173: Chapter 174 The Triumphant Return of the Double Oligarch

As time flew by, the calendar in Shanghai quietly turned to early September.

With the withdrawal of the Beijing Circle's Su Family and the defeat of multinational capital.

That battle, which had lasted for an entire year.

What could be called the most brutal and bloody "Billion Yuan Subsidy Plan" war in the history of the domestic internet, targeting the lower-tier markets, had finally come to a complete end.

The smoke cleared, and the winner took all.

Jiyuan Technology and Xinghuo Meituan, having completely monopolized the fundamental base of the lower-tier markets.

Finally ushered in the most terrifying post-war harvest period.

When the finance department submitted the consolidated revenue report for August to Shen Du's desk.

It bore a string of numbers that would be enough to drive countless domestic entrepreneurs collectively mad:

The total monthly revenue had once again forcibly broken through the two billion RMB mark!

This was the terrifying power of an internet monopoly oligarch when they truly exerted their influence.

It was like an indefatigable super money-printing machine.

Every second, it was churning out massive cash flow for Shen Du's business empire.

However, sitting in his large boss's chair, Shen Du looked at these heaven-defying revenue figures.

But on his cold, stern face, there was not much sign of ecstasy.

Because he knew better than anyone what kind of harsh reality was hidden behind this seemingly glorious "two billion monthly income."

"The numbers are beautiful, but what actually lands in my pocket is still too little."

Shen Du tapped his long, slender fingers on the desk, quickly calculating the accounts in his mind.

The massive revenue of two billion.

After the complex equity ratio cuts of the holding group and the dividend payouts to the various underlying capital investors who had entered the game initially.

The funds that could be allocated to his name for use were actually only around 1.2 billion.

And this 1.2 billion was by no means net profit.

The post-war Jiyuan empire was in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt; the maintenance of the live-streaming ecosystem, the promotion of Short Video, and the massive daily subsidies for the Meituan rider system were all bottomless money pits.

Then, deducting the monthly, non-negotiable debts that had to be repaid to the various families...

After this layer-by-layer peeling that was akin to drawing silk from a cocoon.

The final net profit that could actually fall into Shen Du's personal pocket was cruelly compressed to just over 200 million.

For an ordinary person, 200 million was undoubtedly an astronomical fortune that they couldn't spend in ten lifetimes.

But in the eyes of a leader like Shen Du, who controlled a multi-billion empire.

This money wasn't even enough to fill the gaps for half a month for that "Cold-Etch Chip Base" deep in Tianmu Mountain!

What made Shen Du feel even more like he had pins and needles on his back.

Was the massive debt marked in glaring red on the last page of the financial report.

Currently, although Jiyuan Technology had already relied on its terrifying revenue to successively repay a full two billion RMB in debt.

But to completely fill that bottomless pit left behind by the first subsidy war.

He was still facing a terrifying gap of over eight billion!

Looking at the bill in his hand for the massive debt of 100 billion accumulated from the official authorities and the Shanghai capital circle.

Even Shen Du, who was always calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

Could not help but pinch his brow, letting out a heavy sigh.

"If it wasn't for this damned business war that lasted a whole year and forcibly snapped the capital chain.

With the current money-making ability of the Xinghuo market, I would have paid everything off long ago."

This mountain of 10-billion-level debt pressing down on his head.

Made Shen Du, while firmly seated on the oligarch's throne, deeply feel a fatal sense of urgency, like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

"I have to go public quickly!"

Shen Du closed the thick financial report.

Tossed it onto his large rosewood desk, a sharp cold glint flashing in his eyes.

For ordinary entrepreneurs.

Being able to borrow tens of billions in funds from the state and the top-tier business circle was a supreme honor and a symbol of deep connections.

But in the eyes of a helmsman like Shen Du, who truly possessed an emperor's mindset, this was an invisible chain wrapped around the neck of Jiyuan Technology.

"To make Jiyuan Technology truly and completely independent, the entire empire's market must absolutely not carry even a dime of external debt!"

Shen Du stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and overlooked the bustling Oriental Shanghai beneath his feet, his gaze cold and clear:

"Owing this huge sum is equivalent to owing countless political and business favors that can never be repaid.

In the long run.

No matter how massive Jiyuan Technology grows, it will inevitably be controlled by others in many high-level interest games!"

The lessons of blood and tears from his previous life, spent struggling in the secondary capital market.

Combined with his personal experience in this life of operating a 10-billion-level empire.

Made Shen Du understand a bloody commercial truth better than anyone else in this era.

To ensure his company truly remains invincible in the future storms.

