Chapter 165: This is damn promising!

Li Guozhong, that old guy, wasn't wrong. They were complete novices when it came to operating a shipping business.
Even with professional managers, they still needed to personally oversee every step until the new management system was fully established; they couldn't afford to relax for a moment.
“Let’s go see that person first.”
“That Du Yuanhang?”
“Yes. The one you specifically instructed us to fire all the other senior executives, but keep him.”
“Hmm. I looked at the information Jiang Jin Group provided. That guy seems to have a very deep connection to the company; he’s a true pragmatist.”
Whether this person is qualified to be the helmsman of the newly formed “Fanghuan Shipping” is still uncertain.
That will be decided through a series of complex internal assessments.
However, Su Hao’s intuition told him that this person had to be chosen.
As for whether this intuition stemmed from his abilities, or… something else entirely, that remained unknown.
"Chairman Huang, you've arrived."
In the agreed-upon office, Du Yuanhang had been waiting for some time, his expression clearly showing nervousness and unease.
"Oh, let me introduce you," Huang Fengwen said casually, waving his hand. "This is Su Hao, the Director of the Trading Department at Fanghuan Investment.
I need his advice on many things. So, the three of us will be discussing this today."
"Ah, so it's the strategist, my apologies for not recognizing you sooner." A hint of surprise flashed in Du Yuanhang's eyes, and he quickly bowed slightly, continuing:
"To be honest, Chairman Huang, I was quite shocked.
When you announced the dismissal of all senior executives, I thought I was finished too."
"But then I heard that you fired everyone except me..."
"Yes. That was also my suggestion," Su Hao continued,
"You joined the company as an ordinary employee from its inception, and through your own abilities, you climbed step by step to the position of director.
What's even more commendable is that you never sold your shares during the company's most difficult times. From every angle, you are a person with deep affection for the company."
"But there must be more people like me in the company.
Yet you kept me...
Excuse my boldness, but do you two know something?"
Su Hao and Huang Fengwen exchanged a glance.
"Hmm? What do you mean...?"
Du Yuanhang paused for a moment, carefully observing the expressions of the two men, seemingly making a difficult decision.
"Have you two checked the company's debt scale? I suppose you've only just taken over, and haven't had time to fully grasp many situations yet."
"The publicly disclosed debt we've found so far is 10 billion," Su Hao replied.
"But we also know that this is only the publicly disclosed figure.
Every company has some undisclosed, hidden debts, and we are currently investigating them."
What the market publicly discloses is always just the tip of the iceberg.
Although regulations require companies to disclose all liabilities, there are always countless ways to exploit legal loopholes to hide the real "landmines."
"Yes," Du Yuanhang took a deep breath and dropped a bombshell.
“If an internal audit were conducted, uncovering all the accounts, the company’s total liabilities would be around 50 billion.”
“50 billion…!”
Su Hao was stunned. This figure was even more outrageous than his worst-case scenario.
How could a shipping company accumulate so much debt?
“What did you mean when you asked us ‘if we knew something’?” Su Hao pressed.
Du Yuanhang hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed:
“Gentlemen, the 50 billion debt of Xia Hua Shipping doesn’t belong to them at all. It belongs to the Xia Hua Group.”
Du Yuanhang took a thick stack of documents from his briefcase and pushed them in front of them:
"They had Xia Hua Shipping borrow money under the name of its parent company, Xia Hua Group, with a special clause in the contract: if Xia Hua Shipping couldn't repay, Xia Hua Group would cover the debt.
But this level of guarantee, once made public, would cause the group's overall debt ratio to skyrocket.
Therefore, it's usually signed secretly, without public disclosure.
Banks and trust companies are attracted by the prestigious name of Xia Hua Group, which is why they dare to extend massive loans."
"This...how is this possible? In this day and age, financial institutions' risk control wouldn't pass..."
"Without the covert assistance of certain figures with official backgrounds, of course it's impossible.
Moreover, the reason those financial institutions dared to lend money is entirely because of this guarantee agreement.
They believe that even if Xia Hua Shipping can't repay, the wealthy Xia Hua Group will definitely bail them out."
