I'm back in 1990

Chapter 82: One Wealth Code After Another

Wednesday happened to be the Mid-Autumn Festival. At noon, several school canteens offered more than a dozen dishes for students to choose from. The students in dormitory 222 discussed it and decided that each of them would order one meat dish and one vegetable dish, making a total of twelve dishes for the six of them.

A table was set up with a clattering sound, and that's how six people from different places spent their first Mid-Autumn Festival at university.

In the afternoon, we had a finance class taught by a professor named He. Professor He seemed to have a deep understanding of my country's nascent securities industry, and he talked to the students about several types of stocks issued in Shanghai in the 1980s.

For example, classic stocks such as Feilo Acoustics, Yanzhong Industrial, Vacuum Electronics, and Yuyuan Shopping Mall are well-known to later stock market investors and are commonly known as the "Old Eight Stocks".

早在1984年11月，沪海第一家股份制企业——飞乐音响公司成立，并向社会发行了1万股每股面值50元人民币的股票。第二年也就是1985年1月，沪海延中实业有限公司发行了6000股每股面值为50元的股票。

Unfortunately, there was no stock exchange when these two stocks were issued, so shareholders could not trade them after the issuance.

On September 26, 1986, the first stock trading counter after the founding of the People's Republic of China—the Securities Business Department of the Jing'an Branch of Shanghai Trust Investment Company of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China—officially opened. This is the famous No. 101 Xikang Road.

This stock brokerage was converted from a 10-square-meter barbershop, and initially only had two stocks: Feilo Acoustics and Yanzhong Industrial.

Despite its small size and only two stock listings, it marked the beginning of the Chinese securities industry and was the birthplace of the Chinese securities market. As a result, No. 101 Xikang Road has been recorded in history.

Teacher He spoke eloquently, and the students listened with great interest, but Huang Xiaochuan had a different feeling.

In Huang Xiaochuan's mind, these weren't just stocks! They were all codes to wealth!

The 1990s were truly a golden age. Take Yuyuan Department Store, for example; by May 1992, its stock price had soared to 10,000 yuan per share. At that time, the electronic screens in securities brokerages could only display four digits, causing the Yuyuan Department Store's electronic screen to malfunction.

Shanghai truly lives up to its name as the "Magic City." Capital was already manipulating these stocks back in the 1980s and 90s, so Shanghai's reputation as China's financial center is well-deserved.

As a former migrant worker in Shanghai, Huang Xiaochuan knew a bit about stock market history. On December 19, 1990, the Shanghai Stock Exchange officially began operations.

The location was set at the Pujiang Hotel, where the Peacock Hall had been converted into a trading hall.

After class, the students in dormitory 222 were still having a heated discussion about stocks, a new phenomenon. In fact, stocks have existed for a long time, but China has only recently begun to liberalize them.

Therefore, the students in dormitory 222 clearly divided into two factions: the opposition, led by Wu Duo, and the supporters, led by Ding Yi, engaged in a heated debate.

The opposition consisted of Zhang Gaolei and Hao Zhidu, while the only member of the supporters was Chen Zhe, and Huang Xiaochuan remained neutral.

Wu Duo expressed himself quite strongly: "Stocks existed right after liberation. Why were they banned back then? Because they weren't suitable for the development of socialism. In my view, the essence of stocks is that unscrupulous businessmen use them to commit financial fraud and reap the hard-earned money of ordinary people."

Hao Zhidu chimed in, "Exactly! What's the point of playing if all the money ends up in the hands of a tiny minority? At least we now know what an economy is: it's about making money circulate. But if all the money ends up in the hands of a tiny minority, how can it circulate?"

Ding Yi vehemently retorted, "You're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The purpose of issuing stocks is to raise sufficient development funds for the company, which benefits both the company and investors. It's clearly a win-win situation. Moreover, the government will definitely formulate corresponding rules to regulate it. Instead of worrying about this and that, you should think about what kind of rules should be formulated to supervise and manage it."

Wu Duo scoffed at Ding Yi's words: "Ding Yi, you've missed the most important point."

Ding Yi gestured for him to speak: "Then please enlighten me."

Wu Duo solemnly uttered one word: "Humanity!"

"The essence of human nature is greed. Let's ask ourselves honestly, aren't we greedy? When I was a child, my family gave me a few pieces of milk candy, and I was very happy. But I would think, if I could have all the milk candy in the bag, I would be even happier, because human desires are endless."

"So we need to establish rules and systems to curb the greed in human nature." Ding Yi admitted that Wu Duo's words made sense, but he was still unwilling to give up his own views and ideas.

"Ding Yi, we've all read 'Das Kapital.' What does it say? 'With a 20% profit, capital will be restless. With a 50% profit, capital will take risks. With a 100% profit, capital will risk being hanged. With a 300% profit, people will be willing to risk their lives for it.'"

Ding Yi still insisted on his view: "You have to know that society is progressing, and the system will only become more and more perfect. All greed can be put in a cage."

Wu Duo wanted to argue with him, but Huang Xiaochuan, as a neutral party, stopped the debate in time.

"Stop, stop, stop! You both have valid points, but there's a popular saying these days: 'crossing the river by feeling for the stones.' We should always look on the bright side of things. After all, society is developing. Should we stop developing just because we're afraid of this and that? How about we observe how things develop and make a judgment later?"

In fact, the fundamental issue being discussed by both sides is whether it is socialist or capitalist, and a conclusion will be reached soon.

Huang Xiaochuan knew that Wu Duo's views were correct in some respects, and of course, Ding Yi's views were not wrong either. However, the development of things often does not depend on human will; it is controlled by human nature. The Three Character Classic says, "At the beginning of life, people are inherently good."

This sentence can actually be changed to "At birth, human nature is inherently greedy".

Think about it, whether it's a human or an animal, there's an instinctive nature that comes from childhood: the desire to compete for food. Humans are a little better off, as they learn to correct this as they grow up. But once given the right opportunity or tempted, human greed can get out of control.

Selfishness is something innate; it cannot be eradicated at its root.

Therefore, problems will inevitably arise in the development of anything. This is unavoidable. After all, from ancient times to the present, there have been very few sages, while ordinary people are as numerous as grains of sand.

We're all young people; arguments are fine, but they won't affect our friendship.

In the evening, the group went to the south campus of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics to enjoy the moon. After all, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics has a long history and more places to visit than Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Huang Xiaochuan, the dog tycoon, also provided cooked food, beer, and drinks. The six of them sat on the grass of the mansion, raised their glasses to the bright moon, and drank together as a trio.

Chen Zhe, who has a bit of an artsy vibe, even suggested that everyone recite a few poems, but Hao Zhidu laughed at him for it.

"I'm not good at composing poetry, but I enjoy reading poetry."

Several people burst out laughing. Wu Duo pointed at Hao Zhi and laughed, cursing, "You're a real scoundrel, speaking so directly."

Chen Zhe's face flushed red with anger, and after a long pause, he uttered a single sentence: "Vulgar!"

"I'm Back in 1990," a masterpiece by Sijiucai (Four Seasons Leek), is available to read now!