Chapter 4 Resignation Transaction
Time always slips away quietly when I am working. I have been in Shanghai for more than two months.
The company recently received a notice from the superior that employees must hold a securities practitioner qualification certificate to work. In fact, I know that the superior is just issuing a requirement, but I think it will be useful in the future so I signed up for the exam. I used the spare time after get off work when I was learning technology to read through the three reference books. When the exam came, I passed it in one try, just barely passing the passing line.
The stock market has been doing surprisingly well recently. Since the market bottomed out below 2,000 points, it has seen a rapid rise, reaching a new high of 2,150 points. The number of stocks that have skyrocketed from the bottom is too numerous to count, and my clients have happily told me about the conveniences that the stock software has brought them.
Everyone is happy because they made money.
I became more and more skilled in sales, and I could earn a considerable amount of money every month from the commission of software sales. I gradually began to get tired of some of the company's regulations, and sometimes I would call my old customers to chat in order to make up for the 300 minutes of call time and the 100 minutes of call time required every day.
This allowed me to meet many people from all walks of life, including civil servants who were busy dealing with their superiors in government agencies or public institutions, bosses who were looking for a way out for their companies, retail investors who were obsessed with stocks, and even tycoons who were worth tens of millions but were addicted to fishing every day.
The person who chatted with me the most and left the deepest impression on me was the Shanghai guy who used his professional knowledge to interrupt me twice.
I heard from my brother that he was one of the first batch of stock investors in Shanghai and one of the first batch of red vest students in China. If you look through old photos now, you can still find him in some information on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Although he is only in his fifties, when he talked to me about these things, he sounded like an old man reminiscing about his glorious past, with a somewhat sad tone. I guess he liked that era, when everything was just beginning and full of hope.
My brother said that his life now is not as good as before. Although he has money in his pocket, it is far less fulfilling than before.
He always told me: "Young people should not think about money all the time. Some things cannot be found again after you have money. Don't be like me. It doesn't matter if you have tens of millions of dollars. My wife and children are no longer with me. Family happiness is the most important thing. No amount of money can bring it back."
I scoffed at his words. I think rich people like to be like him, showing off their wealth from time to time and appearing to be indifferent.
Even if what he said was true, I really wanted to experience that feeling.
I still remember that it was a quiet night. It was Saturday, the end of the month, and we had to review the work of the week and the month. As expected, I was still the new sales champion of the month. The meeting that day started very late, and Mr. Zhang made an exception to attend the review of the month.
Mr. Zhang said that the stock market has risen from 1949.46 to 2400 points in the past few months, so we must seize this key information and promote the arrival of the bull market to our customers. He believes that this bull market can rise to more than 6,000 points. When he said this, he had no expression on his face, as if he was stating an established fact.
I was not sure whether his words were true or not. It was difficult to judge based on the basic knowledge I had learned. With the vision of a big bull market, I secretly opened a stock account and put the 10,000 yuan I had saved in the past three months into it. I bought two stocks and started my financial trading journey.
After the meeting, my colleagues asked me to go and relax together, but I declined.
I was in a particularly bad mood that day, and my father called me right after the meeting. He heard that I was doing well in Shanghai, so he picked a date for me in my hometown without my permission.
"You're almost old enough," my father said in that condescending tone, "it's time to get married. Your aunt has found many girls for you. Wait until the New Year..."
I don't really want to bother with him.
There is no snow in Shanghai in winter, but it is cloudy and rainy.
I matured earlier than my peers and always thought about my future life. Since college, I have worked part-time to make money to supplement my life. I have never been content with the status quo. Every time I change, it is to break into a new world.
Xiaoxiao once told me that she was also from the countryside. She didn't want to see her parents working in the fields for the rest of their lives, so she wanted to work hard in the big city, for her parents and for herself. Sometimes I can find resonance with Xiaoxiao, not because she and I are both from the countryside, but because she is more mature than her peers.
I don't like childish girls.
During that time, I often stared at my stock account, watching the 10,000 yuan climbing up the red line. This month, I actually made a profit of 2,000 to 3,000 yuan. I was so happy. Since I started buying stocks, I chatted with the Shanghai brother more and more frequently.
I told my brother that our boss had said at a meeting that a big bull market was coming, and my brother agreed with me. He said that he had been trading stocks for 20 to 30 years, and based on his experience, it was indeed a bull market.
I also chatted with him about a lot of family matters. He told me his stock trading stories over the years. There were also some famous stock trading masters in the Red Vest Training Class. He later traded stocks while doing business. He invested all his savings other than what he needed for business in the stock market. After that, he continued to fight in the stock market until now.
