Logically, even if he shorted 20,000 international crude oil futures contracts, he shouldn't have faced a margin call, since he was shorting from a high point.

But what if being too aggressive triggers some unforeseen event? Yi Anguo was still a bit worried, so he decided to short only 10,000 contracts. After all, there would be plenty of opportunities to make money later on. The years 2006, 2007, and 2008 were periods of significant volatility in international crude oil futures prices. If one could grasp the trends of these market fluctuations, how could it be difficult to make money?

Fortunately, the trajectory of international crude oil futures didn't seem to change just because he shorted 10,000 contracts. Or perhaps it did change, but Yi Anguo wasn't aware. As long as the broader trend remained downward and didn't reverse, it wasn't an issue.

By the end of September, the price of international crude oil futures had gently declined to $66 per barrel, still considered the era of high oil prices. Meanwhile, Yi Anguo's 10,000 short contracts had netted a profit of 40 million US dollars, bringing the total assets in his account to 70 million US dollars.

With 70 million US dollars in his possession, Yi Anguo transferred out 10 million US dollars and continued to short crude oil futures. This time, he added another 10,000 contracts to his original position, holding a total of 20,000 international crude oil futures contracts.

In early October, the US Energy Information Administration released news of decreased oil demand, and international crude oil futures prices dropped accordingly. By mid-November, the price had fallen to around $56 per barrel—a ten-dollar drop in just a month and a half.

Yi Anguo knew that the price still had room to fall, but the descent wouldn't be a straight line; the market would fluctuate repeatedly. Deciding to take his profits while he could, he liquidated all of his oil futures contracts and completely withdrew from the market for the time being. In that one-and-a-half-month period, his 20,000 oil futures contracts had amassed a staggering profit of 200 million US dollars.

Adding this to the previous 70 million US dollars, he had earned a total profit of 270 million US dollars in just seven months.

Ding Jing was dumbfounded by Yi Anguo's trading method. If the facts weren't right in front of her, she would have found it impossible to believe that someone could start with a mere 100,000 US dollars and make 270 million US dollars in seven short months. Is there anyone who can make money faster than him? Even Warren Buffett might have to concede defeat! A profit of 2,700 times his initial investment, earned so effortlessly in seven months.

The usual concerns of trading, like long hours requiring shifts to watch the market, simply didn't exist for Yi Anguo. After instructing Ding Jing to execute a trade, he wouldn't spare it a second glance. He would set a stop-loss limit and then ignore it completely. When he first started, he would occasionally check the market trends, but later on, he would go ten days or even half a month without looking, not even bothering to ask about it. The notion that such a large amount of capital required an analysis team and a team of traders was also nonexistent for him. If one had to describe the "team" for his international crude oil futures trading, it consisted of only two people: Yi Anguo and Ding Jing.

As for a trading team, there was only Ding Jing. And even this one-person team was often idle, sometimes going half a month without executing a single trade. All she needed to do was handle the settlement on the monthly transaction day. However, Yi Anguo's arrival always signaled that it was time to close their positions. After closing, he would decide whether to continue shorting or go long, and determine how many futures contracts to hold. Once the trades were set, he became hands-off again. Yet, with these seemingly simple operations, he had effortlessly earned 270 million US dollars in seven months.

Looking at the 270 million US dollars in his Harbor Island bank account, Yi Anguo finally breathed a sigh of relief. He now had the money to pay off all his bank debts. As for the 800 million yuan invested in stocks, that was a separate matter. It wasn't that he couldn't repay it; there was simply no need. That particular debt didn't affect him.

The real risk to Yi Anguo was the mortgages on the 5,000 apartments under his name. Although he had already taken remedial measures, he was still a little worried. What if some unforeseen event occurred? Now that he had the money, he had to resolve this problem completely. As property prices soared, if word got out that he owned thousands of apartments, all purchased with loans, it would almost certainly incite public outrage. For Yi Anguo, this was a ticking time bomb, and he had to defuse it before it detonated. If he had bought these properties with cash, not owing the bank a single penny, there would be no risk. After all, the government hasn't imposed any purchasing restrictions! As long as I have the money, I can buy as many properties as I want, and no one can stop me!

