Chapter 24: It Was Never the Model That Was Valuable

"They said they wanted to talk in person. How about you guys?"

"Same here. They said they wanted me to work for them, with the salary to be discussed during the interview."

"It seems these people are all calling for the same reason. But we never even submitted resumes to them. Why would they invite us to work for them? And why did five different brokerage firms send invitations at the same time?" Qiu Yan scratched his head. "Could it be because of Zhou Yun's trading model?"

He thought it over, and that was the only possibility.

The four of them turned to look at Zhou Yun. Shen Rui nodded thoughtfully. "You might have hit the nail on the head, brother. But Zhou Yun, what level does your model actually belong to in the field?"

When they helped run experiments, they hadn't paid much attention to that; after all, none of them had studied the relevant field, and they weren't clear on the ins and outs. They only knew that the accuracy of Zhou Yun's model was indeed very high. But didn't everyone try to inflate the accuracy of their own models in papers as much as possible? There was always some padding.

They had assumed Zhou Yun was doing the same, but now it seemed his data was a bit too real.

Zhou Yun thought for a moment. "To be immodest, it is unprecedented. As for whether it will be surpassed in the future, I don't know."

"That good?" Everyone looked at him in shock.

Zhou Yun nodded calmly. The data in his paper was actually written quite conservatively; the model they were using now had an accuracy about 50% higher than the data in the paper.

Yu Tianrui adjusted his glasses, his expression turning serious. "In that case, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to talk to these people. After all, we're all using Zhou Yun's work. How to negotiate depends entirely on him. In other words, no matter how much profit is generated from this, it has nothing to do with us. You all agree with that, right?"

"Of course!"

"Understood. If it's not mine, I won't even think about it."

"Rest assured, I won't take advantage of our junior brother."

Hearing their assurances, Yu Tianrui nodded in satisfaction. Although he knew them all quite well, when it came to something that could affect their futures, he couldn't be entirely sure. It was better to state it openly now to avoid any private maneuvering later.

Zhou Yun naturally saw this scene and couldn't help but sigh. As the saying goes, a teacher's character defines their students. In his past life, the students in his supervisor's group would scheme and fight over a bit of server time, trying to squeeze in their experiments. But here, in Deng Yonghua's group, even when personal interests were at stake, his seniors were all incredibly magnanimous.

"Then the next steps are easy. Their target is likely the model in Zhou Yun's hands, so let them negotiate. Zhou Yun can talk to all five firms alone—whether he gives it to them, and how he gives it, is entirely up to him." Yu Tianrui curled his lips. "And this is easier than talking to each of them separately. They'll start fighting among themselves, and Zhou Yun only needs to choose to negotiate with the winner."

Qiu Yan patted Yu Tianrui on the shoulder. "I didn't expect you, with your honest look, to be so devious at a time like this?"

Yu Tianrui brushed the hand off his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "What do you mean, devious? This is called wisdom, understand? Wisdom!"

Zhou Yun was also considering the feasibility. He certainly wouldn't sell it, but he could let them invest in him. What limited him now was money. He didn't have any, but brokerage firms did. As long as he could convince them, wouldn't the resources be there? Isn't it just pitching a vision? He used to pitch visions to his supervisor during group meetings; now he would pitch to brokerage firms. It's the same thing! He was used to it!

He just needed to think carefully about how to negotiate.

"Zhou Yun, what do you think? If you want to talk, we'll call them back. If you don't want to talk, we'll just refuse. It's all up to you."

"Let's talk."

"Alright!" the four replied in unison.

They didn't ask Zhou Yun for the specifics. It wasn't their place to give opinions on such matters. It was better to just be efficient helpers. In any case, they had already earned some money, which was enough; one shouldn't be too greedy. Moreover, Zhou Yun was their junior brother, and that was what mattered most, because they knew deep down that the valuable thing was never just the model, but Zhou Yun himself.

They quickly agreed on a time: Saturday at 2:00 PM, at the coffee shop near the school gate. They each returned the calls, and the other parties all agreed to come.

"Alright! Now it's up to junior brother Zhou Yun."

On Saturday, at the coffee shop outside the school.

Zhou Yun sat alone. At the table next to him, Qiu Yan and the others were also present. This was to prevent the other side from pulling any tricks, though that was unlikely given the rule of law and cameras everywhere.

Zhou Yun sipped his coffee and checked the time; there was still half an hour left.

A few minutes later, a man in a suit carrying a briefcase walked in. He looked down at his phone, scanned the room, and then looked at the table where Zhou Yun was sitting.

He checked the seat number on his phone again to confirm it was correct, then walked toward Zhou Yun with a beaming smile.

He reached out his hand and said, "Hello, I am Zhao Hanyu, the HR manager of Guojin Securities. We spoke on the phone earlier."

Zhou Yun stood up and shook his hand. "I am Zhou Yun."

"Haha, that's correct. Shall I introduce our company to you first?" As Zhao Hanyu spoke, he was sizing Zhou Yun up.

The impression the young man gave him could be summed up in two words: composed!

This wasn't a state a student who hadn't graduated yet should be in. It seemed this guy wasn't simple. After just the first meeting, Zhou Yun left an impression on Zhao Hanyu that he would not be easy to deal with.

Zhou Yun smiled slightly. "No rush. Let's wait a little longer."

Zhao Hanyu frowned slightly, then quickly realized something. "Did other companies contact you as well?"

"You'll see in a moment."

He was now certain that they weren't the only brokerage firm coming.

Sure enough, not long after, a woman in a suit walked toward them.

"Hello, I am Yu Wanyao, the HR manager of Huatai Securities." She looked at Zhao Hanyu, immediately recognizing a peer.

"Hello, please sit. We are still waiting for others."

Still waiting?! Just how many companies came?

A few minutes later, another one.

"Hello, I am from Guotai Securities..."

Then another...

"Hello, I am from CITIC Securities..."

"I am from East Money Information..."

All five had arrived. Only then did Zhou Yun stand up. "Sorry to keep you all waiting. Since everyone is here, shall we begin?"

He sat alone on the sofa, looking at the five HR managers sitting in a row opposite him, and nodded slightly.