Chapter 1045: Clash of the Titans (Part 2)

The future is warm.

This phrase was spoken by a big shot on stage at an advertising summit Zhao Fusheng attended in his previous life, offered to everyone present.

Zhao Fusheng had always believed this statement was correct.

The future is always beautiful and warm, provided, of course, that one strives toward one's goals.

As for James, Zhao Fusheng couldn't say he liked or disliked him—the same went for Chen Tianqiao. Even though Chen always schemed behind his back, it didn't matter to Zhao Fusheng.

The conflicts between people nowadays mainly stem from a certain group who habitually measure others by saintly standards while judging themselves by base ones. In truth, whether in work or life, holding oneself to higher standards is the right path.

Life is short; the key lies in self-cultivation. Self-reflection, self-improvement, self-discipline.

To put it bluntly, this isn't chicken soup for the soul, but solid truth.

If you aren't strong enough yourself, you deserve to be bullied.

They say it takes three generations to make a noble. Zhao Fusheng didn't think this was possible in China. After all, the saying itself comes from a work by Shakespeare.

The original meaning is that one night can make a parvenu, but it takes three generations to cultivate a noble.

If interpreted literally, there are many families in China that have been wealthy for three generations, and some even survived the decade of turmoil. But they are not nobles. Because China has always been a country where a farmer at dawn can become a court official by dusk. Even during the era of powerful Wei-Jin clans, there was the saying that a gentleman's legacy ends after five generations.

Thus, it's hard for nobles to emerge in today's world.

If you can't be a noble, in Zhao Fusheng's view, being rich isn't bad either.

Especially being rich with a billion in assets.

Looking at James, Zhao Fusheng said with a smile, "Mr. James, my offer is simple: the Shengda Technology shares in my hand are valued at one billion. If Sequoia Capital is willing to buy, we can sign the contract anytime."

One billion!

James gasped. It wasn't that he had never seen money or done bigger deals, but he truly hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to dare ask for one billion RMB.

"One hundred and twenty million US dollars?" Staring at Zhao Fusheng in shock, James asked instinctively.

Zhao Fusheng nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course. If you're not willing, I think there's no need to discuss this deal further. After all, once Shengda Technology goes public, this price might be even higher."

James felt that either he was crazy or the young man before him was.

Not to mention how outrageous one billion was, but for a not-yet-listed internet company, and only fifteen percent of its shares, he dared to ask for one billion.

If word got out, the first reaction of anyone hearing it would be that this guy was overconfident.

"Dear Zhao, I know you're a confident person, but don't you think this price is a bit absurd?" After a long pause, James looked at Zhao Fusheng helplessly.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and shrugged. "Mr. James, then let me ask you: what do you think of Shengda Technology's prospects for listing on the US stock market?"

"Well..." Hearing Zhao Fusheng's question, James fell silent.

To observe a person's inner world, don't listen to what they say; watch what they do.

Like James now: he said Zhao Fusheng was delusional, but even after hearing the one-billion offer, he didn't get up to leave.

What did that mean?

The answer was obvious.

In short, James knew that Zhao Fusheng hadn't made an arbitrary offer.

After all, James and his think tank had discussed that after Shengda Technology went public, its price on the US stock market should be no less than sixteen dollars.

That is, Zhao Fusheng's offer exactly matched their expectations for Shengda Technology's listing price.

As for future developments, no one could say for sure, but it was certain that this price was within an acceptable range for Sequoia Capital.

But the problem was that James was a businessman; how could he accept being manipulated by Zhao Fusheng?

"Dear Zhao, your price lacks sincerity." After a long while, James looked up at Zhao Fusheng. "Although I'm confident about Shengda Technology's post-listing performance, I still think this price smacks of profiteering."

At this point, he could only say this, hoping Zhao Fusheng wouldn't be too greedy.

Zhao Fusheng laughed, looking at James with a slightly conflicted expression. "Mr. James, that hurts me. Are you saying only Sequoia can make money, and I can't?"

