Chapter Fifty-Seven

  "Japan is like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered, fattened up, and Uncle Sam's knife is ready to cut whenever he wants." Fang Mengnan described.

  There is only interest between countries, and when interests are threatened, they can be killed without hesitation.

  "It's laughable that Japan still fantasizes about buying out the US, and yet the Japanese take pride in this statement. Many Japanese companies are now working day and night without rest, striving to make Japan buy out the US." Yang Fan said with a smile.

  "Yes, it's just like a child holding gold in his hands but having no ability to protect it, and can only watch as others snatch it away." Fang Mo Nan sighed.

  "The timing is not good to grasp, if it's too early, we'll lose out, and if it's too late, we won't be able to catch up." Cheng Shigui continued to say that if we assume this, we can formulate specific plans, and then use a series of tactics to operate, ultimately achieving the maximum profit. If we can't, then we can only fight a guerrilla war, and the longer this guerrilla war lasts, the more unfavorable it will be for us."

  "According to Fang Mennan, as soon as the US government and other countries put pressure on Japan, they will be forced to sign a formal agreement on September 22nd. The Japanese conglomerates are estimated to be unprepared, and we can take advantage of this opportunity to wage a perfect economic war. I hope everyone will work hard."

  "That's much easier to handle." Yang Fan calculated carefully, "Wow... this battle will yield at least ten times the profit, and if done beautifully, twenty times is not a problem. This way, we can struggle less for ten years."

  "With so much money, are you going to continue entering the physical industry? Don't jump words." Yang Fan asked.

  "We have now collected some Japanese companies, mainly focusing on high-tech industries, heavy industry groups, banks and real estate companies with large tracts of land in Tokyo. In order to avoid chaos after the acquisition is successful, we have already started training a batch of middle-level administrators within our company. After large-scale expansion, it will soon face the problem of insufficient management personnel. Of course, confidentiality work has also been done, and there will be no leaks." said Cheng Shigui.

  Without a real industry, you're just a piece of fat, a fart, nothing. In the US, financiers are being held hostage, nobody says anything, but if you dare to hold entrepreneurs hostage, don't think about mixing again because entrepreneurs employ a large number of workers, if they die, workers will also lose their jobs.

  Fang Mornan nodded, "It's still good to enter the real economy, otherwise, money is useless, just a digital number. No matter how much money you have, once it depreciates, it's like worthless paper."

  She continued, "You can also enter the energy sector, such as iron ore, oil, copper, etc. If you can't buy mines, buying stocks is also an option."

  "Alright, since everything is ready, we're just waiting for Uncle Sam's starting gun to go off." Fang Mo Nan stood up and said to the two of them, "You can also play with some spare change and earn some pocket money." She walked towards the kitchen, "Then I'll go cook dinner." Outside, the sky had darkened, and the lights in every household were lit one after another.

  "Oh, boss is cooking himself, it's really killing us." Yang Fan has been completely conquered since he had Fang Mo Nan's dishes at the farm, especially when it's hard to get authentic Chinese cuisine abroad.

  "Today I'll go with whatever you order." Fang Mo Nan looked at him with a greedy expression and continued to serve.

  "Wow... I want to eat braised pork belly, boiled fish, sweet and sour ribs, steamed shrimp with garlic, tomato beef brisket, spicy potato noodles, Kung Pao chicken. Finally, a bowl of zhajiangmian."

  "You're not afraid of getting bloated with so much food?" Fang Mo Nan smiled and said, "These are all home-cooked dishes, do you have all the ingredients here?"

  "Everything is ready, all the ingredients are in the fridge." Yang Fan walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, which was packed to the brim.

  Fang Mo Nan quickly prepared a table of delicious food.

  "The flavor is very authentic, some seasonings seem to be unavailable in Japan." said Cheng Shigui after tasting.

