Chapter 352 The Same Standard (Bug Fix): The Deal Was Cancelled

Tang Yicheng came out of the room yawning.

He hadn't slept all night, and now that drowsiness was creeping in, he still had to force himself to stay awake and quietly ask the bodyguard on duty, "How is it?"

Xiao Yang lowered his voice, looking relieved: "It's all quite peaceful."

The huge weight that had been hanging over Tang Yicheng's chest was finally lifted.

My goodness! Last night was terrifying; anyone who saw it knows.

It's only a little past five o'clock, and Wang Xiao is already in bed!

You have to understand, this was back in 1990 when he first met her. It was already November, late at night, past eight o'clock, and she was leaving one client's office, still wanting to drag him along to visit the next client so they could get more orders.

How can someone who works more than twelve hours a day, seemingly with a perpetual motion machine inside them, go to sleep as early as 5 p.m.?

Even if the sky were to fall, this wouldn't be any worse than this.

So Tang Yicheng made the decision to make an international call and summon Ivanov over.

To be honest, although Ivanov was nominally Tang Yicheng's boss, both of them knew perfectly well that their relationship was entirely connected through Wang Xiao.

Now, Tang Yicheng's attitude towards Ivanov is somewhat like that of a mother's family choosing a son-in-law.

It's barely passable, I guess.

Thankfully, they answered the phone and flew over from Moscow immediately without saying a word.

Tsk tsk, those planes from Wuzhou Company are exclusively for resellers; they have absolutely nothing to do with comfort. Nobody makes a sound when they're on board.

The fact that he traveled for more than ten hours straight to get here at least shows that his attitude was acceptable.

Tang Yicheng thought with a sense of vicissitude, "Even without fish and shrimp, I can make up for it with my attitude, even if my personal abilities are lacking."

Xiao Gao was also relieved, and said to Lyuba, "We're so glad we found Mr. Ivanov, now we can finally relax."

That's terrifying; he's never seen a boss like that before.

Even when the Russian government suddenly announced the abandonment of the old ruble the summer before last, the boss had never been this distracted.

It seems like you still need someone by your side, someone to discuss things with and support each other, so you can handle things together.

Lyuba looked at the three self-satisfied men, and her response was just a slight twitch of the corner of her mouth; she said nothing more.

What should she say?

Her only reaction was to roll her eyes wide.

Men's imagination about relationships between men and women can only be described as shallow and narrow.

The relationship between their female boss and male boss was not what they had imagined at all!

Yes, yes, Mr. Ivanov couldn't wait to come all the way from Moscow this time.

Yes, yes, Miss Wang would be happy to see it happen.

They facilitated a meeting that was a win-win situation.

Unfortunately, they seem to have completely overlooked why Miss Wang left Moscow in January.

Indeed, Mayor Luzhkov's special trip to the container market to visit her has put her in the spotlight and made her too conspicuous; she really should go out and avoid the limelight.

But they should think more deeply about things, such as what was Miss Wang's real intention in lashing out at Yura after the mayor left?

Yes, yes, yes, Yura, a typical member of the Russian elite, is indeed arrogant, shallow, ignorant, and self-righteous. Lyuba has seen his stupidity and has wanted to punch him countless times.

Don't forget, this idiot is a high-ranking Russian official.

Given Miss Wang's personality, even if he were so stupid that he could lower the average IQ of wherever he went, she would not confront him directly unless absolutely necessary.

So what is this necessity?

A heated argument could give her a perfectly legitimate reason to suddenly leave Moscow.

This argument also exposed Miss Wang's personality flaws—being irritable, easily angered, and emotionally unstable.

They perfectly fit the stereotypes that elite men have about women.

No matter how intelligent they are, they are controlled by hormones throughout their lives, and their emotions always outweigh their reason.

This is wonderful.

For the Kremlin, a foreigner of exceptional intelligence, a veritable perfect strategist, was like Pandora's box.

It's hard to throw it away, but opening it is like opening the door to an uncontrollable danger.

