Sanjiang Resumes Trading

The "Boiling Memories" hotpot restaurant was packed that evening, the spicy aroma mingling with the clamor of clinking glasses to form Shan City's most vivid nighttime scene.

At a square table by the window, the Red Oil broth bubbled away, rich beef tallow froth rolling across its surface.

Four girls sat around the table, with Zhao Chen seated beside Shen Zhiyi, forming their own small, lively world.

Chen Shuhua—the Dorm Leader, a girl from Beijing—wore a neat black knit sweater, her long hair tied in a high ponytail. She was skillfully mixing her dipping sauce, though her eyes kept drifting toward the silent phone on the table with a rational, appraising look.

Zhou Xiaowen—a Spicy Girl from Xichuan—wore a bright orange hoodie. Her personality was as fiery and straightforward as the food from her hometown. She had already fished out a slice of beef tripe and rolled it through her dipping sauce three times, blowing on it as she said, "Whether the tripe is crisp is the only standard for judging a hotpot restaurant!"

Li Jing, a girl from Jiangnan, was much quieter. Dressed in a light apricot sweater, she carefully cooked a piece of vegetable, smiling as she listened to everyone chat, her gaze gentle.

Meanwhile, Shen Zhiyi sat beside Zhao Chen, her Off-White turtleneck making her skin look as smooth as jade.

She barely touched her chopsticks. Every now and then, she used the communal chopsticks to place a slice of cooked fatty beef into Zhao Chen's bowl. Her movements were natural, though the tips of her ears were faintly red.

Most of the time, her gaze rested on the roiling red broth, as though her thoughts had drifted far away. Whenever her roommates teased her, though, she quickly snapped back, glared at them, and yet still smiled at the corners of her lips.

"Zhao Chen, how long do you think Sanjiang Shopping is going to stay suspended?"

Unable to hold it in any longer, Zhou Xiaowen gulped down some soy milk and clicked her tongue. "My heart's been churning like this broth, all over the place."

Chen Shuhua also set down her chopsticks and looked at Zhao Chen, her eyes probing.

"Yeah. The announcement only said 'Major Matter.' That covers far too much. There are all sorts of rumors in the market, but none of them have been confirmed."

Li Jing added softly, "My aunt said that a long trading suspension like this isn't always necessarily a good thing..."

Shen Zhiyi also looked toward Zhao Chen. Under the table, her hand lightly tugged at the hem of his clothes. There was dependence in her eyes, along with a hint of nervousness over their shared secret.

Zhao Chen had just put a slice of goose intestine into his mouth, savoring the explosive burst of numbing spice and savory fragrance on his tongue.

Just as he was about to speak, the four phones lying almost side by side on the table suddenly lit up and began vibrating frantically, as if they had received some silent command.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

The dense barrage of notification sounds instantly drowned out the surrounding noise.

All five of them froze at once.

Chen Shuhua was closest to her phone. She picked it up first and unlocked it, the glow of the screen illuminating her suddenly widened eyes.

As though she had not seen it clearly—or simply could not believe it—she rapidly swiped across the screen, her breathing gradually catching.

Zhou Xiaowen leaned over. "What is it, Shuhua?... Holy shit!" She cried out and grabbed her own phone.

Li Jing and Shen Zhiyi immediately picked up their phones as well.

Zhao Chen unhurriedly pulled out a tissue and wiped his mouth before picking up his own phone.

On the screen, push notifications from the Securities APP stacked one on top of another:

[Breaking: Sanjiang Shopping brings in a Strategic Investment investor!]

[Major News: Alibaba Group plans to acquire 9.33% of Sanjiang Shopping shares!]

[Details: Sanjiang Shopping will issue 136.9 million new shares to Alibaba, raising approximately 1.52 billion yuan!]

[Key: The issue price has been set at 11.11 yuan per share!]

"Eleven yuan and eleven fen..." Zhou Xiaowen murmured the number, then abruptly looked up at the holdings page on Shen Zhiyi's phone—Purchase Cost: 12.52 yuan. Her mind was having trouble processing it. "This... why is the issue price even lower than the market price? Then the share price..."

"It's not lower than the market price!"

Chen Shuhua's voice carried barely restrained shock and sudden realization. She looked up, her gaze shooting toward Zhao Chen like an arrow.

"The closing price before the suspension was 12.57 yuan, but Alibaba is getting discounted shares as a Strategic Investment investor! That's normal! The key is—"

Her tone became incredibly urgent.

"Alibaba will hold nearly 32% of the shares in total, becoming the second-largest shareholder! The Strategic Investment has gone through! It really has! Exactly as Zhao Chen said!"

Li Jing covered her mouth, eyes wide as she looked from her phone to Zhao Chen's calm expression.

Shen Zhiyi felt as though her heart were being boiled in that bubbling pot, pounding violently.

She looked at the green, now-frozen cost price on her holdings page, then at the black-and-white words in the announcement: "Alibaba Group," "11.11 yuan," "Strategic Investment investor." Zhao Chen's calm voice in the Cafe echoed over and over in her mind:

"Before long, news of a Strategic Investment will very likely come through."

It was not likely. It had already happened.

It was not a guess. It was fact.

For a brief moment, the Private Room fell silent, with only the sound of the Red Oil broth bubbling.

The sounds of Finger Guessing at the next table and the servers' calls all seemed to be separated from them by a pane of glass.

Zhou Xiaowen was the first to break the silence. She sprang to her feet, the chair legs screeching against the floor, her face filled with disbelief.

"Zhao Chen! You... how did you know?! The announcement was only just released!"

Chen Shuhua stared at Zhao Chen as well, her rational mind working frantically.

"I believe your analysis of why Alibaba would take a stake. But why couldn't it have been Yonghui, Rennanle, or another national company? There wasn't the slightest rumor about Sanjiang Shopping in the market! You..."