Smith looked at the dense Japanese planes in the sky, and he couldn't believe his eyes.

He put down his telescope, rubbed his eyes, looked into the sky again, confirming that the plane was covered with Japanese soldiers.

This is Hawaii, the territory of the United States, and the airspace above Hawaii is also the airspace of the United States. How come so many Japanese military aircraft appear on the U.S. airspace!

If it were just one or two Japanese military aircraft, it could be said that they were here for military exchanges, but these densely packed Japanese military aircraft appeared over Hawaii, and you could tell what was going on with your butt.

"My God! The Japanese really attacked Hawaii!" Smith exclaimed, his legs suddenly weakened. If he hadn't grabbed the balcony handrail, he would have collapsed to the ground, but the telescope in his hand still failed to hold it and fell to the ground.

For Americans, war is a very distant thing. Although the US military participated in World War I more than 20 years ago, it was sent troops to Europe, and there was no war on the territory of the United States. Therefore, most Americans still had the understanding of war in the American Civil War in the mid-19th century.

The Civil War was still eighty years ago, and that was too far away. Just like modern people, their understanding of the Anti-Japanese War is relatively vague. Modern people cannot understand how cruel it was at that time. The various shocking plots in film and television works can illustrate this.

Now, war has come again on American territory. Although it is Hawaii, the shock in Smith's heart is still difficult to describe in words.

The next second, Smith suddenly realized that he might be unemployed!

As an employee of a sugar-making company, Smith knew that if there was a war in Hawaii, his company would be over.

Sugar cane is the main cash crop in Hawaii. More than two-thirds of Hawaii's area are planted, which is just the output. Hawaii supplies 80% of the sugar cane production in the United States. The japonica produced in Hawaii is also the main source of raw materials for the US sugar industry.

In addition to Hawaii, sugar cane is also grown in some states in the southern United States, such as Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, but compared with Hawaii, there are too few sugar cane grown in the United States.

In fact, before the Civil War, the sugarcane planting area in the United States was still very wide. However, after the Civil War, the black slave plantations in the south were liberated. They left the plantations in the south and came to industrial cities in the north. Since then, the sugarcane planting volume has been getting smaller and smaller every year in the plantations in the south.

Because planting sugarcane requires a certain amount of manpower. You can also use mechanical harvesters when harvesting sugarcane, but during the breeding and planting stages, mechanical cultivation is generally not allowed. Sugarcane seedlings are relatively fragile and easily damaged. If mechanized planting is used, a large number of seedlings will be destroyed during the planting process, and the survival rate of sugarcane will be very low.

The United States has always implemented large-scale mechanized planting. American farmers in the 1940s had already driven agricultural tractors to farm. Therefore, sugarcane, a crop that requires manpower, is not suitable for American agriculture. Even in the era when agriculture is already very developed in the future, such as Texas, the large agricultural state of the United States, the mechanized level of sugarcane planting is only 40%. Louisiana and Florida, where the temperature is more suitable, the mechanized level of sugarcane planting will be higher, but when planting sugarcane, artificial auxiliary seedlings are still needed.

Many Chinese people later believed that the agriculture in the United States was very advanced. In fact, the large-scale mechanized agriculture of the United States could at most save manpower, but not advanced. In terms of crop yield, large-scale mechanized planting is definitely not as good as the kind of intensive cultivation. In the same way, planting things on one acre of land, the yield of intensive cultivation is definitely much higher than that of mechanized planting.

The most inevitable thing about large-scale mechanized planting is the waste generated during mechanized operations. For example, if tomatoes are harvested mechanized, it will cause about 20% of the losses, and peppers will be even more serious. If they are harvested mechanized, the losses will reach 30% of the losses. Americans have a lot of land, and hundreds of acres are considered small farms. People don’t care about these losses. However, in China, where arable land is scarce, a family is only one acre and three cents of the land. If there is such a high loss rate, the farmers will feel distressed!

Back to the topic, Hawaii was attacked by Japan, so the cultivation of sugarcane in Hawaii will inevitably be affected. Even if Japan did not occupy Hawaii, it just sent several submarines to travel around Hawaii from time to time, American merchant ships did not dare to come to Hawaii to transport sugarcane.

