Chapter 86 Yachting

  Mediterranean.

   Palermo, Italy.

  The sun is shining brightly by the sea, and the brackish sea breeze blows, making people smell a breath of literature and art in the air.

  At this time, Zhong Shi was taking a leisurely walk on the beach, looking at the wide blue sea and the birds flying across the sea from time to time, he felt a burst of comfort, and even the things he had been thinking about recently were somewhat diluted.

  Clear laughter came from the beach by the sea from time to time. Girls in bikinis occasionally passed by Zhongshi, and most of them threw very provocative winks, and even bolder ones even blew kisses to Zhongshi.

   "The girls here are so enthusiastic!" Andrew, who was following Zhong Shi, sighed. Since coming to the beach, his eyes have never left the woman's body. The girls here don't mind the man's gaze at all. On the contrary, they are proud of being able to attract the man's gaze.

  Here is Italy, a paradise for food, beauties, handsome men, clothing, sports cars, football, yachts, and mafia.

   Specifically, Italy is a country of enjoyment. There are the most eye-catching handsome men in the world, passionate girls, Milan, the fashion capital of the world, world-renowned sports cars such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Pacini, and half of the world's top ten luxury yacht brands.

  Zhong Shi came here this time to buy a yacht.

  In his previous life, he loved yachts and once sailed around the world in his own yacht. Now, he has about two billion dollars in funds in his hands. How these funds will work, he has been thinking about them recently. After all, it is impossible to put funds in the bank. If you can't keep up with the speed of inflation, then the funds in the bank will shrink in vain.

Andrew is also high-spirited now. Two years ago, he followed Zhongshi to make a fortune on Nikkei futures, and his net worth increased tenfold in an instant. Later, under Zhongshi's guidance, he took advantage of the opportunity of the Gulf War in The U.S. crude oil market once again made a big profit. Now his net worth, calculated in Hong Kong dollars, is more than nine figures.

   "Mr. Bassani, I wonder when my yacht will be delivered?" Zhong Shi looked at the small sailboats drifting by from time to time in the distance, feeling very itchy, and couldn't help asking about a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes beside him.

   "Mr. Zhong, according to our estimates, it is expected to be launched at the end of the year, and you will be able to sail your yacht next summer." Bassani bowed slightly and said humbly.

  For the young man in front of him, his heart is full of gratitude. As early as the beginning of the year, the Bassani family decided to set up their own yacht business and will produce a luxury yacht named Wally. They decided to combine speed and comfort to create a unique high-speed luxury yacht in the world.

The establishment of a new brand is difficult to open up the situation in a short period of time. At this time, an order came from the far east, which turned out to be a 120-foot-long luxury yacht. A yacht of this level Even well-known luxury yacht factories such as Eva and Princess can't take a few orders a year, but Wally Yachts unexpectedly received such an order not long after its establishment.

   This is the first order for Wally since its inception, and it is also the first order from the Far East. If it can be done well, it will be very helpful for their brand to open up the wealthy market in the Far East. Therefore, the entire Bassani family regards Zhongshi as a guest of honor, accepts all of his requirements, and strictly implements them during the construction process.

   After all, this is a six million dollar business.

The yacht under construction has a total of three decks, eight cabins and a living room with a panoramic view. It is equipped with two engines, with a cruising speed of 20 knots and a maximum speed of 25 knots. The rear deck has a rest area and an open-air restaurant. On top there is a sundeck and a large jacuzzi, as well as a bar and coffee tables.

  The leather inside the hull comes from a tannery that specializes in creating interiors for Ava. It is all handmade. All cabins include bathrooms, mini bars, sofas, intercom equipment and entertainment equipment. The floors are mahogany, while marble is used in the bathrooms and corridors.

In addition to these, the yacht, which will be named "Reborn", also has a six-meter-long dinghy and jet skis for tourists to play, and a small helipad on the top, which can evacuate everything when needed. people.

This yacht is comparable to that of Zhong Shi in the later generations. Although it can’t keep up with some technological aspects, Zhong Shi has no plan to use this yacht to travel around the world. some.

Originally, it would take at least two years for a yacht like this to be delivered from customization to delivery, but Wally Yachts had just opened and received few orders, so most of the manpower and material resources were invested in this yacht Already, so Bassani says it will only take about a year and a half.

   "It will be delivered next summer, I'm really looking forward to it!" Andrew said excitedly after translating Mr. Bassani's words.

