Shadow Empire

Chapter 1031 Investors

Cooper is an automotive engineer working in Golden State.

His main job was to do what he could in the car factory related to car production, such as repairing the machines on the assembly line. He was responsible for the production quality and maintenance of the assembly line machines.

He's a graduate of an ordinary university, so now he's in a factory, not an office.

Only those from prestigious universities are qualified to sit in the office, but he is not.

He also longed to change his situation and work in an office instead of always working on the assembly line. He tried and worked hard, but all his efforts failed.

The lessons learned from his repeated failures taught him that the school he graduated from and the potential social networks associated with that school are, besides bloodline, the second thing that can determine your future success from the very beginning.

When he competed with engineers from prestigious universities for office positions, the company always found a reason to keep him in the factory floor.

For example...

They said he was very experienced in his work, knew how to properly handle various emergencies, and was very familiar with his colleagues.

The assembly line couldn't do without him, so they gave him a two-dollar raise to keep him there.

Or they might tell him that the company wants to give younger people more opportunities to develop, and that he will never lose his chance, and they will definitely choose him when a suitable position becomes available next time.

After several attempts, he gradually realized that the university he graduated from was too poor, and he had no way to compete with the "alumni" in the office.

From the president to his immediate superior, they all roughly came from one or two prestigious universities; they were all alumni.

So after Cooper gradually came to terms with reality, he focused his energy on other things.

invest.

Living in Golden State, it's impossible to be interested in the miracles that keep happening on Detland Street in New Golden City. Everyone would be interested in these miracles, like some ordinary person walking into Detland Street with five thousand dollars.

A few days later, he left with 100,000 yuan!

Such miracles happen almost every day, but people subconsciously ignore those who lose the money; they only see the winners.

Cooper also hopes to become one of the successful investors, but he is not blindly optimistic and doesn't know much about the industry.

He bought some books to read, but the more he read, the more confused he became.

For example, someone hailed as "the best trader in the Federal Reserve in the last twenty years" published a book called "Buying High and Selling Low: How I Made a Million".

It describes the entire process of this legendary trader turning 100 yuan into 1 million yuan, including when he did it, what operations he performed, and whether he experienced any critical moments. It even matches the historical trend.

Another "stock market guru" wrote a book called "How to Calmly Observe the Traps Behind Market Trends," which details how the most taboo thing in the stock market is chasing highs and selling lows. He used many cases and historical trends to prove this point.

Chasing highs and selling lows is often the beginning of falling into an abyss.

Both books were bestsellers and received a great deal of attention, but he was even more confused.

One person tells you that you should buy high and sell low, as this minimizes the risk.

Another person tells you that you absolutely cannot do this, because when you discover that a stock can make money, its money has actually already been made by someone else.

This puzzled Cooper greatly. The more books he read, the more he discovered that the contents of almost all of them contradicted each other.

Some people will tell you that high trading volume is a sign of arbitrage, while others will tell you that high trading volume indicates institutional investors are entering the market.

The more he looked, the more confused he became, and the less he dared to invest. He also showed awe towards those successful people.

Some time ago, he attended a stock market seminar, where a group of people in his community were very interested in investing in stocks.

People often sit down to discuss their investment gains and experiences. Sometimes they can offer some truly insightful perspectives, and quite a few people have indeed made money.

In ordinary communities, people might compare their jobs; whoever has a good job becomes the center of attention.

However, in middle-class communities, almost everyone has a good job, and comparing jobs that are not comparable across different fields doesn't mean much to them.

So they compete with each other, seeing who can earn more income outside of work, or who can become a company partner.

In the previous salons, he heard people talk about a stock called "Hope Mining," a new stock.

People talking about this stock don't say how powerful it is or what crazy returns it can bring; they just say that the stock is very stable.

The market value increases by more than ten percent every year, which is much higher than the interest paid by banks.

Then other people talked about the stock, and quite a few of them bought it, which made Cooper interested in it as well.

He dialed his stockbroker's number and then casually inquired about the stock, as if it were just a casual mention in conversation.

His stockbroker immediately recommended the stock to him and said a lot of things that he didn't quite understand, but he knew that everyone was saying the stock was good.

It is very stable and has a strong ability to resist risks, after all, its main industry is mining.

