A youth must cherish soaring ambitions and once vow to be among the finest in the world. Chapter 148: A Brand New Stage

About a week later, Zhang Hao called him.
"Old Fang, the funds have arrived, but we don't have any experience in setting up overseas companies. What's your plan?"
Fang Yu was quite excited at the moment.
"That fast? Alright, tell Old Hang to go to Wall Street and acquire a failing financial company. The cheapest one will do, even if it's just an empty shell."
"That shouldn't be a problem, and it won't cost much. But what on earth are you planning to do?" Zhang Hao pressed for details.
"Do you know about CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations) and CDS (Credit Default Swaps)?"
"Hmm, I've heard of them. Financial products that appeared in the mid-90s, right? You actually research this kind of stuff?" Zhang Hao was somewhat surprised by the breadth of Fang Yu's knowledge.
"I'm going to short mortgage-backed securities right now. Once the fund is established, as long as the APX index drops, we'll make money," he said with absolute certainty.
"But we've never dealt with these things before. Are you sure about this?" Zhang Hao asked, not without worry.
"The effects won't be visible right away. Let's put it this way: give me a year, and you'll all find out next year."
Fang Yu had no doubt that this investment would succeed. Back then, Paulson used this exact maneuver on Wall Street to vault himself into the billionaire ranks in just one year.
The only difference was that Paulson didn't launch such a fund until the middle of 2006. What Fang Yu wanted to do was beat Paulson to the punch and rake in this massive capital windfall for himself.
Moreover, Paulson didn't have any financial backing at the time and had to run five kilometers every day just to relieve the stress of losing money.
Seeing how resolute he was, Zhang Hao had no choice but to comply.
"Fine, we'll do it your way. Oh, by the way, I've sent the personnel changes after the company restructuring to your email. Take a look and reply when you have time."
After hanging up, Fang Yu hurriedly opened his email. It contained the information Zhang Hao had sent. Many names were newly added, while the CEO and COO positions were still left blank.
He quickly dialed the number back.
"Old Zhang, why are there no appointments for the CEO and COO?"
"Ah, isn't that why we're discussing it with you? Such positions naturally need the chairman's approval first."
"You and Old Hang, obviously. Who else could it be? I noticed neither of you took up a position yet."
"Really? You actually want me and Old Hang to take on such important roles?" Zhang Hao's voice pitched up by an octave.
"Cut the crap, if not you two, then who else? Alright, it's settled."
"Damn it, Old Fang, you really don't drag your feet. Very well, once the company is established, I'll have you come over to sign the handover documents as soon as possible." Zhang Hao was equally thrilled. This meant he was about to step onto a much broader stage and leap straight to becoming the chief executive of a major corporation.
Immediately afterward, Fang Yu summoned Cheng Chen and the other two guys, looking at them with a serious expression.
"Brothers, I have an announcement to make. Our beverage company is about to merge, and your shares will be diluted. But don't worry, the value will only increase, never decrease. When we go public in the future, I guarantee every single one of you will be a billionaire!"
Cheng Chen, however, looked completely indifferent.
"You know I don't have the brains for this. Just tell me how much money I'll have when the time comes."
Zhao Bin, on the other hand, liked to get to the bottom of things.
"How much will it be diluted exactly? We each have 10% right now; it won't drop to less than half, will it?"
"Of course. Forget half, it might even be less than 1%."
"That little? Then we might as well not merge. Things are pretty good right now." Zhao Bin found it hard to understand corporate equity structures.
Fang Yu couldn't be bothered to explain further.
"Rest assured, it will only be worth more than now. I won't treat my brothers unfairly."
"Hehe, does that mean we'll be able to drive sports cars and live in villas just like Boss Fang?" Lu Zhen bounced around happily.
"Of course. What's a sports car? In the future, we'll all have private jets, alright."
Unable to keep a secret for long, Lu Zhen vanished shortly after, probably running next door to find Zhang Yan. Lately, there had been some friction between him and Zhao Bin; Zhao Bin had even stated that he no longer wanted to work the same shifts as Lu Zhen.
Consequently, Fang Yu had no choice but to adjust Yan Hua's schedule, pairing him up with Zhao Bin instead.
On March 31, the Jiuzhou Group was officially established. Following the merger of Qinglu Beverages, Fang Yu maintained an absolute advantage with a 73.5% stake, becoming the group's chairman.
Zhang Hao took the position of CEO of Jiuzhou Group, Hang Jia became the COO, and Cao Liang secured the role of CTO.
As for Cheng Chen and the other two, despite being obscure unknowns, relying on the shares left over from Qinglu, they actually became members of the board of directors with a 0.5% stake each.
On the day of the shareholders' meeting, Cheng Chen was as nervous as if he were getting married, adjusting his tie in front of the mirror over and over again.
"Damn it, why are you acting like a groom visiting a graveyard?" Fang Yu asked inexplicably as he smoothed down Cheng Chen's collar.
"Damn, I'm even more nervous than getting married, okay? We're high-class folks now, this is a virgin voyage for a big girl getting carried in a bridal sedan," Cheng Chen said with a straight face.
Not to mention Cheng Chen, even Fang Yu himself felt a bit restricted at the moment. Ever since his rebirth, although he possessed unique advantages far surpassing ordinary people, he used to be just an insignificant bottom-feeder. Now, having transformed overnight into some kind of domineering CEO, he felt more than a little tense.
"Hehe, I'm just so excited, it's my first time wearing a suit," Lu Zhen said. He hadn't even tied his tie properly, and the long end hung straight past his belt buckle.
"Tch, what a loser. Look at me, I'm not nervous at all. There'll definitely be plenty of occasions like this in the future." Zhao Bin said that, but beneath his formal trousers, he was actually wearing a pair of white socks, his exposed ankles making it look like he was about to step onto a stage to do the moonwalk.
"Fang Yu, is this your company? I thought it would be similar to Qinglu," Cheng Chen said, dumbfounded upon arriving at the newly rented office building of Jiuzhou Group.
"Well, I didn't tell you guys beforehand because I was afraid it might fail. Let's go, time to head up." He smiled and straightened his tie.
"Hehe, once I get back, I can brag to my wife." Don't let Cheng Chen's handsome and playboy appearance fool you; he was actually completely whipped by his wife.
"No way, don't mention this to Xia Churan, Li Jing, or the others, you hear me!"
"Why?"
"I said no means no. If you don't listen, fine, you can forget about your shares." He used both threats and lures.
Driven by his longing for those shares, Cheng Chen had no choice but to yield with a grumble.
The establishment of the Jiuzhou Group didn't bring about massive personnel changes for the former "Bao Le Me," except for the need to take on a fresh batch of new employees.
At that moment, quite a few young and pretty female employees were craning their necks, eager to catch a glimpse of what the legendary handsome and wealthy domineering CEO actually looked like.
"Look quickly, that's Fang Yu! So handsome, and he's so tall. He's actually the president of the company."
"The handsome guy next to him is even cuter! He's a bit on the thin side, but damn, he's so good-looking. Oh no, I think I'm going to faint."
"Such a young CEO? He must come from a wealthy family, how else could the company have grown so big?"
Amidst the murmuring and chattering of the crowd, Zhang Hao pushed Fang Yu with a beaming smile right to the center of the conference room. Following a round of tedious formalities, the board of directors of the Jiuzhou Group, centered around Fang Yu, was officially established.