Chapter 234: Is it a blessing or a curse?

'Zhou Ming, that son of a bitch, I'm going to chop him into minced meat! What a load of shit, the city party secretary and the mayor, and the securities company, they're all in on it!'

Still in the new villa in Nanjiang, Jiang Chunhua walked back and forth in the living room, letting out angry shouts. The middle-aged man was opposite him, looking up at him. 'Jiang, you'd better sit down and calm down first. Standing here making so much noise, you're making me think that bailing you out was a very wrong decision. In that case, I wouldn't mind sending you back in again. You believe I have that ability.'

The middle-aged man's tone was flat, but when it came to Jiang Chunhua's ears, it made him shiver involuntarily. Only then did he sit down with great difficulty, holding back his anger.

But just sitting down was not the same as sitting back. Jiang Chunhua still felt very suffocated in his heart. He said to the middle-aged man, 'Uncle Yong, you have seen me grow up. You know that I have never been to the police station since I was a child. But now that I have come to Nanjiang, it's only been a few days and I have been in twice. And this time, it is obvious that that guy Zhou Ming is retaliating against me. He is not only retaliating against me, but also slapping Uncle Yong in the face!'

The middle-aged man looked at Jiang Chunhua and said with a smile, 'That's enough. Don't talk to me like that. I've experienced more than you've seen, so this won't work on me.'

Jiang Chunhua was embarrassed for a moment, but then he scratched his head and said, 'Uncle Yong, I'm just so angry. And Zhou Ming and the others are really treacherous. It's surprising that an executive vice-governor and a party secretary would cooperate with Zhou Ming to target me like this. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a rule!'

The middle-aged man nodded and said, 'Indeed, this rule is very strange. How can the victim also be punished?'

Jiang Chunhua was about to agree and be happy when he heard Zhou Ming say this, but then the middle-aged man turned the conversation back to him: 'But I also heard about the situation at the time. Who was that person you found?'

Jiang Chunhua's face turned red: 'I was blind as a bat to hire that guy Xiaohu. How could I have hired such a good-for-nothing who is more trouble than he is worth? Shit, he actually ratted me out back then. I really want to crack his head open and see if it's full of shit. But let him stay in the detention centre for now. If he's got the balls, he can get himself out. I'm not going to bother with him.'

Speaking of Xiaohu Jiang Chunhua was also very angry, because at that time Xiaohu was arrested and that was it, what's the big deal? He could just find someone to bail him out, but he actually ratted him out. What's wrong with you?

The middle-aged man shook his head helplessly, sighed and said to Jiang Chunhua, 'Jiang, don't blame others, we ourselves really didn't handle this well.'

'Uncle Yong, this time they teamed up to plot against me together, next time I will definitely be more careful...'

The middle-aged man interrupted Jiang Chunhua and said, 'Forget it, we don't have time to play games here, let's get on with our real plan.'

'Uncle Yong, has the situation changed? Are we finally going to take action against Zhou Ming? And have those old gentlemen come to Nanjiang?' Jiang Chunhua asked. He was originally very frustrated when he heard the middle-aged man say forget it, but when he heard the middle-aged man's next words, his eyes lit up.

'You don't need to know about these things. Right now, you just need to do what you should be doing. This time, there is no room for error!' The middle-aged man finally emphasised.

Jiang Chunhua immediately gave the middle-aged man a positive answer: 'Uncle Yong, don't worry, I promise to do my best!'

The middle-aged man nodded silently and then got up to leave. He still had confidence in Jiang Chunhua's abilities. Although he had been arrested twice before, his thoughts and actions had been satisfactory. It was just that Zhou Ming had been better prepared. Besides, the task he was to be given this time was not crucial. Even if he failed, it would not affect the overall situation. So let him make a mess.

With these thoughts, the middle-aged man took out his phone and dialed a number: 'Hello, connect me to line 3.'

...

After Jiang Chunhua and Uncle Yong made their decision, Zhou Ming once again went to the Nanjiang Municipal Party Committee. His treatment was the same as before. Peng Shengyou, the secretary of the executive vice governor and the municipal party committee secretary, greeted him at the door and took him upstairs when Zhou Ming arrived.

When they arrived at Chen Yunfei's office, Chen Yunfei was reviewing documents. When he saw Zhou Ming come in, he immediately put down the documents, stood up, and invited Zhou Ming to sit on the sofa in the reception area. He also asked Peng Shengyou to come over and make tea.

Sitting on the sofa, Zhou Ming asked Chen Yunfei, 'Secretary, you asked me to come over in such a hurry, is it because you have another difficult problem for me?'

'Zhou Ming, you young comrade, can't you show some respect to the older comrades?'

Chen Yunfei helplessly accused Zhou Ming, and he continued, 'This time I asked you to come over because I actually have some very important news for you. The Central Committee has approved the policy for the Nanjiang Stock Exchange to start trial operations.'

'This is really a difficult problem. It's so sudden that it caught me off guard,' Zhou Ming let out a long breath and said.

