"Breaking the 40-yuan mark is a breeze! Reaching 50 yuan a share is no longer just a dream!"

Fang Qingye was still at work when he saw a call from Song Qingdong. Instead of answering immediately, he stepped out of the office to find a quiet spot.

Song’s voice came through the receiver instantly: "Xiao Ye, my company’s loan has been approved. Thank you so much."

"You’re welcome, Uncle Song. In truth, the credit for this goes largely to Branch President Xia. She personally made a trip to the municipal branch for this, and your company’s excellent reputation played a part as well. As for me, I merely offered a small suggestion to her," Fang Qingye replied modestly.

Song laughed heartily on the other end: "A small suggestion? I hosted a dinner that night, and no matter what I said, your Branch President wouldn't budge. I don’t know what you said to her, but winning her over is no easy feat."

"I will certainly express my gratitude to President Xia, but I must thank you first, Xiao Ye. How can I repay you?" Song paused, then continued, "I believe you don't have a car yet? How about I buy you one? What do you think of the new Camry? You saved me millions in interest, after all."

"No, no, please don’t," Fang Qingye quickly interjected.

"What, is the Camry not good enough? Then how about a BMW 3 Series? You young people all like driving BMWs."

"Uncle Song, you’ve misunderstood. I cannot accept a car from you. Da Hai and I are such good friends that helping out is only natural. Besides, if word got out that you bought me a car, some might mistake it for bribery!"

"Haha, Xiao Ye, you are very cautious... Very well, I shall mark this as a favor owed."

After a few more words, Fang Qingye hung up. In truth, he wasn't worried about bribery; he was still just an intern, and who would think of bribing an intern? Even if they did, it would be considered a finder's fee at most. Perhaps Xia He might think otherwise, but there was no need; if he needed a car, he could buy it himself.

Kairui Company quickly repaid the loan and immediately secured a new one for 24 million yuan. This had a significant impact on the real estate sector in Nanxin. The Oriental Bank was the first to answer the county's call to help local real estate enterprises navigate their difficulties. This earned them praise from county leaders—and, of course, benefits beyond mere lip service.

In a county like Nanxin, there is usually a fiscal surplus at the end of the year, ranging from hundreds of millions to over a billion yuan, which is deposited across various local banks. To "share the rain and dew," the government spreads these deposits around. However, because the Oriental Bank had actively responded to the call to assist local businesses, the leaders didn't forget them; the year-end fiscal surplus deposited into the Oriental Bank was significantly larger than that of other banks, which helped them meet the deposit targets set by the municipal branch.

This also caused quite a stir within the Jinghai branch system. Xia He was the first branch president among the seven counties and districts under Jinghai to high-profilely support the real estate industry. It was rumored that some people at the provincial branch had criticized her actions, but after Xia He personally traveled to the provincial capital to report the details to a certain leader, those criticisms vanished.

Of course, none of this concerned Fang Qingye. His focus was primarily on the stock market. As May began, Longping High-Tech continued its triumphant advance, breaking through the 30-yuan mark in one breath. Just then, news broke: the state had reviewed and approved a major science and technology project for the cultivation of new genetically modified biological varieties. Listed companies involved in the field of genetic modification were set to benefit significantly, and Longping High-Tech was one of them.

At the same time, Longping High-Tech announced its annual dividend and capital reserve conversion plan: a bonus of one share for every ten held, a cash dividend of one yuan per ten shares, and a conversion of five shares for every ten from capital reserves—effectively six shares for every ten held.

With these two major boosts, a flood of retail investors poured into the stock. On message boards and television, various stock pundits hyped the stock to the heavens.

"Breaking 40 yuan is easy! Touching 50 yuan is not a dream!"

That evening, Fang Qingye opened his computer, logged into QQ, and clicked on a stock discussion group he had been following. A user named "Stock Market Whiz" was bragging incessantly. He even posted a screenshot of his holdings.

