Chapter 1290: Adapting to Local Conditions

Zhao Fusheng never expected his personal charisma to move people; after all, those who possessed such a thing were no ordinary individuals. Simply put, so-called personal charm meant making others feel that following you would guarantee a bright future. In other words, you had to make them understand that as long as they followed you, they would achieve success and fame; otherwise, only a fool would continue to follow you.

"For the company to develop, and for each of you to progress, results are the foundation of all advancement."

"Faced with so many outstanding colleagues, as pioneers of the Korean market, what you need is persistence and hard work!"

"For a professional, choosing the right direction is more important than working hard. Doing the right thing is more important than doing things right. Joining Future Group is the most correct choice you will ever make in your lives!"

"For you, knowledge is less important than intelligence, quality is more important than intelligence, and awareness is more important than quality. If you choose the right direction, have the motivation to act, make up for your lack of ability with effort, and handle matters with the right attitude toward life, only then can you achieve success!"

One had to admit that Zhao Fusheng's greatest achievement in his previous life as an advertiser was probably his so-called success philosophy.

Or rather, in this era, so-called motivational masters like Chen Anzhi and other fraudsters were just starting out. Such motivational courses were far too simple for Zhao Fusheng; with just a few words, he successfully stirred up the enthusiasm of a group of people.

"You really know how to manipulate people's minds," Dong Chenxi said helplessly, looking at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily: "Don't you think every word I said contains the philosophy of life?"

Rolling her eyes, Dong Chenxi said to Zhao Fusheng irritably, "I didn't hear that. I've known you for so long, don't I know you by now?"

Zhao Fusheng shrugged and said nothing more.

In fact, both of them knew that as the big boss of the company, such motivational talk was certainly necessary for subordinates. But Dong Chenxi was not an outsider; she had known Zhao Fusheng for a long time, and she naturally wouldn't believe a word of some things.

That was why many swindlers didn't operate in their hometowns.

Like certain qigong masters in the 1990s, they might appear as lofty figures elsewhere, but in their hometowns, they dared not play such tricks.

The reason was simple: people in their hometowns knew their background and were not easily fooled.

In this regard, a certain Master Han from the Qingyun Sect was said to have acted particularly resolutely.

Watching Liang Jingyu go off to motivate the young people who had been fired up by Zhao Fusheng's words and were now eager to start their own businesses, Dong Chenxi finally said to Zhao Fusheng, "Was what you just said true?"

"What words?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked Dong Chenxi in return.

Glaring at him, Dong Chenxi didn't beat around the bush: "About the Korean branch."

It wasn't because she had any personal relationship with Liang Jingyu; rather, in Dong Chenxi's view, since the Korean branch was part of Hope Group's layout, there could be no mistakes. Although Liang Jingyu was one of her trusted subordinates, if Zhao Fusheng felt he was unsuitable to be the general manager of Future Group's Korean branch, Dong Chenxi would not hesitate to replace him.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "It's not that I don't think highly of Liang Jingyu; I feel that if we want to establish a foothold in Korea, there are many things we need to do. The complexity of this country is beyond our imagination."

Korea was truly a very magical country. Even Zhao Fusheng, who had lived two lives, had to admit that.

Koreans had a strong sense of national pride; they could boycott Japanese goods nationwide, refusing to buy anything from Japan. They could support domestic products by imposing high import tariffs on foreign goods, then buy expensive domestic products. The 'big' in the 'Republic of Korea' precisely reflected the inner weakness of Koreans.

But on the flip side, they were also ridiculous, worshiping everything American, almost kneeling to sing praises for the U.S., believing that anything American was good.

At the same time, Koreans always lived in their own world, as if there were no stronger countries besides Korea.

The Dragon Boat Festival was Korean, Confucius was Korean—in short, the goal of Koreans was the stars and the sea.

This was a magical people.

Clearly, neither Dong Chenxi nor Liang Jingyu understood Korea well enough.

Or rather, in their worldview, they still thought they could handle matters in Korea using the same rules as in China. If he didn't warn them, they would eventually suffer greatly.

In Korean society, where personal connections outweighed the law, sometimes relying solely on rules and regulations wouldn't get things done.

This was no joke.

"Do you mean using Koreans to manage the company?" After hesitating for a while, Dong Chenxi couldn't suppress her doubts and asked Zhao Fusheng.

"Use Koreans for routine management, but as Old Liang said earlier, personnel and financial powers must be in the hands of our people," Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Chenxi. "I trust Old Liang's ability; he can handle the company's affairs in an orderly manner. But there's one thing: he doesn't understand Koreans, so he needs to be careful."

Dong Chenxi asked, "So you mean he should hold onto personnel and financial powers and then do nothing else?"

"Of course he has to manage," Zhao Fusheng said. "Old Liang handles the big picture: personnel power in one hand, financial power in the other, deciding the company's development strategy and formulating management systems. It's like an airplane: Old Liang is the pilot, just controlling the course to prevent deviation. Accelerate where needed, land when necessary. As for those Koreans, they are the co-pilots and service staff. Understand?"

Dong Chenxi thought for a while and finally said, "This is similar to your management style back in China."

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily: "How should I put it? I prefer to stay behind the scenes rather than step onto the stage. With you all around, I don't really need to worry. Remember, how far a company can go often depends on the breadth of the leader's mind. Vision and network determine a person's ceiling."

Blinking, Dong Chenxi felt that what Zhao Fusheng was saying was getting a bit too mystical.

"I feel like you're trying to fool me," she said, looking up at Zhao Fusheng with skepticism.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head, looking innocent: "How could that be? I'm not that kind of person."

But Dong Chenxi was still suspicious. After scrutinizing Zhao Fusheng for a moment, she turned and went to find Liang Jingyu, apparently intending to repeat what Zhao Fusheng had just said to her.

Watching her back, Zhao Fusheng let out a long breath.

That was close; she almost caught him.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng was fooling Dong Chenxi.

For a company's development, especially a foreign company, how could it break into the market without using local people? Even if Future Group had all the money in the world, if others refused to cooperate, could he really put checks and bullets in envelopes and send them?

In the end, some opportunities were needed.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, the subprime mortgage crisis next year, which would trigger the global financial crisis in 2008, was an excellent opportunity for him to rapidly expand his own strength.

When it came to making money, one should certainly start early.

As for whether this would hurt Korean feelings—well, Zhao Fusheng was no philanthropist.

……

……

Liang Jingyu was Dong Chenxi's trusted subordinate, and he naturally knew the depth of the relationship between Dong Chenxi and Zhao Fusheng. So after learning Zhao Fusheng's thoughts from Dong Chenxi, he quickly changed his previous plans.

In the following days, Liang Jingyu began recruiting new people, primarily targeting ethnic Korean Chinese.

Meanwhile, Dong Chenxi called the company and instructed them to start buying shares of SM Entertainment.

Regardless, since they had chosen SM as the target for Future Group's first move in Korea, they had to follow through and show their stance.

Three days later, Kim Young-min and Lee Soo-man finally sat down together.

Because they had suddenly discovered that they seemed to have a new opponent.