Volume One, Chapter Three: The Subprime Crisis & The Golden Phoenix Takes Flight

Bang, bang, bang, bang. Luo Xuan knocked on the door of her elder sister, Luo Jue.

The door was pushed open from the inside, revealing Luo Jue’s cold, slender face. She resembled their father, with narrow, elongated eyes and a high, sharp nose bridge. She wore rimless glasses, and her black hair was parted to the side, falling to her shoulders without bangs. This style made her face look even paler and thinner, and even when she smiled, her temperament remained icy.

The sisters hadn't seen each other for nearly half a year, and Luo Xuan noticed her sister had grown even thinner; even her T-shirt hung loosely on her frame. Though it was inappropriate, Luo Xuan couldn't help but touch the excess fat on her own waist, then said, "Sister, Dad passed away this morning. I've come to take you home."

Luo Jue hissed, "Don't wake my roommate."

Looking past her slender sister, Luo Xuan saw a girl sleeping on the living room sofa.

Once the sisters entered the room and Luo Jue closed the door, Luo Xuan immediately asked, "Sister, you were doing so well before. How did you end up living in a place like this?"

This sixty-square-meter apartment, consisting of three rooms and a living room, housed six girls in total: one on the sofa, two in the master bedroom, and two in a bunk bed in the larger secondary bedroom.

Luo Jue lived in a small, partitioned space on the balcony. In the southern summer, temperatures often hit 40 degrees Celsius, yet there wasn't even an air conditioner here. The room was only large enough for a bed and a simple wardrobe. Luo Jue had placed her suitcase at the head of the bed to serve as a desk, with a laptop perched on top.

Luo Jue said calmly, "I was laid off. I haven't found a new job in the six months since, and my savings are tight, so I have to cut expenses."

Luo Xuan gasped, "You cared more about the company than the boss cared about his own mother. How could they lay you off?"

Luo Jue sighed, "The subprime mortgage crisis is hitting the U.S. now. Our group was affected and suffered heavy losses, so they had to cut staff."

"What subprime mortgage crisis?"

Luo Jue sat on the edge of the bed. "Housing prices in the U.S. rose rapidly. Everyone wanted to buy homes but didn't have the money, so they borrowed from banks. The banks lent out too much, and then real estate prices suddenly plummeted. More and more people couldn't repay their loans, leading to a financial crisis."

Luo Xuan cried out, "I work for a U.S. company; I’m afraid I'll be affected."

Luo Jue looked at her. "If it weren't for the financial crisis, would the U.S. have lowered interest rates yesterday? You should find a suitable time to sell your stocks. I don't feel good about the market; I’m afraid the 1997 financial crisis is going to repeat itself."

Luo Xuan argued, "Sister, the subprime crisis is in the U.S. The A-shares are in a huge bull market right now."

Luo Jue said sternly, "Have you forgotten about May 30th?"

On May 30, 2007, Luo Xuan's stocks had hit the limit down at the opening bell, continuing for three full days. She couldn't escape and suffered terribly. It remained stagnant until July, when it finally surged again, allowing her to break even.

Luo Xuan felt a lingering fear. "That was just a short-term correction."

She had entered the market in March 2006 at 1,200 points. After the Two Sessions in late April, the market broke through 1,300 and 1,400 points, not stopping until it hit nearly 1,700 points, coupled with the great bonus of share-reform distributions. It was Luo Xuan's first time trading, and she earned over 4,000 yuan in a week—more than half a month's salary. She was so shocked that she sold immediately, thinking, "So making money in stocks is easy!"

Today is September 19, 2007. With the U.S. cutting interest rates, the A-shares were hitting limit-up, and newspapers were even calling out slogans like "A-shares to 12,000 points next year." Luo Xuan, unable to resist the trend, had her entire net worth floating in the stock market.

"If you don't make money in a bull market, you're losing it," Luo Xuan said. "If you don't buy, and I don't buy, inflation will make our money worthless! You have to hold onto stocks. Luckily, I didn't sell, and now my money has doubled."

Luo Jue thought for a moment and nodded. "That's true."

Luo Xuan’s gaze fell on a half-finished bag of oatmeal. "Do you just eat this every day?"

Luo Jue hummed, "It's healthy food."

Luo Xuan grew anxious and grabbed Luo Jue's thin arm. "Sister, you can cut costs on anything, but not on your own health! Why didn't you tell the family?"

