The interior of the Pujiang Hotel, known to the initiated as the Yellow House, was a sanctuary of fading grandeur. High ceilings with ornate plasterwork, heavy velvet curtains that smelled of decades of dust, and a polished parquet floor that creaked under the weight of Shanghai's first capitalists.
The air was thick—not with the smell of the river, but with the scent of expensive pomade, stale tea, and the electric, invisible hum of greed.
Lin Xia walked through the grand doors, her black Ghost-Stitch cheongsam rustling softly. She felt the eyes of the room shift toward her. In 1989, a woman in this space was a curiosity; a young woman alone was a target.
At the far end of the ballroom, a long mahogany table served as the unofficial "Exchange." There were no digital boards. Instead, two men stood behind a large chalkboard, their sleeves rolled up, clutching pieces of chalk as if they were weapons.
Zhang Wei was already there, standing beside Lao Feng. Zhang's face twisted into a smirk the moment he saw her. He whispered something to Lao Feng, a man with a thick neck and hands that looked better suited for strangling than trading.
To the left sat the Zhaos. Zhao Meifeng was the picture of composure, sipping tea from a delicate porcelain cup. Her son, Kun, looked nervous, his eyes darting toward the chalkboard every few seconds. They believed they were the masters of the room.
Lin Xia took a seat at a small, isolated table. She didn't look at Zhang Wei. She didn't look at the Zhaos. She pulled out her red silk pouch and placed it on the table.
"Gentlemen, and Lady," the head clerk announced, his voice echoing. "We have the secondary offering for Vacuum Electron. Current market price from the Puxi street-side: 55 Yuan. We open for blocks of one thousand vouchers."
Zhao Meifeng nodded to Kun.
"The Zhao Group bids 56 Yuan for two thousand vouchers," Kun announced, his voice cracking slightly.
Zhang Wei stepped forward, his eyes gleaming. "Lao Feng bids 60 Yuan for three thousand!"
The room murmured. 60 Yuan was a high entry point. Zhang Wei was trying to flex his new patron's muscle, aiming to drive the price up so high that Lin Xia wouldn't be able to afford a single share.
Lin Xia remained silent. She watched the chalk scratch across the board.
Vacuum Electron: 60
"62 Yuan!" Kun countered, looking at his mother. She gave a sharp nod.
"65!" Zhang Wei shouted.
The price was climbing rapidly. The "Big Players" were in a bidding war, inflated by their own egos. They were buying the idea of the stock, not the reality.
"Does the lady have a bid?" the clerk asked, looking toward Lin Xia.
Lin Xia leaned back, her fingers interlaced. "I'm not buying," she said clearly. "I'm waiting for the correction."
Zhang Wei laughed loudly. "Correction? There is no correction, Xia! This is the future! You're just out of your depth. Go back to your sewing machines."
But just as the clerk raised his gavel to finalize Zhang Wei's 65-Yuan bid, a frantic man burst through the double doors. He was a runner from the docks, his shirt soaked with sweat. He ran straight to one of the smaller traders and whispered in his ear.
The trader's face went white. He stood up immediately. "I'm selling! I'll sell my block for 50 Yuan! Right now!"
"What?" Kun stood up. "The bid is 65!"
"The rumor is true!" the trader shouted. "The Ministry is auditing Vacuum Electron for tax fraud! The vouchers will be frozen by tonight!"
The ballroom erupted. This was the "Panic" Su Bo had orchestrated, now leaking into the sanctuary of the Yellow House.
"Lies!" Zhang Wei screamed, but his voice was drowned out.
The chalkboard became a mess of smears.
65... 50... 40...
"I'll sell for 35!" another trader yelled.
Zhao Meifeng's tea cup hit the saucer with a sharp clack. She looked at Lin Xia, her eyes narrowing into slits. She saw the calmness in the girl's posture. She saw the lack of surprise.
"You," Meifeng hissed.
Lin Xia stood up. The room went quiet as she walked toward the mahogany table. The chalkboard now read 25 Yuan. The market had bottomed out in less than ten minutes.
"The panic is irrational," Lin Xia said, her voice cutting through the noise like a bell. "Vacuum Electron is a state-supported entity. The Ministry would never freeze the vouchers of a strategic industry. They are merely restructuring."
She looked at the panicked traders who were holding their papers as if they were burning coals.
"I will buy," Lin Xia announced. "I will buy every voucher in this room for 28 Yuan. Cash."
"28?" Zhang Wei stepped in her path. "You're trying to rob them! I'll... I'll stay at 30!"
"With what money, Zhang Wei?" Lin Xia asked. "Lao Feng's capital is tied up in the cargo you lost at the docks. You don't have the liquidity to cover a 30-Yuan bid for ten thousand shares."
Lao Feng looked at Zhang Wei, his expression darkening. He realized he had been led into a trap. He stepped back, distancing himself from the man who had promised him a "sure thing."
Lin Xia pulled the red silk pouch open. She didn't have stacks of cash inside. She had a single, official document: a Bank of China Guaranteed Line of Credit, backed by her three-year exclusivity contract with the French and her (soon-to-be) ownership of the No. 4 Mill.
"28 Yuan," the clerk repeated, looking at the room. "Any higher bids?"
Silence. The Zhaos were paralyzed. If they bought now, they were buying into a crash. If they didn't, they lost their chance to dominate the sector. Zhao Meifeng was a traditionalist; she couldn't handle the volatility Lin Xia had created.
"Sold," the clerk said, slamming the gavel. "Twelve thousand vouchers to Miss Lin Xia at 28 Yuan."
Lin Xia turned to Zhang Wei. He looked like a ghost. He had spent his last resources trying to outbid her at 65, and now she had secured the entire market at less than half that price.
"You cheated," Zhang Wei whispered. "You started that rumor."
"I didn't start a rumor, Zhang Wei," Lin Xia said softly so only he could hear. "I just told the truth a little earlier than the government was planning to. The audit is happening. But the company isn't failing. It's being privatized. And I now own the largest private stake in the first corporation of the new China."