Chapter 72: Killing Three Birds with One Stone

Yuncheng operated on a 5.5-day work week, and on the morning of February 25, all major banks were operating normally. Di Ye and Huang Ya used this half-day to pay what needed to be paid, transfer what needed to be transferred, and cancel what needed to be cancelled, leaving Fan Dazhi and the others with nothing but a clean company account.

Fan Dazhi had once instructed Di Ye and Huang Ya to misappropriate Yingfeng funds to purchase CD Players. He had a guilty conscience, and although he knew the two had certainly pulled many small stunts, he did not want to investigate. The other two Shareholders were anxious to take over the finances, and seeing that the total funds were correct, they adopted the mindset that it was better to avoid trouble than to invite it, so they let it slide.

To avoid being implicated if problems arose at Yingfeng in the future, Di Ye specifically hired a notary when settling the finances and shares. He also had Lu Hanming help find two reporters from the *Yuncheng Evening News* to come over and take photos, ensuring the superficial formalities were fully completed.

After all the procedures were handled, Di Ye ran to the Post and Telecommunications Bureau and sent "10 Major Problems Exposed by the 327 Treasury Bond Futures and Corresponding Solutions" to Wang Mishu via fax.

Before transmigrating, Di Ye and a friend had partnered to run a self-media account, mainly producing long videos interpreting history. He focused on computer industry content, while his friend focused on the financial industry. The two often gathered to look up information, so the gossip and information regarding finance in his memory were no less than that regarding computers.

As early as December 1993, the Pujiang Securities Exchange had opened a two-way satellite communication network. Securities companies across the country could send trading instructions to the exchange via satellite, and the exchange would then transmit transaction information back to the securities business departments via satellite.

Therefore, if it were just a matter of speculating on 327 Treasury Bond Futures to make money, Di Ye would not have needed to go to Pujiang at all; he could have operated locally in Yuncheng. As long as he lowered the leverage, he could have avoided the risks just the same.

Di Ye went to Pujiang specifically to participate in the 327 Treasury Bond Incident for three main purposes: first, to build his reputation and increase his fame through Tang Renrong; second, to recruit talent to start his own financial company; and third, to influence the development of domestic internet infrastructure through public opinion.

There is no need to elaborate on building reputation; playing the mystic in front of Tang Renrong over the previous few days had been very effective. Tang Renrong was a "good old man" in the Pujiang financial circle, with wide social connections and many friends. Through his social network, Di Ye could quickly spread his own name.

Recruiting talent from the financial circle was a long-term plan that would only take effect after a few months.

In the two or three days before the 327 Treasury Bond Incident broke out, everyone at Wanguo Securities, from Guan Jinsheng down to the traders, believed that Zhongjingkai had used special channels to obtain inside information in advance, violating the principles of a fair and just market. They were extremely indignant and made many extreme remarks, many of which were recorded by Xia Fangfei's micro-recorder.

Under normal circumstances, these remarks would have been dismissed as mere talk, and no one would have taken them seriously. But after Wanguo Securities frantically smashed the market, infringing upon the interests of too many people, the violations had turned into crimes. These remarks would be infinitely magnified and could even become evidence of guilt. Therefore, when Tang Renrong saw the tape Xia Fangfei had secretly recorded that night, he not only dared not take it, but also warned his secretary to keep it confidential.

Di Ye did not intend to leak these recordings. Instead, he planned to wait until Wanguo Securities was at its wit's end in a few months to use these recordings to play the emotional card and poach elite talent, preparing to cope with the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis—the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis was not just a feast for making money, but also a feast for harvesting high-quality assets in Japan and South Korea. Only by making full preparations in advance could one seize the best spoils of war, such as lithium batteries, LCD screens, and chip manufacturing technology.

As for promoting the construction of internet infrastructure, that was to be carried out through the article "10 Major Problems Exposed by the 327 Treasury Bond Futures and Corresponding Solutions."

There were many reasons for the outbreak of the 327 Treasury Bond Incident, the most fundamental of which was poor information exchange.

For example, the Ministry of Finance made the decision regarding the Interest Subsidy on February 21, but it was not announced to the whole country through Xinhua News Agency until midnight on the 24th. During those three days, it was issued level by level through official documents. This method of issuance allowed Beijing to obtain information faster than other places. Consequently, on the 21st and 22nd, the trading volume of 327 Treasury Bond Futures at the Beijing Commodity Exchange surged more than sixfold, and after the market opened on the morning of the 23rd, it jumped directly by nearly 2 yuan, with the market trend being even crazier than in Pujiang.

