On Monday, Mr. Klein woke up at six o 'clock. This was the first time he had woken up so early in the past ten years. He packed everything up and sat at the table, staring blankly at the clear sky outside the window.
It was the last week of May. The sky was already bright at six o 'clock.
His wife had also woken up to prepare breakfast for him. The two of them sat at the table that cost more than a thousand dollars. Looking at the sumptuous breakfast, they had no appetite.
Not even a little bit.
There were two fried eggs with good ham and bacon, as well as some tomatoes and vegetables. This was their favorite breakfast.
It was exquisite, nutritious, and tasted great.
But at this moment, they didn't even want to touch it.
"Will it be … bad?"
Mrs. Klein asked as she smoothed her husband's collar.
Mr. Klein was silent. He didn't even have the desire to answer his wife's question. He was like an empty shell that had lost its soul.
On Sunday, the television reported that the silver price at some ports had fallen to thirteen dollars. He didn't dare to have any expectations.
He only hoped that it wouldn't fall too much.
After a while, he reluctantly raised his head and forced a smile. "Don't worry, it won't be a problem …"
Mrs. Klein silently returned to the cloakroom. She began to pack up the clothes and accessories that she had bought not long ago. She looked at the jewels on the red velvet cushion. She couldn't hide the reluctance in her eyes.
She planned to sell them all to deal with the possible financial crisis that would come next.
As for Mr. Klein, he kept praying, praying that God would hear his prayers and that he would at least be able to get out safely.
At eight forty-five, Mr. Klein drove the luxury car that he had just bought to the exchange. He went straight to the second floor. It was full of people.
Usually, there weren't many people here. Those who were qualified to go to the small hall on the second floor to look at the prices usually didn't come here in person. Most of them would entrust their brokers to handle their accounts.
But today, whether they had seen it or not, heard of it or not, they were all here.
They were gathered here, waiting ….
At nine twenty-five, the billboard began to scroll quickly. Due to technical reasons, the rolling prices would be based on the highest and lowest prices.
When the first count came out, Mr. Klein's hand trembled. Nine dollars and ninety-nine cents. It was almost halved from two days ago!
However, he still had a glimmer of hope because the price that was first announced was the lowest matching price. When he looked further, his entire body seemed to collapse as he slumped into the chair.
Ten dollars and fifty cents. It was lower than his price when he entered the market. It was much lower!
Three days ago, he had millions of dollars of wealth. But now … he was facing a serious loss.
Suddenly, he seemed to think of something. He quickly got up and walked to the exchange. He needed to quickly close and sell everything he had.
Although this would cause him to lose a lot of money, at least he would still be able to keep some money. However, when he arrived at the trading desk, he found that there was already a long line.
It was the same for the other trading desks. The traders were so busy that they couldn't stop. They were constantly trying to match the prices.
Beads of sweat flowed down Mr. Klein's sideburns. He took out a nineteen eighty-nine dollar handkerchief and kept wiping it.
But his pores were like a faucet that had been turned on. Just as he finished wiping, another layer of sweat appeared.
At nine thirty, the exchange began. He glanced at the billboard and did not dare to look at it again. Nine dollars and ninety-four cents. The current price …
He stood in line silently. His body was trembling violently. Many people around him were no different from him. Everyone's face was filled with despair!
When he reached the exchange and handed in his order, the trader picked up the phone and gave him the task. But soon, the sweet-looking girl showed an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Klein. Your account has been forcefully closed."
Mr. Klein was a little lost. He quickly defended himself. "How could it be forcefully closed? When I looked at it just now, it was still nine dollars and ninety-four cents …" He turned to look at the billboard and was stunned.
On the first line of the billboard, the price of silver was only eight dollars and forty-six cents …
It was plummeting at an unimaginable price!
This price … was indeed closed.
He kept the order on the counter. His soul seemed to have slipped out of his body at that moment. He walked numbly to the edge of the platform on the second floor.
His hands trembled as he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He opened the individual packaging and lit one for himself.
He took a deep breath. The smoke from the cigarette seemed to be filled with the courage to face the end of the world. His originally hunched body straightened due to the action of inhaling.