The mine is there, and the ore in the mine won't disappear all at once due to natural disasters or other reasons. Given the Federation's current status in the international community, no one would dare to mess with Federation assets.

This stock is very stable.

His stockbroker also said that several banks had considered acquiring the stock.

He said a lot, and then Cooper, who had never invested in stocks before but was very interested in them yet completely clueless, decided to make Hope Mining his first stock investment.

He bought 5,000 yuan worth of stocks, and in less than a month, the 5,000 yuan turned into more than 6,000 yuan. This speed shocked him, so he bought more.

The most attractive thing about stocks is that the more you invest, the more you get out, and before you know it, you can bet everything!

With a constant stream of positive news and an ever-rising trend, he invested all the money he had, totaling over 100,000 yuan, which was almost all of his family's savings.

He probably still has a thousand or two dollars in his account as working capital, after all, middle-class families are not only richer than ordinary people, but also have more bills.

He needed to settle these bills promptly and deal with any unexpected situations that might arise, so he set aside some money.

Before the Lunar New Year, his stockbroker called him and told him to keep his phone accessible, saying there was good news coming soon.

He had been waiting and was very curious about what the good news would be until this morning.

On his way here, he habitually bought a copy of the "Trader" newspaper, which mentioned that Hope Mining would soon announce its dividend distribution for circulating shares.

It's time to split the money!

"Cooper, come here, you have a phone call," the young man in the office called out to him from the doorway.

The young man, who was more than ten years younger than him and had only been in the workforce for three or four years after graduating from university, and who had virtually no management or practical work experience, became his boss, which made him slightly realize what was going on.

He paused for a moment, then quickly said "okay" and walked over.

There was a public telephone in the workshop that could only receive calls, not make them. He went to the outside of the office, where a telephone on the wall had a light on.

He answered the phone, "This is Cooper."

"Mr. Cooper?"

"I'm your stockbroker. The dividend information for Hope Mining's outstanding shares has just been released, and you'll receive approximately three thousand dollars."

"So few?" Cooper's expression was somewhat unnatural. "I thought there would be Su Wuqian or more."

The stockbroker immediately said, "That was indeed the case, but they are planning to sign a larger contract with the local government, so they have temporarily reduced their dividends."

"Not only have the dividends for tradable shares been reduced, but the dividends for non-tradable shares have also been reduced across the board. They have promised that profits will double next year."

"And do you know what?"

"Your stock is now worth 160,000."

Cooper's breathing quickened when he heard the number. When he turned around, he saw his boss sitting in the office, staring at him through the glass window.

Facing that young, indifferent face, the anger he usually suppressed began to surge wildly out of control! He had long wanted to walk over and punch this idiot in the face, to make him understand that he was in this position not because of his great ability or outstanding skills, but simply because he graduated from a good school and had a group of board members among his alumni!
He took a deep breath, suppressing the impulse, and turned away from the young man. "Should I sell these stocks now?"

"deal with?"

"No!"

"My opinion is to hold on. I have inside information that they will soon announce a very surprising fact that could significantly increase its stock price."

"Perhaps 20%, or even 30%, based on the current level!"

Upon hearing this number, Cooper already felt a sense of... hunger.

If the price increases by another 20% or 30% from the current level, how much money would that be?

He is an engineer and a college student. Although his math skills are not the best, they are not too bad either.

He quickly calculated the result: from 32,000 to 48,000, plus the 3,000 dividend, his assets were about to exceed 200,000!

It took him the most important twenty years of his life to accumulate 100,000 yuan in savings.

But now, in just two or three months, he has doubled his savings of twenty years.

That's the allure of finance!

His body trembled slightly. "What should I do now?"

The stockbroker wasn't surprised to hear his slightly trembling voice; many people react this way when they hear they've made a lot of money. Of course, the stockbroker was also happy, as it meant he would have a better reputation, more clients, and earn more service fees from trades.

"My advice is, if you still have money now, you can definitely get in."

"I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've mortgaged my house and used all of it to buy this stock."

“I have a feeling, Mr. Cooper, that we’re going to make a fortune!”

His words made Cooper's heart beat even faster. He paced back and forth a few steps. "You're right, we'll make a fortune!"

The young man in the office frowned when he saw the smug look on Cooper's face.

Recently, many people in the workshop have been talking about him behind his back. He can accept some of the things they say, such as that they say he has connections with the company's higher-ups and that he beat Cooper to become the workshop supervisor through their recommendations.

