I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

"I didn't expect you to be so pragmatic." Yang Qing's lips curled into a smile.

“Giving a little is better than handing it all over. I’ll still do the math.” Chen Xi’s face flushed slightly upon hearing this.

In his past life, he chose to confront things head-on, so saying this now seems a bit ironic.

“Now that other people have gotten involved, our dividends will only decrease. This factory… do you… do you want to take it all over? I mean…” Yang Qing, who had just been joking, suddenly became hesitant.

"What's wrong? Are you worried about not making money in the future and want to quit?" Chen Xi chuckled.

"Yes...yes...um." Yang Qing stammered, then finally nodded.

"Didn't you say before that your dad wanted to give back to society? How long does this 'giving back to society' take?"

"Forehead……"

"It's fine, you can leave if you want. As long as Chenxu and I have a say in the company, that's fine. I don't need to say more, right?"

“What I mean is, we want to transfer our shares to you and Mr. Pang. But it seems my father wants to transfer all the shares to the other party…”

"Since everything's decided, why did that guy surnamed Pang come to see me just now? Oh... he wanted to give me a warning so I'd make more money for him, huh?" Chen Xi thought for a moment and said sarcastically.

Silence suddenly fell over the office.

After a long silence, Yang Qing spoke again: "Chen Xi, have you ever thought about this? Your business has now penetrated into the daily lives of ordinary people. This isn't overseas. Have you ever considered going back to Australia to develop your business?"

"I know what you're trying to say, and I have my own thoughts. Otherwise... wouldn't I have lived this life for nothing?" Chen Xi said the last sentence very quietly, only he could hear it.

"What?" Yang Qing looked puzzled.

"It's nothing, thank you for your kindness. Please take care of yourself. We've had a pleasant working relationship over the years. Although I don't particularly like your brother, I think you're a pretty good person." Chen Xi looked at Yang Qing earnestly.

The Spring Festival will be here soon.

When Chen Xi first returned to China, she didn't feel anything, but as time went on, she realized that every Spring Festival seemed to be the same.

The family gathers for a meal, watches the Spring Festival Gala, and then everyone goes home. The whole routine seems unchanging, which is why he's starting to dread the New Year.

However, this year's Spring Festival was different from previous years because there were suddenly two more people in the family.

"Wow, the girls from Korea are so beautiful!" Jing Li kept praising Jin Nana while holding her little hand.

This wasn't Jin Nana's first time back in China, but it was her first time visiting Chen Xi's maternal grandmother's house.

“You are Chen Xi’s…” Jing Li suddenly thought of something. She looked at the girl in front of her, and then looked back at Saori, who was helping in the kitchen.

“I am Chen Xi’s… friend… Saori’s good friend…” Jin Nana’s face flushed red, her voice was as low as a mosquito’s buzz, and her head drooped lower and lower.

"Oh, so you also practice traditional Chinese medicine, right?" Jing Li's greatest hobby is medicine. She always wants to discuss it with anyone she meets, and she even wants to personally treat other people's illnesses.

Traditional Chinese medicine is also very famous in South Korea. Although it doesn't have clinics everywhere like in China, it is a kind of myth or a symbol of status.

Because over there, if you're a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, it means your ancestors were definitely very distinguished figures, at least imperial physicians in the palace.

"What's going on? Why did you bring two people home?" Chen Ran suddenly asked while smoking outside with Chen Xi.

"There's nothing you can do, you'll get used to it eventually." Chen Xi, smoking a cigarette, stammered just like Jin Nana.

But those who know, know; Chen Ran didn't say much more.

Then he changed the subject: "The Germans came to the factory again, asking what we have to offer. They mean they don't want to cooperate with companies that lack technological sophistication. If we're going to continue producing the same old machine tools, it's better to continue cooperating with Huade. They said Huade has recently started reforms, which means there's a possibility of a comeback. These foreigners, they used to talk about the spirit of contracts all the time, but now they're clearly like weather vanes. I don't think they'll cooperate with us unless we come up with something new."

"So, do you have any ideas?" Chen Xi didn't actually know much about machine tool technology.

Although he grew up surrounded by those devices, he might not be able to answer some of the industry's professional questions.

After all, he was somewhat reluctant to take over this industry in his previous life, and even boasted that he would close the factory after taking office and then rent it out to become a landlord.

“What I mean is, machine tools these days are getting bigger and bigger. Technology is advancing, but the size of the machine tools hasn’t changed. This piece of equipment, although it’s assembled, is very troublesome to move. Just think about it, a customer buys ten machine tools from you. What if business doesn’t go well one day and they want to sell them? How troublesome would it be to disassemble and reassemble them again?” Chen Ran lit another cigarette.

"You mean to make the machine tool smaller?" Chen Xi understood.

"That's right, but there are downsides to making things small, namely, it doesn't support special production. But I've looked into it, and nowadays all industries need machine tools. Some industries don't need high-end, large machine tools, like making a small part. We could make it the size of a 3D printer, but that's just my idea. It's quite difficult to implement, and we'd need cooperation from Germany..." Chen Ran is a person with a lot of ideas; all sorts of bizarre things have been popping into his head since he was a child. But he's someone who only thinks about things but is too lazy to actually do them.

