Chapter 41: Institutional Seats

At nine-thirty, Lu Liang finished his daily workout.

After breakfast, he called Zhao Haisheng to schedule a meeting for later.

Li Manli was also planning to go out to buy some things, so the two of them went down to the underground parking garage together.

Seeing an unfamiliar yellow car parked in Lu Liang’s assigned space, she looked around in confusion. "Where is the car?"

"This is it."

Lu Liang smiled and unlocked the door, a golden bull projection suddenly appearing on the ground beneath it.

"So cool! What kind of car is this little bull?"

Li Manli walked around it, sensing it must be very expensive, though she didn't recognize the emblem.

"Lamborghini."

"Ah? Is that what a Lamborghini looks like?"

"You didn't think they only made supercars, did you?"

"Isn't that true?"

"..."

Lu Liang sighed, not even wanting to explain further. He gently patted the back of Li Manli’s head. "Get in."

Once inside, Li Manli couldn't help touching everything she could reach. Her eyes fell on the purchase receipt inside the glove compartment.

Her eyes widened abruptly as she covered her mouth in shock. "No way! This car costs 3.08 million?"

Lu Liang responded with a casual hum. "Where are you heading?"

"The north entrance of the IFC."

Lu Liang punched the destination into the navigation system and saw it was about two kilometers away. A sudden thought struck him. "How do you usually get around?"

"Bus route 11," Li Manli giggled, then crossed her legs and swung them up and down.

Lu Liang chuckled in amusement—bus route 11 simply meant walking. He asked, "How is your driver's license test coming along?"

"I'm studying for the written theory test lately."

"Let me know when you pass. I'll buy you a commuter car so it'll be convenient for you to get around in the future."

Li Manli never expected such a surprise to come so suddenly. She opened her wide, watery eyes and asked, "What kind of car?"

"Let's wait until you actually pass."

"I will definitely pass."

Li Manli acted coquettishly, trying to fish for information. "Tell me what kind of car it is."

"Do you like sports cars?"

Lu Liang chuckled, remembering a Porsche 718 he saw at the auto show yesterday.

The total drive-away price should be under 700,000, which was perfect for someone who had just learned how to drive.

Li Manli was ecstatic, though she suddenly acted a little coy. "Wouldn't a sports car be too extravagant?"

"Forget it then if you don't want it."

Lu Liang glanced sideways at her, not intending to spoil her excessively.

"I want it, I want it, I want it!"

Taking advantage of a red light, Li Manli planted a fierce kiss on Lu Liang's cheek. "Brother Liang, I love you the most."

Right then and there, in front of Li Manli, Lu Liang called Li Yue and reserved a white 718.

The standard drive-away price was 670,000, but the registration was under Lu Liang's personal information rather than Li Manli's.

This meant that no matter who drove the car in the future, its ultimate ownership would belong solely to Lu Liang.

"You bought it just like that?"

Li Manli was stunned. She hadn't thought that deeply into it; hearing that Lu Liang had already booked it left her grinning foolishly.

"Study hard for your driver's license. If you fail, you'll just be stuck staring with regret," Lu Liang teased with a smile.

Arriving at the IFC, Lu Liang parked the car right at the entrance. Li Manli looked conflicted. "I suddenly feel a lot of pressure."

"Pressure is a good thing. Off you go."

Crossing the Pujiang River, Lu Liang arrived at the Guotai brokerage branch.

Zhao Haisheng’s eyes widened, his jaw practically dropping in astonishment.

Over the past few days, the stock index had plummeted, and many people had been contacting him to apply for higher margin quotas to cover their positions.

Initially, he assumed Lu Liang was just like the rest of them, looking to apply for margin trading. It turned out he had simply lacked vision.

The stock crash not only left Lu Liang unaffected, but it had also allowed him to make a massive fortune; otherwise, he wouldn't have had the money to buy a Lamborghini SUV.

The Urus was extremely famous in car enthusiast circles. Ever since its launch in 2012, it had been hailed as the strongest SUV on earth.

Nothing else in the same price range could compete with it, and even at the five-million price tier, it remained a nearly invincible existence.

However, he had heard that the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Bentley Bentayga were about to be launched, which might eventually challenge the Urus's status.

Zhao Haisheng’s thoughts drifted away until Lu Liang called out to him, snapping him back to reality. "Director Lu, this way please."

The two of them entered a VIP trading room on the second floor. Lu Liang went straight to the point. "What are the requirements to lease an institutional trading seat at Guotai?"

Brokerage accounts were divided into four tiers: Tier 1, Tier 2, VIP accounts, and institutional seats.

