Chapter 158: Elder Yang and Chairman Dong

Zhou Ming and Luo Han followed Secretary Peng to the conference room. After waiting a short while in the conference room, other municipal officials arrived one after another. Zhou Ming and Luo Han took the initiative to stand at the door and greet each official.

These officials were also very enthusiastic in their greetings, praising Zhou Ming: "Advisor Zhou is truly remarkable! You managed to calm down thousands of investors under such circumstances. Thanks to your efforts, the situation was resolved so smoothly. If you hadn't pacified the investors, South Jiang would have faced a major crisis. You're truly a hero who stabilized South Jiang."

The officials praised Zhou Ming sincerely, understanding that without his speech, the investors' anger could have led to significant troubles, whether it was disrupting the securities company or the party and government organs.

If that had happened, they might have been held accountable, which no one wanted to see. Zhou Ming's ability to calm the angry investors was the best outcome for them. Especially since Zhou Ming was not an official, all the credit would eventually fall on their shoulders, which made them even more pleased.

Therefore, they were willing to use any language to compliment Zhou Ming at this moment.

Chen Yunfei, the Secretary of the Municipal Committee and the Mayor, was the last to enter. After sitting down, he nodded at Zhou Ming and then, as usual, the Secretary of the Municipal Committee took attendance. Once everyone was confirmed, Chen Yunfei said: "Comrades, we were supposed to hold a meeting today to discuss the gains and losses of our securities market construction. However, we received a call from the central government this morning. Elder Yang and Chairman Dong want to hold a phone meeting to hear our report on the securities work."

At this moment, Secretary Peng whispered to Chen Yunfei that the central government's signal had been received. Chen Yunfei stopped speaking, and the phone call was put through. After a while, Elder Yang's distinctive accent came through: "Hello, comrades from South Jiang."

Chen Yunfei and others greeted Elder Yang and Chairman Dong. Elder Yang then directly asked: "Comrade Yunfei, how is the situation with the stock market collapse handled? Have the investors' emotions been calmed?"

Chen Yunfei immediately responded: "Fortunately, we did not fail. Although the situation yesterday was very severe, and the investors' emotions nearly reached the breaking point, with the collective efforts of all comrades in the South Jiang Municipal Committee and the municipal government, we managed to control the situation. All the investors have been persuaded to return home. Now, the neighborhood committees in each district are actively cooperating with the local police to manage the investors' emotions. Most investors have been mentally reassured, and only a few extreme cases are under close monitoring."

Elder Yang responded with an "en" and said: "Comrade Yunfei, this is handled very well. Other comrades from South Jiang also deserve praise. However, even though the situation has been controlled, you must remain vigilant. At this crucial period of reform and opening up, we must ensure social stability. Only stability can create space for development."

"Elder Yang's words are very correct. We will certainly keep your teachings in mind and prioritize stability and development in all party and government work!" Chen Yunfei said.

Elder Yang continued: "Comrade Yunfei, although stability work is very important, we cannot relax in economic development! I still say that stability leads to development, and development ensures stability. We must grasp both aspects firmly in our reform and opening up. We cannot handle one well and neglect the other. The results will be poor."

Chen Yunfei nodded repeatedly and said yes. Elder Yang then asked: "How is the situation in the stock market now?"

Chen Yunfei replied: "Elder Yang, the stock market fell nearly half of its value yesterday. Although it's a normal result of the previous stock price bubble, the stock prices are still falling today. However, after the securities company took a series of measures, the decline has been effectively controlled, and such a sharp drop will not occur again."

"What about the losses?" Chairman Dong suddenly interjected, "Even if it's a normal decline, as a people's government, we cannot allow the public to lose money."

Hearing Chairman Dong's sudden interjection, Zhou Ming was taken aback and felt a bit surprised, as it was unusual for Chairman Dong to interrupt Elder Yang and Chen Yunfei's conversation. 

Elder Yang was currently the actual leader of the country, while Chairman Dong, despite being the nominal top leader, was still inferior to Elder Yang. It was unusual for him to interrupt. It was akin to the mayor interrupting the party secretary in a municipal meeting—an elementary rule in political circles!

