Becoming the King of Bottom Fishing After Going All-In on A-Shares

An investment manager at a Hong Kong family office saw the news late at night.

He tossed and turned in bed, finally sitting up and picking up his phone to send a message to Xia Yaozong: "Is it still worth investing in Lu Chenzhou's private equity?"

Xia Yaozong replied after a few minutes: "It starts on Saturday, only three days."

"What's the entry barrier?"

HK$100 million.

"What about the terms?"

Xia Yaozong sent over the terms: management fee of 0.5%, 20% for annualized returns up to 100%, and 50% for returns exceeding 100%.

After reading the terms, the investment manager remained silent for a few seconds before replying: "The terms are harsh, but the fact that he dares to charge so much shows he has the financial backing. I'll invest 1000 million."

The news reached London and New York in the early hours of Saturday Beijing time.

A hedge fund analyst in London was working overtime when he received a message from a colleague in Hong Kong. He saw a screenshot from the Renmin University alumni group and forwarded it to the company group.

Someone in the group replied: "I've seen this person's operating logic. In the Huaxin Taifu incident, he wasn't betting on the exchange rate, but on the fear of human nature."

Those who dare to lay a hand on the Rong family are indeed very bold.

But what's truly impressive about this move isn't its audacity, but its meticulous calculations.

A Renmin University alumnus in New York received a message from China late Friday night. After seeing a screenshot of the alumni group chat, he sent a message to Yang Cheng: "Can I apply?"

Yang Cheng replied, "Yes."

"I'll invest 2000 million."

Yang Cheng frowned slightly, not because of the quantity, but because of the scarcity, but he didn't say anything.

His friend spends most of his time traveling abroad.

I heard when I returned to China recently that he acquired several hydroelectric power stations, made hundreds of millions of yuan, and then went back to his old ways.

Early Saturday morning, posts on Baidu Tieba were still being refreshed.

Someone compiled the reactions from the mainland financial sector and Hong Kong circles and posted a long thread about it.

The headline reads: "The financial world is in an uproar; securities firms, funds, private equity firms, and investment banks are all discussing Lu Chenzhou."

The post listed a series of screenshots he had seen: group chat logs from securities research institutes, fund managers' WeChat Moments, post-market analysis notes from private equity research directors, internal group chats of Goldman Sachs traders, WeChat Moments of investment bank analysts, and private chat logs from family office investment managers...

The post ended with the sentence: "From Beijing to Hong Kong, from London to New York, the financial world is talking about one name tonight—Lu Chenzhou."

The replies below were scrolling by incredibly fast.

"Really? Goldman Sachs is talking about him too?"

"I've already posted the screenshots, see for yourself."

"So what if Goldman Sachs is discussing him? They're not investing in him."

"Whether Goldman Sachs invests in him or not is not important; what is important is that people at Goldman Sachs are paying attention to him."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that those who are followed by Goldman Sachs are either clients or competitors. Lu Chenzhou is not a Goldman Sachs client. Guess what he is?"

"opponent?"

"Yes, the opponent."

"A 20-year-old student, a competitor of Goldman Sachs?"

"When he shorted BYD, Goldman Sachs was one of his counterparties; he was already Goldman Sachs's opponent."

The post was silent for a few seconds.

Then someone replied with: "Holy shit."

Then someone else added, "I really can't sleep tonight."

That night, from Beijing's financial district to Hong Kong's Central district, from London's Canary Wharf to New York's Wall Street, countless people were discussing the same name.

Some people are reviewing his actions, some are studying his terms, some are hesitating about whether to follow suit, and some are regretting not lending him money back then.

Lu Chenzhou lay on his bed in dormitory 302, breathing evenly, fast asleep.

On October 25th, at six o'clock in the morning, Lu Chenzhou got up feeling refreshed.

I glanced at the three people snoring loudly in the dormitory. Were these three out stealing cattle last night?

He paused for a moment, then remembered something. He picked up his phone, plugged it in, and turned it on.

My phone vibrated once, then vibrated again.

Then, as if it had been electrified, it started vibrating wildly, and notifications kept popping up on the screen, one after another, so fast that there was no time to look at them.

The red numbers for SMS messages, QQ messages, emails, and unread messages jumped up and down, eventually settling into three dots.

It means there are too many to display.

