Follow with heart

Zheng Jinxin jumped out of bed and quickly went to look at the calendar.

His main mission upon returning this time is to make money; he must earn a million for his buddies before he goes to university.

The fairy arranged his return at a very opportune time, in July 1996, so that he could seize the opportunity to trade the stock of Yian Technology.

Because that stock rose from over three yuan to over one hundred yuan between 1996 and 2000.

He glanced at the calendar; today was Wednesday, July 10, 1996.

The alarm clock on the wall shows a little after 1 p.m., so there's still time to check the stock market.

The stock market isn't far from his home, less than a kilometer away across a residential area, a 20-minute walk.

Just as he was about to step out the door, he heard his father's voice behind him.

"Son! Can you please stop going to internet cafes every day?"

Zheng Jinxin turned around and saw his father's pleading gaze.

Zheng Jinxin's father is named Zheng Haidi, who is a junior deputy manager in the logistics department of his workplace. His colleagues jokingly call him Manager Zheng.

However, he used to be called by a more common nickname – Zheng Laoshi (Honest Zheng) – because he had a good temper and a gentle personality.

Even after getting married, she didn't change her personality; after having children, she became quite indulgent towards them.

Zheng Jinxin is quite playful. Whenever he encounters his son going to internet cafes, he begs him not to go, unlike other parents who would get angry.

"Dad, I'm not going to an internet cafe. I'm never going to an internet cafe again. I want to check out the stock market today. I suddenly feel like I have a talent for stock trading. I'm going to the stock market to get a feel for it."

"Son, don't lie to me. I found money missing from my wallet again today. Did you steal it?"

"I just woke up today, how could I possibly steal your money?"

Zheng Jinxin rummaged through his pockets to show his father, "See, not a single penny, right?"

"You still say you don't have anything? Look what's on the ground!"

Zheng Haidi's face turned bright red as she pointed to a crumpled, pale yellow banknote lying on the ground—a fifty-yuan note.

Huh? They really have money! Zheng Jinxin bent down, picked up the money, and slowly unfolded it.

After he had a clear look at the money, he had a flash of inspiration and came up with an explanation.

"Dad, I really didn't intend to steal this money. I was afraid it would get spent, so I specifically took it out to talk to you about something."

"You've already learned to make excuses at such a young age. You secretly spent the money even when no one noticed. Do you think your dad is easy to bully? Go ahead and say that to your mom if you dare."

"Dad, it's true, I'm not lying to you. Look closely, what's special about this bill?"

Zheng Jinxin laid out all the money in front of his father.

"It's just fifty yuan, you can't possibly turn it into a hundred, can you?"

Zheng Jinxin's lips curled into a smirk. "That's superficial. This is the 80 version of Fifty."

In his previous life, Zheng Jinxin was strolling around town out of boredom. Because he was particularly sensitive to money, he visited a collectibles store and was deeply impressed by it.

He saw many high-priced coins there, such as the green-backed one-jiao coin, the black ten-yuan coin, the machinist two-yuan coin, and the Yuan Shikai silver dollar, but he had never used any of them and they didn't leave a deep impression on him.

However, he had used the 80 edition of the Fifty, and when he saw the price tag of 2300 yuan, he was completely stunned.

I asked around and found out that this banknote is actually the king of the fourth edition of Renminbi.

He didn't care about the king or the king; all he knew was that this piece of money was valuable.

The key point is that it's only been about ten years since he realized how valuable it was, and the rate of appreciation is not much worse than his stock.

Zheng Jinxin is a bit of a money-grubber. He will take anything of value, big or small, and won't let any go.

"Dad! Is this what you received as your salary?"

"Yes! It was just sent out last month, is there a problem?"

Currently, their company still pays salaries in cash; direct deposit to bank cards is not yet common practice.

Oh, I see! Zheng Jinxin did the math; there were still five days until his dad got paid.

"Remember to ask the finance department for these fifty-yuan notes when you get your salary this month."

He even emphasized one point: "It has to be brand new, nothing old or folded. Remember that, and keep it for me when I go to college."

Zheng Haidi scoffed, "What grade are you in? And you're already talking about going to college."

"Your task now is to stop playing around and focus on your studies. Besides, if we keep all these things for you, what will we spend money on food?"

Zheng Haidi happily took back the fifty yuan, but then suddenly remembered something else.

"Son, are you serious? You're never going to internet cafes again?"

