Chapter 27: A Problem That Will Make You Go Bald!

Su Hao's hand trembled, nearly dropping the freshly filled beer glass.
"Huh?!" He stared wide-eyed, wondering if he'd misheard.
"Didn't I just say? Capable people deserve to be heavily promoted!"
The chairman's tone was decisive, carrying an undeniable authority.
Su Hao, somewhat dazed, picked up the glass and mechanically took a large gulp of ice-cold beer, trying to calm his chaotic mind.
Although he lacked work experience, he knew that for a newbie who'd only been with the company for a few days, the distance to becoming a team leader was farther than the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
It was like riding a rocket!
"Team leader... you mean I'm going to lead a team?" he asked cautiously, his voice still a little unsteady.
"What else? You're always the raid leader in the guild, leading raids, right? It's similar, just a different name." The chairman waved his hand dismissively.
"Uh, this is... well, it doesn't really compare to leading a raid group in a game, does it?" Su Hao's forehead was sweating; the analogy was a bit too...
"Hey! You don't know anything!" The chairman glared at him:
"Leading a raid group is way harder than being a team leader! If you can lead dozens of people through a dungeon, why would you be afraid to lead a trading team?"
Team leader? Him? Su Hao?
He subconsciously thought of his muscular, imposing boss—Manager Zhou Yi.
Compared to that burly leader, he suddenly felt like a weakling.
“Generally speaking, reaching the department manager level means you've entered the company's upper echelons.”
The chairman began to paint a picture of the future, his tone enticing:
“Your current full-time traders get a 20% commission, right? Department managers, that jumps to 30%! And that's not all,” he emphasized, “the amount of capital you can utilize will also increase dramatically!”
Su Hao's heart began to race uncontrollably. He swallowed hard and asked, “How much…how much?”
The chairman held up five fingers and casually uttered a number: “Fifty million.”
“!?!”
Su Hao felt a buzzing in his head, as if struck by lightning. Fifty million!
That…that's a tenfold increase!
He currently only had five million in usable funds!
"Of course, you're not going to take all 50 million. As the boss, you need a few people under you, right? Your team members should at least be full-fledged traders."
The chairman explained:
"You'll have to do what Zhou Yi did and distribute some of the funds. But even then, you'll need at least 30 million on hand, right?"
30 million…
Just hearing that number makes your scalp tingle and your palms sweat.
"Moreover, the bonuses for department managers are even higher." The chairman continued, adding, "If the entire team's performance is outstanding, you can get an extra 8% team bonus!"
Typically, a trading team's daily target return is between 0.1% and 1%.
So, calculating it this way, consistently achieving an 8% or higher return per month isn't difficult.
In that case…wouldn't his monthly income be a stable over a million?
“Holy crap, so Manager Zhou Yi earns this much money normally…”
Su Hao belatedly realized that this seemingly stern department manager was probably already an incredibly wealthy man.
The financial world is truly beyond the imagination of ordinary people like them; the speed at which money is made is practically like a money-printing machine!
“But…can I really do it?” Faced with such a huge temptation, Su Hao became a little calmer and asked uncertainly:
“I’ve only been here a short time, I don’t even have any decent qualifications…”
Let alone compared to those other senior department managers, even their department’s Li Huilin has a dazzling resume—a finance master’s degree from a prestigious university, with various certificates plastered on the walls.
"Seniority? Can that feed you? Here, ultimately, it's the return on investment that matters! And you, kid, have already proven yourself." The chairman scoffed.
"Of course, the subordinates might gossip a bit, but so what? If they're not satisfied, let them earn 80% back for me and see what happens! Otherwise, they'd better keep quiet!"
To put it bluntly, in this cruel and realistic industry, performance is king, return on investment is the law, everything else is meaningless.
"So? Are you in or not? Give me a straight answer!" The chairman stared intently at him.
Su Hao took a deep breath, looking at the chairman's unwavering gaze, and said with a wry smile:
"Let me think about it..."
"Hmm, the pressure is definitely immense. The higher the position, the greater the responsibility. But..."
The chairman's tone shifted, tinged with encouragement:
"This opportunity is an unprecedented, exceptional promotion, a meteoric rise. Think it over yourself."
Frankly speaking, to be like Manager Zhou Yi, dressed in a suit and tie, presiding over morning meetings, strategizing, and issuing orders...
Su Hao felt he simply didn't have that aura or ability.
But then he thought, did his success stem from a "deep understanding" of the securities industry?
No, it was that damned, inexplicable "feeling"!
