Recaps

As retail investors turned their anger over GME into a global silver-buying frenzy, Zhao Chen and Era Vanguard prepared a concealed SLV options trade while monitoring regulatory and warehouse developments. The chapter ended with their orders ready for Monday’s market opening as the buying storm gathered strength.

• Shen Zhiyi and Su Wantang briefed Zhao Chen on the surge in physical silver purchases and online calls to buy SLV and take delivery of silver.
• Zhao Chen warned that retail shortages could not drain institutional silver inventories, while Shen Zhiyi relayed Zhang Qingxue’s warning that regulators might intervene after a sharp Monday opening.
• Su Wantang reported that attention on silver had left European industrial metals desks largely unobserved, allowing Era Vanguard’s offshore entity to check nickel warehouse receipts.
• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen that silver and SLV options premiums had surged and that the New York desk had prepared more than eighty million dollars for the trade.
• Zhao Chen instructed Lin Shicheng to conceal their split orders, and Lin confirmed that the orders would stay within compliance limits.

Shen Zhiyi and Zhang Qingxue arranged legal and compliance defenses for Era Vanguard’s leveraged silver options and physical nickel purchases before Asian markets opened. With the safeguards in place, Zhao Chen, Shen Zhiyi, and Su Wantang waited in New York for the market frenzy to begin.

• Zhang Qingxue warned Shen Zhiyi that the CFTC had begun real-time reviews of silver positions linked to COMEX futures.
• Shen Zhiyi explained that Era Vanguard’s six SPVs would use offshore structures, staggered option strikes, algorithmic micro-orders, and OTC hedges to limit regulatory scrutiny.
• Zhang Qingxue approved the plan and said each SPV would remain below the large-trader reporting warning threshold.
• Su Wantang reported that European entities’ nickel warehouse receipt purchases had been classified as supply-chain stockpiling and were undergoing compliance review.
• Zhao Chen thanked Zhang Qingxue, who ended the call, then waited with Shen Zhiyi and Su Wantang for Asian markets to open.

Zhao Chen and his team analyzed how investment banks could profit from retail traders’ silver-option frenzy and devised a plan to exploit the banks’ hedging purchases. As Asia trading opened and silver jumped above $28.50, Zhao Chen ordered Era Vanguard to begin buying SLV calls through six SPV accounts.

• Shen Zhiyi explained that JPMorgan Chase’s silver holdings and spread positions made its exposure more complex than retail traders believed.
• Zhao Chen described how investment banks could sell expensive calls, profit from inflated premiums, and benefit when volatility later collapsed.
• Shen Zhiyi realized Era Vanguard could buy cheap out-of-the-money options early and sell them to market makers when retail buying drove prices and volatility higher.
• Lin Shicheng reported that Asian retail orders had pushed spot silver above $28.50 and sent SLV premarket quotes surging.
• Zhao Chen ordered Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo to distribute more than $80 million across SLV calls with $25-to-$30 strikes, and the orders began filling through dark pools.

As silver buying surged, Su Wantang worried about ordinary young investors being hurt by Wall Street and Zhao Chen explained why he wanted her to lead the Henglong Charity Foundation after the trading battles. When silver broke above $29.20, Zhao Chen ordered the team to prepare its final SPV orders.

• Su Wantang told Zhao Chen and Shen Zhiyi about young Americans spending relief money on silver coins and risky SLV options.
• Zhao Chen said retail investors were learning a painful lesson about liquidity and financial instruments, then explained that the Henglong Charity Foundation would support real industries, financial literacy, and youth innovation.
• Zhao Chen gave Su Wantang full authority over the foundation, and Shen Zhiyi offered the Legal Department's help with compliance.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that spot silver had surged past $29.20 an ounce and offshore SLV call options were causing a liquidity squeeze.
• Zhao Chen told Shen Zhiyi to contact Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo and prepare the final batch of SPV orders.

Zhao Chen directed Era Vanguard to spend $83 million on leveraged SLV out-of-the-money calls while using the silver frenzy to secretly expand its nickel holdings. The team prepared for the U.S. market open as its nickel reserves surpassed 33,000 tonnes.

• Zhao Chen ordered six SPV accounts to buy SLV calls at $25, $27, $29, and $30 strike prices through split algorithmic orders, using the full $83 million principal.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that the orders were filling while the accounts remained below reporting thresholds and triggered no CFTC alerts.
• Su Wantang reported that Lin Shicheng's procurement team had acquired another 8,000 tonnes of deliverable-grade nickel, bringing Era Vanguard's reserves to more than 33,000 tonnes.
• Zhao Chen told the trading team to take shifts before the U.S. market opened and ordered the European and Singapore procurement teams to keep buying nickel under the silver-market cover.
• Shen Zhiyi and Su Wantang urged Zhao Chen to rest, and he drew both women into his embrace while they waited for the market to open.

