Chapter 13: 012 Climbing Langshan Together This Weekend

Since he had taken on the task, Fang Qingye began considering the modeling work.

But right now, the immediate problem was that he lacked reference books; this involved financial mathematics, covering theoretical knowledge such as binomial tree pricing models, copula theory, and volatility models.

He searched online again, but the information was fragmented and of little use.

Forget it; tomorrow he would go to the bookstore to see if there were any similar books.

Not doing any real work, Fang Qingye opened the game again, played a round of Warcraft, and only then washed up and went to bed.

The next day at work, after lunch, Fang Qingye rode his small scooter first to the Xinhua Bookstore near the Telecom Building, then visited two private bookstores, but was greatly disappointed.

Inside, aside from middle and high school tutoring books, everything else was literature; the private bookstores were almost entirely bestsellers by Han Han and Guo Jingming, along with some physical editions of web novels.

Indeed, Nanxin County had no university; how could it possibly sell books belonging to the realm of higher mathematics?

It seemed that to buy them, he would have to go to Jinghai, or to major metropolises like Jin Ling or Shen City.

Fang Qingye suddenly remembered that yesterday, when he went to Xia He's place, her bookshelf had many finance and economics books; were there any regarding financial mathematics?

Thinking of this, Fang Qingye, while riding his scooter, took out his phone from his pocket and dialed Xia He's number.

The call connected quickly, and Xia He's pleasant voice came through.

"Xiao Fang, is something wrong?"

"Yes, Senior Sister, do you have any books on financial mathematics? I'd like to take a look."

"Heh, why the sudden interest in what you learned in school? How about this: come to my place after work this afternoon, pick whatever you like, but come early; it's the weekend, and I still have to drive back to Jin Ling."

"Alright, I'll come over after work."

After work in the afternoon, Fang Qingye rode his small scooter straight to Northern Pearl, knocked on Xia He's door, and saw her packing luggage in the living room.

"Xiao Fang, go look yourself," Xia He said.

Fang Qingye agreed, went to the study, and began examining the bookshelf carefully.

There were indeed many finance and economics books in the bookshelf; most were on macroeconomics, corporate management, and commercial bank management. Books like financial mathematics, which were more tool-oriented, were rare. Fang Qingye browsed for a while before reluctantly selecting a copy of "Security Analysis" as a makeshift option.

Xia He also noticed Fang Qingye's actions and said from the living room with a smile, "Is there nothing suitable? How about this: since I'm returning to Jin Ling this time, I'll bring you back two books, how about that?"

Fang Qingye thought for a moment and replied.

"Then alright, Senior Sister, please buy 'Stochastic Analysis in Finance' by S. E. Shreve of the United States, both volumes, and 'Foundations of Quantitative Finance' by Australian scholar E. Platen."

"Heh... Xiao Fang, these books cover rather advanced theories in financial mathematics. Not to mention our bank doesn't use them, even the Jinghai Branch has no one using them. The Securities Analysis Department of the Provincial Branch might touch on some, but it's mainly the securities analysts at major investment banks in Shen City who need them." Speaking to this point, Xia He paused.

"Xiao Fang?"

"What is it, Senior Sister?"

"You don't intend to resign and go to Shen City, do you?" Xia He asked.

"No way. Our bank's benefits and treatment are so good, and the work is relatively relaxed; why would I go to Shen City? It's exhausting," Fang Qingye immediately denied.

"It is indeed exhausting. I have a graduate school classmate who now works as a market operations analyst at JPMorgan Chase in Shen City. She often complains to me on QQ, saying her boss doesn't treat her like a human, but rather like livestock. However, the pay is indeed high; we can't compare at all," Xia He said.

"So, I don't want to be livestock."

Hearing Fang Qingye say this, Xia He burst out laughing, her figure shaking like a flower in the wind.

After Fang Qingye selected the books, he took his leave and returned home. After dinner, he began reading in his bedroom.

This was co-authored by American scholars Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, hailed as the Bible for investors, mainly covering fixed-value investing, income statement analysis, earnings factors affecting common stock valuation, and the divergence between price and value.

It could be considered a foundational text in financial economics, but it was still somewhat distant from what he needed. He would make do with reading it for now; after all, there was nothing else to do at the moment.

The second day was the weekend. Fang Qingye didn't go out to play either; he basically spent the whole time at home, reading and searching online for information. After busying himself for most of the day, he had only a vague lead.

He wasn't in a hurry anyway; modeling wasn't something that could be finished in a day or two. Once Xia He brought back those two or three books and he had suitable tools, the speed would increase.

Tomorrow, go out and play?

Staying cooped up at home during such beautiful spring weather was simply a waste of time.

As Fang Qingye was pondering where to go tomorrow, his phone rang. He glanced at it, saw it was Song Dahai calling, and answered.

"Ye Zi, going out to play tomorrow?" Song Dahai asked over the phone.

"Heh... I was just about to find you to talk about this. Where do you want to go?" Fang Qingye asked lazily, lying on his bed.

"Climb Langshan. Jiang Chen invited us."

Jiang Chen?

Fang Qingye naturally knew him; he was their high school classmate, graduated from Jinghai University, and now worked at the County Statistics Bureau.

"Jiang Chen said he invited two female classmates, Shao Jing and Wang Simin, and asked us to join. I thought I'd pull you in too. We'll drive over and maybe have a barbecue or something."

"Alright, then you drive over and pick me up," Fang Qingye agreed.

"Okay then, I'll be at your place promptly at nine in the morning... By the way, Ye Zi, can you invite Chen Meimei as well?" Song Dahai suddenly said.

"Dahai, do you really have feelings for her?" Fang Qingye countered.

"Hehe, don't get the wrong idea. It's just that we're short a girl... If you don't invite Chen Meimei, inviting another girl is fine too!"

Fang Qingye thought for a moment. He naturally knew Shao Jing and Wang Simin as well. Besides those two, he wasn't particularly close to any other female classmates. As for those at the bank, his relationship with Chen Meimei was the best.

"Alright then, I'll try," Fang Qingye agreed.

He always felt that Song Dahai had feelings for Chen Meimei.

"OK, leave a message on QQ to confirm."

Fang Qingye hung up the phone and dialed Chen Meimei's mobile number. Soon, Chen Meimei's very gentle voice came through the phone.

"Fang Qingye, is there something you need?"

"It's like this: we're planning to climb Langshan tomorrow and would like to invite you to join." Fang Qingye briefly explained the situation.

On the other end of the line, Chen Meimei hesitated: "Fang Qingye, I'm not familiar with your classmates."

"No problem, isn't there me? And my buddy Song Dahai from the Urban Management Brigade; you've met him before. We're all the same age, and with this beautiful spring weather, it's perfect for hiking and enjoying the outdoors."

"Alright then, do I need to prepare anything?" Chen Meimei agreed.

"Nothing at all. Just get your own things ready. Around nine, my buddy and I will drive over to your place to pick you up."

"Okay, see you tomorrow morning."

"See you tomorrow morning."

After arranging things with Chen Meimei, Fang Qingye logged onto QQ on his phone again and left Song Dahai a message saying everything was settled.

The other party replied instantly: "ok!"