Yes, yes, Russians don't mind foreign women taking over and becoming the masters of the country.

Catherine the Great was a German, the Russian version of Wu Zetian. She seized power and became Tsar after marrying Peter III.

Russians still love her, because she transformed Tsarist Russia into a European power.

Modern Russians would also welcome a new Catherine the Great.

But let’s not forget one thing: although most of Russia’s territory is in Asia, it is a European country.

The Russians could accept a Germanic man as their new Tsar, but they would never allow someone from East Asia to become one.

This is the subtle sense of national pride among Russians.

In Moscow, Miss Wang's threat as an independent individual diminished only when she was treated as an appendage of Mr. Ivanov.

What a wonderful advisor! Intelligent and perceptive, yet lacking a stable and strong core, her emotions are like the roaring Volga River; the slightest thing can ignite her anger, but Ivanov can always appease her.

This is the value of Ivanov, the value of a stable controller.

He may not be able to do some things on his own, but he can influence Miss Wang to achieve her goals.

For the Kremlin, Ivanov is enough.

After all, a true leader doesn't need to do things himself; he should lead people.

How fitting it was for Ivanov to appear at the Shanghai Hotel at this very moment.

Look, he has successfully appeased Miss Wang, who stormed off to Moscow in a huff.

His status in the Kremlin will likely rise accordingly.

Lyuba sighed inwardly.

Her two bosses are such perfect businessmen.

They would present themselves in a way that met the client's psychological needs.

So, can such natural acting skills be seen through?

Of course it's possible. There are some intelligent people in the Russian government.

But so what if you're seen through?

Why would a smart person bother to expose the truth if they could gain enough benefits?

Moreover, smart people prefer to deal with other smart people rather than fools, as it saves them a lot of trouble.

Looking at her smug colleagues, Lyuba sincerely warned them, "Alright, let's stop discussing these things. Please remember, no lady likes having her private life discussed."

Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao chuckled and nodded repeatedly, "We know, we know."

Clearly, they know nothing.

Lyuba wanted to say something more, but the door opened from the inside.

Wang Xiao had changed out of her bathrobe and put on a new fleece coat, exuding a distinctly wicked fleece vibe.

She nodded to Tang Yicheng and instructed Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao, "Ivan is asleep, don't disturb him unless necessary."

Then she turned to Tang Yicheng and asked, "Have you had breakfast yet? If not, let's eat together."

In fact, Tang Yicheng didn't want to eat breakfast at all.

He stayed up all night last night, not daring to close his eyes even for a moment. Now he has no appetite and just wants to go back to sleep.

But then I thought, if I woke up hungry in the middle of a good night's sleep, that would be even worse.

So he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll sleep after I finish eating."

There weren't too many customers in the downstairs buffet restaurant; at least the area around the table where Wang Xiao and Tang Yicheng were sitting was empty.

Wang Xiao took a sip of congee, stirred the bowl with a spoon, and looked up at Tang Yicheng: "You called Ivan here?"

Tang Yicheng chuckled, thinking he could give Ivanov a bonus: "He came over as soon as I called."

“Tang Yicheng, you shouldn’t have done this.” Wang Xiao looked at him seriously. “I know you meant well, you’re worried about me, you care about me. But you shouldn’t have been the one making the call.”

She put down her spoon and stared intently at the other person. "Xiao Gao can make this call, Xiao Zhao can make this call, Liu Ba can make this call, but you are the only one who cannot make this call."

Tang Yi was completely dumbfounded.

It's just a phone call, how could it possibly cause something earth-shattering?

What blacklist is he on? Why can't he call Ivanov?

"Because you're different from them. They're my bodyguards, serving me directly. But you're different—"

Wang Xiao pointed at him and said, "You are a general who has opened up new territories, a star general who has sealed the wolf's lair. Your position in the group is something you have earned through hard work!"

Tang Yicheng's face exploded with a "bang," like fireworks exploding, making him wish he could dig a hole and crawl into it.

