Chapter 36#

On February 1st, getting off the train and stepping into the metropolis of Shanghai full of adventure and opportunities again, Chen Yuanming took a deep breath. Without the heavy haze of his hometown, the sky, which could not be called blue, seemed a bit clearer.

Today was the first day of the stock market opening after the New Year. Although the train schedule did not catch up with the official opening time, after returning to the hotel, Chen Yuanming looked through the recent financial newspapers, which still showed a very good situation. On the first day after the New Year, the Shanghai stock market opened high. The Shanghai Composite Index went all the way up. Except for a few new stocks that fluctuated, the rest were basically climbing steadily. At the same time, the Shenzhen market also reported good performance. It seemed that the entire Chinese stock market was developing towards prosperity.

In addition to this news, the biggest page of financial newspapers was occupied by the real estate boom in Hainan. Since the founding of New China, this was the first construction trend involving real estate. Compared with the caution and ignorance of the real estate industry in various provinces and cities in the mainland during the same period, the real estate fever in Hainan showed a terrifying development speed. Of course, the influence of the Southern Tour speech was indispensable here. As soon as the slogan “accelerate the reform of the housing system” came out, the horn was blown, and hundreds of billions of funds poured into the southern coastal cities, creating turbulent waves there.

Land prices skyrocketed. People no longer considered whether commercial housing exceeded the wage standard at that time, nor did they consider whether the per capita living area had reached saturation. Instead, they kept adding bricks and tiles to the land, squandering funds and labor for predictable profits. Even banks and securities dealers reached their hands into the muddy water. A large number of bad loans appeared. It seemed that as long as those real estate companies were given a crowbar, they could overturn the entire land of Hainan.

Such visible profits were obviously more in line with the habits of more Chinese people, so the real estate craze, which was more fanatical than the stock craze, broke out.

Chen Yuanming looked at the newspaper in front of him and shook his head gently. He didn’t know how many people would fall into this trap again…

On the opening day the next day, arriving at the large investor room early, Chen Yuanming was surprised to find two people already sitting in the cubicle. It was Xiao Yun and his nephew. Seeing Chen Yuanming’s figure, Xiao Yun stood up with a smile.

“Yuanming, back from home? Did you have a good New Year?”

Chen Yuanming smiled, “Seeing the stock market all red, I naturally feel good.”

This sentence made Xiao Yun smile knowingly. At this time, Xiao Junyi also came over and greeted Chen Yuanming.

Xiao Yun smiled and patted his nephew on the shoulder, “This kid insisted that there were still some days left in the New Year holiday and wanted to come to Shanghai to accompany his grandmother, so I let him come along. How about it, you don’t mind, right?”

“How could I.” Chen Yuanming didn’t have any intuitive likes or dislikes for this kid, and of course, he wouldn’t mind his existence.

After chatting for a few words, several people sat back on the sofa and studied the market.

The opening was still strong, but in the past half month, neither of them had any stock transactions on their accounts, just waiting for the high point. Drinking tea, reading newspapers, and chatting about the market, life seemed to have returned to its former leisure. Sitting like this until 11 o’clock, Xiao Junyi glanced at Chen Yuanming’s indifferent expression and finally couldn’t help it.

“Uncle.” Interrupting his uncle’s focused gaze, he whispered. “Didn’t you tell the family? When are you going to withdraw from the stock market…”

Although the voice was not loud, the cubicle was also small. Attracted by the topic, Chen Yuanming naturally looked over. “Brother Xiao, are you going to withdraw?”

Xiao Yun glared at his nephew with some annoyance. He had originally planned to talk about this when inviting Chen Yuanming to dinner in the evening. He didn’t expect it to be poked out at this time. This topic started really badly. But since the words were out, there was no point in hiding it anymore. Showing a bitter smile, Xiao Yun leaned lazily on the sofa.

“The old man has spoken. He won’t let us muddy the waters in the stock market anymore, saying it’s too damaging to hidden virtues.”

These words were neither light nor heavy, and the other party’s actual meaning was unclear. Chen Yuanming smiled, “What hidden virtues are damaged? We didn’t act as market makers to cheat people.”

“Don’t mention it. In the past half year, people around the old man and around the eldest brother have more or less fallen into it. Some embezzled corporate public funds, some used bank assets, and some abused their power… Originally good comrades with good styles were confused by money. It is really miserable. The old man couldn’t stand it anymore and treated the stock market as a scourge.”

Chen Yuanming really had nothing to say about this. There were too many such precedents in the stock market. Money dazzles the eyes and makes people do desperate things. The higher the position and the heavier the power, the easier it is to get confused. But this is not the real reason, right? This bull market only has a 3-month market trend. It will enter a downward channel at most by mid-February, and it will be an extremely strict policy tightening. Xiao Yun’s withdrawal is a bit too coincidental…

Xiao Yun looked up at the teenager beside him and chuckled softly, “How about having lunch together at noon? How about Huanghe Road?”

