Chapter 1092 Company Meeting

Hearing Fan Baobao's question, Zhao Fusheng chuckled and looked at her, saying, “What, you want me to be surrounded by a bunch of reporters every day?”

“Come on, I'm not an outsider. Even if I were a celebrity, I wouldn't have reporters following me around all day.” Fan Baobao pouted and retorted.

Clearly, she was quite dissatisfied with Zhao Fusheng's answer; the guy was obviously brushing her off.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: “But the thing is, I don't like reporters.”

Fan Baobao was taken aback. Thinking it over, Zhao Fusheng indeed never seemed to have much interest in those reporters. Or to be more precise, Zhao Fusheng didn't like things like interviews.

Everyone has different habits and hobbies, and Fan Baobao understood this well. For instance, a few senior actors she knew at the People's Art Theatre particularly disliked dealing with reporters. In their words, reporters never spoke the truth.

Though it might be a bit biased, Fan Baobao figured this might be the reason for Zhao Fusheng's attitude.

“Alright then, if you don't like it, just ignore them.” Fan Baobao tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said to Zhao Fusheng.

She always sided with family over reason; whatever Zhao Fusheng liked was fine by her.

Zhao Fusheng almost burst out laughing. Honestly, Fan Baobao like this was really adorable. For him, perhaps this was the reason he worked so hard.

Actually, it wasn't that he disliked media interviews; to put it bluntly, Zhao Fusheng just thought they were unnecessary.

He wasn't the kind of boss who needed personal fame to boost his company's image; accepting interviews was pointless.

Anyway, he was the boss. If he didn't want to do something, no one dared force him. So the matter was settled.

Fortunately, Zheng Yao was already used to Zhao Fusheng's ways, and the whole company knew that even when he was an ad planner, he always liked to keep a low profile, so no one paid it much mind.

But in the media, the name Zhao Fusheng, chairman of Future Group, had become a mysterious symbol.

After all, there were plenty of people richer than Zhao Fusheng, but few were as low-key as him.

…

…

Many people think being a boss means being very busy. That's not wrong, really. As the owner of a large conglomerate, if you spend your days playing golf, chess, or hanging out with friends, that's also a way of running things.

But the problem is, that's what people in their fifties and sixties do.

After decades of entrepreneurship, when you're older, you naturally want to enjoy life and arrange your work schedule moderately. But as a young man, Zhao Fusheng felt that his current achievements were far from satisfying his ambition.

If you get a second chance at life, wouldn't it be a waste not to strive?

Of course, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't force Fan Baobao to be like him. She had her own career and life. Two people in love don't necessarily have to accommodate each other.

The foundation of a relationship is attraction and共鸣, being interdependent yet independent. If you blindly accommodate for the sake of a relationship, you might lose not only the relationship but also the self you should have.

If God gives you a beautiful face, be careful—it's a test of your soul. If your soul is mediocre, that mediocrity will show on your face, turning beauty into vulgarity. If God gives you an ugly face, be at ease—it's an opportunity for your soul. If your soul is excellent, that excellence will also show on your face, correcting ugliness into uniqueness.

As the saying goes: A pretty face is common; an interesting soul is rare.

Of course, the poor can't afford such demands. If a girl likes you, that's good enough. Asking for too much in terms of looks will only get you scorned.

Zhao Fusheng didn't care much about that. His nature was such that as long as his bottom line wasn't crossed, most things weren't problems for him.

Though he didn't accept media interviews, that didn't mean Zhao Fusheng was hands-off with company matters.

After the group was formally established, Zhao Fusheng attended several high-level company meetings to hear reports from the heads of various subsidiaries.

Of course, most of the time after the reports, Zheng Yao gave her opinions while Zhao Fusheng listened quietly and observed everyone's reactions. Sometimes he even thought that if he and Fan Baobao had children, regardless of gender, he'd bring them here from a young age. Through osmosis, they'd surely become talented individuals.

Zheng Yao had already transformed from a university teacher into a businesswoman. Listening to her advocate for a wolf-like corporate culture and semi-military management at the company meeting, Zhao Fusheng nodded inwardly. It's often said that a lion led by a sheep can never defeat a flock of sheep led by a lion—this saying rang true in business competition.

The boldness of a company's leader determines the company's ceiling.

