"I've always been very serious about my work, so I'm not joking with you," Yi Anguo said solemnly.

"My analysis has never been wrong. At the beginning of the year, I said that international oil prices would rise, and not only did they rise, but they also reached a record high," Gong Bin said seriously. "After that, I accurately predicted that international crude oil futures prices would inevitably fall. As everyone has seen, everything went according to my judgment. I don't know what your intentions are, but you have no reason to criticize my analysis report like this. I know you're new here and want to make some moves to establish your authority and set an example, but have you chosen the wrong target?"

Yi Anguo shook his head. "I have no intention of establishing authority, much less making an example out of you. You can continue to operate according to your plan, but I cannot shirk my own responsibilities. I've already warned you. If you don't listen, that's your problem, and you'll have to bear the consequences. It will have nothing to do with me. If my directive causes a major problem, of course, I will take full responsibility. Do you think I would intentionally joke with you? Pointing out the problem is my job; whether you listen is your decision."

After hearing this, Gong Bin was stunned. What Yi Anguo said seemed to make a lot of sense.

This directive came from Yi Anguo; all I have to do is follow it. If any problems arise, he will be responsible. Even if I have to bear part of the responsibility, it will be minor. After all, Yi Anguo is the head of the entire Financial Investment Department. As his subordinate, I naturally have to obey his commands. So if there's a problem? The boss will naturally take the fall. But if I don't listen to him and insist on operating based on my own ideas and judgment, everyone shares in the profits if we make money. If there's a problem, however, I'll be the one taking the blame. After all, the boss already pointed out the issue. If I refuse to listen and insist on my own way, causing a major loss, I would naturally have to bear the primary responsibility.

Thinking this, Gong Bin couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Since you're looking for your own downfall and want to show off, you can't blame me. I'll do as you say. If there's a problem, you'll bear the responsibility. At worst, I'll just lose some of my bonus and commission. But you, the manager, might have to leave before your seat is even warm. That would be quite a sight. A person who knows nothing but gives arbitrary orders doesn't deserve to be a manager.

Having thought it all through, Gong Bin calmed down and said to Yi Anguo, "Although I maintain that my own judgment is correct, you are the manager. Whatever you say goes. I just hope that if anything goes wrong and the company incurs major losses due to this investment error, Mr. Yi won't forget what you said today and try to shirk your responsibility!"

"Don't worry. As long as it is an investment operation that I ordered you to execute, if it truly causes the company any major losses, I will assume full responsibility. I will absolutely not shirk my duties," Yi Anguo said with great confidence. "Remember my words. When the price of international crude oil futures drops to 47 US dollars a barrel, do not continue to short. Instead, close out all short positions and go long.

"Based on my research, our short-term target is for the price to break through 60 US dollars a barrel. I predict we will hit this target by the end of June.

"The longer-term target price is to break through 70 US dollars a barrel by the end of August.

"Afterward, high oil prices are bound to attract high-level attention and strong intervention from various countries. International crude oil futures prices will gradually begin to fall.

"However, this process definitely won't be quick, and there won't be a significant drop. The price should at least maintain a level around 56 to 61 US dollars.

"As the growth of the world economy accelerates, nations' dependence on oil will further intensify. Therefore, the future outlook for oil prices remains bullish, not bearish. A significant drop in international crude oil prices would only occur if there is a global financial crisis that causes a substantial decline in oil consumption. Perhaps then it might fall to the thirty-three US dollars per barrel you mentioned, or even lower.

"Conversely, as long as the world economy continues to grow, the demand for crude oil will further increase, and its price is unlikely to drop below 50 US dollars."

Although Gong Bin was inwardly fuming, Yi Anguo's reasoning seemed logical and well-structured. Upon careful consideration, it even appeared to have some merit, so he simply fell silent to express his discontent.

Yi Anguo didn't care about Gong Bin's attitude. He just needed to state his position and make his voice heard. He truly didn't care whether people listened to him or not. In fact, it was better if they didn't. He had fulfilled his obligations and responsibilities. If others didn't listen, that was their problem. Chen Jianjun couldn't possibly blame him for it.

Before the meeting ended, Yi Anguo took Zhou Mengdie's meeting minutes. After reviewing them, he signed his name, had everyone present confirm they were correct and sign as well, and then instructed Zhou Mengdie to keep them safe. With this signed record, it would be crystal clear who was responsible for what if any problems arose later. No one would be able to deny it.

Gong Bin hadn't expected the new manager, Yi Anguo, to be so thorough. He couldn't help but start to take the comments and judgments Yi Anguo had just made more seriously. At least from the looks of it, the new Mr. Yi was definitely not joking. If I really dared to pull some stunt behind his back or feign compliance, I'd have a very hard time escaping responsibility if something went wrong!

Yi Anguo had convened a meeting with the entire international oil futures investment project team and overturned Vice Manager Gong Bin's investment plan on the spot. This immediately caused a huge stir throughout the Financial Investment Department. The various investment teams assumed the new Mr. Yi was preparing to take them down one by one. Today it was the international oil futures team; whose turn would it be tomorrow?

After the meeting, Yi Anguo left work and drove to his securities investment studio.

Before his rebirth, Yi Anguo didn't start trading stocks until 2017. He only did it casually, usually with no more than 50,000 yuan, so the wins and losses were modest. Over six or seven years, he had accumulated a total profit of around 200,000 yuan. But he enjoyed researching the stock market, including China's A-shares, Hong Kong stocks, and US stocks. He also studied the trends of international oil futures, but he only focused on the parts that interested him, such as Guojiao Holdings, Penguin Holdings, BYD, Apple, Amazon, Citibank, Google, and the historical trends of international crude oil futures.

Some memories were vivid, while others were fuzzy. Reviewing the investment report analysis materials from the Chen's company's Financial Investment Department had also triggered some of these memories, which led to his earlier comments in front of Gong Bin.

Yi Anguo hadn't originally planned on entering the international crude oil futures market so soon. What he vividly remembered was the second half of 2007, when oil futures prices soared. This continued until mid-July 2008, when the price of international crude oil futures broke the historical high of 147 US dollars per barrel. That price of 147 US dollars per barrel had not been surpassed again up until his rebirth, seemingly becoming an insurmountable historical benchmark.

Therefore, Yi Anguo's original plan had been to enter the international crude oil futures market after the second half of 2007. He would seize that rare opportunity, make a hefty profit, and then get out.

But now, I might as well test the waters, he thought. Just a small play, to get some practice.

Yi Anguo called Ding Jing over. Although he knew a bit about trading American international crude oil futures, he had never done it himself. Trading futures is completely different from trading stocks. Stock trading is relatively simple, whereas futures trading is much more complex.

But Ding Jing knew how. She had studied finance and investment. If she didn't even know how to trade futures, her Ph.D. in finance would be completely useless.

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