The Huanghe Road food street in 1993 was just beginning to prosper. More and more restaurants opened, with everything from all over the country, especially luxury dishes like live seafood. The target customers were those stock market winners who got rich overnight in Shanghai. It was considered a quite famous social center in the financial circle.

Suddenly inviting him to dinner while chatting, Chen Yuanming knew that the other party wanted to talk to him about topics unsuitable for the large investor room, so he naturally agreed readily.

After the market closed, the three of them walked towards Huanghe Road together. By this time, Xiao Yun also knew Chen Yuanming’s quirk. He never took a car when traveling with him, usually walking. Along the way, they saw a few familiar faces common in the stock market, and more were upstarts with the same arrogant arrogance, all with slicked-back hair and sunglasses, gold chains and leather jackets. There were also a few who ignored the cold air in February, took out brick phones on the road and chatted loudly.

Mobile phones of this era, the so-called “Big Brother”, were already popular in Shanghai. Basically, they were Motorola 3200. The market price exceeded 20,000, and the black market price was 50,000 or 60,000. The body weight was more than a pound, and the standby time was only a short 10 hours. In addition, the call quality was terrible, and the base stations were pitifully few. The cost performance was simply horrible. Even such a thing could become a synonym for status and position…

Chen Yuanming retracted a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth. What can be done? This is China now. The mobile communication industry is almost a blank. If he can enter this field, immeasurable wealth will await him. But starting from scratch now is inevitably a bit late. Huawei’s output value in 1992 was estimated to have exceeded 100 million. What kind of energy their team possesses is definitely not something that can be built overnight…

Thinking about things randomly, Chen Yuanming followed Xiao Yun into a hotel and booked a private room by the window on the second floor. Randomly ordered a few fashionable dishes recently, brewed Longjing tea, and the conversation finally entered the main topic.

“Yuanming, seeing that you were noncommittal about what I said just now, do you have any plans in mind?” Xiao Yun started the conversation first. He wanted to ask this question just now. Although he didn’t say it directly, Chen Yuanming didn’t seem to oppose his withdrawal from the market. Is it that the recent prosperity is also full of dangers in his eyes?

It is not strange to know some rumors in advance. Today’s stock market relies on policy support. The more within the system, the easier it is to obtain benefits. But Chen Yuanming’s strangeness is not here, but that kind of trading precise to the day. Knowing the general trend may lead to early withdrawal, or early entry when the situation is good. But this kid chose the checkpoint before the rise and fall every time. Selling at the highest point and buying at the lowest point. What is the probability of this? It seems that the stock market K-line chart is not lines in his eyes, but bank accounts marked with dates. This is definitely not from policy foresight, but a more wonderful ability. So calling him a stock market genius is not an exaggeration at all.

Chen Yuanming took a sip of tea, “Yes, the original plan was to sell in mid-February. I originally wanted to give Brother Xiao a reminder, but I didn’t expect you to know earlier than me this time.”

Sure enough. Xiao Yun sighed in his heart. He actually wanted to persist until late February. Now it seems that his trip north will also be advanced.

“You also heard the news… As soon as this meeting opens, the sky above will change. The old man has issued a strict order for me to retreat quickly.”

Meeting? Chen Yuanming was stunned, and immediately reacted. This refers to the National People’s Congress in March. If this is used as a starting point, it is not wrong. The one who came to power in this session was the famous iron-fisted prime minister of later generations. The 16 macro-control measures in mid-1993 immediately curbed the real estate fever in Hainan, followed by a bear market for nearly two years. The suspension of new stock issuance and policy rescue in 1994, the 3.27 treasury bond futures turmoil in 1995, until the soft landing of the economy in 1997, the stock market gradually warmed up. In these long few years, except for extremely short rising trends, back and forth were undercurrents surging. Where is it a place that normal people can set foot in?

Understanding the other party’s reason, this result is reasonable. Chen Yuanming smiled, “The old man is right. I estimate that I will have to find another way out in the next few years. Brother Xiao, what are your plans?”

Hearing this, Xiao Yun’s eyes moved, and then he shook his head helplessly. “I thought for a long time, and finally decided to go back to my hometown. The three northeastern provinces are the foundation of our family. The disarmament in recent years has been noisy. Many military factories below have begun to think of ways to find other outlets. My sum of money still has to rot in the pot.”

Hearing this, how could Chen Yuanming not know the meaning of that shake of the head? The military industry is indeed in the bag of the military bigwigs. The partner will naturally not choose an outsider whose identity and background are unclear. Even if Xiao Yun has the intention, he, Chen Yuanming, cannot intervene in the military-to-civilian sequence. But thinking is one thing, the other party’s long-term care is really placed on the bright side, and the military industry…

His heart skipped a beat, and Chen Yuanming suddenly frowned. Right, why didn’t he think of it!

