Although CEO Liu said, “It’s fortunate we have you,” Gan Yang truly doubted whether he deserved such praise.
It was already September, a Monday morning when Ding Zhitong encountered Guan Wenyuan in the elevator.
“Have you heard?” Guan Wenyuan asked as soon as she saw Ding.
“What happened?” Ding couldn’t guess what could shock Guan enough to speak Chinese.
“You don’t know yet?” Guan typed on her BlackBerry while speaking. After replying to a message, she finally revealed, “L Bank has collapsed.”
“…Collapsed?” Ding took a moment to process this, realizing from Guan’s expression that this was no joke.
Rumors about L Bank had been circulating for a while. After the crisis in March, the situation seemed to improve slightly, but the second-quarter financial report still showed massive bad debt losses. The run on IndyMac Bank and the impending failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had everyone associated with mortgage loans on edge. L Bank’s stock price had plummeted from over $60 at the beginning of the year to just over $10. The CEO, under pressure from shareholders, had been holding people accountable and replacing executives.
In July, the Treasury Department finally spoke up, promising to support Fannie and Freddie if necessary. The SEC also banned naked short-selling of financial stocks, buying them time to seek mergers or emergency funding.
Throughout the summer, L Bank’s stock would rebound whenever news of negotiations with overseas commercial banks surfaced. However, BB Bank’s pride remained intact, and they couldn’t agree on a selling price.
This dragged on until September when the government announced it would take over Fannie and Freddie, injecting $200 billion of taxpayer money. While this saved the two entities, it severely diluted investor equity. Dividends became a pipe dream, and the stock price fell 90%, from around $80 a year ago to just $1.
Meanwhile, L Bank’s latest investment talks had fallen through, and its stock price dropped to less than $4. Following Bear Stearns, it became the second major BB Bank to be blacklisted by other financial institutions’ risk management departments.
As one of the top five investment banks on Wall Street, people had considered Treasury Department funding, mergers with commercial banks, or even acquisitions, but no one expected it to simply collapse. The news shocked everyone. For Ding Zhitong, it was even more significant because of Feng Sheng.
“Yes, collapsed,” Guan confirmed. “The stock price has zeroed out.”
“When did this happen?” Ding asked.
“They filed for bankruptcy late last night to beat Monday’s market opening. Many L Bank employees only found out when they arrived at work today. Security guards were there, telling them to collect their belongings and leave,” Guan explained, shrugging with a regretful expression.
By then, the elevator had reached the IBD floor. Ding exited but didn’t enter the office area. Instead, she pushed open the fire door to make a call in the hallway. She dialed Feng Sheng’s number, but it was busy on two consecutive attempts.
She knew Feng Sheng’s situation was similar to hers. They had submitted their H1B visa applications to immigration in April. With the economic downturn, fewer people had applied compared to previous years, and their applications had been approved smoothly. As long as they maintained normal employment status in October, the visas would officially take effect.
But now Feng Sheng’s situation had become precarious. His H1B was approved, but could he find another job? If not, could he revert to his recent graduate internship status? It was incredibly unfortunate that this had happened to him.
Ding could easily imagine what Feng Sheng was doing now. He was likely either asking HR how long his employment status could be maintained or consulting an immigration lawyer about his visa situation.
Later, Feng Sheng returned her call, but she was in a meeting and couldn’t answer.
It wasn’t until she returned to her rented apartment in Queens that evening that she remembered to call him back.
Contrary to her expectations, Feng Sheng sounded quite relaxed, even excited about witnessing a historic event. He shared inside information about their company’s collapse.
In reality, everyone had known things were dire. L Bank’s management was on the 31st floor of the building, and word from above was that the books were a mess. A due diligence team had already moved in, just waiting to calculate the losses before a “white knight” would take over.
There had been multiple potential “white knights,” and everyone thought the worst-case scenario would be a change in ownership. There might be layoffs at year-end, but not necessarily affect everyone. After all, it was an election year, and the Treasury Department couldn’t let another major investment bank fail. It would fundamentally alter Wall Street’s ecosystem.
Over the weekend, the board of directors had been on 24-hour standby. Reporters waited outside for acquisition news, and catering for a reception had even been arranged, complete with champagne. But the final response was that no “white knights” would arrive. Bank of America had acquired Merrill Lynch, and while Barclays wanted L Bank, the UK Financial Services Authority didn’t approve. The earliest they could vote again would be Tuesday, but L Bank couldn’t last until Monday.
No one had anticipated this outcome. Even the upper management only accepted reality at the last moment, signing all documents within hours and announcing bankruptcy liquidation before Asian markets opened.
Management and some back-office departments got the news first and cleared out Sunday night. Front and middle office employees were the last to know, only being informed when they arrived for work on Monday morning. They were told to take their belongings and leave, while the trading floor’s large screens still scrolled with information and chaos reigned at the entrance.
