“Oh.” Paige Walker didn’t think much of it. She knew her son was quite talented in this area and was a student at a top economics school in a leading university in the country, so knowing how to trade stocks didn’t seem unusual. “If you like this, you can try it out. Our family has an account with about ten thousand yuan in it. I’ll give you the trading card in a bit, and you can operate it.”

Noah Johnson and his wife didn’t really understand stock trading and weren’t very interested in it. It was only recently that Paige Walker, urged on by her colleagues, put about ten thousand yuan into the stock market and opened an account. But after playing around in the market for a few days, she found it boring and lost interest. In other words, neither Noah Johnson nor his wife had much of a head for economics, so having a genius son like Nathaniel Johnson in the field of economics was quite an anomaly.

“Mom, ten thousand yuan isn’t enough, it’s too little… Do we have any more money at home? Give me a bit more capital, I’ve got my eye on a few stocks. In a few months, I guarantee the principal will double…” Seeing that his mother didn’t object, Nathaniel Johnson was secretly delighted and quickly pressed his advantage, trying to persuade Paige Walker, “Really, Mom, you have to trust me!”

Paige Walker frowned, turned off the gas stove, and looked back at Nathaniel Johnson. “Nannan, letting you play with ten thousand yuan is one thing, but your dad definitely won’t agree to give you more. Besides, we don’t have much money… If you end up getting all our money stuck in the stock market, we won’t have anything left for you to get married or find a partner in the future.”

Getting married and finding a partner… Nathaniel Johnson gave a wry smile. “Mom, what does that have to do with anything? Marriage is way too far off for me… Mom, just trust me this once, okay? I’m really confident. I’ve been researching and watching a few stocks for a long time, and right now they’re consolidating at the bottom, ready to break out. Now is the perfect time to buy. If we miss these couple of days, it’ll be too late to regret it!”

“No, your dad won’t agree.” Paige Walker refused her son’s request outright as she served the dishes.

……

……

Noah Johnson usually didn’t come home for lunch, but today was his son’s first day back after graduation, so he made a point to come home and eat with his wife and son. During the meal, Nathaniel Johnson tentatively brought up the topic of stock trading with his father. To prove his “experience” and “talent” in stock investment, he even showed off some highly technical academic concepts related to financial stock operations.

But Noah Johnson’s attitude was the same as Paige Walker’s. He didn’t object to giving Nathaniel Johnson the family’s stock account and letting him play with the ten thousand yuan, to practice what he’d learned at school. But as for taking out the family’s savings and letting a freshly graduated kid trade stocks, he just couldn’t feel at ease. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his son, but in his eyes, no matter how smart or talented Nathaniel Johnson was, he was still just a child.

Nathaniel Johnson looked helplessly at his parents, knowing it would be hard to convince them to give him more money. But… where could he get the capital? If he missed this opportunity, he really would have nothing but regret.

Nathaniel Johnson sighed. “Dad, at the end of the year, the central government is going to introduce new policies, and the stock market will start implementing the daily price limit system. There will be limits on how much stocks can rise or fall each day… If we miss these few months, it’ll be much harder to make money. I’ve been following these stocks for a long time, and they’re about to skyrocket… Even several well-known economics professors at our college have bought these stocks…”

“Daily price limit system? What does that mean?” Noah Johnson didn’t really understand economics, so when he heard his son mention a strange technical term, he asked casually.

“It means the securities regulatory commission will introduce rules to regulate stock trading, so the daily price movement can’t exceed 10%. If it does, trading will be halted. This can prevent wild price swings and is good for the healthy operation of the stock market…” Nathaniel Johnson patiently explained.

Noah Johnson responded with an “oh,” but didn’t really take it to heart. He glanced at Nathaniel Johnson, then deliberately changed the subject, bringing up Nathaniel Johnson’s job situation. “Nannan, this morning I went to talk to the leaders at the Economic and Trade Commission again. They kept saying staffing is tight… That guy Gu is really something, won’t act until he sees the benefit, like a hungry wolf…”

“How about this—Lao Yue, tonight let’s bring some gifts and visit the Lu family across the hall, talk to Secretary General Lewis, and mention Nannan’s situation. If Secretary General Lewis is willing to help, it won’t just be the Economic and Trade Commission, even the Finance Bureau wouldn’t be a problem.” Noah Johnson said softly.

As soon as Noah Johnson said this, Nathaniel Johnson immediately stood up sharply, his tone resolute. “Dad, Mom, let me say it again, don’t go to Quinn Lewis! Dad, you must stay away from Quinn Lewis, don’t have too much contact with him! I don’t need to be picky about my job, I’d rather go to a state-owned enterprise. The bureaucracy is too rigid, I don’t want to go there.”

Nathaniel Johnson’s attitude was clearly a bit extreme, and also a bit strange. Noah Johnson and Paige Walker exchanged glances, looking at Nathaniel Johnson with suspicion, their faces serious. Noah Johnson said in a deep voice, “Nannan, how can you talk like that? Don’t be so rude. Quinn Lewis, Quinn Lewis, is Secretary General Lewis’s name something a child like you can just mention?” …