  "Oh, the seasonings are what I brought from home. Mo Bei isn't used to eating Western food, so I cook for them." Fang Mo Nan said, in order to let Mo Bei eat well during the competition, she had no choice but to take action and cook herself. As for where to cook, Leonard provided it, at this time he didn't hide anything either. The music family, a world-renowned city, didn't even have one property, which saved them from spending money on hotels."

  Outside, the autumn wind suddenly rises, bringing waves of cold air, but inside, it's warm and harmonious, with everyone eating to their heart's content.

  Fang Mo Nan and they had done their homework beforehand, so this time they made a big profit from CUHK, while Yang Fan was busy and tense at the company.

  On September 22, the weather was fine and the autumn was high and refreshing. Fang Mo Nan and Cheng Shi Gui were fishing leisurely at a shore in Tokyo Bay. At that time, there was no Tokyo Bay Rainbow Bridge, which started construction in 1987 and opened to traffic in 1993.

  Fang Mo Nan and Cheng Shi Gui sat on a small stool, each holding a fishing rod, gazing out at the distant bay's emerald waves. Far from the city's hustle and bustle, they came to the quiet seaside, holding their breath as they cast their lines, inhaling the refreshing air that invigorated their spirits.

  On one side, appreciating the beautiful scenery of green hills and clear waters, white clouds and blue sky, and occasionally catching fish, making people feel extremely comfortable.

  "Nan Nan, on the other hand, is carefree and happy, as stable as Mount Tai." Cheng Shigui glanced at the quiet little kid beside him. "You old folks are having fun, but you're the one who likes it."

  "Fishing knows no age, calm and quiet, cultivate one's character and nature, avoid arrogance and restlessness." If history is already set, if you still can't make a profit, Fang Mennai should have hit his head against the tofu by now. "Such a beautiful view, isn't this place good enough?" With a swoosh, she lifted her fishing rod, and a small fish was flung onto the shore, taken down, weighing about a catty, thrown into the water bucket. After adjusting the bait, with a beautiful posture, the hook sank into the sea.

  Fishing is a combination of patience and confidence, when fishing, one must focus on the fish hook, calm and quiet, waiting for the fish to bite. Fishing can overcome impulsive and frivolous habits, cultivate a stable and intelligent personality, and develop a steady and reserved character. After rebirth, Fang Mò Nán fell in love with this "entertainment", so she specially built a small reservoir on the farm, not only solving irrigation but also having a leisurely place to go, where all the fish are released from space, clever and cunning, so far, no outsider has caught any.

  Cheng Shigui was very angry and sat for half a day, but he didn't catch any fish. Looking at the calm little man beside him, his heart slowly calmed down too.

  A gentle breeze blew by, and the car radio broadcast the news of the five-nation agreement, marking the beginning of the rapid appreciation of the yen. The announcer's sweet voice reported the start of a nightmare.

  September 22, 1985, newly appointed US Treasury Secretary James Baker and the finance ministers of West Germany, Japan, France, and Britain held a secret meeting at the Plaza Hotel in New York. The five finance ministers agreed to depreciate the dollar, jointly signing what became known as the Plaza Accord, which stated that they would cooperate more closely to achieve more stable exchange rates and proposed further depreciation of the dollar. After the accord was signed, the governments of the five nations began selling dollars en masse.

  Cheng Shigui heard that, "Nan Nan, we have already opened a long position in yen and the leverage has been adjusted to the maximum. Now it's on the edge. If there is a big rebound in yen, we will lose everything. Moreover, with so much money raised, if converted into US dollars, it would be 600 billion."

  "We will win." Fang Mo Nan said calmly, continuing to fish leisurely. "Let's go home and cook a delicious meal to reward our hero." She put away the fishing rod, picked up the small bucket, and walked towards the car.

  In Cheng Shigui's view, the impending fierce battle was a trivial matter, and she seemed to be in control of everything, as calm as if eating was the most important thing.