“Just one day short?” Ding found it hard to believe.
“Yeah,” Feng Sheng chuckled softly on the other end, “just one day short.”
They both fell silent as if witnessing the unstoppable wheels of history rolling by, feeling both speechless and powerless. It all seemed surreal. After all, these young gold-seekers had once revered the names on the BB Bank league table like gods. In just a year, three were gone, and the rest weren’t faring much better.
“So, what are you planning to do?” Ding broke the silence.
Feng Sheng took a deep breath and replied with a laugh, “Waiting for news from HR. I called today, and all they said was not to accept media interviews. But I heard several old-timers have already accepted book deals, planning to make one last profit from this.”
Ding laughed along, wanting to ask more, but Feng Sheng interrupted her, asking instead, “How have you been lately?”
Ding guessed his implication; he probably knew about her breakup with Gan Yang.
“I’m doing fine…” she answered.
Although her recent state had been chaotic – working, overtime, business trips, constantly chasing imminent deadlines, unable to consider anything else – she genuinely felt this was good. At least it left her no time to dwell on things she shouldn’t.
The conversation seemed to be winding down, but Feng Sheng spoke up again: “Also…”
“What is it?” Ding asked reflexively, feeling somewhat apprehensive. There were certain things she didn’t want to hear anymore.
Fortunately, reality differed completely from her guess.
“Today’s my birthday,” Feng Sheng told her over the phone.
Ding was stunned, taking a moment to realize it was his birthday.
“Happy birthday!” she said with a laugh.
Feng Sheng laughed too. Ding knew he appreciated the dark humor. September 15, 2008 – his birthday had now become a day that rewrote history.
For the past month, Gan Yang had been worrying about money almost every day.
During the day, he scrambled to meet acceptance bill interest deadlines. Even in his dreams at night, he was checking bank accounts, counting digits. Each morning, he’d wake up and start calculating whether there was enough for the month’s expenses, the week’s, or even just the day’s cash flow.
His mind was consumed with money and how to get more of it.
But borrowing money requires a reason. Saying it was to repay debts lacked credibility, and expanding production was out of the question. The per capita GDP in coastal regions was rising year by year, environmental requirements were becoming stricter, and the general trend was towards high-end manufacturing. No matter how much they tried to innovate, sneakers could only go so far.
During this period, Long Mei often took him to attend dinner parties with investors and bankers.
As the one seeking favors and usually the youngest at the table, everyone could and enjoyed pressuring him to drink, even if they were just minor officials.
At first, he tried to persist, drinking several glasses to keep up. Later, when Long Mei noticed his near-zero alcohol tolerance, she advised him not to push himself. She explained that what mattered wasn’t how much he drank, but how drunk he appeared. They wanted to see him let loose, unafraid of embarrassment, and willing to speak candidly after drinking. Only then would he show enough sincerity to win their trust.
This insight enlightened Gan Yang. He suddenly realized that the local traditions he had long looked down upon actually had intricate internal logic.
So, he began announcing his poor alcohol tolerance as soon as he sat down, claiming two drinks would make him drunk. Unfortunately, he was still too inexperienced to act out drunken behavior, vomiting, or alcohol-induced candor.
There was only one exception.
That night, one of his major creditors was at the dinner table – an old overseas Chinese man who had started a shoe factory in the area in the 1980s. CEO Liu had even worked in his factory before. Later, the old man donated to provincial universities, set up scholarships, and established internship bases, earning an honorary doctorate. Although it was only honorary, the old man disliked being called “CEO” or “Chairman,” preferring the title “Dr. Chen.”
Dr. Chen was well aware of Gan Yang’s family situation and joked while patting his shoulder, “Young man, life is vast like the sea. Why be so narrow-minded as to come back and repay debts?”
At that time, similar situations were common. Some went bankrupt, some fled, and some borrowed money from relatives and friends before leaving. But with many local businesspeople, they understood the risks of doing business. While they might complain or sue, they didn’t consider the debtor’s unforgivable sinners.
Gan Yang also wondered why he was staying. He could have followed CEO Liu’s advice, abandoned the business here, kept the properties and trusts in his name, lived off rent and interest, found a less demanding job, worked nine-to-five, and spent the rest of his time cooking, running, dating, and being with Ding Zhitong.
The last name made his heart tremble when he thought of it.
But it was too late for regrets now. The houses CEO Liu left him that weren’t mortgaged had been sold, and those with mortgages had been refinanced. The money received had been poured into this black hole, disappearing without a trace. He suddenly began to doubt if he had made a terrible mistake, betting the rest of his life on a gamble with no chance of winning.
