Chapter 253: Playing the Ghost

The arrival of Li Xian, an outsider, seemed to break the original atmosphere in the small pavilion. Clearly, this small circle not only had a strong desire for communication but also a sense of exclusivity.

In such circles, if not introduced by someone familiar, outsiders usually have a hard time blending in.

Even though Li Xian had complimented Mr. Jiang a bit, he hadn't won the favor of the others.

However, Li Xian didn't care much; his skin was thick enough to withstand the suspicious gazes.

He casually lay down on a bench in the pavilion, and noticing that everyone's eyes were still on him, he smiled and pointed to the chair beneath him. "This is for public use, right?"

It was indeed for public use, but being shameless was another matter.

Seeing the person in front of him with his shirt untucked, his trousers askew, and showing no awareness of the unwelcoming looks from others, the mature woman who had earlier inquired about the stock seemed a bit displeased.

"Can't you go somewhere else? Can't you see we're discussing something here?"

Li Xian turned his back, pretending he didn't hear.

"Forget it, don't mind him." Mr. Jiang waved his hand and led everyone outside the pavilion, continuing to give his advice.

Li Xian wasn't bothered.

As the saying goes, "The fun of sitting is not as good as lying down."

Listening to their conversation, he gradually got some understanding of this small circle; the so-called Mr. Jiang was a stock analyst, while the others were all ordinary retail investors. The woman with the prominent figure seemed quite involved, frequently mentioning trading in terms of tens of thousands of shares, speaking quite grandly.

Although he wasn't deeply interested in the stock market, he was there to make money from this advantageous place.

Knowing this history, Li Xian saw the battle between Yan Zhong and Bao An as a movie. Now, Bao An, the main antagonist, had made its entrance, and soon, Yan Zhong, the supporting role being trampled from start to finish, would make its appearance.

But a movie with only the main characters and supporting roles would be too monotonous.

These retail investors were the real interesting part of this show.

Chinese writings often use a record-style approach, where major events are heavily emphasized while minor characters are briefly mentioned.

Little do they know, the excitement in the show isn't just in the interactions between the main characters but also in the roles of the minor characters!

Now, the people in the pavilion had, in Li Xian's eyes, become the minor characters of this play.

Hmm... or maybe "sheep to be slaughtered" is a more fitting description?

After all, now he was a big player entering the market with five million!

Hearing the woman known as Sister Jie still obsessing over Yan Zhong and constantly asking Mr. Jiang, Li Xian's eyes flickered.

As Mr. Jiang suggested waiting a few more days, Li Xian stood up from his chair, stretched extravagantly, and yawned.

This drew the attention of everyone in the pavilion.

"Yan Zhong Industrial will rise in the next two days. It's worth buying."

With that remark, Li Xian ignored the surprised looks from the people in the pavilion and walked away with big strides.

"Who is that guy? Have you seen him before?"

Seeing Li Xian's back, Mr. Jiang questioned the others in confusion.

"No," "He looks unfamiliar. Probably a newbie in the market?" "Why are we guessing? He looks about twenty. He's probably some small employee from a nearby office. What he says doesn't carry much weight." "Yeah, Mr. Jiang just said not to buy. Where did this guy come from, and why is he so high-profile?"

Meanwhile, Mr. Jiang pondered Li Xian's confident prediction that "the stock will rise in the next two days," feeling somewhat skeptical.

---

In the Shenzhen stock market, Bao An Group.

With the three subsidiary companies continuously buying shares, they now collectively hold 6% of Yan Zhong Industrial's stock. According to the original plan, to avoid alerting Yan Zhong, they only needed to continue buying in secret.

But today, someone else had started competing with the three subsidiaries for shares, which caused Yan Zhong's stock price to rise more than planned.

As Yan Zhong Industrial's stock price approached twelve yuan per share, the situation quickly reached Li Wei.

"Director Li, retail investors have started buying in! They're quite bold; today they've likely bought at least a hundred thousand shares. Our acquisition cost has increased. Should we take some action to drive away these retail investors?"

Looking at the report, Li Wei tilted his head.

