Chapter 137: Because of a Cup of Devil's Graveyard

On the evening of March 21st, 1999, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles was ablaze with lights and filled with celebrities, as the famous Academy Awards ceremony was to be held here. Naturally, such an annual entertainment extravaganza attracted the swarm of media, and the thing that caught everyone's attention that night was a documentary film called Devil's Agent.

This documentary film is based on a true case. At the Oscars, it beat 'Saving Private Ryan' to win 11 awards, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, and broke the record set by 'Titanic' the previous year.

After the awards ceremony, the director and producer of the film, James, was almost immediately surrounded by a large crowd of reporters as soon as he walked out of the theatre doors. &nbs novel p;"Mr James, I heard that you are not a professional film director and producer. You were in the financial industry a few years ago, right? Was it your experience in the financial industry and last year's bad stock market fluctuations that gave you the idea to make a film with a financial theme?'

'The Devil's Broker made a record-breaking $500 million worldwide last year, which is already a very rare figure for a documentary film. How did you manage to give the documentary such market appeal?'

'Mr James, your film caused a huge social reaction once it was released. Some of the financial practices shown in it were shocking, and in particular, many investment banks on Wall Street urgently revised their company regulations, which directly led to a substantial drop in stock market and futures trading afterwards. You said it was a documentary film, but could anyone really have come up with such outlandish practices?'

'And Mr James, to which year of events is this documentary film related?'

Facing these reporters' questions, James smiled and said, 'First of all, I can responsibly tell you that my documentary film is indeed based on facts. However, please remember that when I say adaptation, I am not saying that I have made anything up. Rather, I have deliberately cut out many real plots in order to cater to the intelligence of film critics.'

James's words caused a burst of gasps from the reporters around him. If the edited film had caused such a big reaction, what were the real events like?

James didn't leave everyone hanging, and continued, 'There was this one person back then, just an ordinary investment broker at an investment company, but through a series of magical operations that you cannot understand, he accomplished the feat of destroying an investment company worth billions of dollars.'

'After so many years, I can tell you,' said James, "at that time, because the investment company was losing money and had to sell its bad assets, the broker seized this opportunity. He first called all the clients of the company and sold the assets to them at a very low price in exchange for their investments.

"Since he was just an ordinary investment broker, the amount of investment from each client was not large, only tens of thousands of dollars, but he found twenty clients and raised one million dollars.'

James continued, 'With this million-dollar deal, the broker handled the first batch of non-performing assets, selling them to clients at extremely low prices and handing the company a million dollars. Of course, the broker didn't let those clients who didn't get the assets they wanted suffer. He paid them a return on investment ranging from one to five percent, so that everyone was making money and happy.'

'It was through the sale of assets and the return on investment that this broker won the trust of both the company and the client. Then, through the trust established, the broker was able to get more investment from the client and continue to get more assets from the company.

James spread his hands as he continued, 'The follow-up process is very simple. The broker continues to sell the company's non-performing assets, gives other clients investment returns, attracts more clients to invest, gets disposal assets from the company, and then sells them at a very low price. He then takes out a portion of the clients' investment and returns it to the clients, creating the illusion that both the company and the clients are happy, and the cycle continues.'

'I'm afraid that you may not believe it when I tell you this: relying on this method, this broker sold more than 3,000 properties worth 500 million US dollars in less than a month. And how much did he only make from selling these properties?"

James looked around the room and finally held up three fingers and said, 'Only 3 million US dollars.'

All the reporters were shocked. Although they could guess that the final price would definitely not be high by using that kind of stop-gap measure, this figure was still unbelievable. It was less than one percent of the total assets! Even if that was the disposal of assets, the gap was still unbelievable.

'If someone were to audit the books, wouldn't all these secrets be revealed immediately?' James added, 'I know you all want to ask this question, but the broker had already thought of this. So he opened a separate secret account very early on, and all his transactions were completed through this secret account, which inherently has great concealment.'

'Of course, there is some doubt about this kind of concealment, and any professional accountant can find out the problem. However, there was a special background at that time. The company was in a very difficult period, and he needed to deal with his assets as soon as possible. Therefore, even if the company knew that the broker was trading through a secret account, as long as the company received the money in the end and the client was satisfied, no one would ask questions,' said James.

'My God, this broker was a genius of epoch-making proportions. How could he have come up with such a way of trading that almost calculated everyone's reaction? It was truly amazing, if he wasn't using his own mind to commit crimes. So was this broker Mr. James? Did you come up with such a great way of operating?'

