Naturally, Irene was destined to be disappointed, because Jill's boyfriend was John, not He Xi Meng.
Besides Irene, Mikey, a young fan, was also very interested in He Xi Meng.
At first, Mikey thought the same as Irene: if He Xi Meng wasn't his older sister's boyfriend, why would he buy him an Apple iBook laptop? After all, iBooks weren't cheap back then!
However, He Xi Meng not only didn't explain his relationship with Jill to Mikey, but he also directly invited Mikey to become his personal financial advisor, promising him one million US dollars as seed capital for him to invest freely.
Mikey stood stunned for a moment and asked, "Why?"
He Xi Meng patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "Because I'm optimistic about your father's wisdom, so I believe in your potential! Go ahead and do your best. I'll keep entrusting you with more funds to manage. One million is just a starting point... and I'll introduce other NBA players to have you manage their funds... You know, the NBA league is never short of wealthy people..."
When He Xi Meng left Popovich's house, Mikey wished he could call He Xi Meng "brother-in-law," but He Xi Meng sternly refused, "Just call me brother..."
After a pleasant family dinner with the Popovichs, He Xi Meng took the initiative to invite David Robinson, Duncan, and Ginobili for camping and fishing.
As it turned out, David Robinson and Duncan were not very interested in camping and fishing. David Robinson preferred music and literature, making him an anomaly among Black players. Duncan liked motorcycle modification, loving oil and metal, which also made him somewhat of an anomaly among Black players.
The only one who enjoyed camping and fishing was Ginobili, the young man from South America. Surrounded by nature, Ginobili shed his usual restraint, enthusiastically calling out to David Robinson and Duncan, skillfully using the camping equipment, preparing for fishing, and the barbecue picnic afterward...
"Look at him! This is how a young man should be!" David Robinson, wearing sunglasses, lounged comfortably on a beach chair, soaking up the sun, and casually complained to Duncan, "And you! You're barely out of your teens and you're already like us old guys on the verge of retirement, with no energy at all..."
Duncan covered his face with his hat and mumbled, "This is called being mature for my age..."
In the summer of 1999, He Xi Meng was busy building team spirit and networking within the Spurs organization while also bringing Popovich's precious son, John's future brother-in-law, Mikey, into his financial management team.
John had initially opposed He Xi Meng's move to add new members, stating that no matter how talented in finance, they weren't needed! In John's own words: "You can't find anyone more talented in financial management than me..."
But as soon as he heard that Mikey was Jill's younger brother, John's attitude immediately changed: "Perhaps our team does need a little fresh blood to improve our financial efficiency... Cui Tianci, your approach wasn't aggressive enough..."
In fact, He Xi Meng's funds weren't growing "slowly" because Cui Tianci was too soft, but because John was lazy and made decisions too slowly. Often, by the time he got around to it, the opportunity would have passed, the stock price would have skyrocketed or plummeted, leaving no need for adjustments.
He Xi Meng hadn't bothered to talk about John before. John wasn't incapable; he was just incredibly insensitive to money. For a young master who had always lacked money since childhood, it was truly difficult to make him sensitive to money.
Mikey was different. Popovich, of Eastern European descent, came from a not-so-wealthy background and essentially built himself up from scratch. Both Jill and Mikey completed their university studies with student loans. Popovich intended to foster their independent spirits. This was why Jill had been so poor and eager to sell her script so quickly. Similarly, Mikey was driven by the desire to make money. Such a financial advisor was an excellent one.
Someone like John was purely playing around.
Fortunately, over the previous three years, Nasdaq had steadily climbed, soaring from over 1,000 points to nearly 5,000 points, an increase of over 400%! With the leverage He Xi Meng employed, his assets had grown from a million dollars to tens of millions of dollars, a return of more than tenfold.
Such astronomical earnings further solidified John's belief that "money is truly dirt," because it came so quickly, so easily, and was so intoxicating.
John was already showing an ominous sign, believing himself to be a "stock god," invincible in all endeavors! As a result, when He Xi Meng suggested going all-in on short selling, he faced strong opposition from John! Because the "stock god" believed the Nasdaq would continue to rise to 10,000 points, or at least 15,000 points, before it might turn downwards...
He Xi Meng scoffed at this.
Because the Nasdaq would peak within the next six months! And the peak wouldn't be the 10,000 or 15,000 points John predicted, but 5,100 points!
To be precise, it would be 5,132 points! And the peak would occur in March 2000!
Following that, the Nasdaq would trend downwards relentlessly, and by October 2002, it would fall back to 1,114 points, effectively returning to the pre-1995 era... with a total loss for the United States exceeding 4.4 trillion US dollars.
What He Xi Meng needed to do next was to have the three-person team—John, Cui Tianci, and Mikey—clear all their buy positions by the end of 1999 and then go all-in on short selling, with leverage, before the Nasdaq officially collapsed in March 2000, to earn another tenfold!
Of course, given the disagreement between the "stock god" John and He Xi Meng, He Xi Meng decided to strip John of his team leader position, demoting him to an ordinary member who would only receive dividends without having to work! Mikey, who had just joined, was entrusted with the important responsibility of fully executing He Xi Meng's short-selling plan. Cui Fatty, on the other hand, served more as He Xi Meng's assistant, always a bit confused about financial matters. However, for him, what mattered wasn't the work, but getting paid handsomely.
John was quite displeased with his demotion from team leader, feeling a sense of tragic indignation, as if his subordinates were ready to fight to the death, yet the emperor had surrendered first. John didn't care about making money, but he was furious about being looked down upon and deemed "incapable!"
"How can a man be told he's incapable? Even if all the money is lost, I will fight to the end..."
He Xi Meng granted his wish, dividing about 15 million dollars, his commission from the past few years, and giving 10 million to John for his free investment. The remaining 5 million would remain as equity in He Xi Meng's investment company.
John, who originally held a 20% stake in "Simon Investment Company," had now cashed out two-thirds, leaving only 7%.
The 13% equity vacated by John was given to Mikey, 8% as stock options. In the future, if Mikey served He Xi Meng for a full 10 years, this 8% could be freely liquidated. The remaining 5% was given to Cui Tianci, with stock options and an annual salary identical to Mikey's.
Although it was only 5%, it was already valued at over 3 million US dollars, which, converted to RMB, was over 20 million! And this was without any future appreciation.
Cui Fatty, unlike the "heartless" John, was immediately moved to tears, at a loss for words.
John, after receiving 10 million US dollars, spent 1 million at nightclubs and used the remaining 9 million to continue buying the Nasdaq to go up!
However, John finally heeded He Xi Meng's last piece of advice: no leverage!
For He Xi Meng, who possessed a golden finger, leverage was an ATM.
But for ordinary people without a golden finger, including John, leverage was an accelerator to bankruptcy.
After a busy summer, the 1999-2000 new season officially kicked off on November 2nd!