Chapter 25#

May 21, 1992, was an ordinary day for most people in China, but for the people of Shanghai at that time, especially the stock investors in the Shanghai market, it was a day of dreams and boiling blood. On this day, the Shanghai Stock Exchange announced the complete lifting of stock price limits.

Early in the morning, Chen Yuanming left his hotel room and walked along the street towards Shenyin Securities’ “millionaire’s room.” The hotel where he lived was not far from that room, but the short ten-minute journey was a surging tide of people. All he saw were excited stock investors, as if everyone had prepared in unison, just waiting for the market to open to rush into the trading hall and fight desperately for another big rise.

Chen Yuanming was not surprised by such fanaticism. You have to know that since April 13th, every change in the percentage of rise and fall, every cancellation of flow restrictions, had brought a big wave of gains. The Shanghai Composite Index broke the 400-point mark on April 14th and soared to 623 points by May 20th. Now that it was completely opened up, as long as you had a little understanding of stocks, it was not difficult to imagine what amazing changes would occur in the Shanghai market.

But, were such changes acceptable to everyone?

With a touch of emotion, Chen Yuanming walked into the “millionaire’s room” where he had been staying for two full months.

“Yuanming!”

As soon as he stepped into the room, a voice called out to him. Chen Yuanming looked up and saw Xiao Yun striding towards him.

“How can you be late today!” A powerful shoulder suddenly wrapped around him, leading him inside. “Look who in this room can still sleep today. Old Sun arrived at 7:30.”

That Old Sun was a real estate developer from Zhejiang, also one of the millionaires, but he was usually busy with his own business and didn’t often come to the millionaire’s room. Who knew that he would also be in place so early today. It seemed that as long as you weren’t a fool, nine out of ten people would be here. Chen Yuanming let out a light breath. This was what you called a general trend.

This millionaire’s room was originally the hotel’s presidential suite, but it had now been divided into 7 or 8 sections, separated by things like flower pots and screens, which provided privacy without preventing the big shots from communicating. Each cubicle was furnished with a leather sofa, a coffee table, a bookshelf, and a large-screen color TV. You have to know that in 1992, computers were still the stuff of legend, and stock trading still relied on manual delivery, so a color TV that could receive real-time market information and those securities traders in red vests were the most convenient operating tools. In this millionaire’s room, there were a full 4 Shenyin red vests, which was quite a luxury for an era when this securities company was extremely short of manpower.

In a few steps, he reached his own cubicle. Chen Yuanming and Xiao Yun sat down on the sofa together. At this time, there were only a few minutes left before the market opened. The big shots who had been chatting just now had all dispersed and were now focusing on the numbers that were about to appear on the TV. Xiao Yun turned his head, lowered his voice, and asked, “How is it? How much will it rise today?”

Half a month ago, Xiao Yun had once wanted to sell his stocks. Who knew that from the end of April to the beginning of May, all the new stocks had multiplied several times, and with the current market conditions, if he had sold at that time, he would have regretted it to no end. Now, Xiao Yun had focused most of his attention on Chen Yuanming. If the subscription certificate was still considered well-informed before, then this period of time was not a matter of information, but that this young man really had a natural keenness for stocks. For this point, Xiao Yun, who was still in the dark, was naturally willing to listen to the other party’s opinion.

How much will it rise, not whether it will rise. Just this one sentence showed people’s confidence in the heat of the stock market today. Chen Yuanming smiled, “At least double.”

“Double?!” Even though he was somewhat mentally prepared, Xiao Yun couldn’t help but exclaim, then lowered his voice, “What double? The price, or…”

“The Shanghai Composite Index.”

On this point, Chen Yuanming did not hide it. It might sound a bit shocking now, but after so many bull and bear market reviews in later generations, looking back, it seemed to be nothing strange. It was just that this statement obviously could not be completely accepted by Xiao Yun. However, after hesitating for a moment, he did not argue with Chen Yuanming, but took a deep breath and sat down to wait for the market to open.