He drank a lot in silence but miraculously didn’t get too drunk. He was only slightly dazed when the dinner ended.
Leaving the restaurant, Long Mei called for a designated driver and dragged him into her car, asking what was wrong with him that day.
“Nothing’s wrong…” he laughed loudly, sprawled across the back seat.
“Then why are you laughing?” Long Mei asked from the front passenger seat.
“Just remembered a joke…” he continued laughing, curling up on the seat.
“Tell me,” Long Mei urged.
After laughing a bit more, he continued: “I used to make people choose between living with me and making money. Thinking about it now, I was so stupid. It’s money we’re talking about! How could I compare myself to money?”
“Such high self-esteem, that’s so you,” Long Mei laughed along, then after a pause asked, “That ‘people’ was your girlfriend, right?”
“I wonder what she’s doing now…” Gan Yang replied, avoiding the question.
“Why don’t you call her?” Long Mei turned to look at him.
“We’ve already broken up, what’s the point in calling?” Gan Yang rubbed his face, sitting up against the seat back, seeming to have sobered up completely. After a while, he added, “Don’t tell CEO Liu about today.”
Long Mei nodded, “I understand.”
That day, when Gan Yang returned home, he sat alone thinking about many past events, including the dream Ding Zhitong had once told him about.
She had cited that dream as evidence of her money obsession. She said she often dreamed of picking up money since childhood – always small bills of one, two, or five yuan, rarely even ten yuan notes. She’d pick them up from the ground, from sofa crevices, from drawers. By the time she woke up, she’d have collected so much she couldn’t hold it all in her hands… She’d have this dream whenever she felt short on cash and poor.
As a result, when he fell asleep that night, he also dreamed of picking up money. He picked and picked until his hands were full. Looking around for something to put the money in, he saw someone bent over, also picking up money.
“Ding Zhitong!” he called out, feeling a mix of joy and sorrow.
The person looked up at him and said, “Don’t waste time talking, hurry up and pick. When we’re done, let’s go home and eat.”
“Alright!” he responded, quickly bending down to continue picking up money.
She did the same, both of them were like tireless machines.
But before they were even halfway done, he woke up, never getting to that meal.
That morning, as Gan Yang watched the sky gradually brighten in the dawn light, he suddenly felt optimistic again. There was still a chance for them, he thought, as long as he finished picking up all the money.
However, just a few days later, on September 18th, the A-share market plummeted, hitting a low of 1802 points. The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced a suspension of IPOs. No one knew when they would resume.
The following weekend, CEO Liu called Gan Yang. After discussing daily life matters, she sighed, “It’s a good thing I listened to you, otherwise I don’t know how we’d manage now…”
In the past, faced with such a situation, Gan Yang would have gloated, saying “See? I told you so.” But now he only asked in return, “I told you not to watch the news, why are you still watching?”
CEO Liu defended herself, “I didn’t watch, I just heard it on the radio.”
Gan Yang was speechless and had to complete the rule: “Don’t watch the news, listen to the news, or access news in any other way.”
“Alright, I got it—” CEO Liu responded in a drawn-out tone.
Listening to this, Gan Yang suddenly felt their roles had reversed – he had become the adult, and his mother had become the child.
Although CEO Liu said “Fortunately, we have you,” he truly didn’t know if he deserved such praise.
He hadn’t anticipated the situation would deteriorate to this extent, and Gan Kunliang’s so-called “take a chance” turned out to be a gamble with no odds of winning. He could only be grateful that he had returned, that Long Mei had told him the truth and that together they had convinced CEO Liu. But this only gave them a chance to attempt a rescue. As for how to save the situation, or whether it could be saved at all, he had absolutely no idea.
That day, he asked his office assistant to buy a plastic bag full of romance novels from the bookstore and send them to CEO Liu to alleviate her boredom. He had no requirements for authors or themes, except that the endings must be of the “they lived happily ever after” variety.
The timeline of stock market and exchange rate events from 2007-2008 is then provided:
2007:
– July-August: USD/CNY at 7.5
– October: USD/CNY at 7.4, US stocks peak then fall
2008:
– January: USD/CNY at 7.18
– February: USD/CNY at 7.10
– March: USD/CNY at 7.01, Bear Stearns acquired by JPMorgan Chase
– June: USD/CNY at 6.85, Lehman Brothers reports large bad debt losses
– July: USD/CNY at 6.84
– August: USD/CNY at 6.83
– September:
– USD/CNY at 6.81 (bottoms out)
– 9th: Treasury injects $200 billion to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
– 15th: Lehman Brothers bankruptcy
– 18th: Chinese stock market crashes, IPOs suspended
– 29th: US government bailout plan rejected by House of Representatives, US stocks crash
– October 10th: Continued market crashes, financial panic
– October 13th: Markets begin to improve