Chapter 254: Here Comes the Big Splash

In the restroom of the brokerage hall, Xu Mao was crouching with a cigarette butt, knocking on the stall divider.

"Xianzi, is your news accurate or not? We've invested five million now. If we're stuck, this trip will have been for nothing."

Before coming, Xu Mao was convinced by Li Xian's claim of having insider information. He had believed in Li Xian almost completely.

But even with that trust, Xu Mao had never dealt with stocks before. Over the past few days, through his observations at the brokerage, he had gotten a rough understanding of basic stock operations.

Now that five million might suddenly turn into worthless pieces of paper or cold, hard numbers on a computer screen, he was starting to have doubts.

Li Xian, on the other hand, was feeling a bit irritable.

He was already dealing with an inner frustration, and now, listening to Xu Mao's incessant complaints next door, he was even more annoyed.

The restroom was foul-smelling and not conducive to conversation, so Li Xian had to cover his nose and let out a long sigh.

"Get lost!"

In the brokerage hall.

It hadn't rained for more than ten days, and the hall had become unbearably hot.

The southern weather was humid, and the heat was suffocating. A thin layer of clouds in the sky seemed to be like wet cotton, filtering the sunlight without blocking it completely. The humid heat was steaming up from the floor, and by noon, the floor tiles were still damp. Sitting inside made people feel listless and drained.

After all five million had been converted into shares of Yanzhong Industry, Li Xian had stopped buying.

With the main client no longer trading, the entire brokerage hall had become inactive.

Xin Rumei, looking dispirited, stared at the phone in front of her.

Beside her, the trader Xiao Yu nudged her with her elbow, "Sister Mei, I saw Jiang Yaowen yesterday. That guy is really flaunting himself now, always surrounded by two women and bossing around our former clients."

Mention of Jiang Yaowen made Xin Rumei's expression darken. "That scoundrel. I used to see him mess up clients' trades, always using leftover shares to crash the market after making his profits. I thought he was just a bit lewd but capable. Now, thinking back, he's just a greedy bastard who will eventually get run over by a car! Don't bring him up, it's disgusting!"

"Oh," Xiao Yu quickly changed the subject, pointing at Xu Mao and the other slackers, as well as the idle assistants. "Sister Mei, these people have bought over thirty thousand shares of Yanzhong in the past two days. Do you think it will rise?"

Xin Rumei curled her lip, "Not likely. I calculated that their average purchase price has reached 12.5. It was just over eight before. If these were small investors with only one or two thousand shares, they might get lucky if the price rises a bit more. But they're dealing with tens of thousands of shares! It's hard to even sell. If Yanzhong doesn't rise significantly, their chances of winning are slim…"

Before Xin Rumei could finish, the phone at the counter rang—it was the trading hall's receptionist.

"Sister Mei, just to let you know, Yanzhong Industry has been suspended from trading. You've bought a large amount recently, so be careful not to miss anything."

The call ended abruptly with that single statement.

"Sister Mei?"

The trader, seeing Xin Rumei's stunned reaction after the call, waved his hand in front of her.

"Sister Mei? What's wrong with you?"

"Oh my God!"

Like being struck by lightning, Xin Rumei jumped up from her chair, her high heels clicking as she rushed to the restroom.

The restroom was a makeshift partition from a small, dirty original space, with the lock on the door long gone.

In her panic, Xin Rumei threw open the first door to find Xu Mao staring in shock.

"It's over, it's all over! You guys need to think of a way. Yanzhong has been suspended!"

Hearing about the suspension, Xu Mao jumped up without even pulling up his pants. "What?! Suspended? Damn, my money!!!!!!"

"Ah!"

As the world went black for Xin Rumei, she let out a piercing scream.

In the other stall, with a splash, Li Xian felt a sense of relief.

"Damn it, finally."

Splash.

"Here it comes."

---

Yanzhong Industry, a company specializing in plastic packaging materials, glass ornaments, and daily chemicals, was in chaos.

Early in the morning, Baoan Group suddenly issued a notice claiming it now held 5% of Yanzhong Industry's shares.

After the announcement, Baoan Group went on to acquire more than 200,000 shares on the secondary market, raising its stake to 16.8%!

What was the situation with Yanzhong Industry?

There were only about 20 million shares in circulation, with 1.8 million shares held by legal entities (9%) and 1.8 million shares held by individual shareholders and employees (9%).

With Baoan Group holding 16.8% of the company's shares, it effectively gained control over Yanzhong Industry. This meant that if a board meeting were to be held, the company's decision-making power had already been transferred to a company that had never interacted with Yanzhong's management or shareholders before!

What was this?

It was robbery!

In a panic, Qin Guoliang rushed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange for inquiries. To his dismay, it turned out that Baoan Group's 5% stake was actually split between three of its subsidiaries, each holding nearly 5%!

It was a legal loophole exploit!

He immediately filed a complaint with the stock exchange and rushed back to the company.

Upon returning, the management team surrounded him. "Manager, manager! What did the exchange say?"

"Qin, the acquisition is unacceptable! Yanzhong went from a small local factory to a listed company with so much effort and sweat. Now, Baoan is just picking our fruit! They're nothing but bullies!"

"Forget about labor fruits; they're just acting like thugs! We should sue them!"

"Enough!" Facing the clamor from the senior management, Qin Guoliang shouted angrily. "The key now is to find a way to protect our company! All this shouting is useless. Send people to immediately contact Shinhua, Yuyuan, Feile, and Guangdian for financial support. Also, get in touch with consulting firms in Hong Kong. We cannot just watch the company fall into others' hands!"

"Yes! The suspension is today, and with the National Day holiday coming up, we have a few days to prepare funds. Once the holiday ends, we'll start a counter-acquisition! Let Baoan see that Yanzhong is not to be underestimated!"

---

At the same time.

In the Shenzhen Baoan Group's securities department, there was jubilation.

"Well done! Brothers and sisters, this battle has been fought beautifully! With the significant shares we hold, victory is practically assured. After the National Day holiday, Yanzhong Industry will be a subsidiary of Baoan Group!"

After more than ten days of intense work, Baoan Group's staff was exhausted.

Yet, at this moment, cheers reverberated through the securities department.

Meanwhile, in the small garden behind the department store, it was packed with people.

Previously, a young man with uncertain credentials had predicted that there would be a major change in Yanzhong on September 30. By eleven o'clock that morning, the prediction had come true. Consequently, an insider with seemingly accurate information had become highly sought after in the circles of the Shanghai Stock Exchange!

"Little Li, Little Li, where are you?"

The frantic search for "Little Li" echoed throughout the neighborhood.

As people searched like headless flies, Li Xian, wearing a white shirt with the collar open and half of his white undershirt visible, lazily walked out of the department store.

Seeing his name being called and spotting Jiang Yaowen, who seemed to have some influence among the small investors, Li Xian smiled slightly.

It seemed like it was time to start the shearing.