However, this seemingly secure clause has a fatal flaw.
"This guarantee agreement was never approved by the board of directors or shareholders' meeting of Xia Hua Group, making it a typical 'illegal guarantee'."
Du Yuanhang revealed the answer:
"Once Xia Hua Shipping declares bankruptcy, the bank can take the contract to Xia Hua Group, and Xia Hua Group can easily counter-accuse them, claiming that 'the agreement was not legally resolved internally and was an overreach of authority by the then chairman, therefore it is invalid.'"
If a lawsuit goes to court, the bank, having failed in its due diligence and bearing significant fault, will find it extremely difficult to recover the full amount.
"I think this is exactly what Xia Hua Group is planning."
"Then will the financial institutions that lent the money just let it go?"
"I think the former chairman of Xia Hua Group intends to take all the blame himself."
"We all know that the chairman is very old and doesn't have much time left."
Hearing this, Huang Fengwen instantly understood.
"They...want a dead man to take the blame for everything?"
"Yes. He alone will bear the charges of 'overstepping his authority' and 'breach of trust that harmed the company's interests.'
That way, his descendants can comfortably enjoy the huge sums of money transferred through this plan.
At most, they'll face an investigation afterward, and the company will pay a fine, that's all.
To be honest, those financial institutions are quite wronged too.
Large groups using subsidiaries for secret financing is actually an industry norm; everyone does it.
They probably thought this time would be the same as usual, but they never dreamed that Xia Hua Group, from the very beginning, intended to bankrupt its subsidiaries and default on its debts."
So that's how it is. No wonder the executives at Xia Hua Shipping were so eager to push the company into bankruptcy proceedings as quickly as possible.
This was a meticulously planned, shocking trap targeting all creditor financial institutions!
"I struggled countless times with whether or not to expose this.
But even if I did, who would listen to a nobody like me?
So, I planned to take this secret to my grave.
But today, Fang Huan Investment spared me…
How to put it… at that moment, I felt… as if it were fate."
Du Yuanhang handed over all the copies of the contracts he possessed.
“Now, Fang Huan Investment is seen as a hero by the public.
The impact of your actions in igniting this event far surpasses anything I could have achieved.
And… even if I ultimately don't become a manager of the company, it doesn't matter.
I only ask that you two allow me to continue working for this company.
I… truly want to personally help it get back on its feet.”
With that, Du Yuanhang bowed deeply to the two men and took his leave.
“…”
Su Hao and Huang Fengwen stared blankly at his departing figure, speechless for a long time.
Who could have imagined that the person he had intuitively “rescued” would be holding such a massive nuclear bomb?
“Damn it, those sons of bitches…” Huang Fengwen finally came to his senses.
“If they really succeed in bankrupting the company, then this plan will be a success.”
Su Hao nodded. “Yes, just like Du Yuanhang said, Xia Hua Group defaults on its debts under the pretext of ‘illegal guarantees,’ leaving the bank with nothing.
Afterwards, the old chairman will take the blame alone, and with officials helping to cover for them, it will all be over quickly.”
Just then.
“…Hmm?”
Su Hao suddenly noticed that the stack of contract copies he was holding, starting from where his thumb touched, page by page…was emitting a faint golden light!
‘Golden? What’s going on? I’ve never seen this before!’
In that instant of golden light, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
“Brother Huang.”
“Hmm?”
“You mean… Xia Hua Group’s plan is to use ‘illegal guarantees’ to default on their debts after Xia Hua Shipping goes bankrupt.
But what if… we don’t give them that chance?”
Su Hao looked up, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.
“If we take this guarantee agreement now and force the bank to disclose its existence, and detonate this bomb before Xia Hua Shipping goes bankrupt…”
“Then we won’t have to repay this 50 billion debt?”
“…Hmm? Wait a minute.”
Huang Fengwen blinked, stunned for a full three seconds.
Then, the corners of his mouth began to uncontrollably turn upwards, widening until it became a bright, almost sinister smile.
“Holy crap…” he slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly. “This is fucking amazing!”