Chapter 356: We Can Just Open a Short Position

The plane door opened, and Chairman Zhen Weiliang, accompanied by Vice Chairman Wei Chen and his companions, stepped onto the boarding stairs.

Minister He Lifen, who had been waiting for them, immediately stepped forward and greeted him.

“Chairman Zhen, I’m glad to see you.”

“Hello, Minister He. I’m glad to see you as well.”

“Because of our procedures, the other passengers are temporarily unable to leave the aircraft.”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang casually glanced behind him. It was exactly as Minister He had said: the plane doors remained tightly shut.

“Ah, it seems I’ve caused the other passengers a great deal of inconvenience.”

“I won’t claim otherwise. Please, follow me.”

Following Minister He Lifen into the VIP lounge, Chairman Zhen Weiliang faltered for a moment. Waiting inside was Zhang Hui, Chief of the Central Committee Secretariat and one of Chairman Xi Jinping’s closest aides.

Walking briskly toward him, Zhen Weiliang politely introduced himself.

“Hello. I’m Zhen Weiliang. I run a small business in Hong Kong.”

“Hello. I’m Chief Zhang Hui of the Secretariat, serving Chairman Xi Jinping.”

“And beside me is Vice Chairman Wei Chen...”

After the brief introductions were over, everyone took their seats.

Chief Zhang Hui took a sip of water to moisten his throat, then began by apologizing to Chairman Zhen Weiliang.

“Chairman Zhen, I apologize for making you meet us at such a late hour.”

“It’s quite all right. However, I do have one question for you, Chief Zhang.”

“I’ll decide whether to answer only after I hear the question.”

“As you wish. Tell me, is the person who wants to sell me the gold Chairman Xi himself?”

Chief Zhang Hui looked at Minister He Lifen in confusion. Understanding the silent question, He Lifen shook his head, indicating that he had revealed nothing. Zhang Hui nodded in understanding and continued speaking with Zhen Weiliang.

“You’re correct, Chairman Zhen. But how did you know?”

In truth, Vice Chairman Tang Guochang had told Zhen Weiliang about Chairman Xi Jinping’s desperate situation. However, telling the truth could have caused an enormous scandal, so he had prepared another explanation in advance.

“I guessed from the fact that Chief Zhang personally came out to meet us.”

“You have excellent intuition, Chairman Zhen.”

“As you grow older, only your insight improves. There’s just one thing I’m curious about: why has the Chairman decided to get rid of the gold?”

“He urgently requires personal funds for certain purposes.”

“But couldn’t he use the government fund?”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang knew perfectly well that Xi Jinping’s secret party fund of 75.6 billion dollars had been stolen. Nevertheless, he asked the question with a completely innocent expression, purely as insurance against any possible suspicion.

“Chairman Zhen, how do you even know that such a fund exists?”

“Through my dealings with Politburo member Liu Peiqi and Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan, both of whom belonged to the Chairman’s inner circle, I naturally came to hear about it.”

In other words, he made it clear that he had learned everything from Liu Peiqi and Zhang Jinan.

“Tsk, tsk. Those two talked too much around Chairman Zhen.”

“Almost everyone sufficiently informed knows that the Chairman has a secret fund. So I don’t think you should judge them too harshly for that.”

“They’ve already gone to the afterlife, so even if I wanted to scold them, I couldn’t.”

“Is that really true?!”

Naturally, Zhen Weiliang already knew about the deaths of Liu Peiqi and Zhang Jinan. However, he acted genuinely astonished so as not to arouse unnecessary suspicion from Chief Zhang Hui.

“Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan was killed by Liu Peiqi. And Liu himself was killed by someone he trusted as his own right hand.”

“My goodness!” Zhen Weiliang sighed with an absurdly shocked expression, shaking his head.

“I won’t go into the details of what happened between them.”

“As you wish.”

“Incidentally, it was Politburo member Liu Peiqi who stole the Chairman’s party fund.”

“What did you say?!”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang and Minister He Lifen simultaneously acted utterly shocked, although their reasons were completely different. Zhen Weiliang was merely pretending to be surprised as a precaution, whereas He Lifen was genuinely stunned to his core that Zhang Hui had revealed such a monstrous secret without hesitation.

