Chapter 140: Two Hundred Million in Extra Income, Ambition, and a Stepping Stone

The night passed without a word, and the sun rose high. The Luo family did not wake the young couple in the guest room for breakfast; after a period of separation, they were essentially newlyweds, and who knew how late they had been up tossing and turning? It was best to let them sleep.

When Zhang Long woke up naturally, it was already lunchtime. Luo Man was nowhere to be seen by his side; she was busy in the kitchen. Luo’s mother had gone to work, so she was not at home.

...

"A travel agency?"

Zhang Long, Luo Man, and Luo Xin were eating lunch together when the conversation turned to Luo Man’s career plans after the New Year. The Luo family still felt it was a pity that she had quit her stable bank job, but a daughter grown is not under her mother’s control. Since Luo Man had her own plans, they would respect them; as long as she didn't live to regret it, that was fine.

"If you run short on investment, come to me," Zhang Long said with a smile between bites. "I know a few second-generation wealthy kids who have plenty of money. If your travel agency needs capital for expansion, let me know. They might not have tens of millions, but they can certainly cough up a few million."

"Mm, thank you."

Luo Man’s beautiful eyes were filled with affection. After their time apart, their bodies and hearts were refreshed and invigorated. She wasn't surprised that Zhang Long knew such people; during his time at Shengxin, his performance had been excellent, and it was normal to indirectly meet wealthy clients. The key was the relationship. Only if he could get them to believe in him and be willing to invest could it be considered a genuine connection; otherwise, it was just an illusion.

The tourism industry in Shanghai was highly developed. Even a small agency wouldn't lack business, from organizing group tours to arranging dining, lodging, and shopping. As long as one managed any of these links well, there was money to be made. It was a viable venture. Luo Man was very optimistic about the tourism industry.

Zhang Long, however, felt a bit differently. While he supported Luo Man’s ideas, he couldn't help but worry about the unpredictable, long-lasting pandemic he remembered from his previous life. The tourism industry was always the first to bear the brunt. However, there was no guarantee that such a pandemic would occur in this world, so he decided to cross that bridge if he came to it.

Zhang Long would not overly interfere with Luo Man’s plans. It was good to bravely pursue a career one loved. Regardless of what the future held, he should be able to provide a safety net. If all else failed, she could just be a full-time housewife. Staying home to raise children would be nice, too. Of course, Zhang Long had no intention of marrying or having children within the next three to five years. He had just turned twenty-five after the New Year; there was no need to rush. He would live freely for a few more years first.

...

"Phew, over 800,000."

After finishing lunch at the Luo residence, Zhang Long returned to his apartment on the Bund. He opened his foreign exchange trading dashboard and let out a sigh of relief. It was Friday, the last trading day of the week. When it opened again next Monday, the stock market would also resume.

What Zhang Long was marveling at wasn't just 800,000 USD across three accounts, but over 800,000 USD *per* account—a total of 2.4 million USD, or 15.6 million yuan. This was the result of three weeks of forex trading! However, he couldn't cash out during the Spring Festival holiday; he would have to wait until the markets returned to normal next week to withdraw funds. Therefore, Zhang Long hadn't gone all out, choosing to keep a low profile.

"I'll switch up my strategy this time."

Zhang Long’s eyes flashed. Previously, he had needed to finish before the industry meeting before the New Year, so he had operated nine accounts simultaneously, which had kept him busy all day juggling stocks and spot trading. Now that the New Year had passed and the forex industry wouldn't have another meeting for at least half a year, there was no need to rush. He could take it slow and steady.

Zhang Long decided that he would stop once each of the three accounts hit a net profit of 1.5 million USD. Then, he would open three new accounts on different platforms and repeat the process until he reached his self-imposed limit. 1.5 million USD converted to about 9.75 million yuan—less than 10 million. Any large forex liquidity provider wouldn't even notice. He didn't know exactly how much he could make in total, but he estimated it wouldn't exceed 100 million.

Spot trading and forex were just side income.

"200 million? That’s enough..."

Zhang Long exhaled. Both spot and forex trading fell into the category of loosely regulated capital pools. His "golden finger" foresight was limited to three times a day, unlike the relatively unlimited usage he had in the stock market. He suspected that both spot and forex were extra perks provided by his ability, and once this "wool-gathering" was over, he would have to return to the legitimate stock market. One hundred million from each would make two hundred million. That was enough. Although he hadn't yet activated foresight for futures, futures were a formal market.

His CFA Level 1 certificate would arrive by the end of the month. He would wait and see what happened when his golden finger fully upgraded. Level 2—would there be any surprises?

...

"Ah, I don't want to move."

"We just got back and now we have to clean..."

In a Shanghai apartment, Qin Miaotong lay on the sofa, groaning. She didn't even want to mention the nagging and pressure to get married she had faced at home during the holidays. She had barely sat down after returning to Shanghai when her best friend insisted on cleaning. Couldn't they just rest for a while?

Unfortunately, the diligent Liang Xue was having none of it. She pulled Qin Miaotong up to work. "You put on quite a bit of weight back home for the New Year. Use this as exercise to slim down, or else no one will want you later. I'm here helping you do half the work, and you're still complaining?"

"I'm doing it all myself!"

There was nothing she could do; Qin Miaotong had to surrender. However, while working, she asked, "Who was that messaging you on WeChat on the way back? You even tilted your phone so I couldn't see the screen. Was it Zhang Long or Zhao Hu?"

"Let's go out for a meal."

