Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 186 Washout
Back at the teahouse, Gu Yansheng summoned He Yun.

He joked, "Now I have to call several factories to find you. You're busier than me. It seems like the time for you to successfully usurp the throne isn't far off."

He Yun chuckled and said quipped, "You're one to talk. With so many factories opening up all at once and Bowen having to travel all over the place, what if I don't work harder and hinder you, Director Gu, from making money? I can't afford to offend you."

"Have some tea." Gu Yansheng poured her a cup. "How's Bowen doing? He's been gone for quite a while. Did he encounter any difficulties?"

“There’s nothing too difficult. It’s close to the war zone, so the situation is a bit complicated and it will take a little longer. He sent the agreed-upon telegram from the post office.” He Yun took a sip of tea and subconsciously leaned closer to whisper, “After all, it’s close to the war zone, right? We need to investigate carefully.”

Gu Yansheng nodded. There were indeed many powerful forces in Anhui; he had sent out three groups of people there alone.

"He's had a tough time. You must be so busy here, not having a moment to spare."

"It's alright." He Yun nodded: "The flour mill is a well-established business, and the new wheat for this year hasn't arrived yet, so the flour mill doesn't take much time."

The cotton yarn factory is newly taken over, so we do need to learn a bit. However, since we acquired it directly, all the old workers are still there, so production can continue as usual. Moreover, I can tell whether any of the cotton yarn factories are playing dirty tricks when we compare them.

The repair shop had gang members watching over it, so we didn't have to worry about it much, and it didn't cost us much anyway.

The main problem we are facing now is that we are expanding too fast and we are not having enough staff. I'm talking about management. We don't have a shortage of workers.

Trustworthy people still need time to be cultivated and observed.

Gu Yansheng nodded, "Just train some people and give them the authority to run the business. After all, you are doing legitimate business. Don't try to do everything yourself. It's too tiring, and you don't have the time."

I have some things I need you to do right now, can you spare some time for me?

He Yun nodded, "Sure, go ahead and say it."

Gu Yansheng thought for a moment and said, "Ling Xianwen, who is now in charge in Nanshi, wants me to help bring a few factories over. This task must be completed. Go open a cloth factory and turn some of the cotton yarn we produce into cloth to sell."

It doesn't matter how much money I make, the important thing is to maintain a good relationship with Ling Xianwen.

"Okay, I see."

"If you encounter any difficulties in the martial arts world, just ask Secretary Ma for help."

"it is good."

"There's one more thing. I've arranged for you to become a shareholder in Dangdang and Yong'an Department Store, both listed companies, and to work in their finance departments. This will require your formal involvement."

"Me? A shareholder of Yong'an Department Store?"

He Yun was used to the idea of ​​a new factory opening, but what about the listed company shareholders? Or Yong'an Department Store?
He Yun pointed at herself and stared wide-eyed.

Gu Yansheng nodded and smiled, "Don't be so surprised. Calling you over is just a nominal appointment. This business is between me, No. 76, and a few other people. Making you a shareholder is like having you hold shares for us, which means you're holding No. 76's money."

Gu Yansheng explained the ins and outs of the matter: "The people from No. 76 wanted to make money by speculating on stocks through Yong'an Department Store, but I valued Yong'an Department Store's overseas channels more. Only when Yong'an Department Store was in our hands could our smuggling route be completely opened up."

"We handle sourcing, transportation, and receiving. No matter the country of origin or whether the goods are contraband, if they can be bought in the concession, we can make them available throughout all of China."

"I understand." He Yun realized the importance of Yong'an Department Store. In the past, they could only provide prohibited items such as cotton yarn and medicine, but now the supply is completely abundant.

What specific things do you need me to do?

"The main thing is to keep an eye on the finances, make sure there are no major problems, and that dividends are paid on time. As long as the money is fine, there won't be any issues with the people at No. 76."

If they're fine, you can sit comfortably in your position.

Next, if possible, we should cultivate some of our own people in the procurement and sales aspects, which will make things more convenient for us in the future.

We hold a significant number of shares, and I'll be buying more. You're already a fairly large shareholder. The owner of Yong'an Company is Guo Linshuang. We won't interfere with his business operations. Just send a few people with you, and he shouldn't interfere with you either.

He Yun immediately nodded, "Don't worry, finance is my specialty, I'll definitely do a good job, then I'll go to work tomorrow."

Gu Yansheng chuckled, "Go whenever you want. I'm making you a boss, not a regular employee. You don't have to sit in the office every day. You're a shareholder."

He Yun thought about it and agreed, "I've never been a shareholder of a listed company before, so I'm not used to it."

"Then we'll get used to it gradually. If our family produces a flour tycoon, we can produce a department store tycoon too. Let's take it slow and learn all their purchasing and sales channels. When the organization's business grows bigger in the future, we'll definitely be able to use them."

"Alright! Then I'll head to Nanshi first and contact Secretary-General Ling?"

"Okay, I'll give you a call."

Having arranged for He Yun to come and collect the money tomorrow, Gu Yansheng called Wu Sibao and told him he would be there soon.

When they arrived, Wu Sibao and Ye Jiqing were already eagerly waiting at the gate to greet them.

If Gu Yansheng can't handle it, then this whole thing is completely ruined.

Wu Sibao wanted to be the dealer, he dreamed about it all the time, and he was so anxious that he couldn't even enjoy his meals until he got the job sorted out.

Ye Jiqing believed in the God of Wealth's abilities, but even though things hadn't been finalized, he was still feeling uneasy.

"It's all taken care of." Gu Yansheng got out of the car and told them the most important information. He straightened his clothes and gave them a calm smile.

Wu Sibao immediately burst into laughter, "Hahahaha, it's all thanks to you! Hahahaha, it's done! I'm going to be the big dealer!"