When the time came, the whole room fell silent. The screen jumped to 643 points at the opening, and some people began to get restless. However, the market seemed to be testing something, and the trend was not obvious. This stalemate and testing continued until around 10 o’clock, and then the market began to climb crazily. The K-line shot up in a straight line. In just 20 minutes, the Shanghai Composite Index reached its peak, positioning at 1365 points.

At this time, the millionaire’s room was already in chaos. The red vests were running around, and people were constantly waving their hands and shouting loudly. Cash was pouring into the stock market like a flood. Xiao Yun could no longer sit still, standing up and sitting down several times. For the first time, he began to hate that he had spent all his money on subscription certificates. If he had money at this time, as soon as he entered the market, it would be a multiple turnover!

In this chaos, Chen Yuanming remained motionless, slowly sipping a cup of tea. His mood was not so much excitement as it was a bit of melancholy. In his memory, how many times had he talked with people about what he would do if he encountered the ‘92 bull market, imagining how decisive and invincible he would be. But who could really do it? It was just talk, just for the thrill of it.

But when he was really in this reality, everything made people feel trembling and fearful. This fanaticism, this excitement, this strong confidence in the trend, urged everyone to start going crazy, to start taking risks. If he was not familiar with the future, who could have imagined the situation a few days later?

Heaven and hell are only a line apart.

“Yuanming, I want to make another call home. Maybe I can scrape together a few tens of thousands…” The first two buttons of Xiao Yun’s shirt had been torn open, and his face was covered in fine beads of sweat. “Just watching it pass by like this, I really…”

“Brother Xiao.” Chen Yuanming interrupted the other party’s excited words and said quietly, “If you trust me, wait a few more days, just a few days.”

These words were like a basin of cold water, splashing out Xiao Yun’s excitement. He was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly lowered his body, “What do you mean?”

“Nothing. To what extent have the stocks risen now? But what about those listed companies? Their products, their market, even their own net worth, are they worth so much?”

Just a short sentence seemed to completely freeze everything. Xiao Yun’s eyes darkened, and the沉淀 (sediment/composure) from his background began to show. He didn’t understand stock trading, nor was he a real expert in business, but his education from a young age had been instilled with all sorts of things about military strategy. He understood from a young age how treacherous the battlefield was and how precious human life was. The more dangerous the situation, the calmer he had to be. No one could guess whether what lay ahead was a great victory or a feint set up by the enemy. Yes, wasn’t it the same in the business world?

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yun lowered his arm and sat down dejectedly on the sofa on one side. At this moment, he suddenly felt that he was really old. With such a junior by his side, how could it not make one feel old!

“How is it?” Seeing the expression on the person next to him, Chen Yuanming asked with a smile.

“Hehe…” Leaning back on the sofa, Xiao Yun’s expression also slowly relaxed. “Since you weren’t even wrong about today, then you have the final say.”

“Aren’t you afraid of being tricked by me?”

“Whether it’s Guo Jia or Ma Su, you only know after a battle.” At this time, Xiao Yun was actually in the mood to joke a little. He also picked up the tea and took a big gulp.

“Haha, then please spare my life, my lord!” Chen Yuanming also laughed.

On this day, the number of transactions on the Shanghai Stock Exchange reached 5,456, and the transaction volume reached more than 500 million yuan. The Shanghai Composite Index doubled, and the bull market had arrived.

May 22, May 23, May 24… It only took three days for the Shanghai market to reach its boiling point. On May 25, the Shanghai Composite Index was about to break through 1400 points. The entire market was a sea of red, and the growth of new stocks reached an astonishing 2500%-3000%! However, when everyone was drunk and tens of millions of funds were pouring into the stock market, in the millionaire’s room, Chen Yuanming raised his hand.

“Trader.”