For instance, the Pujiang Securities Exchange adopted a daily mark-to-market policy. Due to technical limitations, it could neither supervise the positions held by securities companies in real time nor check in real time whether the margin for each transaction was sufficient. This information defect in management was the direct reason why Wanguo Securities was able to issue over 20 million lots of short orders out of thin air.

Another example: ordinary investors could only view prices intermittently through the scrolling LED screens in the trading hall, while big players and securities companies could use computers in the trading rooms to study real-time market charts. This information asymmetry in operations was extremely unfair to ordinary investors.

On a larger level, the domestic financial system in the 90s was imperfect and lacked regulatory means, leading hot money to stir up trouble everywhere and frantically "cut leeks" by taking advantage of internal information. The 327 Treasury Bond Incident was merely a representative of this chaos.

In short, the 10 problems listed by Di Ye were either realized by the parties involved themselves or summarized and refined by financial experts of later generations. They were both meticulous and visionary, and they appeared just as the 327 Treasury Bond Incident had broken out and the whole country was still in a daze, creating the image of a master who remained sober while everyone else was drunk. Then, as this master, he offered the only prescription: accelerate the construction of the internet!

With the internet, official decisions could be instantly transmitted across the country; with the internet, management problems could be solved through technology; with the internet, ordinary investors could view market charts at home; with the internet, hot money could be regulated and guided through various channels...

Of course, the internet was not a panacea and could not solve human greed. Financial chaos would continue to emerge in the internet era, and even intensify. But people in 1995 did not know this, and Di Ye's goal was simply to use public opinion to push China Telecom to build ChinaNet a few months early. After all, he only had 28 years of transmigrational advantage, and he could not afford to waste it.

Di Yan was curious about the fax Di Ye sent. She photocopied a draft to read in her office, complaining as she read: "Little brother, you really can talk nonsense. Tying treasury bond futures to internet construction—don't you think that's like trying to fit a donkey's lips to a horse's mouth?"

"Sister, you need to keep studying. The internet is a tool for information exchange, and information is the source of wealth. The Pujiang Securities Exchange uses satellites to allow business departments in major cities across the country to achieve interconnection, facilitating stock trading for investors; that is actually a primary application of the internet."

"Is that so?"

Di Yan read the draft carefully. After finishing it, she still didn't feel much about the internet, but she discovered Di Ye's secret and asked: "You and Xia Fangfei suddenly ran off to Pujiang for a trip a few days ago—it was actually to make money, right? Otherwise, you couldn't possibly know so much about the 327 Treasury Bond Incident."

"It was mainly for travel, with a bit of money-making on the side. Made a little bit."

"How much is 'a little bit'?"

After asking, Di Yan immediately waved her hand and said with feigned annoyance: "Forget it, don't tell me. You have two girlfriends now; let them worry about it. I don't care, and I don't want to care."

Di Ye was happy to see this. He took a box out of his Notebook Computer backpack and said: "Sister, I went to your place on a whim last night and forgot to bring a gift. I brought it specifically today. Wishing you a successful promotion."

Di Yan graciously accepted his gift, opened the box to look, and found a designer ladies' watch. She asked: "This must be very expensive, right?"

"Not expensive. I made a lot this time; I'm not short on money. Sister, from now on you just need to focus on your career. If you need money for living expenses, just come to me."

Di Yan understood what he meant. She put on the watch and promised with a smile: "Fine! Once I become a bureau chief, I will be impartial and handle everything according to the law, especially when it comes to you."

At this moment, someone came to find Di Yan for business, so Di Ye left the Post and Telecommunications Bureau to meet up with Xia Fangfei at the Beimen of Yun University. After lunch, they went together to buy a car at a dealership recommended by Liu Shaosong.

In 1995, the domestic automobile retail industry was still quite primitive. There were no 4S shops, and various cars were sold mixed together, but there were very few models to choose from. Di Ye couldn't muster any interest, so he simply handed the choice over to Xia Fangfei.

Xia Fangfei disliked the ugly styling of domestic cars and didn't want to drive the same model of imported car as Fu Wenjing. After looking around, she finally chose a Mitsubishi Space Wagon with a rather unconventional design.

"This is a family MPV, why are you buying this?"

"This car has a large space and 7 seats, which is very suitable for taking people out to play. Plus, the seats can be folded flat to use as a bed, you know."

Di Ye was moved by the last sentence and immediately took out the money to buy it.