In that case, what was there to fear?
“I don’t know if I can do this job well,” Su Hao raised his head, his eyes hardening, “but I’m willing to try!”
“Hahaha! Good! You’ve got guts! This is the kind of person I’ve been looking for!”
The chairman laughed heartily, clearly very satisfied. “Come on, let’s have a toast to celebrate your promotion! Manager Su Hao?”
An intern, who had become a full-fledged trader in just a few days.
Now, he’d been parachuted in as a “department manager”!
The words “Manager Su Hao” actually gave him a strange, indescribable excitement and thrill.
“Yes, Chairman!” Su Hao raised his glass and clinked it heavily with the chairman’s.
***
Yesterday, he drank, ate skewers, and chatted with his older brother until late at night. He went home and collapsed into bed, only to wake up around noon the next day.
The hangover still made his head buzz a little. He yawned as he walked out of the bedroom.
"Oh? You're here again today?"
He looked at his younger sister, Su Hui, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa in the living room, scrolling through her phone, and was a little surprised.
"Of course, this is my house, can't I come?" Su Hui finally looked up, giving him a disapproving glare, then looked him up and down:
"Looking at you, you were drinking again yesterday, weren't you? A company dinner?"
"You noticed? Was it that obvious?" Su Hao touched his messy hair.
"What kind of decent company holds a weekend dinner? This isn't how you exploit your employees. Your company is really bizarre."
Su Hui began her usual rant about the evil capitalists, not even sparing their employees on weekends.
Su Hao thought, if he told her it wasn't a company dinner, but rather "a barbecue outing for the gaming guild's higher-ups," would she think her brother had completely lost his mind?
"Also, I'm here today, I have serious business." Su Hui put down her phone, her expression becoming serious.
"Hmm?"
"Didn't you treat me to dinner last week? You just started working, and I bet you haven't received your salary yet, so I felt bad letting you treat me. So, I'll pay today!"
She patted her small bag:
"Oh, right, I also bought you a decent suit, as a celebration for finding a job. When Mom and Dad get home tonight, we'll go out for a nice meal and then go shopping at a clothing store!"
"Uh, no need for that..." Su Hao was a little embarrassed.
"Alright, don't be so polite!" Su Hui waved her hand, interrupting him:
"Do you remember when I first got a job, you bought me a pair of leather shoes with the money you painstakingly saved from odd jobs? I've worn those shoes all this time!"
That was ages ago…
Su Hao hadn't expected his sister to remember, and even keep those shoes. A warm feeling welled up inside him…
This girl, really…
"I'm really fine here… You don't need to spend money on me. You rent a place yourself, and your expenses are high."
"Don't worry!" Su Hui puffed out her chest, a smug look on her face that said, "I can earn money to support the family now!"
"I just got paid on Friday, and I even got a bonus! I'm a little rich girl now, don't underestimate me!"
Looking at her smug expression, Su Hao felt a strange sense of relief.
Back then, this girl was just a little one who cried at the drop of a hat and followed him around all day.
"And another thing, bro. Fanghuan Investment is a big company, but you're still a newbie, so your salary probably won't be very high."
Su Hui suddenly switched to a serious "life mentor" mode:
"The more things are like this, the sooner you need to plan for the future. Even though you work at a private equity firm, I'm guessing you're doing odd jobs, right? But no matter what, you need to start saving money now, to be prepared for a rainy day. Want me to help you look into some suitable investment products?"
"Uh... is that really necessary?"
"Of course! And now that you have a proper job, bro, shouldn't you be thinking about marriage?"
Su Hui gave him a "you don't understand" look and began to launch into a long explanation:
"How can we not save money? For ordinary office workers like us, we'd be lucky to save a million a lifetime!"
"..."
His sister was still enthusiastically explaining to him the grand plan of "how an ordinary office worker can scientifically save a million," spitting as she described the pros and cons of various low-risk financial products, analyzing them with great clarity.
Su Hao listened silently, nodding occasionally, but his expression was somewhat subtle.
He now truly understood how arduous the effort required for an ordinary wage earner to save "a million."
"So, brother, how much do you earn a month?"
Su Hui finally got to the heart of the matter, looking at him with eager concern:
"So I can tailor a perfect savings plan for you based on your income!"
"Um... well..."
Su Hao felt a headache coming on, his expression instantly becoming quite interesting.
How was he supposed to explain to his sister, who was tirelessly striving to "save a million" and enthusiastically planning his future...?
His first month's salary alone was... a million?
This... was truly a headache-inducing problem.