Deng Shiyang received the news while waiting for a transfer at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone. It was the last day of the sixth week, and he was on his way to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar.
Inside the terminal, he logged into his email on his mobile phone and found a few new messages. One of them was from Hong Kong's "China Merchants Securities," sent by his stockbroker. The email informed him that "Ruiyuan International" management had announced a stock split yesterday, at a ratio of 6:1.
At that point, the share price of "Ruiyuan International" had exceeded 60 cents. Considering Deng Shiyang's average purchase price was 49 cents, his shares had appreciated by nearly 20%. Although the split reduced the share price to one-sixth of its original value, the number of shares he owned increased sixfold to 22.8 million shares.
After two transfers, in Gaborone and Johannesburg, and a total of eighteen hours of flying, Deng Shiyang arrived at Ivato International Airport in Antananarivo at 2 PM the following afternoon. He first got a visa on arrival at the immigration counter and then picked up his luggage and exited the airport, taking a taxi to his hotel.
Due to the coup that occurred two months earlier, the country's commerce and tourism sectors had not yet recovered. Antananarivo appeared rather deserted, with empty streets void of pedestrians. Piles of garbage lay uncollected along the roadside, while most shops were closed, giving the place a sense of desolation and decay.
Since gaining independence in 1958, Madagascar's domestic political landscape has been marked by instability, with revolts and coups becoming routine occurrences. Prolonged military interference in politics has led the government to grow increasingly autocratic and corrupt. Combined with economic hardship affecting people's livelihoods, public discontent had been steadily rising.
In January of this year, large-scale anti-government protests broke out in the capital, which later escalated into violent clashes, resulting in over 130 deaths. On March 17th, the military intervened, staging a coup to overthrow the democratically elected government led by President Marc Ravalomanana. After Ravalomanana fled into exile, the military backed the opposition leader—former mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina—to assume power as interim president.
However, the constitution of Madagascar clearly states that anyone serving as president must be at least 40 years old. Since Rajoelina was only 35, the High Constitutional Court ruled that he could only serve as acting president to circumvent the constitutional requirements.
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Due to widespread dissatisfaction with the military's overthrow of the elected government, the transitional government failed to gain recognition from the international community. The United States promptly cut off all non-humanitarian aid to Madagascar, the African Union announced the suspension of the country's membership, and not a single nation sent representatives to Rajoelina's inauguration ceremony.
The Carlton Hotel is Madagascar's only five-star hotel, and it is considered one of the few luxurious venues in the country. However, Deng Shiyang did not choose this hotel for comfort; he chose it because he saw on the hotel website that the business center provided translation services to guests, which saved him a lot of trouble, given that he did not speak French.
Affected by the slump in tourism, the hotel lobby was as quiet as the streets outside. As he followed the bellboy carrying his luggage towards the reception desk, every staff member he passed would stop what they were doing, bow to him, and say, "Bienvenue." This courteous attention felt quite unfamiliar to someone used to blending in unnoticed.
Despite being almost empty, the Carlton Hotel lived up to its reputation as the best hotel in Madagascar, and the quality of service remained impeccable. Not long after he completed the check-in formalities, the translator sent by the hotel knocked on his room door.
When Deng Shiyang opened the door, he saw a young man in his twenties. The young man had large earlobes and distinct South Asian features, his skin tone a mixture of coffee and reddish-brown, making him look like a blend of a native Malagasy and an Asian immigrant.
"Hello, sir. I'm Chamkhan Jagadash, your translator," the young man greeted him.
"Hello, I'm Josh Deylek. If you don't mind, may I call you 'Dash'?" Deng Shiyang extended his hand.
"Sure, no problem."
They shook hands, and then Deng Shiyang asked, "Judging from your name, you're not Malagasy, right?"
"I am Malagasy," Dash replied. "But my ancestors were from India, so my name is derived from Hindi."
"No wonder…" Deng Shiyang nodded and continued, "You know I need someone fluent in both French and English for interpretation, right?"
"Yes, I graduated from North Madagascar University, majoring in English."
"How well do you speak Malagasy?"
"Quite well, though I'm more fluent in French."
"Very good, you're hired."
"Thank you, I'm pleased to be of service," Dash said gratefully, then asked, "Is there any work you'd like me to do now?"
"Now?" Deng Shiyang checked his watch—it was 3:30 PM. He replied, "You can head back for now. Come to the hotel at 9 AM tomorrow."
"Okay," Dash responded simply, then excused himself.
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Annotations:
Stock Split: Also known as share split, this refers to dividing a stock with a larger face value into multiple stocks with smaller face values.