Silver surged toward $30 as retail investors rushed into the market, while Zhao Chen prepared Era Vanguard to profit from the frenzy. Behind the silver rally, the firm continued secretly building its pure nickel reserves for a future commodities play.

• Spot silver broke through $28.50 and $29.00, while SLV surged in premarket trading and retail buying overwhelmed brokerage systems.
• Zhao Chen warned that investment banks were selling overpriced options and told Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo not to reveal that Era Vanguard might liquidate its positions.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that Era Vanguard had secured nearly two thousand tons of pure nickel in Rotterdam and Shanghai, bringing its reserves above twenty-seven thousand tons.
• Zhao Chen described silver as a smokescreen for the nickel buildup and told Su Wantang and Shen Zhiyi to prepare for silver's assault on $30.

As retail investors poured into SLV despite Wall Street’s public warnings, Zhao Chen’s team tracked how their buying forced major institutions to hedge with silver. Era Vanguard’s call options surged in value before the US market opened, and Zhao Chen warned his traders to stay alert for a potential Wall Street selloff.

• CNBC’s analysts warned that retail investors could not squeeze the silver market, but SLV buying intensified as WallStreetBets users treated the warnings as proof that investment banks were panicking.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that record SLV call-option volume was forcing Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citadel to buy silver for hedging, while Aunt Zhang detected similar activity in Wall Street’s hedging pools.
• Lin Shicheng told Zhao Chen that silver had passed $29.50 and Era Vanguard’s $83 million in call options had gained 150 percent, sending its six SPV accounts’ assets sharply higher.
• Zhao Chen cautioned Lin Shicheng and Chen Mo that unrealized gains could vanish and ordered them to remain ready for Wall Street’s response if silver reached $30.
• With fifty minutes left before the US cash market opened, Zhao Chen prepared to profit from the frenzy before it turned against retail investors.

Zhao Chen watched SLV and silver surge past $30 as retail buying and options hedging fueled a gamma squeeze, sending Era Vanguard’s unrealized profits above $300 million. With the rally continuing past $31, he had the market recorded and warned that the frenzy was nearing its most dangerous tipping point.

• Before the US market opened, Chen Mo and Lin Shicheng reported surging SLV volume, heavy call buying, and spot silver nearing $30.
• Zhao Chen explained to Su Wantang and Shen Zhiyi that sentiment-driven liquidity and market makers’ hedging were driving the rally beyond fundamentals.
• After the opening bell, SLV and spot silver broke through $30 and kept rising as buying volume, options activity, and Era Vanguard’s paper profits climbed.
• Zhao Chen identified the $30 strike as a key point for a gamma squeeze, while retail traders on WallStreetBets celebrated the rally as a victory.
• As silver approached $31, sell orders and profit-taking appeared, and Zhao Chen told Shen Zhiyi to record the market conditions while warning that the rally could be nearing its final madness.

Zhao Chen began gradually selling silver options into surging demand while watching for signs that buying momentum was fading. As the liquidation entered its next phase, he kept some longer-dated positions and continued the separate nickel delivery plan, leaving the team waiting for silver’s first real pullback.

• Zhao Chen ordered Chen Mo to begin phase one of the silver liquidation, and the team quietly sold deep-in-the-money calls and high-delta contracts through six separate accounts.
• Chen Mo began phase two, selling short-dated, high-volatility options as silver climbed and online traders promoted a new silver squeeze.
• After most of the second batch was sold, Zhao Chen kept the remaining longer-dated contracts while Shen Zhiyi reported that gamma-driven buying and retail demand were beginning to weaken.
• When silver surged again, Zhao Chen ordered another round of short-term position reductions, which Chen Mo completed amid frantic trading.
• Shen Zhiyi reported that nickel deliveries in Rotterdam and Shanghai had exceeded twenty-seven thousand tonnes, and Zhao Chen told her to keep the plan moving.
• After silver dipped below $31.50 and rebounded, Zhao Chen asked Chen Mo to review the final-stage execution plan as the liquidation countdown continued.

Zhao Chen’s team used silver’s rally above $32 to quietly sell most of its positions through six SPVs, while monitoring signs that buying momentum was weakening. After silver pulled back, Zhao Chen waited for one more rebound before making the final reduction, as Lin Shicheng reported further nickel deliveries.

