Chapter 65: The Perfect Moment to Strike

The call came from Feng Haodong.

Hearing Chai Jin’s question, Feng Haodong gave a bitter laugh on the other end: “Let me put it to you this way. Right now, I’ve arranged for three large trailers—one of them is stationed at your distillery, waiting to be loaded up and leave as soon as it’s full.”

“Another is always on the road, and as for the third, the moment it hits the market in Shenzhen, it’s emptied in an instant.”

“You’ll understand just how popular Xiao Li Baijiu has become once you arrive in Shenzhen.”

This was something Chai Jin hadn’t looked into before.

Xiao Li Baijiu had already exploded onto the South China market.

It started as a dark horse, and when it met Feng Haodong, who possessed such powerful distribution channels, it was like dry tinder meeting a raging fire—ignite at a touch and burn fiercely.

Over the phone, Feng Haodong strongly advised Chai Jin to expand production further.

If he could keep this momentum, it wasn’t impossible for Xiao Li Baijiu to become the Moutai for young people.

But Chai Jin was not one to leap forward recklessly.

He understood all too well the consequences of overexpansion in the liquor business. Take, for example, the now-defunct Qinchi Liquor, which had once been the hottest name—how did it fall? It had even vied with Xifeng for the title of Spring Festival Gala king, but in the end, because their production couldn’t keep up with market demand, they had to buy base liquor from Sichuan to blend in, and gradually their reputation crumbled.

Once new competitors emerged in the same category, they were doomed.

A distillery was not a simple assembly line—it was a craft, a labor of skill.

Of course, after his trip to Shenzhen, Chai Jin intended to discuss with the Yuanli County leadership about integrating other distilleries.

The call went on past ten o’clock.

After hanging up, Chai Jin lay in bed unable to sleep for a long time.

Perhaps because he was about to leave for Shenzhen, memories of his past life in that city began to surface in his mind.

Those people.

Those places.

Those events.

Suddenly, a simple, honest face appeared in his memory—the face of the man who had once saved his life.

His name was Su Wenbin, an orphan. In his previous life, when Chai Jin first arrived in Shenzhen in 1995, he had no diploma, no skills, and ended up working in a paper mill.

One time there was a terrible fire at the paper mill, and Chai Jin was trapped inside, close to death.

It was his coworker, Su Wenbin, who dashed into the flames and carried him out.

Later, Su Wenbin went back in to save others, but he never came out again. As he lay dying, he held Chai Jin’s hand and said, “Brother, you’re luckier than I am. At least you still have a sister and a younger sister alive, even if you’re not together.”

“I have no family at all, so you must find your sisters. If I die, so be it. Your life has greater meaning.”

“Live well.”

...

This was one of Chai Jin’s greatest regrets in his past life.

The year was now 1992. If he remembered correctly, Su Wenbin should have just arrived in Shenzhen.

At this stage, he was working at an electronics factory.

Chai Jin was determined to find him.

Later, lying in bed, Chai Jin suddenly thought of something else: Yuanli County had collected tens of thousands of ID cards—the market for Shenzhen’s purchase certificates must be booming.

That would require a lot of people to queue up to buy.

Where to find so many people? The best source was the factories.

Chai Jin’s mind began to work at full speed, and plans for Shenzhen started to take shape in his mind.

...

He didn’t know when he finally fell asleep that night.

The next day, he was still asleep after ten o’clock.

His big mobile phone, lying beside the bed, began to beep at half past ten.

At the same time, there was a frantic knock on the door from outside: “Brother Jin, it’s blown up! Damn, it’s blown up!”

“Hurry and get up!”

Chai Jin sat up in bed, rubbed his temples, and shouted, “Wait a minute, what’s all the noise about?”

Liu Qingwen, outside, was almost beside himself with excitement: “We’re rich! I’m really going to be rich!”

“Brother Jin, get up and get ready! We have to hurry to the main Cai store—there’s a super investor there!”

“Alright, enough noise. I’m answering the phone!”

Chai Jin snapped, grabbed his mobile, and extended the antenna to ensure good reception.

He answered, and Cai Weiqiang’s voice came through immediately.

“Eight thousand five hundred! I have a big investor here—they’ll take as many certificates as you have.”

“Chai Jin, get over here, I’ve already sold a batch!”

Chai Jin’s target selling price for the purchase certificates was eight thousand apiece, and now, out of nowhere, someone was offering eighty-five hundred—a sudden jump of fifteen hundred from yesterday’s price of seven thousand.

This super investor was surely no ordinary player!

He couldn’t help but ask, “A foreign investor?”

“Who knows? It’s a young man with seven or eight people, parked outside in a van, guarded by a bank security team with guns.”

“They say the truck is packed with cash—buying the certificates outright in cash. Get over here, quick.”

Chai Jin was shaken.

To show up with a truckload of cash and buy up certificates—what kind of nerve did this person have?

That was real confidence. It probably wasn’t foreign capital.

He hurriedly got dressed and out of bed.

As soon as the door opened, Liu Qingwen was still bubbling over with excitement.

“It’s unreal, I’ve never seen anyone so bold,” he babbled. “They parked a truck full of cash right at the front of Cai’s main store. Brother Jin, we—”

“Enough chatter!”

“Hurry up, let’s go!”

Chai Jin cut him off.

A big investor buying up everything at once was the best scenario; otherwise, trying to offload over ten thousand purchase certificates would take more than a day or two.

On the way to Cai Weiqiang’s store, they had to pass by the crowded Jing’an Securities Exchange Center.

After squeezing through the throng, Chai Jin understood the reason for the big investor’s appearance.

The second round of the lottery had been announced at ten that morning, just as in his previous life.

A total of thirty-four new stocks had gone public, and the purchase certificates’ winning rate was a staggering fifty percent or more!

How could people not go mad?

Along the way, he saw many people ecstatic, shouting in the crowds—obviously, these were the lucky ones who’d caught the wave and were about to get rich.

There were also those who beat their chests in regret, sitting aside, slapping their thighs and stomping their feet—clearly, they had missed out on this once-in-a-millennium opportunity for wealth.

At these soaring prices, purchase certificates were no longer a game for ordinary people.

Sure enough, when Chai Jin reached the alley outside Cai Weiqiang’s shop, he saw a large van parked there.

Armed bank security guards stood nearby, alertly watching the surroundings.

Every so often, an armed guard would take someone into the van.

When they came out, they would be carrying a case filled with money.

It was being used for black-market transactions on the spot.

Chai Jin couldn’t help but feel uneasy: “This is a bit too conspicuous, isn’t it? Aren’t they afraid of attracting the authorities’ attention?”

Walking into the alley, he found a long line had already formed outside the black market.

Clearly, these were small-time holders of purchase certificates, hoping to cash in with the big investor.

Chai Jin squeezed past them and had just reached the door when Cai Weiqiang, who had been waiting, hurried over.

He leaned in and whispered, “I suspect they’re from up north.”