【103】Bottom-Fishing Maotai (Asking for Recommendation Votes)

"Didn't I tell you before that my dad and his friends like to drink baijiu? I remember hearing someone—maybe my dad or one of his friends—say that there are actually counterfeit bottles of Maotai. Is that true?"

Shen Chengyan nodded and replied, "That's quite normal. It happens all the time."

Fang Chang'an said, "If there are counterfeits, that means there's money to be made. Otherwise, why bother? And even with fake Maotai, from what I've heard, my dad and his friends seem to think it's still better than regular liquor. Maybe it's just the prestige. No matter what, Maotai is Maotai."

"Everyone associates Maotai with status, so the liquor isn't just about the drink anymore. It's like luxury goods in books."

"Also, a lot of people in our country love to drink, or at least, social gatherings are incomplete without alcohol. If everyone sees Maotai as prestigious, its price will keep rising. The more expensive it gets, the more prestigious it feels, and the more people want to buy it."

Given his current age and experience, Fang Chang'an couldn't say much more. Otherwise, no matter how much Shen Chengyan trusted him, he would surely notice something was off.

But what Fang Chang'an couldn't know or hadn't seen, Shen Chengyan had long been aware of—he'd seen it and lived through it. He could perceive the current situation and its flaws.

"Well…" Shen Chengyan drew in a breath after listening, sitting on the sofa for a while before saying, "I have to admit, you have quite an eye for things. Though what you said is a bit simplistic and maybe a little too decisive, your conclusion might not be wrong…"

Fang Chang'an smiled and said, "Liquor is made from grain, and the cost is pretty fixed. As our country develops, grain will only get cheaper, so everyone can eat as much as they want."

"But the price of liquor can keep rising, at most you just spend a bit more on advertising. That means more and more profits."

"You said before that stocks are like going into business together. The more Maotai earns, the more money you make owning its stock."

Shen Chengyan exhaled, leaned back on the sofa, and gazed at the ceiling, pondering Fang Chang'an's words for a long time before finally replying, "You have a point."

Just as Fang Chang'an was about to speak, Shen Chengyan spread his hands in an expression of helplessness. "But you're too late. I've already sold everything."

Damn!

Fang Chang'an nearly blurted out a curse, but quickly caught himself. "Even if you've sold, you can always buy it back."

Before Shen Chengyan could answer, he asked, "How much did you sell it for?"

It was a pretty unprofessional question, but Shen Chengyan already trusted him enough not to find it odd to discuss such things with a child. He replied, "I sold on the seventeenth, at twenty-one thirty per share. That was the best price—closing price was only twenty-one even."

Fang Chang'an said, "You bought at thirty-six and sold at twenty-one, so you lost… about a third? That's over ten thousand, right?"

"Yeah." Shen Chengyan grew glum at the mention, sighing, "What can I say? I was just foolish."

Fang Chang'an didn't know exactly when Maotai stock started trading, but today was the twenty-first, and on the seventeenth it was already at twenty-one a share. The historical low was just below twenty-one, so it must have been around this time.

"What about last Friday? Did you check the price?"

"How could I not? If I'd sold and then it went up, I would have been sick."

Shen Chengyan leaned back, crossed his legs, and looked a bit smug. "Twenty point nine. What do you think? Your Uncle Shen still has some foresight, right?"

You call that foresight!

If Fang Chang'an had the physique of his future self, he'd have given him a slap. "Uncle Shen, just wait for the market to open tomorrow and buy back in—seriously, put all your money into it… uh, I mean, the money you were planning to use."

Shen Chengyan eyed him suspiciously. "You're that confident?"

Several tens of thousands in 2003 was a lot, and even for a well-off family, it wasn't a decision to make lightly.

Fang Chang'an said, "I just think that it's already this low. How much further can it fall? And if you sell now, you just lose that ten thousand for nothing."

Shen Chengyan was not particularly mature and even a bit childish in some respects. Hearing Fang Chang'an's reasoning, he was a little tempted but hesitated again. "Let me think about it."

"Alright." Fang Chang'an nodded, not pressing the issue.

As long as he'd made his point, his task was done. Whether Shen Chengyan listened or not wouldn't change the fact that Maotai stock was about to soar, nor would it affect Fang Chang'an's plan to earn more of his trust.

In fact, if Shen Chengyan missed this bottom, the lesson might only deepen Fang Chang'an's influence over him.

Fang Chang'an dropped the subject and asked, "Uncle Shen, did you talk to the school?"

