Chapter 92: A Fortunate Beginning for You

6,100 points, 55 contracts long.

Naturally, Zhang Long had already set his take-profit and stop-loss orders. He didn’t ask Huiyin for any advice on this trade, merely informed Wang Jing to keep an eye on the market for him, just in case things took a downturn and he needed timely suggestions but couldn’t get a response.

As for whether Wang Jing’s staying up late might affect her work performance the next day? He didn’t give it a thought.

A counselor can manage her own schedule.

...

“Ah, so sleepy.”

Time passed by. In a rented apartment somewhere in the metropolis, Wang Jing let out another huge yawn. Midnight had just passed, but the market hadn’t moved up much.

Zhang Long’s long position was about to break even, but even if it made a few points, it wasn’t worth closing. After all, you can’t just exit the moment you’ve covered the spread and commissions—that would be working for free for the platform. No client would accept that.

At the very least, you have to net a profit of 20 points beyond costs, only then does it make sense, just slightly above the platform’s fees.

“Forget it, time to sleep.”

In an apartment near the Bund, Zhang Long glanced at the clock after midnight and decided not to keep watching. With 55 contracts long, a net gain of 40 points after costs would be 110,000 yuan. The orders were already set. If the price went up, he’d take profit smoothly; if it dropped, factoring in costs, he’d lose 90,000 yuan and stop out.

So, whether he watched or not made no difference.

There were plenty of opportunities in spot trading, but no matter how many, you couldn’t trade around the clock. Skipping sleep for money wasn’t worth it—health was the greatest wealth.

“Amen, sorry.”

Zhang Long went to bed. He didn’t tell Wang Jing she could stop watching the market; he had one thing to test.

He wanted to see if the third unused premonition today could be carried over and used tomorrow.

In other words, would he have four chances tomorrow?

Of course, he could’ve told Wang Jing there was no need to stay up, but he figured if he fell asleep and the market suddenly crashed, she could still wake him and offer a suggestion to make up the loss. It wouldn’t be a waste of her effort.

Besides, perhaps Wang Jing had already fallen asleep anyway. Keeping watch? Not likely.

Even if she wasn’t, what could he do—fire her?

...

“Ugh, I can’t sleep yet.”

In her rented apartment, Wang Jing’s eyelids battled exhaustion. It was already 1:30 AM, and Zhang Long’s position still hadn’t hit the profit target. She was reaching her limit.

The spot market would close at four, then there would be a two-hour settlement break and reopen at six.

If she could make it to four, she could sleep right after and still get three hours in before her usual wake-up time—that would do.

“Please, just go up already.”

Though she had a backup plan in mind, Wang Jing still hoped to wrap up her watch quickly and get some sleep. After a long day, the night was getting unbearable; her body felt like it was falling apart.

Guiding clients in spot trading did pay well, but near round-the-clock trading was exhausting—late nights staring at the screen were the norm.

Of course, she could always stop watching, let clients win or lose as fate allowed, but then trading itself would be left to chance.

A little empathy went a long way. Clients could sense whether you genuinely cared. If you couldn’t even handle the small task of keeping an eye on their trades, how could you ask them to add funds or make more trades?

The colleagues in the department with the best client relationships stayed up till two or three every night—that was proof enough.

When you showed dedication, sometimes even if clients lost money, they wouldn’t blame you—wouldn’t have the heart to.

Exchanging hard work for reward was worth it.

“Hmm? Oh wow…”

Suddenly, as her mind drifted in exhaustion, Wang Jing jolted back to attention—the market had moved. In her moment of daze, the price had started to climb, slowly but steadily.

“Go on, push higher…”

During the day, the price had reached a high of 6,400 points, but in the US evening session, it had fallen to 6,100—a drop of 300 points was significant. After a period of cooling and watching, the urge for a rebound naturally grew stronger.

Sentiment was pushing the price up. Little by little, spot silver inched higher, and after about fifteen minutes, it was just two points shy of Zhang Long’s take-profit level.

Yesterday, Zhang Long’s last trade had missed take-profit by three points. Would it be two points short today? That would be enough to make her want to cry.

