Chapter 9: Overnight Fame

  The day I left Hong Kong, my uncle and sister came to the airport to see me off. The old man had hoped that I could stay in Hong Kong, but I refused, and I couldn't bear to give up my own little life. I only promised him that I would come back to visit him and my sister every summer vacation. Not long after I left Hong Kong, a small and unremarkable investment company appeared in Hong Kong...

  I walked away quietly

  Just as I came quietly

  I waved my sleeve

  Don't take away a wisp of cloud

  That evening's self-study session, just as I was indulging in Xu Zhimo's poem "Moonlit Night", the pager vibrated. "Something's up, come back quickly." The number displayed was from home. I immediately snuck out of the classroom and ran home. The evening self-study sessions at Tieyi Middle School were very chaotic, to the point where teachers were playing poker in the staff room, and students and teachers didn't care about each other...

  I returned home, and my mom was watching TV in the living room. I curiously asked her, "Mom, what's wrong? Isn't everything okay at home?" "Your sister called to find you, saying it was an urgent matter. I told her you weren't here, but she didn't tell me what it was about." Her eyes were fixed on the TV screen as she said without lifting her head, "Let me just tell you that it's related to Suoluo."

  Soros is here! I immediately understood what my sister meant, grabbed the phone and dialed. My sister heard it was me, her first reaction was to shout "Soros has made his move!"

  In 1992, a major earthquake hit the global financial world. A Hungarian Jewish old man single-handedly challenged the British financial system, taking advantage of the different exchange rates of the pound in different regions at home to successfully ambush the pound and give the British government a slap in the face. London also changed from the world's financial center to one of the world's financial centers.

  Sister excitedly told me: "Xiao Fu, your guess was right, the pound exchange rate fluctuated today. It's said that a speculator named Soros is attacking the pound. What should we do?"

  I calmed down my excited mood, "Sister, starting tomorrow, we'll follow Soros. The pound exchange rate is not equal, there must be room for operation. We'll eat big mouthfuls."

  "But Uncle said the British government will definitely intervene, and the US may also come out to help stabilize the market for Britain. You said earlier that our money was all in pounds, wasn't that a bit risky?" My sister was worried, after all she didn't know about Soros' intentions yet.

  I encouraged her to say "It's okay, the power of international hot money is too great, it can't be resisted by one or two governments. Moreover, Britain and America have always advocated for financial market liberalism. In these two days, Britain should have intervened in the market already. They definitely wouldn't dare to bet all their foreign exchange reserves against Soros..."

  After explaining in detail to her sister, she hung up the phone with a smile and turned to her mother saying: "Mom, when you have time, you and dad should also go visit uncle and my sister in Hong Kong, they miss you guys."

  Mom remained glued to the TV, giving a perfunctory response: "What's the point of going there, it's just a tiny place, you can't even understand what they're saying, and your dad doesn't have time either."

  Yes, in '92 the national steel market was booming, countless speculators made a fortune by reselling steel, and my dad, the sales department head, became a hotshot, with endless banquets every day. Before, he was worried about not meeting the sales targets, now he's worried about meeting them. Because steel is in such short supply now, prices are rising sharply, as long as you have goods, no matter how much money, there will be people buying.

  I suddenly had a strange idea, Dad now has money and power in his hands, don't forget about me, if he accidentally gets me a little "mom" that would be troublesome. I dare not think about it, sinful, sinful...

  The next evening, I didn't go to class and quietly waited for my sister's phone call at home. However, the phone call from my sister was a bit disappointing because Soros made very little movement today, only making one small batch of "sweeping goods" near the close of trading.

  On the third evening, my sister anxiously shouted over the phone: "Xiao Fu, the US and UK jointly intervened to rescue the market. The exchange rate has risen a lot. Should we make a profit? We've already made a lot of money."

  "I thought for a moment and said: 'Let's not decide today, let's wait until tomorrow when the market opens and see what happens then. The game isn't over yet!'"

  Sister fell silent for a moment, and hesitantly said: "Uncle wants to retire, this time he earned 200 million, let me persuade you to also retire."

  It seems that Uncle Joe can't hold his temper, and if I weren't familiar with history, my first thought at this moment would also be "to retreat". But who let us know too much about history? In order not to destroy history, we still have to unite with Comrade Old So, and make a fresh start...

  So he comforted her, saying: "Sister, it's okay, this time it's not just Soros alone, there should be other speculators entering the market. Before closing, we'll build up our position again and see how much we can gain! Let's wait until the pound surges tomorrow and then we'll sell." His sister hesitated for a moment before putting down the phone to prepare.

  This is just the beginning of a good show. The British people are waiting to cry. You still have the US and UK alliance, I represent my country, representing the Iraqi people despise you!

  On the fourth day, the pound began to rebound with a vengeance, and speculators of all kinds scrambled to sell. Afterwards, they once again launched an attack on London. The pound plummeted, while the $20 billion "Anglo-American coalition" was like throwing money into the Atlantic Ocean - there wasn't even a ripple before it quietly retreated.

  My sister excitedly called me to tell me that we made over 500 million this time. I heard a string of numbers from her mouth. I wasn't excited, but had a feeling like watching a replay, the result was already known, it's just re-watching a wonderful clip again.

  Soros quietly left, just as he had quietly arrived. With a wave of his hand, he took away 14 billion pounds... The Quantum Fund became famous overnight and also became the British financial sector's lingering nightmare.