Tea Market Storm

In the last years of Qianlong's reign, Suzhou tea merchant Chen Mancang had been doing spot business for twelve years. Although he was cautious, he was always stuck in three small shops. Until he met Shen Wanlin, a young man who used "contracts" to leverage the future. Shen Wanlin doesn't stock tea, only contracts. By paying a deposit, he can lock in the tea farmers' entire production for the next six months. The tea has been changed hands several times before it has been plucked from the tree; the wealth has already been written on paper before the price has been fixed. This is a big gamble with a small gain. A deposit of 1,000 taels is required to move a plate worth 1,000 taels. Ten times the leverage, ten times the greed. News of the New Deal detonated the market, and the price of forward contracts soared crazily. Shen Wanlin's book profits surged overnight, and Chen Mancang followed in doubtfully. Everyone is buying up, everyone is making money—until the storm comes. When the news reversed, funds were withdrawn, and prices collapsed, they discovered that what they bought was not tea, but a piece of paper that could return to zero at any time. Some people become rich overnight, while others lose everything. The market, always between greed and fear, teaches people two words - awe. This is a story about spot and futures, reality and virtuality, human nature and rules. It happened in the tea market two hundred years ago, but it affects everyone who is still ups and downs in the market today. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. The question is – whose side are you on?