Episode Summary
In 1990 Shenzhen, stock market fever leads to chaos and black market scams. Liang Ying and her team try to implement regulations, but corrupt managers ignore them. Jun Sheng helps his desperate friend A-Jie access the black market despite Liang Ying's warnings. A-Jie makes a bad trade on "East Development" stock, panic-sells before a massive price hike, and is left financially ruined and emotionally broken.
Spoiler Alert
1990 Shenzhen Fever
The year is 1990. Shenzhen is going through massive changes. The big topic on everyone's mind is stocks. It is a total frenzy. People are lining up for blocks outside the securities exchange. Everyone wants to get rich fast.
The scene outside Nanfeng Securities Exchange is chaos. People start queuing before dawn. The doors open, and it is a stampede. Most people can't even buy anything. This pushes them toward the black market. The problem is that the black market is full of scammers selling fake certificates.
The Clean Up Crew
Liang Ying works for the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Preparatory Group. She sees the mess firsthand. Her boss, Team Leader Yu, is also worried. They want to fix the market. The team spent two years writing a rulebook to regulate everything.
Liang Ying delivers a copy of this new rulebook to Manager Wang. Wang promises to cooperate. He acts very professional to her face.
This is all an act. As soon as she leaves, Wang tells his employee, Jun Sheng, to throw the book in the trash. He thinks it is useless. Jun Sheng doesn't toss it, though. He keeps the book.
Friends and Bad Influences
Jun Sheng is dating Liang Ying. He tries to play the supportive boyfriend. He brings coffee to Manager Wang just to "accidentally" bump into her.
Outside, Jun Sheng runs into his old classmate, A-Jie. A-Jie is desperate. He came to buy stocks but struck out. He begs Jun Sheng for help. Liang Ying steps in. She warns A-Jie to stay away from the black market. She knows it is a trap.
A-Jie ignores this advice. He lives with his mom, who runs a small rice noodle roll shop. He wants to make big money to help her retire. He borrows cash to buy stocks. He ends up buying fakes. He loses money but refuses to quit.
He wants to meet a black market dealer named Brother Wu. He begs Jun Sheng to make the introduction. Jun Sheng caves. He lends A-Jie money. He even takes him to see Brother Wu.
Dinner Disasters
Brother Wu agrees to let A-Jie in on the action. He warns him that he has to accept the risks.
Later, the group grabs dinner at A-Jie’s mom’s stall. A-Jie looks at his hardworking mother. He swears he will make her life easier.
The mood ruins quickly. Liang Ying finds out Jun Sheng took A-Jie to the black market. She is furious. Jun Sheng tries to lie. He says they just walked around. Then he pulls out the rulebook he saved from the trash. He admits Manager Wang never read it. Liang Ying is too angry to eat. She storms off.
The East Development Crash
The stock in question is "East Development." The official price is 80 yuan. The black market price is 160 yuan.
Team Leader Yu is stressed. He worries about insider trading. He fears regular people will lose their life savings. He urges his team to get the official exchange built faster.
A-Jie scrapes together every cent he can find. He buys East Development from Brother Wu at 160 yuan. The price immediately tanks. A-Jie panics. He is terrified of losing everything. He sells at a loss.
Of course, the market is cruel. Right after he sells, the price shoots up to 260 yuan. A-Jie is crushed. He missed the fortune he needed.
He meets Jun Sheng one last time. He pays back the money he borrowed. He asks Jun Sheng to visit his mother often. Jun Sheng notices A-Jie is acting strange. He doesn't ask why.
