Chapter 2: is here! Buy it!!

"Holy crap... Is this really it?"
Su Hao stared up at the towering, gleaming skyscraper, swallowing hard.
Fanghuan Investment!
As one of the top private equity firms in the country, this was a "land of ascension" that countless elites from prestigious universities would kill for!
For someone like him, a "slacker" whose resume was automatically filtered out as junk in resume screening systems...
This place was practically a diamond-encrusted, gilded palace in the heavens. Normally, even glancing at it felt like an overstepping of boundaries!
Yet, at this moment, Su Hao, this "mortal," was about to step through this gate to heaven!
"I haven't dared to tell my parents yet..."
He still felt like he was dreaming. What did he do to deserve working at such a legendary company?
What if he was a complete idiot, only causing trouble, and got fired in a couple of days?
To avoid worrying his parents that their son might have been tricked into some kind of pyramid scheme, Su Hao vaguely told them he was going for a "job interview" before slipping away.
He tugged at his slightly tight, cheap suit.
"Ugh, it's too tight."
While living off his parents, he'd given up late-night snacks and other treats to avoid his mother's death stares and nagging, so his physique was still barely able to fit into the suit.
But now it seemed his fitness plan would have to be put on the agenda immediately.
Just climbing those few flights of stairs from the subway station left him panting like a husky that'd just finished a marathon—utterly embarrassing.
But seriously, coming to work this early…is that really okay?
"Being here before 7 a.m. is a must."
Upon receiving this onboarding text message, Su Hao was completely stunned.
To avoid being late, Su Hao displayed the same frenzy he had when rushing to buy a game's first release, frantically catching the first subway.
On the way, he muttered to himself: "Am I the only fool who came like this?"
"What if the company doors aren't even open yet?"
However, when he finally arrived at the financial district where his company was located, the scene before him completely stunned him!
Good heavens! The scene!
As far as the eye could see, a dense, overwhelming army of smartly dressed, hurried office workers filled the entire street!
Each one exuded a terrifying aura of "I'm going to crush you all!"
"Holy crap, are all people in finance this intense?"
But then he thought, private equity firms start work at 7 a.m., which seemed to make sense.
After all, the stock market opens at 9:30 a.m., and to be fully prepared before the market opens, you have to be there early, and even earlier!
These people who play with money are definitely masters of time management!
Just then,
*Buzz—Buzz—!*
His phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated like a startled egg.
Who would call at this hour?
Su Hao pulled it out and his pupils contracted slightly.
As expected, it was the guild leader who had forcibly shoved him into this money empire.
"Ah, Guild Leader...no, Chairman?"
A hearty, yet slightly thuggish laugh came from the other end of the line:
"Haha, in private, let's stick to the old rules, just call me 'brother.' How's it going, got to the company yet?"
"Yeah, I'm downstairs at the company. But... bro, I don't know anything! Will I hold you guys back?"
"Haha, don't worry, I asked around. You're a trading assistant, basically doing odd jobs and slacking off. I trust you! Oh, and remember to take the fund practitioner qualification exam when you have time."
"Thanks, bro, I'll try my best!"
"Also, if anyone asks you 'how you got in,' keep your mouth shut and just say 'I don't know!'
Especially about the game, don't mention a word of it! Got it?
That's it, bye! Go online for dungeons tonight at the usual time! Don't forget!"
"Okay! Bro! I got it!"
After hanging up, Su Hao was still a little dazed, feeling like he was dreaming.
The guild leader he used to team up with in the game, joking around, had suddenly become a big shot in the financial world?
And, because of the absurd reason of "playing games together," he was directly parachuted into the company?
This plot is more melodramatic than a Korean drama; who would believe it if I told anyone!
***
In the manager's office of Trading Department One, Zhou Yi calmly observed the "newcomer"—Su Hao—personally brought over by the HR manager with winks and smirks.
Zhou Yi was originally working feverishly, analyzing newly released overseas macroeconomic data and assessing the volatile international market, making final preparations for the upcoming morning trading session.
However, this unexpected connection disrupted his usual work rhythm.
It forced him to pull himself out of his highly focused state of preparation and deal with this "hot potato" first.
This frustrating feeling of being forcibly interrupted made him inexplicably irritated.
"Have you done any work in finance, or any other industry, before?"
"Ah, no, no. This is my first job."
"Have you done any simulated trading...? Or have you had any investment experience?"
"No, not really... but I'll try my best to learn!"
"..."
Zhou Yi felt like a million alpacas were dancing and singing in his mind.
