Chapter 1 The Autumn of 2007

In late October of 2007, the golden autumn was in full bloom.

Mainland stock investors were still immersed in a jubilant atmosphere. The Shanghai Composite Index successfully broke through 5,700 points, showing no signs of braking or correction.

Even the ayis (aunties) who bought groceries and knew nothing about the market or the economy would ask anyone they met if their stocks had risen and how much they had earned recently.

Many "experts" even declared that the Shanghai Composite Index would soon break through 6,000 points, and that breaking through 7,000 or 8,000 points was not a dream.

Countless stock investors were practically picking up money with sacks, watching the assets in their accounts rise every day.

In response, one can only say that the old stock god's saying, "Be fearful when others are greedy," is one of the most profound sayings in the investment world. As expected, the unexpected really did arrive quietly.

Time had only just entered November.

At first.

The mainland stock market opened with a sharp drop, and people only thought it was a correction due to the negative impact of the external environment.

Numerous stocks uniformly fell to their limit, and many people still held out hope for a rebound.

Su Yehao, who had already returned to Hong Kong, saw the article *Notice on Issues Concerning Further Strengthening Risk Management in the Fund Industry* in a report as soon as possible.

When he discovered that it required each fund company to effectively control its sales scale, he knew that a soft landing was unlikely. This was an attempt to actively puncture the stock market bubble to avoid dragging down economic development.

In fact, since the third week of October, 5s Asset Management had already suspended the sale of mainland funds, giving the reason that its management capacity was temporarily saturated. Old users could redeem their assets as normal, but they could no longer subscribe.

Other fund companies, like 5s Asset Management, also received the notice from above and suspended subscriptions one after another. This was clearly to limit the flow of funds into the stock market.

In addition, with the tightening of monetary policy, soaring inflation, declining corporate profitability, and other major negative factors, a round of sharp declines was unavoidable.

While checking his phone during breakfast.

After reading many relevant articles, Su Yehao sighed and said, "No need to guess, it's going to be a sharp drop again today. No wonder so many people are frantically @-ing me on Yinhai Weibo. I wouldn't dare say a word at this time."

Jiang Yu sat at the table, eating fried eggs, and said calmly:

"Greed is human nature. Human weaknesses make many people easily blinded by interests, ignoring the huge risks behind stock speculation. Didn't you feel that there was a bubble in the stock market long ago? Why didn't you write a little essay to lower the market's temperature?"

"Me?"

Su Yehao said speechlessly:

"I sold off like crazy, cashing out a total of three to four hundred billion. What else can I do? There are also many people who directly come out and say that the stock market is going to crash, but those investors are hotheaded and can't listen at all."

Nangong Tian helped explain:

"Yeah, yeah, it's best not to express any opinions when it comes to investment. If the stockholders who came in to make a quick buck don't make any money, and the people holding stocks lose money, wouldn't Brother Hao be stuck in the middle, displeasing both sides?"

Su Yehao took a bite of his fried egg and said:

"That's right, it's the most troublesome to give investment advice. You can easily end up offending both sides and getting scolded for nothing. Now I only care about how big the risk is. If open-ended funds are subject to a run, whether they have enough cash flow, which may trigger systemic financial risks, which in turn will lead to the stock market and fund investors getting worse. I will find a suitable opportunity to intervene and support the market, but not now, at least after it has fallen by half."

"Ah!"

Nangong Tian suddenly shouted, startling the two children and Su Yehao, who all looked at her.

Nangong Tian hurriedly got up, saying, "Oh no, it might fall by half, so much? Last time I asked my mom to sell her stocks, she said she could wait a little longer. I guess she still has money in the stock market."

Jiang Yu also got up and left a sentence: "Wait for me! I'm going to call my dad too. Ah-Hao's predictions are very accurate. Since he says it will fall by half, it will at least be cut in half."

"..."

Hearing the words "predictions," Su Yehao said unhappily:

"What predictions? I'm objectively analyzing and scientifically judging, okay? Look at the price-to-earnings ratios of those listed companies. The average number is actually over seventy. In addition, there are a bunch of speculators who are madly fueling the fire, making the market smoky and chaotic. It would be strange if there were no problems."

This bubble had grown up under Su Yehao's nose.

Involving economic problems, a single move affects the whole body. It's not like you can suppress it just by suppressing it, especially in the case of national speculation, which makes people blind and lose their minds.

Even raising the stamp duty in May failed to suppress the market's heat, let alone Su Yehao, a businessman without a monetary policy toolbox, who had basically done what he could do.

For example, reducing holdings and cashing out, issuing a series of risk warnings through the company, suspending the sale of new funds, and ending the lock-up period of several private equity funds early.

Many people didn't listen to the advice and continued to try to grab chestnuts from the fire. Su Yehao couldn't do anything about it.

It's like a group of people gathering around a gambling table, having a great time playing. He suddenly came over and overturned the table, saying it was for their own good.

But in reality, the newcomers want to win money, and those who have lost want to make a comeback, so they won't thank Su Yehao.

When this kind of thing happens, even the higher-ups don't dare to act rashly, and he doesn't need to get involved. Therefore, out of a sense of responsibility, he helped as much as possible, mainly responsible for reducing the risks of himself and the investors of 5s Asset Management.

Nangong Tian quickly ran back and sat at the dining table, saying:

"That was close. Her A-share fund fell sharply by 4.4% yesterday, and she has chosen to sell it. Unfortunately, the amount confirmed for redemption is based on today's closing price, totaling about 60 million RMB, which means if it falls sharply today, she will probably lose a few more percentage points, right?"

Su Yehao shook his head and said:

"It's hard to say. In order to avoid a panic-driven decline and cause other risks, some good news may be released today. There are very few stock market crashes that truly leave people with no way out. The vast majority actually have a chance to escape, but out of luck, investors often think that now is the bottom and get trapped step by step. Decisive action is very important. I think this time it will be a long period of slow decline. After all, the international market is still holding on, and the bubbles in the mainland and Hong Kong are a bit dangerous."

"Then that means my mommy was right to sell."

Nangong Tian nodded with satisfaction, adding:

"If it really falls and she successfully escapes, she will be even more satisfied with you, her good son-in-law. You don't know how many people are trying to get information from her about how you invest. But my mom isn't stupid, she definitely won't push you into the fire pit. It would be bad if someone investigated and it got out."

Su Yehao replied, "It's okay, I rarely interfere with the company's specific management now. My analysis is different from internal news, and it's originally public information."

When the A-share market opened, it was indeed a sea of green.

The Shanghai Composite Index quickly evaporated three points, and the downward trend still showed no signs of easing.

Su Yehao specifically asked about the situation at 5s Asset Management and learned that more than 10 billion Hong Kong dollars of funds were waiting to be redeemed from this morning until now.

As he predicted, the authorities did publish an article. During the market rally, many institutions escaped together, and soon it took another sharp turn for the worse...