"Dad~~~ Don't interrupt! I'm serious."

Zheng Jinxin pointed to the bill his father was about to put in his pocket.

"You really need to put your heart into exchanging this. The government is about to reclaim this money, and if you don't exchange it now, you might not be able to get it back."

"No matter how much you exchange, you have to keep it; just think of it as saving money."

"Keep this money safe, I promise I'll only use it when I go to college. If I don't get into a good university, I won't take a single penny of this money."

"You said it yourself." Zheng Haidi was unusually happy to see her son settle down.

"Okay, I'll save all my salary this year, but you have to promise not to go out and fool around anymore."

Upon hearing a few words, Zheng Jinxin suddenly remembered that he had forgotten his important task for the day: he still needed to check the stock market.

"Dad, why aren't you at work?"

"Nothing much to do today, I'm too lazy to go this afternoon."

"That's perfect, Dad, take me to the stock market."

Zheng Jinxin glanced at the alarm clock on the wall. "Hurry up, it's almost closing time."

"What closing price? Son, the stock market is gambling, and our family doesn't get involved in that."

Zheng Haidi is a rather traditional man; he even advises his colleagues against investing in stocks.

"Dad! I'm just going to take a look. Just think of it as a walk for me, and I'll do my homework when I get back, okay?"

Zheng Jinxin anxiously grabbed Zheng Haidi's hand and shook it.

"Okay, okay! You promised to do your homework when you get back, and you're not allowed to renege on your promise."

Zheng Haidi was very happy to see that her son had learned to study on his own initiative.

Taking a stroll through the stock market won't cost you anything; just treat it like a walk.

......

When we arrived at the stock market, there were so many people! The hall was packed with people, with only a few rows of chairs at the front. Most people were standing and watching the market.

Zheng Jinxin squeezed to the front to look at the stock market, hoping to find the stock the fairy had told him about.

After looking for a while, I couldn't find his stock, but I did find that there were two sections, one for the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and one for the Shanghai Stock Exchange, as well as many funds priced around one yuan.

He didn't know which page Yi'an Technology was on; he tried looking at both pages repeatedly but couldn't find it.

What was going on? Just as he was racking his brains and didn't know what to do, he heard someone talking to his father.

"Manager Zheng, you're also trading stocks?"

"No, I don't know anything about stocks. I was just taking my child for a walk and came in to see what was going on."

Zheng Jinxin glanced back but didn't pay any attention.

However, I suddenly remembered that I seemed to have seen that man holding a stock market magazine.

It's too tiring to look like this. Just look for it in a magazine.

He quickly turned around again. He recognized the man; he was the father of his classmate, Qian Tianyi.

"Uncle Qian, could I take a look at your magazine?"

The man praised Zheng Haidi, saying, "Your son is quite sensible."

As they were talking, the magazine was handed over.

Securities Market Weekly, with a striking cover headline: Aiming for 1000 points! Who will dominate the A-share market?

Above it is a golden bull, its horns raised. A golden line, winding up and down, points upwards at the end.

Zheng Jinxin hurriedly flipped open the magazine, but he had no interest in the title or content. What he cared about was whether there was a section introducing all the individual stocks.

Not bad, there really is such a section, which is a short one-sentence review of each stock every week.

Zheng Jinxin watched intently, and his focused expression aroused Uncle Qian's curiosity.

"What is your son doing? Can he understand this magazine? Can he recognize all the words?"

Before Zheng Haidi could speak, Zheng Jinxin expressed his dissatisfaction.

"Who says I don't recognize them all? I know all the stocks here. Not only do I know them, I also pick them."

"Wow! You can even pick stocks now." Uncle Qian thought it was the biggest joke in the world.

"Then tell me, what do you think of my Fuhua Industrial?"

Fuhua Industrial? I think I saw it just now. Zheng Jinxin looked again and found it: 600624.

This week's commentary is: with stable earnings growth, it is suitable for long-term holding.

Zheng Jinxin really wanted to give a lecture on the spot and deliver a brilliant and unconventional commentary.

Unfortunately, this fairy was quite stingy, only giving him the K-line chart of the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index over the past few years.

Forget about individual stocks, they didn't even provide the candlestick chart for Yian Technology, which the fairy offered for free.

Without seeing the daily candlestick chart of Fuhua Industrial, Zheng Jinxin wouldn't dare to make any rash statements.

He was afraid that what he said might not match the truth, which would make him look very foolish.

