Chapter 244: The Catfish

The string of scandals had not only caused Wang Hongcheng's reputation in Bing City to plummet, but the news of Dr. Wang's arrest by the public security authorities sparked a nationwide wave of denunciation.

Although the water-to-oil scam had deceived a large portion of people, including many authoritative experts and scholars, there were still some rational individuals who attempted to use scientific methods to expose the fundamentally flawed water-to-oil technology from a physics perspective.

In no time, numerous articles debunking the water-to-oil technology began to surface in major newspapers.

These articles, while revealing various aspects of the water-to-oil scam, all shared one theory: Hydrogen and oxygen in water are in a compound state, with no combustible hydrogen gas present. Separating hydrogen and oxygen in water requires energy through methods like electrolysis, photocatalysis, or high temperatures. Since burning hydrogen and oxygen results in the formation of water, this process, according to the principle of energy conservation, does not produce any energy but rather converts energy from one form to another.

Thus, according to the law of energy conservation, water-to-oil is impossible!

Despite many of Wang Hongcheng's fervent followers attempting to defend the theory with distorted arguments, the authenticity of the water-to-oil technology had significantly diminished in the face of the rising wave of skepticism.

In just two days, there were numerous suicides reported across the country. Many individuals who had invested in the water-to-oil technology, having been deceived by Wang Hongcheng for over a year or even longer, and who had either invested their entire savings or borrowed money at high interest rates, finally lost their last bit of hope and broke down.

At Xu Maohua's home.

Watching the sensational news in the newspapers, Li Xian shook his head repeatedly.

Xu Maohua, with his cigarette and long stubble, was beside him, conflicted in his reactions. This old fellow, who couldn't stand seeing others in misery but found a bit of satisfaction when others were worse off, was incredibly contradictory.

After a while, Xu Maohua loudly expressed his regret: "Oh, this person jumped from the eighth floor. He was previously a bank credit manager. Tsk, Wang Hongcheng is really a piece of work. Look at how he's ruined people."

Then he sarcastically commented: "But using embezzled funds to invest in Wang Hongcheng? That person is really something."

After commenting and lamenting enough, Xu Maohua finally adjusted his attitude.

He took out a cigarette and respectfully handed it to Li Xian, saying, "Xianzi, I really owe you this time. If it weren't for you reminding me and putting in so much effort to help me, I might have been driven to suicide myself."

Li Xian took the cigarette, scoffing, "Come on, you've been scammed out of over ten million, but you still have three million left. Those who jumped or lay on the tracks had to mortgage their underwear. You're not in the same boat."

Xu Maohua's hand holding the lighter trembled slightly, his face turning pale and then red. After a long pause, he sighed and returned to the living room. He rummaged around under the TV cabinet, pulling out several documents and placing them in front of Li Xian.

"Xianzi, I didn't show these before because I was afraid of losing face. Take a look yourself… if I'm not on the rooftop right now, it's truly thanks to you."

Li Xian looked curiously at Xu Maohua and glanced at the documents on the table.

It was quite a shock to see what was inside!

The documents were Xu Maohua's applications for mortgage loans using his car and house.

"Damn! Didn't you say…" Li Xian's jaw dropped, "Didn't you say you were only investing a bit over ten million?"

Xu Maohua put out his cigarette in the ashtray, "Bullshit! At the time, Wang Hongcheng said he needed thirty million to build a production base in Qing'an, including the factory and equipment. I thought about teaming up with my contacts in the public security bureau to take over this base, and then use Wang Hongcheng's base material to monopolize the gas stations in Qing'an and Beilin. Twelve million was just the first batch!"

Li Xian was speechless.

At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety for Xu Maohua.

"Xianzi," seeing Li Xian silent, Xu Maohua spoke emotionally, "It's you who saved my life. No matter what in the future, if I have a meal to eat, I'll make sure you're not hungry! If I have a bowl of porridge, you…"

"Alright, alright!" Li Xian quickly cut him off—nice words were fine, but too much of it was tiresome.

"Stop talking nonsense. I need money in November. You still have ten million, right?" Li Xian was straightforward, "Don't waste it. Get it ready for me."

Xu Maohua was stunned, "Damn, I'm just being polite! You're serious?"

"Are you borrowing or not?" Li Xian gave him a disdainful look.

"Borrow, of course…" Xu Maohua bent over, looking servile, "But now I'm relying on this ten million to survive. If there are any profitable projects, you must think of me. I don't trust anyone else now, Xianzi, I'll be sticking with you from now on!"

