I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 662 Leaking Secrets
The meeting did not produce a declaration of action or any agreement. It is estimated that it will need to be analyzed and discussed by higher-level departments and will soon be conveyed to the delegates through some channel.

However, it was decided that this market intervention would be led by CICC, which would coordinate relationships with all parties involved.

After the closed-door meeting, the forum's closing ceremony took place in the afternoon, once again chaired by President Chen Quanxun. He now exuded a confident aura, whether speaking at the meeting or facing reporters.
"This forum was very successful. We reached a consensus that the current difficulties are temporary and we will definitely overcome them."

"Regarding the bearish outlook of international investment banks? I am not a futures investment expert, and this is not the topic of our forum. We are only focused on real industries."

Fang Qingye did not attend, nor did any of the representatives from the financial investment companies.

At that moment, he was having tea with Zhu Yunlai.

Instead of staying at a hotel, we drank a local specialty called "Ba Ba Cha" (坝坝茶) in a place called Cao Zhuangyuan Street. The tea room was filled with various old objects, antique window frames, and wooden boxes, exuding a lively and down-to-earth atmosphere.

The tea smoke curls gently, and time flows slowly.

Zhu Yunlai picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, "CICC is preparing to start building positions. Not only CICC, but also China Construction Investment Corporation, China Reform Holdings, and Shenwan Hongyuan are starting to build positions one after another."

Fang Qingye nodded: "This time it will probably take some effort."

"Yes, we still need your strong support, President Fang."

"President Zhu, I'm just a small-time player; my strength can't compare to state-owned enterprises like CICC and Guoxin Holdings," Fang Qingye said with a smile.

"It's not just about funding, it also includes intelligence. Your Hong Kong company team has done a very good job, and I hope we can continue to communicate and exchange ideas in the future."

“Sure.” Fang Qingye answered readily, “I also hope to share information with CICC on this matter.”

Zhu Yunlai nodded, then looked at the bustling old street outside the window and suddenly said, "The locals call the tea they drink here 'Baba Tea,' and I heard that it used to have another name: 'Homesick Tea.'"

"Why is it called this? What is its historical origin?" Fang Qingye immediately became interested.

"According to historical records, this was during the War of Resistance against Japan. Guiyang, as the 'rear area,' became a refuge for people suffering from the ravages of war." Zhu Yunlai looked at the old street and slowly recounted this history.

"During this long journey of escape, most people suffered from hunger and were frequently frightened by artillery fire, so they comforted each other and thought, 'Once we reach Guiyang, everything will be alright!'"

"This has two meanings: first, their lives were safer, spared from the ravages of war; second, their lives in Guiyang were relatively secure, free from the suffering of hunger. Therefore, people from the lower Yangtze River provinces, such as Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and the occupied areas of Shanghai, fled to Guiyang to live."

"At this time, sitting in a teahouse became a special hobby for the new Guiyang residents. When they missed their hometown, the teahouse was the best place to relieve their homesickness, so it was also known as the 'homesick tea'."

At this point, Zhu Yunlai turned her gaze to Fang Qingye: "I wonder if we'll also be routed this time, forced to flee for our lives?"

"I don't think so," Fang Qingye replied confidently.

"Alright! Let's have some tea!" Zhu Yunlai raised her teacup.

While the two were leisurely chatting and drinking tea in an ordinary teahouse in Guiyang's old street, thousands of miles away in London, England, on George Street, a building with Baroque architectural style stood out. If you entered the lobby on the first floor, a bronze statue of a bull and a bear would catch your eye. This was the mysterious and low-key headquarters of Red Kite Hedge Fund.

In the chairman's office on the sixth floor, Chairman David Lilley was sitting on the sofa talking with another middle-aged man.

"David, there's breaking news from China. In Guiyang, a city in western China, their national industry association is hosting an international copper industry forum."

The speaker is Michael Farmer. He and David Lilley are co-founders of Red Kite hedge fund, where he serves as vice chairman and CEO.

David Lilley, holding a cup of coffee, said with a smile: "As far as I know, the China International Copper Forum is a regular meeting, and it seems to have been held for several sessions. The participants are officials from relevant departments of their countries and heads of copper mining companies. On occasional occasions, representatives of international industry associations are invited."

“Yes, but this year is a bit special,” Michael Farmer continued. “According to intelligence from Goldman Sachs, in addition to the regular attendees, there’s a group of mysterious representatives.” “Mysterious representatives?”

"Yes, some financial investment companies, including both state-owned and private enterprises, are very low-key and mysterious. They did not attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the forum, but only participated in a closed-door meeting. The specific content of the discussion is unknown."

"Is this information reliable?" David pressed.

"The information was reliable, as revealed by a Chinese journalist who even obtained a list of attendees."

“Really?” David’s interest was piqued. “Let me see.”

Michael took a fax out of his briefcase and handed it to David.

David put down his coffee cup and looked at it carefully.

He quickly skipped over the list of representatives from the copper mining companies and instead stared at the bottom few lines of text.

“CICC, JIC Huake, Guoxin Holdings, Shenwan Hongyuan—these are all old friends,” David said with a smile.

"Yes, they are all state-owned capital investment companies of their country."

"Jiuding Capital, Hony Capital?"

“These two are private Chinese financial investment companies. They are very well-known in their own countries, but they generally participate in domestic stock and futures investments and rarely participate in international market transactions,” Michael explained.

“That’s a newbie, isn’t it?” David laughed.

Michael smiled slightly, picked up his coffee cup, and took a sip.

David stared blankly at the last line.

"Jinghai Bank? What kind of bank is that? I've never heard of it before. Is it a newly established large investment bank in China?"

"This was the first time I had heard of it. After investigation, I found that it was a small-to-medium-sized private local bank in China, and it wasn't very large."

"Then why would he attend such a meeting?" David asked, puzzled.

“The specific reasons are unclear,” Michael replied. “However, there is a detail that should draw our attention: the president of this Jinghai Bank attended the Lujiazui Forum held in Shanghai not long ago and even spoke at the forum.”

"What was the content of the speech?" David immediately became interested.

"It uses advanced technology to solve the problem of difficulty in providing small loans to farmers. It is a traditional banking business and has nothing to do with futures hedging."

This?
They're completely unrelated!
David was completely baffled.

“I suspect that a copper mining company has a large amount of loans with this bank, so the bank’s manager asked to get involved. After all, for small and medium-sized banks like theirs, if a company has operational problems and cannot repay on time, it would be a disaster for them.”

Michael gave a rather presumptuous explanation, which David listened to and nodded in agreement.

“OK, then there’s nothing to worry about.” David handed the list back to Michael, and then glanced at the name of the attendee from Jinghai Bank: President Fang Qingye.

(End of this chapter)