"That's a good idea. Let's ask Uncle Hu to make the plan." Chen Xi knew his cousin, so he immediately thought of Hu Jian.

Thinking of Hu Jian, he remembered something else, so he asked, "The Eighth West Research Institute before..."

"Dinner's ready, dinner's ready. You brought him home and then ran off outside on your own. I've never seen anyone like you." At this moment, Chen Caiyue came out and glared at her son fiercely.

Jin Nana had visited before, and she came again this time, still with Saori. That "friends" excuse might fool Jing Li, but it's unlikely to fool Chen Caiyue.

"Uh... I understand." Chen Xi could only answer awkwardly, looking at his mother's sharp gaze.

"You don't learn anything good from your father, but instead you learn from him!" When Chen Caiyue saw her son dawdling into the house, she grabbed his ear and twisted it hard.

"Ouch."

"Giggle."

A scream rang out, and Saori, who was peeking from inside the house, couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

After dinner, the family sat on the sofa.

Saori and Kim Nana sat there properly, with unnatural smiles on their faces.

A crosstalk performance was playing on TV, and although the two of them spoke good Mandarin, they couldn't understand it at all.

It wasn't just the two of them; even Chen Xi felt the same way. He simply didn't understand the humor in crosstalk.

"Stop pretending, I don't understand either," Chen Xi muttered softly.

"You're the one pretending. My Mandarin is excellent."

"That's right, just because you don't understand doesn't mean we don't understand. I just love Chinese culture..."

The two women nudged him with their arms at the same time.

Seeing her son's discomfiture, Chen Caiyue couldn't help but laugh.

Meanwhile, Chen Yifeng was spending the Lunar New Year with his son at Huang Jingfang's place.

He had a falling out with his family before, and always spent Chinese New Year at Zhang Xuan's house. This year, he had another falling out with Zhang Xuan, and now only his mother cares about him, so he had no choice but to come here.

"Why didn't you bring Nini? Where's Zhang Xuan?" Huang Jingfang was still unaware of their messy affair and asked directly.

“Zhang Xuan took me to their house,” Chen Yifeng replied casually.

"Why aren't you spending the New Year together?" "It's nothing, Zhang Xuan is going to spend the New Year at their place tonight. She said she always comes here. We had a little disagreement..."

"Dad is lying. He clearly fought with Mom."

"Shut up!"

Before Chen Yifeng could finish speaking, his son interrupted.

"Hehe, I think it's because the factory doesn't want them anymore, that's why Zhang Xuan is throwing a tantrum." Chen Jingrui, who also had nowhere to go, was drunk.

Chen Yifeng usually thought his younger brother was the most unreliable, but what he just said made him give him a thumbs up in his heart.

You're so clever; I never thought of that excuse.

"What are you planning to do? There's a commotion at the factory right now, not just by the Zhang family, but also by the Chen family. They're all saying you've made enough money and don't want to involve your family anymore." Huang Jingfang didn't get along with Chen Kaiwen, so her relationship with the Chen family was also so-so. Now that the Chen family had been humiliated, she was secretly quite pleased.

However, Huang Jingfang always doted on her second son, and she didn't want the factory to close down and lose money.

"Leave everything to Chen Caiyue. What we need now is reform. If we don't reform, the company will go bankrupt. There's a saying, 'A brave man cuts off his own arm.' Let them hate me if they want, I don't care." Chen Yifeng waved his hand.

"Second brother, please don't fire me when you reform. Chen Caiyue talked to me last time and said I'm not suitable to work in the company. You always told me to work hard, and now I want to work hard, but the opportunity is gone." Chen Jingrui looked at his brother with a worried expression.

"Where were you all this time? Stop causing trouble, okay? Here's some money for you, don't squander it, it'll definitely be enough for your living expenses." Chen Yifeng angrily slammed his fist on the table.

Chen Jingrui was a shrewd fellow. He knew his older brother wouldn't abandon him, so he grinned and said, "Okay, then buy me a new car. I've got my eye on a Kia..."

"Don't you already have a car? Why do you need a new one? Wait, a kimchi car?" Chen Yifeng thought something was wrong.

He bought Chen Jingrui a Mercedes-Benz. Why did this kid suddenly want to drive a cheap Korean car?

Could it be that he has reformed and learned to be thrifty and frugal?
"I just wanted to work hard. Since I can't go to the factory, I'll drive for a ride-hailing service. Now I can earn 10,000 yuan a month as a ride-hailing driver." Chen Jingrui rubbed his hands together.

"Oh...right, what's the boss doing right now?" Chen Yifeng suddenly remembered Chen Mingli.

Last time, Chen Caiyue said she wanted Chen Mingli to leave Huade, and he agreed. Later, Chen Mingli came to see him, and the two had a big argument, after which they lost contact.

