Chapter 392: They didn't even include me!

Qin Han felt a lump in his throat.
Both Su Hao and he had been incredibly busy lately, and they certainly couldn't get together as often as before.
But he had always believed that their friendship hadn't faded because of this. Could it be… just wishful thinking on his part?
“This is indeed a bit… If he really foresaw it beforehand, even a hint to the chairman would have been better…”
“Sigh, put yourself in his shoes.” Qin Han sighed.
“If a year ago, Su Hao suddenly came to me, saying out of the blue, ‘War is coming, quickly withdraw all industries from the north and overseas,’ how would you react?”
“Well… I would definitely think he’d gone mad.”
“That settles it. Even if I trusted him and actually withdrew everyone regardless of the cost.
But what if the war hadn’t broken out?
Who would clean up the mess then? Who would bear the responsibility?”
“…”
“Besides, we’re not in a superior-subordinate relationship; we each manage different business empires.
No matter how good our relationship is, we’re still just partners.
He wouldn’t casually reveal such top-secret information that could determine the company’s survival.”
No matter how good the relationship, there’s always the wall of company interests between us.
Simple intelligence sharing is acceptable, but a decision like this, risking one's life and fortune, would make anyone keep quiet.
If the information is wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable; one of them would inevitably fall into an abyss.
Qin Han understood these principles.
But the human heart is such a complex thing; rationally, he could fully understand, but emotionally, he couldn't help but feel a touch of loss and bitterness.
"However, Chairman, I've heard a rumor, but I don't know if it's true."
The secretary lowered her voice, leaning closer mysteriously.
"It's said that within Fanghuan Investment, there's a secret organization personally established by Chairman Su."
"Hmm? What's that? A secret organization?"
"It's said that this organization is personally led by Chairman Su, and its members include high-ranking government officials, business tycoons, and many influential figures!
There's even a rumor that Chairman Su built a building specifically for this organization!
Of course, these are just rumors, nothing to be sure of.
But if such a place really exists, could this level of confidential information have been leaked within that circle?"
"!!!"
Qin Han felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in the back of his head, leaving him dizzy.
A secret organization! He had never heard of it before!
"Wait... so that means..."
He suddenly remembered that he had tried to invite Su Hao out several weekends recently, but the kid always said he had plans and couldn't get away.
Meanwhile, that old fox Huang Fengwen was also acting mysteriously, impossible to get an appointment with!
Ah, that's it!
He finally understood the problem!
It seemed that whenever he couldn't find them, they were definitely participating in the organization's secret activities together!
Those two guys had actually formed a secret little group behind his back!
'You, Su Hao, I treated you like a brother, and you didn't even include me in this good thing!'
Indeed, Su Hao might have forgotten something.
Qin Han, this man, was frighteningly persistent about certain things!
***
"Chairman Qin, you don't look too good. You look like a wilted eggplant."
"Oh, don't even mention it!"
Qin Han picked up a glass of wine and downed it in one gulp. The spicy liquor burned down his throat, and only then did he feel a slight relief from the pent-up frustration in his chest.
"You know how badly Jiang Jin suffered this time up north.
In this world, besides your Fang Huan company, which company isn't crying out for help?
Even those military-industrial enterprises, while their financial statements look good, are still trembling with fear.
Raw material prices have skyrocketed. They themselves say they don't know whether to laugh or cry."
The chairman of the prestigious Jiang Jin Group was sitting at a roadside barbecue stall. No matter how many times Su Hao saw it, the scene always felt incredibly incongruous.
Su Hao smiled and refilled his glass.
"Hehe, I didn't used to like this either," Qin Han waved his hand, self-deprecatingly.
"Didn't I learn it from you and Chairman Huang? You two are always having barbecue and drinks, right? Hanging out with you guys for so long, I got influenced too, and now I find it pretty exciting."
By the way, I heard that those bastards from the European Union have given in to you?"
"Yeah, they're getting desperate, they can't wait any longer," Su Hao said casually.
To be honest, Fang Huan Investment was also under considerable pressure.
Warehouse costs were snowballing.
Although most of the warehouses were owned, maintenance was a continuous expense, and the rent for some rented warehouses was astronomical.
The money was flowing out like water every day; if this dragged on, they'd really go from profit to loss.
And to make matters worse, in the early stages of the war, those people from the European Union were still clinging to illusions, thinking the war would end quickly, and they were all putting on airs, dismissing price fluctuations.
"Seeing the smaller countries grow stronger with each battle, they finally woke up from their daze, panicked, and started scrambling for food around the world."
"That's right, it's also thanks to their previous composure that they gave us enough time to drive up prices."
Su Hao shrugged and smiled.
Crude oil prices broke through the $130 mark, and natural gas prices more than doubled.
Even so, the European Union had no choice but to swallow its pride and obediently pull out real money, spending huge sums to buy goods from Fang Huan Investment.
"Although they bought at high prices, what we're actually selling is 'time'."
Su Hao explained,
"Right now, besides us, no one else can provide such a massive amount of stock.
They need time to establish new, stable supply chains, and our inventory is just enough to support them through this most difficult period of scarcity."
Once Fang Huan Investment's inventory is nearly depleted, the European Union's new energy and food channels should be stable.
Fang Huan's stock was just enough to last until then.
Exactly enough, not too much, not too little.
"Holy crap... how much profit did you make? You guys are rolling in money again!" Qin Han exclaimed in astonishment.
"Just lucky," Su Hao said modestly, then shook his head.
"No, saying 'lucky' when you've made a fortune from war... it just feels a bit off, like profiting from human suffering."
"Stop being so overly sentimental," Qin Han patted his shoulder.
"It's not like we started the war. We earned our money through our own abilities, what's there to blame us for?
Such a great opportunity to make money, are we just going to watch it slip away?"
Despite saying this, Su Hao still felt a little heavy-hearted.
Perhaps this was one of the reasons he insisted on donating to the small country—to put his mind at ease.
"But speaking of which, Su Hao..." Qin Han's tone shifted, a hint of resentment in his eyes,
"Such a big thing, if you really knew beforehand, you should at least have given me a heads-up."
"Ah, well... at the time I was just going by gut feeling, I couldn't be 100% sure."