Chen Yuanxiang knew that futures trading was fraught with significant risks.
But Shen Dong wasn't brainless; he wouldn't gamble the house-buying money on futures trading without some level of confidence.
Besides, he knew all too well that when Chen Yuting said such things, she just wanted to borrow two million from Shen Dong.
"The information I've obtained is pretty much certain. It came from the owner of an investment company. They know a lot more than us ordinary people. If Shen Dong does this, his outcome will surely be terrible. Can you really stand by and let your sister be with such a man?" Chen Yuting was persistent.
"I've said it; I trust him. Since your sister is willing to give the money to Shen Dong, it means she has faith in him. Since I've given the money to your sister, I won't interfere with how she uses it," he replied.
"Even if, for argument's sake, Shen Dong loses the money, it will be your sister and Shen Dong who bear the loss. They are prepared to face the consequence of not having money to buy a house, and that's their business," he added.
Chen Yuanxiang once again made his stance clear.
"Fine, act as if I've said nothing," Chen Yuting finally ran out of things to say and hung up the phone.
These two million would not be borrowed.
...
Nine o'clock at night.
Shen Dong and Chen Yuyan had taken their baths and were lying in bed, opening their futures trading app.
During the day, the gold market had been experiencing minor fluctuations.
Commodity and foreign exchange investors worldwide were waiting for half-past nine when the Lighthouse Country Federal Reserve would announce the interest rate decision.
Every interest rate decision by the Lighthouse Country Federal Reserve was a feast for the commodity and foreign exchange markets.
Although he knew that the price of gold would certainly rise, Shen Dong still wanted to check the market.
"Husband, what's the price of gold right now?" Chen Yuyan asked.
"It's still fluctuating. At half-past nine, the Lighthouse Country Federal Reserve will announce the interest rate decision; if all goes as expected, the price of gold will skyrocket," Shen Dong said with a smile.
"Today Yuting was saying that the price of gold would fall," Chen Yuyan said, and even though she professed her trust in Shen Dong, she couldn't help but feel worried.
After all, the two million he had were their down payment for a house.
If they lost it, their dream of a house would be shattered, and they didn't know when they could save up another two million.
Moreover, this was money her father had saved up over many hard-working years.
"Wife, will you trust me? In half an hour, I'll prove myself to you," Shen Dong reassured Chen Yuyan.
"Mm-hmm, okay," Chen Yuyan nodded repeatedly.
As they chatted, the clock struck half-past nine.
Just as the system had indicated, the Lighthouse Country Federal Reserve cut the interest rate by 2%.
The moment the news was announced, the price of gold skyrocketed.
Within five minutes, it had risen by five percent.
"See?" Shen Dong laughed.
"Mm-hmm, I see it; you're amazing, husband," Chen Yuyan said joyfully.
"Haha, who's husband do you think I am?" Shen Dong laughed heartily.
"Mm-hmm, you're right, you're my husband, and my husband is the best," Chen Yuyan said with a smile that turned her eyes into crescent moons, her heart finally settling down.
"Husband, when should we sell?" Chen Yuyan asked with a blink.
"Sell within a week. The price of gold could rise by thirty percent. There's no rush now; let's see how things go by Friday," said Shen Dong.
"Okay, I'll listen to you," Chen Yuyan had no more worries.
She also knew that for news of such importance, the market wouldn't digest it quickly; it would take a while, so it was normal for the uptrend to last a week.
"Based on my judgment, we should be able to earn around nine million this time, and then we can pay for a house in full," Shen Dong said.
"That's great, without having to bear loans, life can be a bit more relaxed," Chen Yuyan said happily.
"I don't want to take the money out so soon, I want to trade in other varieties and earn some more, what do you think?" Shen Dong sought Chen Yuyan's opinion.
"What other varieties are you still optimistic about?" Chen Yuyan asked.
"I'm not sure yet, I'll look again next Monday. There are a lot of opportunities in the futures market. If we earn a bit more, we can buy the house outright and still have money left over to continue investing, to continue earning money, what do you think?" Shen Dong said.
"I believe in you, whatever you say goes," Chen Yuyan had no objections.
"Don't worry, I'll only trade when I'm sure. I won't lose our house-buying money," Shen Dong reassured her.
"Mm, I believe you," Chen Yuyan nodded and then remembered something, grabbing her phone, "I'm going to make a call to Dad. He asked me today about the money for buying the house, wondering if it went into your futures trading. Although he didn't say much, I could still hear his worry, worried that you might lose the money."
"How did Dad know about it?" Shen Dong asked.
"It was Yuting who told him," Chen Yuyan pouted.
"I see, it's because Chen Yuting couldn't borrow money, so she told Dad, hoping Dad would persuade me to pull out the money and lend it to her," Shen Dong realized.
He now understood why Chen Yuting went to celebrate Chen Yuanxiang's birthday – it must have been to borrow money from Chen Yuanxiang.
Celebrating Chen Yuanxiang's birthday was just laying the groundwork for asking to borrow money.
"That's right," Chen Yuyan said.
"Then I should call Dad to put his mind at ease," Shen Dong said.
"Mmm," Chen Yuyan dialed Chen Yuanxiang's phone number.
Soon, the call went through.
"Dad, the price of gold has risen, gone up quite a lot, we've already earned over a million now, so don't worry," Chen Yuyan said with a smile.
"What! Made more than a million just like that!" Chen Yuanxiang was amazed.
He had only traded stocks, never futures.
All he'd heard was that futures were leveraged trades, but he didn't know the specifics.
More than a million earned in one day?
To think, it took him over a decade of hard work to save two million.
"Yes, we believe Shen Dong is right. According to Shen Dong's judgment, this rise in the price of gold will be enough to earn us the money for the house, so we won't need a mortgage," Chen Yuyan said with a laugh.
"Good, good, that's wonderful! Shen Dong really did well, ha ha!" Chen Yuanxiang was very happy and laughed out loud.
A son-in-law who's doing well, able to provide a good life for his daughter, was what he hoped to see most.
"Dad, have you gotten home yet?" Chen Yuyan asked.
The restaurant stays open until nine at night; it's tough for Dad.
"I'm home, just got here. Don't worry about me, just have a good life with Shen Dong," Chen Yuanxiang knew his daughter cared about him.
"Mm, don't worry, Shen Dong and I will definitely be fine, and you should take care of yourself too," Chen Yuyan said.
After chatting for a few more sentences, they hung up the phone.
"Dad sounded really happy," Chen Yuyan put down her phone and snuggled back into Shen Dong's arms.
"I heard Dad's laughter," Shen Dong said with a smile.
"Right," Chen Yuyan picked up her phone again, "I'm going to send a message to Yuting to let her see that you were right."
"Is that really necessary?" Shen Dong said with a wry smile.