Chapter 16: If you're going to play, play big!

"Damn! Today's market was like a mad dog!"
"Damn! It's closed. Let's go grab a smoke, I'm dying to smoke!"
"Ugh... these stupid rules, you can't even smoke while watching the market, it's practically forced smoking cessation!"
"Why don't you go upstairs and trade futures? I heard those guys are always smoking."
"Get lost! Futures are even scarier, my heart can't take it! I'd rather quit smoking..."
At 3 PM, the closing bell finally rang, and the trading hall, which had been stifling all day, erupted with a barrage of vulgar complaints and curses.
The air was thick with a mixture of anxiety and exhaustion, like burnt-out electrical wires.
Today's sharp, one-sided decline was indeed a disaster for most traders.
Even with the required hedging by buying put options, it was difficult to fully cover the losses from such a dramatic drop.
Many accounts triggered their stop-loss orders early on, forcibly liquidating their positions, and all their hard work for the day vanished.
Even more frustrating is the current market uncertainty; these volatile days are likely to continue.
"Uh..."
However, amidst this widespread despair, one person's mind was completely elsewhere.
He was fidgeting, his face pale, his eyes unfocused.
Liang Haiyuan.
'Ahhh... I'm insane! How could I have...' He was filled with agonizing regret.
In the workplace, especially in large, hierarchical companies with complex relationships, there's an unwritten rule, a survival guide for all lower-level employees:
Never provoke "royal relatives."
Never touch those with powerful connections.
Even if you despise them and think they are unworthy of their positions, you must tolerate it.
Because from day one, you and they are on completely different starting lines, and the resources and connections you rely on are worlds apart.
What's even more terrifying is that once you actually clash with such a person and can no longer stay,
even if you want to switch to another company, they will most likely not accept you.
After all, no company is willing to offend a major organization that could potentially influence the entire industry for the sake of a "troublemaker."
Even if this "troublemaker" is highly capable.
And he, Liang Haiyuan, committed this major workplace taboo.
Not long ago, he offended that seemingly harmless, but actually unfathomably powerful "royal relative"—Su Hao.
To put it bluntly, this time, he'd probably really...stirred up a hornet's nest. He'd been completely doomed!
'No...no! There's still a chance! There's still room for recovery!'
Liang Haiyuan took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down and suppress the panic in his heart.
His fingers trembled as he opened his trading record.
Today's return: -1%.
Phew...not bad. Not too bad. In fact, you could say it's quite good.
In today's bleak market, a loss of only 1% could even be considered "excellent performance."
Ironically, the reason he didn't suffer much loss was precisely because he had been preoccupied all day, spending most of his energy figuring out how to deal with Su Hao, that troublesome individual.
Instead, he hadn't been able to concentrate on trading, inadvertently avoiding several major drops… Could this be considered a blessing in disguise?
"Ahem! Su Hao~"
Adjusting his facial expression, Liang Haiyuan forced what he thought was his warmest, most friendly smile, adopting the demeanor of a senior employee showing concern for a newcomer, and walked towards Su Hao's seat.
Su Hao, who was looking down at the screen, seemed startled by his sudden enthusiasm, his body twitching almost imperceptibly, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes.
“Oh, Su Hao, I… I was a bit too harsh with my words before, please don’t take it to heart?”
Liang Haiyuan’s voice carried a hint of flattery, a stark contrast to his previous attitude:
“I’m really sorry. You know, the market hasn’t been doing well lately, everyone’s under a lot of pressure, and I was just a little impatient because of the pressure to meet targets, and…
um, I lost control of my emotions. You can understand, right?”
“Ah… um, I understand.” Su Hao responded hesitantly.
“I knew you’d understand!” Liang Haiyuan immediately seized the opportunity, his smile growing even brighter:
“The first time I saw you, I thought you were a very kind and easy-going person.
From now on, we’ll be a team, so let’s help each other and get along well, okay?”
“Okay.” Su Hao nodded.
"By the way," Liang Haiyuan asked casually, his tone full of concern, "with the market like this today, you... your losses must have been considerable, right?"
He had heard that Li Huilin, who was on good terms with Su Hao, had her positions forcibly liquidated today.
Even with connections, Su Hao probably couldn't escape losses in this market, could he?
He could take this opportunity to offer him some words of comfort, show his "generosity" and "care," and mend the previous rift.
