I'm back in 1990

Chapter 516: Public Opinion First

Before we knew it, it was the end of 99. The renowned American business magazine BusinessWeek published a signed article warning investors to be wary of the internet economy bubble.

The author of this article is an associate professor of economics in China.

In the article, he expressed some of his views, believing that the current Internet economy has exceeded expectations and that investors have been somewhat impulsive and reckless. Any startup related to Internet innovation attracts a large number of investors.

The latest issue of BusinessWeek has just been published, and the magazine's editor-in-chief, José Bryan, has received numerous phone calls, including from some of America's most prominent economists and investors.

"Brian, how could that article, riddled with lies, be published in your magazine?"

The person making the call was an investor in Lehman Brothers named Solomon Brown, who had been investing in internet startups and had achieved considerable success. Of course, Lehman Brothers also had its own professional risk analysis team.

The team also issued the same warning: the internet economy is indeed getting a bit too hot.

However, ordinary investors are unaware of this situation and are still frantically pouring their hard-earned money into the Nasdaq stock market.

So these financial giants, including Lehman Brothers, were aiming to fleece ordinary investors (the "leeks" – the common people who are easily exploited). Yet, the industry's most renowned business weekly, *BusinessWeek*, published an article that was essentially a warning to ordinary investors to stop investing blindly. How could this be?

Such actions have touched a nerve with the investors. The calls Brian received today were all expressing dissatisfaction or exerting pressure, all with one meaning: to make the weekly magazine retract the article immediately.

But Brian, as the editor-in-chief, was also helpless!

Because of the magazine's poor financial performance, BusinessWeek's original parent company sold its shares to an investment firm, which was headed by Zhang Yun.

This article was sent to me by Zhang Yun, who requested that it be published in the latest issue of Business Weekly.

Now all sorts of people are calling, which puts Brian under immense pressure. But one thing he's clear about is that the person who pays his salary isn't one of these callers, but the woman who bought the magazine.

"Solomon, it seems the views expressed in this article are correct, otherwise you wouldn't be acting this way, would you?"

"What do I look like?"

"Your ass looks like someone kicked it hard!" Brian joked with Solomon.

"Brian, how long have we known each other?" Solomon tried to appeal to Brian's emotions when Brian didn't respond.

Brian laid his cards on the table: "Solomon, I know what you're trying to do. You're not the first person to ask me to do this; many people have called me before you. This isn't something I can decide, and I hope you understand."

Solomon on the other end of the phone scoffed, "Come on, Brian! Everything comes at a price. Tell me, what do you want for me to retract this article?"

"Dude, the magazines have already been sold, what are we going to do about it?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I'll take care of the magazine sales!"

Brian shook his head helplessly: "Forget it, Solomon, stop making a fuss. It's just an article. There have been many articles like this since last year. How many people do you think will believe the article's arguments? If anyone did, the Nasdaq tech sector wouldn't be so hot."

"Alright, Brian, you might have a point, but I'm still a bit worried about this article, so I'll stick to my opinion. Good luck, you stubborn buffalo!"

Brian responded, "Good luck to you too, my friend!"

At that moment, Qin Yu, who worked at Morgan Stanley, was also holding a copy of BusinessWeek. She had read the article warning about the internet bubble no less than five times. Because it was a signed article, Qin Yu judged that the author should be Huang Xiaochuan, whom she knew.

Because among the economists she knew, there was only one with that name, and she had never heard of anyone else sharing the same name.

She knew a little about Huang Xiaochuan's recent situation because she often saw his papers in economics journals such as AER, JPE, QJE, and RES. Because she had read so many, she had a certain understanding of Huang Xiaochuan's writing style. This article clearly had Huang's style.

Qin Yu is now a VP-level employee at Morgan Stanley, commonly known as a senior investment manager or vice president of investment. It sounds impressive, but it is actually a mid-level position within Morgan Stanley, mainly responsible for leading trade execution, client relationship management, and team coordination.

However, Qin Yu, being of Asian descent, earned her position through her own abilities, and as a result, she received a free apartment overlooking Central Park in New York City, as well as other benefits corresponding to her position. However, Western companies are very realistic; you can enjoy these benefits while in this position, but once you leave the company or are laid off, these benefits will be taken back by the company.

Qin Yu originally planned to return to China after graduating with her PhD from Harvard, but her family kept pressuring her to get married. In order to avoid her mother and aunt's incessant nagging, Qin Yu decided to stay in the United States for a while longer before going back, and also to add more qualifications to her resume.

Qin Yu collected her thoughts and, to avoid Simon noticing anything, replied casually, "Oh! It's nothing. This issue has a lot of content, so it took a little longer."

Qin Yu stared wide-eyed at her senior colleague and mentor. Was he also interested in this article?

Moreover, Huang Xiaochuan's plan is not yet complete, so this paper will not be published. However, it can be used as a warm-up to raise the topic and attract the attention and discussion of relevant people. The ultimate weapon will be released at the right time.

Huang Xiaochuan's plan was to make money and gain fame.

In short, Huang Xiaochuan's actions constitute a triple insurance strategy for short selling.

First, from the perspective of public opinion; second, from the perspective of academics; and third, from the perspective of operation. Zhang Yun will be responsible for executing the first and third points, while Huang Xiaochuan will be responsible for providing advice and strategies. When the right time comes, Huang Xiaochuan will publish the paper. By then, Zhang Yun should have completed her plan and be waiting to reap the rewards.

This three-dimensional approach perfectly aligns with the practical application of George Soros's reflexivity theory, Huang Xiaochuan's former adversary during the Southeast Asian financial crisis: altering market fundamentals by influencing perceptions.

Four years have passed since they parted at the airport. Qin Yu has been keeping track of Huang Xiaochuan's academic progress. On the night they had dinner together at Harvard, Qin Yu discovered that Huang Xiaochuan was hiding a secret.

Later, through her interactions with Wu Duo, Qin Yu gradually learned from Wu Duo about Huang Xiaochuan's actions during his university years, which Qin Yu found quite unbelievable.

He was the one who did all those things?

If I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes that night, and hadn't heard Wu Duo's detailed description, I probably wouldn't have believed it.

How come he's changed so much? How come I didn't realize how amazing he was when we were in high school together?

Qin Yu had a lot of questions, but unfortunately she didn't have the chance to verify them yet.

However, this article about the collapse of the internet gave Qin Yu a bold idea. Since he thought so, perhaps the internet bubble was really going to burst. Since she originally worked in financial speculation, she could give it a try and indirectly verify whether he was really as others or she herself guessed.

With this in mind, Qin Yu decided to take immediate action. Of course, she didn't rashly become pessimistic about the internet economy, as that would trigger a compliance investigation by the company's risk control department. Instead, she immediately began in-depth research to see if what he said in the article was true. If it was true, she would have to use this opportunity to transform herself from a "company appendage" to "financial freedom."

The latest update is now available on Cola Novels; we await your interpretation.