By the end of 2005, the average transaction price for new apartments in the Blue Mountain area had reached 10,000 yuan per square meter. The annual average price hit over 8,500 yuan, putting it on par with the Futing and Luofu districts. Even in the two districts outside the city center, the average annual transaction price exceeded 5,300 yuan. Especially in the second half of the year, several newly launched luxury residential projects saw their prices skyrocket, with over 80% of units sold on the first day. Other ordinary residential buildings were also snapped up, selling out as soon as they hit the market. Any new property launch became a hot commodity; the only fear was running out of properties to sell.

The luxury residences of Xiangye Lake, launched in 2003 with an initial price of just 8,000 yuan per square meter, saw their secondary market average price surge to nearly 20,000 yuan per square meter by the end of 2005. Influenced by this boom, the prices of large apartments in Blue Coast's Phase II, and especially Phase III, also rose repeatedly. Although not as high as Xiangye Lake, the average transaction price still exceeded 15,000 yuan per square meter.

Yi Anguo's request to prepay the entirety of his mortgage loans shocked not only the bank but also Chen Jianjun, the chairman of Chen's Enterprise, who was stunned when he heard the news. Over a billion! How did he do it?

However, a thought occurred to Chen Jianjun. He remembered his company's financial investment department and its international crude oil futures project team, and things began to make sense. Yi Anguo had timed the market's rises and falls almost perfectly. Recalling that Yi Anguo had previously transferred 200 million Hong Kong dollars abroad, he realized it wouldn't have been difficult for him to make a fortune with that much capital. His own company had only invested 5 million US dollars and had already seen a considerable profit, and that was with Deputy Manager Gong Bin operating cautiously. If they had been bolder, doubling their returns would have been easy.

The better Yi Anguo performed, the more worried Chen Jianjun became. It would be even more difficult now for his daughter to capture Yi Anguo's heart. Yi Anguo no longer lacked money, he had solved his mortgage problem, and he was actively building his own network and connections. He would have less and less need for the resources of Chen's Enterprise in the future. His only remaining weakness, perhaps, was his strength in the real economy. But Chen Jianjun believed that, given a little time, Yi Anguo would quickly shore up that front as well.

Anguo Property Company, which was under Yi Anguo's name, was already managing the four phases of Blue Coast and the Qianhai Fashion Garden community. It had recently expanded into several other residential communities and was building an excellent reputation. Several real estate developers were now expressing interest in partnering with them.

However, Anguo Property Company was not expanding blindly. They would only agree to a partnership if a residential community met their specific conditions. They prioritized newly developed communities, especially high-end ones. Anguo Property Company would not enter old or low-grade communities because its service standards were exceptionally high, and its employee salaries and benefits were generous. The property management fees in older, lower-end communities were generally very low. If Anguo Property Company were to move in, it would inevitably operate at a loss, as expenses would outstrip revenue. Although Yi Anguo didn't expect the property company to generate huge profits, he didn't want it to lose money either. Since he knew it would be a losing venture, why would he even consider such a partnership?

Chen Jianjun called his daughter over. "You know that Yi Anguo has paid off all his property loans, don't you?"

"I know," Chen Ting nodded. "He went into international crude oil futures with one hundred thousand US dollars and made a massive profit of 270 million US dollars in just seven months. With that kind of money, of course he was going to pay off the bank loans. They were a potential vulnerability, and he would definitely want to eliminate it."

"Are you sure he only invested one hundred thousand US dollars? He transferred 200 million Hong Kong dollars out of the country before that, remember?" Chen Jianjun asked.

"He invested that money in the Hong Kong stock market, buying a large stake in Penguin Company. He's now a shareholder, holding 2.23% of the company. He didn't make a bid for a board seat, though. He probably has no intention of becoming a director of Penguin Company.

"They bought in at an average price of no more than five Hong Kong dollars per share, and the price has now risen to eight. That's an increase of over sixty percent in eleven months," Chen Ting said after a moment's thought. "Still, compared to his earnings from crude oil futures, that's nothing."

"He bought 200 million Hong Kong dollars' worth of Penguin Company shares? Does he really have that much faith in their future?" Chen Jianjun asked doubtfully.

"I have to admit, this Yi Anguo is a true investment genius," Chen Jianjun said, genuinely impressed. Even a return of over 60% from investing in Penguin Company was an incredibly impressive feat.

"Daughter, ah! If only you were a boy!" he sighed, then his tone grew serious. "How far have things progressed between you and Yi Anguo?

"Daddy is warning you, you have to get a move on. The longer you wait, the further you'll be from success."

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