Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 106 Is it you?

"This is the only wave of market activity. Don't think about stockpiling inventory in the future. This success cannot be replicated. The production capacity of so many manufacturers is not to be underestimated. After supply and demand reach equilibrium, prices may even decrease further."

"Huaqiangbei will become more and more bustling in the future, becoming an important hub for mobile phone dealers nationwide. In addition to the counters, we need to train two or three people with keen eyesight to walk around Huaqiangbei every day to understand the changes inside and outside the market. Don't be afraid of personnel expenses; treat market information as intelligence work."

"You could even open a restaurant downstairs specifically to gather information."

"We will soon be opening our own factory. Raw materials, distributors, changes in external demand, and news from all directions could be opportunities and channels for us to make money."

"These two counters, as I define them, are our channels connecting distributors and external markets."

"You can't stay behind the counter all day long anymore; you need to take control of the whole situation."

"If you do all of what I've said well and develop your own methods, I'll build my own shopping mall and let you manage it."

Chen Xuebing didn't place all his expectations on the young Lu Yiwen. After arriving at the counter, he gave Huo Xiaowen half an hour of personal instruction before leaving with Ren Ying.

Go to Guangzhou.

……

The New Express is a large-scale comprehensive daily newspaper published by the Yangcheng Evening News Group. It was the first newspaper in China to achieve full-color printing.

In 2002 and 2003, it became the fastest-growing print media in the country for two consecutive years.

In 2004, it entered the "World Journal Circulation Top 100".

In July of this year, the New Express Daily published a major piece of news in the financial world: a month-long "short-term real-money trading competition" will be held in August.

Chen Xuebing's destination was the offline registration point set up by the New Express: Guangzhou Oriental Hotel.

They hired a car, and along the way, Chen Xuebing and Ren Ying chatted quietly about stock market knowledge and the purpose of their trip, so that they could think in sync.

He doesn't consider himself a very smart person, and keeping everything secret would lead him into subjective thinking. Having a smarter mind to think with him is a kind of insurance for him.

"The stock trading competition organized by the New Express Daily has attracted a lot of attention, and many top traders from all over the country will participate. The position of stock trader is very important to us, as it relates to our future returns for a long time. Fortunately, the event is being held in a hotel, so we can stay for a while and see how it goes."

Ren Ying pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Hmm... I have a question."

"Just ask."

"How much is the prize money for this competition?"

"100,000? What, you want to try it too? This is a real account, the entry fee is 20,000."

"Then...why would those talented people come? Can't they earn 100,000 yuan?"

Chen Xuebing turned his head and smiled, "The amount of prize money isn't important. What's important is the prestige of the competition ranking. This prestige is what gives you influence, and it's also the capital to get into large financial institutions. Conversely, institutions also need to hire these 'expert traders' to gain the trust of their fundraising targets. So it's not about the prize money, it's about getting a job."

“I still think it’s unreliable.” Ren Ying thought about it carefully and frowned. “If there are thousands of people participating, then the champion will be full of randomness. There will always be one or two fools who get lucky.”

Chen Xuebing shook his head slightly: "You're wrong. In this kind of competition, the first place is very certain. Since so many large funds need a first place to serve them, is it difficult to manipulate the stock market, buy in at the same time to push up several limit-up days, and create their own first place? The first place doesn't necessarily have any value. Our goal is not to be first, or even to be among the top players."

Ren Ying suddenly realized.

She couldn't understand this, not because she wasn't smart enough, but because ordinary people don't understand how funds work.

Ordinary people would think, "Who would spend so much money to push someone to be number one?"

To push a stock to its daily limit up, you must spend at least tens of millions of yuan, right?

Just for that publicly disclosed 20,000 yuan account to get a single limit up?
Actually, that's not how the accounts are calculated.

How many stock market investors across the country are watching this major program?

Once a dark horse emerges, its portfolio return rate and screenshots will be published on the daily list. Once published on the same day, it may create a trend of imitation the next day.