Once the shock hanging over the VIP lounge subsided somewhat, He Lifen was the first to speak.

“Chief Zhang, how can you reveal the absolute secret of all absolute secrets so calmly?”

“Chairman Zhen already knew about the existence of the fund. If I tried to hide the fact that it had been stolen, how do you think we could possibly sell him the gold?”

“Well, now I understand your logic.”

“Besides, I know that Chairman Zhen knows how to keep his mouth shut.”

“I’ll keep this secret until the day they nail my coffin shut.”

“So will I, just like Chairman Zhen...”

Following Zhen Weiliang, Vice Chairman Wei Chen and hotel owner Pan Kai also swore binding oaths of silence.

“As I already mentioned, Chairman Xi doesn’t have a single cent left in the government fund. At the same time, an urgent need for personal funds has arisen. That is precisely why we are being forced to sell the gold to Chairman Zhen in such a hurry.”

“Hmm...”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang deliberately trailed off and sank into thought with a contemplative expression. Chief Zhang Hui did not disturb him and waited in silence.

After some time, Zhen Weiliang finally raised his eyes and spoke.

“I accept your proposal, Chief Zhang. But I have one condition.”

“State your condition.”

“Before I sign the contract, I want an appraisal conducted to verify that the gold is genuine.”

“I agree to your condition.”

“Well, it’s pleasant doing business with a decisive man. Name the place, and I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”

“Not tonight?”

“Special equipment is required to verify the gold’s authenticity, and it’s impossible to obtain it at such a late hour.”

Chief Zhang Hui was practically bursting with frustration and anxiety. At that very moment, global gold prices were continuing to plummet. However, demanding that Zhen Weiliang buy the gold without an appraisal while ignoring the condition he had set was simply impossible.

“Well, there’s no helping it. I’ll inform you of the meeting place tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll wait for your call.”

“I’m very tired, so allow me to excuse myself first.”

After seeing Chief Zhang Hui off, Chairman Zhen Weiliang and his people resumed the conversation that had been interrupted.

“Minister He, is there any chance of recovering the Chairman’s party fund that Liu Peiqi stole?”

“It has been established that the bastard embezzled the fund in collusion with North Korea.”

“Then Pyongyang will use his death as an excuse to deny everything and pretend they know nothing.”

“You’re absolutely right, Chairman Zhen.”

“And how much did the Chairman lose by investing in gold futures?”

“A total of 30.7 billion dollars.”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang deliberately turned toward Pan Kai. Understanding his boss’s intention, Pan Kai took out his phone, spent a moment calculating something, and then slowly said,

“At present, the price of gold has fallen to 880,000 dollars. If we buy it with a five-percent discount...”

“Wait a moment!”

Minister He Lifen sharply cut Pan Kai off. Not understanding the reason for such a reaction, Zhen Weiliang and the others stared at him. Feeling their gazes on him, He Lifen explained without hesitation.

“Pan Kai, why should there be a five-percent discount in a gold transaction?”

“In private gold transactions between individuals, a discount of 5–8% is standard practice.”

“I see... And how much would we receive if we applied a 5% discount?”

“Approximately twenty-five billion dollars.”

He Lifen mentally clutched his head. This was bad. Chairman Xi Jinping had lost 30.7 billion dollars in futures. Yet selling thirty tons of gold would bring in only around twenty-five billion at best. Once Xi Jinping found out, the consequences would be catastrophic.

After sharing his concerns with Zhen Weiliang, He Lifen asked whether there was any possible way out of the situation.

“In my opinion, the only solution is to sell an additional batch of gold.”

“As far as I know, the Chairman has no more gold to sell.”

At that moment, Vice Chairman Wei Chen rose from his sofa. Realizing that he might have important information, Zhen Weiliang asked in confusion,

“Where are you going?”

“My lower stomach is cramping. I urgently need the restroom.”

“Ah, and here I thought it was something important. Hurry along.”

The moment Wei Chen left the VIP lounge, he immediately dialed Cha Jiham’s number. After several rings, his intrigued voice came through the receiver.

