leonardwarren Chapter 52 America, Here I Come!
Chapter 52 America, Here I Come!
On the afternoon of June 8, 1996, a Boeing 747 roared to life as it landed at Los Angeles International Airport. Through the window, Ling Yun could see the area near the El Al check-in counters—where a shooting had occurred two months earlier. This tense atmosphere contrasted sharply with the bright California sunshine, a stark reminder that his journey to the United States was far from smooth.
Zheng Bin straightened his suit and looked out the porthole at the airport: "Los Angeles, we've finally arrived. Mr. Ling, this is our first stop on our gold rush."
At the exit, a young man holding a sign that read "Mr. Zheng Bin" waved to them. He was Xiao Wang from Zheng Bin's US branch, and had been working in Los Angeles for two years.
On the way to the hotel, Xiao Wang drove and said, "There's a lot of money coming from Taiwan and Hong Kong to Los Angeles right now. I heard someone just bought the biggest hotel in Los Angeles." Zheng Bin asked for details with great interest, while Ling Yun silently kept this information in mind.
They stayed at a hotel in the city center. While checking in, Lingyun noticed many Asian businessmen moving around in the lobby, and heard bits and pieces of financial jargon—all of which confirmed Los Angeles' status as a gateway to Asia-Pacific capital in 1996.
The next day, Xiao Wang drove them on their Silicon Valley tour. As they drove along Highway 101, he explained, "From 1994 to last year, Silicon Valley added 200,000 jobs, but only 38,000 new homes." Outside the window, the buildings of Silicon Valley gleamed with technological brilliance in the sunlight, but the commute to San Jose was slow, with journeys potentially taking up to 2.5 hours.
他们参观了史丹福大学周边的科技公司区域。小王指着一些办公楼说：「这里的商业空置率只有4.4%」，同时补充道「软体工程师平均年薪高达8万5千美元。」硅谷的繁荣背后，是半导体产业平均薪酬7万5千4百美元，而电子生产线工人的收入在1991至1996年间却下降了6%。
The next day, Ling Yun, accompanied by Zheng Bin and Xiao Wang, arrived at Goldman Sachs' San Francisco office. The account opening process was professional and efficient, and the account manager offered various leverage options: "Up to 10x leverage for stock trading and up to 30x leverage for stock index futures."
Zheng Bin's eyes lit up when he heard about 30x leverage, but Ling Yun calmly chose 10x leverage—enough to amplify returns without taking excessive risks.
The following week, Lingyun and Zheng Bin began trading US stocks in their hotel room. Lingyun didn't trade frequently, spending most of his time observing market movements and occasionally explaining to Zheng Bin, "Don't let yourself get carried away when the market is good."
Lingyun is preparing to trade Cisco and AOL stocks in the short term. Firstly, their current trend is relatively good, with a golden cross on the weekly MACD and the stock price standing above the 20-week moving average. From a weekly perspective, the trend is upward, and short-term trading now can maximize profits.
He chooses precise trading opportunities, maintains strict position control, and never lets any trade remain overnight.
Zheng Bin followed Ling Yun's lead. When Ling Yun bought, he bought; when Ling Yun sold, he sold. Although Zheng Bin didn't need to use his brain to analyze, he still felt his adrenaline surging. He bought low and sold high time after time, making a lot of money each time. He slowly became numb, like a machine that mechanically manipulated stock trading.
A week later, Zheng Bin looked at Ling Yun's trading records: a 100% win rate and a 30% return. Zheng Bin exclaimed, "Mr. Ling, with abilities like yours, why would we need to run a real business? We could become the world's richest man just by trading!"
In just five trading days, Lingyun's profit reached more than $600 million, and Zheng Bin also made more than $200 million. He didn't dare to invest too much in the first few days, but in the last few days he transferred all his funds. If Lingyun hadn't stopped him, Zheng Bin would have been willing to risk his life.
Ling Yun shook his head: "The high returns this week are due to two reasons: firstly, the market conditions were favorable, and secondly, our small capital made it easier to adjust our positions. Larger funds wouldn't have such a return rate, nor could they maintain a 100% win rate forever." The main reason, in fact, is that Ling Yun is a reborn individual. He knows the definite trend of the US stock market, which is currently in an upward trend. Any pullback to the 20-day moving average is an opportunity for him to get on board.
The US stock market was noticeably less strong in the following days. A large amount of profit-taking had accumulated over a long period, so some adjustment was inevitable. However, this adjustment would not last long. After Yahoo's IPO, after a few days of adjustment, Lingyun would go all in on Yahoo. This wave is estimated to last about half a year, allowing the profits to run for a while.
Ling Yun walked to the window and looked in the direction of Silicon Valley: "The real wealth is not in the financial market, but there—Silicon Valley. We must use financial capital to leverage industrial capital; this is the long-term solution."
Purely financial games no longer hold much appeal for Ling Yun. Making money is too easy, so it loses much of its fun. High-tech games are much more challenging, especially with several companies yet to grow into behemoths in front of him. He wants to take advantage of them while he still can, lest he lose the chance once they mature.