Just one word, and a moment later, a red vest covered in sweat ran up to Chen Yuanming. Seeing who had called him, he couldn’t help but be surprised. This youngest big shot in the millionaire’s room was one of the topics of conversation among the traders. He had been in the market for two months without any operations, neither buying nor selling, just drinking tea and reading newspapers in the millionaire’s room all day, like a young master who had come out to play. He thought he was just a decoration, but who knew that even he would make a move today.

But thoughts were thoughts, and the trader immediately put on a professional smile. It was good that he was willing to move, wasn’t that what they were after, that little bit of commission? “Which stock would you like to buy?”

“Not buy.” Chen Yuanming shook his head. “Sell, clear out my position.”

The trader’s pen tip skewed, drawing a long line on the paper. He asked again in disbelief, “You mean… clear out your position?”

“Yes.” Handing over the stock account card, Chen Yuanming turned to look at the dumbfounded Xiao Yun beside him and smiled slightly. “Brother Xiao, do you dare to follow this time?”

Xiao Yun’s hand trembled, and the teacup in his hand made a few light clinking sounds. After being stunned for a moment, he also gritted his teeth, “Sell!”

The trader looked at these two crazy guys in shock. With such a good upward trend, they really wanted to sell?! Seeing that the other party was obviously stunned, Chen Yuanming raised his eyebrows, “What are you still standing there for?!”

Woken up by this shout, the trader broke out in a cold sweat and quickly took the two cards to register them. At this time, trading was not a matter of a few clicks on the computer. It was necessary to fill out a stock transfer order. After confirming the selling price and quantity twice, the trader finally tremblingly issued the seller’s transaction slip. How could he not tremble? These were definitely the two biggest orders in his short career.

After receiving the order, Chen Yuanming carefully verified all the contents and then signed his name at the bottom. At the table opposite, Xiao Yun stared at the order for a long time before finally writing his name with a flourish. With this stroke, future profits would be waved goodbye. A 100% profit every day, you have to know that his principal was not ten or twenty yuan, but in the millions!

The trader couldn’t care less about the seller’s complicated mood. After taking the two orders, he quickly rushed to the computer. He couldn’t afford to delay such a big matter!

The stocks in their hands were all new and relatively scattered, and the offer price was not the highest point. The transaction was displayed almost as soon as the offer was made. At this time, the Shanghai market implemented a T+0 policy, which meant that transactions could be cleared and settled on the same day. It didn’t take long for someone to invite them to enter their account passwords. After a few button presses, the settlement slip was immediately produced, and all the stocks were sold.

Looking at the numbers on the settlement slip, even someone of Xiao Yun’s status couldn’t help but feel a little exhausted. Leaning back on the sofa, his gaze involuntarily swept towards the TV screen where the numbers were still flashing. It was still a brilliant red, but it had nothing to do with him for the time being.

“Do you regret it?” Chen Yuanming followed the other party’s gaze and happened to see the Shanghai Composite Index break through the 1400-point mark. He himself knew the future, but Xiao Yun didn’t. Faced with such huge profits, to listen to a young man who was almost a stranger, the courage… or rather, the madness, was also quite terrifying.

Xiao Yun seemed to have just recovered. He gave Chen Yuanming a lazy, bitter smile. “Use people without suspicion, and don’t use people you suspect.”

This was true character… Chen Yuanming also leaned back on the sofa and stretched his back. “You won’t be wrong.”

On May 25, the Shanghai Stock Exchange announced after the market closed that it would prohibit “collective accounts” that bought and sold stocks together from buying stocks, only allowing them to sell the stocks they had originally bought, and would set up a point in the Cultural Square to welcome investors to sell their stocks… As soon as the news came out, the whole city was shocked.

The next day, the market began to fall sharply. On the 27th, there was a panic, and the market continued to fall. As a new round of lottery was about to be held in June, everyone was frantically dumping their old stocks, praying to be able to earn back their previous losses in the new stock certification. The entire market was a miserable green. In this terrible chaos, Chen Yuanming quietly slipped back into the stock market and started to do small-cap trading.

But at this time, his assets had already exceeded 30 million.