However, there were rumors circulating about him that he couldn't accept. They claimed that he got the position by being cheated out of his position, and that he knew nothing and couldn't do anything.

He didn't know where these rumors came from or who first said them, but he knew that the root of it all lay with the engineer, Cooper.

They felt he was more suited to sitting in an office than he was now—a young man with little work experience in the industry and not exactly an expert in academic theory.

He didn't say it aloud or show it on his face, but he was very dissatisfied with Cooper because Cooper was the prime suspect.

He was looking for an opportunity to embarrass Cooper, but he could never find one.

Cooper has worked here for over a decade, and he knows everything about this place so well that the chances of him making a mistake are extremely low.

His job is not to create errors, but to repair them.

Seeing Cooper become happy made him unhappy.

After Cooper hung up the phone, he walked to the door, opened it, and gestured for Cooper to come in.

Cooper glanced at him twice, but still followed him into the supervisor's office.

The moment he entered, the supervisor completely closed the blinds. He closed the door, walked to the chair behind his desk, and sat down. "A phone call from home?"

Cooper sat down opposite him and shook his head.

He wasn't going to share his joy of making money with this annoying manager. "No, not at all."

The supervisor nodded slightly, a very small gesture. "You know, our workshop production work is very demanding, and the entire department is very important to the company."

“When I went to the head office for a meeting a few days ago, they mentioned that we should focus more on our work and not on anything else.”

"Although they didn't explicitly state anything, I just knew they were very dissatisfied with some of the lax work attitudes."

"I won't say anything to you this time, but I hope you won't bring your personal matters into your work."

"For example, if a phone call like this results in defective or substandard products because you answered it, would you be responsible?"

Cooper stared at him, his gaze unfriendly. "What are you trying to say?"

The young supervisor smiled and shook his head. "No, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just reminding you that this is the workshop, the workplace."

“This isn’t your living room, where you can stand there and take the phone to do your personal things when you’re not busy.”

"this is the last time."

"There will be a next time, I will report it to my superiors and you will be punished accordingly."

In the past, Cooper would have silently endured it, perhaps by apologizing and promising never to do it again.

He knew very well what the young manager wanted: to submit to him or to start a fight.

The former represents obedience, being dominated, and the absence of threat.

The latter means he has a way to kick Cooper out of here.

He used to be afraid to act recklessly because he didn't know what the future held, but now he does.

He will have more than 200,000 in cash assets, or even more. His money will continue to increase as the market rises, reaching a level that is unimaginable to him.

He had endured for so many years, but at this moment, when he had even more wealth, he no longer wanted to endure it.

He suddenly stood up, and before the young supervisor could react, Cooper pointed his finger at him and said, "Don't fucking think that just because you've sold your ass to climb over me, I have to be subservient to you!"

"You are nothing, you are just a despicable person!"

"My lord, do you understand?"

"Anyone here, even just a worker, is more honest and cleaner than you. I feel disgusted just looking at you!"

"Do you do this when they bend over and stick their butt out?"

The young manager was stunned by his words. After a couple of seconds, he screamed and slammed his fist on the table as he stood up, yelling, "Fuck, what's wrong with you?"

Since Cooper had decided he couldn't take it anymore, he wouldn't continue to wrong himself. "What's wrong with me?"

“I’m not crazy, you son of a bitch are the one who’s crazy. You’ve been causing me trouble ever since you came here. Do you think I don’t know what you want?”

"You're trash, understand?"

"Nobody here respects you. You're not even as good as those prostitutes on the street."

"Those bitches will tell you how much they're worth, but you, you just pretend!"

The young manager was furious. He pointed directly at his office door and yelled, "Get out! Get out of my office! I'll report what you said to me and what you did to me to the company. You're suspended now!"

Cooper ripped off his employee badge and slammed it on the table. He looked at the supervisor intently and said, "I fucking quit!"

After saying that, she opened the door and walked out, not forgetting to turn back and give him the middle finger.

The commotion inside had already alerted some people outside. Cooper had many good friends, and those who were able to leave their posts immediately gathered around to ask him what had happened and if he needed help.

He was touched by the concern of his good friends, but he said he didn't need help; he had simply decided to change his life!
An idealized, free life where everything can be lived as one pleases!

(End of this chapter)