Tiers 1 and 2 were standard retail accounts, merely equipped with functions like margin trading and securities lending. "Major accounts" fell under VIP accounts, which allowed access to international channels, but compared to institutional seats, they were still a grade lower—or rather, a dimension lower.

In normal trading, institutional seats held the highest priority. Regardless of buying or selling, their orders took precedence over the other three tiers.

Assuming ordinary retail investors shared one trading channel among fifty people, and major accounts shared it among ten, an institutional seat had an entire channel dedicated to a single user.

If dozens of orders at the exact same price appeared simultaneously, the institution's trades would always be executed first, followed by major accounts and retail investors.

Furthermore, institutions had the right to participate in pre-market and after-hours trading—a privilege that set them furthest apart from ordinary retail investors.

In other words, institutions held the power to dictate a stock's opening and closing prices.

"Director Lu, taking Guotai as an example, the channel usage fee is one million annually, and the account margin must not be less than twenty million."

Zhao Haisheng furrowed his brow. With the stock market currently crashing, leasing an institutional seat was akin to swimming against the current or lighting a lamp in a restroom.

"Is that it?" Lu Liang asked in surprise. He had spent a long time researching the previous night, and some of the qualification criteria had almost made his head spin.

Zhao Haisheng couldn't help offering a wry smile. "Director Lu, it's not exactly simple. Twenty-one million is truly not something an ordinary person can just pull out."

Though there were various other miscellaneous procedures and qualifications, as long as one had the money, none of those issues were problems.

The brokerage didn't collect that million for nothing; they would handle everything properly so that the client could simply sit back and reap the benefits.

Lu Liang understood.

Twenty-one million was the ultimate threshold. Enterprises with over a hundred million in assets probably couldn't even scrape that together on a whim.

Next, he inquired about how long the processing procedure would take and familiarized himself with the various functions of the institutional seat.

The reply was within five working days, though Lu Liang would also need to provide asset verification and proof of scale.

Lu Liang pulled out an Industrial and Commercial Bank platinum card, which held a neat nine-figure sum. "Twenty million as margin, one million for the channel fee, and wire the remaining seventy-nine million directly into the institutional account."

"Director Lu, you only need to provide proof. Please... please put that away for now. I'll contact you once the paperwork is finalized."

Zhao Haisheng was shocked, wiping non-existent sweat from his forehead.

He was arguably the person who understood Lu Liang’s rise to wealth best. Just a few months prior, Lu Liang was still someone who needed margin financing for a mere 250,000.

In the blink of an eye, he now commanded a cash flow of a hundred million. The speed at which money printers produced cash probably couldn't match how fast he made it.

It also kept him from harboring any intrusive thoughts. If it were only a few million or tens of millions, they might still be considered on the same level.

Once the funds exceeded a hundred million, it was no longer a client within Zhao Haisheng's tier of accessibility.

Zheng Wenzhi, the general manager of the branch, was taking a day off at home today, but upon hearing the news, he hurried over.

"Hello, Director Lu. My name is Zheng Wenzhi, the general manager of the Huanghe Road branch. I'm very pleased to be of service to you."

Zheng Wenzhi was all smiles; after all, someone who could pull out a hundred million for investment must have a total asset value far exceeding that amount.

"Manager Zheng, please expedite the leasing procedures as soon as possible. I've already familiarized myself with the nitty-gritty details."

Lu Liang paused for a moment before adding, "Manager Zhao is great, and his professional capability is top-notch. Have him handle my account and be my point of contact from now on."

Zheng Wenzhi was slightly startled, but he wouldn't dare refuse. He accompanied the statement with a smile. "Manager Zhao, from now on, you will be exclusively responsible for coordinating with Director Lu."

Gratitude showed on Zhao Haisheng’s face. "Thank you for your high regard, Director Lu. I will definitely continue to work hard and won't let you down."

If Lu Liang hadn't spoken up, Lu Liang would have shifted from being his client to the branch's client.

In that case, the future profits generated by Lu Liang would be credited as the branch's achievement—and Zheng Wenzhi's achievement—rather than his own.

But because Lu Liang made that specific request, it remained Zhao Haisheng's merit, and no one could steal it away.

Lu Liang smiled and nodded, saying nothing more, because he saw his former self in Zhao Haisheng.

Years ago, he had once met a major client.

The client wanted to purchase eight properties at once and asked for a greater discount, but Lu Liang lacked the authority and had to report it to his superior.

In the end, that bastard Liu Jianchun intercepted the deal, leaving Lu Liang with nothing after a month of hard work.