The day after moving into the new villa, Lin Baicheng arrived at the first-floor office he had just rented.
A shiny new sign hung at the entrance: "Baisheng Securities."This was a securities company Lin had registered some time ago. Back then, he didn't have the funds to actually launch it — but now, it was finally going public in a real sense.
However, the company wasn't open to external investors yet — in fact, it couldn't open to external investors. At the moment, it only had one receptionist, freshly hired.
The reason Lin came today was that the employment agency had contacted him — they'd found a candidate matching his requirements, and the interview was scheduled for today.
The man's name was An Yuan, age forty-one. He had previously worked in the investment department at HSBC Bank — not in a senior role, just a small team leader. His qualifications weren't extraordinary, but he had years of experience.
Lin wasn't looking for a financial genius anyway — with his current resources, he couldn't afford one. What he needed was someone dependable, someone who could follow instructions precisely.
And that, An Yuan could do. He had over a decade of experience in stocks and futures trading — not the kind of man to make huge profits from daring plays, but someone who could execute orders flawlessly.That was exactly what Lin needed right now.
Having written stories about the 1980s entertainment and finance scenes in his past life, Lin knew the stock market events of that era like the back of his hand.He didn't need others to make him money; he only needed them to carry out his commands.
An Yuan arrived on time for the interview.
He already knew Baisheng Securities was a new company, so the sparse, empty office didn't surprise him.
He'd left HSBC because there were too many talented people there — he'd hit a ceiling. At forty-one, he wasn't ready to retire yet, so he decided to take a risk: to step outside, to lead something of his own.
"Mr. An, welcome!"
"President Lin."
When An saw Lin, he was still stunned despite being told the boss was young. The man in front of him looked barely older than his own son. He couldn't help but wonder — was this some rich heir playing with his family money?
"Mr. An, let's get straight to the point."
After a few pleasantries, Lin cut to business."I've read your résumé. You've been in this field for over a decade, and I believe in your capability. As for compensation — I'll offer you 1.5 times your previous HSBC salary. In addition, you'll receive a commission based on profits earned from the funds you manage personally."
"Of course, one thing first — the amount you'll manage personally will start at HK$1 million. The company is new, and I don't have endless capital yet."
"President Lin, thank you for the generous offer. I'm fine with that," An said, genuinely tempted. It was better than what any other firm had offered him.Still, something puzzled him. "You mentioned the HK$1 million is for me to handle personally. Does that mean there are other funds too?"
"Exactly."
Lin nodded. "I'll deposit a total of HK$6 million into the company account. One million will be under your control; the other five million will be invested according to my specific instructions. You don't need to worry whether those picks will make or lose money — just execute my orders."
"So, Mr. An, are you willing to join the company?"
An hesitated briefly, then asked, "President Lin, will the funds I manage increase later on? I mean, it won't always stay at just one million, right?"
A million Hong Kong dollars was fine for an individual — but not for a professional trader. If that was the ceiling, it wouldn't be worth it unless the pay was absurdly high.
"Of course not," Lin said with a smile."I also own a video game company that's doing quite well. The capital flowing into Baisheng Securities will only increase in the future — and the amount you can manage will rise accordingly.Of course, that's conditional: your trades must remain profitable and meet my expectations. Otherwise, I won't increase your allocation."
"That's fair," said An. He understood perfectly — the boss was hiring him to make money, not to lose it.
"By the way," he added cautiously, "what kind of profit margin do you consider satisfactory?"
Lin chuckled. "Ten percent. Annual profit of ten percent should be reasonable, right?"
That was an easy target — Lin didn't need a maverick, just a reliable executor.
He knew An wasn't a prodigy, but that was fine. Once the funds grew into tens of millions — or even hundreds of millions — he could always replace him with someone better.
"Ten percent? That's very reasonable. I can definitely achieve that," An replied quickly.Unless there was a market crash like the one years ago, ten percent was no problem.
"So, what's your decision?" Lin asked.
"I'd be honored to join the company. I'll do my best to generate profits," An said decisively.
"Excellent. Welcome aboard."
The two men shook hands.
Later that day, Lin's lawyer drafted the employment contract and a confidentiality agreement — standard for any trader. Anyone leaking company strategies or trades would face heavy financial penalties.
After signing, An officially became part of Baisheng Securities.
Though the firm's funds were still modest, Lin instructed him to recruit a few more employees — nothing fancy, just competent professionals who knew the basics.
After all, in Lin's eyes, neither An nor the others were strategists — they were tools.He didn't want them speculating or predicting which company's stock might rise.All he required was that they flawlessly execute his buy and sell orders — nothing more.