But then he realized something: what stock could possibly be better than Yian Technology, the one I chose? No matter how successful it becomes in the end, it's just a tiny ant compared to my stock.

Thinking of this, he said dismissively, "It's so-so. If you do a good job of buying low and selling high, you can make a little money."

"So-so? Heh." Uncle Qian was unconvinced.

"Do you know what Fuhua Industrial is? It's an incubator technology concept."

"The International Incubator Conference was held in China last year, and pilot programs have already been launched in several Chinese cities..."

"Fuhua Industry is backed by Fudan University, giving it a strong academic and technological foundation. If you think it's just so-so, then find another stock and tell me what's good about it..."

Generally speaking, stock investors dislike it when others say that the stocks they hold are bad, especially those who are very opinionated.

Some people lack their own opinions. If you tell them their stocks are bad and then recommend another one, they might switch stocks because of that. But Uncle Qian is clearly a person with his own opinions.

An incubator? More like a mother hen hatching chicks.

Zheng Jinxin didn't understand what Uncle Qian was talking about regarding incubators and didn't know if it was true.

When others give him long-winded arguments, he doesn't know how to refute them, so he secretly looks at the stock market chart in his head.

Then he discovered that from July to early December, the market experienced a fluctuating upward trend. After breaking through 1,000 points in October, it went through a period of correction before breaking through 1,200 points again.

Then in December, the market experienced a sharp decline, falling to just over 12 points for 10 consecutive trading days. After that, the market stopped falling and began a slow bull market, which lasted until May of the following year when it broke through 5 points.

After breaking through 1,500 points, a long bear market began again.

After several drops to around 1,000 points, another bull market began, rising to over 2,200 points.

He couldn't be bothered to consider the market trends that followed.

The overall market trend has nothing to do with his stock trading. As long as he manages his stocks and makes a million, he can leave the rest to Chen Hongjun at the university.

He was looking at the market trend mainly to argue with Uncle Qian; he had no intention of sharing his own winning stock with others.

He had listened to a lot of so-called experts spouting nonsense in the past, talking about things like buying low and selling high, especially wave theory, which he jokingly referred to as the "big waves" in life.

Now, looking at the overall market trend in his mind, it does indeed resemble waves, but these waves are a bit too misleading.

"If you don't pay attention to the overall market trend when investing in stocks, you'll eventually lose everything."

"Investing in stocks is actually very simple. Master the overall market trend, utilize wave theory, and you can make money by buying low and selling high each time..."

Zheng Jinxin first gave a speech of sound theory.

Uncle Qian laughed in exasperation, "Isn't that obvious? Everyone knows about buying low and selling high, right? Do you really need to explain such a simple theory to me? It all comes down to actual practice."

"It's easier said than done. Those new college graduates in our unit all made a lot of money trading stocks with virtual software. But once they entered the stock market, they all got trapped."

"You little kid, you don't think you can make money just by playing Monopoly, do you?" (Note: Monopoly is a game that many people played back then. One of its sub-categories is stock trading.)

Zheng Jinxin disagreed.

"Uncle Qian, everyone has their own way of choosing stocks."

"I think choosing stocks is like choosing a girlfriend; you have to choose one that suits you."

"If someone is more composed, they are better suited to long-term stocks. If someone likes excitement, they are better suited to short-term stocks. But no matter what they choose, they will eventually break up."

"So here's the question: when is the right time to break up? If you're choosing stocks and you can't control them, but are controlled by them, then you're stuck with them."

Uncle Qian looked at his stocks, which hadn't moved much for a while, and since he had nothing better to do, he decided to tease the kid for a bit.

"Then tell me, when would be a good time to sell my Fuhua Industrial Company?"

"You need to have a goal of your own." Zheng Jinxin wouldn't be easily fooled.

"Never try to sell at the highest point. Greed is the biggest taboo in stock trading. Making money is the only truth."

Uncle Qian thought about it for a moment, and Zheng Jinxin's words made some sense.

"Hmm? I've already made two thousand yuan from Fuhua Industrial. I plan to sell it when I've made five thousand yuan."

"Setting such a goal is not acceptable," Zheng Jinxin said, shaking his head.

"When investing in stocks, you must consider the overall market trend and follow it."

"Given the current trend, if the market consolidates within this range, reaching 1,000 points is inevitable."

"My advice is, once the market index reaches 1,000 points, you should sell immediately. If you don't sell the first time, you must sell the second time."