I feel that I am a lot like my brother, and I believe that I can also make a name for myself in the stock market.
In the blink of an eye, the Spring Festival arrived and I returned to my hometown. There was a festive atmosphere everywhere in my hometown, and the roadside was also filled with firecracker debris. This year, I gave my mother 5,000 yuan when I went home, saying that I was grateful for her upbringing over the years. My mother refused me verbally, but tears welled up in her eyes. After a lot of arguing, she still couldn't get rid of me and had to accept the money.
The New Year was over very quickly. At the request of the company, I returned to work on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. As a result, I missed my childhood friend's wedding. Before leaving, I could only say to my friend: "I'm sorry, I work in Shanghai. I can't do anything about it because of the company's request. I wish you a happy wedding and you can take the gift money."
I had some complaints about the company's request. The company said that it was to avoid any unexpected situations during the Spring Festival travel rush, so they asked us to return to work early.
February 18, 2013, sunny to cloudy.
Today is the first day of stock market trading in the new year. We made the first phone call of the new year to our customers, wishing them a happy new year and sharing with them the trends of the stock market in the new year. Today's stock market rose and fell, and I was busy with customer maintenance most of the time and didn't pay much attention to it.
I haven't spoken to my brother for a few days. The stock market has been falling these days, so I called him. During the chat, I learned that he had cleared his stocks before the Spring Festival and avoided this wave of decline. I couldn't help but ask him about the two stocks I bought. After looking at them, he advised me to sell them without hesitation.
I had no choice but to sell my stocks at a loss, because my stocks had already wiped out more than 2,000 yuan of previous floating profit. After selling, I only had 9,400 yuan left in my account, which was acceptable.
"How much do you earn per month this year? I have an idea to discuss with you." I covered the microphone and lowered my voice.
The elder brother said: "About 20 to 30 points every month. I haven't done well in the past two years."
"Brother, if you teach me the technology, I will quit my job to learn from you. I have clients, and I will tell them what you buy. When they make money, I will ask them to give me a portion of it. Then I will give you as a reward, and I can learn more technology from you."
The brother hesitated for a moment and agreed.
That night, the rain outside the window never stopped. After selling my stocks, I fell into deep thought in the office.
I have not been in this world for long, but I have never stopped struggling. Whether it is studying or working, I have worked hard to climb up. I will swallow my broken teeth and I will only turn around and work harder when I am wronged. But even so, I still feel that I have not made any progress on the pyramid of this society.
what else can I do?
Although I am now appreciated by the company's leaders, it is only because I can bring enough benefits to the company. The company's leaders don't care where I come from or where I am going. Hidden behind their faces of appreciation is a sinister intention to squeeze every last bit of my value.
When the day comes when I am no longer useful, I might be driven back to the countryside by this city...
In my mind, I kept sorting out the skills I had acquired over the years and recalling my experiences over the years.
I want to figure out how to get what I want.
I looked at the neon lights in Lujiazui at night, which were not much different from what I saw in the office at night. Those were countless late nights of hard study, and the knowledge I gradually absorbed in the late nights was now reminding me that I didn’t want to be just a salesperson, I wanted to do what I like and use my resources to exchange for more valuable things.
The next day, I made up my mind that in order to achieve my goal of becoming a professional trader, I had to do what I felt was right.
"Xiao Xu," Mr. Zhao frowned, "is there anything urgent?"
“Not really.” I handed over my handwritten resignation letter with both hands, “Boss Zhao, I want to resign.”
Mr. Zhao didn't say anything. He looked at the resignation letter I handed over with both hands and asked, "Is the company's treatment bad?"
“The company’s treatment is very good.”
"Someone dug you out?"
"Neither, Mr. Zhao. I am planning to start a business with a few friends in my hometown. We are ready to do some business."
"Although you have been working here for less than a year, you are quite capable. Wouldn't it be good for you to keep moving forward with the company and try to settle down in Shanghai? Why do you want to go back to your hometown?"
"Mr. Zhao, I have thought it through. I want to do what I like."
"I don't think so," Mr. Zhao's tone began to become impatient. "I've seen a lot of you young people who come to Shanghai. You all think you are the chosen ones and always want to reach the top overnight. How can there be such a thing in the world? If you don't work hard step by step with your feet on the ground, how can you possibly gain anything?"
I just stood there, looking at her. After looking at each other for a long time, she slowly sighed.
"How about this, I'll give you a week off first, you can go back and take a look, and when the chairman comes back, you can consider whether to resign or not."
"Thank you, Mr. Zhao."
I breathed a sigh of relief. I was afraid that the chairman would not let me resign, so I chose a day when he was not around. Although I was only given a week's vacation, I might not come back. I also told Xiaoxiao about my resignation, and she said that you just need to think about it and walk your own path.