He must achieve the strict "Three Absolutes":

Absolutely no massive external debt!

Absolutely no complex, restrictive equity disputes!

Absolutely no fatal leverage that can be manipulated by capital or power!

This is why, faced with this mountain of 10-billion-level debt, Shen Du was not only not intimidated.

But rather, it was the core reason he was more determined to forcibly accelerate the push for Jiyuan Technology's IPO in Hong Kong with the most violent posture.

He wanted to strike that world-shaking listing gong in the financial Shura field of Hong Kong as quickly as possible!

He wanted to sweep away hundreds of billions in funds amidst the crazy pursuit of foreign capital.

Then use that money from the leeks he harvested from Wall Street to pay off all his domestic debts in one go!

Only by cutting off all the intricate shackles of debt.

Can Jiyuan Technology truly transform into a peerless beast that no one can control, and no one dares to covet!

After spending an entire morning completely auditing and organizing the empire's financial accounts and the subsequent IPO strategy.

Shen Du finally detached himself from this high-pressure commercial calculation.

He turned around slowly.

And cast his gaze toward the map hanging on the office wall.

His gaze eventually landed on a remote corner of Zhejiang Province.

That was his hometown, that poor and backward little mountain village.

Shen Du took a deep breath, and a rare touch of warmth appeared in his originally cold-as-ice eyes.

Since the business war had ended and the overall situation was settled.

He decided it was time to go back.

He was no longer the person from a few years ago.

No longer that poor student who arrived in Shanghai alone with a thin bag, letting the second-generation rich kids arrogantly size him up and mock him.

At this moment, the Shen Du standing before the floor-to-ceiling window was the undisputed number one social entertainment giant in the country!

At the same time, he was the absolute tyrant of the country's first and only chip foundry that held the core hope of breaking the stalemate!

A dual oligarch, crowned as king.

Possessing such terrifying wealth and power.

If Shen Du still had no way to return to that little mountain village and provide his mother, Wang Hanmei, with a layer of protection that no one dared to touch.

And could not let her straighten her back with pride in front of all the fellow villagers...

Then his rebirth in this life would truly be meaningless, and he would have no face to stand in this bustling Shanghai.

Even at the pinnacle of power, Shen Du still retained a pure obsession in his bones that belonged to a man.

To return home without glory is like wearing brocade in the dark.

On a morning in early September, the mist in Shanghai had not yet completely dispersed.

Shen Du walked out of the Jiyuan Technology headquarters building.

Outside the main entrance, that car gifted by Hong Yun.

The Midnight Black Rolls-Royce Phantom, symbolizing wealth and noble status, was already parked quietly in the exclusive parking space.

The private driver, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, respectfully opened the back door.

Shen Du bent down and sat into the spacious and extremely luxurious leather seat, faintly spitting out a sentence:

"Let's go, back to the old home in Zhejiang."

As the V12 engine let out a low and deep roar.

This top-tier vehicle, worth tens of millions, drove slowly onto the highway like a pitch-black beast.

Speeding toward the direction of that remote mountain in Zhejiang.

Sitting in the carriage that was so stable he could barely feel a hint of a bump.

Looking at the scenery flying backward outside the window, Shen Du's thoughts couldn't help but drift back to the little mountain village that raised him.

Over the past year or so, although he had been trapped in the brutal meat grinder of the lower-tier market business war.

Shen Du had been walking a tightrope and was unable to spare himself, never having found the time to return to his hometown in person.

But this did not mean he had forgotten that remote village.

On the contrary, in the past year.

This business tyrant, viewed by the outside world as cold and ruthless, had instead been remote-controlling operations.

In a near-tyrannical and cost-ignoring manner, carrying out a crazy infrastructure feedback to his hometown!

Shen Du directly smashed tens of millions in huge cash.

Hired the top road and bridge construction team in the province, forcibly using excavators and explosives.

To carve out a six-meter-wide standard asphalt road in the depths of the continuous mountains, capable of allowing two-way traffic side-by-side!

This road, like a major artery.

Completely connected that little village, which was once so isolated that even tractors struggled to enter or exit, with the modern world outside.

Moreover, Shen Du's details in this feedback were done to the extreme.

Considering that winters in the Zhejiang mountains occasionally face the desperate situation of being blocked by rain and snow.

Shen Du even spent a huge sum of money to build a large industrial-grade material zipline at the most dangerous cliff section at the entrance of the village.

Once the road surface freezes and becomes slippery, making it impossible for vehicles to pass.

This zipline could immediately operate, ensuring that the fellow villagers in the entire village would never face the predicament of a shortage of daily necessities.