Chapter 89: Lin Qiyu’s Advice

Some housewives were thrilled by the sudden surge in the fortune of Lena Onodera, while others were furious beyond reason because the value of their own assets had shrunk drastically.

Ichiro Kawasaki was on the verge of losing his mind.

News always spread quickly.

Though it was already after work, more than ten housewives were packed into the reception room.

They were all people who understood nothing at all, and had simply handed over part of their assets to Nomura Securities on the promise of a certain rate of return.

And Kawasaki had a batch of those women’s assets under his management.

The problem was that everything had originally been perfectly fine, and quite steady. Every month, through managing those assets, Ichiro Kawasaki had not only brought them returns that met their expectations, but also created value for the firm, while receiving a generous salary and bonuses.

And now, all that happiness had vanished with a single crack.

“I am truly sorry to have caused everyone such trouble!” Ichiro Kawasaki bowed at ninety degrees, bitter as gall, and said, “But please believe us. The market’s fluctuations are only due to the extreme turbulence of the past few days. The current losses are still under control...”

“What do you mean, under control!” a shrill voice cut him off. “If you hadn’t called and said things like whether we could prepare a little more margin, I wouldn’t even have known that my money had already been reduced to so little! That is not what you promised!”

Kawasaki could not even lift his head. He said loudly, “Please rest assured, it will definitely return to its previous level!”

“At this point, how can we still believe you? Where exactly did you take our money? I want the truth!”

Kawasaki remained silent with a pained expression: would they even understand the truth if they saw it?

It was nothing more than a slightly higher leverage ratio, and then, over the last two days, the market suddenly reversed a little and the volatility exceeded what these accounts could bear.

Clearly, the leverage he had set was lower than Doro Taro’s strategy!

It was only because these people refused to add margin and were not as well prepared as Doro Taro.

But in the end, he had still taken a risk.

He had taken a risk! But why had Lord Taro not made any moves these past few days and changed his strategy?

Kawasaki had followed only to end up with nothing but misery. Following had been agonizing.

Now, how was he supposed to clean up this mess?

“Refund us! Refund us!” The voices in the reception room gradually merged into one, growing quite formidable.

At last, the matter drew the attention of the senior management.

After much effort to calm those frenzied housewives, and after promising, in Nomura Securities’ name, that the next dividend would be paid in full with a small additional compensation, Ichiro Kawasaki finally no longer had to face those women.

But the person he had to face was even more terrifying.

“At this point, you will have to find a way to solve this yourself and make up the shortfall. What on earth happened? Weren’t you doing perfectly well before?”

“...” Kawasaki bowed so deeply his back was nearly breaking, and could only say honestly, “I misjudged the strategy of that client whose analytical ability is extremely strong, and that led to all this. I will definitely solve this problem. Please believe me!”

“...” The department head was practically speechless. “Kawasaki, you are not some young man who just started working. How could you make such a mistake? This is not only a violation of our Nomura regulations, it is also a sign of extremely poor professionalism. How can professionals in our line of work behave like gamblers?”

“I am terribly sorry! I have already understood my mistake!” Ichiro Kawasaki bent his old back even farther, forcing his voice to remain loud and clear.

“Figure out a way to solve this problem immediately! I heard every word of the promises you made to those women!”

After scolding him thoroughly, the department head waved him out impatiently.

Fortunately, the total asset scale involved was not large. With Kawasaki’s abilities, there was still room to save the situation.

It was just that he would have to suffer for quite a while.

After the office finally quieted down, he could not help being curious about the fellow the department head had mentioned.

A net profit of six hundred million yen in a single day?

From the department head’s perspective, an asset size in the one-billion-yen range was not yet anything outrageously abnormal. From what Kawasaki had said, money kept flowing in continuously, so the household’s overall asset scale must be quite large.

Surname Tao... could he be a descendant of that famous family?

What this department head found curious was that this Taro Tao happened to be a student about to enter his fourth year at the University of Tokyo.

Was he preparing to join some company after graduation? Or did he have a family business to inherit?

...

The fluctuation in exchange rates had left Ichiro Kawasaki in agony, but after Tao Zhiming confirmed that the magnitude of the movement was not enough to threaten the safety of his positions, he did not dwell on it too much.

Keeping an eye on the market as usual was enough. He believed that, driven by the tide of events, the appreciation of the yen was impossible to stop.

Leaving aside the fact that he could not possibly remember every daily fluctuation, even if he could, he would not gamble on it every single day.

He had already taken one huge gamble and accumulated his first pot of gold. For the moment, there was no need to be so anxious. To make money with such precision every single time would only draw too much attention. After all, his foundations were still shallow.

These past few days, he had already begun devoting most of his energy to school.

Learning how to operate a Bloomberg terminal, working with Lin Qiyu to try to find the materials Yamamoto Kento needed, and practicing swordsmanship were all secondary.

Most important of all, regarding the location for the bookstore and dance hall, he still had not found the real reason why Kinoshita Shufu had placed such a heavy bet on that plot of land.

After taking Kinoshita Shufu’s money for the special project consultant work, Tao Zhiming had gone again to Most Superior Real Estate the day before yesterday.

But everything he could think of, he had already thought of. He had not obtained any more precise information from Kinoshita Shufu’s side.

Without the internet, he could only search through book after book and essay after essay.

Tao Zhiming raised his head wearily, frowned as he closed his eyes, and massaged them with both hands.

Hearing the movement, Lin Qiyu across from him also looked up at him.

After soothing his tired eyes, Tao Zhiming opened them and saw Lin Qiyu’s puzzled gaze.

Smiling, he asked softly, “What is it?”

Lin Qiyu shook her head. After all, she had asked him before what he was investigating, and he had not told her.

Tao Zhiming glanced at the clock on the wall and said to her, “Take a walk? Then go to the research room after lunch?”

After thinking for a moment, Lin Qiyu nodded and began packing up her bag.

Once they left the library, the cherry trees across campus were already about to bloom.

“Miss Lin, what do you think of Professor Yamamoto?” Tao Zhiming asked as they walked.

“...” Lin Qiyu still could not quite get used to such an intimate address from him. “The professor is very learned, and very rigorous in his scholarship.”

Tao Zhiming turned his head to look at her, then sighed. “That figures. You only care about things related to studying. But I insist on talking to you about things beyond studying. Didn’t you once see how much money I had and tell me to return home as a foreign investor and open a factory?”

Lin Qiyu looked a little embarrassed. “I was just speaking carelessly. Don’t mind it.”