Wang Xiao's voice was soft: "You're a general! A general should do what a general does. How can you put your energy and mind on these things? This isn't the path you should be on. Hong Kong is just the first stop; our market will be much bigger later. If you don't maintain your good condition, how will you capture a larger market?"

She always gave him authority and nurtured his ambition so that he would always be full of vigor.

Tang Yicheng couldn't even lift his head, and his words stammered, "I... um..."

Wang Xiao sighed deeply: "I know you will be greatly affected in Hong Kong. The developed economy will whitewash the many distortions and darkness of the city. Without the transformation of the socialist revolution, it still retains too much of the dregs of feudalism and colonialism. And these dregs are packaged in a high-class way, as if they are the standard of the so-called upper class."

She leaned forward and called Tang Yicheng's name, "Raise your eyes and look at me. Demystify, demystify all people, things, places, and countries. A developed economy can be the result of many factors, but that doesn't mean everything about it is good, beautiful, advanced, or superior."

Her fingers tapped lightly on the table. "Brother Tang, you're not even thirty yet, far from the time to retire. How can you stop? How can your career end up like this?"

Tang Yicheng raised his arm and rubbed his face vigorously: "I was wrong."

“Don’t do this anymore,” Wang Xiao warned him. “Your life is about climbing mountains and reaching the peak, not being wasted like this.”

Tang Yicheng nodded repeatedly, his face, ears, and neck burning hotter than the fire in the kitchen of a buffet restaurant.

Wang Xiao knew when to stop: "Let's eat. I think the shumai is good."

As she spoke, she even gave him one of the shumai she had taken.

But Tang Yicheng now can no longer taste the flavor.

His mouth already tasted bitter from staying up late, but now his heart was even more bitter, and his mind was a complete mess.

So a man wearing a wool coat, with hair as messy as a bird's nest, rushed into the cafeteria and yelled, "What are you still eating for? It's canceled! The Shanghai Stock Exchange has issued an announcement that the last eight minutes of trading yesterday have been canceled!"

Tang Yicheng's reaction upon hearing this was one of utter confusion; his face was completely blank: "What? It's canceled? What does that mean?"

"That means the trading in the last eight minutes before the market closed yesterday was invalid," Wang Xiao patiently explained to him. "Yesterday's closing price was still 151.3 yuan."

With a loud bang, Tang Yicheng suddenly stood up, causing his chair to crash into the dining table with a deafening crash.

Even the juice on the table was sloshing violently up and down in the glass.

"Wh...what? 151.3 yuan!"

Wang Xiao nodded and continued eating the remaining shumai: "Yes, this was the price until the last eight minutes yesterday."

Tang Yicheng felt like his head was about to explode. In other words, the bulls who lost everything by yesterday's close were now making a fortune.

His blood rushed to his head, and he couldn't believe his ears because Wang Xiao, sitting across from him, was still leisurely eating his breakfast!

300 million! If the stock closes at 151.3 yuan, she can earn 300 million yuan!

Even if these shumai were made of gold, you could easily make a whole basketful.

How could she still eat?

Tang Yicheng suspected that what he heard and what she said were just a joke.

Otherwise, no normal person could be as indifferent as she is.

But the entire restaurant was already in an uproar.

Shanghai's financial market is booming; everyone, whether they trade stocks or not, whether they trade futures or not, is paying close attention to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Immediately, someone asked, "Really? Why cancel? Once you've placed your order, there's no reason to cancel."

The man in the wool coat who brought the news had no interest in answering other people's questions, and replied haphazardly, "It's against the rules, of course it should be canceled if it's against the rules."

He hurriedly reached out and grabbed his companion, "Okay, stop eating, let's go, I need to go to the Shanghai Stock Exchange to see the announcement with my own eyes."

These words completely ignited the entire buffet restaurant.

The guests, who were initially just surprised or delighted and discussing the matter, no longer cared about eating. They hurriedly took out handkerchiefs or tissues to wipe their mouths and rushed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Some people were so excited that they even knocked their plates to the ground, causing a series of cracking sounds as soup, liquids, and shards of porcelain scattered all over the floor.

