The world's richest man started by developing gutter oil

September 2016, 4, China time.

Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong Island.

Deep blue seawater desalination plant.

The afterglow of the setting sun falls on the sea surface of Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong Island. The deep blue sea water appears even clearer after being filtered by the desalination plant.

The huge pipes of the desalination plant dive into the seabed like a giant dragon, sucking up seawater, and after layers of treatment, sending the wastewater back to the embrace of the sea.

At the dock, a huge cargo ship was anchored. Its hull was like a steel behemoth, lying quietly on the sparkling sea.

On the side of the ship, the workers were like busy ants, driving forklifts and shuttling back and forth on the narrow and solid deck.

The roar of forklifts and the sound of waves hitting the shore intertwine to form a symphony of modern industry.

With meticulous concentration on their faces, the workers operated forklifts to load boxes of goods steadily into the belly of the freighter.

Sweat soaked their work clothes, but no one stopped working, because for them, this job was not just a livelihood, but also a silent hymn to this industrial port.

As the last box of cargo was securely secured, the setting sun gradually sank below the sea level and the port was shrouded in a hazy twilight.

The lights of the desalination plant began to flicker, as if covering the sea area with a mysterious veil.

The cargo ship slowly left the dock, creating white waves and heading towards the distant depths of the ocean.

As soon as Tian pressed the button on the freighter, it arrived at the Hong Kong Island Customs Security Inspection Office. The staff of the Hong Kong Island Customs immediately went on board to conduct a simple inspection.

Twenty minutes later, the cargo ship once again left the Hong Kong Island Customs and headed towards Shenzhen.

It was around 6 o'clock the next morning.

As the morning light shines, a cool breeze blows across the spacious courtyard of the Deep Blue Battery Factory.

The clouds in the sky seemed to still be immersed in the tranquility of the night, but a corner of the factory had already become bustling.

Fully loaded trucks lined up in a long line and slowly drove into the factory. The sound of their engines echoed in the empty space, along with the rustling sound of tires rolling over the ground, breaking the silence of the space.

Trucks stopped in front of the warehouse one after another, and workers unloaded bags of goods filled with brown paper bags from the trucks in an orderly manner like precisely operated machines.

They were sweating profusely, their skin looked shiny in the dim light, and their faces had a tired yet determined look.

The sacks in their hands are heavy and every step they take is firm and powerful, as if in carrying these bags of batteries, they are also silently contributing to the operation of the city.

Inside the warehouse, forklifts that have been ready for a long time are shuttling between the aisles. The drivers' eyes are focused and alert. They operate the machines skillfully and stack bags of goods neatly in designated locations.

The sound of goods and forklift wheels rubbing against the floor could be heard in the warehouse, forming a moving industrial symphony with the roar of trucks outside.

As the sky gradually brightened, more workers began to pour into the factory. They walked in hurried steps, with a hint of laziness from getting up early and a mixture of determination to get to work.

They walked across the sidewalk between the truck and the warehouse, their eyes revealing anticipation and anxiety for this day, but more importantly, determination and courage to face the upcoming challenges.

The engineer on duty took some samples from a kraft paper bag and immediately went to the laboratory to inspect the products.

In a blink of an eye, it was 9 o'clock in the morning.

At dawn, sunlight shines through the floor-to-ceiling windows and falls on the marble floor of the general manager's office of Deep Blue Battery, creating mottled light and shadows.

Kang Xiangwu just sat down and tried to organize his thoughts.

Suddenly, a slow knock on the door interrupted Kang Xiangwu's thoughts.

He looked up at the door and saw Su Changquan, the person in charge of raw materials, standing outside with a smile on his face, as if he had something urgent to report.

Kang Xiangwu motioned for him to come in, then stood up and stretched out his right hand.

Su Changquan put the documents in his hand on the table.

"Mr. Kang, the 5000 tons of refined lithium ore from the Deep Blue Seawater Desalination Plant has arrived. The laboratory has already tested the goods. The purity of this batch of goods has reached 99.999%. This is the purest refined lithium metal ore I have ever seen."

Kang Xiangwu picked up the document on the table and took a look at it.