[Vice Chairman Wei, have you already arrived in Beijing?]

“We landed half an hour ago and already met with Chief Zhang and Minister He.”

Wei Chen briefly recounted everything that had happened to Cha Jiham, then moved on to his request.

“...If we demand a five-percent discount, Chairman Xi is guaranteed to raise hell. How should we deal with this?”

[In that case, don’t demand the discount.]

“But then Chairman Zhen will be buying the gold at an inflated price!”

[That problem can be solved if we drive the price of gold down to 800,000 dollars.]

“Can I take that as a promise that you’ll personally make it happen?”

[Of course. Now listen carefully to what I’m about to say.]

“Go ahead.”

[When Chairman Zhen begins negotiating with Chief Zhang, have him firmly insist on the five-percent discount at first...]

Goosebumps rose all over Wei Chen’s skin. If events unfolded exactly as Cha Jiham predicted, they would be able to buy the gold at the ideal price. On top of that, it would become a brilliant opportunity for Minister He Lifen to earn the greatest possible favor and trust from Xi Jinping.

While Wei Chen marveled at Cha Jiham’s unbelievable insight and calculating mind, the instructions came to an end.

[...Do everything exactly like that, and you’ll be able to purchase the gold without any complications.]

“I understand. I’ll relay your idea to Chairman Zhen right away.”

Click.

After hanging up, Wei Chen returned to the VIP lounge, sat down on the sofa, and discreetly signaled Chairman Zhen Weiliang. Catching the signal, Zhen gave a slight nod and addressed him.

“Wei Chen, are you still feeling unwell?”

“No, I’m much better now. While I was in the restroom, I thought about it: there’s really no need for us to anger Chairman Xi.”

“You mean we shouldn’t demand a discount on the gold?”

“I think that would be the best course of action.”

“I’m a businessman, not a charity.”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s reply carried a clear refusal.

“What if, instead of demanding a discount on the gold, we ask for a concession in return?”

“For example?”

“Demand that the transaction be exempt from taxes.”

“But will the Chairman agree to my terms?”

“Minister He can create a situation where he simply has no other choice.”

“Me?!” He Lifen asked in astonishment, pointing at himself.

“Chairman Zhen will mention the traditional practice in private gold transactions to Chief Zhang and demand a five-percent discount.”

“And then? What am I supposed to do?”

“When Chairman Zhen and Chief Zhang get into a heated argument, Minister He will have to...”

***

[Chief Cha, what happened at such a late hour?]

There was obvious curiosity in the voice of Korea Investment Vice President Ju Seongjin.

“A situation has come up where we need to drive the price of gold down to 800,000 dollars by tomorrow morning.”

[Can you explain what happened?]

“It seems Chairman Xi Jinping has no intention of selling the thirty tons of gold at a discounted price.”

Without concealing anything, I told Vice President Ju Seongjin the contents of my conversation with Wei Chen.

“...We need to push the price of gold down, if only to help Chairman Zhen and Minister He.”

[But Chief Cha, didn’t you yourself say that the probability of gold falling below 850,000 dollars was extremely low?]

“That’s if we allow the market to move naturally. Artificially driving the price down is no problem at all.”

[And how do we do that?]

“Vice President Ju, you know perfectly well what a bearish play—a ‘big short’—is, don’t you?”

[Ah! Right! How did I forget?!]

“Then I can leave everything to you?”

[Of course. I’m in a hurry, so I’m hanging up!]

Beep-beep-beep.

The excited Ju Seongjin hung up first.

I placed the phone beside my pillow and sprawled across the bed like a starfish.

“Why can’t I ever just sit still?”

While I was indulging in those ironic thoughts, Saho, the wildcat who had just returned from his nightly stroll, sauntered into the room.

But something was wrong.

Usually, the moment Saho saw me, he would immediately leap onto my chest. This time, however, he avoided my gaze and furtively sidled toward the bathroom.

Sensing that something was off, I immediately called out to him in a stern voice.

“Get over here. Now!”

Realizing he had been caught red-handed, Saho bolted as though his life depended on it.

“Ah, you’re going to be the death of me!”