Sigh.

Looking at Xu Maohua clinging to him, Li Xian rubbed his temples.

There were plenty of big projects,

But damn it, the money was lacking!

The agency rights for those sanitary napkins had already been auctioned off for over seven million. Adding in the first batch of payments for those sanitary napkins, as well as recent profits from the paper mill and liquor factory, he had over nine million on hand.

Even with Xu Maohua's ten million, it was still a third short of the three thousand seventy million for the first CCTV advertising king.

With October approaching, just over a month left, and over ten million…

Where to get it?

Looking at Xu Maohua clinging to him, Li Xian sighed inwardly. It seemed he'd have to sell off some antiques to make up the shortfall.

"Xu Ge, let's go to Beijing."

"To do what?"

"Sell off assets…"

...

As Li Xian pondered selling assets for advertising.

In Beijing, at the Kunlun Hotel.

Wei Wenyuan, the general manager of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, entered a private room guided by the waiter. Seeing the middle-aged man who stood up to greet him, he extended his hand.

After some pleasantries, they sat down.

Seeing Li Wei, the securities department director of Baoan Group, the first listed company in the Shenzhen stock market, Wei Wenyuan smiled.

In terms of status, Wei Wenyuan, as the general manager of the stock exchange, was undoubtedly in a superior position compared to a securities department director.

However, in front of Li Wei, he didn't dare to act high-handed.

"Director Li, how is Mr. Li's health recently?"

The reason for his deference was that the Director Li he was addressing was the son of the famous economist Li Yining. Even the "Temporary Measures on Securities Trading" that the stock exchange was currently following had been developed with Li Yining's involvement.

In the field of economics, Li Yining was undoubtedly a towering figure.

"Thank you for your concern, General Manager Wei. My father's health has been good. The last time I was back in Beijing, he mentioned you and the Shanghai Stock Exchange."

Li Wei smiled as he poured tea for Wei Wenyuan.

"Oh?" When he heard that Li Yining had mentioned him, Wei Wenyuan became interested, "What did Mr. Li say? I hope it wasn't just flattery."

Although Wei Wenyuan cared about the evaluation from the eminent Li Yining, he asked the question with some embarrassment.

In the spring and summer of 1993, the Shanghai Stock Exchange was starkly contrasting the nationwide investment boom with its stagnation. After the great man's Southern Tour speech, the Shanghai Composite Index once soared to 1558 points, but it soon plummeted downward.

Especially after May of this year, the central bank decided to raise the interest rates on RMB deposits and loans to rectify the financial order. The Shanghai Composite Index fell sharply, breaking the 1000-point mark.

As the general manager of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Wei Wenyuan had been under immense pressure from all quarters during this period.

Seeing Wei Wenyuan so tense, Li Wei waved his hand, "My father holds you in high regard. He said that under the current domestic securities trading situation, the Shanghai Stock Exchange has managed to stabilize, which speaks volumes about your ability. However…"

Receiving such praise from Li Yining, Wei Wenyuan felt a sense of relief.

But the twist in the conversation piqued his curiosity: "However, what? Does Mr. Li have any opinions on the Shanghai Composite Index?"

Seeing Wei Wenyuan's eagerness, Li Wei chuckled, "My father once told me a story. Japanese fishermen often found that when they returned to shore, most of the sardines in the fish tank had died. After much observation, they discovered the cause—sardines gathered together and were too lazy to swim, leading to oxygen depletion in the tank.

Later, the fishermen decided to put a catfish in the tank. To avoid being eaten by the catfish and for survival, the sardines would swim constantly, resulting in… although a few

 sardines were eaten by the catfish, the overall survival rate of the sardines greatly increased… Haha…"

Wei Wenyuan understood.

Looking at Li Wei's refined and elegant smile, he smirked.

He picked up a nearby bottle and poured a glass of wine for Li Wei.

"Director Li, would you like to be the 'catfish' in our Shanghai Stock Exchange's tank?"

Li Wei smiled even more gracefully, raising his glass, "I'd be delighted."

Just as the two of them finished their drinks, Li Wei's mobile phone rang.

"Excuse me." He made an apologetic gesture to Wei Wenyuan and walked out of the private room to answer the call.

"Hello? Dongsheng, I'm in Beijing. Isn't the auction next month? Not an auction? A friend wants to sell some antiques? Alright, when he arrives, let me know and I'll go have a look. Hmm… By the way, you haven't told Ma Weidu about this, have you? If he's going, I won't be going."