“Have all the workers signed a confidentiality agreement?”

"We have all signed a confidentiality agreement."

"Okay, go and do your thing."

After sending Su Changquan away, Kang Xiangwu picked up the phone on the table to arrange production with the production department.

After arranging the production, Su Changquan opened the futures software to check the futures prices. The price of refined lithium ore was basically stable at around US$13000.

Kang Xiangwu tilted his mouth to reveal an evil smile.

“These guys don’t know how to live or die.”

Once Deep Blue Auto starts to supply lithium ore stably in June, the price of lithium ore will surely plummet, and the Automobile Alliance will have no tears to cry then.

April 2016, 4, US time.

Half an hour ago, ASML announced that it has developed Extreme Ultra-Violet Lithography (EUV) technology and is accepting user reservations.

This world node is 3 months earlier than the previous life. According to the trajectory of the previous life, AMSL only released EUV technology in July.

This news is like a shot of stimulant to the entire European and American semiconductor industry.

As a result, share prices of semiconductor companies across Europe have risen to varying degrees.

However, most people do not know that AMSL will not be able to deliver EUV lithography machines to customers until the end of 2017 at the earliest.

This means that European and American semiconductors will not be able to achieve mass production of 2018 nanometers until 7 at the earliest.

That is to say, before 2018, they still need to rely on Deep Blue Foundry to manufacture 7-nanometer chips for them.

August 2016, 5, British time.

The business building of the Kamans Building.

Bent Mining.

Bent Mining's new CEO Shay Marquis is flirting with his blonde secretary in the office as usual.

Just as the two were chewing on each other, the office door was pushed open without knocking.

"Boss, this is bad."

The person who opened the door was Shay Marquis's deputy, Bim Karasa.

The blonde secretary also stood up from Shay Marquis's lap in panic the moment the door was pushed open.

Then the blonde secretary tidied her clothes and left the office calmly.

"Remember to knock on the door next time you come. What happened?" Shay Marquis said unhappily.

"I just received the news that Deep Blue's factories in China and Saudi Arabia have begun unlimited production of cars." Bim Karasa said breathlessly.

"Where do they get their lithium from?" Shay Marquis asked with a frown. "We haven't found out where their lithium comes from yet." Bim Karasa shook his head.

"Send someone to investigate where their lithium comes from," said Shay Marquis.

"Okay, boss." Bim Karasa replied.

After Bim Karasa's powerful performance, Shay Marquis kept tapping his fingers on the table, thinking about something.

While Shay Marquis was lost in thought, the Bent Mining trading hall had fallen into chaos.

The tense atmosphere filled the air, as if it could be cut.

On the big screen, the price of refined lithium ore plummeted like a kite with a broken string, causing traders to exclaim in surprise.

The air was filled with the strong aroma of coffee, a must-have for traders to refresh their minds. The sound of keyboards, ringing phones, and hurried discussions intertwined to form an oppressive symphony.

Some traders stared at the screen, beads of sweat oozing from their foreheads, trying to find a glimmer of hope in the noisy environment.

The short orders in the market surged in like a tide, ruthlessly hitting the bulls' defense line.

Although the short-selling forces are huge and dominate the market, they seem powerless in the face of this sudden sell-off and can only watch their advantages disappear bit by bit.

This is a war without the smoke of gunpowder, and every minute and every second concerns the flow of billions of funds.

Under such pressure, even the calmest traders can experience emotional fluctuations.

Some people slammed the table in anger, while others cursed under their breath.

Their emotions are like taut strings that may be broken at any time by the ruthless market.

"Fuck, does anyone know what's going on? Why are there suddenly so many short orders in the market? Check for me where these short orders come from." Trading department manager Giammarco Fayed cursed.

After hearing Jamarco Fayed's voice, the staff responsible for collecting information immediately picked up the phone and made a call.

I hope to obtain relevant information through the information channels I have.

As the call was connected, the entire trading room became as noisy and chaotic as a vegetable market.

Just at this moment a fat man in charge of information stood up.

"Boss, we have found out the source of the orders. They are all from Chinese lithium mining companies," said Sabtai Stout.

