Blossoms Shanghai Episode 28 Recap
> Blossoms Shanghai Recap
In 1978, A Bao met Xue Zhi, a 20-year-old, beautiful, and elegant bus conductress known as the "Thirteenth Route Flower." From a privileged background, Xue Zhi enjoyed stamp collecting, calligraphy, chess, and learning English. A Bao was deeply smitten with her, once buying her books in the rain and, on his first visit to her house, climbing a wall to pick plum blossoms for her, which led to their first kiss.
Although A Bao hoped for a future with her, Xue Zhi later went to Hong Kong. Their last meeting was in Hong Kong, where Xue Zhi asked A Bao to keep their encounter a secret and act as if it had never happened. After her death, A Bao visited her hometown, finding her belongings but she was gone. In 1987, the establishment of Yu Garden Shopping Mall initiated Shanghai's commercial shareholding reform.
Seven years later, the Apparel Company was set to be the last of eight stocks to list. On December 31, 1993, Mei Ping, who had resigned from a foreign trade company to start her own, visited Ge Laoshi with a New Year's gift and a document. Ge Laoshi refused her gift, stating she hadn't persisted at No. 27 and lacked a "No. 27 background," showing no favor to her.
Mei Ping, realizing Ge Laoshi's pragmatic "useful when needed, useless otherwise" attitude, retreated, vowing never to return but leaving the document, which Ge Laoshi accepted. Outside, Mei Ping encountered A Bao. She questioned his persistent disdain, to which A Bao retorted that Wang Mingzhu never wronged her, but Mei Ping betrayed their friendship. Mei Ping argued that Wang Mingzhu was too high-profile, leaving no room for others. A Bao felt he learned a lesson from Mei Ping that day.
Reflecting on Ge Laoshi's enduring support, A Bao recalled his first lesson from Ge Laoshi: the Empire State Building takes an hour to ascend but only 8. 8 seconds to fall, understanding its profound meaning regarding risk and consequence. On January 2, 1994, the Pudong Securities newspaper announced the payment schedule for subscription certificates. The Apparel Company's impending listing generated significant market interest. Qiang Mujie approached Apparel Company CEO Cai to propose cooperation.
He learned A Bao's proposed opening price was 10 yuan and, aiming to trap others and having acquired inside information from CEO Cai regarding the 10 yuan low price, immediately offered 18. 88 yuan for the opening price. A Bao returned to the Peace Hotel to find Ge Laoshi waiting. Ge Laoshi, having anticipated A Bao's return and his own unwavering commitment, had already paid for A Bao's room.
He had prepared Walmart as a potential fallback for A Bao, but A Bao himself had closed that option. With the Peace Hotel demanding overdue room fees, Ge Laoshi advised A Bao to retreat from the chaotic stock market, suggesting he leave this troubled place if he were to lose this time. A Bao understood Ge Laoshi's intent.
On the listing day, the Shanghai Composite Index was volatile, nearing the Chinese New Year holiday, with most institutional investors inactive and retail investors taking a wait-and-see approach. As the market opened, intense tension built. A Bao directed operations from behind while Qiang Mujie's team aggressively began acquiring shares, driving A Bao's price higher. Both sides fiercely bid for shares, a powerful opening strategy Cai Ling Zi had never witnessed. Investors became excited. The Apparel Company's stock quickly reached 10.
80 yuan, and through Qiang Mujie's aggressive play, eventually closed at 18. 88 yuan, marking his first victory. CEO Cai, immensely impressed by Qiang Mujie's performance, watched as South State Capital's triumph garnered significant market reputation and re-secured approval from its Shenzhen headquarters. A Bao suffered a setback in this first round, while observing the fierce competition, the Qilin Society considered intervening.
In the subsequent five trading days, Qiang Mujie, employing multiple accounts, drove the Apparel Company's stock with four consecutive strong upward movements, pushing the price to 25 yuan and turning it into a market hot spot. A Bao, seeing this, decided to go all in, selling all 500,000 shares he held. Qiang Mujie, aiming for complete control and to oust A Bao, instructed his traders to engage in short-selling and covering short positions.
A Bao, in response, decided to fight a protracted battle against Qiang Mujie. He acquired computers and dispersed his funds across various individual accounts, though in reality, it was managed as a single consolidated account. Qiang Mujie's South State Capital then engineered volatile swings in the stock price, making it difficult for retail investors to grasp the pattern. The average price hovered around 10.
88 yuan, allowing Qiang Mujie to profit significantly from the price differences, a strategy A Bao's side had not encountered before. Over the next two days, two large negative candlestick patterns obliterated the bullish momentum. Qiang Mujie exploited rumors of major players withdrawing to further trade on price differences. The stock price stabilized around 28 yuan for several days, followed by a second sell-off, then a third after another period of stabilization, these repeated fluctuations disorienting Shanghai's retail investors.
Realizing Qiang Mujie's intention to force A Bao out, Cai Ling Zi conveyed this to A Bao, though others like Wu Doctor at the Qilin Society struggled to comprehend Qiang Mujie's tactics. A Bao instructed Cai Ling Zi, Postal Stamp Li, and Fat Auntie to utilize "tractor accounts"—a strategy of following South State Capital's movements to buy shares at low prices, an ambush designed to "capture" Qiang Mujie.
With profits quickly reaching 15%, A Bao believed it was the opportune moment to restore investor confidence. Cai Ling Zi actively promoted the Apparel Company's stock at the securities company, even publicizing a proposed bonus share plan of ten shares for every five held, plus an additional five. Fearing CEO Cai might not agree to A Bao's plan, A Bao correctly anticipated that CEO Cai would seek him out.
When CEO Cai did, A Bao advised him to issue bonus shares to instill confidence in the shareholders. CEO Cai agreed to bring the matter to a board meeting. After the Apparel Company released its annual report, the stock price began to rise. Qiang Mujie, however, warned CEO Cai against hastily issuing bonus shares.
His investigation revealed that A Bao was merely an agent, with two primary financial backers: the owner of a Ningbo apparel factory and Lin Tai, whose funds were held in a "Dove's account." Qiang Mujie decided to "cut off A Bao's left and right arms." He successfully persuaded the Ningbo apparel factory boss to withdraw funds, and news soon reached A Bao that the Ningbo boss had fled with the money, leaving A Bao with only 100,000 yuan.
Subsequently, Qiang Mujie contacted Li Li to acquire her Zhizhen Garden. Li Li, after increasing her asking price by 15%, signed an agreement with Qiang Mujie. As a result, Lin Tai's investment, which was guaranteed by Zhizhen Garden, was transferred to Qiang Mujie's name, effectively removing A Bao's second financial pillar.
With both his "left and right arms" severed and half his base capital gone, A Bao was left helpless, realizing that if the stock price were to fall to 10 yuan, he would be penniless.
