Chapter 1078 The Great Eastern Hustler

Riding on the crest of success, this phrase applies equally to Zhao Fusheng and Evan Williams.

For both of them, they have achieved success in their careers.

Though not among the top tier of the world, they are already very successful compared to most ordinary people.

And the more successful such people are, the more pride they harbor in their bones.

So upon hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Evan Williams's first reaction was that this guy must be crazy.

Didn't he know who he was? He actually wanted him to work for him?

And after Zhao Fusheng said he hoped to cooperate with him, Evan Williams found it even more absurd.

"Friend from the East, do you think that if I wanted to start a business, no one would invest in me? Or do you think I can't come up with the startup capital myself?" Evan Williams looked at Zhao Fusheng with utter disbelief.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Mr. Williams, I think you misunderstand me."

With that, Zhao Fusheng took a sip of the coffee in front of him, then pursed his lips and smiled: "What I mean is, I hope you can continue technical development in the direction of instant sharing tools. Of course, I'm not trying to hire you, because I'm also very interested in this area myself. It's just that my business involves many aspects, so I hope to cooperate with you."

Evan Williams frowned at Zhao Fusheng's words but didn't speak immediately.

As a highly intelligent elite, he was smarter than people imagined. In fact, in Evan Williams's view, the Eastern man in front of him was probably telling the truth.

But precisely because of that, Evan Williams found it strange. After all, in the current US market, there were far too many instant sharing tool products. Even Evan Williams himself wasn't very confident about this market; otherwise, he wouldn't have sold the company he founded to Google and come to work at Google himself.

No one likes to personally sell the company they worked so hard to build to someone else.

In a sense, Evan Williams couldn't see through this young man—whether he was genuinely interested in this area or deliberately testing him.

"Sorry, I think we have nothing to discuss." Evan Williams looked at Zhao Fusheng suspiciously, then stood up and said.

Clearly, although he was interested in Zhao Fusheng's words, he felt there was no need to continue the conversation.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, also stood up, took out a business card, and handed it to Evan Williams: "Here's my card. If one day you want to leave Google and start a business, consider giving me a call."

Then he said with a gentle smile: "By the way, have you heard of Sean Parker?"

"What?"

Evan Williams had already intended to leave, but upon hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, he stopped and turned to look at him: "You know Sean Parker?"

"In fact, just a few days ago, we had dinner together, and I convinced him to join Facebook as my partner." Zhao Fusheng said slowly, with a faint smug smile on his face.

"Facebook, that dating site?" Surprisingly, Evan Williams had heard of Facebook and looked at Zhao Fusheng in astonishment: "Are you the founder of that site?"

"No, no, no, Evan, you misunderstood." Zhao Fusheng raised his finger and shook it: "I'm not the founder of Facebook; that's Mark Zuckerberg's doing. I'm just a businessman, a businessman who understands the internet. So when Mark first had the idea, I helped him and invested some money. Fortunately, the site has developed well, and my investment seems likely to yield a handsome return. That's all."

Evan Williams sat back down.

Yes, after Zhao Fusheng revealed that he was the actual backer of Facebook, he decisively turned around and sat back down.

"Zhao, I apologize for my rudeness just now." Evan Williams spoke first, his attitude completely different from before.

Zhao Fusheng was a bit baffled, completely unable to understand why this guy had gone from arrogant to deferential.

But fortunately, Zhao Fusheng wasn't the petty type, and he truly appreciated Evan Williams's talent and future, so he smiled and sat down as well: "Evan, I think now you're willing to have a good talk with me, right?"

Evan Williams smiled: "A man who can convince Sean Parker to work for him—I don't think he should be a liar."

Zhao Fusheng then realized that he had been mistaken for a con man from China, and the other party hadn't taken him seriously at all.

But on second thought, he could understand Evan Williams. Out of the blue, someone shows up wanting to cooperate, and it's about a fiercely competitive instant sharing software. If it were him, he'd be suspicious too.

If he hadn't mentioned Sean Parker, a well-known billionaire across the US, and if Evan Williams hadn't been at Google and known about Facebook's rising fame among young people, he probably would have left empty-handed this time.

But now, things had naturally changed. Clearly, Evan Williams wasn't as aloof as he appeared; he was still an ambitious young man.

Born in 1972 and now thirty-three, Evan Williams was also someone eager for success.

…

…

The atmosphere of the following conversation was much better than before.

Williams called himself "a farm boy from Nebraska, always very lucky." In his own words, he grew up on a farm growing soybeans, corn, and raising dairy cows. He attended the only public school in the area, with only fourteen students in his class, and participated in everything from sports to band.

"Zhao, you know? In such a small school, everyone did everything," Williams recalled with a smile to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng naturally didn't know about these things, but he could understand Williams's nostalgia for the past.

Everyone has times they once loved—maybe elementary school, maybe middle school, maybe college.

"Evan, then you must be your father's greatest pride?" Zhao Fusheng said to Evan Williams with a smile.

"No, no, you think too much." Evan Williams shook his head: "I was a mediocre student, to be precise, the black sheep of the family. My father and brother loved farm work and hunting, while I was a vegetarian who preferred reading. Since I got in touch with computers, I fell in love with them and dreamed of starting my own company every day."

"You know, when I was in college, I never chose my major well. I took as few classes as possible. I didn't think college was very important for starting a company. I thought college was a waste of time; I wanted to start working," Evan Williams said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged but didn't speak, clearly unwilling to interrupt the other's reminiscence.

"My life has been a series of carefully arranged coincidences. I've always suffered from excessive optimism. For over a decade, I was nearly bankrupt. I remember when I started my first company, I stayed up all night one night, and the next morning I was searching through the sofa cushions for loose change to buy a cup of coffee. It's good that I can now pay my father back."

Evan Williams looked at Zhao Fusheng and said slowly: "You're the backer of Facebook, so tell me, do you really intend to have me create an instant sharing social software too?"

In a sense, Evan Williams was an extremely smart person.

At the very least, he had deduced from Zhao Fusheng's attitude alone that Zhao Fusheng valued him highly.

And Zhao Fusheng, with a faint smile on his face, listened to Evan Williams's question, then shrugged and said calmly: "Evan, I want you to know that regarding the idea I have in mind now, I only have a concept. And I think the person who can help me realize this concept should be you."

Hustling people—Zhao Fusheng felt his skill was no less than any orator's.