The waiter quickly ran forward, trying to stop the troublemaking customer.

The customer had no time to pay her any attention; he simply threw down a hundred-yuan bill and rushed out, saying, "Consider it a loss!"

Tang Yicheng's suit trousers were stained with spilled soup, but he didn't care about cursing. He lifted his foot to follow, saying, "Let's go, let's go take a look."

It's so surreal.

This was the first time he had ever heard of a stock exchange being able to cancel a transaction.

Didn't we agree that once a move is made, there's no going back?

Without seeing the announcement with his own eyes, his heart, which was pounding in his chest and felt like it was about to jump out of his throat, simply couldn't settle down!

Wang Xiao shook his head, looking uninterested: "No, you can go by yourself. Ivan came all this way, I can't just leave him behind."

She really didn't care. The reason why the 327 Treasury bond became a significant event in the history of Huaxia Securities was because the fatal eight minutes of continuous trading were canceled.

How could something she already knew be shocking to her?

Her only feeling was, "Oh, so that's how it is. Well, that's how it is then."

Tang Yicheng wasn't a time traveler, so how could he be as calm as her?

He has now forgotten his previous gossipy thoughts and doesn't care about personal matters anymore.

Ivanov has only been traveling for more than ten hours and is now sleeping. He's not seriously injured and about to die, so why should we keep him company?

"What sleep?!" Tang Yicheng said righteously. "Now that such a big thing has happened, if he can still sleep, let me tell you, Wang Xiao, it means he doesn't care about you at all. You absolutely cannot be with him."

Don't men understand men? They can say sweet words to anyone. The key is whether they take it to heart.

300 million yuan! Even a god shouldn't be able to sleep soundly!

Tang Yicheng rushed off to call for help.

Sleep my ass! He hasn't slept for over 24 hours since yesterday morning, and he's still perfectly healthy and energetic!

“No need to go to the Shanghai Stock Exchange anymore.” Zhou Liang had arrived at some point, looking like a walking corpse who was neither alive nor dead, and spoke weakly. “I’ve already confirmed it, it’s true. The Shanghai Stock Exchange issued the announcement at 11 p.m. last night.”

"What?" Tang Yicheng grabbed him by the collar, almost lifting him up like a chick. "Why are you only telling me about what happened last night? I didn't sleep a wink all night!"

Damn it! He thought Zhang Junfei had become a complete idiot in Shanghai. Where did this high-achieving but clueless idiot come from?

They completely miss the point.

Zhou Liang was being grabbed by the collar, struggling to breathe, and desperately cried out, "At least I should verify the information I received! Is there such an absurd thing in the world? Can stock trading be cancelled? How can someone be such a sore loser?"

There were still a few customers in the restaurant who were curious about the 327 Treasury bond, but they were not investors and thought it was unnecessary to make a special trip just to watch the spectacle.

Now, after hearing Zhou Liang's words, they all started asking, "Oh dear, what exactly happened? Sir, please tell us!"

Zhou Liang was covered in a mess, and it took him several minutes to walk into the restaurant. He was also covered in the chill of the outdoor air during the first month of the lunar year.

His lips were cracked and his eyes were glazed: "They said it was a violation of regulations, so the last eight minutes of trading were canceled."

He couldn't say anything more.

Tang Yicheng, who had loosened his collar, nodded and, relying on the financial knowledge he had hastily crammed in the past few days, boldly gave his assessment: "Indeed, they've all exceeded their positions, which is against the rules."

He didn't sleep a wink last night, so of course he didn't just sit there doing nothing; he also discussed and analyzed things with others.

In the last eight minutes of trading, the short sellers must have placed more than 20 million short orders.

That's equivalent to over 400 billion yuan in government bonds.

Keep in mind that the national GDP is currently less than four trillion yuan.

This shows just how frantic the short sellers were.

