Chapter 121 - 112: The Observer

Chapter 121: Chapter 112: The Observer

To Chen Jingle, the so-called return of the bull market in Mian A was a highly intriguing phenomenon.

Among the numerous college majors, there was a discipline known as sociology.

If physics studied the laws of nature, then sociology studied the laws of society. It primarily followed the paths of observation, induction, and practice—that is, recognizing, understanding, and transforming society. Its key representative figures included Kongde, Weber, and Marx. Although Marx was not exclusively a sociologist, a portion of his ideology was undeniably rooted in sociology.

In Chen Jingle’s eyes, Mian A served as an excellent subject for sociological research.

From a sociological perspective, one could analyze the logic behind the sudden surges and crashes of the A-share market. This included macroeconomic and microeconomic factors, as well as how amateur investors’ blind optimism and profit-seeking mentality led to the loss of control in a rational investment market.

All of these were worth discussing and researching, though the process of demonstration would inevitably be dry and tedious.

Sociology was considered a prominent discipline abroad, but domestically, it was quite a niche subject.

There were a few reasons for this. First, the barrier to entry was too low; it lacked strong professional exclusivity and was easily replaceable—a common flaw among liberal arts majors. Second, the domestic education level was uneven. Many universities offered the course, but to most students, the curriculum felt watered down. Furthermore, the country was vast and abundant in resources. From south to north and east to west, the research findings were not necessarily universally applicable.

Of course, every discipline had its fundamental strengths. Otherwise, it would hold no research value and would never have been established in the first place. If a certain major at a university felt absolutely useless, the real question to consider was whether the school had developed the program properly.

Considering that he had already mastered most of the undergraduate and postgraduate knowledge in ideological and political education, Marxist philosophy, and history, Chen Jingle temporarily changed his mind. He switched his morning study session to sociology.

Thus, on top of the system’s existing courses in language, math, English, politics, history, and philosophy, he successfully unlocked yet another knowledge course.

Getting into sociology was simple enough—reading the relevant books would suffice. Works like *A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy*, *Science as a Vocation*, *Peasant Life in China*, and *Communities Across Borders* were all viable options.

Besides reading, Chen Jingle planned to combine his knowledge of history, politics, and Marxist philosophy to write a short essay on the impending so-called "bull market" of A-shares.

Perhaps no one other than himself would ever read this article, but he felt that certain knowledge could only truly become his own once it was written down. It was simply a process of intake and output.

As the morning progressed, Chen Jingle’s predictions proved accurate.

A flood of positive news hit the stock market that morning. Accompanied by the influx of numerous retail investors and private equity funds, trading volume surged massively.

"The entire board is flashing green again," Liang City marveled on WeChat, sending over a screenshot.

This guy was clearly slacking off at work.

However, alongside his amazement, Liang City was mostly cautious. Initially, he had been a bit envious, but after chatting with Chen Jingle last night, he honestly chose to remain a bystander. He suddenly felt that this "bull market" was full of suspicious signs.

As the saying went, there was no such thing as a free lunch. Would an opportunity to get rich really fall into the laps of ordinary people? The bystander truly saw things most clearly.

If he had entered the market with his own secret stash of savings, he feared he wouldn’t have been able to remain this rational. He would only be thinking about prices rising, wishing the stock values would multiply several times over.

"Even a child catching sparrows knows to scatter a handful of grain under the basket first!" Chen Jingle replied with a smile.

"You’re right," Liang City deeply agreed. "It feels like they’re about to start the harvest; I just don’t know exactly when."

"Generally speaking, it happens after the holidays."

There were less than ten days left until the National Day holiday. Prices would likely rise quite a bit during these ten days. Those who entered the market early would make a profit, while those who entered late would mostly be left trapped.

Chen Jingle still stuck to his perspective: it would rise, but a true bull market didn’t exist. It was more likely a trap, using various so-called positive news to lure in hot money and retail investors for the slaughter.

The end result would undoubtedly be a chorus of wailing. Yet, before the game of musical chairs stopped, no one believed they would be the one left holding the bag. Because amateur investors were blind, overly optimistic about market expectations, and recklessly chasing rallies, they were the exact type of people who usually became the ultimate bagholders for the country.

Just like the housing market.

Chen Jingle chose to watch the show—or rather, to observe and analyze. He still had his article to write. He would first observe the phenomenon, then analyze the underlying logic, and finally look past the surface to see the essence, draw a conclusion, and seek a solution to the problem.

He wasn’t staring at the market index in real-time; he wasn’t that bored. Instead, he was mostly busy reading.

With so many books and his sudden decision to study this field, he had to cram the information just to get a basic grasp of the subject. Cramming took time, too. Not to mention, he had to integrate real-world case studies into his draft after reading.

For a pure liberal arts student like him, who had undergone nine years of compulsory education followed by higher education, the influence of materialism was immense. He had already developed strong intellectual habits. Whenever he encountered a problem, his first thoughts immediately turned to dialectics, the theory of contradiction, and the theory of practice.

Even though he was only writing a private essay that would never be submitted for publication, he still wanted to do it properly.

The content of his draft had to originate from practice and return to practice. The thesis needed to be grounded in reality, ensuring that theoretical and policy innovations aligned with the nation’s specific conditions, and it had to highlight the crucial role of the people in sociology.

It sounded a bit grandiose and hollow, yet this was the nature of social sciences. It followed the path of social experimentation, which was quite different from laboratory research.

After finishing several books, Chen Jingle began typing on his keyboard. Ideas flowed like a fountain.

