Chapter 31: Expert: Big A is Hopeless
"Good guy!"
Several roommates stared in awe at the thirteen bundles of cash placed neatly on the table. They had never seen so much money in one place. The amount could be enough to build a house back in their hometown. They couldn't resist playing with the bundles, marveling at the weight of the cash.
This was the start-up capital for Quantum Jump.
Fang Hong casually placed the cash aside and sat on his bed, leaving his roommates to handle the red notes.
After a while, Yuan Jie turned to Fang Hong and said, "Now I finally believe that you are serious about this. I'm ready to trade stocks with you."
Fang Hong shook his head with a smile. "Don't think of it that way. If Quantum Jump succeeds, hundreds of millions is just the beginning."
Yuan Jie chuckled and responded, "Just kidding. The stock market isn't for me. Even Master Newton tried his hand at stocks and lost money."
Fang Hong added, "With this much money, Quantum Jump is off to a good start." He glanced around at his roommates and continued, "I heard the three co-founders of Xiaonei.com started with just a few thousand yuan, less than ten thousand yuan in total."
At that moment, Xu Jingren spoke up. "Isn't it 125,000 yuan? That's 5,000 more."
Fang Hong quickly corrected him, "130,000 yuan. Of that, 100,000 yuan will go toward company operations, 25,000 yuan will be used for paid-in capital, and the remaining 5,000 yuan is for team expenses."
Wang Ping gave a thumbs-up, clearly impressed. "As expected of our leader, you're truly grand!"
Sun Xin joined in, "Since you're saying it, we won't be formal about it either."
Xu Jingren, holding a bundle of cash, slapped it on his palm and said, "Tomorrow is the weekend. Let's split up and sign the lease for the venue, arrange the computers, and set up everything for the development stage."
Fang Hong grinned and replied, "I won't be involved in that. As the chief strategy officer, I eat with my mouth. My main job now is to figure out how to secure follow-up investments over the weekend. I only have one task: making money!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. In terms of technical skills, Fang Hong was the weakest among them, but his leadership was unquestioned.
"I overheard your conversation," Fang Hong continued. "I suggest you focus on perfecting the UI design before launching. You can't just copy Twitter. Look at Xiaonei.com back in the day—it was criticized because it was a near-exact replica of Facebook."
When Xiaonei.com launched, it was immediately seen as a copy of Facebook. The only thing that set it apart was the logo. However, at that time, the founders had little money and couldn't even afford to hire a UI designer. They had no choice but to imitate Facebook's design.
Thanks to Fang Hong, the Quantum Jump team had a much higher starting point than the Xiaonei team did at that time.
In fact, Xu Jingren and the others didn't need to worry about money. Fang Hong would handle it. However, he wasn't ready to reveal that he was the ultimate big boss behind Qunxing Capital just yet.
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The following weekend, Xu Jingren and his roommates quickly secured a venue. They rented a private house over 100 square meters near the school and bought hardware at the flea market.
The main expenses for hardware were the computers, and despite being college students, they were full of enthusiasm. It took only two days to set up everything, thanks to their passion, and they were ready to start developing the Weibo website.
Fang Hong guided them, ensuring that even though the team consisted of a few college students, they had a clear plan and direction for the project. Their goals were well-defined.
With everything in place, by Monday, they could register Quantum Jump at the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. Xu Jingren and the others would handle the necessary paperwork, including the company's articles of association, shareholding structure, and other materials. Fang Hong had already prepared these important documents for them.
Compared to other Internet startup teams, especially those led by college students, Quantum Jump's start was much more professional and organized.
Many early-stage teams come up with ideas on a whim, throw together a website, and only later realize they need to establish a company. However, this was not the case for Quantum Jump.
Fang Hong, as the boss behind the scenes, controlled the pace and strategy, giving Quantum Jump a core competitive advantage over other teams.
Over the next week or two, as the company was registered, Xu Jingren and the others started a hectic routine. They would attend classes during the day and then head to the Quantum Jump studio after class, working tirelessly to develop the website. Sometimes, they would even sleep at the studio.
Meanwhile, Fang Hong took a more relaxed approach. He skipped classes every day to speculate in stocks. While his roommates were working hard, Fang Hong enjoyed the luxury of experiencing college life.
During this time, Big A continued to plummet, constantly reaching new lows.
On Monday, September 8, the Shanghai stock index dropped by -2.68%, closing at 2143.41 points.
After trading sideways for two days, on September 11, it fell again by -3.34%, closing at 2078.98 points. On this day, the market broke through 2100 points.
Experts continued to claim that 2000 points would never be breached, but the market continued to slide. On Tuesday, September 16, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, news of loan interest rate reductions and lower deposit reserve ratios failed to stop the decline.
The U.S. stock market crash on September 15 hit the headlines globally, with Lehman Brothers, one of the largest investment banks, filing for bankruptcy. This sparked a financial crisis that spread worldwide.
On September 16, the A-share market saw another dramatic drop of -4.47%, and the Shanghai index closed at 1986.63 points. The 2000-point mark, which many experts had claimed would never fall, was broken.
The next day, on September 17, the index dropped by -2.90%, falling to 1922.68 points. The market had fallen by over 68% from its peak of 6124 points.
Experts were now giving up, claiming there was no hope for Big A anymore.
Despite the market's sharp decline, Fang Hong made a significant profit in the stock market. During the seven days of the market's downfall, his securities account performed the opposite of the market, with profits reaching new heights.
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