Luo Jue pulled her arm away and countered, "Don't you know?"

Luo Xuan was stunned. "What was I supposed to know?!"

Luo Jue paused. "Forget it."

Forget it? What was there to forget? What did that even mean?

Even though Luo Xuan was frantic inside, she knew her sister was fastidious. She looked at her own jeans, found a blanket to spread on the edge of the bed, and then cautiously sat on the very corner. "Sister, is there something I don't know?"

Luo Jue handed Luo Xuan a glass of water and said quite ordinarily, "I'm not going back home again."

Luo Xuan looked at her calm, beautiful sister, feeling bewildered. "Big sister, Dad is gone. He kept mistresses and had children out of wedlock. We are in a rush to cremate him. This trip back is to see him one last time."

The room was stiflingly hot. Luo Xuan stared intently at her sister, who said calmly, "I know. I already saw Dad for the last time last year."

Luo Xuan remembered the heated argument between her sister and their father last year. "You still haven't forgiven Dad?"

Her sister asked in return, "Does Dad need my forgiveness?"

...

From a very young age, Luo Xuan knew her sister was meant to fly away.

She had once heard her grandmother whisper to their father, "The eldest one's eyes look so intelligent. A girl like that, once she's well-educated, will fly away and never return."

Sure enough, Luo Jue was the county champion for the middle school entrance exam, then the county champion for the high school entrance exam, and the county champion for the college entrance exam. She scooped up scholarships, went to Beijing for university, and studied the most popular major: finance. After finishing her undergraduate degree, she applied for a scholarship to study abroad, but under her parents' persuasion, she gave it up and was recommended for a master's degree at Peking University.

Meanwhile, Luo Wenbin had already found a job for her: an administrative position at the Luosang Garment Factory, a joint venture with Hong Kong investors, which was considered a "golden rice bowl" by the people of Luosang County.

At the time, Luo Xuan was in the depths of despair during her senior year job hunt. She had spent four happy years at university, her GPA wasn't high enough for a recommendation, and she was stuck with a mediocre English degree, failing to find a job until she felt as withered as a dried vegetable. When she heard her father had found a job for her sister—a golden rice bowl at that—she was insanely jealous.

Luo Xuan tentatively asked Luo Wenbin, "Since big sister is already recommended for her master's, can't you give that job to me?"

Luo Wenbin grumbled, "The spots at the Luosang factory are tight. I pulled so many strings to get just one! Your sister is foolish to be wasting her time at school!"

Luo Xuan thought being recommended for a master's was great. "It's Peking University, after all."

Luo Wenbin retorted, "What use is Peking University? What use is a master's degree? She's been away for years, her heart has wandered, and she won't even come home! Even if she were a star of literature descended from heaven, without connections, she wouldn't get into the Luosang factory!"

Luo Xuan understood. Her father had his own agenda; he meant that if his eldest daughter did too well and didn't come home, she wouldn't be able to help him in his old age.

After several arguments with her sister, Luo Wenbin finally played his trump card: he went to the university and caused a scene, successfully canceling her recommendation for the master's program.

Luo Jue only worked at the Luosang factory for one month.

The former county champion, once celebrated in the newspapers, was now doing administrative work at the Luosang factory with a gold-plated diploma, and she faced endless snide remarks. Luo Jue resigned immediately. Luo Wenbin was furious and argued with her several times. Father and daughter eventually compromised, and Luo Jue found a job at a Japanese company in Zhihe City, two hours away from Luosang County.

Last year, taking advantage of a leadership reshuffle at the Luosang factory, Luo Wenbin’s old acquaintance, Manager Wang, took the helm. He began maneuvering to get Luo Jue a spot in the procurement department, but she had just passed the civil service exam for the Shenzhen Tax Bureau.

At that time, Luo Xuan was mired in corporate factionalism in Shanghai, feeling stifled and frustrated. On impulse, she wanted the job, but Luo Wenbin wouldn't give it to her. She could only sigh at the heavens: some die of drought, others of flooding.

The eldest sister and their father argued bitterly for days.

Luo Wenbin adamantly refused to let his eldest daughter leave the province. He used the same old tactics, badmouthing her during the background check, which caused her to fail the admission process.

Father and daughter had another massive fight.

This time, the eldest sister never returned home—not for the Spring Festival, and not even for Luo Wenbin's funeral.