• Silver rose above $31.70 as retail investors chased options, and Zhao Chen ordered Phase Two sales of medium- and long-dated contracts through six SPVs.
• The Research Institute’s model showed gamma beginning to decline, and Shen Zhiyi found that aggressive buying was weakening even as silver reached new highs.
• As silver broke above $32, Zhao Chen accelerated sales; Chen Mo reported that Phase Two was complete and the team held about thirty percent of its original positions.
• Zhao Chen paused sales while silver fluctuated around $32 and told Lin Shicheng to continue the planned nickel deliveries from Rotterdam and Shanghai.
• Silver fell to $31.80, and Zhao Chen decided to wait for a rebound before making the final position reduction.

Zhao Chen’s team sold most of its silver options through the six SPVs as silver broke above $32, then held back the small remaining position when buying pressure weakened. With nickel inventories rising unnoticed, Zhao Chen left the final silver liquidation for a clearer pullback.

• After silver broke above $32, Zhao Chen ordered Chen Mo to begin selling the third-phase positions through the six SPVs.
• When silver reached $32.28, Chen Mo completed the first batch, reducing the team’s positions to about eighteen percent of their original total.
• After Zhao Chen and Shen Zhiyi identified weakening aggressive buying despite new highs, Chen Mo sold half of the remaining positions, leaving less than ten percent.
• Zhao Chen kept the final portion as a market test when silver briefly recovered above $32, while Lin Shicheng reported that nickel warehouse deliveries were complete and inventories were rising.
• When silver fell below $32 and continued lower, Zhao Chen left the last small portion unsold and said the team would wait for a real pullback.

Zhao Chen completed Era Vanguard’s silver trade, closing all positions across six SPVs and securing an estimated net profit of $360 million. He archived the campaign’s records and shifted the team’s focus to industrial metals and the coming Chinese market.

• Zhao Chen ordered the six SPVs to sell their remaining silver positions in small orders, and the market stayed stable as they exited.
• Chen Mo confirmed that all silver-related positions across the six SPVs had been reduced to zero.
• Chen Qiming reported that an initial investment of about $83 million had produced an estimated net profit of about $360 million.
• Shen Zhiyi began archiving the trading records, fund flows, research, and compliance documents so the exit decisions could be verified later.
• Zhao Chen explained to Su Wantang that silver differed from GME and that the team had captured the strongest stretch of market sentiment before leaving.
• Zhao Chen ended active monitoring of silver and directed the team to continue nickel procurement as the industrial-metals plan advanced.

After Era Vanguard closed its silver positions for a net profit of about US$360 million, Zhao Chen led a review of the trade, its exit signals, and the safeguards needed for future operations. The chapter ended with nickel procurement continuing as a separate long-term effort and Asian market research—including consumer stocks and Bidiya—still unopened.

• Chen Mo presented the silver project’s final results: six SPVs had liquidated their positions after investing about US$83 million and earning roughly US$360 million net.
• Chen Xi and Shen Zhiyi explained how silver differed from GME and why Era Vanguard exited when buying pressure weakened despite rising prices.
• Zhang Qingxue defended retaining the six-SPV structure for segregating capital, authority, and risk, while Zhao Chen emphasized documented procedures.
• Lin Shicheng reported that nickel procurement was progressing through dispersed storage and delivery nodes, and Zhao Chen ordered the nickel operation kept entirely separate from the silver project.
• Chen Xi argued that the silver trade had tested how market sentiment diverged from industrial cycles, and Zhao Chen approved her point for the research report.
• Zhao Chen declared the silver battle over but left Asian market research unopened, including materials on Wuliangye, Shanxi Fenjiu, consumer core assets, and Bidiya.

Henglong Capital began assessing valuations, capital flows, and market sentiment in Chinese core consumer assets as the A-share market reopened after the Spring Festival. Zhao Chen left Bidiya untouched and set conditions for a possible phased exit from other consumer holdings, without making any trades.

• Chen Xi presented research showing high institutional concentration and elevated valuations in core consumer assets, while Zhao Chen instructed the team to observe the market rather than trade.
• As Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu opened higher, Zhao Chen asked researchers to track valuation, capital-flow, and sentiment indicators instead of building an automatic buy-or-sell model.
• Chen Qiming reviewed Henglong's holdings with Zhao Chen, who kept Bidiya untouched and placed other consumer assets on a watchlist to study potential exit ranges.
• Zhao Chen prioritized whether future earnings growth could justify elevated valuations and told Shen Zhiyi to review disclosure requirements and trading rules in advance.
• After the market closed, Zhao Chen set a condition-based monitoring plan and approved a report recommending a phased exit contingency plan if the risk-reward ratio reached its preset range.
• Zhao Chen asked Chen Xi to create a separate file for Bidiya because it represented Henglong's industrial positioning rather than a consumer-asset valuation trade.

