The global financial crisis was far from its peak, and housing prices in Shenzhen had not yet hit rock bottom. However, many developers were already growing restless, competing to slash their prices for a quick sale. There was no bottom, only a race to go lower.

But aside from a small number of people with an urgent need to buy, no one else was willing to purchase a home at this time. It didn't matter how low the prices were; what wouldn't sell, still wouldn't sell. The developers, who had been overjoyed a year ago, were now just as disappointed, each one frantically trying every possible method to offload their properties. But it was no use. Given the overall economic environment, no amount of creativity could change the fact that the houses simply wouldn't sell.

The larger, well-established developers were in better shape. Having made a fortune previously, they could afford to weather the storm. It was the small and medium-sized developers who were truly starting to panic.

However, the international oil futures market painted a completely different picture. After hitting a low of 86.62 US dollars per barrel on January 23rd, prices began to climb again. On February 28th, they shattered the 100-US-dollar-per-barrel mark for the first time, setting a new all-time high.

But the record didn't last long. In the days that followed, it seemed a new record was set daily, only to be broken almost immediately. The price of international crude oil futures seemed to know no ceiling, only higher and higher levels. On March 13th, it broke through 107 US dollars per barrel.

It hit another new high on March 14th, only to plummet suddenly on Monday, March 17th, from nearly 108 US dollars a barrel down to just over 101. A week later, it dipped below the 100-dollar mark before resuming its climb. On April 9th, the price exceeded 108 US dollars per barrel, once again setting a new historical record.

By May 21st, the price had surged to 132.70 US dollars a barrel. The climb from 108 to 120 US dollars had taken nearly a month, but the leap from 120 to 132 US dollars took only fifteen days.

As of that date, May 21st, Yi Anguo had already reaped over thirty billion US dollars from the international crude oil futures market.

He had no choice! Last year, Chen's Enterprises had somehow managed to make 18 billion US dollars on the oil futures market, double his own earnings.

So this year, Yi Anguo had become a bit more aggressive. The key was the market's extreme short-term volatility. Yesterday, it was nearly 108 US dollars a barrel; today, it was 101. Can you imagine the profit margin in that swing?

Moreover, the battle between bulls and bears was ferocious, with daily fluctuations of five or six dollars being perfectly normal. This forced both Yi Anguo and Ding Jing to focus more of their energy on the oil futures market. After all, the money was just too easy to make.

The sheer scale of the profits made Yi Anguo begin to question reality. Is this even real? I can't be dreaming, can I?

He was quickly assured it was all real when Ding Jing gave his thigh a fierce pinch.

"Ow! What are you doing? Why did you pinch me out of the blue?" Yi Anguo said, glaring at Ding Jing with annoyance.

"I was just making sure this is real. And that I'm not dreaming," Ding Jing replied with an innocent look.

"Then pinch your own leg! Why pinch mine?" Yi Anguo grumbled.

"Because I'm afraid of the pain, so I had to pinch yours," Ding Jing said with a sly smile.

"You're afraid of pain? You think I'm not?" Yi Anguo retorted indignantly.

After they bantered for a bit, Ding Jing asked, "You have so much money now. How do you plan to spend it?"

"Investing, of course," Yi Anguo rattled on enthusiastically. "Investing in China's high-tech development, researching and developing semiconductor chips, building lithography machines, robots, and drones, and investing in new energy.

"With all this money, do you really have to worry about finding places to spend it? Why not just donate some to the country to build an aircraft carrier? That way, we won't have to watch American carriers swaggering around on our doorstep. It's infuriating."

"Let's not get carried away," Ding Jing said, throwing cold water on his increasingly wild ideas. "I think you should just stick to quietly investing in your high-tech companies. It's better to keep a low profile."

It was only May 21st. The price of international crude oil futures wouldn't hit its peak of 147.25 US dollars a barrel until July 11th. The intervening fifty days would see the most intense volatility, with huge daily price swings, sometimes exceeding ten dollars a barrel.

For example, on June 5th, the price closed at just over 127 US dollars a barrel. On June 6th, it closed at just over 137. The difference in closing prices over just two days was more than ten US dollars. If one were betting on an increase, a daily swing of over ten dollars from low to high could yield a profit of over half a billion US dollars on fifty thousand contracts.

Earning over half a billion US dollars in a single day—what an incredible concept.

And based on Yi Anguo's current position, he was holding no fewer than one hundred thousand contracts at any given time. The trading volume on the market was extremely active, reaching hundreds of thousands of contracts per minute. If he held one hundred thousand contracts and the price jumped by over ten dollars in a day, that would be a direct profit of over a billion US dollars.

