Reborn with Consumption System-Chapter 457 - 217: What Exactly Are You Excited About?_3

Chapter 457: Chapter 217: What Exactly Are You Excited About?_3

The two drank and reminisced about the past, just like friends.

To be fair, Old Xu wasn’t what you’d call a genius in the conventional sense. Or to be more precise, Old Xu had talent, and his success was inseparable from his natural gifts, but even more crucial were his mindset, perseverance, and focus.

If someone were to write "The History of Huaxia’s Stock Market Development" in the future, they would definitely dedicate a significant portion to him.

When Old Xu first entered the market, it was in chaos. Back then, the rules for daily trading limits weren’t even established, and in the brokerage halls, hardly anyone understood technical analysis.

Old Xu, with thirty thousand yuan, haunted the hall every day, learning from the so-called technicians among the veteran stock traders. Most people had only a superficial understanding. However, he seized every opportunity, asking whenever he didn’t understand, absorbing knowledge and thinking like a sponge.

Later, the thirty thousand yuan from his parents was lost, and his cousin lent him another hundred thousand yuan. Actually, his cousin wasn’t particularly well-off either, but he was extremely optimistic about Xu Xiang. "Brother," he said, "with your dedication to research, it would be an injustice if you didn’t make money. Take it and go for it!"

In 2003, Old Xu’s assets crossed the hundred-million mark for the first time. Even then, he was still driving the old beater he’d bought years ago and wearing plain clothes. He insisted on reviewing the day’s trades and avoided indulging in the high life.

Han Lie entered the market to make money, and the purpose of making money was to spend it, while Old Xu truly loved trading. This man poured all his passion into the market and, even now, remains steadfastly on the front lines, working year-round without a break.

This wasn’t self-praise; it was what Han Lie had observed with his own eyes.

Old Xu dressed plainly because he genuinely didn’t care. What outsiders thought of him didn’t matter at all. He rarely met outsiders, and it wasn’t until his arrest that a front-facing photo of him was leaked.

Old Xu never spoke with lofty airs. He had no particular hobbies, didn’t spend much money, avoided lavish entertainment, didn’t feign cultural sophistication, and disliked being in the limelight.

A focused eccentric.

Honestly, during those years, the market saw countless shooting stars. There were many geniuses smarter and more talented than Old Xu, but most of them began to burn out after making their first hundred million. That’s why Old Xu became the number one private equity manager, while those other geniuses ended up as KTV bigwigs, top live streamers, or rooftop ’dumpling’ kings. The difference was, to say the least, immense.

As their conversation neared its end, Han Lie even began to feel a sense of pity for him. If this man hadn’t strayed onto the wrong path, he could have become an evergreen in the market. Others would be eliminated by the ever-evolving market, but he would have endured.

So Han Lie’s curiosity resurfaced: With Old Xu’s level of skill, why did he have to resort to insider trading?

Han Lie had initially assumed it was because conventional methods ceased to be profitable once the sums involved became too large. But after interacting with him, he suddenly realized that wasn’t the case at all.

Then... could it be...

A chill ran down Han Lie’s spine, and a sudden sense of awe for this arena washed over him.

The financial world is deep and murky. I must unite knowledge and action, treading as if on thin ice.

...

After chatting for nearly two hours, both host and guest were thoroughly pleased.

Han Lie didn’t hold back his predictions about the bull market. Old Xu found it quite insightful but wasn’t entirely convinced.

"I maintain that the mini bull market of the past two years has no basis to surge past 4,000 points. Money can be made, yes, but not enough to trigger a nationwide frenzy. The main theme will remain a structural market for small and mid-cap stocks."

That was Old Xu’s viewpoint: sharp and precise.

In 2015, the A-shares market actually hit 5,100 points. So, was he wrong? Not really.

This bull market was dubbed the "Leveraged Bull," driven by off-floor margin financing. Apart from Han Lie, not even deities could have foreseen that off-floor margin financing could reach such insane levels, inflating such a massive bubble in an ill-prepared market.

Therefore, the next year and a half presented a rare, historic opportunity to leverage with ease.

Even Old Xu misjudged it; how many people could remain rational?

It’s truly my time to strike it rich...

Han Lie was in excellent spirits and readily agreed, "Yes, the internal and external conditions aren’t mature enough. Making some steady pocket money shouldn’t be a problem, but don’t expect much more."

"Not bad!" Old Xu patted Han Lie’s arm, satisfied, then abruptly changed the subject.

"So, 50%—is that set in stone?"

