Chapter 23: Millionaire

In the afternoon, when the market opened, Xia Yu arrived at the Kowloon Stock Exchange and immediately checked Mingheng Industrial's stock price.

Seeing that Mingheng Industrial's stock price had dropped significantly and continued to decline, Xia Yu couldn't help but feel elated. The lower Mingheng Industrial's price fell, the more he profited.

Since Hong Kong stocks, like U.S. stocks, have no limits on price increases or decreases, Mingheng Industrial's stock price was plummeting badly.

Xia Yu estimated in his mind that the current stock price was equivalent to one-fifth of the price when he shorted the stock yesterday.

A quick calculation showed him how much he had earned, and a smile appeared on his face.

He had bought stocks worth 1.1 million HKD yesterday and shorted them. Now, with Mingheng Industrial's stock price being one-fifth of yesterday's, it meant that he could buy the amount of stock worth 1.1 million HKD for only 220,000 HKD. Xia Yu's profit was 1.1 million minus 220,000, which equals 880,000 HKD.

In other words, with the current stock price, Xia Yu's profit had already reached 880,000 HKD!

And the market had just opened for the afternoon session. After a morning of developing events, Mingheng Industrial's stock price would continue to decline, and it would likely keep dropping for some time. This meant Xia Yu could earn even more.

Here's a bit about shorting stocks: without leverage, the maximum profit from shorting is 100%, but the theoretical loss is unlimited. Therefore, shorting is riskier than going long, but it can make money faster.

So, Xia Yu's maximum potential earnings wouldn't exceed 1.1 million HKD. With 880,000 HKD already on paper, he had less than 220,000 HKD in profit margin left.

Even if the stock price fell to one-twentieth of yesterday's price, Xia Yu would still make at most 1.045 million HKD. However, according to Xia Yu's analysis, it was unlikely for the price to fall to one-twentieth of yesterday's price. Falling to one-tenth was still possible, considering the serious accounting fraud at Mingheng Industrial.

"Let's see if there are more opportunities. If there are better chances, I'll settle this short position. If not, I'll leave it as is. After all, several thousand HKD is still profit," Xia Yu thought.

"It's urgent. I should quickly write the article for tomorrow. Checking my funds with HSBC Securities can wait; it won't run away!" 

With this thought, Xia Yu continued to gather information at the exchange and model his analysis.

Time passed unnoticed, and Xia Yu's notebook was filled with densely packed information.

Today, Xia Yu didn't find any similar explosive information about Mingheng Industrial's financial fraud, but he wasn't disappointed. He had been mentally prepared for this.

Discovering Mingheng Industrial's financial fraud was just a coincidence. Such things don't happen every day; otherwise, the stock market wouldn't function normally.

Even without explosive news, Xia Yu produced a valuable article, sufficient to be published tomorrow.

After all, the first day's success had already struck a chord. The notoriety of *Jiu Ding Daily* was expanding, and as long as the article's quality was good and had some value, it was entirely sufficient.

Of course, if he could publish another explosive article like the one on Mingheng Industrial, that would be even better! 

But, that required a bit of luck and couldn't be forced!

Looking at Mingheng Industrial's stock price again, Xia Yu thought, "It's time to settle. There isn't much profit left to squeeze out. I'll buy the stock I plan to recommend tomorrow."

By now, Xia Yu had been at the Kowloon Stock Exchange for over two hours. Mingheng Industrial's stock price had dropped further, to about one-seventh of the price when he bought in yesterday. Xia Yu's paper profit had reached over 940,000 HKD, an increase of more than 60,000 HKD compared to two hours ago.

Terrifying!

Including the previous funds and the current profit, Xia Yu's assets had inadvertently surpassed one million HKD. Considering the current hot situation and prospects of *Jiu Ding Daily*, the value of *Jiu Ding Media* had definitely multiplied several times. Xia Yu could confidently say his assets had exceeded two million HKD.

"Have I become a millionaire just like that?" Xia Yu thought somewhat incredulously, feeling a bit dreamy.

"Money really does make money fast!"

Xia Yu reflected, thinking no one would believe that just five or six days ago, his assets amounted to only a hundred or so HKD. In just five or six days, it had expanded a thousandfold; the news would be unbelievable.

In Xia Yu's view, the most important factor was the 120,000 HKD earned from the casino. Without that 120,000 HKD, Xia Yu would not have been able to make this much money from just a hundred HKD in pocket money, even if he had spotted opportunities with Bluewater Commercial and Mingheng Industrial. It would have taken a much longer time to accumulate this amount.

"The hardest period of getting rich was bypassed with my gambling skills, now it's time to start applying more strategies!"

"Now, let's settle the stock positions and buy the stock I plan to recommend tomorrow. The profit should be good."

Xia Yu analyzed the stock he planned to recommend in tomorrow's *Jiu Ding Daily*. He had a 90% confidence it would continue to rise, and the upward potential seemed considerable, making it worth buying.

Moreover, considering that Xia Yu's article would be published tomorrow, combined with today's achievements and the distribution of over a hundred thousand copies of *Jiu Ding Daily*, it would definitely boost investor confidence and magnify the stock's rise. Once the momentum was built, unless there was a significant negative news event, it would be hard for the stock price to drop.

Without delay, Xia Yu headed towards the HSBC Securities Investment Department.

At the HSBC desk, someone greeted him immediately. It was the same staff member who had assisted him yesterday. Seeing Xia Yu approach, they immediately put on a warm smile.

"Mr. Xia, you're here! Please, have a seat!" The staff member offered Xia Yu a seat and then signaled to a colleague, who promptly brought a cup of tea and placed it in front of Xia Yu.

"Mr. Xia, congratulations on your big win!" The staff member complimented, and Xia Yu modestly waved his hand.

The news about the article in *Jiu Ding Daily* that triggered Mingheng Industrial's stock price crash had already spread throughout the Kowloon Stock Exchange. The quality of the article was recognized by everyone, and many elite individuals praised it, curious about the author and wanting to know who this remarkable person was.

And Xia Yu was the very person they were searching for. He was a young man who had achieved remarkable results in just a few days in the stock market. First, he had turned 120,000 HKD into hundreds of thousands in profit with Bluewater Commercial, and then he had forcefully shorted Mingheng Industrial, earning nearly a million HKD!

All this came from the hands of the unassuming young man before him!

If not for handling Xia Yu's funds throughout, he would hardly believe such a talented young man existed!

But now, he was deeply impressed by Xia Yu, a sixteen-year-old with such vision and capability, who acted decisively. He saw a bright future for Xia Yu, believing he would have a significant place in Hong Kong's elite circles.