Chapter 246: The Great Rescuer (Part 1)

On 25 December 09, the Securities Square in the central district of Nanjiang was bustling with activity. A large stage had been set up, and a dance with strong Lingnan characteristics was performed on it. The stage was surrounded by a crowd, and not far away were not only many flower baskets, but also many hot air balloons rising into the sky. These balloons carried banners, and without exception, the banners all said 'Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Restructuring of the Stock Exchange'.

As the clock on the stage struck ten, a group of men in suits walked onto the stage, while the dancers who had been there earlier all bowed and left the stage.

As these men took to the stage, there were sudden bursts of exclamations from the crowd: 'Isn't that our provincial party secretary from Lingnan? And the governor and our municipal party secretary from Nanjiang. It seems that the influence of our Nanjiang stock market is really quite great! But why aren't the provincial party secretary and the governor at the front? Why is there a middle-aged man before them? Who is he?'

People in China still have a strong sense of hierarchy, so it is surprising to see that the provincial party secretary has to give way to the second person.

Someone in the crowd recognised his identity and pointed at him, saying, 'Look, I know that person. He is the newly appointed Vice Premier Zhang Heng of the State Council. I just saw the news on TV last week, and I didn't expect him to come to our Nanjiang and even come to attend the 30th anniversary of our Nanjiang Stock Exchange!'

Of course, some elderly Lingnan people were also there, doing their bit of science popularisation: 'What do you know? Premier Zhang was once the secretary of our Nanjiang municipal party committee and deputy secretary of the Lingnan provincial party committee. He is a national leader who came from our Nanjiang. I would say that the reason our Nanjiang stock market has done so well is because of leaders like Premier Zhang Heng. We are really lucky to have been able to see Premier Zhang Heng in person!'

Amidst the gasps of the audience, Zhang Heng slowly walked to the centre of the stage to announce the official start of the ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the stock exchange.

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience. After all, he was a national leader, and it was worth getting everyone excited.

After the ceremony, Zhang Heng left the stage and went to the studio of Nanjiang TV Station, where he was interviewed by a CCTV reporter. The CCTV reporter asked him, 'Hello, Prime Minister. I think many of the audience members who follow you should know that you also worked in Lingnan in the past. I think you probably have the greatest feelings today at the 30th anniversary of the stock exchange, don't you?'

Zhang Heng nodded and said, 'That's true. I can say that I have watched the Nanjiang stock market develop little by little, from the initial five stocks worth only a few million yuan to the current total stock value of nearly 10 trillion yuan. The Nanjiang stock market is like the pace of reform and opening up in our country, full of miracles.'

'Premier, actually there is a question that not only I, but also other audience members are curious about, and that is about the time when the stock exchange was first established,' the CCTV reporter said. 'At the time, the Nanjiang stock market had developed for two years. Since the stock market in Nanjiang continued to rise during the two years of development, and the momentum was very good, the central government decided to approve the restructuring of Nanjiang Securities Company into Nanjiang Stock Exchange.'

The CCTV reporter paused for a moment, then continued, 'But judging from people's current understanding of the stock market, after a sustained period of sharp rises, there is usually a downward trend. In fact, it seemed that this momentum did appear at the time, but there were no fluctuations at Nanjiang. Everything seemed to have passed very smoothly. What's going on?'

Zhang Heng laughed: 'Who says it passed smoothly? In fact, it was very dangerous at that time. A slight mistake could have caused a major disaster. Everyone in the securities market construction leadership group at that time, including Comrade Chen Yunfei, the secretary of the municipal party committee, was actually very nervous.'

'As for the final scare,' Zhang Heng suddenly looked intently at the CCTV reporter and asked her in return, 'Have you heard of a hero who takes over the baton?'

Zhang Heng's sudden question made the CCTV reporter freeze for a moment. She didn't understand how Zhang Heng, as the vice premier of the State Council, could suddenly say such vulgar words, and she didn't understand what the connection was between this and the question of the interview.

Zhang Heng, however, seemed to have not seen the CCTV reporter's dismay. He continued, 'The job of a "bad guy" is actually a very noble one. They are sincere and brave, and they do not hold grudges. In order to avoid any unpredictable accidents, they are willing to bear the pain that no one else is willing to bear. They are like the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, who is willing to go to hell if no one else will.'

The CCTV reporter listened to Zhang Heng's words, and the more she listened, the more she felt that she didn't understand. It was as if what Zhang Heng said was not Chinese, but an indigenous Zimbabwean language.

Zhang Heng then smiled slightly at her and said, 'Is it a bit hard to understand? Because what I want to tell you is that someone took up this plate back then, so the stock market crash back then did not cause too much social unrest. As for what I just said, it was actually what that person said back then.'

'That person?' The CCTV reporter asked with big, beautiful eyes, her eyes full of question marks.

Zhang Heng nodded and said, 'That person. Thanks to him, our Nanjiang stock market was able to achieve the greatest and best development, and it was able to weather the stock market downturn 30 years ago smoothly. If we were to name the hero of the Nanjiang stock market, he would come second, and no one would dare to put him first!'