"Shabtai, ask if you know why they are shorting lithium mines." Jamarco Fayez looked at the fat man and asked.

"According to the information we have received so far, Deep Blue Auto's factories have fully resumed operations. Not only has Deep Blue's factory in China resumed operations, but even their factory in Saudi Arabia has also resumed operations.

The warehouses of these factories are now full of Deep Blue solid-state batteries. I guess they should have received this information and shorted lithium mines. "Sabtai Stout said.

"Find a way to stabilize the price for me. Give me three minutes," said Jamarco Fayed.

After saying this, Jamarco Fayed immediately ran to the president's office. Although he was the manager of the futures trading department, the final decision-making power was in Shay's hands.

"pat~"

The door of the president's office was pushed open again without knocking.

"Boss, something terrible has happened." Jamarco Fayed said breathlessly.

"What happened?" Shay Marquis asked with a frown.

"Just now, a large number of short orders appeared in the market. These short orders all came from China's lithium mining companies. In just 2 minutes, the price has fallen by 15% points according to the think tank's speculation." Giammarco Fayed briefly recounted the start of construction of the Deep Blue Auto Factory.

"Sell the goods to me regardless of cost. Sell all the goods we have." Shay Marquis said excitedly.

If only Deep Blue resumed production, it would be nothing, but these lithium mining companies in China are selling off their stocks frantically, and it is obvious that Deep Blue has mastered new sources of lithium ore.

Clearly these people had received some message.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for China's lithium mining companies to short lithium mines so crazily.

"Ah?" Jamarco Fayed didn't react for a moment.

"Fuck, what is going on? Go and sell the goods." Shay Marquis cursed.

Shay Marquez muttered to himself after Giammarco Fayed left.

"It seems that Sergei guessed right."

Twenty minutes later.

The price of refined lithium ore fell from US$13000 per ton to US$2453 per ton.

The price has remained stable for the time being.

However, the entire market is still in a confused state, and no one expected that lithium mines would suddenly plummet.

In just twenty minutes, 273 companies around the world went bankrupt due to margin calls.

In the president's office at this moment.

Shay Marquis is holding a video conference with all the shareholders of Bent Mining.

On the screen of the video conference, the shareholders of Bent Mining were sitting in their own spaces, either behind large desks or at round tables in the conference room. Their expressions looked serious and expectant under the light.

“I believe all directors have received the information about the sharp drop in lithium mine prices. This time, all lithium mining companies in China are shorting lithium mines. These companies are shorting lithium mines because Deep Blue Auto has fully resumed production.

Both Deep Blue's factory in China and Deep Blue's factory in Saudi Arabia have resumed production.

According to the information we have received, the warehouses of both the Chinese and Saudi factories are already filled with deep blue semi-solid batteries. The source of these batteries is still unknown.

I have sold all the lithium mines I have at the first opportunity. According to statistics, Bent Mining has lost a total of 67 billion US dollars this time." Shay Marquis said calmly.

After all, this kind of thing is not something he can change, and the current result is already the best solution.

It depends on whether the board of directors wants to fire him or how to deal with him.

Shay Marquis was calm when he spoke, but the people in the conference room were not calm.

This means that they invested a lot of money to stop Deep Blue Automobile but failed.

"Just now I received news that Deep Blue's lithium mine comes from Hong Kong Island. It seems that Sergei's guess is correct. Deep Blue has mastered the technology of extracting lithium from seawater. There is no need to continue this meeting. Shay, please prepare the liquidation of Bent Mining and sell all the lithium mines." Mark Fields said.

Mark Fields left the video conference room after he finished speaking, and the others also left the conference room after learning the answer.

As Mark Fields said, there is no need to continue this meeting, and nothing will change if it continues.

The only thing they can do now is to liquidate Bent Mining and see how much money each company loses.

Fortunately, Bent Mining was jointly established by more than a dozen companies. On average, each company only lost about 10 to 8 billion yuan, which is an acceptable loss for them.

There are more important things waiting for them to do next, and they don't have time to talk to Shay here. (End of this chapter)