"Zhang Yang, you have no idea, today was even crazier—the stock hit its daily upper limit in just three minutes and seventy-five seconds! The entire market, the trading center, everything is in chaos!"

The next morning, Su Zhantao rushed back after just one quick trip out, even more agitated than before.

He couldn't help being excited. Acquiring Sanqi in the market had become difficult; he and Wu Sheng had visited several places and only managed to collect around seventy or eighty thousand yuan worth of spot inventory, and the price was already significantly higher than the day before.

As for the trading hall, it left everyone wide-eyed.

No one expected that Sanqi, which had been hitting its lower limit for several consecutive days, would surge to its upper limit just five minutes after opening today. Two straight days of hitting the ceiling left many utterly bewildered about Sanqi.

According to their previous speculation, the earlier price hike for Sanqi had been manipulated by small players, and the subsequent sharp drop was due to those small players exiting. No one had anticipated that Sanqi would rebound so quickly and with such fierce momentum.

"I know. If it's hard to collect, then stop collecting. The long positions we already hold are enough to guarantee our profits this time!"

Zhang Yang smiled faintly and walked back to the wall to mark today’s price.

These price movements were crucial to him. He only remembered the prices from his previous life, but not the exact dates, and his memory wasn't complete. He could only rely on those recollections, combined with the current situation, to make sound judgments.

"Yes, those long positions are pure gold!"

When thinking about the long positions Zhang Yang had bought, Su Zhantao's eyes lit up. Today's ceiling hit, combined with Zhang Yang having bought early yesterday, meant that their two-million-plus yuan worth of long positions had already yielded a net profit of nearly 10%.

This was based only on margin positions, while the actual value of the goods was over ten million yuan—meaning they had earned over a million in a single day.

At this moment, Su Zhantao was even more in awe of Zhang Yang. He had previously complained about why they hadn't entered earlier, calculating they could have earned an extra ten or twenty thousand yuan per day. Now, he finally understood: Zhang Yang simply disdained such petty amounts; this was where the real money was.

Furthermore, if they had entered according to his timeline, they might not have made a profit at all; just avoiding a loss would have been an achievement.

"Good, I'll rest for a bit. Nothing much should happen today; you can attend to your own business first," Zhang Yang said with a slight smile. Today's ceiling effectively locked the price in.

Moreover, today's surge confirmed his belief that the major players had truly entered the market. His current task was simply to follow their footsteps and exit the entire holding at the most opportune moment to rake in a massive profit.

"Don't you go rest; I'll just sit here. I have no personal business right now, nor the inclination for anything else," Su Zhantao immediately shook his head. This was the truth; after witnessing Sanqi's powerful rebound and resurgence in the market, he truly had no focus for anything else.

"Alright, whatever you wish," Zhang Yang smiled lightly, ignoring Su Zhantao, and closed his eyes to rest.

Calling it rest was misleading; he was actually cultivating the ancestral Qigong, which he practiced whenever he had time, especially since he hadn't been out much lately. These few days of practice had brought noticeable progress.

Zhang Yang wondered how much his Zhang Family Qigong value would increase when the system activated next, and how high it would climb.

Additionally, Zhang Yang had noticed that his cultivation speed now was significantly faster than in his previous life—almost doubled. He had pondered this for a long time without finding an explanation.

He decided not to dwell on the unexplainable; after all, accelerated cultivation was certainly not a disadvantage. At this rate, he could quickly reach his previous peak condition.

In a building near the hotel, a young man hurried into a large office where many people were seated, with several middle-aged men occupying the head seats.

"Boss, we've investigated!"

The entering young man walked directly to the head table and spoke to a middle-aged man with his head slightly bowed.

This man wore gold-rimmed glasses and appeared to be in his early forties, exuding considerable refinement. He gave the young man a slight nod, prompting the youth to continue immediately: "The accounts that initiated the long positions came from an individual named Su Zhantao. Su Zhantao is very young, only twenty-four, and previously worked in wholesale and retail, sourcing mainly from Jiaoyi to supply hospitals. His business wasn't large, at most a scale of a few hundred thousand yuan!"

The middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses suddenly frowned, causing the young man to immediately halt his report.

"Continue."

"Yes, we looked into Su Zhantao's background and discovered he is part of the Su family—the direct nephew of Su Shaohua. After placing the 2.7 million yuan in long positions yesterday, there has been no further activity today!"

The young man reported slowly, pausing only after this point, awaiting instructions from the man with the gold-rimmed glasses.

"A member of the Su family?"

The gold-rimmed man’s frown deepened, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk. The words "Su family member" clearly carried weight; his expression became heavy, hinting at some apprehension.

"The Su family has always been in physical industries; why suddenly engage in futures, especially Chinese medicine?" interjected a stout middle-aged man beside the gold-rimmed man. This stout man was surnamed Niu, known to everyone as Fatty Niu, but despite his appearance, he commanded hundreds of millions in capital.

