“Have you seen James? Why isn’t he here showing off his fund today?”
“Showing off what? I heard the Western Mustang fund has already bolted from the oil futures market, all 20 billion of it!”
“Ah, I told them long ago not to trust that guy. Black people are all scammers. He just got lucky before, and now he’s back to his true colors.”
“Yeah, I saw quite a few people who bought into Western Mustang’s fund looking dejected. Just a few days ago, they were all smug, saying they’d made 50% returns this year. Too funny!”
“Good thing this black guy was quick to react, actually daring to run before the news was even announced. Could he have had some inside information?”
“Who knows, but our black financial god has finally fallen!”
“You can’t really blame him, though. After all, who could have predicted that Assam would be captured?”
“Hmph, any normal person should have guessed that Assam would definitely be captured by our heroic and invincible army. If he didn’t guess it, then that’s his mistake.”
Several employees in a company were chattering amongst themselves. Little Swift’s failure had indeed caused quite a stir in the US. Many seemed quite pleased to see the newly risen black financier fail.
As for the clients who had purchased the Western Mustang fund, their emotions were also a bit unstable. It was said that even the Western Mustang fund’s office building was being blockaded. For a time, there were those who were happy and those who were sad.
In the following few days, international oil prices continued to fall, quickly dropping to around $22 a barrel. This seemed to further validate the previous opinions, and many so-called financial experts immediately guaranteed with conviction on various programs that international oil prices were definitely going to fall to around $18 a barrel, returning to the levels of early 2001.
The entire oil futures market was in an uproar, with countless investors calling in sick. As oil prices plummeted, some investors felt that Little Swift’s stop-loss was very timely. At least he only lost 3%, while most related funds had losses of over 20%. Looking at it that way, it wasn't entirely unacceptable.
It was at this time that a financial feast began.
“Sir, you have an invitation!” the secretary said, handing an invitation to Swift while looking at Huang He with some curiosity.
She knew of Huang He’s existence and knew that Huang He was the backer of the Western Mustang fund. After all, Huang He’s relationship with the Western Mustang fund wasn’t intentionally hidden, unlike her own and the U.S. Priority Fund’s concealed dealings.
As long as one had a little power and conducted some investigation, they could uncover that Boss Huang was the man behind the scenes of the Western Mustang Fund.
This was also intentionally done by Boss Huang. Otherwise, Huang He’s annual trip to the US would seem a bit abrupt. He needed a reason to go to America. By having the Western Mustang Fund stand in front, it could maximally conceal the relationship between his own company and the U.S. Priority Fund, which was Boss Huang’s strategy of using both visible and invisible fronts.
However, if one didn’t actively investigate, most people wouldn’t know about Boss Huang’s relationship with the Western Mustang Fund. For example, within the company, only a few high-level executives and Little Swift’s secretary knew this secret.
So, when she looked at Boss Huang, she involuntarily winked at Huang He. Not to mention, this young girl was quite pretty, resembling an adult Emma Stone from later years. Boss Huang couldn’t help but feel a little stirred.
“You can go out now!” Little Swift said. The secretary turned to leave with some reluctance. Before leaving, she deliberately twisted her hips towards Huang He, creating a ripple.
“Little Swift, do you have a relationship with your secretary?” Huang boss asked, licking his lips.
“No… Boss, why do you ask?” Little Swift replied, looking surprised.
“Because she just winked at me. I thought, since she’s your secretary, if you have a relationship with her, I won’t touch her. I don’t want to gross you out, right?” Huang He said with a chuckle.
“Well, we do have a bit of a relationship…” Little Swift showed a wry smile and then said, “But since you said that, then there can’t be any relationship between the two of us. If you like her, go ahead!”
“Then never mind. You are a thousand times more important than her. I won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable!” Huang He said, patting Little Swift on the shoulder. Little Swift felt a surge of emotion, and the female secretary, unaware, had lost everything with just one wink.
“By the way, who is the invitation from?” Huang He asked curiously.
“Let me see…” Little Swift opened the invitation and looked at it, then said with some surprise, “This invitation is actually from Mr. Buffett. It’s an invitation to Mr. Buffett’s annual charity auction!”
“Another charity auction! I’ve already attended two charity auctions this year.” Huang He rolled his eyes.
