Chapter 0948: Plucking Chestnuts from the Fire

New Year's Eve marks the beginning of the Spring Festival, with dumplings on the first day and noodles on the second. Especially for northerners, from the thirtieth to the seventh day of the first lunar month, almost every household is busy.

The February wind was truly biting cold. Even wrapped in thick down jackets, a sudden gust would still make one shiver involuntarily.

In such weather, neither Zhao Fusheng nor Fan Baobao, not even Fan Beibei who loved to play the most, was willing to go out to visit relatives.

Even when Li Yuan offered red envelope money as a bribe, little Fan Beibei shook her head like a rattle drum, flatly refusing to go out with her mother to pay New Year's calls.

The little girl was shrewd; going with her mother to pay visits would only yield a small amount of red envelope money. Staying home with her brother and sister, she could still get red envelopes, and in larger amounts.

As for Father Zhao, from the second or third day of the new year, people began to visit him to pay respects. Of course, he also had to go out to pay respects to others, since running a company meant there were people he couldn't afford to offend.

That's how human relationships work, especially in business and officialdom. There's a saying that fits perfectly: If you visit a leader, he may not remember you. But if you don't come, he will definitely remember you.

There are only two kinds of people a leader remembers: those with ability, and those he hates.

This was perfectly normal. Father Zhao himself was the same. The department managers who came to pay respects at least became familiar faces; those who didn't left a deep impression.

Even Zhao Fusheng received several phone calls. Zheng Yao, Dong Chenxi, and Bai Jie all called to wish him a happy New Year. Especially Dong Chenxi and Bai Jie, whose attitudes were markedly different from before.

As for Qian Dongliu and the others, they had called early on without needing to be mentioned.

This was human nature, something Zhao Fusheng understood all too well.

Knowledgeable people are not necessarily wise; they can be fooled into losing all sense of direction. Things like cults and pyramid schemes have ensnared even highly educated intellectuals.

Powerful and influential people are not necessarily moral. There are those who preach benevolence and righteousness on the surface but turn around and act without restraint or底线.

Fortunately, Zhao Fusheng was not that kind of person, nor did he deign to engage in such无聊 activities. He calmed his subordinates and looked to the future, which greatly reassured them.

In the days that followed, SARS finally arrived.

In fact, when SARS first broke out, the Guangzhou and Guangdong provincial governments did not release relevant information, nor did they notify Hong Kong. At the time, the government banned media reports on the disease, and local authorities guided the media not to overhype the epidemic to avoid causing public panic.

At the end of 2002, news about the atypical pneumonia began circulating on the internet. Due to the lack of understanding of the disease, related comments were quite chaotic. Subsequently, the government suppressed discussions about the epidemic domestically, and all forums silenced information about SARS. This situation continued until after the Spring Festival.

Most critically, this coincided with the Spring Festival. The massive population movement during the Spring Festival travel rush led to the spread of the epidemic. Faster than the spread of the disease was the spread of rumors and panic. In inland areas like Xijiang Province, panic buying of vinegar and Banlangen began.

From mid-February, large-scale infections gradually appeared, and people began dying from SARS.

In March, the first infected patient appeared in the capital...

Time slowly moved to April 2003. The SARS epidemic grew increasingly severe, and all of China was in a state of panic.

During this period, Zhao Fusheng's phone was nearly blown up.

Whether it was Yu Feihong in the capital or Tan Kaixuan in Shanghai, they were all terrified by the epidemic. Fortunately, Zhao Fusheng had given them advance warning, so they were prepared. Yu Feihong canceled all work and stayed home with her parents. Jiang Wen, right after the New Year, took his family to Zhou Yun's hometown, ostensibly for the two families' parents to meet.

In Ninghai, the prices of Banlangen and vinegar skyrocketed like a rocket.

"What do we do? Now Banlangen has risen to thirty yuan a bag," Father Zhao said to Zhao Fusheng, sitting in his office.

Summoned hastily from home by his father, Zhao Fusheng said helplessly, "Dad, what's there to hesitate about? Just follow the plan we discussed earlier and sell."

