Chapter 1283 The Real Target

Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi spoke in low voices, audible only to themselves, so those nearby did not notice that the highest-ranking person on this trip to Korea was at that moment having a disagreement.

"You mean you're not optimistic about YG and DSP?" Dong Chenxi frowned slightly and asked Zhao Fusheng.

She wasn't stupid; Zhao Fusheng's implication was already clear: he was not optimistic about the two companies that the investment side had chosen.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, glanced at Dong Chenxi, and said, "In your opinion, what is the most important thing in running an entertainment company in Korea?"

Dong Chenxi was taken aback but couldn't answer Zhao Fusheng immediately; she frowned and began to think.

Clearly, she wasn't entirely confident she could answer that question correctly.

"Excuse me, sir, do you need anything?"

At that moment, a pretty flight attendant walked over and politely asked Zhao Fusheng. She wasn't the kind of very beautiful woman, but with a smile on her face, she gave a pleasant impression, and coupled with her flight attendant uniform, she seemed quite amiable.

It must be said that a charming person doesn't always have a beautiful exterior. Judging people by appearance is indeed the habit of most people, but sometimes, you can't tell a person just by looking at their appearance. Talking about a pure soul is a bit too literary, but perhaps sometimes even a warm smile can make a person seem very charming.

It's often said that girls who smile a lot aren't unlucky; that's the principle. Because such people always give a bright and warm feeling, naturally they are invincible.

"Thank you, I don't need anything." Zhao Fusheng shook his head, politely thanked her, and turned to Dong Chenxi: "So, have you thought it over?"

Dong Chenxi shook her head: "I still don't understand why you think that way."

Given their relationship, some words that others might find inconvenient to say, she could say without hesitation, so she directly voiced her doubts.

Even though Zhao Fusheng was the boss and his decision was what truly mattered, Dong Chenxi still needed a reason.

Zhao Fusheng laughed, didn't beat around the bush, and directly explained to Dong Chenxi: "Actually, from a normal perspective, your thinking isn't wrong; it's even quite in line with business thinking. A lean camel is bigger than a horse—that's a mindset our people have held for many years..."

"But?" Dong Chenxi glared at Zhao Fusheng and said irritably.

She knew Zhao Fusheng must have more to say.

Hearing her words, Zhao Fusheng put on an innocent smile and then said, "But the Korean entertainment industry is very different from ours at home. For example, Korean fan culture is something we don't have at home, right?"

Dong Chenxi nodded; she knew that. Korean fans were crazy, to the point of being chilling.

"Let's put it this way: the biggest reason DSP is in trouble now is that founder Lee Ho-yeon is seriously ill and can't manage the company, causing a gap in the company's star artists. In your view, as long as we invest money, we can recruit more trainees, train them into artists, and have them debut to make money, right?" Zhao Fusheng asked Dong Chenxi. After she nodded, he put away his expression and asked seriously, "Then tell me, why do you think that once our money is invested, we're sure to make money?"

"Who is DSP's successor? What is the company's current ability to create stars? How will they package singers after debut? Do you understand these issues?" Zhao Fusheng said slowly to Dong Chenxi.

Dong Chenxi was stunned and couldn't speak for a long time.

The reason was simple: Zhao Fusheng's words hit the nail on the head.

Sometimes we like to be self-righteous, using the little information we have to judge something, without considering whether we are even qualified to make such a judgment.

"You mean DSP will go bankrupt?" After a long while, Dong Chenxi said solemnly to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Hard to say, but I think if they can't quickly produce a top-tier group comparable to the former Sechs Kies, the company's decline is only a matter of time."

He said this partly from a business management perspective, and partly because he really hadn't heard of any famous groups from DSP in his previous life.

In other words, the company had already withdrawn from the ranks of Korea's top entertainment companies, falling to second or even third tier.

"What about YG?" Dong Chenxi asked Zhao Fusheng reluctantly. Although DSP might indeed have the problems Zhao Fusheng mentioned, she was quite optimistic about YG.