Henglong Capital began a gradual exit from Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu, selling a first 10% of each holding while monitoring market conditions. The market remained strong, and Zhao Chen left the next reductions dependent on conditions rather than a fixed schedule.

• Zhao Chen established Henglong Capital’s detailed holdings statement as the baseline for future trades and distinguished assets by investment type.
• After reviewing elevated valuation, capital, and sentiment indicators, Zhao Chen ordered a 10% reduction in Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu.
• Henglong’s trading system sold 240 Wuliangye shares and 432 Shanxi Fenjiu shares in batches with little market impact.
• Zhao Chen told the team not to alter the plan just because prices kept rising, explaining that the sales reduced risk rather than called a market top.
• Henglong updated its holdings to 2,160 Wuliangye shares and 3,888 Shanxi Fenjiu shares, while Zhao Chen said future reductions would wait for suitable conditions.

Henglong Capital assessed rising valuations and crowded positions in core consumer assets without trying to predict a market top. Zhao Chen ordered a measured second phase of position reductions, to begin only when multiple risk conditions were met and the market offered liquidity.

• Chen Xi reported that Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu kept rising as market sentiment outpaced valuations and institutional fund trends.
• Zhao Chen said he would not call the top, but would track expectations and risk exposure as the market priced in future earnings.
• Zhang Qingxue and Chen Qiming reviewed the risk report, and Zhao Chen directed the team to prepare reduction ranges based on valuation, fund flows, and sentiment.
• Zhao Chen instructed the Research Institute to send the Phase Two reduction range to Chen Mo, while postponing execution until the market provided liquidity.
• The updated model showed strong fundamentals and elevated sentiment alongside growing risk exposure, while Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu continued rising.

Zhao Chen and the Henglong Research Institute assessed rising valuations in core consumer stocks and began Phase Two of their gradual position reductions. The market absorbed their sales easily and remained strong, while Zhao Chen warned that increasingly uniform optimism was the risk to watch.

• Chen Xi presented research showing that earnings forecasts remained strong, but share prices were increasingly pricing in high growth over the next two to three years.
• Zhao Chen explained that the concern was not deteriorating fundamentals but expectations becoming too optimistic, and the new implied-growth indicator entered the risk zone.
• Zhao Chen ordered Phase Two position reductions in Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu, with Chen Mo executing staggered sales according to market liquidity.
• The market continued rising and absorbed Henglong Capital's sales without visible disruption, so Zhao Chen instructed the team to keep reducing only while liquidity remained available.
• At the close, Chen Xi and Zhao Chen reviewed the shrinking margin of safety as Zhao Chen emphasized monitoring when the market would take their shares rather than trying to predict the top.

On February 19, Zhao Chen and Henglong Capital monitored rising institutional concentration in core consumer stocks as they continued Phase Two of their gradual position reduction. The market remained strong at the close, but slowing growth in aggressive buying flows prompted Zhao Chen to save the data for observation and make further sales dependent on liquidity.

• Chen Xi and Zhang Qingxue reported that funds were increasingly concentrated in Wuliangye, Shanxi Fenjiu, and other core consumer stocks.
• Zhao Chen had Chen Xi track the buyers and found that prices and volume were rising while marginal inflows were growing more slowly.
• Henglong Capital continued Phase Two of its position reduction through staggered, volume-limited trades, slowing sales when Wuliangye surged.
• Zhao Chen had the team compare afternoon aggressive buying flows with the morning and noted that they were slowing relative to price gains.
• The desk stopped selling after completing the day's planned trades, and Zhao Chen saved the final market data in a folder named "Observation."

On February 22, Henglong Capital continued Phase Two of its planned reductions in Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu as strong buying pushed both stocks higher. Zhao Chen monitored rising institutional concentration and a slight slowdown in marginal fund inflows, but left the execution plan unchanged and saved the data for further observation.

• Chen Xi reviewed Friday’s execution records and confirmed that Phase Two reductions in Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu were proceeding normally while Zhao Chen kept the long-term holdings untouched.
• As buying pressure lifted Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu, Zhao Chen directed Chen Xi to sell only into available liquidity at the planned pace.
• At the Research Institute, Chen Xi and Zhang Qingxue reported that institutional funds were increasingly concentrated in core consumer assets, and Zhao Chen noted that everyone was buying the same kind of certainty.
• Henglong Capital resumed Phase Two reductions in the afternoon as new funds continued flowing into the two stocks, while leaving Bidiya, Tongce Medical, Pian Zi Huang, Yunnan Agriculture Group, and Bubble Mary untouched.
• When Chen Xi detected that marginal fund inflows were slowing slightly despite rising prices, Zhao Chen treated it as a monitoring indicator, saved the data as “Observation again,” and ordered Phase Two to continue unchanged.