Even someone like Zhou Ming, who had never worked in government, understood this basic rule. Chairman Dong, as the President, should know this better.

The only possible explanation was that Chairman Dong was unhappy with his current position and wanted to challenge Elder Yang's authority!

As a reborn individual, Zhou Ming had some understanding of the high-level political struggles within Zhongnanhai during this era, especially the conflict between Elder Yang and Chairman Dong. Despite most information being sealed, many details still leaked out in later years.

It seemed Chairman Dong's dissatisfaction with Elder Yang, who had helped him rise to power, had now surfaced.

Zhou Ming thought to himself, not surprised by this speculation. After all, it was hard to believe that Chairman Dong, having reached such a position, would not want to fully grasp the power.

A person in the top position but unable to fully control the power was indeed unusual, but it could occur in certain political environments.

Regardless of the political environment, someone in the top position would not want to be subordinate. Chairman Dong was no exception.

However, Chairman Dong's political wisdom seemed to be less mature compared to Elder Yang. Challenging Elder Yang's authority so early and so openly indicated a lack of political finesse, and this was something Elder Yang could handle with much more composure, eventually leading to Chairman Dong's downfall a year later.

Of course, the outcome had its surprises, but generally, Chairman Dong's political wisdom and skills were far behind Elder Yang's.

Whether Chairman Dong's actions were due to inflated confidence after becoming President or other reasons, Zhou Ming did not know and did not want to understand. He only wanted to quietly make money and remain a low-profile capitalist, avoiding any involvement in political activities.

At this moment, Zhou Ming was thinking about central matters, while Chen Yunfei replied: "Please rest assured, Chairman Dong. The securities company has exhausted all means to minimize investors' losses. According to the data provided by the securities company, the vast majority of investors have not lost their principal, and the losses are only from the money earned through stock appreciation."

Zhou Ming glanced at Chen Yunfei, realizing that his answer seemed to be a straightforward response, completely unaware of Chairman Dong's interruption.

Zhou Ming smiled inwardly, thinking that Chen Yunfei was a smart person. In the face of divine-level disputes between Elder Yang and Chairman Dong, it was best to remain uninvolved. Despite being the Executive Vice Governor and Mayor of South Jiang, Chen Yunfei was still out of reach in such high-level power struggles. It was better to pretend not to know anything.

Chairman Dong, after hearing Chen Yunfei's answer, said: "That's not enough. Comrade Yunfei, you must remember that our goal in reform and opening up is to make all the people in the country prosperous. South Jiang, as a window for reform and opening up, is a model for the nation, so we cannot overlook the money earned through stock appreciation. After all, this money is rightfully earned by the people. As party members and cadres, we should help the people protect this money."

"I understand, Chairman Dong. I will instruct the securities company to find ways to curb the stock market decline and protect as much of the public's money as possible," Chen Yunfei said.

Chairman Dong laughed and said: "That's very good! As party members and cadres, we must be dedicated to serving the people, not half-hearted or inconsistent."

Chen Yunfei acknowledged and then Chairman Dong asked: "Comrade Yunfei, I heard that when the securities company was established, many comrades visited Hong Kong City for inspection. However, our stock market construction did not follow Hong Kong's model exactly. Is that correct?"

Chen Yunfei nodded and said: "Yes, Chairman Dong. When building the securities market, we considered the special circumstances here and our system is quite different from Hong Kong's. Therefore, we had to choose a gradual approach, introducing basic rules and systems first, combining them with our local characteristics, and then making adjustments gradually."

Chairman Dong responded: "Comrade Yunfei, I must criticize you for this. Reform and opening up should be bold and decisive. As the Secretary of the South Jiang Municipal Committee, you should be at the forefront of reform. How can you be as slow as a woman with bound feet? If you miss the development opportunity, how will we account to the people of the country?"

"I understand, Chairman Dong. I will pay more attention next time," Chen Yunfei said.