'Consultant Zhou, it seems that I know you have always supported changing the securities company into a stock exchange. In the past, the central government did not express its position, but now it has, so aren't you happy?' Chen Yunfei asked deliberately.

Zhou Ming smiled bitterly and said, 'Secretary, don't joke around. If the central government had agreed to this from the beginning, I would be very happy, but now this sudden decision cannot but make people worry!'

Zhou Ming was not joking. After all, when something unusual happens, there must be a reason. The Nanjiang Stock Exchange had originally been targeted in such a way that even someone like Chen Yunfei did not dare to openly support it. Zhou Ming could only be told to find a way to get it started first. This clearly meant that there was a powerful opposition force in the central government, not just one or two people, but probably a group. But now suddenly the wind direction in the central government has changed.

If you say that this group has been eliminated, or that Chen Yunfei's group has come to power, Zhou Ming just doesn't believe it. You have to know that anyone who can interfere with Chen Yunfei is someone who is at the pinnacle of power, and there is generally no way that there would be no news of such a political change at this level.

Then the only possibility now is that this is intentional, that the political group deliberately changed the wind direction. As for the purpose, apart from there being a conspiracy, Zhou Ming can't think of any other possibilities.

Chen Yunfei also put away his smile at this time. He said to Zhou Ming, 'That's why I asked you to come here. Do you think the time is ripe for Nan Jiang to establish a stock exchange?'

'The time is definitely ripe, but with the current situation in the central government, it's hard to say.'

Zhou Ming finished and then threw the question back to Chen Yunfei: 'I think the secretary must have already made a decision, right?'

Zhou Ming did not ask because he was indecisive, but because he could not make the decision himself. First, the stock exchange was related to the financial lifeblood of a country, and second, Chen Yunfei also belonged to a political group. With so many bigwigs above them, there was no reason for them to be undecided.

'The decision of the central government is to establish the Nanjiang Stock Exchange,' Chen Yunfei replied.

Chen Yunfei's words seemed to repeat the news he had brought, but Zhou Ming could hear the unspoken meaning, which was that their faction had already made up their minds, and even though they knew it might be a conspiracy, they still wanted to get the stock exchange up and running.

Zhou Ming put his hands up: 'Since it's been decided, let's get it started. After all, the regulations of the stock exchange have been in trial operation for some time now, and the market has gradually come to accept them. All we have to do next is just replace the signboard of the securities company.'

Chen Yunfei nodded and said, 'I will hand this over to the securities market construction leading group, but you, Zhou Ming, will be under the most pressure. Do you have any requests?'

Zhou Ming of course understood that his own pressure was the heaviest. Although the preparations were being done by Zhang Heng and Luo Han, they would only do things step by step. If anything unexpected happened, he would have to come to the rescue. Otherwise, if Luo Han, the first vice president of the securities company, did not know about the news, how would he, the development consultant, know about it?

Zhou Ming let out a long breath and said, 'There are no demands, as long as you, Secretary, can attend the opening ceremony of the stock exchange.'

'No problem with that. Since it's a decision of the central government, I, as the secretary of the Nanjiang Municipal Party Committee, of course cannot remain indifferent. I will attend the opening ceremony,' Chen Yunfei said. "But when do you plan to hold the opening ceremony?'

'It doesn't matter. The sooner the better," Zhou Ming said.

In this way, the opening of the Nanjiang Stock Exchange was finalized during the discussions between Zhou Ming and Chen Yunfei, and after only a week of preparations, the listing ceremony of the Nanjiang Stock Exchange began in front of the former securities company.

On this day, there was a lively and festive atmosphere in front of the stock exchange. Firecrackers were being set off and the sound of gongs and drums could be heard everywhere. Even the lion dance was performed. Due to the presence of Chen Yunfei, the secretary of the municipal party committee, representatives from Nanjiang City attended the ceremony, from party and government organs to various public institutions and private entrepreneurs, and even the province.

Facing this spectacular scene, Luo Han's eyes became moist. 'The stock exchange is finally up and running, and we finally have our own real securities market!'

At this moment, Luo Han was very excited. After all, from the initial joint-stock reform to the establishment of the stock exchange, he had sacrificed so much. To him, the stock exchange was like a child he had watched grow up. In the past, this child was unregistered, but now it has finally been registered. How could the parent not be sincerely happy?

Of course, not everyone who came to the front of the stock exchange to attend this event today was genuinely congratulating. Among the crowd, a young man was disdainful. He was Jiang Chunhua.

'What the hell is all this fuss about? I don't know who gave you permission to do this,' said Jiang Chunhua.

A middle-aged man next to him said, "It's good to make a big deal about it, after all, it's the first stock exchange in New China. It's just that this first place thing, I can't tell if it's a blessing or a curse.'

'It's definitely a curse, Uncle Yong, I can't wait to see this stock exchange collapse and go bust!" Jiang Chunhua said with a sneer.