Chapter 13: Promotion!

If you were to ask who truly makes the most money in the securities industry,
most people would probably blurt out—the high-ranking board members and executives.
“But that would be a huge misconception!”
A clear, pleasant voice, like a shot of adrenaline, rang out, dispelling the usual morning gloom.
It was Li Huilin again, patiently explaining the ins and outs of this industry to Su Hao:
“In terms of fixed salaries, executives naturally earn more, but when it comes to the astonishingly variable performance bonuses, the so-called commissions, traders are the real big winners, earning far more than them!”
Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the desk.
Li Huilin's voice carried an excited, secret-sharing tone:
"So, every company internally ranks its traders."
"Ranks?"
"Yes, ranks." Li Huilin nodded: "Just like back in school, you're ranked by grades, divided into different classes, right? It's the same principle in private equity firms."
I see.
Su Hao suddenly understood. No wonder he always felt these traders were all so tense, as if they were all holding back a fierce determination, wanting to devour each other alive.
The root of the problem was here—internal ranking, brutal competition.
“Lower-level traders have limited capital and less principal. Even with impressive returns, their commissions are limited, right?”
Li Huilin gestured with her slender fingers in the air: “Conversely, those at the very top of the pyramid, the top-tier traders, have astonishing amounts of capital at their disposal. Even a small profit can generate a mountain of commissions!”
The situation may vary from firm to firm, but at Fanghuan Investment, where Su Hao currently works, the minimum capital threshold for a trader is one million yuan.
One million. Just the minimum threshold.
Li Huilin lowered her voice, a hint of mystery in her tone, and continued, "So, those top traders with exceptionally high performance often get special, individual contracts from the company. I've heard that top traders at other large private equity firms easily earn over ten million a year!"
"Wow...ten million?!" Su Hao gasped, the number seeming to carry a tangible weight, leaving him momentarily stunned. "Just the annual salary?"
"That's just basic. I've heard that in the US, some earn hundreds of millions!" Li Huilin seemed pleased with Su Hao's reaction, a smile playing on her lips.
"However, you have to understand, there's a reason these people earn so much. They generate huge profits for the company; what's a little bit from the company compared to that?"
Su Hao remained silent.
No wonder so many top students from prestigious universities are desperate to get into this industry.
Annual salary of hundreds of millions…this number was too enormous, like a story from another dimension, completely detached from reality for him.
The air seemed thick with the restless, acrid smell of burnt money.
People often say that in this world, playing the stock market and investing in real estate are the only ways to succeed.
He hadn't quite understood it before, but now he was starting to get it.
Just sitting in front of a computer, moving a mouse, and typing on a keyboard, one can amass such astonishing wealth.
This world is truly insane.
He composed himself and asked curiously, "So... what level is our team, roughly?"
"Our team? Hmm... probably just average."
Li Huilin thought for a moment:
"What I've heard is that the higher the office floor, the higher the team's level. You see, in this building, the derivatives trading department's offices are on the top floors, right? While the exact situation is hard to say, it's generally believed that the highest-earning traders are those in derivatives."
"They earn that much?"
"Yes. Let me put it this way, their monthly salary might be more than our annual salary. Isn't that amazing?
Next to them are the quantitative trading teams that have started to emerge in recent years.
I've heard they use artificial intelligence algorithms for high-frequency trading, but the specifics... I don't really understand."
The world of stocks is truly complex, profound, and unpredictable.
Su Hao pondered to himself.
But it was precisely because of the overwhelmingly large and suffocating rewards behind it that countless people flocked to this arena of fame and fortune, willingly throwing themselves into it, even knowing it was a cruel game.
The bottom layer consisted of countless stepping stones; only the top 1% could truly feast on that enormous wealth.
This essence was perhaps no different from what he had experienced in the game.
Just as he was pondering this, a steady voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Is everyone here? Let's start today's meeting early." It was Manager Zhou Yi.
"Yes!" everyone responded immediately.
Manager Zhou Yi gestured for everyone to enter the conference room.
Su Hao followed the flow of people in, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of two familiar figures following him in.
Those were the same trading assistants he'd encountered before, the same ones he'd run errands for.
"Let me introduce you," Manager Zhou Yi said, standing at the front of the conference room, his gaze sweeping over everyone, "These are the new trading assistants who have joined our team."
He paused, then explained, "As you all know, there were some issues recently; several senior traders resigned, leading to the decision to disband a team. These are the ones transferred from that team."
Including him and Li Huilin, there were four trading assistants now? Su Hao's heart skipped a beat.
More people, did that mean… he could relax a little?
“Manager,” someone raised their hand to ask, it was Liang Haiyuan, “Didn’t you say that new full-time traders would be arriving today?”
“Yes. But they’re not newly transferred.” He abruptly changed the subject, saying something surprising: “They’re being promoted directly from our existing trading assistants.”
“What?” A murmur of astonishment rippled through the conference room.
Promoted from trading assistants?
Su Hao’s heart skipped a beat, an unbelievable thought flashing through his mind. Could it be…
“Su Hao, Li Huilin,” Manager Zhou Yi’s gaze fell on him and Li Huilin, “From today onwards, you two are promoted to full-time traders.”
“Ah—!?” Su Hao and Li Huilin exclaimed simultaneously, their minds going completely blank, as if struck by lightning, frozen in place.
"Regular trader?"
This is too sudden!
"Wait...wait! Manager!"