He rubbed his temples and first scrolled to Wen Zhiyu's text message.

Wen Zhiyu: You raised funds?

Wen Zhiyu: Why didn't you tell me?

Wen Zhiyu:? ? ?

Wen Zhiyu: Asleep?

Wen Zhiyu: Never mind, let's talk about it tomorrow.

Four.

The broadcast runs from 10 PM to 11 PM, with one message every twenty minutes.

That last point ended there.

He replied with two words: "Just woke up."

Then I scrolled through other people's messages.

Yang Cheng's friend, whose contact name was in English, sent a brief message: 2000 million, to be transferred on Monday.

Mr. Chen from Xia Yaozong's side: Add another 1000 million. Qiu Guogen has already invested, I can't invest less than him.

Lao Wang from Zhang Yixing's side: 1500 million, send the contract to my email.

There were also some people who didn't know him but found him through alumni groups, online forums, or friends of friends.

"Mr. Lu, I am an alumnus of Renmin University, class of '98. I run a business in Shenzhen and want to invest 500 million yuan."

"Brother Lu, I'm from the dorm next to yours. I can't afford to invest 100 million, but a few of my classmates and I have pooled together 200 million. Could that count as one of our spots?"

"Lu Chenzhou, I'm from XXX Capital in Hong Kong. Our boss would like to invite you for tea. Is that convenient?"

He read a few, but didn't finish; there were too many.

He thought for a moment, then flipped back to the very first fundraising announcement that Zhang Yixing had posted in the investor group.

There were already thousands of replies below, but he was too lazy to scroll through them.

He typed a line of text and sent it:

If you have any questions, please go to Room 608, Renmin University Cultural and Technological Park.

After sending the message, he put down his phone and went to wash up and go for a morning run.

7:30, Room 608, Renmin University Cultural and Technological Park.

When Lu Chenzhou arrived, there were already people at the door.

It wasn't just one person, it was more than a dozen.

Some people were leaning against the wall, some were squatting on the ground, some were on the phone, and some were flipping through documents.

Everyone looked up at the same time as they saw Lu Chenzhou walking over.

"Brother Lu."

Good morning, Brother Lu.

"Brother Lu, I..."

Lu Chenzhou didn't say anything, took out his key, opened the door, went inside, and sat down in his seat.

He turned on his computer and looked at the people at the door.

"One at a time."

The first person to enter was Li Ming, who was holding a piece of paper in his hand, a printed fundraising announcement.

"Brother Lu, I'm going to continue betting, all of it." He placed the paper on the table, his fingers trembling, but his voice was steady.

"I invested 10,000 yuan, and now I have over a million yuan in my account. After you liquidate the business and sign a new contract, I will transfer all of this million yuan into the account."

Lu Chenzhou glanced at him: "Have you thought it through?"

"I've thought it through."

"The minimum investment is HKD 100 million. You have enough money, but I'll take 50% of anything exceeding 100%, you understand?"

"Know."

"Okay, let's sign the contract."

Li Ming nodded, signed the document, and turned to leave.

When he reached the door, he stopped, looked back, and seemed about to say something, but ultimately said nothing and went out.

The second person to come in was Wang Hao. He was much more nervous than Li Ming, clutching his phone with a calculator on the screen.

His voice was a little dry: "Brother Lu, I invested two thousand, and now I have several hundred thousand in my account, but not enough for a million."

But I got some money from a few classmates, and together with theirs, we have 100 million. Can that count as one spot?

"Yes, the contract should clearly state each party's share."

Wang Hao was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously: "Thank you, Brother Lu! Thank you, Brother Lu!"

He turned and walked out, almost tripping over the threshold when he reached the door.

The third person to come in was Liu Yang, a sophomore who had invested 1000 yuan.

"Brother Lu, I don't have much money. The previous profits plus the principal aren't enough for a million, and I can't find anyone to help me raise it." He lowered his head, his voice trailing off. "Does this mean I can't invest anymore?"

Lu Chenzhou looked at him and remained silent for two seconds.

"I'll help you contact other people, but don't tell anyone else. This is only for classmates who invested in me before and couldn't raise 100 million."

Liu Yang burst into tears of joy: "Thank you, Brother Lu, thank you, Brother Lu."

He signed the contract, turned and ran out, almost bumping into someone coming in as he reached the door.

People came in one after another.