Ch 176: No Guns, But Having Money, That’s The Original Sin
“Say it.”
“Just how many goddesses are you secretly involved with?”
Tang Xin asked this.
After a brief separation that felt like a honeymoon, Tang Xin nestled in Young Master Cao’s arms and asked this question, which was a trending topic.
Cao Cheng chuckled: “Lingling, don’t you know? She’s my own sister.”
“Of course, I know Lingling. The sweet girl, I heard she’s quite attached to you.”
“Nonsense, what do you mean attached? That’s called adoration. My friend, I at least have a rudimentary understanding of the piano. Your husband, though not very talented, is just a tiny bit better than Lingling.”
“Tch, look how amazing you think you are.”
Though that’s what they said, Tang Xin still knew her man’s strength and felt proud.
The previous statement was just a playful jab at Young Master Cao, not an accusation.
After settling their personal matters, the two chatted about some business.
Recently, the European debt crisis has been escalating…
It was largely in line with Young Master Cao’s previous analysis, which made Tang Xin even more adoring of him.
Including CDS and stock index futures.
Tang Xin, utilizing offshore capital, profited 300% in sovereign debt default insurance.
She snatched a huge piece of fat from Flower Street.
She earned a profit of $3 billion.
This was only the beginning.
Young Master Cao had Tang Xin make many investments, including short selling the euro, bottom fishing for core and safe-haven assets; now was the opportunity.
Including Bitcoin in the future.
Currently, there are no relevant laws prohibiting its purchase.
Following Young Master Cao’s advice, Tang Xin purchased hundreds of thousands of virtual currencies in May.
Although Tang Xin didn’t think this stuff was worth much, she still trusted her man’s judgment.
Besides.
It wasn’t expensive.
Less than one cent per coin.
A programmer named Laszlo bought two pizzas for a Bitcoin!
Therefore,
the hundreds of thousands of coins Tang Xin bought added up to only about a thousand dollars; it would be gone with a nice seafood grand meal.
Tang Xin didn’t take the purchase seriously at all; even if she lost, so what? It was just a meal.
Can’t her man have some hobbies?
What if that’s something he truly likes?
Spending a thousand bucks to make her man happy? Why not?
…
Besides that.
Tang Xin had a lot of other things to do.
Young Master Cao had set many goals, covering a wide range of areas.
And Young Master Cao’s most skilled area: stocks.
Stocks of various luxury goods tycoons had already been quietly acquired.
She also invested in Atlético Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
Using offshore capital again, she commissioned UBS to purchase some hard-to-buy or unobtainable trinkets.
Including some European castles.
This was a good opportunity to enter the market.
The castles could be used as the European regional headquarters for Miracle Cosmetics after entering Europe and America.
…
These were some of the things Tang Xin was busy with.
Another part was handled by Third Sister and Young Master Cao himself.
For example, Third Sister invested in some low-priced industries.
Young Master Cao himself was involved in foreign exchange.
Using his own private equity, he cooperated with major domestic banks to open high-leverage positions, heavily shorting the euro against the USD.
Some things couldn’t be done alone; they required applications, high-level approvals, and cooperation.
The more money involved, the more restrictions.
It wasn’t like before.
Before, Young Master Cao, with hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions, could buy whatever he wanted…
But not anymore.
Because now, Young Master Cao could easily move over one billion in resources.
Not to mention opening a thousand times leverage; some department’s regulation is necessary.
…
In early September, Cao Cheng went to Beijing to meet with some officials from special departments.
They were polite.
After all, he’s the son-in-law of the Tang family; that status alone carries much more weight than hundreds of billions of assets.
They spent three days.
Before leaving, the person in charge of regulation whispered to Young Master Cao,
“What you’re doing is financial terrorism; be very careful.”
“That’s quite a statement…”
Cao Cheng chuckled: “I’m kindly helping them lose weight; the people in the European region are too wealthy; they need to be leaner to be healthy.”
“You see, a person without a gun, without weapons to protect themselves, but has a lot of money, that’s very dangerous, a classic case of attracting trouble with wealth…”
“No gun, but wealthy, is the original sin.”
“The point is that they have absolutely no ability to protect themselves. If they don’t die, who will?”
“I’m afraid they’ll be in danger; that’s why I earned some money from them, help them spend it, make them a bit poorer, though poor, but they won’t die.”
“Besides, if I don’t earn it, won’t Flower Street earn it?”
“…”
The regulatory official rolled their eyes; this was clearly a case of taking credit for something they didn’t deserve.
However,
on second thought, it was also true.
After all, the European debt crisis did indeed have Flower Street’s shadow behind it.
A large amount of capital from Flower Street was sucking the blood of the European region.
Young Master Cao simply followed the trend, taking a bite of the meat; he didn’t do anything wrong; he just predicted Flower Street’s moves ahead of time.
It’s normal, right?
The official instructed: “This can’t be hidden; you’ll eventually be exposed. Before, Flower Street called you a financial thief; this time, they’ll probably use even worse insults.”
“Hehehe.” Cao Cheng laughed: “A thief calling me a thief; it’s really funny.”
