Chapter 256: Buyers, Please Get Ready

When a stock is suspended, there are generally two scenarios:

1. The company is planning a reorganization, equity transaction, acquisition, or similar. This is usually positive, and the stock price typically rises when it resumes trading.

2. The company is involved in scandalous issues, such as the chairman getting into legal trouble, or the general manager being investigated for misconduct. This is negative and usually causes the stock price to drop.

Previously, Bao'an Group only announced that it held 5% of Yanzhong's shares, without mentioning any intention to acquire the company. So, during Yanzhong's suspension, due to the lack of detailed information, various rumors and speculations about this stock, which had been steadily rising for ten days, spread wildly.

When the market opened, Yanzhong's stock price began to fluctuate. The opening price of 13.5 quickly updated, with large buy orders appearing at prices of 14 and even 15. This astonished retail investors.

Before they could react, Yanzhong's stock, which had been stable at 13.5 before the suspension, surged dramatically in just two hours, breaking its ten-day stable rise and skyrocketing rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, it soared to 15.8!

Retail investors were unaware that this bizarre fluctuation was due to a fierce battle between two companies: Bao'an Group aggressively buying shares and Yanzhong's defensive strategy, bolstered by support from several allied units and guidance from a consulting firm in Hong Kong.

The clash between these two capital giants turned the entire stock market into a chaotic mess!

As Bao'an continued buying, the stock price climbed sharply. To reduce acquisition costs and regain shares, Yanzhong started selling off shares to repurchase them.

After a brief surge, Yanzhong's stock began to fluctuate wildly. One moment it was at 16, the next it could drop to 14, then rise to 18, 20, or even 25!

Seeing the dramatic fluctuations on the trading board, with constantly updating data, the entire exchange was in an uproar—Yanzhong was going crazy!

After a brief period of shock, many people sprang into action.

At Minrun Securities' office, the four clerks were sweating profusely.

"Yanzhong! Buy Yanzhong! Two thousand shares, how much now?"

"Don't know! We can't check right now, just report the empty order and buy at the current price. Do you want to buy?"

"Yes! Give me two thousand shares!"

"Has it been bought?"

"Yes!"

"How much?"

"22!"

"What about mine? Did mine go through?"

"Yes!"

"How much? 13!"

"Damn!"

In just one morning, the battle between Bao'an and Yanzhong had intensified to a fever pitch. By around 2 PM, even the stock exchange's large display screen couldn't keep up with the rapid fluctuations of Yanzhong's stock.

In just a few minutes, the price fluctuation reached tens of dollars. As prices fell, by the time retail investors filled out their orders to buy, the price quickly soared again!

To keep up with the fast-changing market, almost all trading departments stopped setting prices and started trading directly at market prices.

Many retail investors, buying and selling blindly, experienced wild swings in fortunes. Those lucky enough to follow the unpredictable rise and fall made substantial profits, celebrating wildly in the trading halls. Meanwhile, those less fortunate, who bought high and sold low, suffered severe losses and wept openly.

At Wancheng Securities, a retail investor who had been in the market for less than three months, with just over 50,000 in capital, saw his money grow to 350,000 in just six rounds of trading. Ecstatic, he celebrated publicly at the trading hall.

Just next door at Hengfa Securities, a major player who had made over 5 million from the original stock era, found himself back to 1991 levels after just four rounds. Comforted by others, he quietly smoked a cigarette and then jumped out of the window on the sixth floor.

This type of trading completely shattered the retail investors' previous understanding of the stock market, turning a reputable stock into a Russian roulette.

In an instant, it was either a windfall or ruin!

Amidst the frenzy, at the quiet Minfa Securities office, Li Xian, hearing the shouting and crying outside, removed his damp white shirt and sat in his vest, silently smoking a cigarette.

"Brother, the outside is crazy. What are you going to do with your Yanzhong shares?"

Having interacted with Li Xian, Xu Ruimei had become quite familiar with him. Although not adept at stock trading, she cared about this young man who had come from the northeast to seek fortune in the Shanghai market.

Typically, brokerage fees are based on transaction volume. Since Li Xian had stopped buying, whether he gained or lost was no longer of concern to Xu Ruimei. However, she still hoped that he wouldn't suffer too much loss, not believing he could gain much from Yanzhong.

The chaos caused by the recent jumpers had even made her worried about Li Xian's safety. Even though the third floor was unlikely to be fatal, she had secretly moved the fans from the office to the trading room and closed all the windows—hence Li Xian's sweaty condition.