"Which retail investors are so bold? Is there another capital group involved in our acquisition plan?"

"Not possible." Ming Jinsheng, head of the securities department in charge of the acquisition, shook his head. "To avoid leaks, our operations are unified and all staff are housed in the company. Both Old Jin and I are monitoring the process closely. There's no way information could have leaked. Even if it did, with such a large amount of capital…"

"Then ignore it." Li Wei waved his hand, glancing at the calendar, which now read September 28th. He smiled slightly. "What we need is control. A slight increase in cost is acceptable, but we must manage our shares in Yan Zhong. By September 30th, our three subsidiaries must hold at least 15% of Yan Zhong's shares!"

"Understood, Director Li," Ming Jinsheng nodded heavily.

Two days passed quickly, but for Jiang Yaowen, they felt particularly long.

The young man's confident "prediction" from the small pavilion kept echoing in his mind and even appeared in his dreams.

Moreover, he paid extra attention to the Yan Zhong stock he hadn't bought yet.

Since mid-September, Yan Zhong's stock price had been rising by about 3% daily. Considering Yan Zhong's previous stable performance, it was clear that someone was manipulating the market.

When this manipulation would end depended on the manipulator's mood.

Following such a stock was too risky. One could get trapped if the manipulator withdrew unexpectedly. Trading in such stocks was akin to walking on a landmine.

It was very dangerous.

However, with the stock price rising from over 8 yuan to 14 yuan over these days, it was clear that there was a major scheme at play!

If one could determine when this scheme would collapse and when the manipulator would withdraw, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous opportunity.

All morning, as he watched Yan Zhong Industrial's stock continuously rise, the young man's figure resurfaced in his mind.

At noon, after the securities hall had just cleared out, he hurried to the small garden.

When he arrived, he found the garden already crowded with people.

Among them were even some of his own clients! Liu Jie, the woman with the prominent figure he had long coveted, was also there.

"Mr. Li, do you know something about Yan Zhong's stock? Is there any insider information?"

Previously, Liu Jie, who was far away, now revered him like a sage. Seeing Li Xian lying on the lounge chair without speaking, she directly handed over her bag.

"Mr. Li, lying like this isn't good for your neck. Please use this."

Seeing the bag, Li Xian chuckled and placed it under his head.

With a circle of heads gathered above him, he waved his hand.

A dozen heads quickly gathered around.

"My cousin works at the stock exchange. He says there will be big news about Yan Zhong's stock tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

"What big news? Will it go up or down?"

"Yes, Mr. Li, if you have insider information, please share it. If we can benefit from it, you'll get your share of the profit!"

Facing the crowd's barrage of questions, Li Xian raised his eyebrows.

"I don't know either. He hasn't told me yet. He just asked me to listen to his news. I'm not of much use, and I don't have much money. Whether I buy or not doesn't matter. I don't understand the stock market. Just wait until tomorrow and see for yourselves."

Outside the garden, Xin Rumei, who had gone out to throw away the trash, saw Jiang Yaowen standing by the roadside and glared at him angrily.

"You ungrateful wretch. Pah!"

She spat at Jiang Yaowen's feet and threw the trash bag down.

---

While Li Xian was playing tricks in the small garden, the three companies under Bao An Group had accumulated 4.98%, 4.99%, and 4.5% of Yan Zhong Industrial's shares respectively.

According to the China Securities Regulatory Commission's regulations, any entity holding over 5% of shares must make a public announcement. The line had now reached the alert level.

Looking at the data, Li Wei's usual gentle demeanor had completely disappeared. His hands were pressed on the desk, his face twisted with excitement.

"First thing tomorrow morning, issue an announcement stating that we now hold over 5% of Yan Zhong's shares. After the announcement, buy up as much of Yan Zhong's stock as possible at any cost! By October 2nd, I want our holdings to exceed 16% to secure our victory and be ready for any potential counter-bid from Yan Zhong!"

As he finished speaking, he struck the wooden desk with a loud "thud."

After months of preparation, this sound was like a war drum, suddenly echoing in Bao An Group's securities department.

A battle that would shape the direction of China's stock market for the next twenty years had just begun!