“…”
The official said seriously: “I’m not kidding; you know yourself, wealth is the original sin; be careful when you go abroad.”
“Why would I go abroad?” Cao Cheng was speechless.
The official was also speechless: “You’ve invested in so many industries, many of them foreign; won’t you go abroad?”
“I’ll just hire an agency to handle overseas matters; why should I go myself? In the future, East China will be the center.”
The official looked deeply at Young Master Cao.
Without saying a word, he patted Young Master Cao’s arm.
…
That night.
Cao Cheng went to a certain courtyard.
His father-in-law called him.
They met and drank tea.
His father-in-law looked at the boy and sighed: “Although what you did and said these days is good, you shouldn’t have said some things.”
“What?” Cao Cheng didn’t understand.
“For example, what you said today about not going abroad; as a businessman, are there things you can avoid saying simply by not saying them?”
His father-in-law shook his head: “You said you wouldn’t go abroad today; but what if someday you have to attend an economic summit? Although many people may understand, it would still count as breaking your word. Do you understand the implications?”
Cao Cheng understood.
Of course, he understood.
It’s like pledging loyalty, saying you won’t do certain things.
Then you go and do them.
Even if there are compelling reasons, will people still trust you?
Besides.
It’s been open for how many years? Except for some highly talented individuals who are in hiding, and this is for safety reasons, has the higher-ups restricted anyone from going abroad?
Especially businessmen.
As long as they haven’t broken the law, they can go whenever they want.
Therefore,
in his father-in-law’s view, Cao Cheng shouldn’t have said that.
It’s like Sun Wukong drawing a circle; it protected Tang Seng, but it also confined him.
Tang Seng would encounter trouble if he left the circle.
“Don’t worry, Father-in-law, I know what I’m doing, and do you think I’m the type to pledge loyalty? I just really don’t plan to go out and play,” Cao Cheng shook his head and smiled.
Actually, they didn’t understand.
During this period, many people did want to go abroad, whether for tourism, consumption, or believing that there was gold everywhere.
But ten years later, see how many people want to come back?
Thirty years later…Young Master Cao would be middle-aged; who knows how many foreign girls will come to work here?
Everything in the dream is so real.
Young Master Cao believes it.
And,
to take a step back.
In a few years, you’ll see your father-in-law’s status; it’ll scare you.
So, at that time, no one will dare mention anything Young Master Cao said today.
That’s Young Master Cao’s confidence.
…
This topic was skipped.
His father-in-law didn’t pursue it further.
Anyway, Young Master Cao’s performance these days has been recognized and supported by many.
His father-in-law curiously asked: “How much did you earn this time?”
“I haven’t totaled it up yet; many investments haven’t been fully deployed, nor have they been wrapped up,” Cao Cheng smiled.
His father-in-law was speechless: “The European debt crisis has already begun, and you still have investments that haven’t been deployed?”
Cao Cheng mysteriously said: “Cosmetics.”
His father-in-law said: “I know you’ve been fighting with international brands recently; isn’t it almost over?”
Cao Cheng asked back: “Didn’t CEO Li report to you?”
CEO Li, in charge of essence, was a servant of the Tang family.
His father-in-law shook his head: “I didn’t ask him.”
“Then he’s too outrageous; such a big thing and he didn’t proactively tell you, the head of the family. Father-in-law, I don’t know what your personality is like, but if it were me, I would kick him out of the family directly.”
“Okay.”
Cao Cheng said generously: “Father-in-law, don’t worry about this; leave CEO Li to me. From now on, if you kick him out of the family, let him follow me; I’ll help you manage him.”
“He’s really too much, hiding such a big thing from you?”
“Is this appropriate?”
“This is not appropriate, right, Father-in-law?”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me; I’ll make his life miserable.” Young Master Cao gnashed his teeth, looking like he was fighting for his father-in-law, making his father-in-law’s temples throb.
“!!!”
His father-in-law snorted: “You little rascal, aren’t you just eyeing CEO Li’s abilities and reliability? It hasn’t even happened yet, and you’re already planning to poach him from my home?”
“Hehe~~”
Cao Cheng chuckled: “You saw through me; am I that obvious?”
“Nonsense, the salt I’ve eaten is more than the bridges you’ve crossed,” his father-in-law boasted.
Young Master Cao also chuckled.
The two continued to drink tea and chat.
They didn’t talk about cosmetics anymore.
After all, what was his father-in-law’s status? He wouldn’t care about this industry; he looked at the big picture.
Just now, casually asking Young Master Cao how much he earned was just idle chat, simple curiosity.
…
They had almost finished drinking.
The Mature Woman hadn’t said much, only pouring tea and water, occasionally interjecting a few words.
Before leaving.
His father-in-law said: “With great power comes great responsibility, boy, don’t forget your original intention!”
Cao Cheng understood.
His father-in-law wasn’t asking him to donate or do superficial things to repay society and gain reputation.
His father-in-law’s status was evident.
And from their casual conversation, it could be heard that his father-in-law wanted Cao Cheng to settle down and work in the real economy.
Or rather…
to work in industries that the nation needs.