Making money from this opportunity is crucial. Who cares about real industries?

Consequently, even though the new Huaxing phone had just launched, Yi Anguo wasn't paying much attention to its sales figures. However, he was still aware of the key data. Sales had surpassed expectations. Initially, he was worried they wouldn't sell; now, he was worried they would sell out.

Yi Anguo was already urging Chen Jianjun and his daughter to find ways to increase production capacity and avoid stockouts. The international launch could wait; satisfying the domestic market was the priority.

In truth, Chen Jianjun and his daughter needed no urging. They were even more focused on the Huaxing phone's sales than he was. When they learned that over 300,000 units had sold on the first day, they were both thrilled and even more anxious than Yi Anguo. After all, the manufacturing fees from Huaxing were substantial, and it was their prospective son-in-law's company. How could they not be concerned?

But as much as Yi Anguo pressed them, if they really ran out of stock, it couldn't be helped. No one had been adequately prepared for this level of success.

「」

Last year, Zhuo Weidong's Blue Coast Real Estate Development Company had acquired the Ren Family's property development firm, significantly expanding its scale. He had just started to taste the sweetness of success when the global financial crisis struck.

The projects he had previously undertaken were mainly in the downtown area, and their prices didn't fall much. However, the development projects he took over from the Ren Family were mostly concentrated in the outskirts. He had acquired them at a high value, holding a very optimistic outlook for the market's future.

The first completed complex had been sold to Yi Anguo, as per their prior agreement. Yi Anguo sold the units at a price of 18,000 RMB per square meter. At the time, Zhuo Weidong felt wonderful, imagining that when the subsequent phases were built, prices might exceed 20,000 RMB per square meter, or even higher. He was delightedly calculating just how many billions he could earn!

But by the time the next buildings were completed, he was confronted with a cruel reality that was nothing like his beautiful vision.

The properties wouldn't sell, not even at an opening price of 8,000 RMB per square meter. No one was interested. He lowered it to 7,000 RMB, but they still wouldn't move. Then, he looked around and saw that someone else had dropped their price to 4,988 RMB. How frustrating.

A price of 4,988 RMB wasn't entirely out of the question, considering the properties he gave Yi Anguo were for an even lower price. But that had been a last resort to secure Yi Anguo's financial backing, with the plan that those initial developments would break even while the later ones would be profitable. Damn, to sell at 4,988 RMB now would be a real loss!

Fine, a loss is a loss. If they would just sell, I could live with it. The problem was, even at that rock-bottom price, they *still* wouldn't sell. There was still no interest, which was incredibly distressing.

Distressing or not, the problem needed to be solved. Only now did Zhuo Weidong realize that taking over the Ren Family's real estate projects had brought him no benefits at all. In fact, he was likely going to lose money. After a year of hard work, Yi Anguo turned out to be the biggest winner!

Zhuo Weidong wasn't the only one suffering; Ou Xiaolong was in a similar bind.

He had managed to placate his wife's aunt and uncle and quell the internal strife at his company. It had come at a price, but it had been worth it. After gaining complete control, Ou Xiaolong finally felt like the true master of his company. His mood was excellent, and he was filled with ambitions to grow the company, make it bigger and stronger, and even take it public one day.

But the good times didn't last. A bit too ambitious, Ou Xiaolong had bought several plots of land in the outskirts at high prices last year and immediately began development.

Last year, housing prices had skyrocketed. The land, acquired at a premium, was not cheap, and the final construction cost came to 7,800 RMB per square meter. At the time, however, market prices had already soared past 10,000 RMB and were still climbing. A cost of 7,800 RMB seemed perfectly reasonable, well within an acceptable range, and promised a substantial profit margin. He had assumed he could easily recoup his investment while the market was hot.

After handing over the agreed-upon properties to Yi Anguo, he launched his own developments. While the situation wasn't as dire as it would later become, the opening price was only 13,000 RMB per square meter. From there, the prices kept dropping, and the units became harder and harder to sell, until now, after repeated price cuts, they were completely unsellable.

The few projects still under construction had become a joke. At this rate, even if they were finished, they would be a guaranteed loss. But he couldn't just stop construction; he had loans to repay the bank. How could he do that if he halted the projects? Yet, if he continued, where would the funds come from?

Getting new loans from the bank was now nearly impossible. He was essentially being roasted over a fire. He couldn't sell his properties even at low prices to generate cash flow, and he couldn't get loans from the bank. Truly, he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

To think he had just finally gained control of his company, only to be immediately confronted with such a massive crisis. If he couldn't navigate this, the company would have no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

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