Chapter 31: Recruiting Troops and Buying Horses

The screen was filled with letters, making Lu Liang’s head spin. Giving up on trying to decipher them, he reverted to the clumsy method he had used the night before.

Regardless, he was confident that another small market rally was on the horizon. He started with 1 million, applied 100x leverage, and raised 100 million in financing. He bought 100 lots to establish a base position, costing 14.7025 million USD, and planned to add 10 lots for every point the price dropped.

By nearly four o'clock, as the American market session neared its end, the catalyst for the rally had yet to ignite. Lu Liang held 540 contracts with an average entry price of 1,468.75 USD; the current price was 1,459.24 USD. With a loss of 951 USD per lot, plus 12,900 USD in transaction fees, his total loss stood at 526,300 USD. As the American session closed, market activity plummeted, and trading volume dried up.

Lu Liang pondered for a moment before injecting another 2 million USD. Using the same 100x leverage to gain 200 million USD in capital, he purchased 1,000 lots of London gold at 1,459.24 USD, lowering his average cost to 1,462.85 USD. His account now held 1,540 contracts, with a total loss of 595,800 USD. Finally, Lu Liang chose to lock his position and wait until the next day to resume the fight, letting the bullets fly for a while longer.

At 9:30 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index opened with a sharp decline of 2.25%. The entire market seemed impotent, its former glory a thing of the past. Neither institutions, hot money, nor retail investors were spared; everyone was trapped in the pit. The vitality of the market had vanished, and the slow, grinding decline acted like a dull blade, gradually slicing through the flesh and blood of countless investors.

...

Lu Liang had slept for five hours when, near noon, he received a call from Liu Jun and headed to Kunqian Trading Company.

"Brother Lu, the market hasn't been great these past few days," Meng Changkun said while pouring tea, probing for information.

Although he didn't trade stocks, the major events in the financial market the previous day had affected all walks of life. For instance, several of his company's clients had gone missing, rumored to have embezzled public funds to speculate on stocks before fleeing abroad overnight. There was also a man in a nearby building who had threatened to jump off the roof after his off-market margin financing was frozen; he had intended to die to prove his point and force the state to return his principal. In short, when stock prices soared, everyone was jubilant; when they plummeted, everyone was more miserable than if they had lost their own parents.

"Off-market margin financing ruins lives," Lu Liang remarked with a sigh. He then shifted the tone of the conversation, smiling, "But it hasn't affected me. I cleared my positions last week and have been trading international gold lately."

Meng Changkun was surprised and couldn't help but curse, "I heard gold prices jumped quite a bit yesterday."

"It wasn't too bad, up about ten yuan per gram. After all, with the stock market crashing, gold is the best safe-haven asset." Lu Liang sipped his tea, appearing calm and collected. He didn't mind sharing this with Meng Changkun, as it was no longer a secret.

Last night, news that gold was hard to come by in Shui Bei, Shenzhen, had hit the top three trending topics on Weibo, where it remained.

"Impressive," Meng Changkun said, giving a thumbs up, though he remained skeptical. After all, talk was cheap, and he couldn't rule out that Lu Liang was just bragging to save face. Lu Liang smiled and offered no explanation.

Before they had finished the pot of tea, Liu Jun arrived with the industrial and commercial documents and the business license. Lu Liang chatted a bit more with Meng Changkun before saying, "Brother Kun, I apologize, but I have things to attend to later, so I must be going."

"Go ahead, come by for tea when you have time," Meng Changkun said with an understanding smile. When he first started his business, it was common for him to go days without sleep. A startup company indeed had plenty to keep one busy.

After bidding farewell to Meng Changkun, Lu Liang arrived at the International Talent City on Meiyuan Road. Since he didn't need management-level talent yet, he didn't use a headhunter; he simply rented a booth and set up a sign to start recruiting.

[Magic City Sky Star Capital Co., Ltd.]
Hiring two receptionists: Five social insurances and one housing fund, five-day work week, 5K monthly salary during probation, 7K after becoming permanent, includes meal and housing subsidies (fresh graduates preferred).
Hiring two financial auditors: 15K+ monthly salary, postgraduate degree or higher, three or more years of industry experience...

