Chapter 22#

After writing the last stroke on the money order, Chen Yuanming put down his pen and handed the postal remittance slip over. In over half a year, he had sent a total of 18,000 yuan home, along with several letters to let them know he was safe. Although he knew his family would surely have doubts about this sum of money, with it, the crises that troubled his parents and the entire family could be resolved. The things accumulated after those small changes were the beginning of his changed destiny…

Walking out of the post office, just a few steps took him from the small alley into the bustling downtown area. Chen Yuanming looked at the scene before him and took another deep breath. At this moment, what lay before him was not the narrow urban area of Zhuhai, not those clusters of buildings with typical features of the 70s and 80s, but a wonderfully exquisite and chaotic scene. One half consisted of towering buildings, retro architecture, and wide roads characteristic of the era; the other half was low-rise residential buildings, narrow streets and alleys, and crowds so dense they were anxiety-inducing.

Mechanical cranes hovered over the city, and old brick walls crumbled with a roar. An unprecedented construction boom in Chinese history was underway in this metropolis. All things new and old, order and chaos, seemed to be mixed together, bursting with an astonishing vitality.

Great Shanghai.

Only in this era, by being in this place, could one feel the precision and charm of this description. And in this city, what awaited him were other things that were impossible to refuse. Chen Yuanming smiled slightly, quickened his pace, and merged into the bustling crowd.

It was already January 23rd. With the Lunar New Year approaching, the number of migrant workers on the streets had noticeably decreased. The people coming and going were mostly local Shanghai residents, for whom buying New Year’s goods and preparing New Year’s gifts were top priorities. However, Chen Yuanming’s route was completely opposite to theirs. Instead of choosing the popular shopping streets and malls, he arrived at the entrance of an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) branch.

For this day, he had been preparing in Shanghai for over half a month. As early as January 13th, after the “Shanghai Securities News” published the exact information, his plan began to unfold slowly. Now was the crucial moment to test its effectiveness.

Glancing at the bank entrance, he saw a middle-aged woman sitting bored at the counter of a small shop thirty meters away, waiting for business. To be so dedicated to her post even with the New Year so close… Chen Yuanming smiled and walked directly towards her.

“Hello.”

A polite Mandarin greeting interrupted Auntie Sun’s winter drowsiness. Just by looking up, she was instantly wide awake. Standing at the shop entrance was a young man in his teens, of average height, with very handsome features, and dressed very respectably in a branded coat and sweater—clearly the attire of a wealthy person. Although he was from out of town, he was by no means poor or shabby. As a small shop owner accustomed to sizing people up, Auntie Sun was very shrewd. This was definitely a potential major customer!

“Aiya, young man, what do you want to buy? The shop is fully stocked, you know. Cigarettes, alcohol, drinks, and you can also make long-distance calls…” Striving to switch to a Mandarin with a thick Shanghai accent, Auntie Sun beamed and greeted him enthusiastically.

Shaking his head, Chen Yuanming replied politely, “I’m not here to buy anything. Auntie, it’s like this, hasn’t Shanghai recently issued a stock subscription certificate? I heard the stock market has been doing very well these past two years, so I wanted to come and invest. Who knew the bank would say that you need a local Shanghai household registration to buy the subscription certificates? I had no choice but to come and ask around if there are any suitable proxy buyers near this bank.”

When she first saw the young man shake his head, Auntie Sun felt a wave of disappointment, thinking he was just asking for directions. But who knew that just a few words would turn things around? Subscription certificates? She knew about those! The bank had put up big signs a couple of days ago. A relative of hers was a teacher at a school, and apparently, a securities company had even come to promote them. How could this be a hot-selling item? It was clearly a case of severe overstock that nobody was buying, right? This young man looked quite smart, but he really had no judgment when it came to business.

But while she thought this, what came out of her mouth was a different story. “Proxy buyer? I haven’t heard of that. Do you mean someone to help you buy that subscription certificate? If so, you’ve found the right person! My husband and I are old Shanghainese, and our home is not far. I can just go home and get my ID card, right?”

“This…” Chen Yuanming showed a hesitant yet pleasantly surprised expression. “Wouldn’t that interrupt your business? How about I pay you the proxy purchase fee…”

“You’re too kind, no need for that much!” Auntie Sun was extremely quick. She reached out and pulled down the large iron gate of her shop. “Wait for me for a moment, I’ll be right back.” With that, she turned and rushed into the nearby alleyway.