Seeing Xu Ruimei's concern, Li Xian smiled slightly as he flicked his cigarette.

"Sister Mei, don't worry. It's not time to act yet. In this kind of turbulent market, buying and selling now is just looking for trouble!"

Seeing Li Xian's calm demeanor and his well-defined shoulders, Xu Ruimei felt that she might have been deceived by his earlier show of confidence.

This young man was definitely not as simple as he seemed!

...

After two days of fierce fighting, Yanzhong eventually lost the battle for equity against Bao'an.

Despite support from other companies in the old eight stocks group, it was impossible to invest all resources. The two million in aid was quickly exhausted, and even with the support, Yanzhong's board only held about 12% of the shares.

At this point, Bao'an released a new statement, claiming it now held 16.9% of Yanzhong's shares and sought friendly negotiations with Yanzhong's board.

In the smoke-filled conference room of Yanzhong, General Manager Qin Guoliang had not slept for two days and felt a sense of despair over the current situation.

Beside him, the Securities Office Director Ai Baosheng slammed the table, "Damn it! Bao'an is a scoundrel, a thug!"

"Does it matter now?" Qin Guoliang waved his hand irritably, "Can we think of a way to have Director Liang find more people? We need funds; we can't just give up."

On the topic of funds, Ai Baosheng's face turned grim, "General Manager Qin… it's no longer feasible to raise more funds."

Qin Guoliang dropped his hand from his temple, staring intently at Ai Baosheng, "What do you mean?"

"The stock price has already soared past 40. If we organize more funds now… it's not worth it."

Hearing this price, Qin Guoliang was stunned. Just moments ago, the price was 35. How did it jump so quickly?

Recovering from his surprise, Qin Guoliang realized he still hadn't adjusted to the pace of Yanzhong's stock.

"What does the consulting firm say?"

"They said… from the current situation, a counter-acquisition is impossible. To save the company, we have only two options."

"Tell me, what are the options?"

"First, file a complaint with the Securities Regulatory Commission. We have discovered that Bao'an Group not only failed to issue an announcement despite holding 15% of shares but also used untraceable funds for stock market operations. Their registered capital is only ten million, but based on their buying behavior, they may have invested over eighty million!"

"Second… if the complaint to the Securities Regulatory Commission is ineffective… we could…"

Seeing Ai Baosheng hesitate, Qin Guoliang snapped, "Just say it!"

"Oh, the consulting firm suggests that we should sell all our business operations to our allied units while Bao'an has not yet taken over the board. That way… Bao'an would only get a shell."

"Nonsense!" Hearing this desperate measure, Qin Guoliang slammed the table, "We've built Yanzhong from a street factory to this scale. You think our allied units aren't envious? If we sell it off cheap, can we ever get it back? We might preserve the Yanzhong brand, but without the business, what use is the brand?!"

Ai Baosheng had no response. Despite being the Securities Office Director, he had never encountered such a situation before and was at a loss for what to do.

"General Manager Qin, what should we do?"

Qin Guoliang rubbed his throbbing temples, "Go to the Securities Regulatory Commission! We'll see what happens after that."

...

Qin Guoliang's decision to "wait" was about to create a fleeting miracle stock and… a small, unnoticed plot that would soon come to fruition.

The Securities Regulatory Commission soon received Yanzhong's complaint, and Bao'an halted its frenzied buying spree.

The battlefield shifted from the stock market to regulatory authorities, giving the turbulent market a chance to calm down.

Despite the chaos, Yanzhong's stock began to stabilize and maintain an upward trend.

At Minfa Securities, hearing the announcement of Yanzhong's lawsuit against Bao'an, Li Xian, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

He called out to Xu Ruimei, who had been inquiring about when to cash out.

"Xu Ge, wake up

! It's time to act!"

"Thirty-one o'clock, fifty for the night, sir…" Xu Ruimei wiped his drool, mumbling in his sleep.

But he quickly realized, "Damn! It's finally here!"

Xu Ruimei, who had been frequenting various entertainment venues these past days, widened his eyes and looked at the trading board showing Yanzhong's stock price at 38. He turned to Li Xian, "Not going to wait another day? It seems like it could go higher!"

Li Xian slapped him on the shoulder, "Wake up! We have over 300,000 shares. If we don't act now, we'll be stuck! Quickly, sell in batches, ten thousand shares per order, one order per hour. Let's move!"

"Okay… got it!"

Watching Xu Ruimei spring from the couch and wake up his groggy assistants, Li Xian turned his gaze to the window.

"Buyers, please get ready."