  This member of the Bassani family can't speak English, so what he said was translated by Andrew before speaking to Zhong Shi. Speaking of which, Andrew is a linguistic genius, proficient in several languages ​​​​of European countries, but this is okay, most of the languages ​​​​of those European countries are derived from Latin, which are very similar to some extent.

  Zhong Shi and Andrew were invited to visit the construction progress of this yacht. A few days ago, they visited the yacht whose keel had been preliminarily built.

   It was this trip to Europe that reminded him of a very important financial event that was about to happen, that is, the European currency crisis in 1992.

   This reminded him of what his funds were going to do next.

  Speaking of which, since moving to Hong Kong, Zhong Shi's family has gradually gotten used to life in Hong Kong. Mr. Zhong Fangzhuo took turns living between the Zhongshi and Zhongyi families. Anyway, the two families are not far away, and they are both thousands of feet of mansions, so there is no need to worry about the size of the place.

  Zhong Yi finished his master’s program at the University of Hong Kong last year. After seeking Zhong Shi’s advice and the strong recommendation of his supervisor, he went to Princeton University in the United States to study for a doctorate in economics.

  Liao Xiaohua followed Liao Chengde wholeheartedly, concentrating on managing the affairs of the trading company. After all, this trading company still has a large amount of legitimate business to do.

After making a fortune on the Singapore Exchange in September 1990, Andrew also resigned from his position as a broker in Alfred and devoted himself wholeheartedly to helping Zhongshi manage his assets. When the Gulf War broke out at the beginning of a year, he was keenly aware of the sharp fluctuations in the crude oil market in the United States, entered it in time to make a fortune, and then left the market in time before the end of the war.

   The proportion of this can be grasped so well, naturally it is inseparable from Zhong Shi's point. At the end of 1990, due to Iraq's unexpected invasion of Kuwait, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell. Andrew opened positions frequently in time, and successfully made a profit of more than 300% in January, and in February He walked away with a big profit in January, avoiding the later losses caused by the rise in oil prices due to the rapid end of the war.

   With just this one operation, Zhong Shi’s net worth increased by hundreds of millions of dollars out of thin air, and Andrew also made a profit of more than ten million dollars.

Today's Andrew is well-known in Hong Kong's financial circle, and he is called a "genius trader". Shi read those financial magazines, and then made fun of Andrew with the jokes on them.

   "There is another question about the payment of funds. I wonder if I can pay in lira?" Zhong Shi suddenly thought of an important question after hearing Andrew's emotion.

  Six million U.S. dollars, according to the current exchange rate, is converted into nearly four billion liras. This was not a problem at first, but Zhong Shi knew that the lira would depreciate soon, and if it was delivered, the money might not be more than four billion lire, but five billion lire or more.

   In this way, there is a difference of one billion lire in the middle. According to the current exchange rate, this money is as much as millions of dollars. With this money, it is natural to buy more things.

   "Sir, no problem!" Bassani agreed without hesitation. Regarding foreign exchange issues, he has some basic concepts and knows that there are foreign exchange risks in such a long period of time, but they can avoid this risk through foreign exchange futures. At the same time, he also believes that after joining the European Monetary System After that, the value of the Italian lira will be protected by several other currencies at the same time, so there will be no great fluctuations.

  In addition, Mr. Zhong was the first client of Wally, so this small problem was no longer a problem, so they made an exception and agreed.

  Seeing that Bassani agreed, Zhong Shi smiled slightly, and began to concentrate on enjoying the seaside scenery again.

  Two days later, Zhong Shi signed the revised contract. This new contract stipulates that the two parties will pay in Italian currency lira when the yacht is delivered. The amount is 3.8 billion lire, and a small helicopter is attached. (The official exchange rate at that time was about 625)

  Stayed in southern Italy for a few more days, Zhong Shi and Andrew set off for Bologna, the next stop of their trip to Italy. Bologna is a transportation hub in northern Italy and a famous historical city, and Zhongshi's trip is not to Bologna, but to Modena, which is very close to them.

  Modena is one of the safest tourist destinations and one of the most important cultural cities in Italy. It is also one of the cities with the best ecological environment protection, the highest per capita income and the highest per capita education in Italy. But what makes this place known to the whole world is that this city is the headquarters of many famous sports cars, such as "Ferrari", "Lamborghini" and "Maserati", so this place is also known as "the engine capital of the world".

  (end of this chapter)