Chapter 101

A few days later, while drinking with a group of brothers, they suddenly discovered that the new energy stock Iris had bought had become a hot topic, with investors enthusiastically discussing it almost everywhere they went. It was rare to see Zhuang Zhuoyuan paying attention to the stock market, and when only the two of them remained, Zhan Hantao inquired about it. Zhuang Zhuoyuan then found a way to start a conversation, pouring out his anxieties of the past few days to his future brother-in-law.

Zhan Hantao was also hearing about this for the first time. He figured Iris had acted too hastily to tell Zhuang Zhuohua yet. He glanced again at the red and green screen on Zhuang Zhuoyuan's phone and confirmed, "So Iris is making money now?"

“She said she made a profit.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan nodded, then added, “But I didn’t ask how much she made.”

Who makes money and still has a worried look on their face? Zhan Hantao took a sip of his drink, guessing that Zhuang Zhuoyuan was worried that Iris would only report good news and not bad news, and would make up some numbers to reassure him, so he deliberately teased, "Is it useless to ask, or are you afraid to ask?"

“Bada…” Zhuang Zhuoyuan glanced back sideways. Zhan Hantao accepted it all, but didn’t react further. Zhuang Zhuoyuan punched cotton, and could only helplessly gulp down a mouthful of wine.

He wasn't worried about his own money, but rather about causing trouble for Tiger. Zhan Hantao understood perfectly. After they'd finished half a bottle, he cut to the chase: "What did you tell Tiger about that?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan finally smiled, punched Zhan Hantao on the arm, and then said, "I told him about Iris's plan. He trusted Iris a lot and gave me the money without saying a word. But I didn't give him the exact amount. I only took half. I added the other half myself and gave it to my wife."

Zhan Hantao chuckled, hitting the nail on the head: "Then part of this trouble is caused by your spoiling her." Jennie gives money, and he gives money too; essentially, it's the same thing.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan could only shrug: "What else can we do?"

The orphanage's adoption rules were extremely strict. He Feihu, a single man, struggled to adopt even one child, let alone two. Since separation was inevitable, he now had only two hopes: first, to find Dingding and Lele's biological parents quickly so they could return to their original families; and second, to raise money quickly so the children could have access to medical treatment. Tiger knew nothing about stocks, but Iris had helped him a lot, so he was willing to trust her completely. Even if he lost money in the end, it didn't matter; he could just do a few more bounty hunting jobs and take on more side hustles to earn the money back. However, he never expected that in just one week, Iris would have Zhuang Zhuoyuan transfer back a profit of 500,000 to him!

“Ah Yuan,” He Feihu forced himself to come to his senses as quickly as possible, thinking that he should at least return half of the money to him, “I didn’t give you much money, how could I earn this much? Tell Iris not to take this opportunity to give me more money, you have already helped me a lot, I can’t accept it!”

Zhuang Zhuoyuan had anticipated his reaction perfectly. He had already prepared to retreat in order to advance, so he pushed the check back and clearly explained how he had filled the gap earlier. "So Iris operated according to the total amount she had planned, and now she's returning the money to you according to that proportion. She was afraid you would argue with her, so she calculated everything so clearly. As for me, we don't need to say much, right? I've already gotten back my share, so the rest is all yours."

"How can you calculate things like that?" He Feihu's eyes were a little wet. "If you don't go to Iris, I will. Such a large sum of money, I..."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan stopped him, interrupting him directly: "Guess why she didn't come today? Tiger, just accept it. My wife said I'm not allowed to go home tonight if I don't complete the mission. And if you want to be polite with us, then from now on, when the two of us come to Cafe Tiger, we'll even charge for a single French fry. We can't be brothers like this, can we?"

He Feihu was speechless. He bumped fists with the grinning Zhuang Zhuoyuan and couldn't help but hug him again: "Good brother, invite Iris over for dinner tomorrow. I have to thank her in person. Also, from now on, you two will be the other owners of Cafe Tiger. I'll consider this money as your investment."

Even this, Iris had thought of. Zhuang Zhuoyuan answered quite easily: "Eating is no problem, she's available whenever you call. As for franchising, my wife said she has friends all over the world and is the least suitable person to open a bar. As long as you can give her free snacks for life, Tiger, she'll be very satisfied."

After thinking for a long time, He Feihu finally called Iris. A few minutes later, Zhuang Zhuoyuan received a very pleasing compliment: "Zhuang Zhuoyuan, you married a good wife!"