The advantages of a company with paid-in registered capital were evident; information about Sky Star Capital could be found on the national website. Before long, a long line had formed in front of Lu Liang’s booth. In this day and age, looking up company information wasn't difficult; many schools even taught students how to evaluate whether a company was worth joining as part of their first career lesson.

Sky Star Capital had a subscribed capital of 6 million and a paid-in capital of 6 million, clearly demonstrating strong financial backing. Moreover, with the business license having been approved just yesterday, those who joined now would undoubtedly be considered "founding contributors."

As time passed, more and more people submitted resumes, and Lu Liang grew numb while his standards became increasingly high. For the receptionist position, he had initially just wanted a junior college graduate with a good image and temperament, but there were simply too many candidates to choose from. He raised the bar from junior college to third-tier university, then to second-tier, while also favoring those who were more attractive, held a Level 4 English certificate, and had experience organizing campus activities.

In contrast, the financial auditor position received fewer applications. A salary of 15K+ for someone with a postgraduate degree and three years of experience wasn't exceptionally high. Still, there were applicants. Lu Liang noticed one resume: Tang Caidie, a Ph.D. from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, who had worked at Sequoia Capital for eight years with extensive experience.

At first, he was shocked—why would such a big fish come to his small temple? That was until he saw her age: born in 1978, she was 37. Being female and having a three-year career gap, she was the type of talent often "optimized" out of the industry.

At this age, as a woman, and with a three-year gap, most companies wouldn't hire her unless she brought her own resources.

"Ms. Tang, would you mind explaining why you left Sequoia and what you did during your three-year gap?"

Tang Caidie wore her hair in a chin-length bob, looking energetic and capable. If one ignored her age, she looked at most like she was in her early thirties. She wasn't strikingly beautiful, but she had a great temperament.

She spoke gracefully, "I went through a divorce at the time and had no heart for work, so I resigned to open a bed-and-breakfast in Cainan. Later, the B&B went bankrupt, so I returned to the Magic City."

Lu Liang pondered for a moment and said with a smile, "Ms. Tang, welcome to our company."

He then pulled out another resume and dialed the number on it: "Xiao Chen, are you still at the Talent City? Come over now."

Tang Caidie was stunned: "Mr. Lu, did I pass the interview?"

"Yes. If you have time, I'll take you to the company to complete the onboarding procedures now." Lu Liang waved to the young girl running toward them.

Tang Caidie’s resume was very impressive. Had she not been older, female, and possessed a three-year gap, she would never have been available for him to pick up. He had no complaints.

"Tang, you're in finance; Chen, you're the receptionist. You’ll be colleagues from now on, so get to know each other." Lu Liang introduced them, called over a market administrator, and threw all the resumes on the table into a shredder. "Wait for me at the entrance, I’m going to get the car."

"Sister Tang, hello. Mr. Lu, is he really taking us to the company for onboarding?" Chen Jinchun asked, bewildered, her eyes reflecting a naive innocence. She had thought Lu Liang called her over to ask a few questions, never expecting him to ask if she had time to start the onboarding process. She was a senior in college and graduating next month; having looked for a job for two months, she certainly had the time.

"Perhaps Mr. Lu is in a hurry," Tang Caidie said with a light laugh, quickly regaining her composure. Having nearly a decade of industry experience, she had seen many people and remained calm in the face of events.

Chen Jinchun seemed to find a sense of security, asking in a low voice, "Could there be a problem?"

"That seems unlikely." Tang Caidie looked ahead. A blue Bentley was parked at the building's entrance, and Lu Liang was waving at them. Even if the Bentley were rented, the fact that Sky Star Capital had 6 million in funds was undeniable. Besides, she knew her own value; she didn't believe she had anything left worth being swindled for.

"Let’s go." Tang Caidie sat in the passenger seat and let Chen Jinchun take the back. Although she told herself Lu Liang wasn't likely to deceive them, she remained vigilant. Letting Chen Jinchun sit in the back was also a measure of protection.