Without Hawaii's sugar cane, all local sugar-making enterprises in the United States will be in a state of dissipation. Without raw materials, one company will not be able to produce. If the company does not produce products, it will not be a problem of stock prices falling. The entire enterprise may go bankrupt!

"It's over, I'm really told by that Chinese. Japan really attacked Hawaii!" Smith forced himself to calm down, and then he returned to the room and did two things.

The first thing was to send a telegram to the local company, sending the news that Japan attacked Hawaii to the local company; the second thing was to call and order a ticket to return to the United States. He knew that he could not continue to stay in Hawaii. Even if the company did not recruit him back, he would not want to stay in a dangerous place like Hawaii. If he was unlucky, he might be killed by a Japanese plane.

...

New York is three hours earlier than Los Angeles and six hours earlier than Hawaii.

The first wave of attacks by Pearl Harbor was around 7 o'clock in the morning at Hawaii time, and at this time it was already past 1 o'clock in the afternoon in New York. By the time the governor of Hawaii reported the attack to Washington, the Japanese army had launched a second wave of air strikes, and it was almost time for supper in the eastern United States.

Since December 7th is Sunday, the stock market has not opened, and Wall Street securities brokers are also "celebrating the weekend".

New York is not as unique as Hawaii. It has a unique climate. New York is already quite cold in December, so New Yorkers will not go out for picnics this season. They are more willing to choose some indoor entertainment activities, such as watching movies, singing and dancing, playing bowling, or having a drink in a bar.

Charlie and Phil, a friend, came to a restaurant. They ordered an apple pie and chatted while eating.

There was news on the radio on the counter, which was exactly the news that President Roosevelt issued a peace initiative to the Japanese emperor.

On the European battlefield, the Germans had already attacked the suburbs of Moscow. The United States was worried that Japan would attack Soviet Siberia, which would lead to the defeat of the Soviet Union. So yesterday, on December 6, 1941, President Roosevelt issued a peace initiative to Emperor Hirohito of Japan, hoping that Japan could maintain the "peaceful situation" in the Far East.

In many people's eyes, Roosevelt's move was a show of goodwill to Japan, which also led to people generally thinking that the possibility of conflicts between the United States and Japan is already slim.

"Hear? The president has issued a peace initiative to Japan. It seems that there will be no war between the United States and Japan!" Charlie said.

"There will be no war, so Japan dare not do anything to the United States!" Phil paused and continued: "For Wall Street, this is good news. As soon as the stock market opens tomorrow, the index should rise."

"Yes, as long as there is peace news, the stock market will definitely rise." Charlie nodded and said.

"Have that Chinese athlete stopped yet? He is still shorting the sugar industry's stock?" Phil asked again.

"No, and on the last trading day, he increased his investment of another $200,000." Charlie answered.

"What a gambler, he is still increasing his investment! This time he is probably losing all his money!" Phil stuffed an apple pie into his mouth and continued: "Since France's defeat, we have been providing assistance to the UK. In addition to weapons, food aid is the largest. Those factories that produce food are constantly transporting the well-produced biscuits to Europe, so the sugar industry's business will only get better and better. To be honest, as the war progresses, I am quite optimistic about the sugar industry, and their profits will definitely increase greatly."

Charlie nodded in agreement: "Yes, maybe when the stock opens next Monday, the stock will rise a little higher and my client will go bankrupt. What a pity. I finally found a big client!"

During the war, sugar is definitely an extremely important strategic material. Sugar can quickly replenish a lot of energy for the human body. For soldiers on the front line or refugees who leave their hometowns, a few sweet biscuits are enough to keep them for a whole day. Compared with bread, biscuits are easier to store, easier to carry, and can also provide more energy. It is obviously the best food in the war period. Therefore, soldiers from various countries will equip compressed biscuits as emergency food.

Today, the United States needs to provide food to the United Kingdom and will provide food aid to the Soviet Union soon. So now, food factories across the United States are working overtime to produce biscuits, and sugar needs sugar sales, so the sales of sugar are very good. Wall Street investors generally believe that in recent years, the profits of the US sugar industry will increase significantly.

The two were continuing to talk when a slightly rushing sound suddenly sounded from the radio:

"A emergency news was broadcast. This morning, at noon Eastern Time, Hawaiian time, the US military was located at a naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and was airstrike from Japanese troops. The casualties are unknown at present!"