“Don’t worry too much, it’s okay to lose a little. There will be plenty of opportunities to earn it back later. I’m here for you. I’ll earn more later and help you make up for what you lost!”
He patted Su Hao on the shoulder, feigning generosity, and said,
“Besides, if you have any questions about trading in the future, feel free to ask me anytime, don’t be shy!
I’ve been in this market for several years, I have some experience…”
As he spoke, his eyes glanced quickly and seemingly unintentionally at Su Hao’s trading screen.
He was prepared to see a dismal green screen.
“Huh?”
However, the next second, the smile on his face froze instantly.
His eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
What happened?
Su Hao’s trading window didn’t show the green or negative numbers he expected, representing losses.
Instead… it was a glaring, bright red, representing profits!
"+8%?!?!" Liang Haiyuan's voice suddenly rose, sharp and distorted, drawing the attention of several colleagues who hadn't yet left.
"Su Hao! This...this is your account?! You're not mistaken, are you?!"
"Ah, yes." Su Hao seemed puzzled by his reaction, still maintaining his slightly shy demeanor.
"Luckily, there was a surge before the market closed, so today... I barely made a profit."
Not a profit?! That's not a loss?! That's a huge profit, okay?!
Liang Haiyuan simply couldn't believe his eyes.
His gaze darted back and forth between Su Hao's still somewhat bewildered face and the glaring red numbers on the screen, as if trying to confirm if he was hallucinating.
'And... he didn't even short sell! He didn't buy any put options! Purely by buying stocks... in such a market crash... he made an 8% profit?!'
What the hell?!
Wasn't he said to be a relative?!
Wasn't he said to be related to the government?!
What's with this 8% return?!
And in this kind of market where even veterans are losing money hand over fist?!
'What kind of monster is this guy?!' Liang Haiyuan felt his worldview shatter at that moment.
***
“Eight percent…”
Zhou Yi leaned back in his chair, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the table, his gaze complexly fixed on the young man's retreating figure in the distance.
Today, among all the traders on this floor, probably… not a single one could achieve Su Hao's return.
The only regret is that his current trading volume is still too small; this astonishing return hasn't translated into a more impactful absolute amount.
But this doesn't diminish the terrifying potential it harbors.
"And...when all stocks were falling, he precisely picked three...the only ones rising against the trend, and bought them all with his entire portfolio?"
This newcomer named Su Hao had once again given him a sense of almost absurd... shock.
Normally, in a clear downward trend like today, a rational trader would either choose to remain on the sidelines or buy a small amount of defensive stocks for risk hedging.
The main way to profit should be through short selling, riding the trend and profiting from the decline.
But this guy completely ignored these so-called "iron rules of the market" and "rational choices," as if living in another dimension.
He stubbornly adhered to his own investment logic, which was incomprehensible to others and almost "going against the grain."
"Manager Zhou Yi, how are you doing today?"
A middle-aged man in a well-pressed suit and gold-rimmed glasses approached; it was Zhang Wei, the risk control supervisor of the risk management department.
His face wore a formulaic smile, but a barely perceptible glint of inquiry lurked in his eyes.
“Heh, you know perfectly well what I mean.” Zhou Yi glanced at him, his tone flat. “Don’t you in the risk management department know everything?”
“Haha, just a routine greeting, as per procedure.” Zhang Wei chuckled, trying to cover it up.
Zhou Yi’s gaze returned to Su Hao’s direction. Zhang Wei followed his gaze, understanding dawning on him.
“I heard quite a few people were forced to liquidate their positions today?” Zhou Yi asked.
“Yes. Even Li Huilin, the one you just promoted, had her trading privileges suspended.”
Zhang Wei nodded, a hint of helplessness on his face.
“That girl… wasn’t today her first day using official trader privileges? This must be a big blow for her; hopefully, it won’t leave any psychological scars.”
“There’s nothing we can do; the market is just that cruel. This kind of market will probably continue for a while. Whether they can weather it depends on their resilience.”
Zhou Yi’s voice was flat: “So, what brings you here?”
“Ah, it’s like this.” Zhang Wei’s smile faded, his expression turning serious:
“Besides that newcomer who was suspended from trading earlier, isn’t there another newcomer in your group…?”
Sure enough, it was about Su Hao.