Uncle Qian curled his lip and said matter-of-factly, "I'll definitely sell if it goes up to 1,000 points. At such a high point, why wouldn't I sell and get trapped? The question is, can it really go up to 1,000 points?"

Haha, that's easy for you to say. If retail investors could do all that, would they still be the ones getting trapped?

Seeing that Uncle Qian didn't seem to care at all, Zheng Jinxin kindly reminded him.

"The stock market goes up and down. Once you sell, don't rush to buy it back. Remember to hold cash through the Lunar New Year, or you'll be stuck holding the bag at the top of the market."

Holding cash for the New Year? Uncle Qian pondered this question.

At this point, the stock market closed, and people gradually started to walk back, while some gathered together to review the market.

Zheng Jinxin held up the magazine. "Uncle Qian, could I borrow this Securities Market Weekly to take home and read?"

"You can take it; I won't need it after I've looked at it."

Uncle Qian waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned, and turned back to chat with others about stocks.

On his way home, Zheng Jinxin stopped at a stationery store and bought a marker.

When Zheng Jinxin got home, the first thing he asked his father was, "Dad, how much money can we afford right now?"

"Xin, you really want to invest in stocks? That's no different from gambling, it's a waste of your time." Old Zheng wanted to persuade his son.

"Dad, don't worry, I won't do it now. I just need you to open the account and deposit the money first. I'll do it if there's an opportunity. Don't worry, I absolutely won't do it until the market bottoms out."

Zheng Haidi hesitated and said, "I always feel that this is unreliable."

Zheng Jinxin got anxious, "Look at our family's situation. Your salary isn't low, but my mom can't keep up with how much she spends."

"At our rate, we'll never be able to save any money in the future."

"Your son isn't cut out for business. Even if he finds a better job in the future, buying a house and getting married will still be a problem."

"Just let me try it once. If I don't make any money, I'll never talk about stock trading again."

Doing it only once? If that can help the child focus on their studies, then it's certainly a good idea.

Zheng Haidi was intrigued. He asked to confirm, "Really, just once?"

Zhang Jinxin patted his chest and said, "I promise I'll only do it once, and if I do, I won't go to the stock market anymore. I'll study at home every day and guarantee I'll get into a top university."

"Okay, it's a deal then. I'll trust you this time."

"Then hurry up and tell me how much money you can come up with."

Zheng Jinxin was about to achieve his goal; his eyes gleamed with gold, as if he had already obtained a million.

Zheng Haidi started to calculate her own accounts.

"Your mom spends too much money. For the past few years, I've been saving half of my salary in the bank. I've put over 20,000 yuan into a savings account, and it won't mature until the end of the year."

"Is that all?" Zheng Jinxin was far from satisfied.

"That's all? Not even enough to open an account."

The father and son inquired today and found out that the minimum deposit to open an account is 30,000 yuan.

Zheng Haidi scratched her head and gritted her teeth.

"I'm saving your grandparents' pension money for them. It's a three-year fixed deposit, which will mature at the end of this year. It will amount to more than 26,000 yuan then."

That's nearly 50,000 yuan, that's about right.

"That's more like it. Let's put all the money in the stock market first."

"Wow! You've saved so much? I was even thinking of giving the interest to your grandparents."

Zheng Jinxin frowned.

"This amount of money is very little. Don't worry, I will pay back Grandpa and Grandma's money at an annual interest rate of 10%."

"That's not a bad idea," Zheng Haidi said with an embarrassed smile, then suddenly remembered something and added, "Remember, whatever you do, don't let your mother know."

"Don't worry." Finally finished, Zheng Jinxin happily took out his books and started doing his homework.

Zheng Haidi, who was initially hesitant to say anything, felt that her efforts had been worthwhile after seeing her son diligently doing his homework for the first time. She then left with a clear conscience.

In the evening, when the adults had all gone to bed, Zheng Jinxin took out the magazines he had brought back that day and started looking for Yian Technology one by one.

He started with the very first stock, marking each one with a marker. He believed that as long as the work was done meticulously, there was nothing he couldn't find.

But when he spent nearly half an hour crossing out the last stock, he was dumbfounded!

Where is my Yian Technology? How come it's not there?

He believed the fairy was right, and he had later told his buddies about this stock. Chen Hongjun also knew about it and didn't raise any questions.

So, where does the problem lie now?