Chen Yuanming stood where he was, a slight smile on his face.

A dozen or so minutes later, the old and the young walked into the ICBC branch. When the teller heard from Auntie Sun that she wanted to buy subscription certificates, she also became a little excited. You see, since the sale of stock subscription certificates began on the 19th, she hadn’t managed to sell many. The bank, in order to boost sales, had even set up a reward policy for employees: a 30-cent commission for each certificate sold. With a monthly salary of less than a hundred yuan, what a huge bonus it would be if she could sell a few hundred!

Several brand-new books of stock subscription certificates were immediately placed on the counter. The female teller put on a professional, warm smile. “How many stock subscription certificates do you need? The current price is 30 yuan per certificate, and one book contains 100 certificates. All proceeds will be donated to social welfare, which is a great good deed…”

They’re already 30 yuan each, and it’s still a lottery draw. What’s the difference from selling lottery tickets? Auntie Sun sneered inwardly at the other party. Only a greenhorn like the one next to her would come and be a sucker.

Who knew that the young man beside her just smiled faintly. “Let’s start with thirty books.”

“How many?”

“What?”

Almost simultaneously, Auntie Sun and the female teller cried out in surprise, drawing stares from a crowd of people. The bank manager from the side also hurried over. Chen Yuanming, however, did not hesitate. He placed the travel bag he was carrying directly on the counter and took out several stacks of hundred-yuan bills.

“Here is 90,000 yuan. Just give me 30 books.”

The female teller was in a daze, unable to react for a long time. The bank manager, however, was very quick to put on a smile and gave his subordinate a sharp push from behind. “What are you standing there for? Go get more stock from the vault!”

30 books!! 3000 certificates!! Snapping back to her senses with a jolt, the female teller let out a cry and turned to run to the back. If she was late and another colleague snatched this, how much commission would she lose!

Faced with his employee’s lack of composure, the bank manager was clearly a bit embarrassed and quickly said some words to save the situation. But by now, Auntie Sun couldn’t hear anything anymore. Her eyes were fixed on the hundred-yuan bills on the counter, her heart pounding. Without asking anything, he just threw down 90,000 yuan. Was this kid crazy or…

With money and goods, plus a huge commission, this transaction was completed very quickly. Soon, 30 books of stock subscription certificates were piled up in front of Chen Yuanming. However, after checking the ID card, Chen Yuanming faced the overjoyed teller and asked faintly, “Can they be unregistered? I’m using the auntie’s ID card, so registering them would be too inconvenient.”

The female teller was stunned again and looked to her superior for help. The bank manager, however, did not hesitate and nodded directly. He had seen more than one customer request unregistered certificates. Some scalpers specialized in this kind of business. As long as they could be sold, who cared about whether they were registered or not? With the leader’s approval, everything was of course easy to handle. 30 books of unregistered certificates thus ended up in Chen Yuanming’s travel bag.

The whole process took only a few minutes. It wasn’t until they walked out of the bank that Chen Yuanming smiled at the still-dazed Auntie Sun beside him. “Auntie, thank you for your trouble. Since you won’t accept the proxy fee, here is two hundred yuan. Please consider it compensation for your lost work time. You must accept it.”

Just for running an errand, two hundred yuan in less than an hour… Auntie Sun hesitantly took the money from his hand, then struggled for a long while before asking, unwilling to give up, “Are the subscription certificates really that good? You just spent 90,000 at once. What if you lose money…”

Chen Yuanming didn’t answer directly. Instead, he looked at the sparsely populated bank entrance. “It’s a lottery anyway, right? The fewer people who buy, the better?”

After saying that, he didn’t waste any more words, said goodbye to her, and turned to leave the bank. Auntie Sun stood there for a while, pondering the meaning of his words, and suddenly had a revelation. That’s right, if no one knows how good it is, isn’t that truly good? Slapping her thigh, she ran towards her home once again.

On that day, Chen Yuanming visited four banks in Shanghai and, using the same method, purchased a total of 120 books, amounting to 12,000 stock subscription certificates, all of which were unregistered “blank boards.” Sitting in the temporarily booked hotel, he carefully recounted the remaining money and the date recorded on the calendar, and let out a breath of relief!

All that was left was to wait.