By the time his practical lesson ended, he was surprised to discover that he had already written a first draft of over four thousand words.

This was quite impressive—it was even faster than the typing speed of many web novel authors. After all, he was writing an academic thesis, not padding the word count of a novel Chapter. It would definitely need revisions later, but managing to write this much proved that his recent studies had been highly effective. He had truly absorbed and digested the knowledge, making it his own.

"Why does it feel like ten thousand words won’t be enough to finish this?" Chen Jingle twitched the corner of his mouth. "Whatever, I’ll just keep writing. I’ll write as much as it takes. It’s only for myself to read anyway, so there’s no word count limit."

As long as he could write it out, it was progress!

As the morning trading session neared its close, a new shift occurred in the stock market. Many people couldn’t wait to sell off their shares.

These were the investors who had been trapped previously. They finally found a chance to break free, choosing to cut their losses and run, even if it meant sacrificing a significant portion of their investments.

TSK! Chen Jingle shook his head. The current generation of investors really lacked grit. Did they have that little faith in the Big A market?

Perhaps too many people were cashing out and bailing. As a result, by the time the market closed, the index hadn’t risen much compared to the opening bell.

Faced with this situation, investors buzzed with discussion. A large number of them stepped forward to say, "Don’t panic! It’s just a technical adjustment!" It was hard to tell if they were trying to reassure others or themselves.

Chen Jingle watched the spectacle, fighting the urge to laugh. "Damn, how did I never realize the stock market was this entertaining before?"

Sure enough, stocks were a game best watched when played by others. It was perfectly fine to just be a quiet bystander!

At lunchtime, he made scrambled eggs with yellow chives and shredded chicken with shiitake mushrooms.

Both dishes featured yellow chives. There was no special reason for it; he just suddenly had a craving. As for why he didn’t use regular green chives? Other than in barbecue, Chen Jingle generally disliked green chives—whether in dumplings, steamed buns, or omelets. Yellow chives had a milder flavor that wasn’t as overpowering, making them much more appetizing to him.

Even a remarkably ordinary dish like scrambled eggs with yellow chives took on a completely different flavor in Chen Jingle’s hands. Fragrant, tender, and silky!

It left Chen Qiyun slightly stunned. "Are these really scrambled eggs with yellow chives?"

They were completely different from any version of the dish she had eaten before! To put it simply, whenever her grandmother and mother cooked at home, they liked to fry the eggs until they were browned and crispy. If they were just making fried eggs, that method was perfectly fine. But when stir-frying them with yellow chives, cooking them that way made the eggs taste too tough.

Without a doubt, she preferred Chen Jingle’s scrambled eggs. They were incredibly soft and tender; she felt like she could eat several bowls of rice just paired with this dish alone.

Then there was the shredded chicken with shiitake mushrooms. Nowadays, compared to all sorts of exotic delicacies and top-tier cuisine, this dish indeed seemed a bit ordinary. But in the past, even during Chen Jingle’s childhood, it was considered high-end cooking.

First, it required chicken breast. Meat hadn’t been as plentiful back then as it was now. A whole chicken only had so much breast meat, and a single serving of this dish required several pieces. Second was the shiitake mushrooms. While modern shiitake mushrooms were artificially cultivated, they used to be purely wild-foraged.

Additionally, the cooking process was complicated, requiring the chef to pass the ingredients through hot oil, render fat, and use various aromatics to enhance the flavor of the shredded chicken. Because of these complex steps, decades ago, it was a dish exclusive to high-end restaurants.

Now, what was once a luxury reserved for the elite had become an everyday meal for common families.

The flavor profile of shredded chicken with shiitake mushrooms was on the milder side. The key lay in achieving a tender, smooth texture. Although it was a dish passed through oil, it couldn’t be too greasy; the chef had to ensure the diners wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by heaviness.

If one pushed the food aside and saw excess oil pooling at the bottom of the plate, the dish was a failure. Furthermore, if the shredded chicken wasn’t stir-fried properly, it would easily become dry and stringy. Thus, while the dish looked ordinary, it actually required a great deal of culinary skill. Even chefs in standard restaurants might not be able to execute it perfectly.

However, if made well, it was a dish perfectly suited for the elderly and children. It was rich in nutrients, and its texture and taste were foolproof.

Although its aroma wasn’t as enticing as the cold-tossed beef with chili oil, judging by how Chen Qiyun’s chopsticks never stopped moving, the taste was clearly exceptional.

That afternoon, Chen Jingle continued delving into his sociology studies while keeping an eye on the Big A market.

Unexpectedly, shortly after the market opened in the afternoon, the upward trend stalled and prices began to slide—and they kept sliding. Many people lost the profits they had made in the morning before the money had even warmed their pockets.

"WHOA, this wave of technical adjustment is a bit extreme," Chen Jingle said, quite surprised.

This also validated his observation from the morning: the blind optimism of amateur investors and their simplistic profit-seeking mentality would lead to the loss of control in a rational investment market.

There were simply too many people panic-selling.

Meanwhile, Li Qiguang stared at the suddenly plummeting index and quietly clicked his tongue in awe.

Fortunately, he had listened to his daughter and bought into the automotive sector, which only experienced minor fluctuations. Overall, he wasn’t losing money. Had he invested in other industries, his scalp would likely be tingling with anxiety from the massive losses by now.

The other bosses weren’t so lucky.

Although most of them had bought into the automotive and semiconductor sectors, a few had also purchased other stocks on the side. For example, liquor stocks like Wuliangye and Moutai.