QTIMP -Chapter 113 Character Persona – Money Loving (Part 23)

“Alright, you go ahead! Leave this to me,” said Rong Li. After bandaging the wound, he took out a restraint strap and tied him up.

Shen Xuan hurriedly left. With the weather warming up, it was time to start construction. This was the busiest period, and there could be no mistakes while Pei Jingzhou was ill.

Of course, Si Qiu knew that Pei Jingzhou would probably return in the next few days. But right now, the stock market was at a critical moment—every minute of movement represented a change in money.

If she didn’t keep a close eye, there could be a margin call. Things could go so wrong that she and Qiao Yalan might as well go jump off a building. After all, short selling alone would be okay, but she was using high leverage.

Because of this, she didn’t plan to hold for a full year. She intended to stop once April passed. Watching the screen every day and directing the traders was exhausting.

So she hadn’t contacted Pei Jingzhou in time.

“It dropped another point; the decline has reached 11.4%.”

“Keep a close watch. Follow my orders—sell immediately without a single moment of hesitation. Yalan, have you booked all the tickets I asked for?”

The tense atmosphere made Qiao Yalan anxious too. “Qiuqiu, they’re booked, but it’s impossible to book them all to one country—it would be too obvious. So I spread them across a few countries. But I tried to get them all for the timeline you mentioned. Once you give the order, we’ll head to the airport immediately.”

“It’s down 13.2% now.”

Si Qiu gave a direct order: “Start selling in the sequence I gave you earlier.”

The traders began selling the stocks in their hands. “Boss, completed.”

Si Qiu waved her hand. The traders stood up, grabbed their bags, took the tickets and IDs handed by the bodyguards, and left immediately.

One by one, over the course of two hours, all the traders had cleared their stocks. Si Qiu then led this last group, along with the bodyguards, to leave.

When the plane flew out of the airspace, Si Qiu and Qiao Yalan exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but smile.

The plane was headed to Hong Kong. Upon landing, they went straight to The Peninsula Hong Kong. Qiao Yalan had already called ahead to book the rooms.

By the time Si Qiu and her team arrived, quite a few people were already waiting.

Seeing the two of them come in, they quickly stood up. “Boss.”

“No need for formalities, sit down. Who hasn’t returned yet?”

“Berg and the other two haven’t come back. They have to catch a connecting flight, so it might be another hour before they get here,” replied a woman with neatly cropped short hair.

“If you’re hungry, order some food first. Yalan and I will freshen up, and then we’ll talk together.”

After Si Qiu finished showering, changing clothes, and drying her hair, everyone else had arrived. They had ordered some food and were chatting while eating, their faces full of barely-contained excitement.

Si Qiu tallied the gains from this operation: 10 million USD plus 1.9 million RMB. With her short positions and leverage, she had earned nearly 35 times the profit.

The amount of US dollars they had gained was about 360 million, which, if exchanged into RMB, would be roughly 1.75 billion. Of course, she didn’t rush to convert it—holding US dollars at this time still had advantages for domestic spending.

There were nine traders, each contributing 5 million HKD. According to the agreed split, Sister Qiao Yalan’s share should have been 31 million RMB, but she directly gave 50 million RMB.

These people had all been vetted, and after this event, they had proven trustworthy. Naturally, Si Qiu wouldn’t just let them go, but giving them a relatively long paid leave—surely no one would refuse.

As for Qiao Yalan, it had been her handling most of the early work, yet for some reason, she trusted Si Qiu unconditionally.

There was still 328.3 million USD remaining. But anyone should know this was only the start of the 1990s. If she wanted to take another gamble, she could go again in September; if she wanted to retire comfortably, this money, whether used for interest or invested in stocks she knew well, would be more than enough.

She converted 8.3 million USD, of which 1.3 million was exchanged into RMB, and withdrew another 1 million USD in cash. All of this money was carried by the bodyguards.

She was eager to return to the country; thinking it, she acted on it. Exchanging a glance with Sister Qiao Yalan, they sent the people off, packed, and left immediately.

No one spoke again about the life of extravagance they had once imagined. The money had come too fast, too unreal, which made both of them keen to settle down.

Only when she set foot again on the land of the capital city did her pounding heart finally calm. She immediately gave each of her personal bodyguards 100,000 RMB.

Among these twelve bodyguards, six were women, all hired through the club, while the remaining six men were introduced by them.

Each one was highly skilled and had their own specialties. A common trait among them was that all were military veterans.

When they stayed at the hotel, this stack of 1.2 million RMB was laid out in front of them. Everyone was shocked; no one reached for the money first.

Instead, a short-haired young woman stood up. “Boss, you already pay us very well. Protecting your safety is our job and responsibility. Can we really take this money?”

Qiao Yalan sat beside her silently, while Si Qiu looked at the few people across the sofa.

Her gaze swept over their faces, observing the slightest expressions. “If I give it to you, then take it. This is your bonus. I’m very satisfied with your performance this time, so this is what you deserve.”

Seeing that a few were about to speak, she interrupted. “Put the money away. I have other business to discuss!”

Qiao Yalan, holding her wine glass, smiled and said, “You know we’ve been making big money, so there’s no need to delay—just take it.”

After hesitating for a moment, each picked up ten bundles. Si Qiu nodded in satisfaction and finally spoke.

“When I hired you, I learned that most of you seem to come from the same military district?” Si Qiu pretended not to know much about this.

They exchanged glances, and the same young woman spoke up again. “Boss, the nine of us were a single squad and retired one after another. The three over there are another squad, but we all belong to the same department.”

Her words were somewhat vague, but ever since Si Qiu had hired them, she knew they were probably not ordinary military retirees. As long as they posed no harm to her, she didn’t care about the details.

Si Qiu toyed with a mango in her hand, pondering for a while before speaking. “I really appreciate your cooperation this time. You also know I took some shortcuts and earned a lot. So I plan to donate 20 million USD to your team for upgrading weapons and equipment, as a token of my gratitude and also as a repayment for the upbringing I received from the state. However, I’m not familiar with this area, so you’ll need to coordinate with your superiors.”