Ye Jiqing smiled more subtly, but her smile was still full of brilliance. "I knew it. In all of Shanghai, is there anything Mr. Gu can't handle? Please come upstairs."

"please."

Once inside, Wu Sibao specially brewed tea to serve the meritorious official.

Gu Yansheng sat down and said to Ye Jiqing, "I bought 10% of the shares from him, at 91.88 yuan per share, 31250 shares, for more than 2.8 million yuan."

"Isn't Yong'an Department Store's stock price really that high?" Ye Jiqing had also been paying attention to Yong'an Department Store these past two days.

“Sister-in-law, you don’t understand,” Wu Sibao, the stock market expert, explained to her, “This can’t be calculated based on the stock price. Otherwise, what are we talking to him about? Why don’t we just buy it directly on the stock market? If we buy in bulk, the price will skyrocket.”

Ye Jiqing responded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Wu Sibao handed over the coffee and said with a smile, "Then can we start taking the lead?"

"Pretty much." Gu Yansheng took a sip of coffee and said, "This is my first time managing the market. We definitely have to make back the extra money we spent. First, we'll release negative news to drive down the stock price. Then, we'll slowly buy more shares in the market with the remaining money. Once we've bought enough, we'll release positive news to make a quick profit. We can deal with the rest later."

"Perfect for me! Perfect for me! Hahahaha." Wu Sibao shouldn't worry about whether he can make money in the stock market right now; he needs to experience what it's like to be a market manipulator first.

Gu Yansheng continued, "Besides the money for acquiring this one-tenth of the shares, the remaining money will be used to buy more in the stock market. There may be some operating costs. Anyway, let's first suppress the stock price and collect shares. Once we have enough, we can discuss how much each person should contribute and what percentage they should hold in this deal. How about that?"

"It's entirely up to Mr. Gu." Ye Jiqing said without hesitation.

"Sibao, I'll give you a signal tomorrow depending on the situation, and you can quietly buy stocks in the stock market."

"OK, no problem."

The following day, the financial section of the concession newspapers reported on the unusual surge in the stock price of Wing On Department Store the previous day.

In the half hour before yesterday's market close, the stock price actually rose by 8 yuan, which is no small amount. It means that shareholders got a 10% return in one day.

The stock exchange was quite abuzz with this yesterday, with many feeling that there must be some good news, but only the big investors knew about it while the retail investors didn't.

Right now, investors are all waiting for the stock exchange to open, and after flipping through the newspapers, they haven't found any positive news about Yong'an.

Then why should it be long?
Is the major player preparing to pump up the price and unload their shares?
They can ride in a sedan chair.

Many people held their tickets, waiting to see how Yong'an's stock price would perform at the opening bell.

Yong'an's stock is sold in lots of ten shares, which means that buying one lot costs eight or nine hundred dollars, not cheap.

"The market is open! The market is open!"

Yong'an's stock price continued to rise at the start of the trading day.

“It’s going up, it’s going up!”

"There must be good news! The major players are rotten; they're holding back the news!"

"Buy, buy, buy!"

Retail investors rushed to buy, and large investors followed suit.

They checked and found that Yong'an had no positive news, but the people who bought Yong'an shares yesterday were Yong'an's own agents. This must mean that Guo Linshuang has some positive news that hasn't been released yet, so it's worth following suit.

Guo Linshuang reversed her position and sold off her shares. Yesterday's move was just a forced pullback; she wants to recoup the funds that drove the price up.

When the major shareholders started selling off their shares, the stock price fluctuated wildly. The big investors, realizing something was wrong and that the sellers were actually Guo Linshuang's own funds, instinctively felt they had been tricked and exploited by Guo Linshuang as retail investors. They then joined the selling frenzy themselves.

"It's falling! It's falling! How could it fall!" retail investors shouted.

"It's just the market maker shaking out weak hands, what's the rush?"

"It's still falling, it's still falling. Is the market maker shaking out weak hands?"

"They're definitely shaking out weak hands!"

"Really? It's going to keep falling, it's going to keep falling. Is this a shakeout? It feels like the big players are buying up my stock. They're going to shake it out again."

"Calm down, this isn't even at the price they were at before yesterday's surge, is it? I bet the bottom line is right at the price they were at yesterday! Definitely!"

"Is that so? We've arrived! Rise, rise! Damn it, it's broken through!"

Even those who were confident just moments ago are starting to lose confidence. It shouldn't have fallen below such a crucial price level.

"Will there be any problems with Yong'an?"

"Yesterday they pumped up the price to let the news spread, and today they're dumping their shares. Is Yong'an going to go bankrupt?"

"This main player is so unethical."

"Sell! Sell! Sell!"

Wu Sibao was really enjoying himself; the feeling of being a market maker is so different from that of a retail investor.

In the past, he would have been one of those cursing, but now, even if Mount Tai collapses before him, he remains unfazed. The feeling of being in control is incredibly exhilarating.

Wu Sibao visited more often and got to know some veteran stock investors.

Some veteran stock market investors, aware of Wu Sibao's reputation as a beacon of hope in the stock market, asked him, "Brother, do you think it's time to buy or sell?"

Logically speaking, Wu Sibao would prefer the stock price to fall, so the more people sell, the better; the more people dump their shares, the cheaper it would be for them to buy.

But I'm in a good mood today, so I'll treat it as a benefit and give these people a chance to make money.

Wu Sibao smiled faintly and tapped his leg, saying, "Take my advice, I have inside information, the market is bullish."

"Sell!"

The veteran stock investor turned around and, without hesitation, told his friends, then went to the counter and waved his money to sell stocks.

"You son of a bitch!" Wu Sibao stood up, hands on his hips, glaring at these bastards with a dark face. He wanted to go up and beat these scoundrels.

(End of this chapter)