107: Chapter 107 Go All In

Wednesday, May 14, 2025, Cloudy, 19~34℃.

Qiao Yichen had just sat down at his desk in the Planning Department when Li Yong leaned over to greet him, "Morning, Boss!" Meng Zhi and Shen Bowen also nodded at him.

He gave a brief acknowledgment and opened his computer to handle a few routine emails.

Once finished, he beckoned to the three of them, "Let's go to the small meeting room and go over yesterday's progress."

He had taken the afternoon off yesterday to deal with the cabinet, so he only had a general idea of the work progress.

The four of them settled into the small meeting room. Li Yong went over yesterday's situation, Meng Zhi added a few data points, and Shen Bowen flipped through the materials to confirm there were no issues.

Qiao Yichen nodded and assigned today's tasks. By the time everything was arranged, it was already nearly 10:30 AM.

Just as he was about to stand up, his phone vibrated.

A bank notification—2.6 million had arrived.

He stared at the string of numbers for two seconds. Before he could react, the phone vibrated again.

A message from Zhou Huaiming: "The money should be in your account, right? Check it."

Qiao Yichen replied: "It's here. You're efficient, Teacher Zhou."

Zhou Huaiming replied with a handshake emoji and said no more.

Immediately after, a message from Su Qing came in: "I've transferred 500,000 to your card. Confirm if it's arrived."

Qiao Yichen switched to his banking app, took a look, and replied: "It's here, no problem."

Su Qing replied: "Alright, go ahead with the operations on your end. Contact me anytime if there's an issue."

Just as he sent that, Lin Wei's message popped up—a string of crying emojis followed by: "Waaaah, I've given you my entire net worth. I'm so nervous, Boss Qiao."

Looking at the screen, Qiao Yichen couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.

He first replied with a head-pat emoji and added: "Trust me."

Lin Wei replied instantly: "Can it really double? I didn't sleep well last night, tossing and turning thinking about this."

Qiao Yichen thought for a moment and replied: "Doubling is a conservative estimate. Focus on work and don't overthink it."

Lin Wei replied: "Then should I keep an eye on my phone for news today? I'm so nervous!"

Qiao Yichen: "No need to watch it. I'll let you know once I've bought in. Just do what you need to do."

Lin Wei replied with an "okay then" emoji and followed up with: "Anyway, I'm leaving it all to you. I won't worry about it anymore."

Qiao Yichen smiled, placed his phone face down on the table, and took a deep breath.

For the rest of the morning, he checked his phone from time to time. Bank notifications arrived one after another; he confirmed each one, then opened the stock trading software and bought in bit by bit.

Su Qing's 500,000 arrived, as did Lin Wei's 500,000. Combined with the money in his own account and the 600,000 online loan he'd secured last night, he bought in batches.

The price fluctuated around 22.5. He kept his eyes on the market, looking for the right moments to enter slowly. Buying too quickly could drive up costs, but buying too slowly might mean missing out. With several million in capital, it took several batches to get it all in.

When the final transaction was completed, he checked the time—11:40 AM. The average price was 22.54 yuan, with a total position of 4.8 million.

He leaned back and let out a long breath.

He sat down with Liu Yanran at their usual Cantonese Restaurant for lunch, and only then did she find the time to take out her phone.

"I was in meetings all morning and didn't have time to transfer it," she said as she tapped on her screen. "800,000 has been sent. Check it."

Qiao Yichen's phone vibrated. He glanced at it and nodded, "Received."

Liu Yanran set her phone aside and looked at him, "Did you buy?"

Qiao Yichen opened the stock trading software and handed her the phone.

The screen displayed today's transaction records—2.6 million from the antique cabinet, 600,000 of his own funds, 500,000 each from Su Qing and Lin Wei, plus the 600,000 online loan. A total of 4.8 million, bought at 22.54 yuan, full position.

Looking at the numbers, Liu Yanran's lips curled slightly, "You moved quite fast."

Qiao Yichen took his phone back and placed a piece of meat in her bowl, "There wasn't much to do this morning, so I found the time to buy in."

Liu Yanran glanced at the market page on her own phone and remarked casually, "The stock price hasn't changed much today; it only went up by ten cents."

Qiao Yichen replied while chewing his food, "It's the calm before the storm."

Liu Yanran looked up at him, "How long will we have to wait after the suspension?"

"During the suspension, there will be regular progress announcements once a week." Qiao Yichen put down his chopsticks. "Actually, we won't have to wait long. It'll resume trading in about two weeks."

Liu Yanran nodded, remembering her business, "Then don't forget to buy my share this afternoon."

Qiao Yichen looked at her and smiled, "Don't worry, I'll buy it for you as soon as the market opens this afternoon."

Feeling a bit self-conscious under his gaze, Liu Yanran lowered her head to eat and muttered softly, "What are you smiling at..."

Qiao Yichen didn't say anything, just placed another piece of meat in her bowl.

...

2:00 PM, the lunch break ended.

Qiao Yichen got up from his desk, rubbed his eyes, and checked his phone—the market had opened.

He opened the stock trading software and bought Liu Yanran's 800,000 in batches.

The price was still hovering around 22.5. He watched the market and entered the orders one by one.

After the final purchase, the total position became 5.6 million, with an average price of 22.53 yuan.

He took a screenshot, opened WeChat, created a new group, and added Liu Yanran, Su Qing, and Lin Wei.

Then he sent the screenshot to the group and typed: "5.6 million, full position, average price 22.53. Mission accomplished."

As soon as the message was sent, Lin Wei popped up.

She sent a string of "Wow" emojis, interspersed with several GIFs of money, and finally followed with a text: "That's so much money!!!"

Then came another string of emojis—cats rolling, dogs spinning, rabbits hopping—filling the entire screen.

Before Qiao Yichen could reply, a message from Liu Yanran popped up: "Not bad, very fast."

A second later, she added: "I'm going to a meeting. I have a proposal this afternoon."

Lin Wei immediately replied: "Go, go!"

Su Qing also appeared then, her message being just: "Why are you disturbing my peaceful slumber?"

Lin Wei replied instantly: "It's almost two and you're still sleeping?? Lawyer Su, is this your working hours!"

Su Qing replied: "My client has an appointment at 2:30. Why can't I sleep?"

Lin Wei sent a "contempt" emoji.

Seeing the lively group chat, Qiao Yichen typed: "The funds are all in the market now. Trading will be suspended tomorrow. Now we just wait for the news."

He paused and sent another: "I'm heading out for field work. Bye." He added a waving emoji.

After sending it, he put his phone in his pocket, stood up, and called out to Meng Zhi, "Let's go."

Meng Zhi had been ready for a while. She picked up her bag, stood up, and followed him out.

The two of them arrived at the underground parking lot. Qiao Yichen pulled out his car keys and pressed the button.

He had been the one driving lately, so the keys were basically always with him.

The white Audi was parked quietly in its space. He opened the driver's door and sat inside, while Meng Zhi got into the passenger seat.

The car started and drove out of the basement.

Meng Zhi fastened her seatbelt and turned to ask, "Boss, where are we going first?"

Qiao Yichen turned on his blinker and pulled onto the main road, "To the Fragrant Grain Record store. Let's check out the site."

Meng Zhi nodded and took out her phone to check the route.

The car merged into the afternoon traffic, heading toward the Old City District.