  Fang Mo Nan once again proved her prediction to be accurate, leaving Cheng Shi Gui and the others speechless. It was as if no words could describe her, perhaps "prodigy" would be a more fitting description. On the second day after the official signing, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Japanese yen plummeted by 4.3%, which was a huge victory for them. Their funds had increased from $30 billion to over $200 billion in just one day, earning them a net profit of nearly $20 billion. For these traders, this unconventional method of making money was truly unprecedented.

  However, there is also an underestimation on their part, that is, the US dollar has depreciated globally. Nevertheless, when they withdrew funds, the market reacted immediately. A large amount of funds followed suit and cashed out, with many Japanese banks reportedly not having enough US dollars in storage. In the end, Morgan Stanley only exchanged $3 billion for yen to fill the original loan, while a large amount of funds was converted to yen but remained untouched.

  "Fang Mo Nan and the three of them sat at the dinner table, she put down her bowl and chopsticks and said: "The money is already available, act according to your plan, this time we must have a good play." Fang Mo Nan knew that apart from the $3 billion converted into US dollars, there were still $8 billion in foreign exchange markets. Now all the funds converted into yen totaled 300 billion yen. Taking advantage of everyone's inaction, a large sum of money was laundered and entered the Japanese real estate and stock markets. It was expected that Japan would have a major financial crisis in the early 1990s, and recently the Japanese real estate and stock markets must be very hot."

  "Right, you see, our target this time is a medium-sized bank and some real estate companies. We've already obtained the financial reports of these companies. Japanese real estate will definitely heat up," said Cheng Shigui.

  Fang Mo nodded, "I won't bother with the specifics, you guys handle it. Now that the match in Mengbei is over, I should head back to my country."

  "You can't leave us, there are still many things left!" Yang Fan shouted, actually he couldn't bear to part with Chinese cuisine.

  "I'm still a kid, going home for school." Fang Mo said innocently, shrugging his shoulders.

  "As far as I know, school should have started on the mainland by now," said Cheng Shigui.

  "So I'm taking a leave and going home now."

  Cheng Shigui and Yang Fan looked at her silently, disappearing around the bend of the stairs. Abdominal murmured 'Is there such a demon child like you?'

  Fang Mo Nan sat on the plane, the trip to Japan was very fulfilling, and the crazy times were more than 20 times. The happiest thing is that Mo Bei finally got first place, "Not happy, got a first place." She looked at Mo Bei's dejected appearance, shouldn't be like this

  "Ludwig Olivier didn't participate, this ranking makes me feel a bit unsatisfied." Fang Mo said with a slight pout.

  "No matter what, this is our first win in the north, it's exciting." Fang Mo Nan said. "It's worth remembering."

  The northern barbarian came quickly and left quickly, recovering soon. Fang Mo saw that she was fine again, continuing to look at his hand

  Psychology.

  Back home, I always feel like something is missing. Ah, right! "Mom, Dad won't be coming for lunch today and they won't be here for dinner either." Fang Mengnan said as he laid out the dishes on the table.

  "Your dad is always having meals with the tour groups he's accompanying. He eats at home less and less often." Mom said, frowning. Fortunately, he remembers not to drink alcohol, the slogan has been shouted out, no one can force him anyway. The food outside isn't as good as what we have at home, in short, he can't escape even if he wants to.

  "Mom continued to nag, saying that the big greenhouse vegetables and livestock breeding are good for visiting, now they come in batches, and the county also entertains them with good wine and food. I really don't know what they want."

  "It's a good thing our farm is backed by the Hong Kong merchants, no one dares to mess with us." Grandma said, "Otherwise, we would have been finished long ago."

  "This is a big meal!" said Fang Mennai. Once the national model is established, there will be a large number of people coming to visit and learn, like the "Number One Village in the World" and the "Number One Manor in the World", which must have received many such visiting groups. Whether there are economic benefits or not is hard to say, but eating and drinking are definitely treated by the local government. "Public funds for food and drink, it's hard to stop."

