Chapter 47 I Only Stocked Up Just a Tiny Bit

“No! Dandan!” Liu Qingwen hurriedly stood up to stop Xiong Dan. “There’s nothing but Jin’s clothes in there, no gold or jewels.”

“Don’t make trouble, be good.”

Xiong Dan laughed behind her hand, her voice full of mischief. “You won’t even let me look? How stingy.”

“It’s rare to see someone use a metal case for clothes when traveling. I want to have a look.”

She moved closer to the metal case.

Chai Jin’s face turned cold as he spoke, “Can’t you even control a woman?”

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Liu Qingwen understood Chai Jin’s temperament; if they didn’t leave now, he’d definitely get angry. He quickly pulled Xiong Dan toward the door. “Don’t make trouble, Dandan. You shouldn’t go into Jin’s room.”

“Be good.”

“Tch, what’s the big deal?” Xiong Dan left the room, visibly bored.

Soon after they left, Chai Jin got up to leave as well. Liu Qingwen returned to Chai Jin’s room and, seeing that he was about to leave the inn, hurried after him.

“Jin, I’m sorry. You know how troublesome women can be. Where are you going? Wait for me, I’ll change and go with you.”

Chai Jin ignored him, put on his coat, and said as he went out, “Are you really fit to go out with me like this?”

“You stay here and watch the metal case.”

Liu Qingwen was left awkwardly smiling. “Alright.”

…

Over two hours later, Chai Jin arrived at Cai Weiqiang’s place.

As soon as they met, Chai Jin placed a subscription certificate in front of him. “Brother, it’s time to come out of retirement. In the next few months, this thing can bring you a fortune rivaling the stock market days of old.”

“This is also your only chance to turn things around.”

Though Cai Weiqiang now seemed resigned, who truly accepts a fall from grace without a fight? He kept a sharp eye on the securities market, and at the slightest opportunity, he would jump in.

The sudden, feverish craze for these subscription certificates over just a day or two left him baffled.

“I hear these things have already flipped several times on the secondary market?”

Chai Jin nodded. “Yes, though I haven’t followed the details.”

“But I’m certain this will multiply by several factors in the days ahead.”

“Miss this opportunity, and there won’t be another.”

Cai Weiqiang frowned deeply.

His phone had been ringing non-stop all day, all from his network. They were professional scalpers, seasoned in black market trades. At the first whiff of profit, they’d scramble for a bite, never content until they got their share. Their instincts were sharper than anyone’s.

After a brief silence, he asked, “Is this thing legal or not?”

Chai Jin gave a wry smile. “Legal, but not legal.”

“There are no explicit laws about it yet, nor has anyone stepped forward to forbid private trades of these certificates.”

“Besides, there are still large numbers of unregistered, blank certificates circulating. How could you possibly ban black market transactions?”

“Don’t get hung up on it.”

Cai Weiqiang fell silent again. It wasn’t hesitation—he was simply cautious after his recent trouble, still uneasy at heart.

As time passed, he began to question Chai Jin’s motives.

“What’s your real reason for urging me to get into this? You’re not planning to speculate together with me, are you?”

Chai Jin lit a cigarette, his eyes sharp as a fox who had lived many lives.

“I have no interest in black market profits.”

“Then why?”

“I’ve hoarded a lot of these certificates. I need someone to help me sell them.”

“Don’t worry. There’s no hidden agenda.”

Cai Weiqiang suddenly recalled the conversation from the other night. He frowned. “If you were so interested in these, why did you say what you did in front of Yang Millionaire that night?”

Chai Jin exhaled a long puff of smoke, his youthful face displaying a cunning far beyond his years.

“Brother, you’ve worked the black market your whole life—don’t you understand that scarcity creates value?”

“With Yang Millionaire’s wealth, if he got accurate information from us and changed his mind, what would he do?”

“He’d buy in heavily, and lots of wealthy people are watching his moves.”

“If he bought in, wouldn’t those watching him follow suit?”

“If the market became flooded with subscription certificates, the chances of winning would drop. What value would they have then?”

“Did you see Boss Liu Yiqian try to persuade Yang Millionaire to buy certificates that night?”

A series of rhetorical questions left Cai Weiqiang to answer instinctively. “Boss Liu and Yang Millionaire are close. Why wouldn’t he share such valuable information?”

Chai Jin shook his head, crushing his cigarette in the ashtray. “Are there really friends in the capital market?”

“You’ve lived over forty years, but you still haven’t seen through everything.”

The atmosphere grew heavy again. Cai Weiqiang carefully recalled Liu Yiqian’s behavior that night. Whenever Yang Millionaire teased him, Liu Yiqian would wave his hand dismissively. “Let’s not talk about it, Old Yang. I got tricked. I was just helping out a friend at the bank. Three thousand certificates are only worth a few tens of thousands; I consider it a gesture of friendship.”

He showed not a trace of his true intentions, and Yang Millionaire, ever the fool, was led around by the nose.

“That kid is sly!” As Cai Weiqiang sorted out his thoughts, his friend’s words about Chai Jin from their first meeting echoed in his mind. “He’s young but sees human nature so clearly—what storms will he stir on the capital market in the future?”

Finally, Cai Weiqiang took a deep breath. “How much have you hoarded? Tell me now so I can be prepared and pave the way for you.”

Chai Jin shook his head. “Not too much. My resources are limited.”

“So, you’ve decided to come out of retirement?”

Cai Weiqiang laughed heartily. “I’ve grown used to big money in this line. If you want me to go back home and manage a few acres of fish ponds, I really can’t accept it.”

“I’ll pack up and leave Fudong tonight. I’ve had enough of this place.”

Chai Jin smiled. “Let me know when you’ve found a new base. Keep in touch.”

He left Cai Weiqiang with a contact address before departing.

Why did Chai Jin go to such lengths to have Cai Weiqiang handle the certificates for him? He understood that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

Right now, many are poised to seize the moment, but once the rules are clarified, how many of those who skirted the edge of legality will come out unscathed?

In his previous life, he’d never heard of anyone getting arrested for trading certificates.

But that was his past life; he feared things might go differently this time.

So, it was better to be cautious.

As for Cai Weiqiang, Chai Jin firmly believed that even if he hadn’t sought him out, Cai would have come out of retirement on his own.

Moreover, after so many were arrested in the recent crackdown on the securities market, Cai Weiqiang, the leader, emerged unscathed—a sign that his background was deeper than anyone imagined.

Chai Jin needed that background; it was a trade.

Cai Weiqiang, a seasoned operator, understood all this perfectly.

With the deal sealed, Chai Jin felt much more at ease.

As he passed the public phone downstairs on his way back, he paused in thought, then walked over.