Chapter 16

Of course, there might be name overlaps—this happens all the time online. Fang Qingye had seen several people online calling themselves “East Sea Blade Master.”

Fang Qingye ignored him and focused on the multi-spring fish in his hands, when Jiang Chen continued: “This invincible beauty claimed she built a mathematical model that predicted a stock called Longping High-Tech would surge.”

“It’s laughable—who trades stocks using mathematical models? Besides, I’ve been in the market for years; what don’t I know? I could tell right away she was full of nonsense, so I scolded her a bit, told her to stop wasting time on flashy useless stuff and just observe the market, study fundamentals and technical indicators.”

“Did she listen to you?” Wang Simin asked curiously.

“Of course not—she kept pushing her theory, but I’ve got fans in this group. Before I even had to say anything, they tore her apart.” At this, Jiang Chen’s face showed a hint of pride.

At that moment, Fang Qingye was certain the youthful invincible beauty Jiang Chen mentioned was Dongguan Mei.

Who knew Jiang Chen was in this group too?

But it was a large group with over six hundred members; Fang Qingye was a lifelong lurker and rarely paid attention, so neither had noticed the other.

Fang Qingye finished one multi-spring fish and picked up another. He knew Jiang Chen was showing off in front of everyone—showing off how skilled he was at trading, how many fans he had online, especially since he was courting Wang Simin.

It was like a peacock spreading its beautiful tail during courtship; for Jiang Chen, stock trading was his beautiful tail.

Mentioning Dongguan Mei was just a way to demonstrate his own expertise.

This kid was really getting too full of himself.

Just then, Song Dahai, who was eating lamb skewers, suddenly spoke up: “Ye Zi, didn’t you buy stocks a few days ago? Do you even understand this?”

Hearing Fang Qingye traded stocks, Jiang Chen immediately shifted his focus to him: “Fang Qingye, you trade too? Tell us what stocks you bought.”

Several pairs of eyes turned toward him.

Fang Qingye finished the last bit of fish meat, then replied calmly: “Longping High-Tech.”

“What? Longping High-Tech?!” Jiang Chen froze, then burst out laughing:

“Fang Qingye, how could you buy such a garbage stock? Why didn’t you ask me first? I could’ve recommended two better ones—any one of them beats Longping High-Tech! When did you buy in?”

“Last Thursday.”

“You’re not deep in yet—tomorrow morning at open, place a low sell order and cut your losses immediately! Listen to me!”

But Fang Qingye just smiled at him: “First, Longping High-Tech is absolutely not a garbage stock. Second, I believe it will surge.”

“You believe? Then tell me—did Longping High-Tech go up or down yesterday?” Jiang Chen shot back.

“Down.” Fang Qingye didn’t hide it—he was straightforward.

“It crashed! Plunged to the daily limit! The whole market closed green yesterday, most stocks rose, but the agriculture sector kept falling—especially Longping High-Tech… You think it’ll surge?” Jiang Chen sneered.

“Trading isn’t about buying today and selling tomorrow—even short-term trading isn’t that fast. I said it’ll surge, not that it’ll jump up this Friday!” Fang Qingye laughed.

“Fang Qingye, why are you so stubborn? I told you to cut your losses and you won’t? We’re old classmates—I’m only looking out for you!” Jiang Chen put on a look of sincere concern.

“Exactly, Fang Qingye, just listen to Jiang Chen. Who are we fighting against? Not money!” Wang Simin added.

“Yeah, among us, Jiang Chen’s the only one with real trading experience,” Shao Jing chimed in.

But Fang Qingye shook his head, smiled silently, and picked up another multi-spring fish.

Seeing his attitude, Jiang Chen felt a pang of annoyance.

I’m trying to help you, and you won’t even appreciate it!

“Alright, let’s drop it,” Jiang Chen said, picking up a lamb skewer and chewing slowly. “Some people won’t give up until they’re bloodied and broken. Moscow doesn’t believe in tears—and neither does the stock market!”

Throughout the whole exchange, Qian Xiaoli quietly ate a squid strip, showing no interest whatsoever in the topic.

Chen Meimei glanced between Jiang Chen and Fang Qingye, wanting to say something but holding back.

