Siheyuan: My wife is Xu Huizhen

But just as he picked up his coffee cup at the negotiating table, the other party's purchasing manager casually remarked, "They're clearing out their inventory in Haojiang," leaving his hand hanging in mid-air.

After the meeting, he slipped into the emergency exit and swiped his phone screen rapidly with his fingertips.

In an old post on an industry forum, someone posted a picture of rusty containers outside the warehouse of Haojiang Power Company, with the caption "I heard that a batch of old equipment from the 80s is going to be phased out."

Those 15-kilowatt diesel generators, labeled as "inefficient assets," were merely negative assets urgently needing to be dealt with in Haojiang Power Company's annual report.

But for He Yuzhu's knitting factory, each piece of equipment that can drive three production lines is like an oasis in the desert.

When Lao Zhou from the technical department sent the test report, confirming that the batch of equipment could meet the needs of the workshop's three shifts after basic maintenance, He Yuzhu stroked his chin and smiled—it turned out that the turning point was hidden in what others saw as a pile of waste.

He Yuzhu stared at the electricity bill spread out on the table, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the calculator.

As dusk deepened outside the window, the incandescent lights in the workshop lit up one by one, casting dappled shadows on the bills.

He suddenly grabbed a pencil and heavily circled the words "peak-valley electricity price difference"—since the basic lines of CLP Power cannot be interrupted, why not split the electricity demand?

The next morning, he led his technical team into the power distribution room. The old transformer hummed softly, and the pointers on the instrument panel wobbled slightly.

"We installed a switching system."

He Yuzhu pointed to the electrical distribution diagram on the wall.

"During off-peak hours at night, the production line operates at a low speed thanks to power from the grid; during peak hours when electricity prices are high, the two idle diesel generators in the southeast corner of the factory are started."

He opened his notebook, which was filled with detailed notes on the modification budget and expected returns:

"Adding energy storage battery packs can not only balance power generation fluctuations but also provide emergency response capabilities during extreme weather."

After two weeks of testing, the new solution was officially implemented.

When the first electricity bill arrived, the CFO adjusted his glasses, his voice filled with undisguised surprise:

"27% savings compared to last month!" He Yuzhu looked out the window at the power company workers who were inspecting the power lines, a faint smile appearing on his lips—this seemingly passive negotiation had finally found a way to break the deadlock through technological innovation.

He Yuzhu's fingers unconsciously traced the mottled paint on the unit's exterior, his gaze sweeping over the numbers flashing on the instrument panel.

When he lifted the side access cover, the distinctive smell of engine oil mixed with the residual heat of the metal hit him.

"Was this Cummins KTA19-C525 put into production in 48?"

He wiped the dust off the nameplate with his sleeve, his fingertip lingering briefly on the production date. Technician Xiao Wang immediately handed him the operation log, a yellowed page tucked between which was last year's maintenance report, covered in dense pencil annotations:

"The turbocharger was replaced in December 1960, and the oil circuit was cleaned in Q3 1962." When flipping to the latest record, He Yuzhu suddenly raised his eyebrows - the load test curve from three days ago was still maintained at the new machine standard.

"interesting."

He took a half step back, his leather shoes making a crisp sound as the heels hit the concrete floor.

A 7% stake translates to 35000 shares. At a price of 3.5 yuan per share, the total transaction price is 122,500 yuan.

The number was accurate to the last digit, with even the remainder meticulously calculated by the calculator.

The sunlight outside the window slanted onto the negotiating table, making the numbers on the contract gleam with a cold, hard light—for an ordinary wage earner, this might be the savings that would take three to five years of frugal living and careful budgeting to accumulate, enough to pay the down payment for a small apartment or to send a child through university.

But the man in the suit sitting opposite her had a custom-made wedding ring on his ring finger that reflected a subtle light as he moved his hand.

According to industry rumors, the monthly property management fees for his two riverside mansions, each over a thousand square feet, exceed the monthly salary of an average white-collar worker.

For someone at the very top of the wealth pyramid, this sum of money is nothing more than the price of a pair of limited-edition leather shoes in their wardrobe, a fraction of the fuel cost for a short flight on their private jet, or even less than the value of a bottle of vintage whisky in their collection.

The next morning at five o'clock, He Yuzhu turned off his phone alarm as soon as it went off.

A light rain was still falling outside the window, but he was already looking sharp as he put on his navy blue suit and repeatedly adjusted the angle of his tie in front of the mirror—it was a Hermès silk tie that he had specially dug out from the depths of his wardrobe, with a subtle pattern but a considerable price.

At 7:00 AM sharp, he stood at the door of the finance department office, watching the printer spit out the last transfer slip.

When the CFO handed over the document stamped with the company seal, he could even clearly hear the ticking of the second hand on the other person's watch.

Half an hour later, in the conference room on the top floor of Haojiang Power Company, he held the equity transfer document handed to him by the other party, his fingertips tracing the gold-embossed lettering, his throat so tight that he could barely speak.

When all the procedures were completed, the electronic clock showed 8:50.

He Yuzhu didn't even bother to drink the coffee his assistant handed him; he grabbed his car keys and raced toward the stock exchange.

The leather shoes screeched on the marble floor, and when he pushed open the heavy glass door of the exchange, he was greeted by a cacophony of trading noises.

The numbers flashing on the big screen were like neon lights, and he was surprised to realize that the Shanghai Stock Exchange had already been open for a full forty minutes.

The electronic screens in the securities trading hall glowed with a cold blue light, and a dense waterfall of numbers cascaded down.

He Yuzhu's high-stakes gamble before the market closed last night is now creating a huge upheaval in the market – the previously overwhelming sell orders have disappeared like a receding tide, leaving only an empty order book with a pale white glow on the screen.

The stock price broke free from its days of decline and, like a rocket that had been poised for a long time, pierced through the three-yuan mark. The latest price is flashing a dazzling red: the buy price is 3.05 yuan and the sell price is 3.10 yuan, and it is refreshing the intraday high every minute.

But strangely, the constant sound of orders being placed in the trading hall gradually fell silent.

Compared to yesterday's deafening keyboard pounding, today's trading volume chart resembles a spineless mollusk, limply curled up near the horizontal axis.

The sell orders were piled high, like a field of wheat waiting to be harvested, while the scattered buy orders were like straws that had survived a storm, teetering on the brink of collapse under the overwhelming selling pressure.

The electronic screen in the trading hall gleamed with a cold light, the price line at 3.10 yuan like a taut nerve. He Yuzhu stared at the fluctuating numbers on the order book, his knuckles tapping out a fine, rhythmic beat on the trading terminal.

When the number of sell orders exceeded five figures, he suddenly loosened his tie, swallowed a mouthful of cold tea, and his fingers flew across the keyboard like lightning.

As the system notification sounded, the green sell order bar at 3.10 yuan instantly collapsed by 70%, and the holdings number in the lower right corner of the screen jumped to a high level.