Chapter 381 - 181: Flash Crash

Chapter 381: Chapter 181: Flash Crash

However, Huang Changqing’s brow was furrowed. "It’s not that simple."

"You’re saying a sales ban won’t hurt them?" Cade McCarthy asked, skeptical.

"Don’t forget re-export trade," Huang Changqing said, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

Jarred back to his senses, reason took hold of Cade McCarthy once more. He understood instantly. "Damn it!"

Re-export trade was indeed a very tricky loophole.

Even if ABCD were to mobilize its forces and spend heavily to lobby various parties in Europe and America, there was no guarantee of success. The different factions there weren’t entirely united.

Especially for high-value, small-volume items like White Truffles and eel fry, regulation could easily be evaded, whether through clandestine smuggling or re-exporting via third-party countries.

After all, these weren’t industrial machines, vehicles, ships, steel, or weapons—items that were either too large and heavy, had relatively low profit margins, or were so sensitive that no underground merchant would casually try to smuggle them.

But White Truffles and eel fry were different. If Europe and America banned them, Southeast Asian countries like An Nan and Siam would surely seize the opportunity to become re-export hubs. Even Mexico and the Ottoman would secretly smuggle them into Europe and America.

The more these items were banned, the more they would likely inflame the greed of underground merchants, tempting them to take risks.

After all, people were willing to smuggle firearms, ammunition, and other contraband—a business that could get you executed. So of course they would smuggle something where, even if caught, the consequences wouldn’t be severe.

Cade McCarthy and Huang Changqing wracked their brains, but the more they thought about how to deal with Hailufeng Company, the more they felt it was some kind of monster, nearly impossible to fight with conventional methods.

Suddenly, a vicious thought crossed his mind. Cade McCarthy lowered his voice and suggested, "Huang, what about your company’s friends here? You could have them make a move. This Jiang Miao is the key to Hailufeng Company. If we take care of him, Hailufeng Company will have to submit."

"You think I haven’t thought of that?" Huang Changqing said, exasperated. "The heat is on right now. Those people don’t dare to make a move. In another year or two, once things have calmed down, maybe we can consider it."

"Are they actually afraid of some small, private enterprise?" Cade McCarthy asked, his anger rising.

Huang Changqing could see Cade McCarthy was getting worked up and quickly tried to reason with him. "It’s not fear! The entire world is in turmoil right now. When they work for us, they have to consider the risks. They can’t just risk their own necks to help us take down Hailufeng Company, right? They’re not that stupid. And don’t you go looking for trouble, either."

He then added, "Let Hailufeng Company have its moment. Sooner or later, they’ll expand their business globally. That’s when we’ll show them who the real masters of this world are."

"Fine. We’ll let them have their moment," Cade McCarthy finally conceded, completely calm now.

However, just as their car neared Peng City’s Bao’an Airport, before they had even arrived, a phone call cut their trip short.

「Inside a high-end business hotel in Peng City.」

In a private business suite, Huang Changqing, Cade McCarthy, and their associates had lost all of their earlier composure. ℯℯ𝘭.

They stared at a laptop screen, watching as the price of soybean futures on the major financial markets entered a slow, steady decline that had begun at noon.

A week earlier, at the Shanghai Food Security Summit, and three days ago, at the Yangcheng Feed Industry Conference, numerous experts and scholars from Cyrus had announced that to ensure the nation’s food and feed security, Cyrus would be increasing its stockpiles of various bulk agricultural products in the coming years.

These included bulk agricultural products such as soybeans, corn, sorghum, alfalfa, wheat, and palm oil.

In the eyes of ABCD, this was a clear signal—a thinly veiled announcement that Cyrus was about to increase its import volume.

This had caused the futures prices for bulk agricultural products to soar across major global exchanges, rising by nearly 10% in the last week alone.

Among the institutions buying in at these high prices were the financial subsidiaries of ABCD themselves.

What they didn’t know was that during this week-long surge, someone had already made billions of US Dollars by buying low and selling high. That capital had then been turned around to begin frantically shorting the very same agricultural commodity futures.

Starting today, the short-sellers’ offensive had suddenly intensified. ABCD and other financial institutions in Europe and America were struggling to absorb the sell orders, causing the market to show signs of a downward trend. Although the bulls were still trying to maintain the high prices, the bears were just too powerful.

The futures prices for bulk agricultural products on all major markets continued their slow, volatile descent.

The short-sellers, their war chests full, showed no fear and continued to drive down the prices of bulk agricultural products.

"Why is this happening?" Cade McCarthy’s brow was furrowed in confusion. He couldn’t understand the short-sellers’ objective.

After all, Cyrus had announced it was increasing its stockpiles. That was clearly bullish news, so why would the bears dare to keep shorting?

Huang Changqing was equally baffled. ’What did we miss?’ he thought. ’This makes no sense!’

Just then, a market researcher responsible for gathering the latest agricultural intelligence stared at his laptop screen, his eyes wide and pupils constricted. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

"What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?" a colleague asked, thinking he was ill.

"General Manager Huang!" the man yelled, snapping his head up.