These words triggered Zhou Liang's nerves. His last taut string snapped, and he roared, "Over-leveraged! Everyone is over-leveraged! Aren't the bulls over-leveraged? Didn't China Economic Development Trust & Investment Corporation (CEDTIC) over-leverage? If the last eight minutes of trading should be cancelled, then all the illegal trading operations yesterday should have been cancelled as soon as the market opened."

His voice suddenly rose eight octaves, "Just because he's the crown prince? It's a double standard! There's no such logic in the world!"

That night, without a doubt, he was the one who suffered the most!

He did not make any direct investments, but the professional principles he had learned and adhered to for many years were severely impacted.

Why? Overwhelmed by immense grief and indignation, he felt as if he had fallen into hell, tormented in flames.

He had already heard the news that the sharp drop in the price of the 327 Treasury bond contract in those eight minutes yesterday was indeed due to Wanguo Securities exploiting a loophole in the trading rules—unlike the Beijing Commodity Exchange's "mark-to-market" system, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's margin only "marks-to-market" on a daily basis.

In other words, even if your margin is exhausted before the end of the trading day, you can still open new positions because there is no real-time monitoring of whether the margin for each transaction is sufficient.

As a major securities firm, Wanguo Securities engaged in excessive trading and aggressively short selling despite a severe shortage of margin.

To be honest, doing this is certainly not honorable.

However, anything not explicitly prohibited by law is permissible. Even if there are loopholes in the rules, if someone exploits those loopholes after you have established them, then it should not be considered a violation of the rules.

There's no way to play like this anywhere else in the world!

Without rules, nothing can be accomplished!

Zhou Liang became more and more agitated as he spoke, until finally he collapsed into a chair, exhausted and panting heavily, his voice hoarse.

Tang Yicheng was intimidated by his demeanor.

Good heavens! Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Look at this pale-faced scholar; he looked like he was about to devour someone while giving his speech.

He reached out and patted Zhou Liang on the back, comforting him, "Have some water and eat something."

Zhou Liang's lips were pressed tightly together. What was there left for him to eat or drink? He was already dead! His soul and his faith were all dead!

Is this still a securities market in a market economy?

In this land, you need connections and a powerful background to make money!

Wang Xiao looked at him and suddenly asked, "Have you heard the story of the Berlin Wall raising its gun barrels an inch?"

Zhou Liang's face was ashen, and he nodded reluctantly, relying solely on his instincts as a corporate slave.

He heard this story when he was in school, which happened a couple of years ago.

It seems that when the Berlin Wall was still standing, a young man from East Germany tried to escape to West Germany but was shot and killed by East German soldiers.

After the reunification of East and West Germany, the families of the East German youth who had been shot sued the soldier, accusing him of murder.

The soldier's lawyer defended him, saying that as a soldier, he had to follow the rules, or he would also be punished.

The judge ruled that soldiers are duty-bound to follow orders, and soldiers should indeed abide by regulations, but it is moral and ethical for a soldier to raise the muzzle of his gun by an inch.

Therefore, the judge found the soldier guilty.

Wang Xiao looked at Zhou Liang: "Then tell me, was the judge in this story right? Was the soldier guilty?"

Zhou Liang hesitated slightly, but finally nodded: "He is guilty."

That was a life, a life he could have spared by simply raising his gun.

Wang Xiao laughed: "Soldiers are guilty for obeying the country's laws? Didn't you just say that as long as they don't break the law, even if they exploit loopholes, they shouldn't be guilty?"

Zhou Liang was taken aback and instinctively wanted to argue, "These two things are not the same thing."

“That’s one thing,” Wang Xiao said seriously. “If you insist that the law is the only standard, then please treat everyone equally. If you believe that human feelings exist outside the law, then please also abide by the same standards. You can’t assume that human feelings should exist outside the law just because something happened abroad, but then emphasize that the law is the only standard when it happens domestically.”

She shook her head. "Sometimes it's like this, sometimes it's like that. Today it's this standard, tomorrow it's that standard. It's called the left and right brain fighting each other. It's stupid!"