“He went to work as a city management officer and tells everyone he meets that he’s your brother.”

"Depend on."

Chen Yifeng was furious after hearing this; wasn't this just disgusting? How could he ever show his face in Xinlu again?

“Hey second brother, stop being so busy with business all the time. I ran into Zhang Xuan the other day; she was shopping with Nini. I was going to go up and say hello, but I saw there was a guy there, so I left. You're not exactly young anymore, and she's at least young. You're never home; you'd better watch out, someone might break into your house…”

"Shut up and just drink your wine."

Chen Jingrui's next words angered Chen Yifeng even more. His son and mother were right there, yet he dared to say such things.

Moreover, his own home had already been robbed, and this was simply rubbing salt into his wounds.

Half a month later...

New mother-in-law.

As one of the few developed countries in Asia, this place has a large Chinese population.

Although it's a developed country, the cost of living isn't high by developed country standards. However, it's considered quite good in Asia, similar to South Korea.

As for the common online comments from Chinese people saying that the cost of living here is high, that's a direct comparison to third- or fourth-tier cities. Some things are even cheaper than in China, such as watermelon juice and legitimate massages. However, hotel prices are still relatively high, mainly due to the small size of the area and the large number of tourists. As long as you avoid being ripped off at trendy restaurants, the cost isn't actually that much higher.

After the New Year, Chen Xi brought the people he had selected from the Overseas Returnees Association here.

As for what to do, it was naturally for a competition between the three of them.

"Vice President, is this feasible for us?" asked one of the bespectacled IT guys accompanying the group.

"What's wrong with that? It's not like I'm asking you to build an atomic bomb in a small workshop. Look how worried you are." Chen Xi glanced at the other person.

"But isn't quantitative trading mostly done by big companies using very sophisticated models?" someone in the group asked again.

"That's all nonsense. It's not like it's anything high-tech. A few decades ago, it might have been unattainable for the average person, but what era are we living in? This kind of thing is everywhere now..." Chen Xi shook his head.

Quantitative trading is something anyone can do; all you need is some basic computer and financial knowledge.

However, if you want to make money, just knowing this one thing isn't enough.

In his previous life, Chen Xi started working in quantitative finance after leaving Beijing, and had been doing it for almost ten years. He had permanent offices and investments in the United Kingdom, his new home, South Korea, and other places.

In quantitative trading, the most important thing is capital. There's an old saying in the industry: "With enough money, you're invincible."

Those online platforms that promote quantitative funds and algorithmic models as incredibly powerful are simply trying to generate buzz and raise funds.

Having worked in quantitative analysis for so many years, Chen Xi has tried everything from models costing tens of thousands to those costing millions.

He concluded that all the models and algorithms on the market, no matter how they change, are actually the same.

In other words, in high-frequency trading, if you consistently use a particular algorithm, even if you start with losses, you'll eventually reach a break-even point if you keep investing. This naturally involves calculating transaction fees; the goal is for the profits from multiple trades to cover the fees, which includes setting stop-loss and take-profit orders.

Chen Xi initially made a lot of money with quantitative trading, but later he started losing money. One reason was the widespread adoption of AI, which made quantitative trading commonplace. In the early stages, you could still profit from retail investors using quantitative trading, but later on, you could only trade quantitative strategies against quantitative traders.

Looking back on his past life, Chen Xi had spent several years working for a new family due to the large number of projects he was involved in that required financial support. Initially, the returns were good, but in the final battles, he lost all the money he had earned. Later, he turned to South Korea, where things started off well, but due to limited funds and his eagerness for quick success, he suffered the same defeat.

Ultimately, doing finance is like gambling; there are winners and losers.

"Then what are we doing here?" the bespectacled man asked again.

"The exchange is nearby, which can reduce latency and save on transaction fees. There are middlemen in China who take a cut, charging you 5-6 times more in fees! And there's no way to do that in China... Okay, everyone, relax and have some fun. There aren't many tourist attractions here, you can see everything in a day. I'm just letting you have some fun for now, because I doubt you'll have time to come out later." Chen Xi chuckled, pointing to the lionfish sculpture in the distance.

In the distance, the lionfish sculpture on the waterfront of Marina Bay is lit up.

The white sculpture stands out in the night, its fish tail curving upwards, and the water jets it sprays appear white under the lights.

Water splashed into the bay, and many people were strolling around taking pictures.

Looking to the other side, the towering buildings of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel stand tall, with the huge ship-shaped platform on the roof lit up, the color of the light slowly changing from white to blue, and then tinged with purple.

On the water, several sightseeing boats with their lights on were slowly passing by, leaving shimmering trails of light on the surface.

Further away, the high-rise buildings in the financial district were also lit up with dense window lights, like piles of glowing squares stacked together.

The night breeze carried a hint of sea salt and the heat of the city night.

(It's been a while since I've included illustrations. I can't find some old photos; I have too many phones and don't know where I put them. I spend about a third of the year in Singapore, and this phone has some photos I took a few months ago, so I'm using it now.) (End of Chapter)