Qin Miaotong clearly hadn't given up on figuring out if Liang Xue’s "Zhang Long" was the same Zhang Long who was a HSBC client. There was no information about Zhang Long in his social media circle. It seemed they only communicated via WeChat.

"Get to work, stop being so nosy."

Liang Xue glanced at Qin Miaotong. Although she didn't know why this girl was suddenly so interested in Zhang Long, it wasn't the time to introduce them yet. When the opportunity was right, she would take the lead.

"Fine, keep it to yourself then."

Qin Miaotong pouted. "I’m trying to help you chase a guy, and you don't even appreciate it? You're acting as if I'm trying to steal your man. It's so annoying, no friendship at all."

"You clearly want to be with him, but you just won't be proactive. You'll hold it in until you burst. Your endocrine system will go haywire."

Liang Xue couldn't be bothered to respond. She went off to clean the rest of the room, ignoring the wicked girl’s emotional babble. She would manage her own affairs.

...

February 16, Saturday, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.

Normally, this would be the first day back at work, but Hongze wouldn't open until Sunday, so today was still a rest day. Zhang Long went to his appointment in the afternoon.

He had known Qian Caiying for quite a while—since September, half a year ago, when he worked at Shengxin. Their relationship had progressed from simple mentorship and client-agent cooperation to their trip on the luxury cruise. They could be called good friends now.

"Hello, Zhang Long."

"Hello, Ling Zhiqing!"

In a quiet booth at a leisure teahouse, Zhang Long met Ling Zhiqing, the current General Manager of Hongze and the little princess of the Ling family, through Qian Caiying’s introduction.

She had a cold, ethereal temperament, and her beauty was a notch above Qian Caiying’s—she was truly like her name. However, Zhang Long had learned from Qian Caiying that Ling Zhiqing was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and perhaps too filial. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it had its pros and cons.

"Thank you for your help with Hongze..."

Ling Zhiqing spoke first to express her gratitude. "As Caiying’s best friend, it is an honor to make your acquaintance. I look forward to your guidance and cooperation in the future. Thank you."

"Not at all, you're too kind."

Zhang Long waved his hand politely. Did the Ling family’s little princess really need his guidance? Even at her worst, she had a bottom line. Most ordinary women might dream of marrying into a wealthy family, but Zhang Long felt nothing of the sort. Ling Zhiqing *was* the phoenix. She had been pampered since childhood; being suddenly pushed into a marriage alliance by her family naturally brought her a sense of loss, frustration, and grievance. That was why she wanted to achieve something to control her own destiny. But Hongze belonged to the Ling family; no matter how well she did, it was all for nothing. Even if her second brother, Ling Yushan, wasn't keeping an eye on her, the family could take it back with a single word.

Zhang Long was willing to cooperate, but he certainly didn't want to work for the benefit of the Ling or Qian families. They needed to set the tone today; otherwise, there would be no future.

"I want the majority share in the new company."

Zhang Long’s eyes flashed as he calmly stared at Ling Zhiqing and Qian Caiying. "For both of you, the main goal is to break free from the family framework and build a successful career. Whether it makes a massive profit or not is secondary, but it must be successful. However, the premise is that this venture must belong to you, not the Qian family or the Ling family. This is the tone, and it is the prerequisite."

...

If money wasn't Zhang Long’s only source of confidence, then his ability to make it certainly was—especially since he had fully proven it to Qian Caiying. It was shocking.

Qian Caiying had witnessed his forex trades during the cruise. It was truly miraculous. In a word, as long as Zhang Long wanted to, he could rake in money from the forex, spot, futures, and stock markets. Not just earn—rake in.

Although Ling Zhiqing hadn't seen Zhang Long’s trades in person, she knew he had made a significant profit for the Hongze agency accounts. Furthermore, the stock radar Qian Caiying had used had greatly boosted Hongze’s overall development, and the results were right in front of them. Since returning from the cruise, Qian Caiying seemed to trust Zhang Long even more, almost superstitiously. She was convinced that as long as Zhang Long was involved, they would succeed.

"First of all, I have no problem with that."

Seeing Ling Zhiqing fall silent, Qian Caiying broke the stillness. "I’m quite casual. How much money we make doesn't matter; I just want to build a solid career. Even if we branch out later, that's fine."

"Whether it's seen as being undutiful or ungrateful, we aren't breaking ties with our families. If our future business is viable, we can prioritize cooperation with them."

"I, Qian Caiying, am creating my own path—a branch that belongs solely to me, without severing ties with the family."

This was Qian Caiying’s relative bottom line. Zhang Long feared their joint venture would be snatched away by the Qian or Ling families, but neither Qian Caiying nor Ling Zhiqing would ever completely break away from their families. If they had profitable projects in the future, it was perfectly feasible to cooperate with their families without worry.

Zhang Long agreed. After all, if the new venture went smoothly, it would be partly due to the status of Qian Caiying and Ling Zhiqing, which would save a lot of trouble in terms of connections and channels.

The two women had their own calculations, and Zhang Long had his own ambitions. They were stepping stones for one another.

"Fine, I agree."

A moment later, Ling Zhiqing nodded slowly. She reached out a fair, soft, and slightly cool hand, stood up, and shook Zhang Long’s hand formally. "Happy to cooperate."

"Phew, happy to cooperate."

Zhang Long let out a breath, feeling the cool, soft hand of Ling Zhiqing, his gaze firm and resolute.

The tripod of their new venture was built!