I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 306 Qiao Yongfeng's Family Background
Fang Qingye looked at him and said, "Kang Jia, you are now the company's COO and CFO, responsible for the company's daily operations management and finance. As the company grows larger, the workload will become more and more heavy. My idea is to lighten your burden and let you focus on the company's daily operations. What do you think?"

What can I do?
You're the chairman and the major shareholder, so you get to call the shots.

Kang Jia muttered to himself.

The four of them now have a clear division of labor: Zhang Xuhao serves as CEO, Wang Yuan as CTO (Chief Technology Officer) responsible for technology, and Deng Ye as CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) to coordinate brand building, marketing, and customer acquisition strategies.

The problem is that I manage a lot of different things, so it's only a matter of time before I have to outsource the finances.

Seeing that his two companions did not object, he didn't feel comfortable saying anything.

“Alright, I agree,” Kang Jia stated. “Welcome Mr. Wang to join their team.”

"Thank you. I will definitely work together with everyone to make Ele.me bigger and stronger," Wang Chenyang said with a smile.

The group shook hands with each other.

Finally, it was agreed that Wang Chenyang's salary would be 50 yuan per year, slightly lower than the four members of the team, and he would not have any shares.

The shares were redistributed, with 5% temporarily set aside to reward outstanding talents in the future, and the remaining 95% allocated according to the proportion of investment. Tuofang Technology's shareholding increased to 34%.

When Wang Chenyang joined Ele.me, he handed over his work to Kang Jia. Fang Qingye didn't need to worry about renting a place; Ele.me would take care of everything.

Fang Qingye's main purpose for coming to Shanghai this time was basically this. Of course, he also wanted to meet with Shi Guangrong. After arranging things for Wang Chenyang, he would immediately call Shi Guangrong.

"Glory, I've arrived in Shanghai."

"Sure, let's have lunch together. You asked me to look into something for you, right? I've found out some information, I'll tell you over lunch," Shi Guangrong said warmly on the phone.

Some time ago, Fang Qingye called Shi Guangrong and asked him to inquire about the background of Qiao Yongfeng from Huijing if it was convenient for him, as he was very interested in this person.

It seems Shi Guangrong has found out something.

He then said, "What do you want to eat? Just some bread will do. Let's go fishing, we can chat while we fish, we've brought all our fishing gear."

“You still have this kind of interest in the dead of winter? Fine, let’s go now,” Shi Guangrong said.

"OK"

After agreeing on a meeting point, the two set off separately.

Today they traveled quite far, driving to Dianshan Lake, a large freshwater lake located at the border of Qingpu and Jiangsu Province. The lake has clear water and abundant fish resources.

There are many places suitable for fishing along the lake, especially the Dianshanhu Village Wetland, which is known as the "Little Amazon of Shanghai".

The two of them are fishing here today.

Although it's winter now, the sun is warm today, and it feels quite nice to fish while basking in the sun.

After the two men got into their fishing gear, Shi Guangrong said:
“I know a little about Qiao Yongfeng’s situation. His family background is very impressive. His grandfather was a high-ranking officer in the Fourth Field Army. After the liberation of Yanjing, he did not go south with the troops but stayed in Yanjing.”

"He was denounced during a special period, which implicated his father, who was sent to work in the countryside in Anhui Province. Later, his reputation was restored, and his father did not return to Beijing but stayed in Anhui to work. He also came to Anhui to study."

"After graduating from Southeast University, I worked in the Jiangsu Provincial Economic and Trade Bureau until I reached the deputy director level. In 93, in response to the government's call for reform and government officials to go into business, I resigned and started a foreign trade company, which I still run today."

"As for the business, just like you said, it mainly involves the import and export of high-tech electronic products and non-ferrous metal ores. The business is very large, but I am a rather low-key person."

"Is he close to your classmate Zhao Yanjing?" Fang Qingye asked again.

“Not very close,” Shi Guangrong continued. “I called Zhao Yanjing and subtly inquired about this. He said that although they are both from Yanjing and are so-called children of high-ranking officials, they belong to two different circles.” “Zhao Yanjing is mainly in the banking and finance circle, while Qiao Yongfeng is in foreign trade. Some of them are even former middlemen from the 80s and 90s—not the small-time middlemen you see in society, but the big ones.”

"Qiao Yongfeng has branches in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen. He frequently travels between these cities. Although they are private companies, due to his family background, he has close ties with the government, and some of his business is actually done for the government."

"Okay, thank you, you've worked hard," Fang Qingye said.

"Qingye, you've been asking about Qiao Yongfeng's background. Are you also interested in doing foreign trade?" Shi Guangrong asked curiously.

"What would I do in foreign trade if I have no connections?" Fang Qingye laughed. "I'm just curious, and I also want to buy some things through him in the future. I've made so much money, I'll have to spend it eventually, right?"

"Want to buy luxury goods? You don't seem like the type to live a life of luxury." Shi Guangrong said with some curiosity.

"Haha, you'll see when the time comes."

Seeing that Fang Qingye didn't want to talk about it for the time being, Shi Guangrong didn't press further.

"Hey, Aoba, when do you plan to close your cotton futures position?" Shi Guangrong asked, changing the subject.

"I haven't checked the market for the past two days, how much did it go up today?"

"Let me see." Shi Guangrong pulled a brand-new mobile phone out of his pocket and said with a smile, "This is Apple's new iPhone 4. It has pretty good features. You can download an app to watch stock charts online."

He then opened the program and said after a moment, "The two main contracts, CF201012 and CF201101, are now priced at 31000 and 30500 yuan respectively. They've gone up again."

Shi Guangrong was overjoyed; this surge was quite significant.

The price of cotton futures jumped from 18000 yuan to over 30000 yuan in one go, making a fortune.

Fang Qingye thought for a moment and said, "Let's prepare to close out our positions. We need to clear out all our positions before the 20th, and then we'll prepare to short sell."

"Close the position now? And short it?!" Shi Guangrong's expression suddenly became hesitant.

"What, the price is about to double, you've made hundreds of millions, haven't you? Don't you want to stop yet?" Fang Qingye glanced at him and asked back.

"Logically speaking, once you've made enough money, you should definitely cash out and secure your profits. However, I've received some information that cotton prices are unlikely to fall in the short term."

"What news?" Fang Qingye asked.

"According to reliable sources, Lin Guangmao, Ge Weidong, and Fu Haitang have teamed up," Shi Guangrong said.

Isn't this the third of the Four Heavenly Kings of the futures industry?
Fang Qingye was taken aback, then turned to look at him: "What do you mean by 'sticking together'? Advancing and retreating together? Going long together?"

"Yes, but it's not just that. Qingye, have you noticed that the cotton basis was acting strangely a while ago, weakening rapidly, but has gradually recovered recently?" Shi Guangrong asked mysteriously.

Basis is a technical term in futures trading, which is the difference between the spot market price and the futures market price. Generally, futures market prices are more sensitive and change faster than spot market prices.

This is because the futures market can quickly drive up prices simply by accumulating capital, and with retail investors following suit, prices rise extremely fast.

However, spot market prices involve negotiation and contract signing processes, and there is a lack of follow-up buyers, so market sentiment is transmitted more slowly, resulting in a relatively slower price increase.

Although both spot and futures prices rose at the same time, futures prices rose faster, causing the basis to fall sharply. The basis will gradually recover as spot market prices catch up.

Fang Qingye naturally understood this principle and immediately grasped the meaning behind Shi Guangrong's words: "You mean someone is manipulating the futures and spot markets across markets? It's Lin Guangmao and his group?!"

(End of this chapter)