Chapter 232: The Troubles of Versailles

"Am I... seeing things?"
Huang Fengwen, chairman of Fanghuan Group, rubbed his eyes hard, staring intently at the ridiculously long string of zeros on the financial report.
He felt his decades of experience navigating the cutthroat world of finance being brutally crushed by these numbers.
The voice of the CFO beside him trembled slightly as he tried to control himself:
"Chairman, you're not mistaken. Every word, every decimal point, is absolutely accurate.
This is Fanghuan Group's...net profit for this quarter."
According to industry practice, major groups only collect dividends from their subsidiaries at the end of the year.
This is mainly for convenience, clear accounting, and everyone is used to it.
But for the people at Fanghuan, who are involved in finance, the fluid flowing in their veins isn't blood, it's cash flow!
The speed of capital turnover is like particles colliding at the speed of light; any action that stagnates capital is the greatest desecration of capital.
Especially for monsters like Fanghuan Investment, which practically settles accounts every second.
So, the group has always distributed profits quarterly.
But the problem is—this is fucking outrageous!
“Explain to me, how can a quarterly net profit reach 30 billion?!”
Huang Fengwen felt his worldview being brutally crushed, leaving not a trace.
30 billion! And that's just net profit! How huge must the total revenue be?
Even a nuclear-powered money printing press couldn't be that powerful!
The CFO took a deep breath and began reporting the source of this huge sum of money:
"First, there's Netflix, which we invested in. Several global blockbusters have generated over a billion US dollars in net profit.
According to the agreement, nearly half of that has to go to Fanghuan.
Then, there's our own Fanghuan Exchange. It's not just a money-printing machine, it's like a rain of gold!
Actually, we have to thank our competitors for making this happen.
Other exchanges' servers are like potatoes; they all crash during peak trading hours. Users flock to us like madmen fleeing a disaster.
As a result, our exchange also easily pocketed a billion US dollars."
Speaking of Netflix, although it's not a directly controlled subsidiary of Fanghuan Group, Fanghuan holds a full 40% stake, making it the de facto majority shareholder.
The film and television industry seems to have huge revenue streams, but production, distribution, and distribution channels are all bottomless money pits. The profit margin isn't actually as frightening as it seems.
But the way exchanges operate is just too ruthless!
It's not just making money, it's picking up money!
As long as there are enough traders and enough traffic, the transaction fees will be plentiful, making it practically the easiest business in the world.
And now, a global chip crisis has unexpectedly become a boon for Fanghuan Exchange.
Other exchanges are so inaccessible when you want to buy or sell that the user experience is atrocious, but Fanghuan Exchange is rock-solid.
This reputation spread like wildfire, and the number of users exploded exponentially.
"Chairman Su's foresight back then was simply unimaginable!" the director said, his tone filled with fervent admiration.
"Back then, he went against everyone's advice and insisted on building up servers regardless of cost. We even whispered among ourselves, wondering if he was just burning money."
In retrospect, this wasn't just wasteful spending; it was paving the way for the next five years!
While others are stuck in traffic, we're on an F1 racetrack—wide, straight, and perfect for speeding!
Even more astonishing is that the legend of Fanghuan Exchange has only just begun.
Bitcoin, which everyone initially thought was just a flash in the pan, has already skyrocketed to $3,000.
Internal company assessments even predict that reaching $10,000 by the end of the year is highly probable.
Meanwhile, various altcoins and worthless cryptocurrencies have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. Even the international business giants who initially scoffed at them are now incredibly envious, realizing the potential and considering issuing their own tokens to raise money.
But in the business world, the first to enter is more likely to win.
Fanghuan Exchange had already firmly established itself at the center of the storm, becoming the sole house at the table.
By the time their competitors finished setting up their servers? It would be too late!
Fanghuan had already captured all the core users.
From now on, Fanghuan would be like a landlord, lounging around collecting transaction fees from cryptocurrency traders.
What could be more satisfying than being the owner of the world's largest casino than gambling yourself?
"But," the CFO abruptly changed the subject, turning to the next page, his eyes growing increasingly fervent,
"Chairman Huang, the exchange's profits are only a part of it.
Our real bulk of profits… comes from the shipping business!"
"As Fanghuan began to dominate the global shipping market, the profit growth in this area can only be described as miraculous."
Fanghuan Shipping was already a high-quality company, but since Su Hao intervened, it has become a greedy shark.
Every penny earned is used without hesitation to transform into the sharpest fangs, frantically devouring those competitors teetering on the brink of collapse during the global shipping crisis.
Du Yuanhang, appointed by Su Hao as the head of shipping, is also ruthless. He perfectly inherited Su Hao's essence of "strike while the iron is hot."
As soon as a slightly decent acquisition target appears on the market, he pounces on it without hesitation and swallows it whole.
In a short period of time, Fanghuan Shipping's size has expanded like an inflating balloon to a scale that leaves all its competitors in despair.
Du Yuanhang even boasted that by next spring, he would expand the number of ships in operation to five hundred!
Judging by this, the boast wasn't just empty talk.
"And all of this is thanks to Chairman Su's 'divine operation' back then." The director's tone was filled with awe.
"If he hadn't had the shipping company stockpile a massive amount of oil in advance, we would never have the shipping empire we have today."
These words were a wake-up call for Huang Fengwen.
Yes, oil!
That massive, reckless investment, the pre-emptive purchase and storage of huge quantities of cheap oil, ultimately became the trump card that strangled the entire industry.
A mere investment of tens of billions leveraged a future business empire worth hundreds of billions!
Fang Huan's subsidiaries can be counted on one hand; none of them were just for show. They were all "cash beasts" personally selected and meticulously crafted by Su Hao.
Fanghuan Group, since its founding, hasn't even held its first anniversary celebration, yet its quarterly profits are already comparable to those of the largest domestic companies.
"Chairman Huang... what should we do with this money?" the CFO asked cautiously, his face a picture of blissful worry.
"Does any of them have projects that need funding?"
"Logically, if any subsidiary needs money, we should invest and support them...
But the problem is, right now, none of them are short of cash."
The CFO's expression was a mixture of pride and distress, a veritable Versailles of despair.
If this got out, it would probably break the hearts of all the other company owners.
Other companies have holes in their cash flow, struggling to decide which to save first and which to abandon;
Fanghuan, on the other hand, has so much money it's about to burst its vault, and it's already worrying about how to spend it!