A multitude of Chinese workers streamed into a restaurant, each clutching the stock they had previously bought, fixated on the queue before them.
Zhu Wencong, peering through the window of a private room on the second floor, observed the situation below, confident his brothers could manage the event well.
It was impossible for the boss to solve everything personally; otherwise, what was the point of having a gang of underlings!
James's smile was radiant; in just seven days, he had earned a clean profit of one hundred British Pounds in interest.
A 10% profit return in a week, James claimed this was the first time he had encountered such an opportunity in his life.
Zhu Wencong picked up his teacup and said, "As of last week, the stock is no longer for sale to the public, those outside wish to buy but cannot.
Following this, in the next three weeks, the profit return will be at a minimum of 10%, the maximum... that depends on how high the stock price goes."
"Really can't buy it anymore? How is your friend's silver mine doing?
I've prepared a lot of money, as long as you have a need, I'll fully support you!" James inquired.
Zhu Wencong began eating his meal, aware that the small silver mine's market was too tiny to satisfy a big player's needs.
The entry threshold for the silver mines on the Japanese Islands was high, starting at a thousand British Pounds with no upper limit, allowing for unlimited growth.
The ultimate aim was to take on the debts of the Northern Faction, accumulating enough war funds to win the war!
Raising hundreds of millions of British Pounds was an impossible task, with hope centered on the millions or several millions mark.
"The person in charge of the Japanese Islands has already arrived in San Francisco, he is the eldest son of a prestigious family there, that family has both military and government clout!
Meaning they have family members in middle to high-level positions in both the military and government, guaranteeing the mining of the silver mines is utterly reliable!
I plan to host a dinner tomorrow and invite this young master over to share the secret of wealth.
But I don't have the contact information for the local elite, so it looks like I can only count on you alone!" Zhu Wencong laughed.
"Is that so? Hahaha! I can actually help you get in touch with the elite, and they would definitely be willing to make new friends!
Maybe my boss will attend too, he's quite a big shot, a true millionaire!" James couldn't dare to keep it all to himself, especially with such a large market base that he couldn't sway on his own.
Instead of keeping it all for himself, it was better to share it, allowing him to owe everyone a favor, making it easier to get things done in the future.
James only hoped to sip some hot soup alongside the big players; the large pieces of meat were naturally for them to savor.
Zhu Wencong put down his chopsticks, "How much capital have you prepared this time?
If you feel that the capital is far from enough, I can recommend Westwood Bank to you; I'm very familiar with the bank manager there.
He once said, as long as the profit is guaranteed, he dares to entrust me with the bank's reserves to operate.
I haven't accepted directly; I need first to operate and gain experience before playing a big game!"
James kept sipping his tea to calm his nerves, gradually realizing that the investment projects he was involved in were getting bigger and bigger!
With the small Silver Mountain, his savings would suffice to keep playing, but the large Silver Mountain meant betting all his assets and future savings.
50% profit return! James didn't want to miss the biggest opportunity of his life, for the saying goes, fortune favors the bold.
There was only one chance; miss it, and it would never come again. It all depended on whether he wanted to remain a worker or become a wealthy man.
"I can scrape together about seven thousand British Pounds; I've mortgaged everything to the bank.
I'm somewhat struggling with the six-month lock-up period, but high risk comes with high return.
Maybe I can sell off part of the stock during the lock-up period; I believe this stock is a sure winner.
Brother, I've put everything I have into this; you must tell me if you have any inside information," James said, flustered.
Zhu Wencong noticed that James was quite poor, or rather, that Americans really didn't have the habit of saving money.
Once they needed to use a large sum of money, they had to borrow from banks, take out mortgages, or make installment purchases based on credit.
"Let's round up to ten thousand British Pounds! I can get Westwood Bank to lend you three thousand British Pounds, but I have no say in the interest rates.
If you don't trade stocks in the meantime, you could earn a dividend of 5,000 British Pounds in half a year!
If you can manage to sell high and buy low, earning ten thousand British Pounds in half a year is completely feasible, and with some luck, you could make twenty or thirty thousand!" Zhu Wencong locked eyes with James as he spoke.
Swallowing hard, James knew that borrowing another three thousand British Pounds would put significant pressure on his shoulders.
But as Zhu Wencong had pointed out, the potential profits and returns were enormous, enough to make several times the principal.
Zhu Wencong picked up his chopsticks and continued to eat, while James needed much more experience to grow his courage.
The unchanging rule of the market is that when some lose money, others make it, with a few pocketing everyone's cash.
"Zhu, I remember what you told me: 'Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy.'
Life may only give me this one chance, so I can't give up, I can't live with regret!" James made up his mind.
Zhu Wencong kept focusing on his meal, noting the Americans' natural affinity for risk, utterly fearless.
They often believe they can control the market and not end up as the bagholder, cashing out at the peak.
This mindset is nonexistent in the East, where the conservative values passed down over thousands of years have stifled the spirit of adventure.
The modern inventions have mostly been led by Europe and America, not because they are particularly smart, but because they are incredibly imaginative.
Why are we able to catch up? Because we have a rigid spirit of memorization, but always fall short of surpassing them.
"Your men have arrived, so I'll head over to the bank first." James stood up to take his leave.
Luo Chu and the others each carried a sack filled with the capital invested by clients, including British Pounds, francs, Spanish silver dollars, Honshu paper money, and other currencies.
The preferred currency was the Spanish silver dollar (according to records of the East India Company, from 1681 to 1833, more than 68 million liang of silver flowed into China, equivalent to 100 million silver dollars); the US Dollar was initially pegged to the Spanish silver dollar.
Next were paper currencies like the British Pound and the franc, which were less favored due to a higher incidence of counterfeiting.
This situation was similar to the time when the Republic of China was falling apart, and Yuan Shikai silver coins were the primary currency.
"One at a time! I'll calculate your total sales first, then your commissions. Each of you seems to be able to take home several years' worth of salary!
Earning several years' salary in one week, doesn't it feel like a dream?" Zhu Wencong calculated while sorting through the currencies with an abacus.
Originally, he had thought to leave this task to the bank, but Western and Eastern banking operations were totally different.
Depositing money in the bank meant paying a management fee, and the money wouldn't just fail to appreciate, but would also incur an annual fee.
These people only knew how to collect money; asking them to calculate it was like talking to a wall.
The exchange rates between currencies were very vague, especially for the worthless local bank-issued paper money.
"Ah! How I wish greenbacks would appear!" Zhu Wencong had been calculating for a long time, his head aching, with some currencies being totally unfamiliar to him.
At the moment, private banks in America have the right to issue currency, with different banks issuing different styles of bank money.
"How about taking a break first?" Seeing a sack full of money, Zhao Da was also feeling troubled, knowing the value of various currencies but getting confused when converting them into another.
"Forget it! Let's go to the black market!" Zhu Wencong decided to exchange the unknown bank currencies for British Pounds.