Chapter 152: Short Pain is Better Than Long Pain

December 28th was the last Monday of 1987. Originally, this day was just an ordinary day, but for the people of Nanjiang and even the entire country's stock investors, it was a day of great suffering. From the opening of the market in the morning, all stocks in the Nanjiang securities market experienced a continuous sharp decline. Within just one hour of trading, the market had fallen by over thirty percent, and millions of wealth had evaporated in an instant.

"I want to sell all my stocks, I don't want any of these stocks anymore, I want to sell them all, no matter how low the price is!"

"How could this happen? My money, I've lost several thousand yuan in such a short time. What kind of disaster is this?"

The entire securities company lobby and even the square in front of the securities company were filled with wails and cries. Some people desperately squeezed into the trading hall, shouting angrily to sell their stocks. Others sat on the ground crying loudly, and some stared blankly at the LED display screen with falling numbers, completely at a loss. The scene was chaotic.

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard—someone threw a brick and smashed a window of the securities company. Others shouted, "It's a scam! What kind of nonsense stock is this? This is just the securities company cheating us of our money. If the securities company doesn't return our money, we'll smash this place together!"

At the sound of these shouts, many people charged towards the securities company. However, the company was prepared. Soon, with the wail of police sirens, a dozen police cars arrived at the scene and quickly controlled the situation, arresting all the instigators.

In the securities company's second-floor office, Zhou Ming, Du Peng, and Luo Han stood by the window looking down.

"My God, how could this happen? Are they trying to start a revolution?" Luo Han murmured, his eyes filled with fear, clearly shocked by the situation below, reminding him of some past unpleasant events.

In contrast to Luo Han, Zhou Ming appeared much calmer. While observing the situation below, he said to Luo Han, "It's not surprising. Such situations occur almost every time there's a stock market crash abroad. Remember just a few months ago in Port City across the Nanhu Harbor, I personally experienced that stock disaster. Can you imagine the entire city being in an extreme state of depression? Can you imagine walking down the street and seeing people who had lost everything and were utterly dejected, with someone jumping off buildings in despair every moment?"

Luo Han shivered at Zhou Ming's words. He turned to Zhou Ming and asked, "Then… will we see such a situation here as well? But we're fundamentally different from those capitalist countries!"

"Of course, we are different. After all, this stock market crash was entirely anticipated. We've already made preparations to minimize the losses," Zhou Ming said, sighing. "However, some things are always unavoidable. The stock market is supposed to be an investment arena, but for most people, it's just a gambling field. Since it's speculation, there will always be a day of collapse. No speculative activity can remain prosperous forever, just like the previous land speculation. If it's not stopped in time, the speculation will eventually burst, leaving only a field of unfinished buildings."

Luo Han said helplessly, "Advisor Zhou, I understand what you're saying. I know this is an inevitable economic trend, but it's the ordinary people who suffer."

"But does Deputy General Luo feel sorry for them?" Zhou Ming asked.

Luo Han was stunned, "Aren't they pitiable?"

"They are pitiful," Zhou Ming said. "Losing so much all of a sudden, they are indeed very pitiful. But Deputy General Luo, you should have heard another saying: 'The pitiable have their own faults.'"

"Starting from a week ago, both Du Peng's Nanjiang Securities Report and your securities company, Deputy General Luo, have repeatedly emphasized the risks of the stock market to everyone. You might make money or lose money here. Even starting from the last two trading days of last week, I had Du Peng publish a prediction of a certain market crash in the securities report. But these people were blinded by money, refusing to believe and refusing to withdraw. Now that they are losing money, they're here blaming everything and everyone. What can we do about it?"

Zhou Ming smiled helplessly and continued, "Moreover, there's another crucial point: Do you think they are all law-abiding ordinary citizens?"

Luo Han widened his eyes at Zhou Ming, completely confused, and asked, "Aren't they?"

"I don't know if Deputy General Luo remembers the events during the stock frenzy," Zhou Ming said, pointing to the square below. "Even in this very place, with so many people, they were scrambling to get lottery numbers to open stock accounts. Some even borrowed a large number of IDs from relatives and friends to increase their chances of being selected, bringing these IDs in large bags. Do you think this is something law-abiding ordinary citizens would do?"

