CHAPTER 322: CHAPTER 172: MAKING MONEY AS EASY AS DRINKING WATER

It was a new week, and before 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Xia Hongjuan and Zheng Lei came with their notes to check in.

Seeing them, Han Lie had an "I expected this" look and casually showed concern, "Didn’t sleep well?"

Feeling embarrassed, Zheng Lei scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly.

"How could I have slept well!"

Xia Hongjuan was even more amusing, "I chatted with Ting Fang and the others until past midnight. They asked why I was so excited, and I couldn’t tell them. I nearly exploded holding it in..."

To this, Han Lie was quite forgiving.

"It’s fine, it’s only 30 million. The intensity of your trades won’t be too high, so a little less sleep won’t affect you."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The two nodded eagerly and started to prepare.

The preparations weren’t actually that laborious—just getting the software’s split-screen settings right, like Han Lie did, followed by familiarizing themselves with the accounts they were assigned. It was quite simple.

Everything was easily settled before 9 a.m., and the two began to get nervous again.

Han Lie couldn’t help but chuckle and casually talked with them about the current situation and prospects of the job at hand.

Strictly speaking, their roles weren’t those of seasoned market operators, but rather of traders.

It’s a job with a low entry barrier, but a very high ceiling.

Some less formal trading firms set abysmally low requirements for traders—a junior high school education and the ability to understand and follow instructions was enough, okay.

They provided food and lodging and drew them in with the promise of a monthly salary in the tens of thousands. Recruiting was a breeze.

They were housed in dormitories in the suburbs, with four people squeezed into an 8-square-meter room. Food consisted of boxed meals, with only one provided at noon, and the initial base salary was a mere 800 to 1,000 yuan.

Before signing an official contract, they started with training, and more than half would be eliminated in a very short time.

By hiring thirty for a batch and eliminating twenty, they spent very little—just the cost of some boxed meals—to obtain ten traders who were serviceable enough.

Next, they would be assigned accounts and permissions and given task targets.

For example, the target might be to accumulate 100,000 shares between the prices of 5.10 and 5.20, within the time limit of one morning.

If someone managed to buy 100,000 shares at an average price of 5.15 by the morning close, they would be considered to have completed the task.

If the average price of establishing a position was below 5.10, they’d get a commission.

If the average price of establishing a position was above 5.20, performance would be deducted.

But in reality, beginners could generally only earn base pay.

If their learning was slow, they would either have to struggle by on that 800 yuan salary or resign voluntarily.

If they learned quickly and well, their permissions would increase, their freedom would grow, and the commission ratios would become more generous...

Until one became the backbone of the department or a manager setting strategies, or even jumped ship to a formal institution to become a star.

In the financial market, there were too many opportunities, countless projects to work on—stocks, futures, FOREX, US stocks, gold... Truly capable people would definitely not be buried.

Trading, like mathematics, is fair.

If you’re good, you’re good; if you’re not, you’re not.

Given the same targets and the same cycle, a master’s cost of establishing a position would always be 3% lower than yours. This means you are not on the same level, and the income disparity is as vast as heaven and earth.

The top traders in the industry commonly have a monthly salary of 100,000 yuan, and their annual salary, including performance bonuses, might even cross the threshold of 5 million.

As of 2013, including all the state-owned, privately owned, and publicly traded companies in Huaxia, there were fewer than 400 executives who could earn such an exaggerated salary.

Of course, share dividends didn’t count in this, as they aren’t part of the salary.

In short, the floor for traders is very low, but what the future holds depends on three things: talent, effort, and mindset.

In 2015 and 2016, many jumped from rooftops, while in the Magic Capital, just as many managed to settle down, start families, and marry goddesses.

The financial industry is just that magical.

...

After making all this clear to them, Han Lie went ahead and fed them a bowl of metaphorical chicken soup.

"Most of our classmates are likely to go into sales or be laborer-type traders after graduation, but I doubt many will make something out of it.

In fact, I feel that they might generally be less adaptable than young workers who only graduated from junior or senior high school.

But you two are different.

In my view, you have the potential to stand out. You just lack guidance and training.

Relax, trust in me as well as yourselves, you can do very well."

Xia Hongjuan and Zheng Lei were deeply moved.

With Han Lie’s current reputation, he didn’t even need to bother with school leaders. Yet, he showed such trust and expectation toward these two, instantly evoking in them the sentiment that "a warrior would die for a worthy master."

Get on their knees and kowtow?

That might be a bit exaggerated, but not by much.

In the limited time before the market opened, they truly revered Han Lie as their teacher.

They didn’t just serve tea and water, but also asked for advice with the eagerness of elementary school students.

At 9:15 a.m., Han Lie started to watch the market.

He had shared his selected stocks with Xia Hongjuan and Zheng Lei, but though they could copy the stocks, they couldn’t keep up with the logic.

"GULP..."

As the opening time approached, the two, who had just calmed their nerves, started to tense up again.

Han Lie glanced over and chose not to say anything more.

It wasn’t their fault for being green; the pressure was just truly immense.

Two first-year college students, who might not have even seen 300,000 yuan in their lives, were suddenly handling 30 million. It was impossible for them not to panic.

The first time I managed Lao Pan and Dou’s 20 million yuan... hmm, I don’t think I panicked much, did I?

TSK TSK, having cheats sure makes a difference...

He observed until 9:30 a.m. and didn’t rush to act.

The two novices were getting restless, unable to sit still. Han Lie offhandedly explained, "The market might be weak today, and opportunities are more likely to appear in small and medium-sized ventures. With our capital, we’d be the main force if we enter, so we can’t act rashly."