Charlie and Phil were stunned on the spot.

"Phil, I heard it right? The Japanese had already air strikes at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base?" Charlie asked in disbelief.

"I heard it too! This is impossible! Today is not April Fool's Day! The announcer is crazy for a certain time." Phil also had an incredible expression on his face.

"Maybe we're listening to a prank show! How could Japan launch an attack on Hawaii!" Charlie said.

Then the two fell into silence at the same time. Because they both knew that this could not be a prank show!

After several minutes, the two of them calmed down. Phil took the lead and said, "What if the broadcast is true?"

A few more minutes of silence...

Finally, Charlie said, "I think we should go back to the company as soon as possible. If Japan really launches an attack on Hawaii, the stock market will definitely plummet tomorrow. We don't know the losses at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base. If our Pacific Fleet is wiped out, there will be a stock market crash on Monday!"

But Phil suddenly thought of something, and he asked: "How many stocks did that Chinese athlete short sell in the sugar industry?"

Only then did Charlie realize that Hawaii was attacked and the US sugar industry was about to be over! As he introduced to Chen Qun before, Japan's attack on Hawaii, and Wall Street's sugar industry stocks are not much better than waste paper!

"Oh my God, as soon as the market opens tomorrow, I may have to witness the birth of a millionaire with my own eyes!" Charlie said.

What Phil thought of was another thing. He lowered his voice and said, "That Chinese must have had the inside information long ago, otherwise it would be impossible to make such a big bet at this time!"

...

Monday, December 8th.

Affected by the news of Japan's air strike on Pearl Harbor, the Dow Jones Index plummeted, and even the military industry and shipbuilding industries fell.

The most miserable thing is naturally the sugar-making industry. Those companies with sugar-cane plantations in the United States are slightly better, while those sugar-making companies that rely on Hawaiian sugar-cane have been sold out hugely. However, at this time, how could a fool be willing to take over!

Losing the most important source of raw materials, it is difficult for these sugar-making companies to start construction. I don’t know how many sugar-making companies will go bankrupt. A company that may go bankrupt has its stocks worthless!

Wall Street was wailing. Even when the Germans invaded Paris, the Dow Jones index did not fall so badly. The last time a similar situation was the Great Depression in 1929. The stock market crash caused many rich people to go bankrupt overnight, and they had to queue up to jump off the building on the Empire State Building.

Today, when Chen Qiang passed by the Empire State Building, he deliberately hid far away, for fear that someone would jump down and smash him. The car-owned people also had a tacit understanding and did not park their car downstairs in the Empire State Building. If someone jumped off the building, they might smash their car.

Chen Qiang found a not-too-high floor and parked the car, then walked into the investment company.

At this time, the investment company was in chaos, and almost every phone was ringing constantly.

"Mr. Davis, I put in an order early in the morning and started selling, but judging from the current situation, it is impossible to sell that price. I expect it to drop another 5%!"

"Mr. Lucas, I know you are not satisfied with the sale price I proposed, but during the time we talked, the stocks you held fell by 15 cents, so I am helping you stop the loss in time. If you insist on the original price, you will lose more!"

"Mr. Moore, thankfully, I have sold all your stocks, and I have good news, you only lost 10,000 US dollars!"

"Mr. Carter, you have to trust my professional judgment. In the next few trading days, the stocks you hold will not rebound. When will they rebound? This is really hard to say. If you insist on holding, you may have to wait until the war is over before the original price will rise back!"

Securities brokers were talking to customers almost roaring at the phone. For these securities brokers, the arrival of the stock market crash would make them lose many customers, not to mention that many securities brokers also bought stocks, and they also lost all their money.

Chen Qiang went directly to Charlie's room, knocked on the door, and walked in.

After seeing Chen Qiang, Charlie stood up and looked at Chen Qiang with a complicated look.

"Mr. Chen, congratulations, the entire sugar industry in the United States has completely collapsed. According to the current stock price, if you close the position, you are already a millionaire! But I don't recommend you to do that. I think according to the current trend, perhaps before Christmas, your assets will exceed 20 million US dollars!"

—————
Chapter completed!