Zhou Ming answered, "Absolutely not. I can responsibly tell you that this is speculation! They saw that stocks could make money, so they wanted to enter the stock market regardless of the consequences."

"Since they chose speculation, they should accept the losses that come with it. But these people clearly weren't mentally prepared for this. They naively thought that stocks only make money and don't lose money, which is fundamentally illogical. Now that the stock prices have dropped, they start to act shamelessly and demand compensation from the securities company. It's simply unreasonable."

Zhou Ming posed another question, "And the most important thing is, did they really lose money?"

"If I remember correctly, since the stock market opened, our overall stock prices have increased by more than five times. Even in the last few trading days of last week, due to Hua Shao's injection of tens of millions, the stock prices surged by over thirty percent again."

Zhou Ming said with a passionate tone, "In other words, the most it has done is return to the initial position of last week. You could say that the money they lost was originally earned in the stock market. The money they lost was all money I helped them get from Hua Shao. Yet, they consider the money I painstakingly helped them acquire as their own and demand compensation. Deputy General Luo, do you think there's anything pitiable about these greedy speculators?"

Listening to Zhou Ming's impassioned speech, both Du Peng and Luo Han were stunned. They had never thought about things this way. They had only seen the crowd below in turmoil and forgotten that they were a group of greedy speculators. They were clearly speculating, yet they wouldn't accept the losses. They hadn't actually lost money, but they still demanded compensation from the securities company. Zhou Ming's incisive remarks had thoroughly exposed their shameless and ugly faces.

Du Peng and Luo Han were already very surprised by Zhou Ming's analysis of the people below. What they didn't expect was that Zhou Ming's next words would be even more shocking.

"Look at the police cars over there," Zhou Ming pointed to the dozen police cars surrounding the square, "so much police force wouldn't be possible without the approval of Governor Chen."

On the last day of the previous week, Chen Yunfei was officially appointed as the Executive Vice Governor of Lingnan, Secretary of the Nanjiang Municipal Party Committee, and Mayor of Nanjiang, making him the top authority in Nanjiang.

"Do you know why Governor Chen supports us so much?" Zhou Ming asked.

At this point, Luo Han was completely unable to follow Zhou Ming's train of thought. He shook his head blankly, while Du Peng beside him furrowed his brow in deep thought.

"It's because Governor Chen knows that such things are inevitable. For our securities market to develop, it has to go through various stages of ups and downs. It can't be all bull markets; there will always be bear markets and even worse crashes than today."

Zhou Ming paused and continued, "In fact, I believe that the continuous rise of our stock market in the past period was not a good thing for these investors. Because stocks are a relatively new thing in our country, and almost everyone is unfamiliar with them, the continuous rise has sent these investors a false signal, making them believe that stocks only go up and never down. I believe many people below think this way."

Du Peng and Luo Han looked down as Zhou Ming spoke, and sure enough, they saw faces filled with either confusion or tears. Clearly, they were just like Zhou Ming had said, only thinking about making money and never considering losses.

"But unfortunately, a stock market that only makes money and never loses doesn't exist. At least, I've never heard of it," Zhou Ming said. "So, rather than waiting for this bubble to burst on its own later, it's better for me to burst it. After all, this is a stage they will have to go through sooner or later. Short pain is better than long pain, and the goal is to make them understand what the stock market is and to let them figure out the principles of the stock market for themselves!"

Zhou Ming's words were powerful. As someone who had lived through reincarnation, Zhou Ming clearly remembered the mistakes and lessons of the domestic securities market in his previous life. He had also personally experienced the aftermath of a real stock disaster recently in Port City. Knowing the situation but doing nothing felt unacceptable to him.

"Advisor Zhou, your perspective is truly that of a central leader!"

 Luo Han exclaimed in awe.

Luo Han's words pulled Zhou Ming back from his thoughts. He looked at him in surprise, "What central leader?"

"Deputy General Luo means your position and the height of your thinking," Du Peng explained. "My grandfather once told me that an ordinary person only looks at his feet while walking, a talented person looks ahead, but a leader often sees the entire situation and makes the most rational judgments."

Now it was Zhou Ming's turn to be surprised, "I'm just speaking plainly. Are you elevating me too much?"

Du Peng shook his head, "You don't know. Two years ago, at the military parade, I followed my grandfather to the city gate. At that time, Mr. Yang's speech was exactly like yours just now."