Tiger's medical expenses were settled, but Iris's stock trading plan wasn't completely over. 500,000 was Tiger's limit; she withdrew that sum early simply to secure a suitable price. The portion she wanted to earn for Zhuang Zhuoyuan still had room for growth. Before, when Ella was trading stocks, she complained that her sister was always glued to the computer and ignored her. Now that she was trading herself, she understood that to make money like Ella, you really had to keep a close eye on things. You can't put all your eggs in one basket, but she had to carefully sift through each basket according to Ella's theories, then use a single-stock strategy of full investment plus partial leverage to seize opportunities for significant price increases and maximize profits. Without her sister by her side, she didn't dare to play freely, and every step was tinged with anxiety.

Fortunately, Jennie was at home keeping an eye on the stock market with her. Since Jennie stayed home all day, she knew Iris's movements better than Zhuang Zhuoyuan. With Jennie as the final line of defense, there was no fear that Iris would miss the opportunity to liquidate her positions. In fact, she and Edward also intended to use this opportunity to train Iris and see if her financial talent was enough for them to confidently let her go.

Coincidentally, around the same time, the children of several old friends seemed to have become obsessed with stock trading. Jennie video-chatted with Edward that night and learned that Larine's brother, Jacob, had also been pouring money into the stock market recently. Upon hearing this, she had to get up and disturb Iris and her husband, who had already gone back to their room. She could let others go, but Jacob was someone she absolutely couldn't reveal any insider information about stock trading to. At this moment, Jennie didn't care about choosing her words carefully; she solemnly instructed Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan: "Your Uncle Shu is coming to Hong Kong in the next couple of days; he'll handle the kids himself. Don't worry about whether Jacob asks or not, just don't tell him how to buy stocks, or which ones to buy—his brain can't handle that. Also, don't buy for him either! And don't say a word to Larine."

The two nodded hesitantly in agreement. After watching Jennie return to her room, Iris thought for a moment and decided to call her stockbroker and have him sell all her stocks first thing the next morning. She figured she couldn't keep her stock trading a secret for long, and if word got to Jacob, it would likely trigger the situations her mother was worried about. Out of friendship, she wouldn't mind helping Jacob, but considering the relationship between the two families, she felt it was best to follow her mother's advice.

The person who was most surprised was Zhuang Zhuoyuan. He didn't expect Iris to back down so quickly, but at the same time, he was worried that making such a hasty decision might have some negative consequences.

Iris knelt on the bed, cupping his face in her hands to reassure him: "There will definitely be an impact. Quitting early just means earning less money. I originally wanted you to retire ten years or so earlier to be with me, but now that's not possible. But we've made back the profits from that little house. By the way, can we put the profits in our joint account? If I just deposit it into your account, I'm afraid the ICAC will call you in..."

Another decade or so has passed, and it's back to that small house. Iris's description of her profits is very vague. Thinking back to Tiger's 500,000 yuan a week, Zhuang Zhuoyuan suddenly realized that with the financial support of his in-laws, he had seriously misjudged Iris's income over the past two weeks. He couldn't help but ask, his tone tinged with caution, "Wife, tell me honestly, how much money have you actually made?"

“Oh dear,” Iris said, rubbing his face affectionately, “You can calculate wind speed and bullet speed, so why can’t you calculate our little treasure trove?” She leaned down to his ear and gave him a rough number, then nibbled on his earlobe before adding, “If it continues to rise tomorrow morning, then it will be about this number; otherwise, it will drop a bit.”

Even if we lower the price a bit, we'll still make a lot of money! Between a mental freeze and a burst of activity, Zhuang Zhuoyuan replied to his wife: "Baby, do you know that when we announced our marriage, everyone was already joking that I could retire right away?"

Iris laughed and said, "That's perfect! My wish has come true, and this stock trading trip has come to a perfect end. Baby, give me a good compliment and a reward!"

Preparing a gift for his wife was easy enough. But sharing her joy with everyone was a different story. Parties, charity donations, dinners, shopping… one event after another. Looking at Iris's packed schedule, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt she was the real special forces veteran. Back when they were being trained by Inspector Liang, he himself would come home exhausted every day. Now, with his wife, the roles were reversed. A week had passed, and she was still full of energy, seemingly getting stronger with each challenge. He was no longer surprised by her perpetually energetic voice, but he still found the gossip she brought back from various events amusing. And today, he finally had a topic to share with his brothers: “Ah Li, did you know that the controlling shareholder of that new energy stock is actually your classmate Wu Zuxing?”