“He… made an astonishing profit today.”
Zhang Wei’s tone was complex, a mixture of surprise and deep doubt:
“In such a bear market, without shorting, without hedging with options, just by buying stocks, he made an 8% profit…
I really don’t know whether to call him incredibly audacious, or…
He doesn’t even understand the most basic stock market common sense.”
“Is there a problem with that?” Zhou Yi countered, his tone still calm.
“Of course there’s a problem! You know, risk control is the cornerstone and highest principle of all our private equity operations! But he…”
Zhang Wei’s voice rose slightly:
“According to our back-end monitoring data, his actions today were completely! utterly! without any risk management whatsoever!
He just… just directly and recklessly poured funds into three stocks! Only three!”
Only three!
Diversification is a fundamental principle, written in textbooks and ingrained in traders' minds, aimed at mitigating risk.
A well-developed trading strategy will at least spread funds across several different sectors.
Even when aiming to capture so-called "event-driven" trading opportunities like restructuring, typically at least five related stocks will be monitored and traded simultaneously.
But Su Hao only bet on three.
Like a gambler throwing everything away at a roulette table.
And yet, he won.
"Manager Zhou Yi, if I may be frank, even if he won this time, isn't it more like...pure luck?"
Zhang Wei frowned:
"Moreover, judging from his behavior of completely ignoring risk management and buying stocks like a clueless retail investor... could it be that he lacks even the most basic investment knowledge?"
"Really? You really think it's just luck?"
Zhou Yi's lips curled into an enigmatic smile:
"Also, do you think someone without even a basic understanding can pass through layers of assessments and approvals to become a formal trader?"
"Huh?" Zhang Wei was momentarily speechless.
"That's just his style." He doesn't like casting a wide net; he prefers to bet all his chips on a few key points.
Zhou Yi's voice carried a subtle hint of amusement:
"It's not that he doesn't understand investment; quite the opposite, I'm sure he understands diversification and risk management better than you think. But he still chose to do it this way..."
"...That can only mean that he has absolute, unquestionable confidence in the few stocks he's chosen!"
There was no other explanation that could justify such reckless behavior.
If any other trader dared to do this, even if they succeeded by chance this time, Zhou Yi would kick them out of the team without hesitation.
This disregard for discipline and near-suicidal operation was extremely irresponsible towards the company's funds.
The company was never a place for sentimentality or reason.
However, one thing mattered most here: return on investment.
Cold, hard numbers were the sole criterion for judging everything.
“You came to me wanting me to warn that kid to tone it down and stop acting so recklessly, right?” Zhou Yi asked.
“Ah, yes. It’s good for young people to be confident, but basic risk management awareness is still essential; it’s a matter of principle…”
“Don’t worry about him for now,” Zhou Yi waved his hand, interrupting him.
“Hmm? But even if his return on investment is high, this kind of operating model…” Zhang Wei wanted to argue.
“If you still don’t understand why I say this,” Zhou Yi’s gaze deepened, “go back and ask the head of your risk management department. He’ll tell you the answer.”
Zhang Wei stood there, bewildered, but seeing Zhou Yi’s unwavering expression, he finally nodded and left, filled with doubt.
Zhou Yi watched Zhang Wei’s departing figure, his eyes flickering.
Su Hao.
This kid completely disregarded the company’s core risk management principles, even refusing to engage in basic diversification, pursuing only extreme, pure profits.
There are probably two reasons why he dares to do this.
First, he possesses some unique analytical model or…algorithm that outsiders cannot understand.
Second, and more importantly, his unfathomable background.
Behind him stands the highest echelon of this company.
Perhaps in his eyes, even losing a million wouldn’t be a significant loss for him personally.
This confident attitude is a huge advantage in trading.
'So that's how it is…'
Manager Zhou Yi pulled up the list of his team members' capital allocations, his finger slowly sliding across it.
As is customary, newly promoted official traders are initially allocated one million RMB in operating capital.
But today, the only one in the entire team to achieve a positive return is that "newbie."
"…"
After a brief silence, Zhou Yi's eyes suddenly sharpened.
He no longer hesitated, his fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard, adjusting the capital allocation ratio.
'Since you insist on playing, then I'll give you a bigger stage. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste?'
Starting tomorrow, the operating capital allocated to Su Hao will no longer be one million.
But—five million!