Facing all the reporters' questions, one after the other, James replied with a smile, 'That broker was a very important friend of mine, and as for such a great way of operating... Have any of you heard of Devil's Graveyard? It's a special cocktail with a very strong taste. All these great operations are also due to that one Devil's Graveyard."

...

Back on 11 November 1990, some entrepreneurs of that era were still working in translation agencies and naturally couldn't have organised a shopping spree that would go on to become a global phenomenon. Even so, there was a festive atmosphere at Brook Investment in Brighton, as it was the day of James's personal recognition meeting.

Everyone at Brook Investment was gathered in the company's small conference room. Due to limited seating, many people had to stand, but there were two empty seats.

When everyone was ready, the company's general manager led James into the conference room, and they walked around the crowd and sat directly in the two empty seats.

"I believe everyone already knows the content of today's meeting, which is to praise James, and also to let everyone know that as long as you work for the company and make money for the company, then the company will definitely let you make more money!'

The general manager paused for a moment and then continued: 'As you all know, at the beginning, someone maliciously pushed things behind the scenes. The subprime mortgage crisis caused by many of our borrowers choosing to file for personal bankruptcy caused the company to go through a very difficult storm. Due to a shortage of funds, the company had to arrange tasks and even force everyone to deal with the company's non-performing assets. This was a last resort, but it was also effective.'

"It's been a month since the tasks were arranged. Maybe the subprime mortgage crisis is not over yet, but the company's situation is constantly improving.'

The general manager said, patting James on the shoulder next to him, and continued, 'Remember a month ago when I assigned you all tasks, and you all complained to me that it was the devil's work? But this Mr James next to me, who is also your brother colleague, has taught you a harsh lesson with facts, because in this month's time he has handled 3,000 mortgage properties and earned the company 600 million US dollars.'

"James is undoubtedly the biggest hero in the company's ability to survive this difficult time, and today, the company has officially made a decision to commend him!'

The general manager paused here on purpose to tease everyone's appetite, and finally said, 'The company has decided to give him a bonus of 200,000 US dollars. Together with the commission from the real estate he handled, 800,000 US dollars will go into his pocket today. At that time, whether you want to exchange it for 800,000 one-dollar coins or use this 800,000 US dollars to build a bed, it's up to you!'

Due to the general manager's teasing, all the staff, apart from gasping at the income of 800,000 US dollars, also burst out laughing.

'Mr James, you are so rich, please share with us the secret of your success,' the general manager said to James, and the room burst into applause.

James stood up in the midst of the applause and, after it had died down, asked a question that no one expected: "Have you heard of the Devil's Graveyard?"

This question left everyone baffled, including the general manager, who had no idea why he had asked such a question.

'It's a unique cocktail. He takes 15 ml of tequila, 15 ml of dark rum, 15 ml of Scotch, 15 ml of American whiskey and 15 ml of almond brandy, pours them into a glass, and finally pours in beer so that it floats on top of all the liquor. The result is a perfect Devil's Graveyard.'

James had barely finished speaking when the general manager said to him, 'That is indeed a very special cocktail. So, Mr James, are you saying that the characteristics of this drink have inspired you?'

James looked at the general manager and shook his head. 'Not really. It was after drinking this Devil's Graveyard that I discovered the true nature of work and capital.'

Everyone was confused by James's words. James continued, 'It's simple. Whether it's the general manager, me, or everyone here, we are all scumbags, the devil's devils, and this company is a fucking devil's camp. I don't think you know that the real estate I took over in the beginning was the Ansenburg neighbourhood. That son of a bitch manager actually let me dispose of it for two hundred thousand dollars!'

James's words sent everyone into a panic. The manager immediately stood up and said, 'James, please watch your words! If I really set such a high price for you, you would never be able to sell it, right?'

'Isn't it my ability to be able to sell it?' James asked rhetorically.

The manager was speechless at this rhetorical question. The general manager of the company tried to mediate, but James continued, 'But it doesn't matter, you're a spineless guy anyway!'

'James, have you gone mad? Don't think you can behave like this just because you've achieved something,' the general manager said sternly.

'Have I gone mad? Quite possibly!' James laughed. "But I'm sure everyone is wondering why I've brought up the story of the Devil's Graveyard. It's because this company is a devil's den, and I've already prepared a graveyard for him!"