  Embezzlement and bribery have been a persistent problem since ancient times, a chronic disease that has plagued the officialdom for centuries. Even if officials do not embezzle or accept bribes, they still need to eat and drink. In later years, it was easy to spend 300 billion in one year.

  "They won't be able to eat at the big households anymore." Dad said as he entered the house, washed his face and hands behind the door, and sat down with a thud. "Embezzlement of public funds, this term is quite fitting."

  "The system's ills have led to a distorted relationship between superiors and subordinates. Who wants to indulge in wine and meat every day, ruining the party's spirit and their stomach? But if superiors come and aren't entertained well, one's future is doomed. Not to mention that even if you want to apply for funding for the ordinary people, it won't be approved if you don't serve your superiors well." Old Master Lin said helplessly. "Secretary Wang has a solution."

  "Director Wang said that from now on, every group of visitors will be charged 2 yuan per person. If they don't pay, then they can just leave, I won't serve them." My dad said with a smile, and now he doesn't have to worry about the cost of food and wine anymore. He looked at the visiting groups devouring their meals like locusts, and his heart ached for the money that was being spent so freely, all of which were earned by farmers through hard work and sweat.

  "Ah, this method is good." Old Master Lin said, this young master of the Wang family is quite bold.

  "This is not new, the US has always been like this. Their official receptions are very simple, with a quota of $10 per person. If they exceed this standard, they need to go through approval or the host pays out of their own pocket. The officials or departments receiving guests do not have entertainment funds, nor do they have 'small treasuries'. They are truly 'clean and honest'." Fang Wen Nan said.

  Fang Mengnan continued, "Actually, it's not that Americans are doing a good job, but rather we're doing too poorly. In the past, even when we were poor, our leaders didn't skimp on food and drink. Now that we've become slightly more affluent, it shows in how we eat and drink. Laws and regulations are the bottom line for social operations, but they're not the root solution to problems. The United Nations has been corruption-free for 30 years, not because these officials don't want to be corrupt, but because the system constrains them, leaving no room for wrongdoing. In Europe, government officials clearly distinguish between public and private matters when it comes to food and drink, and the government strictly supervises this. The media also keeps a close eye on the use of public funds. In Japan, citizens spontaneously formed the 'National Citizens' Rights Representative Liaison Conference' to supervise government behavior and check how taxpayers' money is being used." She continued sarcastically, "So, it's only in our country that embezzlement of public funds for food and drink is so severe. It's not that capitalists are too harsh on their employees, but rather the 'proletariat' has too many benefits, haha..."

  "This Secretary Wang is not afraid of being struck back by his superiors." Mom asked.

  "It should be fine, we didn't do anything." Dad said hesitantly but affirmatively.

  "Alas," Fang Mo Nan sighed inwardly, his old man was indeed too inexperienced, a new recruit in the official circle. Without any backing, how dare he do such a thing?

  Old Master Lin said, "Don't worry, it's nothing."

  The secretary withstood the pressure, no one dared to have any objections, anyone who had objections would pay for the reception themselves, and one sentence shut everyone's mouth. The number of people coming to visit gradually decreased, but the secretary was still doing well, it turned out that having someone in the imperial court made it easy to be an official.

  After waiting for more than two months at home, Fang Mubai embarked on his journey to the United States again. This time he was going to participate in the Thomas Cup International Youth Violin Competition in the United States. It is the largest and highest prize international youth competition in the world: The competition includes a first prize of $10,000, a second prize of $6,000, a third prize of $3,000, and prizes of $1,000 each for fourth to sixth place. All players who enter the top six in the US finals will receive a full scholarship of over $200,000 from Oberlin Conservatory of Music for four years. This is the highest award given to young winners globally.

  The venue is Cleveland, the largest city in Ohio, USA, which has become a modernized metropolis since the 1930s. Heavy industry is the economic foundation, with steel being the most developed, and it is a transportation hub and a famous industrial city. However, there are many green spaces within the urban area, with park areas covering about 7,500 hectares, accounting for about one-third of the city's area. The geographical environment here is called "Forest City".

