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This situation reminded Wenren Yan of the Chinese concept stocks that had been highly sought after in the United States a few years ago. In the end, it was also because of this serious mismatch between claims and reality that capital lost trust time and again.

Flashily packaged clowns ran rampant, while groups that earnestly engaged in real industry were left out in the cold. Even Wenren Yan, accustomed to capital's frantic pursuit of profit and retail investors blindly following the crowd, could not help clicking his tongue in secret.

He felt that the current stock market was growing dangerously insane. And as everyone knew, once all frenzied financial speculation reached its peak, a financial bubble would inevitably follow. When that happened, misery would be everywhere.

Still, Wenren Yan could not be bothered to waste his energy lamenting this kind of market.

After receiving Wenren Jing's permission, Wenren Yan immediately began preparing for the stock issuance. He drafted proposals at once and personally lobbied Yan Feng Capital's major clients one by one. News of Wenren Group's plan to issue additional shares quickly spread. At the same time, an even more eye-catching piece of financial news spread even more widely: Yan Feng Capital was about to inject 30 billion into Wenren Group. Wenshan Holdings, which had been quietly accumulating shares on the secondary market, could no longer sit still. After its holdings reached the 5% disclosure threshold, it immediately announced that it would continue increasing its stake in Wenren Group. In just one month, it acquired over 10% of the shares from other minor shareholders, bringing its total stake to 15%. It had come infinitely close to the 16% held by Wenren Jing.

With the largest shareholder about to change hands and the entire group facing the upheaval of a new owner, Wenren Yan stopped concealing his moves. He transferred the 11% of shares Steven had secretly purchased from minor shareholders into his own name. In an instant, the father and son's combined holdings in Wenren Group reached 27%. Together with the 25% stake Yan Feng Capital received in exchange for its 30 billion investment, the Wenren family's holdings in Wenren Group had surpassed 50%.

At that point, Wenshan Holdings' acquisition plan had completely failed. Not only had it failed to seize control of Wenren Group, it had also helped drive Wenren Group's share price up severalfold. Within a month, Wenren Group's market capitalization broke through 200 billion, making it the most watched king stock in the entire A-share market.

What made Wenren Jing happiest was that after Wenren Group's market capitalization surged to 200 billion, the cash-rich group headquarters could easily funnel funds into its subsidiaries. This meant Wenren Heavy Industry's external debts had effectively been resolved as well. No one needed to agonize over whether to sell Wenren Heavy Industry, the group's pillar enterprise.

The final conclusion was that Wenshan Holdings truly was a selfless benefactor.

Upon receiving such an evaluation, Jiang Wenshan nearly coughed up blood. The financial companies that had conspired with Wenshan Holdings also suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, the domestic stock market had performed especially well in recent years, and the money they had earned speculating on concept stocks could still cover those losses. Besides, they now held 16% of Wenren Group's shares. Given Wenren Group's current market value, they had not lost money on this transaction. They simply failed to achieve their goal of taking control of Wenren Group.

However, before these hyenas lurking in the shadows could finish congratulating themselves, the Shanghai Composite Index, which had been rising rapidly, suddenly plunged off a cliff on June 12 after reaching a peak of 5,178.19 points. It smashed straight through the day's market floor. Investors who had yet to react were immediately thrown into panic.

The market's decline had long been within Wenren Yan's expectations, so he was not surprised. A month earlier, Yan Feng Capital had also made thorough preparations under Wenren Yan's reminder. Using the excuse that it had just entered the domestic market and needed to study market conditions, Yan Feng Capital had not followed the crowd in speculating on concept stocks during the months since returning to China. Instead, it had continuously investigated industrial groups whose market values had been severely underestimated. Including Wenren Group, every stock it ultimately held for the long term belonged to a real-economy company.

Some domestic financial institutions had even mocked Yan Feng Capital for being overly cautious. Put nicely, they called it prudence; put bluntly, they called it inflexibility. They said Yan Feng Capital did not even know how to take money handed to it on a platter. Some even felt that Wenren Yan's formidable reputation on Wall Street was nothing special. They believed he had a good eye for short-term trading, but when it came to cornering the market, the true veterans were the old hands back home.

It was precisely because of this style that many people paid much less attention to Yan Feng Capital over the following period. They all felt Wenren Yan was nothing special.

Yet several months later, the sudden market crash sent those speculative capitalists straight into hell.

Wenren Jing and Wenren Group's other shareholders experienced the same brutal contrast. One day earlier, they had still been reveling in the ecstasy of Wenren Group's market capitalization surpassing 200 billion. One day later, they had to watch helplessly as more than 10 billion of Wenren Group's market value evaporated in an instant under the market's influence.

The downward trend on the K-line chart was more thrilling than a roller coaster ride. Some longtime shareholders with weaker nerves were so frightened they nearly had heart attacks. They were deeply worried that if the market kept falling, it would affect Wenren Group's normal operations and even its bank loans.

"It will definitely keep falling. But it won't have much impact on Wenren Group." Wenren Yan patiently reassured his father. As he had said before, Wenren Group had deep foundations. Though this storm in the stock market was fierce and dangerous, as long as Wenren Group remained steady internally and Yan Feng Capital stood guard outside, the market's decline would not matter much.

"That's good!" Wenren Jing still had enormous faith in his genius son. Hearing Wenren Yan's words, he truly became less anxious. He could not help clicking his tongue as he said, "This stock market is far too dangerous. It changes by the day. How great a fortune and how strong a heart does someone need to withstand it?"

Even a giant like Wenren Group could lose more than 10 billion overnight. Wouldn't those investors with thin assets—or simply not much savings—be wiped out within a single day?

It had already smashed through the bottom.

Wenren Yan pressed his lips together. The signs had been there all along. This was only the beginning; the chain reaction and escalating panic to come would be far more serious. If things went badly, it could trigger an economic crisis like the one in the United States in 2008.

"It won't." Wenren Jing was quite optimistic about his son's worries. "This is China. The country won't just stand by and do nothing."