Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

In mid-February, Fang Yuan began to liquidate his US stock positions in batches.

帐户里的十四只股票，从1999年4月到2000年2月，持有时间10个月。

He didn't wait for the market to give more signals; his plan was to clear everything out by the end of February.

Operate according to the position ratio each day, close positions as planned, and do not cause market fluctuations.

He placed orders through the online trading system and saved a screenshot of each transaction record after each sale.

It took half a month in total, with the last transaction completed at the end of February.

The initial investment of $3000 million in the account yielded a profit of $1.28 million. The account balance is $1.58 million.

The numbers are correct; he performed all of these operations himself, without relying on anyone else.

From stock selection to building a position to holding and selling, he made all the decisions himself.

Fang Yuan's personal US dollar account now has more than $3 million, including Hollywood studio dividends, stock proceeds, and book publishing royalties.

Fang Yuan hasn't figured out how to handle these funds yet.

In early March, Ellie sent an email from Los Angeles.

The global box office revenue sharing for "Identity" and "Phone Booth" has been settled.

The two films were released in the second half of last year and the beginning of 2000, respectively. "Identity" grossed approximately $1.2 million worldwide, and "Phone Booth" grossed approximately $0.96 million.

Fang Yuan's production rights contracts with the two film companies were executed according to the terms. After deducting distribution fees and third-party revenue sharing, the net amount of the two payments has been transferred to the studio's account.

In mid-January, the Golden Globe nominations were announced.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" received four nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay.

The awards ceremony was scheduled for January 21st. At that time, Fang Yuan was attending the inaugural online literature competition awards ceremony hosted by Rongshuxia.

He received a message from Ellie in his hotel in Shanghai: four nominations, and he hadn't won any of them.

The Best Original Screenplay award went to Alan Ball's "American Beauty".

Fang Yuan read the message but didn't react much. He turned off his phone and continued with his work.

In early March, I received the notification of my Oscar nomination.

At the 72nd Academy Awards, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" was nominated for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay.

The letter, forwarded by Ellie from Los Angeles to BJ, contained the college's official notification and an invitation to the awards ceremony.

The ceremony is scheduled for late March.

"Fang, I strongly suggest you come and participate this time."

Focus Features has invested heavily in public relations, and from what I've heard, there's a high chance they'll see results.

"Ellie, are you sure?"

"Haha, Fang, you know, I know a lot of people on the selection committee."

"Whether you'll win an award or not is uncertain, but I suggest you come and take a look at this occasion."

"I'll think about it and call you back later."

Fang Yuan called Chen Xia: "How about we go to the Oscars?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then a reply came through.

"Then I'll have Ellie arrange the flights and hotels."

Ellie handled all the arrangements for the plane tickets, hotels, dresses, and itinerary in Los Angeles.

Fang Yuan only needed to fly there with his passport.

One afternoon in early March, Fang Yuan notified Xiao Mei to convene a meeting of the shareholders of Yuanchuang Culture Media Co., Ltd.

The studio was upgraded to a company last month, with its office located on the 28th floor of an office building not far from the Central Academy of Drama.

Five people were sitting in the conference room: Huang Xiaoming, Zeng Li, Li Xinyu, Yan Danchen, and Wang Jinghua.

Fang Yuan sat at the top of the oval table.

Xiaomei handed out a document to everyone, then left and closed the door.

Fang Yuan didn't exchange pleasantries.

"We've gathered everyone here today because we established a company this year, so let's settle the revenue from the studio's domestic business up to last year."

Based on shareholding ratio, each person will receive a after-tax dividend of 90. Xiaomei will process the transfer, and it will arrive in your account within next week. A detailed dividend statement will be sent to your email address.

"The remaining funds will then be used for company operations."

The company will be establishing several departments, including production, scriptwriting, sales, legal, administration, and finance, and will be hiring many people.

The "domestic business" he mentioned refers to the returns from several domestic projects in which the Source Creation Studio participated.

These projects were all quite profitable. The most profitable was "Back to 20," which had an investment of less than 800 million yuan but a box office revenue of 8400 million yuan. The others, including "Endless Love," which had the smallest investment, all doubled in value.

After separating copyright and investment returns, the studio's profits exceeded 3000 million yuan.

Huang Xiaoming beamed, "Making money with Boss Fang is too easy, I'm a little embarrassed."

"Oh? You don't have to accept it."

"No way, how can I refuse such a large sum of money?"

We all knew each other well, laughing and joking with each other.

"Once you have the money, I suggest you buy a house in Beijing and settle down. House prices have been rising for the past few years, and they will continue to rise this year."

Try to buy in Chaoyang District or HD District, avoid the suburbs.

Zeng Li was the first to speak: "I started looking at houses before the Lunar New Year. There are a few nice developments in Haidian District."

"Then let's buy it," Fang Yuan said.

Li Xinyu folded the documents and put them in her bag without saying anything. Now that she had this money, she could basically buy a decent house.

Yan Danchen looked at Fang Yuan: "What size do you recommend?"

"Starting with a three-bedroom apartment. If you don't have enough money, you can get an advance from your company."

Wang Jinghua remained silent.

She picked up her document, glanced at the numbers on it, and then placed it on the table.

"Does the company have enough operating funds in its accounts?" she asked.

"We've kept it. The studio's cash flow is sufficient to cover all project expenses this year."

Wang Jinghua nodded and asked no more questions.

The meeting ended in less than twenty minutes. The five people left one after another.

Fang Yuan sat alone in the conference room, gathered the documents on the table, and handed them to Xiao Mei for filing.

Wang Jinghua came in from outside.

"Fang Yuan, about that thing you asked me to inquire about last time."

Fang Yuan had mentioned to her before that he wanted to buy a courtyard house or a villa in Beijing.

It's not for investment purposes; I just want a stable, private space that belongs to me.

"Courtyard houses are quite troublesome. There aren't many existing courtyard houses within the Second Ring Road that are being put up for sale; you can hardly see them listed on the market."

Those with resources are waiting for premium prices, while those without connections have no access to available properties.

I need to use some of my old connections to inquire and see if anyone is willing to lend a hand.

This takes time; it can't be rushed.

"How long will it take?"

"It's hard to say. We might hear from them next month, or we might not find the right person for a year or two."

This kind of thing is a seller's market; you can't just buy it if you have money.

Fang Yuan thought for a moment.

"What about the villa?"

"Villas are easier to find. There are several projects in the suburbs."

The villa area in Shunyi has already reached a considerable scale.

There are some good properties in Changping, and the environment in Miyun is better, but it's farther from the city center.

It's a detached house with a yard, offering good privacy. If you'd like to see some, I'll have someone scout them out first, filter out the ones that meet my criteria, and then we'll go see them together.

"Shunyi District preferred. Close to the airport. Large yard with good privacy. Detached house, not townhouse."

Wang Jinghua nodded.

"Okay. I'll make the arrangements. Continue to inquire about the courtyard house as well. We'll handle both at the same time."

"it is good."

Wang Jinghua remembered something else.

"Also, Xiaomei said that your two manuscripts have been accepted by both 'Harvest' and 'Contemporary' journals. She'll let you know when there's any news."

Fang Yuan nodded.