Zhao Chen and Chen Xi tracked the first clear divergence among crowded-trade assets while Henglong Capital continued its Phase Two reductions in Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu. The market closed without a broad breakdown, but Zhao had the day’s capital-flow data added to the Phase Three model as preparation, not a signal to begin Phase Three.

• Chen Xi noticed that aggressive buying had slowed in several core assets, while Zhao Chen told her to keep watching and continued the planned position reductions.
• After one asset pulled back on increased volume, Zhao Chen and Chen Xi watched for buyers to return; the price stabilized near its highs but did not rebound.
• As crowded-trade stocks began to diverge, Zhao Chen explained that renewed flows into the leaders would mean the trade remained intact, while their absence would show capital making new choices.
• Henglong Capital’s Trading Desk slowed Phase Two executions when liquidity thinned, then resumed selling Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu when buying strengthened in the afternoon.
• A core asset failed to reclaim its morning high as aggressive buying weakened, and Zhao Chen called for the signs to be flagged but said Phase Three had not begun.
• After the close, Zhao Chen told Chen Xi to put the day’s data into the Phase Three model, clarifying that they were only preparing and would wait for the market to signal a correction.

Zhao Chen and Henglong Capital began Phase Three of their gradual reductions in crowded core consumer assets as buying interest weakened and the market started to correct. The first batch of trades was completed without disrupting prices, while further reductions remained underway.

• Chen Xi showed Zhao Chen premarket data indicating that active buying was lagging behind prices and sentiment had turned.
• As core assets diverged and fell after the open, the Research Institute's model flagged high valuations, concentrated capital, and declining active buying.
• Zhao Chen ordered Phase Three of the position reduction and had Chen Mo and the traders sell in small batches during periods of strong liquidity.
• The market rebounded in the afternoon, but Zhao Chen continued the trades while buyers remained available.
• Henglong completed the first batch of Phase Three sales and kept the proceeds in the master account, leaving further core consumer reductions for later.

Henglong Capital used the market’s rebound to accelerate Phase Three of its position reduction, selling parts of its holdings in Wuliangye, Shanxi Fenjiu, and other core consumer assets while keeping the proceeds in its master account. Zhao Chen said the remaining shares would be sold in later windows, warning that the market’s willingness to absorb them would not last once investors stopped viewing the previous day’s decline as a mere pullback.

• Zhao Chen told Chen Xi that the rebound was a final chance to redistribute shares and began Phase Three’s main execution window.
• Zhao Chen instructed the traders to sell Wuliangye and Shanxi Fenjiu in batches while leaving Bidiya, Yunnan Agriculture Group, Bubble Mary, Nvidia, and Green Energy Technology untouched.
• Henglong Capital’s traders sold into renewed buying pressure, and Chen Qiming transferred the proceeds to the master account.
• As prices climbed to intraday highs, Zhao Chen ordered a second batch of sales and told the traders to stop once the day’s execution was sufficient.
• Zhao Chen reviewed the day’s report with Chen Xi and said the remaining shares would be easiest to sell before the market stopped treating the decline as a pullback.

Zhao Chen and Henglong Capital completed the planned liquidation of core consumer assets, turning the proceeds into cash in the master account without reinvesting them. The chapter ended with the firm’s long-term holdings untouched and its next investment destination undecided.

• Zhao Chen directed Chen Xi and the trading team to sell remaining holdings only when liquidity allowed, while Chen Mo monitored execution from New York.
• Chen Qiming kept the proceeds in the master account, and Zhao Chen instructed him not to reallocate or automatically reinvest the cash.
• Chen Xi and the traders sold the remaining Wuliangye, Shanxi Fenjiu, and other core consumer assets as trading windows appeared, completing the position-reduction plan by market close.
• Shen Zhiyi and Zhang Qingxue confirmed that trading records across accounts and locations had been reconciled and archived without irregularities.
• Chen Xi reviewed the consolidated statement and saw that Bidiya, Yunnan Agriculture Group, Bubble Mary, Nvidia, and Green Energy Technology remained held under separate investment strategies.
• Zhao Chen submitted the final report, stating that the reductions reflected prices and expectations running too far rather than deterioration in the businesses.