A sharp voice pierced the brief silence. It was Liang Haiyuan, his face filled with disbelief and anger:
"What did you say? They're promoted directly? Li Huilin has some seniority, but this promotion is too fast! And Su Hao? How long has he been here?! This is simply...you can't find another company this outrageous!"
His voice trembled slightly with agitation, his gaze like a poisoned dagger, slashing fiercely at Su Hao and Li Huilin.
Although Liang Haiyuan's reaction was intense, Su Hao could understand it.
Even he was still dizzy and completely confused.
The other veteran traders were probably just as astonished and bewildered as he was.
“There are reasons for this decision,” Zhou Yi said calmly, his expression unchanged. “In the simulated investments we’ve conducted these past few days, Su Hao’s return rate is the highest in our team. That’s one of the reasons.”
“Manager! That was just a simulated investment!” Liang Haiyuan immediately retorted, his voice rising several decibels. “Simulation and real trading are completely different things! Just because he performed well in the simulation, you’re giving him official treatment?”
“This is a decision already made. Everyone understands the rules. In this industry, ultimately, only the rate of return matters.”
Zhou Yi emphasized, his eyes sharpening:
“Also, the team that was previously disbanded, and the funds they managed are now under our management. Do you understand what this means? It means our entire team’s fund pool is larger!”
“Then it should be even more so…” Liang Haiyuan tried to argue.
“Enough.” Manager Zhou Yi interrupted him, his voice turning cold and carrying an undeniable authority: “I’ve said it before, this is a decision.”
The air in the conference room seemed to freeze instantly, a heavy pressure spreading through the room. No one dared to voice a question.
In this suffocating silence, Zhou Yi turned to Su Hao and Li Huilin, his tone softening slightly.
“Su Hao, and Li Huilin. See those two newly set-up workstations over there?”
“Ah, yes…” The two instinctively followed the manager’s gaze.
“Those are for you. Our IT colleagues will come over later and teach you in detail how to use those devices and functions. Listen carefully, learn diligently.”
Su Hao still felt like he was dreaming.
Really…they really became official traders?
In a daze, he could even clearly hear his heart pounding wildly in his chest, and feel the slight tingling sensation in his fingertips.
“Today, just familiarize yourself with the environment and understand the operating procedures. No need to rush into trading, understand?” Zhou Yi instructed.
“Yes!” the two quickly replied.
“Alright, meeting.” Manager Zhou Yi waved his hand: “From now on, we will also be handling funds that originally belonged to other teams! If you want to make more money, you’d better be fully focused!”
The meeting, like a sudden storm, swept through the entire team.
***
“Currently, we've installed a total of six monitors for you. If you find it insufficient, you can contact our IT department at any time to request additional installations.”
An IT technician stood beside Su Hao's new workstation, patiently explaining the seemingly complex setup before him.
The brand-new desk and chairs exuded a faint scent of leather and wood, creating a subtle contrast with the cold, electronic aura of the surrounding environment.
“These two in the middle are the main monitors, dedicated to running trading programs. You can place real-time charts and quote windows here for trading operations.”
The technician pointed to the two large screens directly in front of him:
“These two on the left are secondary screens, already set up, mainly for browsing news feeds and private equity research reports. These two on the right are used to monitor overall market trends and the price fluctuations of various industries.”
“There’s… a lot of stuff…”
Su Hao looked at the matrix of screens surrounding him, feeling like his eyes couldn’t take it all in.
Dense lines and numbers danced on the screens, emitting a cold, bluish light that reflected on his slightly bewildered face.
“Yes. In trading, time is life; you have to race against the clock,” the technician explained. “We’ve also replaced your keyboard with a special one. Many operations can be completed with a single keystroke using shortcuts, making order placement much faster.”
He pointed to the F1 through F12 function keys above the keyboard.
“For example, F1 is for buy orders, F2 is for sell orders, and the others have corresponding settings. Clicking each one with the mouse is too slow and you might miss opportunities. Until you’re familiar with them, we suggest you refer to the shortcut key chart next to you.”
There was also a dedicated numeric keypad on the table, supposedly for faster number input.
“Considering the potential order delays during periods of high trading volume, we’ve also specially installed a high-speed fiber optic line for you.”
The technician continued, “The monitor’s response time has also been optimized to the extreme, guaranteed to be within 3 milliseconds. After all, even a millisecond delay can make a world of difference.”
Su Hao nodded, feeling a fine layer of cold sweat trickling down his back.
Using such cutting-edge, expensive equipment for real-money trading…
This was worlds apart from the demo accounts he used to play on.
An invisible pressure, like a cold tide, began to creep in.
“Finally, we’ve also set up an alarm system to prevent accidental operations. If your order volume is unusually large, or the price deviates too much from the normal range, the system will sound an alarm. Please be aware.”
“Ah, okay, okay,” Su Hao replied.
“At first, it might feel a little chaotic, but you’ll get used to it quickly.” The technician finished the introduction, smiling politely, “Then I’ll take my leave.”
Su Hao looked at the six screens in front of him and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
Back when he was playing games, he hadn’t even used the standard dual-monitor setup. Now, he was going straight for six screens.
Moreover, he noticed that Manager Zhou Yi’s workstation had a full nine screens!
He really couldn’t understand it. Shouldn’t three screens be more than enough?
What exactly are those nine screens on the manager's screen?
"Su Hao." A slightly hesitant voice came from the side.
Su Hao turned around and saw Li Huilin standing in front of her new workstation, her face bearing a similar complex expression to his—a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and a hint of bewilderment.
They exchanged a glance, both seeing a wry smile in each other's eyes.