"That's not how it works. There should be a limit to making money. Your initial investment was no more than ten million, and now you're getting such a high return. Shouldn't you reconsider your offer?" James pleaded earnestly.

It wasn't that he thought Zhao Fusheng was easy to fool, but he genuinely believed that while Shengda Technology's stock price would rise after listing, it wouldn't rise that much.

After all, the US stock market wasn't very optimistic about large-scale online game operations. Even Sequoia Capital coveted only the domestic market behind Shengda Technology.

In fact, in the original timeline, after Shengda Technology listed on NASDAQ, its stock rose from twelve dollars to seventeen dollars within a week, and even surged to nearly thirty dollars within six months.

But after that, it never rose again.

After several years of ups and downs, it even fell to less than four dollars per share.

Of course, that was also due to the subprime mortgage crisis.

But even so, it was undeniable that Shengda Technology didn't achieve much on the US stock market. Although it raised nearly one billion US dollars, relative to the entire market, it was a failure.

Zhao Fusheng naturally didn't know this. He only knew that Shengda Technology seemed relatively successful after listing, so he asked for a high price.

Regardless, this was the return he deserved.

"Mr. James, I think the disagreement between us now is about the price, right?" After a moment of silence, Zhao Fusheng looked at James and asked.

Hearing this, James nodded. "Yes, I think so."

By now, he could clearly see that Zhao Fusheng genuinely intended to sell his Shengda Technology shares. As for the follow-up issues, that would require arduous negotiations.

Many times, even James had to admit that business negotiations were actually quite tedious, requiring repeated dialogues with assistants and opponents at the negotiating table.

But the problem now was that Shengda Technology was about to go public, and Sequoia Capital had been lagging behind its old rival SoftBank from the start. If they wanted to catch up, James had to secure the shares in Zhao Fusheng's hands.

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, James slowly spoke, "I need to go back and discuss the specific price with my colleagues. Please also carefully consider whether this offer is reasonable. How about that?"

This was the only way.

Continuing the discussion here would yield no results. Neither was a fool, and neither could easily be persuaded by the other. So going back to consult their think tanks was the only option.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, picked up his phone, glanced at the time, and nodded lightly. "Alright, let's leave it at that for today. I hope you can get back to me soon, Mr. James."

"Certainly." James stood up and nodded to Zhao Fusheng.

To be honest, he was more anxious than Zhao Fusheng. If they waited until after Shengda Technology went public, Zhao Fusheng's shares would be restricted from trading for at least three years. And if he sold them then, SoftBank and Chen Tianqiao would surely make moves, and the situation would become unpredictable.

James absolutely did not want to see that scenario.

As a proud citizen of the United States of America, letting a bunch of short guys from an island nation strut around in front of him was not a pleasant memory.

Just then, Zhao Fusheng's phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he calmly declined the call and then looked at James. "Since that's the case, let me see you out."

"Okay, thank you." James didn't stand on ceremony and followed Zhao Fusheng toward the door.

The two reached the meeting room, where James called his assistants, and accompanied by Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi, they headed out.

But as soon as they reached the lobby on the first floor, they saw a group of people walking in through the entrance.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Two surprised voices sounded almost simultaneously.

Ozawa Masao and James stared at each other in surprise and blurted out, "What are you doing here?"

Then, they almost simultaneously looked at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng's face wore a perfectly timed embarrassed but polite smile as he looked at Dong Chenxi. "Miss Dong, what's going on?"

Dong Chenxi seemed a bit flustered and quickly explained, "Well, Mr. Ozawa and Mr. James both came to discuss business. Boss, I didn't expect them to run into each other."

"Oh." Zhao Fusheng nodded and looked at James and Ozawa Masao. "You two know each other?"

Clearly, he was playing dumb.

It didn't matter that he was playing dumb, but the problem was that James and Ozawa Masao were now looking at each other with hostile expressions.

Having been rivals for so long, they knew each other's character too well. The moment they saw each other at Future Investment, they realized that perhaps this acquisition wouldn't be as easy as they had imagined.