August of 2004.

Hong Kong was especially hot. Su Yehao stayed at home, avoiding going out whenever possible.

The flowers and plants in the yard needed watering every day, especially the expensive potted plants, which had long been temporarily moved to the garage to prevent them from withering again.

Last time, a costly Podocarpus neriifolius from an island was specially processed into a large piece of amber, and it was now displayed in Su Yehao's small castle as a decoration.

Perhaps, like some insect amber from the dinosaur era, it would still exist hundreds of millions of years later.

Thinking like this, his guilt about the Podocarpus neriifolius lessened a lot.

Referring to a famous quote—although the tree died, it is now more valuable, having been sublimated into a work of art.

If Su Yehao personally helped promote it, borrowing the fame of some modern art masters, such as Jeff Koons, with whom he had collaborated and who had stuffed a lot of stainless steel crafts into his collection room, there might be a chance to sell the tree amber for millions of dollars or even more. After all, the withered tree shape was beautiful enough and very eye-catching.

Su Yehao was experienced in the field of art speculation.

The total value of the two stainless steel balloon dogs in his hand had exceeded fifteen million dollars, and only a few years had passed since he acquired them, and there was still room for appreciation in the future.

The scorching summer made people feel restless.

On the afternoon of August 10th, Su Yehao woke up from his nap after two o'clock and had just brushed his teeth.

He unexpectedly received a call from Zhuang Wei's assistant, who hesitated and reported, "Boss, a trader in charge of futures investment made a mistake in his work, and the problem is a bit serious."

Hearing this, Su Yehao was stunned. He added some hot water to his teacup and asked, "Lost money, right? How much did he lose in total?"

"...It's a little more troublesome than that. This trader bought 130,000 tons of copper for you."

"???"

Zhuang Wei's assistant said weakly, adding:

"It's the kind with physical delivery. He was bearish on copper prices before, and then he was forced to cover his position by the bulls, losing more than thirty million dollars. Because he was worried about being scolded by his superiors, he secretly decided to delay until the delivery date. Yesterday, the matter was settled, and he reported the news to his supervisor today. He said that instead of admitting defeat and closing the position, he might as well bet that the market would suddenly lose 130,000 tons of copper, and the copper price could continue to rise. At least he wouldn't lose that much."

"..."

Su Yehao rarely played futures, but he had heard of this kind of hedge operation.

After thinking for a moment.

He said to Zhuang Wei's assistant:

"Although that guy is not a good person, and his gambler mentality is a bit heavy, I admit that what he said makes a little sense. Since we can't beat the bulls, we should take advantage of the situation and join the bull camp. Anyway, copper is a hard currency, and I think the demand for it in the mainland market will gradually increase, and there is investment prospects."

Zhuang Wei's assistant asked on the phone, "I took a look, and the total loss is more than $36.49 million. If we really choose physical delivery, there is no problem with the funds. In addition, there will be some transportation, storage, and other expenses. What do you think we should do, boss?"

Su Yehao had a headache, scratched his head, and asked, "Where is this batch of copper currently located? Have someone write a report and explain the whole story, and I want to see it before get off work today."

"London Metal Exchange warrants. Physical delivery on the exchange only accounts for a small part of the total trading volume, and most of it will not be physically settled. The quantity of this batch of goods is a bit large, mainly scattered in designated warehouses in Singapore and the United States, including..."

Zhuang Wei's position was quite high. In name, she was Su Yehao's assistant, but in fact, she had the right to intervene in most of the family office's affairs.

Hearing Su Yehao's words.

Zhuang Wei guessed that there might be a turning point, mainly depending on what the boss thought. She replied calmly:

"Okay, I understand. I guess that guy has already packed his personal belongings and is ready to leave. I'll have his supervisor call him back. Do you want to ship that batch of physical copper to the mainland? I just heard you mention that the demand in the mainland is high."

Tens of thousands of tons of goods was not some small cross-border express delivery.

Su Yehao didn't dare to make a decision easily. He thought for a while and said, "I'll wait until I understand the situation before making a decision. Anyway, it won't rot. At worst, I'll pay some storage fees. What's the price of copper per ton recently? Since shorting failed, how high has it risen this year?"

"...Boss, please wait a moment. I'll go ask and call you back later. This is not a project that I'm personally responsible for."

"Oh, forget it, I'll check it online myself now. You don't need to ask for me."

After saying a few more words.

Su Yehao hung up the phone and went straight to the study to turn on the computer.

It was already 2004, and it was much easier to find information than in previous years. The Athens Olympics were about to open, and there were only four years left until the Beijing Olympics. The world was no longer so...retro.

Especially in the mainland, the changes were particularly great.

Some people who had been in prison for more than ten years were directly dumbfounded when they saw internet cafes after they came out, asking them why they rented a TV for each person. They were out of touch with the times and made a lot of jokes.

There were also significant differences in lifestyles between the elderly, middle-aged, and young people.

The generation gap between different age groups far exceeded other eras in history. The development of the information age was particularly rapid.

After checking the financial data websites, he found that the LME copper price was $2,485 per ton, and one lot of copper was twenty-five tons.

He found an online calculator and pressed it. The total was only $323 million, which made Su Yehao breathe a sigh of relief. Whether borrowing from the bank temporarily or paying out of his own pocket, there was no pressure for him.

Three hundred million dollars worth of copper, that was all.

With the speed of infrastructure construction in the mainland, it wouldn't take long to digest it, and it wouldn't cause much of a stir...