"It's hard to say. Su Shaohua is quite ambitious; perhaps he heard some inside information and sent his nephew as a vanguard," added the person next to Fatty Niu. This man had a dark complexion and a large, somewhat frightening mole on his face.

The Mole Man, Zhao Zhi, like Fatty Niu, was a millionaire, and moreover, a local of Jiaoyi. The only three seated at the head were these three men.

"Any other findings?" the gold-rimmed man asked again. The young man thought for a moment before continuing, "We had someone check Su Zhantao's personal account at the trading center. He only deposited just over three million yuan, and most of that was used for long positions yesterday!"

"Only deposited three million-plus? Alright, I understand. Keep watching him, and report any new information to me immediately!"

The gold-rimmed man blinked slightly, then nodded. The young man acknowledged and quickly slipped out.

"Old Jin, what do you make of the Su family getting involved?" Fatty Niu looked somewhat worried. The Su family's strength far surpassed theirs, and they even had two high-ranking officials at the ministerial level—a level they absolutely couldn't compare with.

"What’s there to worry about? The Su family getting involved isn't necessarily a bad thing. We are the ones with true experience in futures trading. Besides, this might not even be Su Shaohua's personal initiative. We continue as planned; execute according to the original strategy!"

The gold-rimmed man smiled faintly, a hint of mystery in his expression. Both Fatty Niu and Zhao Zhi beside him were momentarily stunned before slowly nodding.

These three individuals were the masterminds behind this Sanqi manipulation. They had joined forces to prepare for this venture immediately after news of the drought in Yunnan was released.

Especially after confirming through the meteorological department that the drought would last for a prolonged period, they solidified their resolve. The three of them pooled over a billion in capital, intending to reap massive profits.

The earlier price surge in Sanqi had received a small push from behind the scenes, but they hadn't moved much. The same applied to the sharp decline; their influence contributed to the severity of the drop. Only by entering at the absolute lowest point could they ensure maximum returns.

All of this was roughly in line with Zhang Yang's speculation, but what they hadn't expected was that before they could enter, a long position worth over ten million yuan had already been placed. That had shocked them considerably.

They had assumed another major player was targeting Sanqi just as they were.

Market manipulators are highly wary of sharing the turf with others, especially with unknown parties. If others understood their moves while they remained blind to their opponents, the entire operation could easily turn into a devastating loss.

However, after planning for so long and executing so much preparatory work, they couldn't simply stop now. Knowing someone else was entering, they could only proceed cautiously for the time being, while simultaneously investigating who placed those initial long positions.

It was precisely because of this that they adjusted their plan slightly yesterday, accelerating the pace of acquisition. What was originally planned as a ceiling hit in the afternoon was forced by them to happen immediately in the morning.

Today was the same; fearing interference from the other party, they rushed the steps, leading to Sanqi hitting its upper limit just five minutes after opening.

The day passed quickly. In the afternoon, Su Zhantao visited the market again. The main topic of conversation now was Sanqi; the extreme volatility in its price over the last few days had left many confused.

Some early sellers, who had cut their losses and sold out, were weeping bitterly. If they had held on for just a few more days, they wouldn't have lost so much, or perhaps they wouldn't have lost anything at all.

But that was the nature of the futures market: the potential for profit came with the readiness to accept losses; the risks involved were simply too great.

The second day, Zhang Yang remained at the hotel, and Su Zhantao returned even faster this time.

Sanqi continued to climb, hitting the ceiling right at the open, marking three consecutive days at the upper limit. The spot price for twenty-yuan-quality Sanqi even rebounded to over forty yuan, causing immense distress for those holding large inventories.

The previous sharp drop in Sanqi had thoroughly frightened them, but now the frenzied ascent left them paralyzed, unsure whether to sell or hold.

If they sold now, they feared the price might climb even higher later, meaning selling now would only lead to regret. If they didn't sell, they worried Sanqi might crash again like before, rendering them unable to sell at any price—at that point, it wouldn't be about profit, but about minimizing losses.

Those with fortitude grit their teeth and held on, refusing to sell. But those with less nerve quickly liquidated their holdings, at least freeing themselves from constant anxiety.

On this day, the three men with gold-rimmed glasses breathed a collective sigh of relief. After Su Zhantao placed his over ten million in long positions, there had been no further activity. They had also discovered that Su Zhantao was personally collecting small amounts of spot inventory, which served as proof that this matter was Su Zhantao's individual action, unsupported by Su Shaohua.

Without Su Shaohua involved, they feared nothing. Su Zhantao’s ten-million-plus long position did not significantly threaten them; it only meant the kid had good luck, having truly bought at the bottom. They could profit later by finding the right moment to exit; how much they earned depended entirely on his luck.

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Continuing to type; two more chapters will be updated below! (To be continued)

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