He held 35,785 shares, with a floating profit of 2,587,264 yuan. The group erupted in exclamations, and various sycophantic comments began to roll in.

A shill.

In his previous life, when Fang Qingye first entered this industry, he would have been fired up by such claims, only to realize later that it was all a setup. Once a crowd of "leeks" (naive retail investors) bought in, the shills would swing their sickles to harvest them. They would claim to be in the same boat, sharing fortunes and misfortunes, but in reality, they were part of a group where other accounts had already cashed out with full pockets.

50 yuan, my foot... Breaking 40 might be possible, but 50 was pure fantasy. When all the good news is out, that’s when the bad news begins.

Fang Qingye opened his trading app and set his 13,900 shares of Longping High-Tech to sell at 40 yuan, intending to clear his position entirely. It was time to leave and move on to other stocks he had been eyeing, though he would have to wait a while longer.

After executing the trade, he looked back at the stock group and noticed that the "Dongguan Girl" and Jiang Chen were both in the group, yet strangely silent today. Ever since Jiang Chen lost his bet, he had been much quieter, rarely discussing stocks in front of friends or classmates. He had become a "lurker" in the group where he was once very active. Fang Qingye didn't bother to chat with him; everyone was lurking, after all.

Fang Qingye was about to close QQ out of boredom when a message popped up in the group, publicly tagging "Stock Market Whiz": "You’re just a shill!"

It was the Dongguan Girl.

Her avatar flickered again: "You’re scamming these small investors. Doesn't your conscience bother you?"

*This girl has a sense of justice,* Fang Qingye thought to himself.

The "Whiz" naturally refused to back down: "What do you know? If you're so smart, post a screenshot of your holdings and your trading record!"

"I never trade stocks."

As soon as she sent that message, the group mocked her. "If you don't trade, why are you spouting nonsense?" "She’s just a troublemaker, group admin, kick her out!"

Of course, there were some more rational heads. "Don't you remember? Not long ago, this 'Young Beauty' said she used modeling to calculate that Longping High-Tech would soar, and she was right!"

"That was just a blind cat hitting a dead mouse! Who uses mathematical models to trade? Do you?" someone countered, sounding as if they knew her.

"I don't even know what a mathematical model is."

"Exactly. How many people here do? She’s just bluffing."

"Oh, I see."

Fang Qingye watched the chat on the screen with amusement. *What kind of logic is this? They deserve to be harvested as leeks.* He shook his head.

The Dongguan Girl didn't seem as fiery today; she didn't bother to refute the mockery. Fang Qingye assumed she had gone offline, but then he noticed her avatar flickering again. This time, it was a private message to him.

"Husband, I was bored and looked at the member list, and I actually found you in this group!"

*Huh?* So that’s why she wasn't talking in the group; she was busy doing this. Seeing that she was speaking normally today, Fang Qingye replied: "I am. So what?"

"You trade stocks? Then you should follow me from now on," she boasted.

"You just said in the group that you don't trade at all," Fang Qingye typed back.

"Haven't you ever seen a pig run even if you haven't eaten pork? Let me tell you, this young lady is a natural-born queen of the stock market! The day I descend upon the market, the whole world will celebrate!"

*She’s back to her eccentric self,* Fang Qingye thought, too lazy to engage.

Seeing he didn't reply, she continued: "Husband, did you buy Longping High-Tech too?"

"Yeah, I bought it a while ago and set it to sell today."

"Ah... Husband, you really listen to me. I am very pleased."

*What a narcissist,* Fang Qingye thought, shaking his head. *I bought Longping High-Tech, what does that have to do with you?*

He was about to sign off when she sent another string of text: "Husband, I’ll recommend another stock for you. Guaranteed to make you a fortune!"

"What stock?" Fang Qingye asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Yanjing Tourism."

Seeing those three characters, Fang Qingye felt a jolt of surprise.

*Just as I thought.*