Good heavens! Seriously good heavens!
A complete newbie in the workplace! A finance newbie! An investment newbie!
This is like a complete novice parachuted in!
A total noob who needs to be taught from head to toe!
However, after calming down, Zhou Yi pondered it.
The way those seasoned veterans in the HR department are doing things... doesn't seem entirely unreasonable.
The work in the trading department, although intense and stressful, is mainly for experienced traders who need to fight in the market with real skills and bear enormous performance pressure.
For trading assistants, there's practically nothing substantial to do in the early stages.
Their main tasks are running errands, serving tea and water, organizing documents, and performing basic support work.
At most, they might practice some simple trading on demo accounts and learn a few superficial things by observing senior employees.
They have absolutely no access to core business!
In short, it's a job for coasting along.
It's likely that the higher-ups recognized this and put this privileged young man in there to gain experience and build his resume.
This tactic of first gaining experience at the grassroots level before being parachuted into management is practically the standard promotion process for those with connections.
In other words, this guy is destined to be just a fleeting visitor to the trading department; he won't stay long…
Having figured this out, Zhou Yi's anxiety lessened somewhat.
A visitor, then treat him as a visitor.
“Li Huilin,” Zhou Yi called out.
“Yes! Manager!” A crisp, efficient female voice immediately rang out, and she appeared with him.
“This is the newcomer, Su Hao. Starting today, he'll be our department's trading assistant. Huilin, you'll be responsible for mentoring him and helping him get familiar with the work as quickly as possible.”
“Okay! Understood!” Li Huilin nodded in response.
***
This wasn't the first time Li Huilin had mentored a newcomer.
Over the years, the trading department had been like a revolving door, with many ambitious young people pouring in.
And then? The vast majority didn't last three months before running away crying for their parents.
It's really not their fault.
The workload in the trading department is simply unbearable for most people.
Just look at the working hours. Newcomers have to be at the office by 7 a.m. at the latest to prepare the morning briefing, set up the meeting room, and do all sorts of miscellaneous and tiring tasks. Running around like crazy is commonplace.
What's even more terrifying is that as you become more familiar with the business, the workload increases exponentially!
The trading market changes rapidly, and experienced traders make decisions in seconds.
They may need all sorts of tricky and complex data, charts, and research reports at any time.
As a newcomer, you have to be like a battlefield communications soldier, delivering what the senior traders need to them as quickly and accurately as possible.
The slightest delay will result in a severe scolding.
After all, this is a financial battlefield where trillions of dollars flow every day!
Speed ​​is money, efficiency is life!
Not only that, even if you manage to survive the rookie period, after becoming a full-time employee, you'll face even more brutal performance evaluations every month.
If you don't earn money and don't meet your targets, you're fired!
Without an iron will, you simply can't endure it.
"The first thing a newcomer needs to learn is how to make coffee!
The big shots in the trading department are all heavy caffeine addicts!
We need to prepare the coffee before the morning meeting every day.
Oh, by the way, Manager Zhou Yi is a fitness fanatic and doesn't drink coffee, so his...isn't necessary."
Li Huilin said as she skillfully operated the coffee machine.
"Okay! Sister Huilin!"
Su Hao nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, and even pulled out a small notebook to write down everything Li Huilin said.
This gave Li Huilin a fairly good first impression of the newcomer.
"Also, you'll be responsible for organizing various documents. Although you won't be directly involved in analysis and decision-making initially, this is an excellent learning opportunity! Make sure to read all the research reports carefully every day, and ask questions if you don't understand!"
"Okay! Understood!"
The crisp and efficient answer, along with the positive attitude, pleased Li Huilin even more.
Just as Li Huilin was explaining the various points to note, suddenly, as if remembering something, she asked curiously:
"By the way, Su Hao, which university did you graduate from?"
"Ah...university?"
"Yes, seeing how outstanding you are, you must have graduated from a prestigious university, right? Tsinghua, Peking University, or an Ivy League school? You might even be my junior!"
"I graduated from...Shanghai Industrial College."
"Shanghai Industrial College?"
Upon hearing this, Li Huilin's smile instantly froze on her face.
She vaguely remembered that it was a relatively low-ranked, ordinary second-tier university in Shanghai, right?
How did a graduate from a university of this caliber manage to get into a top-tier private equity firm like Fanghuan Investment?
Could it be...?
"Ah, haha, let's not talk about that... The morning meeting is about to start, let's go to the meeting room first!"
"Okay, okay!"
