Blossoms Shanghai Episode 21 Recap
> Blossoms Shanghai Recap
On the day before the 1993 Mid-Autumn Festival, the "Bao-Ying War," the first merger and acquisition case in China's stock market, officially commenced, coinciding with the acceleration of Shanghai's transformation into a national financial center. As the stock market opened, Strong Mu Jie instructed his trader to buy a substantial quantity of 601 Yingzhou Industrial stock. Simultaneously, A Bao sold three other stocks, concentrating all his funds, amounting to fifteen million yuan, on purchasing 603 Aisi Electronics.
To avoid attracting Strong Mu Jie's attention, A Bao and Cai Siling opted for distributed accounts, with A Bao issuing commands from the Peace Hotel while Cai Siling, Postmark Li, and Fat Aunt placed orders at three different brokerage branches under Cai Siling's oversight from the VIP room. Small investors, too, eagerly rushed to buy Yingzhou Industrial stocks.
During this initial phase, Minmin, pretending to be pregnant, managed to get to the front of the line and deposited five million yuan into 601. From September 27th until the close of trading at noon on Mid-Autumn Festival (September 30th), Aisi Electronics stock remained stagnant. However, Yingzhou Industrial stock abruptly ceased trading due to abnormal fluctuations. To ensure fairness and impartiality in the market, the Shanghai Stock Exchange suspended its trading based on transaction rules.
Immediately after, Shenzhen Baolong Technology announced that it had acquired five percent of Yingzhou Industrial's outstanding circulating shares. Strong Mu Jie publicly declared the historical significance of this acquisition, stating they were the first to enter this new industry. Upon receiving this news, A Bao promptly decided to purchase Yingzhou Industrial.
In the afternoon session, Cai Siling, Postmark Li, and Fat Aunt sold all their Aisi Electronics shares, investing all their funds to buy 800,000 shares of Yingzhou Industrial stock at the day's highest price of 19. 89 yuan. Strong Mu Jie, guessing A Bao's move, ordered his stocks to be "washed out," which caused Yingzhou Industrial's price to plummet. It closed at 15. 6 yuan, resulting in a loss of two million yuan for A Bao.
Cai Siling expressed regret, believing they should have listened to Li Li earlier. Despite the substantial loss, A Bao duly paid Li Li her commission, bringing her a box of money. He decided to continue holding the stock, confident it would rise to 25 yuan. Li Li, without directly responding, warmly served A Bao 40 yuan dry-fried beef ho fun, subtly hinting that Yingzhou Industrial's price would rise to 40 yuan.
Understanding the implication, A Bao instructed Cai Siling and the other two to cover their positions quickly. After the National Day holiday, Yingzhou Industrial stock fluctuated around 17 yuan. Subsequently, Yingzhou Industrial issued an announcement, declaring Shenzhen Baolong Company's recent purchase of sixteen percent of its outstanding circulating shares as an illegal "malicious acquisition" and vowing to retaliate. They launched a counter-acquisition campaign, causing Yingzhou Industrial's share price to climb.
Cai Siling rallied shareholders, urging them to "take back" the Shanghai-built enterprise from the Shenzhen company. This call ignited collective enthusiasm, leading to a "Yingzhou Industrial Defense Battle." Yingzhou Industrial issued another announcement, reaffirming its status as the controlling shareholder. A joint statement from Shanghai-listed companies supported Yingzhou's counter-acquisition measures, and the stock price surged to 25 yuan, eventually exceeding 30 yuan.
Strong Mu Jie remained vigilant, instructing his trader to closely monitor the market for new capital injections and sell shares at high prices. Cai Siling continued to encourage shareholders to participate in the anti-acquisition efforts. Many large Shanghai investors "cut meat" by selling other stocks at a loss to invest in Yingzhou Industrial, and the stock continued its ascent, peaking at 42 yuan.
The company then issued another announcement, reiterating that Shenzhen Baolong Technology's actions constituted a malicious acquisition and stating they would petition the court to declare Baolong's acquisition invalid. Ultimately, the "Bao-Ying War" concluded with A Bao's major victory, resulting in the re-acquisition by Shanghai investors. During this period, Zhi Zhen Yuan experienced booming business, leading to a shortage of parking spaces. Many customers parked their cars in front of Jin Mei Lin, leaving its entrance deserted.
