Chapter 1047: Lose Not the Battle, Lose Not the Face

People are sometimes so strange. The more polite you are to some, the more they climb all over you. Conversely, if you are a bit tougher, they become at a loss.

Ono was that kind of person. He really hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to be so tough.

In fact, he had misjudged Zhao Fusheng.

All along, Zhao Fusheng had been clear that most things in life do not change according to one's will—whether it's birth, aging, sickness, death, or the seasons—these are natural laws. All he could do was his best.

Ono had never realized that Zhao Fusheng was different from the entrepreneurs he had dealt with before.

Those people harbored dreams and craved success. Zhao Fusheng, though he also craved success, did not hold dreams as particularly precious.

Even when Ono used SoftBank to coerce and lure Zhao Fusheng, he himself didn't realize that he was getting anxious.

In business negotiations, anyone who gets anxious first will inevitably fall into a passive position.

In fact, if Ono thought carefully, he would find that Zhao Fusheng was stronger than he imagined.

After all, Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi had never concealed how many company shares Future Investment held. A little investigation would reveal it.

In fact, on Ono's desk lay a document clearly detailing everything about Future Investment, including Zhao Fusheng's relationship with Future Advertising and with Tan Kaixuan.

Yes, SoftBank's information network was that powerful; even Tan Kaixuan, far away in the United States, had been found out by SoftBank.

But in truth, Ono hadn't taken Tan Kaixuan's Brother Capital seriously. Compared to SoftBank, Brother Capital, with funds under $100 million, was nothing.

That was the confidence of Mr. Son.

To be clear, since its listing in 1994, SoftBank had owned 300 companies in Japan, with wholly or jointly owned enterprises across the US and Europe, and under its umbrella were related businesses, venture capital, and strategic alliances, totaling $40 billion in assets, ranking among Japan's top ten corporations. In 1981, at age 24, Masayoshi Son founded SoftBank, and within six months, it had dealings with 42 specialty stores and 94 software vendors in Japan.

The true stage for high tech was in America, but in the late 1980s, Son was still struggling in his home country. He persuaded major conglomerates like Toshiba and Fujitsu to co-invest in SoftBank. But due to poor operations, they parted ways. A year later, he returned the original investment funds to the conglomerates, taking responsibility for the losses, which earned the admiration of his predecessors. SoftBank's reputation soared, laying the foundation for Son's business credibility.

In February 1998, SoftBank sold 2% of Yahoo shares for $410 million, netting $390 million in profit. It had bought 30% of Yahoo shares for $100 million, and the remaining 28% was still worth $8.4 billion. In that frenzied year, SoftBank invested $230 million in venture capital across 55 companies, creating an investment model: in the early stage, invest broadly in many fields, then carefully select the most promising ones and double down.

SoftBank's model was basically this: invest in a company that leads in a certain area, push it to the capital market, and cash out a small portion—enough to recover the investment cost and make some profit—then use the proceeds to reinvest and cash out again. This approach embodied the strategy of 'long-term investment in the internet' while effectively controlling investment risk overall.

Back in 2000, SoftBank had already invested $20 million in Alibaba, which was then unknown.

Yes, that was the Ma Yun who later drove all Chinese women crazy and made all Chinese men resentful.

With such a boss, Ono naturally had full confidence that Zhao Fusheng couldn't beat him. He wasn't joking when he said what he did to Zhao Fusheng that day.

If Zhao Fusheng refused the acquisition, SoftBank could easily support other websites to crush Xiaonei.

But the problem was, this approach might work for ordinary entrepreneurs, but for Zhao Fusheng, it was useless.

The reason was simple: Zhao Fusheng was very rich.

Let's do a simple calculation.

A person who could donate 100 million to charity must have a net worth of at least 10 billion RMB, and his company's market value would have to exceed 100 billion.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't that exaggerated, but if Ono calculated carefully, he would find that Zhao Fusheng's assets were enough to keep Xiaonei running.

"Mr. Ono, I hope you understand that I am not someone who can be easily threatened. If pushed too far, I can stop all my other projects. SoftBank may be rich, but would you dare to go all in with me?" Zhao Fusheng said coldly, looking at Ono Masao, word by word.

Hearing this, Ono was silent. Clearly, he was thinking about whether he had made a mistake somewhere, why a good negotiation had turned out like this.

…

…

It must be said that sometimes when a situation reaches a deadlock, the best solution is for an outsider to appear, especially in the stalemate between Zhao Fusheng and Ono Masao.

"What's going on?"

Dong Chenxi pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing Zhao Fusheng and James looking ready to fight, she frowned slightly: "What act are you two putting on?"

Zhao Fusheng snorted: "He threatened me."

Ah?

Dong Chenxi's gaze turned to Ono Masao, who then forced a bitter smile: "Miss Dong, please believe me, this is definitely a misunderstanding."

He was truly wronged. In fact, when he said that, Ono Masao never expected Zhao Fusheng to react so strongly. By the time he realized that the young man had deliberately provoked him, the initiative in the negotiation had already slipped into the other's hands.

Under such circumstances, Ono's best move was to remain silent.

Fortunately, Dong Chenxi's appearance gave the deadlock a chance to break.

"Boss, I believe in Mr. Ono's character. This might really be a misunderstanding," Dong Chenxi said to Zhao Fusheng. At this moment, she needed to play the role of a mediator, not letting the negotiation between Zhao Fusheng and Ono Masao truly reach an impasse.

Zhao Fusheng grunted, glanced at Ono Masao, and said nothing more.

But his meaning was clear: he had agreed with Dong Chenxi.

Ono Masao took a deep breath. He knew that what had come before was just an appetizer; now the main course of the negotiation was beginning.

To be precise, this was the moment when the key issues were truly discussed.

"Mr. Zhao, I think you should be well aware of SoftBank's enthusiasm for the internet industry," Ono Masao said slowly, looking at Zhao Fusheng. "Our SoftBank truly hopes to become your partner, to jointly make the Xiaonei project bigger and stronger."

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly, seemingly unmoved, and calmly looked at Ono Masao: "Mr. Ono, we have an old saying in China: 'If the deal falls through, let the goodwill remain.' I believe you come with sincerity, but I also hope you understand that whether a business deal succeeds depends not only on someone's sincerity. What do you think?"

Ono Masao's heart stirred. It seemed that today this deal might actually be possible.

Seeing Ono Masao's expression change, Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi exchanged a silent smile. This was exactly what the two of them had been working so hard to achieve today.

After all, fooling someone like Ono Masao was no easy task.

Zhao Fusheng even felt that the sense of accomplishment from closing this deal would be no less than making a hundred million. After all, with a different opponent and different results, the feeling was naturally different.