The next day, I found an agent and rented a room with someone else. The boy I shared the room with rarely showed up, and we were just aware of each other's existence.
March 1, 2013, this is the day I officially started my professional trading career.
At 1:30 in the afternoon, I received instructions from my brother: Buy 600837 Haitong Securities, the current price is 12.4 yuan.
I followed my brother's instructions to buy, and sent a screenshot of my delivery order to the customer group. The customers were skeptical about this transaction, and I explained to them without hesitation that this was a bargain hunting. My brother then did his analysis, and I listened to his analysis while keeping an eye on the market.
At 2 pm, Haitong Securities continued to rise, and closed up three points that day. I was smiling, but my brother told me not to get carried away. He said it was just the beginning, and it would rise again tomorrow, so I should choose the right time to sell it.
I looked at the extra 300 yuan in my account after fully investing 10,000 yuan that day, and I couldn't help but share it with Xiaoxiao, who said it was a good start. I told her I would treat her to a meal when I made 2,000 yuan, and she happily agreed.
Unfortunately, there is no certainty in the stock market.
The stock market reopened for the new week, and my clients and I were all waiting for the market with excitement. However, the rise predicted by my brother did not happen. The Haitong Securities we bought opened low and continued to fall, falling 3% and fluctuating around the purchase price yesterday. The market continued to fall in the afternoon. I was unsure and called my brother: "Brother, how could this happen? Is everything okay?"
"It's ok for now, let's see before the market closes!"
I still chose to believe what my brother said. Although this was my first time buying stocks from him, and although I still had the trust of my clients, I still believed in his judgment. I was expecting the K-line of the stock to turn around and rise at some point. But at this time, expectation was the most powerless effort.
The phone rang, it was my brother calling.
"Xiao Xu," the older brother seemed a little panicked, "let's sell it first. I'm afraid there will be risks in the market."
"Brother..." I couldn't speak clearly, "Are you... sure?"
"Yes, cut it now, or you will miss the chance later."
After the trading ended that day, I saw that my account had lost more than 200 yuan. Although it was not much, I felt a little bad.
Tuesday, March 5th.
The elder brother did not give any new instructions, he asked us to continue waiting. I sat in front of the screen and stared at the K-line for most of the day out of boredom, and at three o'clock in the afternoon, something happened that infuriated me.
Yesterday, under my brother's command, I asked my clients to sell Haitong Securities, which went against the trend and rose by 5 points at the close.
I called three times before I got through to my brother. I asked him if he made a mistake yesterday, but he said, "Victory and defeat are common in the military, let's focus on the next one."
Strangely enough, the three stock investments my brother gave me over the next few days all ended in losses. I felt very upset, so I called my brother to get his home address and went to his house to discuss the matter with him in person.
The house where my brother lives is an old house in Hongkou District. It doesn't look like a place where a person with a net worth of tens of millions lives. The house looks very old from the outside. The old man at the entrance of the community was holding a cigarette, which was only half burned when he fell asleep. The stairwell of my brother's house was covered with small advertisements, and even the door of my brother's house was not spared. My brother's house is very simple, and most of the furniture can be called antiques. On the wall in the middle of the living room, there happened to be a group photo of the red vest training that my brother mentioned.
My brother was chatting with me about family matters, but I went straight to the point and said, "Brother, is it hard to do business recently, or what? I have lost 8 points." My brother told me not to worry and that if I took a look at the decline of the overall market, I might feel better.
I sat in front of the computer with him, watching him fiddle with his stock account. I said, "Brother, can you let me see it?", but I grabbed his mouse. I opened his account and saw that he only had 30,000 yuan in it. I looked through his transaction records and funds for the past six months - not a penny. I felt like I was falling into an ice cellar, and my brother didn't expect me to open his account. We were both stunned.
I realized that I was too naive and too trusting. How could I trust a stranger so easily? I was hit hard.
I resigned without thinking of the consequences, hoping that I could rely on my brother's experience and knowledge to turn my meager savings into my first pot of gold. I pinned all my hopes for the future on a stranger, but never thought that this stranger was not worthy of my expectations.
The guy may not be wrong, he was just bragging about his fictitious achievements to a stranger.
The mistake was mine.
I mistook other people's boasting for their achievements and mistakenly thought I had found a shortcut. From then on, I began to firmly believe that what you hear is not what you see, and you cannot trust anyone in the financial market.
I can’t remember what the brother said afterwards. I didn’t say anything and just turned around and left.
I just remember that day I was sitting under a tree, watching the setting sun, and feeling like a loser.