“Only two? I’ve attended five charity-related banquets this year!” Little Swift said with a smile. “But perhaps unlike China, in the US, various charity-related banquets are one of our most routine activities.”
“I receive four or five invitations to various charity banquets almost every month. This is already the norm in the US,” Little Swift chuckled.
“Oh, why is that?”
“Because charity is the best excuse for a gathering. If we were to hold events for business discussions or private entertainment, we would inevitably face protests from various overly bored people. But if we hold events for charity, not only is there no opposition, but we can also win a good reputation.”
“So, gradually, everyone has become accustomed to using charity as an excuse to organize various activities. Then, they can just donate tens of thousands of dollars to a charity foundation at the last minute, which isn’t even the cost of a meal. Moreover, the money is donated to the rich people’s own charity foundations, and how this money will ultimately be spent remains unknown.”
“In short, this charity banquet may not necessarily be a charity banquet; it could be for other activities. However, this is the first time I’ve received an invitation from Buffett. I’ve never received an invitation from Buffett before, or rather, I don’t have such qualifications!” Little Swift said with a slightly sour expression.
“Then let’s go take a look!” Huang He waved his hand. Little Swift pondered for a moment, then smiled, “Boss, why don’t you go too? It’ll be quite fun to meet Buffett!”
“Alright!” Huang He nodded. Looking at the invitation, the time was two nights later. Coincidentally, Boss Huang had nothing else to do these days, so he readily agreed.
In the following few days, Boss Huang went to the headquarters of Marvel Pictures, inspected the ongoing film production, and gave some instructions. He received unanimous support from everyone in the company, who enthusiastically agreed that Boss Huang was right, and his words were like timely rain, dripping into everyone’s hearts.
Time flew by quickly until Buffett’s charity banquet was held as scheduled.
Originally, Boss Huang thought that the standard of this charity banquet would be very high, as it was hosted by Buffett. It would surely be in a quite decent hotel, like a Hilton or something.
However, when Boss Huang and Little Swift arrived at the banquet venue together, they were both somewhat dumbfounded. This was because the banquet was actually being held in a steakhouse.
As everyone knows, a steakhouse, no matter how high-end, is still just a steakhouse. It was really hard to imagine that Buffett would choose such a place for a charity banquet. Perhaps everyone would be cutting steak and chatting at the same time?
This felt like the equivalent of a Hong Kong movie star from another world holding a charity banquet in a hot pot restaurant… even if this hot pot restaurant was Haidilao, the feeling just wouldn’t be right.
Fortunately, when Huang He and the others entered the steakhouse, they found that the layout of the restaurant had been adjusted to some extent. Tables and chairs covered with brocade and laden with various ingredients were placed inside for anyone to use, making it somewhat like a buffet.
But even as a buffet, most of the ingredients were cut into small pieces of steak, along with various steak side dishes and pasta, leaving Boss Huang unsure of how to comment.
“This is Mr. Buffett’s frugality!” Little Swift said with a smile. “Mr. Buffett is famously frugal. Even when holding charity banquets, he will always use the most cost-effective methods. Compared to luxurious five-star hotels, a steakhouse is the best choice. This is well-known in the industry!”
“By the way, the currently popular ‘Buffett Lunch’ is also held in this steakhouse!”
“Is that so!” Huang He touched his nose, then said, “Go and check if Buffett or Buffett’s behind-the-scenes fund company has any shares in this restaurant.”
“That shouldn’t be the case…” Little Swift felt a bit awkward. He thought that the renowned Buffett wouldn’t do such a thing, but he still had someone check. About ten minutes later, the phone call came back, and this steak restaurant was indeed a property under Buffett.
Awkward!
“Oh, isn’t this our financial god, Mr. Little Swift? I’ve heard great things about you!” Suddenly, someone said enthusiastically and extended a hand to Little Swift.
Little Swift also responded with a brilliant smile, shaking hands with the person sincerely.
“Oh, and who is this Asian gentleman?”
“This is Chairman Huang He of Jiangnan Group!” Little Swift said, as he knew Huang He wouldn’t speak English, so he took the initiative to introduce him.
“Could it be Mr. Huang He, the one who bought the French palace!” The American immediately showed a respectful expression.
As expected, money is king.