Lu Meilin, consumed by jealousy, angrily forced customers to move their vehicles. Li Li’s strategy included using people to pretend to be pregnant to buy large quantities of Yingzhou Industrial stock. Minmin, following Li Li's advice, had also bought Yingzhou Industrial stock, earning a substantial sum and purchasing a car, making her colleagues envious. Assistant Pan, Minmin, and Li Li even took photos together, further sparking Xiao Jiangxi's envy.
That evening, Xiao Jiangxi, holding 200,000 yuan given to her by Boss Jin, asked Minmin for help with stock trading. Minmin, cautious due to the inherent risks and suspecting the money's origin, refused Xiao Jiangxi, not wanting to implicate her. Minmin's suspicion was confirmed; Boss Jin had indeed given Xiao Jiangxi the money to follow Minmin's trades. The next day, Xiao Jiangxi went to the securities market alone, determined to buy Yingzhou Industrial stock, having heard other shareholders discussing it.
She purchased shares at the absolute peak of 42 yuan. Strong Mu Jie, anticipating the market's trajectory, instructed his trader to sell all remaining Yingzhou Industrial stocks, retaining only 100,000 shares as a souvenir. He also cautioned the trader to prevent the price from dropping too rapidly to avoid public panic. During this period, A Bao strategically instructed Cai Siling to continuously buy and sell, and Minmin also engaged in constant buying and selling.
Yingzhou Industrial's stock price then plummeted rapidly. Xiao Jiangxi was stunned, having lost Boss Jin's entire savings in minutes. In contrast, A Bao had meticulously planned, selling his Yingzhou Industrial shares in batches, making a large profit, accumulating six boxes of money. At their restaurant, Boss Jin and Lu Meilin erupted into a fierce argument, with Lu Meilin scolding him for his losses and Boss Jin retaliating by mentioning her unproductive brother, Lu Honggen.
Xiao Jiangxi, distraught and unsure how to face Boss Jin, sought help from Minmin, who kindly advised her. Xiao Jiangxi confessed her ambition to become the "boss's wife," which was now ruined. Shortly after the "Bao-Ying War" concluded, management departments launched an investigation into malicious holdings and potential insider trading in the stock market, focusing on the "Bao-Ying Company" and Zhi Zhen Yuan. On the same day, Night Tokyo was reopening.
Strong Mu Jie called Ling Zi to congratulate him and promised to attend the opening later that evening. However, moments after his call, he was taken away by an inspection team for questioning. A Bao, who had not received an invitation from Ling Zi, pretended to be unaware of the reopening. When he went to Zhi Zhen Yuan for profit sharing, he discovered police officers there.
A Bao discreetly left through the back door as the police apprehended Li Li for investigation. News of Li Li's arrest shocked Huanghe Road. Lu Meilin gloated over Li Li's misfortune, while Assistant Pan and Minmin worked diligently to reassure customers and ensure the hotel's smooth operation. A Bao and Grandpa inquired about Li Li's situation but found no information. Grandpa analyzed that Li Li's arrest was by the police, not the commerce bureau.
Li Li, during her interrogation by the Municipal Public Security Bureau Criminal Investigation Team, feigned ignorance and shifted all responsibility to Baolong Group. Strong Mu Jie was also taken for questioning, suspected along with Li Li of profiting from manipulating stock prices. Despite facing questioning, Strong Mu Jie remained composed, checking his watch, seemingly concerned about missing Ling Zi's opening.
Meanwhile, Cai Siling investigated the specific reasons behind the arrests and confirmed that he was cleared of any wrongdoing related to malicious acquisition, as his purchases were made after the public announcement. Back at Night Tokyo, Little Monk had not fixed the water pipes for the reopening, so Ling Zi personally stepped in and quickly resolved the issue, accidentally tearing his sleeve in the process and changing into a chef's uniform.
Ge Laoshi, Tao Tao, and Ling Hong arrived formally dressed for the opening. Worried about a lack of customers, they had arranged for friends and family to fill the seats. However, Ling Zi remained unconcerned, stating that while Night Tokyo had initially relied on A Bao to attract customers, he now intended to succeed based on his own merit. Ling Zi, having given Strong Mu Jie's reserved seat to someone else, opened the doors with determination to welcome guests. The "Bao-Ying incident" was to be handled seriously by the State Council Securities Committee and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which had been formally established in October 1992.