Who wouldn't want to make money by working with awesome people?
The funds behind "dark horse" stocks usually make money, and may even drive a series of rising prices, making a lot of money.

When the profits were plentiful, the "dark horse" stock exited prematurely, and the fund followed suit, reaping the profits from a wave of speculative investors, causing the stock price to plummet. Investors cried out in disbelief.

A man of God!
Buy at the lowest point, sell at the highest point!

Where will this guy become a fund manager? I want to buy his fund!
At first glance, it seems like a scheme to fool fools, but there are too many fools among stock and fund investors. These signals are sometimes "mysteriously packaged" as insider information, swindling a lot of foolish rich people out of their money.

"Let me tell you, you know about the XX stock trading competition, right? The winner, XX, is now a manager at X private equity firm! It's not publicly known, but the annualized return is at least 40-50%! Most people don't know this kind of information!"

Earning money from stocks is secondary. Once the reputation is established and tens or hundreds of billions of yuan are lured onto the bus, the fund manager will receive a guaranteed 2% annual management fee regardless of the circumstances. As for whether they make money or not, that's up to fate.

These low-level tricks only became known more than a decade later, after countless harvests of gullible investors had already been made, which is one of the fundamental reasons why the financial industry maintains its mystique.

Having lived through that era, Chen Xuebing witnessed firsthand how a large number of star fund managers with annual salaries of tens of millions were compared to a gorilla who picked stocks by throwing darts, and they lost miserably. It's not that he had no respect for those "experts," but rather that he had absolutely no respect for them.

The expert he's looking for isn't the kind who has "superhuman judgment" and can immediately profit from a 10-centimeter price surge, but rather someone who can capture a mere centimeter price difference in a rapidly fluctuating market.

Micro-management expert.

For a moment, I was lost in thought when a fountain appeared before me.

"So beautiful," Ren Ying exclaimed in admiration.

The taxi driver gave a thumbs up: "Of course it's beautiful! It used to house foreign guests at the Canton Fair!"

Ren Ying blinked twice, looking a little confused.

Chen Xuebing smiled, paid the fare, and got out of the car.

He said this place was built for foreign guests attending the Canton Fair, which is very close to here.

The Canton Fair was named by Zhou Enlai in 57; its full name is the China Export Commodities Fair.

This trade fair, known as "China's No. 1 Exhibition," is held twice a year and is at the forefront of China's efforts to break through foreign trade blockades. At its peak, the trade fair accounted for 30% to 50% of the country's total export volume, demonstrating its significant status.

Chen Xuebing had done his homework before coming; even the Guangzhou Oriental Hotel, which hosted foreign businessmen at the Canton Fair, was one of the earliest listed companies in China.

Holding a stock market competition at a listed hotel is quite interesting.

Upon reaching the eighth floor, I found quite a few people registering offline. In a conference room with its doors open, there was a table set up at the entrance. In the vast corridor, there were already twenty or thirty people queuing up.

Chen Xuebing was too lazy to queue anymore, so he handed his ID card to Ren Yingyi.

"Go and line up."

Ren Ying asked with some confusion, "You're participating too?"

"Just have some fun, otherwise it'll be too boring, right?" Chen Xuebing said, glancing at the staff in the conference hall. He then turned and took out a pack of cigarettes as he walked towards the elevator lobby: "I'm going to have a smoke. Call me when it's my turn."

Once in the elevator lobby, I wandered around aimlessly.

He didn't really want to smoke; he just wanted to stop a staff member coming out of the conference hall in this secluded spot to ask about the top performers of the year. He even had a red envelope ready in his pocket, but no one came out for quite a while.

Seeing that the queue was slow, I simply pressed the elevator button to go downstairs and wander around.

First floor, exit the elevator.

Chen Xuebing took out a cigarette and was just about to light it.

Suddenly, I felt a familiar face pass by in the lobby.

Chen Xuebing glanced at his back.

The man hesitated for a second, then turned and glanced at him.

"It's you?"

(End of this chapter)