"Huh?"

Father Zhao glanced at his son: "I'm already selling. But the problem is, some people buy cheap from us and then resell at high prices."

The habit of seeking petty gains is deeply ingrained. Many people bought Banlangen at Wanda Mall for fifteen yuan and resold it for thirty.

"Simple: require ID cards, limit two bags per person per day," Zhao Fusheng said flatly.

"Is that... appropriate?" Father Zhao seemed hesitant, thinking it was somewhat unfeeling.

Zhao Fusheng sneered, "Believe me, the more restrictions you impose, the more people will buy. And a large portion of those buyers won't actually need it."

"Well..." Father Zhao hesitated.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head and said no more.

In truth, he knew there were plenty of loopholes. Unscrupulous merchants could borrow IDs or hire people to buy cheap Banlangen and vinegar from Wanda and resell at high prices.

Even ordinary people, tempted by profits of 100% or more, might resell what they bought.

That's real life—not so noble, not so despicable, just ordinary living.

All Zhao Fusheng could do was his part. And if he remembered correctly, it wouldn't be long before the state cracked down on such speculative behavior, punishing those不法 merchants who profiteered at consumers' expense.

In other words, those hoarding Banlangen and vinegar hoping to make a killing would eventually be dealt with.

So, in Zhao Fusheng's view, it was okay to earn less money, but one must never become a thorn in the side of the authorities. In this country, officials always held more power than businessmen, anytime, anywhere.

...

...

Time proved Zhao Fusheng's prediction correct.

The panic buying frenzy lasted less than a month. By the end of April, as the Industrial and Commercial Bureau began cracking down on不法 merchants selling Banlangen and vinegar at inflated prices, the situation cooled down.

With the nation as a strong backing, some things couldn't be judged by appearances alone.

As for Wanda, because Father Zhao insisted on keeping prices moderate—Banlangen around fifteen yuan and vinegar under ten yuan—they were not penalized but highly praised. Wanda became a rare example of a conscientious enterprise in times of crisis.

Only then did Father Zhao understand why Zhao Fusheng had insisted on maintaining a strategy of small profits but quick turnover.

Watching one profiteer after another end up in jail, Father Zhao couldn't help but shudder. Without his son's warning, he would have shared their fate.

Even more relieved was Tan Kaixuan.

The Chinese stock market has always been a barometer of the economy. With SARS wreaking havoc, the market naturally took a nosedive. Those who thought they had bottom-fished suddenly realized they had caught the falling knife halfway down.

"Kid, how did you know the market would fall further?"

Tan Kaixuan asked Zhao Fusheng in astonishment over the phone.

He calculated that if Zhao Fusheng hadn't warned him and forced him to liquidate early, his losses would have been far more than a few hundred thousand.

At current stock prices, the initial ten million investment would have lost at least half. To break even, he might have poured in more money.

In other words, if all forty million had been thrown in, losses could have exceeded a quarter.

Now, having lost less than five hundred thousand and gotten out completely, it was nothing short of a miracle.

Even his father, a seasoned veteran, had lost nearly two million in the market due to SARS. And that was only because the family's funds had been shifted to KFC; otherwise, the losses would have been greater.

"I told you earlier, SARS was being talked about before the New Year. I thought it would have a big impact, including on the stock market. Think about it: when people are panicked, who has the heart to trade stocks?"

Zhao Fusheng said calmly. If Tan Kaixuan had been in front of him, he would have seen the barely suppressed smug smile on his face.

"So what do I do? Just wait it out?" Tan Kaixuan hesitated, asking Zhao Fusheng.

Holding over thirty million in cash and doing nothing was torture for Tan Kaixuan.

He was only twenty-three, ambitious to build his own career. Forcing him to sit idle was worse than killing him.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, as if he had anticipated the question, and said calmly, "The domestic market is definitely out. But I think you might consider going abroad."

"Abroad?" Tan Kaixuan was startled, a ridiculous thought flashing through his mind. "You... you're not suggesting I go to Wall Street, are you?"

At that moment, Tan Kaixuan thought Zhao Fusheng might be crazy.