“Yes! Beautiful!”

Suddenly, Wang Jing perked up, her body trembling with delight as the take-profit triggered. She immediately sent Zhang Long a message via Q-chat—the market watch was over.

Time to sleep; she was at her limit.

...

“Whew, that feels good.”

Although it was only eight-thirty in the morning, Zhang Long woke naturally, stretched lazily, and squinted at the screen—was it a profit or a loss?

His mind hadn’t fully caught up yet, and he forgot to check his phone for Wang Jing’s Q-chat message first.

“Huh? Take-profit hit?”

Unlocking the screen, Zhang Long saw his positions were gone, and his account balance had climbed to just over 2.5 million. His spirits lifted and he snapped his fingers.

At the same time, he saw Wang Jing’s Q-chat message sent after the take-profit at two in the morning.

Not bad—quite responsible.

Spot silver was around 6,150 points now; neither long nor short looked promising. Zhang Long rolled his stiff neck and stopped paying attention, then went to wash up and head downstairs.

Breakfast was non-negotiable. No matter how busy, he made sure to have three meals a day.

Besides, staying cooped up at home trading stocks or spot, those three meals were almost the only chances to get out for some fresh air. Otherwise, staying indoors too long would sap his spirit, turning him into a listless, unhealthy recluse.

Making money was important, but health mattered more. If going to the gym weren't such a hassle, he would’ve started working out after moving to the Bund, to avoid getting out of shape.

Compared to when he left Shengxin, though he hadn’t weighed himself, Zhang Long could feel he’d definitely gained weight—at least 7 or 8 pounds.

Still, it was fine. He’d always been on the thin side, so as long as he didn’t put on more than 20 pounds, it wouldn’t show as fat—just looked like he was returning to normal. There was still room.

He’d start working out when he really began to get chubby. Until then, he’d keep putting it off as long as possible—laziness was a common affliction.

...

“Stock market, spot trading…”

After breakfast and returning home, it was nearly 9:30—market opening time. Reports from HSBC, UBS, Jun Finance, and Hongze were all in.

Though Zhang Long had accepted Qian Caiying’s commission to act as agent, he didn’t offer extra stock recommendations.

So Hongze’s own analysts’ work remained unchanged. No matter how poor their picks, they still had to provide them.

“Hmm? That’s scary.”

Suddenly, Zhang Long’s eyes narrowed. The reports from HSBC and UBS had nothing remarkable, but Jun Finance and Hongze’s were polar opposites today.

Jun Finance had recommended Tuohai Energy, a stock that’d been hitting its upper limit for several days in a row, but today their pick was a disaster.

The main stock they recommended would hit its lower limit before the afternoon close, and keep falling for the rest of the week.

Bear markets were full of pitfalls.

Every day, plenty of stocks hit their lower limits, but when you actually step into one yourself, only you know the pain—nobody wants to fall into a deep pit.

On the other hand, Hongze’s recommendation included a stock that would hit its upper limit in the next two days. Whether the analyst was truly skilled or just lucky was unknown. Last time, their recommended Yunfeng Technology had soared for several days; this time, though not as crazy, was still impressive.

Of course, Zhang Long would buy this stock. He’d also use Hongze’s agency account to give Qian Caiying a boost—last month’s performance had been lackluster.

A winning first trade would be a great start—prove his ability by making money with the agency account.

“Hm? Tiannan Technology?”

At Hongze Financial, after Zhang Long bought the stock for the agency account, Qian Caiying immediately received the notification—she’d been watching closely. She was surprised to see Zhang Long had bought three stocks at once, using up half the funds.

Two stocks at 1.5 million each, one at 2 million.

Truly, people are less cautious with money that isn’t their own. Such aggression on the first trade, but at least it showed where his confidence lay: Tiannan Technology!

Qian Caiying’s eyes flashed. Let’s go!

PS: Asking for monthly and recommendation votes. The recommendation spot has been successfully secured—thanks to all friends and supporters. When the book is officially launched, I’ll work hard to update more. My sincere thanks.