This son-in-law is wicked in a good way!

After seeing Li Dekui off, Zhang Ping'an returned to the shop.

The crowd hadn't dispersed yet, waiting to see if Zhang Ping'an really wasn't going to issue any more shares.

"Hmph, I don't believe you're really only selling 10,000 shares."

The Minister of Personnel stared at Zhang Ping'an with a cold smile.

The Minister of Works seemed lost in thought, even secretly regretting not having acted earlier.

Zhang Ping'an stood in front of the counter, smiling at the crowd: "I'm sorry everyone, all the stocks for today are sold out. We'll see how things go tomorrow, so please come back tomorrow!"

After saying that, Zhang Ping'an gave the order to leave.

The hired helpers started to chase people away.

The Minister of Personnel frowned slightly: "You really aren't selling it!"

"What tricks is this kid up to?"

A murmur arose from the crowd: "This shopkeeper is very strange. He just says he won't sell and then refuses. I've never seen business like this before!"

"What do you know! This isn't like doing business; he's selling stocks. Do you even understand stocks?"

"Ha, as if you know everything!"

"Haha, of course I don't really understand either..."

The crowd was quickly asked to leave, but people's curiosity only grew stronger. Many were drawn to the scene, eager to see if the 10,000 shares that were sold the next day would go up in price!

"Hmph, I'll come again tomorrow!" The Minister of Personnel turned and left.

Lu Zhanshan sighed, somewhat regretting not making a move sooner: "Looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow to buy it."

The Left Prime Minister, standing at the back of the crowd, sneered, "The same old tricks again, trying to get His Majesty to cooperate. You won't fool me this time, hmph!"

After everyone left, Zhang Ping'an hung the wooden sign with the business hours on the door, then made some improvements before returning to the yamen.

Day two.

Zhang Ping'an arrived at the exchange in the morning to oversee operations.

Today's stock price is updated to: Two taels of silver.

Some people came to watch early in the morning.

"It's gone up already!"

"Good heavens! Doesn't that mean the 10,000 taels I bought yesterday have become 20,000 taels today?!"

"Hmph, it's definitely fake. Only His Majesty would raise the price if he bought it. If we buy it, the price will definitely drop."

"Moreover, it's still uncertain whether we can exchange it for silver."

Lu Zhanshan, the Minister of Works, arrived early in the morning. Upon seeing today's stock price, he was filled with regret.

"Haha, Young Master Zhang, how many shares are you planning to sell today?"

Zhang Ping'an smiled and said, "Greetings, Lord Lu!"

"Only 10,000 shares will be sold today."

"Alright, I'll buy these 10,000 shares." Lu Zhanshan wasn't worried that Zhang Ping'an wouldn't exchange them for silver, since what he wanted was the management rights of that road.

"Thank you for your support, Lord Lu!" Zhang Ping'an smiled and handed him 10,000 shares.

Looking at the large stack of stocks in his hand, Lu Zhanshan felt a sense of emotion.

I paid twice as much for the same stock today.

"Sorry everyone, all the stocks for today have been sold out."

Zhang Ping'an hung a wooden sign that read "Sold Out" prominently above the counter.

The Minister of Personnel, who had just arrived, looked at Lu Zhanshan with disdain as he left with the stocks.

"That old scoundrel surnamed Lu really can't hold his temper."

A carriage was parked on the roadside opposite the shop. The Left Prime Minister lowered the curtain and sneered, "That old bastard Lu Zhanshan is after the management rights of that road, isn't he?"

"Unfortunately, little did they know they had already fallen for that little bastard Zhang Ping'an's trap."

"Let's go, we'll come again tomorrow."

Day three.

Even before the exchange opened, a large crowd had already gathered outside, including some of the city's wealthy businessmen.

These people are the ones who are best able to seize business opportunities.

The first thing Zhang Ping'an did upon opening the door was to update today's stock price.

Today, the stock price is five taels of silver.

"Five taels!"

"Good heavens! Doesn't that mean the 10,000 taels of stock I bought on the first day could be sold for 50,000 taels of silver today?!"

"This is unbelievable!"

For them, it was like becoming rich overnight.

The Minister of Personnel frowned, cursing inwardly, "What's this kid up to? At this rate of increase, one share might be worth ten taels tomorrow!"

Although it has only been rising for two consecutive days, to be honest, Lord Kong is already somewhat tempted.

Which retail investor can resist the temptation of two consecutive limit-up days?

"Sir, I'd like to buy a hundred shares to try it out. Is that alright?" A plump, wealthy merchant said with a smile, but with caution in his eyes.

"sure."

Zhang Ping'an gave him a stock with a face value of 100.

Seeing this, many people couldn't sit still and rushed to buy.

Two hundred shares, one thousand shares, and so on, were sold out in no time.

"Alright, all 10,000 shares for today have been sold out. Please come back tomorrow!"

Zhang Ping'an once again put up the "Sold Out" sign.

Many people left with some regret, regretting that they hadn't made a move earlier.

So those who didn't make a move are secretly hoping that the stock price will drop back to one or two tomorrow.

Moreover, people who have bought stocks naturally hope for a significant increase in value.

However, everyone's attention was completely drawn to the stocks.

Moreover, the entire capital city began to talk about stocks.

This time, Zhang Ping'an didn't stir up trouble behind the scenes; it was entirely spread by the stock market investors themselves.

Especially those wealthy businessmen who bought hundreds of shares, who are the retail investors of later generations, would talk about it to everyone they met.

"Brother Zhang, have you ever heard of stocks?"

"Stocks? I've only ever heard of banknotes and pawnbroking tickets, never stocks."

"Could this be a new trick the girls at the brothel have come up with? Using stocks as tickets? Heh..."

"Hehe, Brother Zhang, you're really ignorant. Stocks are a great way to make money. They're something only the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital can play with. They're a myth of getting rich overnight."

"Come, let me explain it to you in detail..."

Such situations occur frequently in various places.

People's enthusiasm for stocks also rose rapidly.

Even Dean Zhao, who had tasted success last time, took the initiative to ask Zhang Ping'an for advice.

However, Zhang Ping'an cannot guarantee a profit this time.

Just tell him that the stock market is risky and that he should invest with caution.

However, Zhang Ping'an didn't know whether Dean Zhao would listen or not.

It was another morning, and the entrance to the stock exchange was already crowded with people.

The first thing Zhang Ping'an did upon arriving at the exchange was to announce today's stock price.

One share is six taels of silver.

Upon seeing the stock price rise, the merchants who had bought the stock yesterday immediately went to Zhang Ping'an to exchange it for silver.

Earn one tael for each share, and one hundred taels for a hundred shares.

Earning a hundred taels a day without doing anything clean is easier than any other business!

Some people sneered, thinking that Zhang Ping'an would never exchange silver for them, since the silver was earned too easily, so easily that it made those who hadn't made a move envious.

"Everyone, don't rush, line up at the window, one at a time, there's plenty of money!"

Zhang Ping'an stood in front of the counter giving instructions.

A fat, wealthy merchant, holding the silver notes he had just exchanged, had his face flushed with excitement.

"Haha, Lord Zhang was right! He really did exchange the silver for me!"

"I bought 300 shares yesterday, and made a net profit of 300 taels today!"

"Thank you very much, Lord Zhang!"

The wealthy businessman bowed to Zhang Ping'an with a delighted expression.

Zhang Ping'an smiled and returned the greeting: "This is the imperial stock exchange. From now on, all stocks will be traded here. With the imperial court's backing, what do you have to worry about?"