Chapter 1309: Good People Don't Live Long

In this world, there are no purely good or purely bad people; most of the time, everyone subconsciously wants to portray themselves as the innocent one.

This is a certain attribute hidden deep within human nature. After all, even bad people rarely want to be notorious.

And in Dong Guoxiang's subconscious, running a matchmaking website was the kind of behavior that would ruin his reputation.

Although not an internet magnate, deep down Dong Guoxiang had his pride. From the earliest virtual spaces to now being an agent for World of Warcraft, he could say without exaggeration that he was at the forefront of the times.

But now, Zhao Fusheng actually told him to set up a dating website.

If it weren't Zhao Fusheng saying this, Dong Guoxiang would have cursed him out right away.

Even so, Dong Guoxiang was quite resistant to the idea. But seeing Zhao Fusheng's serious expression, he knew this matter might be more complicated than he thought.

"What, don't you understand?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Dong Guoxiang with a half-smile.

Dong Guoxiang nodded, not hiding his attitude, and said honestly, "I can't figure it out."

That was his nature; there was no need to hide anything from Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: "What stage do you think the internet industry is at now?"

Dong Guoxiang was taken aback, furrowed his brow, and was about to answer Zhao Fusheng, but on second thought, he found he couldn't summarize the situation.

The reason was simple: the current pace of internet development was really too fast.

Like a high-speed train, it left people no time to react. The most obvious example was last year's IPO frenzy, where companies went public like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

If not for personal experience, few would have thought going public could be so easy. And those self-proclaimed smart investors were like leeks, ready to be harvested.

Even Dong Guoxiang himself felt it deeply. Before becoming the agent for World of Warcraft, despite experiencing the craze of Legend, he never imagined an online game could generate such high returns.

Not everyone was like Zhao Fusheng, who could get high returns with just a casual investment. Most investments were like crossing a river by feeling the stones. To be fair, the lucky ones made money; the unlucky ones lost money, and there was nothing to be done about it.

"A bottleneck?" After a long while, Dong Guoxiang said gloomily.

Though reluctant to admit it, he found that the development of the domestic internet seemed to have hit a bottleneck. This bottleneck wasn't technical but directional.

Outsiders might not understand, but as a professional, Dong Guoxiang believed that internet development should move toward greater convenience and speed, rather than continuing to develop websites blindly.

Zhao Fusheng laughed.

Dong Guoxiang was still smart enough not to get carried away by temporary success. If he had, Zhao Fusheng would have had to give him a good lesson.

"What, am I wrong?" Dong Guoxiang asked Zhao Fusheng, puzzled.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Not wrong. What you said makes a lot of sense. The current internet development, as you said, is at a bottleneck. Trust me, soon many things will change, and the speed of change will exceed our imagination."

Dong Guoxiang was skeptical; obviously, Zhao Fusheng's words were hard for him to grasp.

"As for Jiayuan.com, I'll have Future Investment send people to assist you in securing it as soon as possible," Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Guoxiang. "Our people will mainly help them upgrade the website and handle promotion. As for specific management, I think we can keep the original team. Understand?"

Zhao Fusheng didn't have many impressions of this website; he only remembered that a few years later, it seemed to be listed in the US. Since that was the case, he might as well take some shares while the site was still newly established.

As for technical issues, Dong Guoxiang's team should be able to handle them.

Seeing Zhao Fusheng's firm attitude, Dong Guoxiang didn't waste any more words and nodded in agreement.

…

…

After spending three days dealing with the company's recent matters, Zhao Fusheng could finally take a break.

Actually, there wasn't much major business. At the advertising company, Zheng Yao was personally overseeing things. At Future Film, Ye Jing was following Zhao Fusheng's instructions to slow down expansion and proceed steadily.

As for Future Investment, Dong Chenxi had been complaining that money was being spent too fast and was in a bad mood. Zhao Fusheng thought it best not to disturb her.

He also understood that he had been a bit impatient.

Foundation, in many cases, is the main factor that constrains a company's development.

For example, if Wang Sicong started a company and encountered a good project requiring an investment of one billion, he could borrow from his father. The richest man would surely help his son, as long as the project was profitable.

But conversely, someone like Zhao Fusheng had no way out, because he had nowhere to get that one billion.

That was the harsh reality.

Many self-made tycoons, after success, like to feed young people chicken soup and share success stories, but they probably forget what help they received on their path to success.

Even Liu Qiangdong, once the hope of his entire village, made a lot of money in college but lost it all by graduation.

How did he make a comeback?

Hah, because at that time his girlfriend wasn't Matcha.

As for specific background, his girlfriend came from three generations of political families in the capital, with countless connections in ministries.

That was enough.

The name JD.com came from the first letter of his girlfriend's name and the last letter of his own.

Zhao Fusheng didn't have such a powerful girlfriend or a powerful family background. He could only rely on himself.

That was normal.

Because the vast majority of ordinary people live like that.

…

…

Fan Baobao had been in a bad mood for the past couple of days, apparently after a visit to her workplace.

Zhao Fusheng could tell she had something to say to him.

"What's wrong? Did something happen at work?" Zhao Fusheng took the initiative to bring it up with Fan Baobao.

Fan Baobao nodded: "You know Teacher Fu Biao? He's sick, very seriously."

Zhao Fusheng was startled. He knew the person Fan Baobao mentioned—a well-known actor in China, not a huge star, but a good actor with a good reputation in the circle, known for his loyalty. During the filming of A World Without Thieves, Zhao Fusheng had chatted with him a few times, and they had met several times at Beijing circle gatherings.

He just didn't expect him to have a serious illness.

"What illness?"

"Liver cancer."

It was clear that Fan Baobao was very down.

"Well..."

Zhao Fusheng was speechless. If it were another disease, there might be a way, but cancer was obviously something that couldn't be helped.

He then remembered that Fu Biao seemed to be an actor from the People's Art Theatre. No wonder Fan Baobao was so sad; she must have had contact with him before.

"Teacher Fu is a very good person. When rehearsing programs, he always took care of me," Fan Baobao leaned against Zhao Fusheng and murmured, "Such a good person, always smiling at everyone—how did he get this disease? Honey, do you think good people don't get good rewards?"

It was obvious that Fan Baobao was really unhappy.

"There's nothing to be done about it. I'll go with you to visit him another day," Zhao Fusheng stroked Fan Baobao's head and comforted her softly.

They say 'whores have no feelings, actors have no loyalty.' In the big dye vat of the entertainment industry, there are all kinds of people. Some act passionate and seem like good family men, but then turn around and keep mistresses for seven years until they're blackmailed and have to call the police. Others keep a low profile, do good deeds quietly, and build countless Hope Schools.

Chinese people have a habit of being overly empathetic and liking to set up personas in their minds—this one is hardworking and brave, that one is righteous and refined—all viewed through a filter, ignoring that most people's humanity is equally hard to face directly.

Their salaries don't even reach the tax threshold, yet they worry about someone not paying hundreds of millions in taxes, as if they really see themselves as successors to socialism, right?

Zhao Fusheng didn't want Fan Baobao to become that kind of star in others' minds. He only hoped that his fiancée, the girl about to marry him, would be happy and joyful.