Chapter 19 The Broad Road
Harold really regarded Jack as one of his own.
The next day, he went to the securities trading hall, a place he had never set foot in before.
However, he wasn't able to buy that stock. He placed an order for ten thousand shares at the price written by Jack, but the transaction price after the market opened was just one cent higher than the price he had set.
The large screen in the trading hall was filled with red numbers. Harold watched helplessly as that stock reached the daily limit, and he stomped his feet in regret.
There were quite a few people in the trading hall stomping their feet, all because their order prices were too low and the transactions hadn't been completed.
Harold carefully took out the napkin from his pocket and double-checked that he had indeed placed the order at the price written by Jack.
This Jack isn't that great after all. He made a wrong judgment and caused me to miss buying the stock, Harold muttered to himself.
As he was muttering, he put the napkin back into his pocket. He turned to look at the large screen, thought for a while, and didn't dare to rashly buy other stocks.
He had never been in contact with stocks before and didn't have any confidence. It would be better to go back and ask Jack.
Harold was very cautious. When he came to the trading hall, he actually wore a mask. But even so, he was still recognized by someone.
After that person recognized Harold, he squeezed into the crowd, and Harold didn't see him.
When he returned to the sub-branch, Harold quickly called Jack over, took out the napkin, pointed to the numbers on it, and said, "Jack, it was one cent lower, and I didn't buy it."
Jack looked at the napkin, slapped his head suddenly, and pretended to be regretful, saying, "Oh, my math was taught by the PE teacher. I actually forgot about rounding."
Harold widened his eyes and let out an "Ah". He thought, How could you make such a low-level mistake?
Jack then said, "But it doesn't matter. After all, it's only $2.11. You go again tomorrow and directly place an order at $2.32. You will definitely be able to buy it this time."
Harold thought that this was the only way. He blamed himself for not checking Jack's "math homework".
After pondering for a moment, Harold asked worriedly, "Can I still make money?"
Jack smiled and said, "Director Harold, this is just the beginning. Don't worry and buy it."
When he heard this, Harold was delighted. The two of them chatted for a few more words, and then Jack was about to return to the office. Harold stood up to see him off, which was a rare occurrence.
When Jack went out, he said casually, "We're just playing around. Those professional stock traders are accurate and decisive when they make a move once they spot an opportunity. However, they never use their own money to trade stocks. They always use other people's money."
Harold also said, "That's right. That stock god in the West seems to be like that."
Jack knew that he was talking about the person who was inevitably mentioned in any book about stocks. So, he smiled and said, "Director Harold, you also read books on investment?"
Harold was taken aback and said a bit embarrassedly, "Just reading casually, just reading casually..."
Jack smiled slightly and turned to leave.
Jack didn't know if he could arouse Harold's inner desires. But for now, Harold, who had always been proud of following the rules, had started buying stocks and reading books about stocks, which showed that his mindset had changed, or perhaps his true nature was like this.
The start was good. The fish had already started to take the bait. Harold probably couldn't fall asleep at night and had fantasized about becoming a stock god and making a fortune.
Thinking of this, Jack happily whistled. But then he stopped. This was an office place, and he naturally had to be more serious and not ruin his image.
The next day, Harold arrived at the trading hall before the market opened.
The hall was already crowded with people, and there were some inconsiderate people smoking. Harold, who had always been opposed to smoking, didn't care about that at this moment. It took him a lot of effort to squeeze in front of a computer.
According to the price Jack had said, he operated on the keyboard and placed a large order.
After doing all this, Harold felt a inexplicably nervous in his heart. After the market opened, he quickly checked his account and found a series of numbers in the position column.
He had finally bought the stock, and it was a full ten thousand shares. Looking at the numbers in the position account, Harold was a bit excited, as if he was about to get rich soon.
As a result, Harold did get rich. But it was only a small fortune, more than two thousand dollars. Looking at the more than two thousand dollars that had come into his account overnight, Harold was even more excited.
To be honest, before this, his biggest side income was the payment for his articles, and the largest sum he had received was only two hundred dollars.
In order to write those boring and dull professional articles, he almost stayed up all night, lost a lot of hair. It was estimated that he would definitely become a bald man in a few years.
There was another side income that Harold had never considered as such. He thought it was the result of his own intelligence, which was the bonus of twenty thousand dollars he received because of the buffer door matter.
But this kind of bonus could only be received once in a lifetime.
Stock trading didn't require much effort at all. More than two thousand dollars had been credited to his account overnight. This was really great.
The more Harold thought about it, the happier he became. He completely forgot one thing. The payment for articles and stock trading were completely different things. Comparing these two things was simply irrelevant.
Moreover, the more than two thousand dollars at this time was just a number on the account, but Harold already regarded it as his own.
Feeling happy, Harold invited Jack to have a drink again. Just thinking of Harold's appearance when he was drunk made Jack feel disgusted, so he didn't agree readily.
Harold noticed this and thought that Jack had something to do. He quickly said that another day would be fine. His politeness made Jack feel embarrassed instead.
So, the two of them went to that restaurant again and were staggering on the street after getting drunk.
On the way to send Harold home, Jack secretly swore that this was the last time he would drink with Harold.
At the dinner table, probably because he thought Jack was one of his own, Harold revealed some of his true nature, and his words and deeds were completely different from usual.
Looking at the complacent Harold, Jack was sure that he was a hypocrite, greedy for money, lustful, and fond of showing off.
Jack believed that a person like this didn't need him to push. He would run all the way down the "broad road" that Jack had pointed out to him, just like a donkey going downhill.
The first taste that Jack gave Harold would make Harold shift all his attention to stocks. However, stocks wouldn't keep rising forever. And in a sense, entering the stock market at this time was a bit like gambling.
It was just that the risk at this time was relatively small.
It was often said in the stock market, "Those who know how to buy are apprentices, those who know how to sell are masters, and those who know how to stay in cash are the grandmasters." For a novice like Harold, once he couldn't control himself, the final result was likely to be that he would be trapped in the market.
Jack had taken the opportunity of dining at that restaurant to find out that the bills signed by Harold there exceeded ten thousand dollars every month.
Jack was certain that Harold had a sum of money in his hands, and it was possible that it was the small treasury of the sub-branch office.
If Harold's greed expanded, he might embezzle the money in the small treasury to trade stocks. As long as he was trapped in the market, the consequence waiting for him would be dismissal.
This was the "broad road" that Jack had pointed out to Harold.
As for whether Harold would take the bait, it would depend on his "fortune". As the saying goes, the stock market is risky, and one should be cautious when entering the market.