***
"This time, the US non-farm payroll data significantly exceeded expectations, and with the CPI data adding fuel to the fire, market volatility will definitely intensify further..."
"Regarding A-shares, in the medium to long term, artificial intelligence and robotics concepts remain our key investment areas, but in the short term, we need to pay attention to annual report performance.
In addition, the gold sector, which brought us good returns last week, shows obvious signs of overheating and has entered the overbought zone; we should be wary of the risk of a pullback.
We can use short selling or over-the-counter options to establish some short positions. Also, pay attention to the arbitrage opportunities in the price difference between New York gold and London gold..."
"Okay, understood."
Su Hao was completely bewildered.
Damn it! It was all familiar Chinese, but put together, it was like gibberish, utterly incomprehensible.
But he still forced himself to remain calm, adopting a posture of attentive listening, while secretly jotting down the incomprehensible technical terms in his notebook, planning to ask Li Huilin about them later.
At the meeting, department manager Zhou Yi sat upright, listening to his traders take turns reporting the latest market dynamics and data analysis results, while methodically issuing various trading instructions and deploying the overall trading strategy for the day.
Watching this scene, Su Hao suddenly had a strange sense of déjà vu.
Isn't this exactly like in a game, before a large-scale raid, the raid leader assigning tactics and tasks to the team members?
Su Hao's brain, which had been somewhat dazed from not understanding, suddenly became inexplicably excited.
"Alright! That's all for today's morning strategy! Everyone, take your positions and get ready for battle!"
Zhou Yi concluded this information-packed morning meeting with a powerful and decisive statement.
Everyone immediately stood up, quickly left the meeting room, and rushed to their workstations.
"Huilin, today you teach Su Hao the simulated trading process, starting from the very basics."
Zhou Yi pointed at Su Hao and instructed Li Huilin.
"Yes, Manager!"
Li Huilin nodded in agreement, then led a bewildered Su Hao back to his workstation, turned on the computer, and brought up a colorful trading interface.
"The reason we need to do simulated trading first is simple," Li Huilin explained as she demonstrated,
"The company certainly won't give you real money to practice with right away, right?"
Therefore, before becoming a full-fledged trader, newcomers must accumulate experience and familiarize themselves with the market through simulated trading.
Moreover, simulated trading performance is also an important indicator for evaluating newcomers!
This explanation gave Su Hao a clearer understanding of "simulated trading."
It turns out that "simulated trading" is not just practice, but also an important "evaluation tool."
"Then... if I do well in simulated trading, can I become a full-fledged trader?"
"Of course! In the securities industry, especially in our trading department, 'performance' is everything!
What about education, qualifications, or connections? They're all meaningless!
What matters is... how much money you can make! How much value you can create for the company!"
Performance First!
These four words are both the allure and the cruelest aspect of this industry.
Ring ring—!
Just then, a piercing ring suddenly echoed throughout the office, shattering the last vestiges of tranquility before the opening bell!
"Oh! The market's open!"
Li Huilin exclaimed softly. The previously calm office instantly erupted into chaos, the atmosphere becoming noisy, frenzied, and restless!
Everyone seemed to have been instantly injected with adrenaline, frantically typing on keyboards and switching screens at breakneck speed.
The ringing of telephones, the clatter of keyboards, the clicking of mice—all blended together into a chaotic and frenzied symphony!
“This is the quietest time for us trading assistants right now.
The big shots are all busy trading and don't have time for us!
So this is a perfect time to do ‘demo trading’ and gain practical experience.
Come on! Let me teach you how to place an order!”
However, Su Hao's attention was completely elsewhere, not on Li Huilin's explanation.
His eyes were fixed on the candlestick charts on the screen that he couldn't understand at all, the dazzling stock codes, the constantly flashing red and green numbers…
He froze on the spot, as if electrocuted.
An indescribable tingling sensation spread from his fingertips, like an electric current, instantly coursing through his body, making him tremble and his scalp tingle!
“What… what’s going on?”
This sensation pointed to the “ST Zhongrun” stock that Li Huilin was using for the demonstration on the screen, a stock that was currently showing a bright green color!
If he viewed the "ST Zhongrun" stock before him as a treasure chest waiting to be opened in a game, he had a strong premonition that this chest held some earth-shattering treasure!
That throbbing sensation deep within his soul, that intense "premonition" surging through his cerebral cortex, sent his adrenaline soaring to its peak!
Reason was completely cast aside at that moment!
As if possessed, he gripped the mouse tightly!
Click—!
A crisp mouse click rang out.
He pressed down the red "Buy" button with all his might!