  In December, it was also very cold here. The violin competition was in full swing. Behind the scenes of the competition, Ludwig Olivier also participated this time. Mo Bei saw him enthusiastically greeting him and saying "This time I'll let you see my progress."

  "Oh, I'm waiting. Don't disappoint me," Ludwig said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. After that, the two prepared separately, Meng Bei being the 15th to go on stage, this time performing the classic Mozart's Turkish March in violin version.

  "Turkish March" is also known as "Turkish Rondo". The melody is light and lively, with a rich elastic rhythm; the middle section of the piece is a bright and majestic march full of oriental color, with a strong and powerful theme that makes people feel refreshed and invigorated, like a team rushing forward at high speed.

  The northern melody was played in one breath, and the music came down happily.

  Ludwig, clenched his fists, not seen for several months, the little guy has made great progress in fingerings and techniques, at her age, playing the magnificent and majestic march, with a mighty momentum, it's not easy to be so soft and fluffy. Hehe...it's not bad either, let her listen to my performance. Coincidentally, he also played "Turkish March".

  Fang Mo Beizi listened carefully, biting his lips tightly, with a hint of regret, and his momentum was slightly weaker. Hmph...

  The final result of the game, Mo Bei still ranked second.

  "Don't be discouraged, there will be other opportunities later." Ludwig comforted her as he walked off the stage.

  "Hmph, next time I won't lose to you." Mo Bei said with a mischievous grin, unwilling to concede.

  "Haha……you guys are really full of energy." The newcomer was over 40 years old, with blue eyes, curly brown long hair, and a red knee-length dress that accentuated her curves. She looked at the younger ones with a comforting gaze, "Hello, I'm Marry Stacy."

  Fang Mo Nan had looked through the judges' information, this person was the current director of the Curtis Institute of Music's orchestral department, it seemed like she wasn't a judge this time, what was she doing here? Wait, Curtis... wow... she didn't dare to guess.

  "I remember who you are, last time in Moscow competition, you were a judge, and later several competitions also saw you as a judge." Fang Mobei remembered who she was and respectfully said, this time it seems that she is not a judge, I wonder what brings her here.

  "Your violin playing is also great, I like it very much." Mo Bei looked at her with admiration, and there were tapes of hers at home. Mo Bei listed some of the songs on the tape. "May I ask you for advice on performance?"

  Stacy smiled and narrowed her eyes, "In that case, let's go sit in the coffee shop across the street." She gave the young man a slight smile as a farewell, then pulled Fang Mo Bei to walk out of the hall, not forgetting to gesture for Lennard and the others to follow.

  After the four people sat down, the two adults ordered coffee and the little one ordered juice. It's better than nothing, so let's just make do with it.

  "You're very talented, and at your current age, your skills are quite exceptional." Stacy said with a smile.

  Fang Mo Nan and Leina sat on one side, drinking silently without interrupting, letting Mo Bei handle things, as it was clear that the other party had come for her. The two exchanged a glance, their minds thinking the same thing.

  Fang Mo'er is now famous at a young age and has impressive achievements, so it's no wonder that someone would look for her.

  Fang Mo blinked her eyes and said humbly, "Thank you for the compliment. I will work even harder."

  She smiled even more brightly after hearing this, "I have no doubt about this. From your progress, you are very diligent and hardworking. This field is not lacking in geniuses, but rather in persistent and hardworking geniuses."

  "After going through these competitions, I have become more confident." Fang Mo Bei continued naively. Before learning to play the violin, both Lin Grandfather and Lei Teacher asked me if I was afraid of hardship or tiredness? If you're afraid, then don't learn it. Once you start learning, you must persist."

  Stacy was stunned, "Your teacher didn't say which music academy you would be attending in the future."

  "Renard spoke up now, 'Stacy, you're lucky. I was going to send this girl to the Royal Academy of Music in England, but she wanted to go to Curtis Institute of Music.'"

  It is by