YG was founded in 1996. Its founder, Yang Hyun-suk, was once a member of Korea's most famous band, 'Seo Taiji and Boys.' After the group disbanded, he founded YG. Seo Taiji and Boys can be said to be the pioneers of Korea's hip-hop scene. Before that, Koreans didn't like hip-hop; it was this group that brought hip-hop music culture deep into Korea.

It was also because of Yang Hyun-suk that YG had always focused on the hip-hop market.

Now, although it had a complete star-making team, including recording, music distribution, artist packaging, etc., and also had the best producers, songwriters, most talented singer-songwriters, and most creative planning teams, because hip-hop music was not mainstream in Korea, YG's strength was still a bit lacking compared to other companies.

That was why Dong Chenxi and her team were optimistic about YG.

"YG's development will certainly be good, but the problem is that Yang Hyun-suk is too shrewd." Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly and said to Dong Chenxi, "It's not that I don't trust you, but I think if we invest in Yang Hyun-suk, we might largely be used as a stepping stone."

Dong Chenxi was taken aback; clearly, she didn't understand what Zhao Fusheng meant.

Sighing inwardly, Zhao Fusheng felt helpless. This was the biggest problem with his current team.

Neither Dong Chenxi nor Zheng Yao were professional managers. Although they were trying hard to keep up with him, the gap was there. Some things he said might be understood by professional managers, but Dong Chenxi needed him to break it down for her.

But Zhao Fusheng also knew that there weren't many perfect things in this world. Finding a manager with both ability and loyalty was as difficult as the Chinese men's football team making it to the World Cup.

Often, the dilemma of having both fish and bear's paw stems from human greed.

"Do you favor SM?" Dong Chenxi said after a long silence. "Their reputation isn't good, and they have ties with Korean political circles; there are even allegations of slush funds..."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: "Reputation has nothing to do with us; we want to make money. DSP is declining, YG's Yang Hyun-suk is too slippery, and they only focus on the domestic Korean market. So for us, SM is the most suitable choice because they are currently the largest entertainment company in Korea. In recent years, SM has placed great importance on the China-Korea Song Festival. Do you know what that means?"

Dong Chenxi was startled: "What?"

Zhao Fusheng said: "Simple. They are no longer satisfied with the domestic market and plan to enter China."

Then he smiled: "Do you think, if they want to enter the mainland, there is a better choice than us?"

Dong Chenxi wanted to say yes, but seeing Zhao Fusheng's expression, she thought better of it and kept quiet.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled lightly. He could tell she had something to say but held back, and he understood that many might see this as wishful thinking on his part.

But the fact was that no one knew that SM had already recruited several trainees from China, except for Zhao Fusheng, who was a time traveler.

The insiders in the mainland hadn't yet realized that the old fox Lee Soo-man was planning to make money in China.

Perhaps only when Han Geng led the SJ-M subunit on Happy Camp would the industry moguls realize: the wolf is here!

And by then, the Korean wave would have already formed a trend in the mainland, with many Korean groups dominating people's attention, and half of the music scene would be in their hands.

In this life, Zhao Fusheng would absolutely not allow that to happen.

"By the way, how much are you planning to invest here?" Dong Chenxi thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Not too much, no more than fifty million US dollars."

He paused and said, "I reminded you before to pay attention to Amazon's stock. How has it been lately?"

Dong Chenxi nodded and replied, "Not bad. Amazon's stock has been rising. But are you really planning to invest in this company? According to the information I've received, since their stock price fell in 2001, they've been working hard to improve profitability."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled. In fact, he didn't really know the stock price of Amazon, the company that claims to sell everything. He only remembered from his previous life, when he saw news about the divorce of Amazon's founder, who had become the world's richest man, that if you bought $1,000 worth of Amazon stock in 2008, by 2018 it would be worth over $20,000.

Yes, Amazon was that impressive. In ten years, its market value had increased more than twenty times.

Its founder, with such achievements, surpassed Bill Gates to become the world's richest man.

Zhao Fusheng didn't aspire to be the world's richest man; he just wanted to make some money. A one-to-twenty return, and a sure thing at that—he had to invest a little.