Episode 26 recap: Wei Ruo Lai resigned in disappointment with the government.
In order to raise funds for resistance against Japan, Shen Tu Nan issued 8 million national treasury bills at the central bank, and he was the first to subscribe to 100,000 of them. Shen Tu Nan asked Wei Ruo Lai to sell all the construction bonds, causing heavy losses for individual investors. Wei Ruo Lai had a dispute with Shen Tu Nan over this, and A Wen lost all his money and was driven to the point of wanting to commit suicide by jumping off a building.
Upon hearing that Wei Ruo Lai supported the purchase of construction bonds by the neighbors, Niu Chun Miao, who had traveled far and wide with her father since childhood and witnessed many people losing everything due to stocks and bonds, scolded Wei Ruo Lai. Wei Ruo Lai had confidence in the construction bonds and promised not to let everyone lose money. Niu Chun Miao's angry outbursts were in vain.
Wei Ruo Lai kept a close eye on the trend of the construction bonds every day and found that the stock price was abnormal, with many people selling off while citizens were rushing to buy. He immediately called Shen Tu Nan and Shen Tu Nan guessed that other banks were illegally selling off the bonds. He sweated for those individual investors.
Kang Shao Jie's people found out the inside information that the Ministry of Finance was preparing to recall the construction bonds early. Upon hearing the insider information from the Ministry of Finance, Zhou Yi decided to invest all her assets in buying the bonds. Her elders advised her to take profits when the time was right, but Zhou Yi sent A Wen to find out the information from Wei Ruo Lai. A Wen came to Wei Ruo Lai overnight, and Wei Ruo Lai warned A Wen not to borrow money to buy bonds when the price had already risen to eighty. A Wen truthfully told Zhou Yi, who couldn't sleep from excitement and went to borrow a high-interest loan from a pawnshop owner in the early morning.
The construction bonds opened at eighty and continued to rise, reaching eighty-eight. Zhou Yi, A Wen, and the others were overjoyed. The bank presidents regretted selling the bonds too early and came together to hold Zhang Ming Quan accountable. Zhang Ming Quan asked them to buy at ninety, and they had no choice but to buy back the construction bonds with gritted teeth.
Wei Ruo Lai felt that something was off as the construction bonds rose too high, which went against the original intention of rebuilding Shanghai. He expressed his concerns to Shen Tu Nan, who was also worried about losing control. Zhou Yi, Jiang Hu Hao, A Wen, and others made a lot of money and were delighted. Their elders advised them to take profits when the time was right, and Wei Ruo Lai also advised them to sell everything. Zhou Yi was unwilling and wanted to wait for the price to reach 100 before selling, and he also kept it a secret from Wei Ruo Lai.
The construction bonds opened and immediately surged, rising all the way to 100. Shen Tu Nan called Mr. Song for instructions and requested to lock and control the construction bonds of major banks to stabilize the price. Wen Biao promptly informed Kang Shao Jie of the monitored information.
Early in the morning, Mr. Song called Shen Tu Nan and instructed him to sell all the construction bonds. Shen Tu Nan had no choice but to comply, even though he had planned to start locking the bonds that day. Unexpectedly, Mr. Song suddenly changed his mind. As soon as the construction bonds opened, they started to decline rapidly. Shen Tu Nan asked Wei Ruo Lai to sell all the bonds he held. The bond prices plummeted all the way to 40, and the situation spiraled out of control, leaving individual investors in great distress.
Shen Tu Nan couldn't reach Mr. Song on the phone, and Chiang Kai-shek issued a strict order for him to investigate the truth behind the stock market crash but not to make it public. Shen Tu Nan's mood hit rock bottom. Wei Ruo Lai saw the investors crying and complaining, while Yu Zhi Ying went to the stock exchange to collect money with her team. Wei Ruo Lai had mixed emotions.
Citizens took to the streets for demonstrations, demanding severe punishment for those who manipulated the stock prices behind the scenes. Xu Nuo sent Shen Jin Zhen to find a way to enter the stock exchange and obtain a list of large transactions. Wei Ruo Lai advised Shen Tu Nan to find the mastermind behind the scenes, but Shen Tu Nan advised him to give up early. The two of them had a heated argument, and Wei Ruo Lai became completely disappointed with the Nanjing government. Unable to bear it any longer, he immediately resigned, disregarding Shen Tu Nan's dissuasion and storming out of the room.
A Wen lost everything and was unable to repay his enormous high-interest loan. He contemplated suicide by jumping off a building. Wei Ruo Lai rushed to the rooftop and tried to persuade him kindly, promising to help him repay the loan. However, A Wen, feeling hopeless, jumped from the building and died on the spot.
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