It was just a minor incident. The group quickly shifted topics. After eating, they cleaned up the dishes and trash, then drove around downtown Jinghai. The girls, naturally drawn to pretty clothes, went shopping at Wanxiang City and Nandajie.

Fang Qingye had no interest in that—he drove Song Dahai’s car to the city’s Xinhua Bookstore instead. Sure enough, he found no books on financial mathematics.

He’d have to rely on Xia He’s help.

Around four in the afternoon, everyone drove back to Nanxin County.

As before, Song Dahai, Fang Qingye, and Chen Meimei rode together.

In the car, the three discussed the argument with Jiang Chen over the barbecue.

“Ye Zi, I think Jiang Chen’s right—he’s traded for years and even got rich from it,” Song Dahai warned.

“You afraid I’ll lose money and can’t repay your loan?” Fang Qingye asked half-jokingly, half-seriously.

“No, no—that’s not it. If you lose, you lose—I won’t make you pay back! It’s just 200,000 yuan…” Song Dahai hurried to say.

“I just think we shouldn’t be so stubborn. If you know it’s a cliff, why jump? It’s not worth it!”

“I don’t think buying Longping High-Tech will lose money,” Chen Meimei suddenly spoke from the back seat before Fang Qingye could answer.

“Why?” Song Dahai asked in surprise.

“I don’t trade, but I follow the market closely,” Chen Meimei said.

“I checked Longping High-Tech’s fundamentals—its first-quarter net profit was over 80 million yuan. That’s excellent for the A-share market—it’s solid ground for speculation.”

“Also, rumors say Longping High-Tech will issue a high dividend. I think it’s true. After ex-rights, the price drops, attracting more investors. Nowadays, traders prefer low-priced stocks over high-priced ones—it boosts liquidity and prevents the stock from becoming dead and ignored.”

“So I think Longping High-Tech might not surge dramatically, but it won’t keep crashing like Jiang Chen says—it’ll rise a bit at least.”

Chen Meimei concluded.

“Not bad, Chen Meimei—you analyzed it perfectly… Why didn’t you say this at lunch?” Song Dahai asked.

“I’m just theoretical—I have no real trading experience. I can’t compare with Jiang Chen,” Chen Meimei laughed.

“I think you’re right!” Song Dahai replied, then turned to Fang Qingye: “Hey, we’ve said all this—why are you silent?”

“What’s there to say?” Fang Qingye smiled. “I agree with Chen Meimei—otherwise why would I have bought Longping High-Tech? Don’t worry, I won’t lose your money. And this time, I’ll make a big profit.”

“If you make money, treat us!” Song Dahai said immediately.

“No problem.”

Everyone returned to the county and went home. Fang Qingye got off at his teacher’s residential compound. Song Dahai dropped Chen Meimei off at the Waterworks Family Compound.

The next morning, Xia He brought three newly bought books. Fang Qingye went to her office to collect them, thanked her, and paid for the books; Xia He politely declined once, then accepted.

Back in his office, Fang Qingye did some work, then pulled out the books.

He decided to start with *Fundamental Analysis Methods in Mathematical Finance*—its content was more practical, and he needed to solve his immediate problem.

The book used benchmark analysis for financial modeling, explaining various quantitative methods for pricing and hedging derivatives in the real world. Fang Qingye studied its contents carefully, and couldn’t help but reflect.

Back in his past life, he’d found this book impenetrable—his scalp would go numb reading it. But after over a decade of real-world experience, returning to it now, he found it clear and straightforward.

He spent most of the day immersed in the book, aside from work. Even when Zhang Qunying, the newly appointed head of the Credit Department, passed by his desk, he didn’t notice.

Zhang Qunying didn’t remind him.

She already knew from Xia He that Fang Qingye would eventually transfer to the General Office—since he wouldn’t be her subordinate, there was no need to interfere.

Besides, he’d played a decisive role in uncovering the Longteng Industry deposit theft case—she was deeply grateful.

And besides, he wasn’t reading web novels—he was studying finance. That counted as learning.

Around three in the afternoon, Fang Qingye suddenly received a call from Song Dahai: “Ye Zi, are you on QQ? Jiang Chen’s been calling you out by name in the alumni group.”