"Yeah, your school and Number Three Middle have agreed. Just waiting on Number One Middle and Haitian."

"How's it going?"

"What do you think? It's not like we're robbing anyone—it's fair competition. Why would they refuse?"

Shen Chengyan didn't see any difficulty in succeeding, and rightly so. He'd barely had to try—it all went smoothly. Glancing at the time, he set his book aside and said, "Alright, let's go. No need to keep anyone waiting."

"Okay."

Fang Chang'an went along with Shen Chengyan. Since there were quite a few people and they wanted to make an impression, they skipped their usual chicken pot place for the well-known Huangnanji Restaurant, booking a private room.

When they arrived, Chang Wei and a few other boys were already waiting outside. Seeing Fang Chang'an and Shen Chengyan get out of the car together, Chang Wei immediately greeted them with a broad smile.

He was careful not to call him "Brother Chang'an," worried it might affect the impression Shen Chengyan had of Fang Chang'an, so he just smiled politely.

"Uncle Shen, this is Chang Wei, a student from Class Three, Year Two—you've met him before," Fang Chang'an formally introduced him for the first time.

Shen Chengyan nodded, then seemed to recall something, and studied Chang Wei. "Is your father a police officer at the station?"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Chang Wei was surprised that Shen Chengyan remembered both him and his father, and nodded vigorously, delighted.

Fang Chang'an was curious. "Uncle Shen, you know him?"

"Haven't you seen 'The Mad Monk'? That movie?"

Shen Chengyan gave him a look as if saying, "How do you not know this?" Then realized Fang Chang'an probably really hadn't seen it, so he dropped the teasing and explained with a smile, "There's a character named Chang Wei in it too."

Fang Chang'an thought for a moment. "I think I remember… Isn't he the one who fights Lai Fu?"

"That's right!"

Shen Chengyan nodded. Chang Wei gave a somewhat awkward smile and said, "My classmates say that all the time. I even complained to my dad about it, but I was named before that movie came out."

Shen Chengyan laughed, patting his shoulder, "There are plenty of people with the same name in this world. So what? The Chang Wei in the movie is a villain—you just need to study even harder."

Chang Wei looked even more awkward and could only nod. "I'll do my best, I will."

Fang Chang'an smiled. "Wei is a good guy—he's helped me out quite a few times."

Shen Chengyan, remembering how Chang Wei had helped Fang Chang'an carry buns before, nodded approvingly and invited the other boys in with a smile, "Come on, let's go inside."

Though he was accompanied by several students, Shen Chengyan had driven them here. The restaurant staff were friendly and led the group into a private room.

There were eight of them. Shen Chengyan ordered eight dishes and had Chang Wei make introductions. The five students from Number Three and Number One Middle might not have been model students, but now they all behaved like angels, terribly shy, barely daring to speak when their names were called.

Number Three had already been informed—Shen Chengyan had explained to Fang Chang'an on the way that he would handle further promotion at the school himself. The three students weren't critical for spreading the word, but they could serve as examples and help keep order.

Number One Middle's cafeteria was better, so the potential was smaller, but it was worth a try. Shen Chengyan planned to visit the school the next day. There wouldn't be much business in the morning anyway, and by the day after they could break through the school restrictions and start delivering buns.

Even in those days, families with a bit of money might give their kids generous allowances, but none of these boys were model students, so they spent freely. For example, Chang Wei's allowance was probably decent, but skipping breakfast still made him happy.

After all, saving that one yuan could buy over an hour of internet time. Five days a week meant five yuan—a month added up to more than twenty!

There were lots of students, but this was definitely Shen Chengyan's turf. Not knowing what to talk about with them, Fang Chang'an subtly steered the conversation toward school life, TV, and games. Shen Chengyan could join in on school talk, while Chang Wei and the others were much more interested in the latter topics.

Dinner lasted over an hour—not awkward at all.

At least, not for him.

Since Number Three and Number One were just getting started, they stuck to the rule of placing daily orders. After dinner, Shen Chengyan drove Chang Wei and two other representatives to the shop to show them the way.

After seeing them off, Shen Chengyan brought Fang Chang'an home. As they got out of the car, something occurred to him. "Are we being a bad influence, encouraging bad habits?"

He was referring to the boys saving their breakfast money to spend on internet cafés.

Fang Chang'an smiled. "Even without help, a tyrant is still a tyrant. At least by interacting, maybe there's a chance to guide them to study harder."

"Hmm…" Shen Chengyan mused, nodding. "Makes sense."