“For Future Film, 'Kung Fu Hustle' must be released by the end of this year!” Zheng Yao said firmly to Ye Jing. “In Hong Kong, Bai Zong has always been in charge of contacting Stephen Chow. General Manager Ye, you can have her accompany you to negotiate with Stephen Chow. If it can't be released by the end of this year, don't expect us to honor his profit-sharing agreement. We've spent over a hundred million nearly a year ago, and he still hasn't delivered a finished product. Does he think our money is waste paper?”

Ye Jing nodded and looked at Bai Jie: “Then I'll trouble you, General Manager Bai.”

Bai Jie naturally wouldn't refuse; she nodded slightly in agreement.

Turning around, Zheng Yao looked at Zhao Fusheng: “Chairman, do you think this arrangement is appropriate?”

After all, Zhao Fusheng was the big boss; she had to respect his opinion.

Zhao Fusheng smiled lightly and nodded: “No problem. It's time to give Stephen Chow a push.”

From a personal standpoint, Zhao Fusheng admired Stephen Chow's pursuit of perfection in film, but from an investor's perspective, dragging things out like this was undoubtedly a torment.

As Zheng Yao said, over a hundred million had been invested for nearly a year with no return—it was really frustrating.

If Future Film hadn't been unable to find a suitable partner domestically, Zheng Yao would have lost her temper long ago.

Zhao Fusheng was a hundred percent sure that even if he hadn't shown up today, Zheng Yao would have specifically discussed this with him.

After all, doing business and making movies are two different things. The latter can consider artistic angles and let the director have his way, but the former must consider costs and return on investment.

In other words, as a moviegoer, Zheng Yao certainly hoped Stephen Chow's films would be refined and increasingly better. But as the helm of Future Group, she couldn't let Stephen Chow keep burning money.

Are you kidding? An investment of nearly twenty million, in US dollars, and it's been dragging on for almost a year without finishing. Does he think he's Wong Kar-wai?

Besides, Wong Kar-wai has always been like that, blatantly taking investors for a ride. Aren't you, Stephen Chow, the self-proclaimed King of Comedy? Why are you dragging your feet on a film?

After arranging Future Film's matters, Zheng Yao looked at Dong Chenxi.

“General Manager Dong, does Future Investment have any plans recently?” Zheng Yao asked slowly.

Dong Chenxi closed the file in front of her, hesitated for a moment, and said, “We're mainly considering focusing on some internet companies. According to my research, there's a project worth investing in.”

“Tell me about it,” Zheng Yao said.

Dong Chenxi hesitated slightly, glanced at Zhao Fusheng, but didn't speak.

Zheng Yao was taken aback. Clearly, this matter was significant—Dong Chenxi didn't dare report it at the high-level meeting.

Sure enough, after about ten seconds of silence, Dong Chenxi finally said, “I'd like to report this to the Chairman privately.”

Zhao Fusheng knew it was time for him to speak. Smiling, he nodded: “Alright, I'll go to the investment company tomorrow, and you can fill me in.”

Given Dong Chenxi's personality, a project she treated with such caution piqued Zhao Fusheng's curiosity. He wondered what she was up to.

“Also, recently, a large number of domestic internet companies have been listing overseas. How should we respond?” After saying that, Dong Chenxi raised a new question.

Zheng Yao frowned slightly: “Be more specific.”

Dong Chenxi nodded and explained: “On March 5th, mobile phone supplier Linktone listed in the US. On March 10th, TOM listed simultaneously in the US and Hong Kong. On May 13th, Shanda Technology listed on NASDAQ in the US. Additionally, Tencent Technology and Kong.net listed in Hong Kong and the US respectively. Also, let me clarify: we previously held 20% of Shanda Technology's shares, of which 5% was swapped for shares in Huayi Brothers Film Company. Now it seems we lost out.”

Clearly, in Dong Chenxi's view, swapping 5% of Shanda Technology shares for 10% of Huayi Brothers shares was a decision error by Zhao Fusheng.

Zheng Yao knew about this and looked at Zhao Fusheng, obviously puzzled by his actions.

Zhao Fusheng laughed: “On this matter, I'm optimistic about Huayi Brothers' future development. Although it seems we're at a loss now, if Huayi Brothers does well, we might make money.”

Since the boss said so, the others naturally had nothing more to say, and the topic was dropped.