Chapter 21: Ignition

"Damn it, I need to sell quickly!" Xie Dafeng looked up at the two staff members distributing newspapers and saw they were still handing them out continuously. His heart raced with anxiety.

Every additional newspaper meant one more person would learn about Mingheng Industrial's situation, increasing his risk.

"The shares promised by the chairman are already lost… This situation can't get any worse."

"The stock market is about to open. I need to act quickly to get a time advantage and sell Mingheng Industrial's stock. Otherwise, it'll be stuck in my hands. Forget about the shares; I need to figure out how to save my job first!"

Hengfa Securities was just stepping into the mid-sized securities threshold, with total funds of just over 100 million HKD. If they lost a few million, Xie Dafeng could imagine he might be out of a job.

With this thought, Xie Dafeng felt as though his butt was on fire. He rushed into the Kowloon Stock Exchange, heading straight to his department's trading station.

The subordinate responsible for trading saw Xie Dafeng rush in and quickly said, "Boss, everything is ready. We just need to wait for the market to open to buy Mingheng Industrial stocks."

Upon hearing his subordinate, Xie Dafeng's facial muscles twitched. Without time for a deep breath, he gasped and said, "No… no buying. Sell quickly. As soon as the market opens, sell all Mingheng Industrial stocks at the previous purchase price."

"But boss, aren't we supposed to buy? How…" The subordinate asked in confusion.

"There's no 'but.' If I say sell, then sell!" Xie Dafeng said anxiously, directly interrupting his subordinate.

"Shouldn't we increase the price a bit? If we sell at the previous purchase price, we'll lose nearly a million in profit…" The subordinate was startled, never having seen the manager so nervous. However, thinking about the loss of nearly a million in profit made him reluctant.

After all, they also earned commissions, and he had plans to buy a car with his commission. He had boasted to his new girlfriend just a couple of days ago about buying a car, and if that plan fell through, he feared it might affect their relationship.

"Can't you understand plain words? I said sell, at the original price. There's no time to explain. Go arrange it now!" With the opening of the market approaching, Xie Dafeng became more and more impatient, shouting at his subordinate.

The subordinate was startled and dared not ask further. Although he was reluctant, he followed the order. He knew what was important—if he lost his job, his relationship would definitely be affected.

Seeing that his subordinate had already gone to execute the order, Xie Dafeng remained anxious, pacing back and forth, praying that everything would be sold off.

In just a few minutes, Xie Dafeng felt like an entire year had passed. He kept checking his subordinate's actions and watching the big clock in the exchange's trading hall.

Finally, the minute and second hands reached the 12 o'clock position. With a few chimes of the bell, the stock market opened!

In an instant, the exchange was bustling with voices and chatter.

Xie Dafeng immediately focused on Mingheng Industrial's stock price. He saw it start to fluctuate and intensify, causing his heart to tighten and his breathing to become shallow.

The trading subordinate followed Xie Dafeng's orders, placing all the Mingheng Industrial stocks on the market, setting them at about two-thirds of the current price.

Seeing that Mingheng Industrial's shares were already listed for sale, Xie Dafeng anxiously waited. When a full minute passed without any purchases, his heartbeat quickened even more.

Finally!

A purchase came through, and then, like a row of dominoes falling, several million worth of Mingheng Industrial shares were quickly bought up.

"Whew…"

"Thank goodness, it's finally sold. At least we broke even!" Xie Dafeng sighed in relief, wiping his forehead, only to find it covered in sweat.

Meanwhile, on another trading desk in the exchange, a trader was overjoyed seeing the purchased Mingheng Industrial stocks. "I completed the task the boss assigned so easily, and the price was about one-third lower than the set buying price. I made a profit! I wonder which institution sold them. Maybe they made a mistake with the price. I got a good deal. Hehe, I'll make sure to brag to the boss later!"

As he was savoring his success, a middle-aged man in a suit, holding a newspaper, ran over without regard for his appearance. It was the department head.

The trader, known as Datu, stood up and was about to speak when the suited middle-aged man shouted, "Datu, don't buy Mingheng Industrial. The plan from yesterday is all canceled."

Datu's smile froze, and he blurted out, "But boss, I've already bought them, and at two-thirds of today's price."

Hearing Datu's words, the suited middle-aged man felt a throbbing in his head and closed his eyes in despair.

At that moment, he deeply regretted getting up a bit late today, feeling intense pain.

Just being a bit late cost several million in funds!

The middle-aged man's appearance frightened the trader, who worried that he had made a mistake. He looked anxiously at his boss.

The suited middle-aged man didn't provide more explanation, directly ordering his subordinate to re-list Mingheng Industrial's shares.

...

On the other side, at Hengfa Securities' trading desk.

"Boss, why did we sell Mingheng Industrial's stock?" Seeing that Manager Xie Dafeng had relaxed, the subordinate hesitated and asked. He felt he had to ask, as he was not satisfied.

"Ahe, you did well. Don't take my previous attitude to heart. I was just too anxious," Xie Dafeng said, noticing his subordinate's nervousness. He awkwardly coughed to cover up and forced a smile as he patted his subordinate's shoulder.

"I didn't want to sell Mingheng Industrial either. After all, I was the one who strongly advocated for it. Under normal circumstances, it would still rise. It was just that the situation changed too quickly. If we didn't sell immediately, it would have been stuck in our hands," Xie Dafeng reflected.

Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught sight of the trading board. His eyes widened with relief as he murmured, "Thankfully, we escaped by just a minute."

Then, Xie Dafeng said to his subordinate Ahe, "Look at Mingheng Industrial's stock price on the trading board."

Ahe looked and was shocked. "Damn, how could this be!"

On the trading board, Mingheng Industrial's sell orders were increasing, and the stock price had plummeted by half, continuing to drop with no end in sight.

Seeing this, Ahe realized that Mingheng Industrial must have released negative news, causing the severe drop.

With lingering fear, Ahe patted his chest and looked at Xie Dafeng with admiration. "Boss, you really have guts. Otherwise, we would have been finished. The chairman will definitely appreciate your decisiveness."

Ahe truly admired Xie Dafeng for decisively giving up the million-dollar profit. If the listed price had only decreased slightly and they tried to make a bit more profit, the Mingheng Industrial stocks might not have been bought up quickly. They could have ended up stuck with them.

Hearing his subordinate's words, Xie Dafeng forced a smile. Although he was upset about losing the promised shares from the chairman, his mood improved a bit since he had at least preserved the principal.

Moreover, as Ahe said, although he lost nearly a million in profit, he could embellish the thrilling operation to the chairman, leaving a good impression.

Thinking about the unfortunate soul who took over the shares, Xie Dafeng suddenly felt better, knowing there were others in worse situations.

At least he got his principal back. The loss was only the unrealized profit. In reality, it was like not making money this month. The unfortunate trader who took over suffered an actual loss.