The CCTV reporter in front of Zhang Heng was completely shocked. She no longer knew what words to use to express her feelings at that moment, because she saw longing and admiration in Zhang Heng's face. But Zhang Heng was the Vice Premier of the State Council. Who exactly was qualified to make him feel this way?

...

Time went back 30 years ago. In the conference room of the stock exchange building, Zhou Ming, Lin Muqing, Zhang Heng, and Luo Han were all sitting here. Lin Muqing announced the decision that Gangcheng would withdraw its investment as soon as possible.

Lin Muzhen's decision left Luo Han stunned, and although Zhang Heng had already heard it from Zhou Ming earlier, he still felt a moment of confusion when he heard it now.

'Director Lin, has something happened to us at Nanjiang? Or is there a problem with our stock exchange that needs to be solved? Director Lin, you can raise it at any time, and I hope that Director Lin can make the decision to withdraw the investment carefully.'

Lohan hurriedly spoke to Lin Mucheng, but seeing that Lin Mucheng was still very determined, he had to cast a pleading look at Zhou Ming on the other side: 'Consultant Zhou, please persuade Director Lin. Our stock market has finally returned to an upward trend, and we really need this investment from Director Lin and the other Hong Kong businessmen.'

Zhou Ming said to Luo Han, 'Mr Luo, please calm down. In fact, the withdrawal of investment by the Hong Kong businessmen led by Lin Dong was something that she and I had discussed a long time ago. This investment by the Hong Kong businessmen is only a hedging investment, not a long-term investment. According to their joint investment fund's assessment of our Nanjiang stock market, it shows that our stock market will continue to decline in the future. At this time, investing in it does not conform to their investment habits.'

'How can it continue to decline? Isn't the current situation of the stock market just great?' Luo Han was still trying to explain something.

However, Lin Muqing just shook her head and said, 'Vice President Luo, the Nanjiang stock market has experienced a bull market that has lasted for two years. It has now reached a peak, the peak of the Nanjiang economy, and it will only go downhill from here. Even if you say that you are being targeted this time, it seems to me that it is just a concentrated outbreak of the problems in the stock market. Even if there were no forces from over there, it would still be falling.'

Luo Han wanted to say something else, but Lin Muqing directly silenced him: 'Vice President Luo, you don't need to say anything else. This is the decision of the board of directors and I.'

Luo Han had no choice but to give up on Lin Muqing. He then turned to Zhou Ming and said, 'Consultant Zhou, you must help persuade Director Lin. They cannot withdraw their investment!'

'Mr Luo, don't get excited. Director Lin did say she wanted to withdraw her investment, but not immediately. They are a professional fund investment company, and they know how to withdraw their investment without affecting the stock market,' Zhou Ming continued, 'In addition, I actually proposed this withdrawal of investment by Hong Kong businessmen.'

Loham was stunned: 'Consultant Zhou, why? You've made Lin Dong and the others withdraw their investments, but what about our Nanjiang stock market? With so much money suddenly disappearing, the stock market will definitely fall. If it causes any social incidents, our stock exchange will be finished!'

Zhou Ming smiled and waved his hand, saying, 'It's not as serious as you say, Luo. Through this stock market decline, I believe our investors will learn from their mistakes and not cause any social incidents. As for the stock market suddenly losing a lot of money, I don't think so.'

'Why wouldn't the stock market suddenly lose a lot of money? Lin Dong just said she wanted to withdraw her investment...'

Before Luo Han could finish his sentence, Zhou Ming interrupted him, saying, 'That's because there is still a great profession in this world called the "buyer of bad assets". They come when they hear the call of the people's hearts. When the capital from Gangcheng withdraws, a huge hole will appear in the stock market. At this time, these "buyers of bad assets" will come out to fill the hole and take the blame.'

Zhou Ming's words were very cryptic, but Luo Han still understood. In short, Zhou Ming was saying the same thing: when Lin Muqing's capital leaves, someone will help her fill the gap.

But precisely because of this understanding, it made Luo Han even more entangled. After all, the money that needed to be filled in was not a small amount, and the people or institutions that could come up with this amount of money could be ranked among the best in the world. So how could such people not see the actual situation of the Nanjiang stock market and still take the initiative to send money to fill the hole? Isn't this the model of someone who is stupid but has a lot of money?

Luo Han's doubts were written on his face, and Zhou Ming saw them as they should be. He thought for a moment and asked Luo Han, 'I think you should remember that someone asked us to dinner tonight, right?'

Faced with this, Luo Han was shocked: "Consultant Zhou, you mean them? That's even less likely.'

'If it were half a month ago, Mr. Luo, you would still have a high degree of credibility in saying this, but times have changed. Now I think they would beg us to come in and take over," Zhou Ming said.

'Why?' Luo Han asked, puzzled.

'Because they are the greatest receivers that heaven has chosen as the most suitable,' Zhou Ming said.

!!