Tapping his fingertips on the table twice, Chen Yuanming suddenly raised his head, “Brother Xiao, if you don’t mind, can you tell me what products the military-to-civilian conversion of your military factories is mainly concentrated on?”

Xiao Yun frowned. It’s not that he couldn’t say this, but it was really a bit embarrassing to say it. After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Yun finally sighed, “What else can it be? Just things like bicycles and household appliances. There are also some ambitious ones who want to make cars, but a lot of money has been invested, and there is still no sound until now.”

Chen Yuanming smiled, “This can’t reflect the advantages of the military industry.”

How is it not… Being in this system, no one understands the thoughts of the bigwigs above better than Xiao Yun. Being away from the market for too long, almost all of them invest in whatever makes money with a hot head. Production lines are opened one after another, but few make money. Sales and management are even more messy, making the originally powerful factories miserable. But what can he do? Having good technology in vain, he is also confused about which aspect to invest in. But listening to Chen Yuanming’s words…

“Why, do you have any ideas?”

“Mature ideas are not yet available, but military-to-civilian conversion, in the final analysis, is to apply the strengths and powerful technological power of the military industry to civilian products. Who can’t make color TVs, refrigerators, and bicycles? The industrial chain can’t compete with private enterprises, so naturally it fails miserably. But the military industry also has its advantages. The quality is excellent, and the technology is more than one step ahead of civilian use. What if this advantage can be transformed into productivity?”

Xiao Yun slowly sat up straight. The advantages of the military industry naturally need not be said, but at the same time, there are too many restrictions. If some military technologies want to develop for civilian use, they face not only policies and concepts, but also many precise details, so the direction is even more crucial. If the wrong choice is made, the price paid will far exceed any civilian production line, and even relate to the survival of a military factory. But on the contrary, what if it succeeds?

Seeing that the other party had fully understood his meaning, Chen Yuanming no longer kept him in suspense and directly threw out the answer. “I think mobile communication is a very good investment direction.”

Mobile communication… Hearing this term, Xiao Yun was stunned for a long time, not reacting to what this thing was. Xiao Junyi, who had been sitting beside him, chuckled, “Want to make Big Brother?”

As soon as this common name came out, Xiao Yun immediately understood, and his eyes lit up. Yes, if it is this kind of mobile communication, the military is indeed very familiar with it. Any ground war, aviation, and aerospace cannot do without communication. Battlefield mobile radio stations, military independent communication bands, in the use of radio and satellite signals, the military completely has a mature enough system. Even as far as he knows, his eldest brother has a military factory specializing in making radio transmitters under his command, and the technology is quite excellent.

“But Big Brother, this thing needs a civilian communication network, right?” However, not immediately dazzled, Xiao Yun raised the most critical point. Nowadays, the civilian mobile communication network is not perfect. Even Big Brother only has base stations in a few big cities. If you have to lay base stations yourself and compete with advanced technologies from abroad, this pressure is inevitably a bit too great.

Chen Yuanming shook his head, “Not Big Brother, it should be said to be… uh, an extension of a landline phone. It can use the wireless network of the local telephone, but like Big Brother, it can be taken out of the house for use.”

That’s right, what Chen Yuanming thought of was a magical device that was popular for more than ten years in later generations: PHS (Personal Handy-phone System, or Xiaolingtong).

Unlike real mobile phone communication signals, PHS is essentially an extension of local telephone service, with various limitations and shortcomings. However, in the ten years from 1996 to 2006, PHS almost dominated the entire Chinese mobile communication market. In this era, there were no behemoths like China Unicom and China Mobile. PHS, walking on the edge of policy, occupied the Chinese market by relying on high quality, low price, and strong operability.

And if he remembers correctly, this technology actually came from Japan. It was successfully developed as early as 1993 and 1994, but it did not achieve a good market response in Japan. It was not until it settled in China in 1996 that it bore fruitful results. In other words, this technology can already be mastered by civilians. So what about military use? It is estimated to be just a matter of a window paper, right? Not to mention the quality of military products, it is not impossible to give birth to a Chinese Nokia.

“Landline, local telephone, wireless, Big Brother…” Several words turned over and over in Xiao Yun’s mouth, and his heart really warmed up. How many landlines are there in China now? How many will there be in the future? If this business is really done, it will not be just a few profits, but a shining golden avenue!

The food on the table had turned cold, but the torrent was boiling in the chest, and a storm seemed to blow up in the small private room. Looking at the two people, one big and one small, chatting enthusiastically in front of him, Xiao Junyi exhaled deeply. How many sentences is this?! If this matter is really done, how should his uncle treat the teenager in front of him, and even his own family…

This little guy is so interesting!