forgotten the question she wanted to ask Zhou Ming. For them, the only thing that mattered now was each other.

Lin Muqing's little suit shirt and skirt stockings underwear, mixed with Zhou Ming's clothes, were thrown on the floor one by one, and with a muffled grunt from Lin Muqing, the bed began to shake in a very regular rhythm.

...

Time quickly reached 3am. As Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing slept soundly in bed, the phone in the room suddenly rang. Zhou Ming picked up the phone and connected, and heard Sun Wei's voice ring.

'Mr Zhou Ming, you are truly a genius. You should watch TV quickly, there is now a major incident in the Middle East!' Sun Wei said happily on the other end of the phone.

Zhou Ming knew that Sun Wei would not be making such an announcement without a reason, so he quickly got out of bed and turned on the TV. After watching the news, he immediately understood and immediately called Tong Gang, Li Cheng and Irbedov separately.

So, an hour and a half later, Zhou Ming, Lin Muqing, Tong Gang, Li Cheng and Irbedov gathered together in the conference room of the hotel. A TV was placed in front of them, broadcasting the news, and the crisp voice of the announcer clearly delivered the news to everyone's ears.

'According to the latest news received by this station, the countries of the Arab League have issued a resolution condemning Iraq's act of aggression after urgent consultations, unanimously demanding that Iraq withdraw its troops from Kuwait. At the same time, the Arab League resolution also demands that the conflict must be resolved within the Arab world, and warns that any external interference will be regarded as a provocation to the entire Arab world, and that the Arab League has the right to make all necessary responses!'

Listening to the news, Tong Gang, Li Cheng and Irbedov were all stunned. Tong Gang and Li Cheng frowned, while Irbedov said incredulously, 'Doesn't this news mean that the Arab League does not allow the conflict to further expand and hopes to maintain the stability of the situation in the Middle East?'

Since Irbedov spoke first, Li Cheng also picked up the thread and said, 'That's right, but I think the Arab League is more interested in preventing the United States from intervening, because now the Arab League can negotiate with the United States-led Western countries with oil, but once the United States invades Iraq and controls the oil of Iraq and Kuwait, the situation will be very unfavorable for them.'

'No matter what they were thinking, with this news out, it will definitely stabilise market confidence. Coupled with the fact that the two major consortia are scrambling to sell their contracts, it seems that the international crude oil futures price after dawn will fall back to a large extent.' Tong Gang said, turning the conversation to Zhou Ming and continuing, 'So Zhou Ming's judgement today was quite accurate.'

Li Cheng and Irbedov were also a little afraid: 'Yes, if it weren't for Brother Zhou Ming's judgment and decisiveness this afternoon, even if today's oil price will not plummet like yesterday's surge, I'm afraid our losses today will also be very large. But I didn't expect that the wayward young master of the Adams family really had such influence, which is really surprising.'

'It can only be said that it is better to believe it than not,' Zhou Ming said, 'But now that things have developed to this point, we need to pay close attention to the stock market. In addition to military stocks, I think energy stocks are also an area that deserves attention.'

Zhou Ming went on to explain, "Because as oil prices continue to rise, the replacement of other energy sources or new energy sources becomes very important, and these companies will also be favoured by investors.'

Tong Gang, Li Cheng, and Yerbedov all nodded and said, "Don't worry about this, Zhou Ming, we've all been paying attention.'

Zhou Ming smiled contentedly, but although he had finished answering, he still had the biggest question in his mind. He didn't understand why the two consortia, having prepared such a piece of news, were not selling it publicly on a large scale, as they had done before, but were instead secretly selling it. Did they still want to make a small profit?

That was obviously impossible. Zhou Ming actually had another idea, but he just couldn't believe it.