The nicotine calmed his brain down a little. Reason followed closely behind. He looked back at the people behind him. Then, he tore up the order in his hand and entered the elevator.
There were already some people in the elevator. These people were similar to him. Their expressions were numb, and their eyes were blank.
They looked at Mr. Klein, and Mr. Klein looked back at them. Then he stood with them.
He glanced at the panel that controlled the floor of the elevator. He did not reach out to change anything.
The elevator began to accelerate slowly and went all the way to the top floor.
A few people walked out of the elevator numbly. On the way to the top floor, Mr. Klein suddenly smiled and asked, "How much did you lose?"
Some people said tens of thousands, some said hundreds of thousands, and some said hundreds of thousands.
The elevator could not go directly to the roof of the top floor. They had to go up another floor.
When they went upstairs, Mr. Klein and the others persuaded the person who had only lost tens of thousands. "You don't have to come up. You can earn tens of thousands in no time."
The person looked to be in his mid-thirties. He looked worried. "The money was borrowed."
That one sentence made everyone fall silent.
Their own money and borrowed money were two completely different situations. Moreover, this gentleman looked … a little shabby. He definitely could not pay back the money.
Everyone had come to this point because they had no choice but to make this decision.
The long staircase became the final journey of their lives. Their steps were light and heavy.
Mr. Klein had lost all his wealth over the past twenty years. That was not including the new house and car he had bought in advance. He still owed the bank more than 200,000.
There were also various other bills and expenses. He could not afford this expense.
There were only a few days left until next month. Soon, new bills would arrive. If he could not pay, he would be kicked out of his house.
He and his wife would live on the streets. The company he worked for would soon receive the news. Then, he would most likely be fired.
It was very dangerous for a company to hire an employee who owed a lot of money to be in charge of the company's middle management.
No one knew if he would harm the company's interests for his debts.
Without a job, without everything, what was the meaning of life?
That was why his steps were heavy. But as long as he left this place and jumped down, everything would be easy again.
No matter what he had to face in the future, it had nothing to do with him. He even had a smile on his face.
Relief?
Maybe!
But … when the light gradually filled his vision, he realized that the door to the roof was locked.
Three iron chains as thick as a finger locked the iron door tightly. Since the last financial tsunami, hundreds of people chose to end their lives by jumping off the building, this place had been locked.
They looked at each other speechlessly. All kinds of smiles appeared on their faces.
Some people seemed to have gotten over it. Their smiles were very lively.
Some people seemed to feel that they had been fooled by fate. Their smiles were filled with anger.
Some people's smiles hid tears. Perhaps they felt that it was so difficult for them to even want to die.
Mr. Klein's smile had an inexplicable sense of relief. He suddenly did not want to die.
Maybe … he could see new hope while he was alive. Didn't he come from a time when there was nothing?
He could succeed once. Maybe he could succeed a second time!
The group of people met some other people on their way back. They greeted them and explained the situation.
Some people continued to walk towards the roof. They did not seem to believe what this group of people said. Some people turned back with them.
That day was destined to be the end of a small group of people. But it was not the end of the majority.
It was not like the financial tsunami a few years ago. Everything was destroyed!
This time, it was only the silver that was destroyed!
The destruction that it brought about had little to do with ordinary people. Not everyone was invested in the Silver Fever, and not everyone was a fool.
The reason was simple. Stones would always be stones. Gold would always be gold.
Sometimes, some uncultured citizens would understand the truth of this world better than those powerful big shots!
They knew that stones would never turn into gold. It would never happen!
At 9: 50 a.m. on Monday, the Federation's Financial Management Committee suspended the trading of silver. At the same time, they announced that they would seriously investigate all the details of the "silver case."
At the same time, this announcement accelerated the decline of the spot price of silver at the international port. Everyone was selling large amounts of silver, but there was almost no takers!
The real victims were mostly funds, financial institutions, mine owners, financial speculators, international speculators, and so on.
Ordinary people … were not many!
When ordinary people learned that the price of silver had risen, silver was already worth eleven or twelve yuan.
Just like how Mr. Klein found out about this matter, he discovered it too late for the overall "market." This also caused many ordinary investors to not easily enter the market.
Today, there were people who jumped off the building, but there were not many. This might be one of the rare pieces of good news!