Han Lie paused, then broke into a brilliant smile. "Right. I’m not greedy. I’ll definitely sell everything before it hits the 20-yuan round-number threshold."

"Mhm." Old Xu nodded and extended his hand to Han Lie.

"It’s been a pleasure talking with you, young man. Let’s keep in touch."

Assistant Xiao Zhang shot Han Lie a surprised glance, seemingly wondering, What on earth has this guy done to deserve such high regard from the boss?

Han Lie grasped the offered hand with both of his and shook it firmly. His smile was faint, his eyes profound. "Certainly. Best of luck!"

And so, the gathering concluded. There was no after-party.

Watching Han Lie stride confidently out the door, Old Xu stroked his chin. His eyes initially held admiration and appreciation, then a flicker of confusion crossed them.

’Best of luck...’ Is this how young people say goodbye nowadays?

He turned his head and asked, "Xiao Zhang, do you get the feeling that Han Lie... seems to understand me quite well?"

Xiao Zhang thought for a moment, then said softly, "It’s normal for him to understand you. Wouldn’t it be strange if he hadn’t done his homework?"

"True." Old Xu nodded, relieved. He then stood up to get dressed and instructed in a deep voice, "Get ready. We start pushing the price up tomorrow. Get it to 20 yuan quickly and give him a grand exit!"

Xiao Zhang’s eyes turned red with envy; he knew all too well what that meant. With the boss’s cooperation, that kid would rake in a cool 150 million within a week.

Not let him profit? That was out of the question. If such a large, concentrated block of shares wasn’t cleared out beforehand, and if he decided to sell prematurely before their target, it could easily crash the stock price and lead to a loss of control.

What rotten luck!

Xiao Zhang was both furious and bitter, but he had no choice but to swallow his resentment and agree.

"Yes, I’ll arrange it right away."

After struggling to hold it in, he finally couldn’t resist asking one more question: "What if Han Lie gets too greedy and doesn’t stick to the agreement?"

"He won’t." Old Xu chuckled, shaking his head. "Han Lie is a genius. You wouldn’t understand the pride of someone like him." His admiration was plain to see. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

There’s endless money to be made in the market; hundreds of billions are traded daily. Who could possibly hoard it all? Instead of lamenting someone else taking a slice of the pie, it’s better to rejoice at finding another fellow traveler on this path.

Xiao Zhang truly didn’t understand this level of thinking, which only made him feel more bitter.

...

After they left, Han Lie proactively took Ding Xiang’s hand and asked with concern, "How was it? Were you bored?"

Ding Xiang’s mind went blank, and she started babbling incoherently. "Not bored at all... Zhe cuisine is delicious... Did you like it? Oh, right, was my behavior inadequate? I barely chatted with you..."

Brother Lie chuckled inwardly, playing along with her. "Then shall we find another place to sit for a while and have a proper chat?"

"Ah? I—I’m full... Then, then, let’s not go to a bar or KTV, okay?"

Brother Lie was about to burst out laughing. He teased her deliberately, "Well, where else is there then... a hotel?"

Ding Xiang was so startled her eyes widened in shock, and she almost tripped, nearly stumbling. Brother Lie had no choice but to quickly wrap an arm around her slim waist.

"Careful! What are you so worked up about?"

"I—I’m not!"

The innocent girl was on the verge of tears, her mind filled with thoughts of how ’bad’ Brother Lie was. She blurted out instinctively, "You’re so annoying!"

"Hahahaha!" The scoundrel couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing, still holding her.

Ding Xiang was mortified. She buried her face in Han Lie’s arm and stubbornly refused to look up.

Such a peculiar reaction...

Han Lie, pressing his advantage, kept his hand on her waist and lightly tickled her a couple of times. She shuddered, broke free, and WHOOSH, jumped a fair distance away.

"I—I—I have to go back to school!" She was genuinely flustered, her fair cheeks flushed crimson.

"Alright, alright!" Han Lie, putting on his most persuasive ’grandma’ act, readily agreed, pulling her straight toward the S63.

"It’s cold out, get in the car first! Once you’re in my car, do you think you can still say no?!"

Why else would they call her Little Innocent? Han Lie tricked her into the car; although she was a bit suspicious, she went along as soon as he tugged her arm...

The two settled into the back seat of the S63, and Cheng Shi, ever observant, discreetly raised the privacy partition.

"Wow!" Ding Xiang exclaimed in amazement. "Brother Lie, Mercedes S-Class cars have partitions too?"

Han Lie was dumbfounded. Seriously, what on earth are you so excited about? You’ve completely baffled me...