Reborn in 2012, building a new energy empire

September 7th, Friday.

After several days of volatile trading, the soybean meal 1301 contract finally broke through the much-anticipated psychological barrier of 4300 points during the morning trading session.

Once the dam breaks, the floodwaters have no further resistance. The loss of the 4300-point mark was like flipping a hidden switch, triggering a surge of technical selling, programmed stop-loss orders, and panic-driven long liquidation.

Prices then plummeted in the next half hour, dropping more than fifty points to a low of around 4240.

The moment the price broke through 4280 points, Jiang Haoran decisively bought short positions one after another. In just a few minutes, his personal account added 2000 short positions, bringing his total holdings to 5000.

Chen Jingge also shared the news by phone: Jiutian Investment's company account also added 1000 lots during this downturn.

The futures forum instantly descended into chaos.

Just hours ago, optimists were shouting that "a pullback is a golden buying opportunity," but now they are caught off guard by this sudden plunge.

The posts began to diverge: some panicked and asked, "Should I cut my losses?", while others tried to comfort themselves by saying, "It's just a sharp drop to shake out weak hands in a bull market." But most remained silent, and an ominous premonition began to spread.

However, the market's punishment has only just begun.

Around noon, a rumor spread quietly through the market like a poisonous vine: a large, well-known oilseed crushing company had suffered a rapidly increasing unrealized loss of over 200 million yuan due to a misjudgment of the direction when hedging soybean meal futures.

The company is frantically raising funds to add margin, but it is still on the verge of forced liquidation.

Before this news could be digested, around 2 p.m., a second rumor followed: several commercial banks, for risk control reasons, have begun to tighten financing business related to commodity trade and are becoming more stringent in loan approvals for related companies.

The two pieces of news, a mix of fact and fiction, precisely struck at the market's most vulnerable nerves: liquidity and credit risk. Panic spread like wildfire, becoming uncontrollable.

At 2:10 PM, after a symbolic struggle around 4250, the price turned downwards, initiating a more severe second phase of decline.

4230, 4200, 4180... one after another, these key psychological levels crumbled like paper. On the intraday chart, a massive, almost vertical bearish candlestick plunged sharply downwards, swallowing up all hope and illusion.

By the afternoon close, the price had plummeted to 4080 points, a single-day drop of over 200 points, with the daily candlestick showing a shockingly large bearish candle with no upper or lower shadow.

With the addition of more short positions in the afternoon, Jiang Haoran's personal account now holds 5500 short contracts with an average cost of 4303, resulting in a floating profit of over 1230 million, and the account has more than doubled to 2430 million.

Faced with rapidly expanding unrealized profits, he felt no excitement; instead, his heart grew increasingly calm. The market downturn had only just begun; the real panic selling and stampede were far from over.

He pulled up the afternoon's transaction details and analyzed them carefully. Those massive sell orders, each consisting of thousands or even tens of thousands of lots, that appeared consecutively during the decline were definitely not something a retail investor could do.

This is institutional capital, the main force that made huge profits in the early stage, withdrawing regardless of cost.

His phone vibrated in his palm. He got up and walked to the relatively quiet corridor to answer it.

"Haoran, this drop is too fast and too sharp! We already have 3000 short positions, with a cost of 4266." Chen Jingge's voice came through, carrying a hint of tension after experiencing such a violent fluctuation.

"The total profit in the account is already quite substantial. Should we close out some of it and secure the gains?"

"No." Jiang Haoran's answer was resolute, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "The trend has just been established and is far from over. In a one-sided trend, profitable positions are the best assets. You should protect them like you would your principal and not easily exit the market because of fluctuations in floating profits."

"But the fluctuation range..."

"That's why we need to strictly control our initial positions and leverage," Jiang Haoran patiently explained. "Currently, the company account has 3000 short positions, which uses a very low margin ratio. We have a sufficient safety cushion to withstand any reasonable rebound."

"The real risk is not market volatility, but exiting the market prematurely due to fear of profit retracement midway through a trend, thus missing out on the larger downward wave that follows."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. When Chen Jingge spoke again, his voice was calm and steady: "I understand. Hold your positions and wait and see."

"Yes, hold the position."

After finishing the transaction, Jiang Haoran shut down his computer and left the apartment.

At 3:30 p.m. sharp, he appeared at the entrance of Jiaotong University Library.

Lin Miaomiao was already waiting there, the autumn sunlight casting a pale gold hue on her white dress and gentle face.

"Have you been waiting long?" Jiang Haoran stepped forward.

"Just arrived." Lin Miaomiao smiled slightly, her eyes curving into a beautiful arc. "The experiment went quite smoothly today."

The two entered the library and sat down in their usual spot by the window.

Jiang Haoran opened his professional books, but his gaze wasn't entirely focused on the pages. Lin Miaomiao, on the other hand, took out her thick lab notebook and began to concentrate on organizing the data.

About half an hour passed quietly. Lin Miaomiao looked up from the data and asked softly, "You seem...very busy lately?"

Jiang Haoran looked up from the book and at her: "Yes, there are some things that need to be dealt with together."

"Can you tell me?" she asked somewhat cautiously.

Jiang Haoran hesitated for a moment before choosing to be partly honest: "Sure. I've been focusing on some financial investments lately, and the market has been changing rapidly these past few days, so I'll need to spend more time monitoring it."

Lin Miaomiao nodded, not pressing for specific profits or losses or details, but gently reminded her, "Then you should get more rest. You look very tired."

"Okay, I will." A warm feeling quietly swept through my heart.

A moment later, Jiang Haoran's phone vibrated silently on the desktop. He glanced at the screen; it was a message from Fatty Li: "Haoran, you were absolutely right. We made a fortune on the short positions again."

He didn't open the message; he simply put his phone on silent mode and placed it face down on the table.

"Is something urgent?" Lin Miaomiao noticed his subtle movement.

"It's a message from my roommate, nothing serious." Jiang Haoran closed the book in front of him, his expression normal. "It's almost dinner time, want to go to the cafeteria together?"

"OK."

After packing up their books, the two walked out of the library side by side.

On the way to the cafeteria, Lin Miaomiao talked about the interesting things that happened in the lab. Jiang Haoran listened quietly most of the time, occasionally chiming in with a word or two. The atmosphere was peaceful and harmonious.

"You seem to be under a lot of pressure lately?" Lin Miaomiao sat down opposite him with her tray and asked softly.

"Yes, the market is a bit volatile, and it will take a lot of effort." Jiang Haoran put his phone aside.

Lin Miaomiao seemed to understand, but the concern in her eyes did not diminish: "I believe you, but you should pay attention to balancing work and rest."

"I will."

Jiang Haoran watched Lin Miaomiao's figure disappear into the dormitory building before turning around and going home.

The night was deep, and the road ahead was unclear, but his steps were firm.