Chapter 1413: Little Liu Qiangdong, Big Ambitions

Zheng Yao finally left Zhao Fusheng's office with a belly full of doubts.

Although she didn't agree with Zhao Fusheng's predictions, as he had said to her, there was still plenty of time, and many things needed to be proven by facts.

Zhao Fusheng, of course, wasn't in a hurry to prove anything. As he had advised Zheng Yao earlier, the Future Group of today was like Nezha with three heads and six arms—impressive to look at, but in reality, having too many fists might not be of much use. It would be better to clench the fingers together, so that the strength could be greater.

In a sense, the Future Group was now a child gradually growing and strengthening its own power. When the day came that the Future Group truly matured, its strength would be the most terrifying.

Although Blog.com had been sold, the celebrities under Future Films continued to update their blogs. Even Yu Feihong, the queen of blogging, was expanding her influence under Zhao Fusheng's guidance. In Zhao Fusheng's words, this was an opportunity—once missed, it wouldn't come again.

If they waited until Weibo launched to start accumulating fans, it wouldn't be so easy.

Even those terrifying traffic stars of later generations found it difficult to expand their fan base.

After all, celebrity worship rarely occurs among adults.

Most people, after entering high school, no longer hold such a deep-rooted concept of idols and tend to focus more on the people and things around them.

Of course, to put it bluntly, it's because after high school there are too many things to keep them busy—homework and cram schools leave no time or leisure for chasing stars.

As for after high school, well, with so many female classmates and underclassmen in college to care about, only a madman would go chasing stars.

Of course, they occasionally follow news about celebrities, but they are much more rational and no longer as crazy as before.

For example, we often say to others: I really like so-and-so, I like the TV series or movie they starred in, have you heard of it?

That is the meaning of a star's existence.

It's not about being dazzling and glamorous in front of others, making people feel they live a high-class life, nor is it about being worshipped by fans to the point of delusion, always thinking they are superior emperors, even engaging in activities like selecting concubines.

The meaning of a star's existence is to accompany us as we grow, allowing us to find some comfort amidst busy work and study.

So, to be honest, when it comes to chasing stars, it somewhat depends on the person. Guys like Canada's SKR, the king of playboys, forget it.

…

…

In the following days, Zhao Fusheng had nothing major to keep him busy, as he had to keep an eye on Future Investment while Dong Chenxi was on a month-long vacation.

Sometimes he thought, being a boss like this was pretty miserable—he even had to force his employees to take leave.

In November, the capital's weather had started to turn cold. Every day, besides picking up and dropping off Fan Beibei from school, Zhao Fusheng either stayed at home or hung around the Future Investment office. Although there were no major issues, just reading reports all day was exhausting enough.

Fortunately, Fan Baobao occasionally called him with love calls, and chatting with her lifted his spirits considerably.

One day, Zhao Fusheng received a report.

"This is a fax sent to us by Jingdong Group," Wu Sijie said, holding a fax and reporting to Zhao Fusheng.

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Fusheng was a bit puzzled.

"Well, their e-commerce company wants to continue raising funds." Wu Sijie didn't waste words and explained to Zhao Fusheng.

Continue raising funds?

Zhao Fusheng frowned. What was Liu Qiangdong up to? If he remembered correctly, Jingdong had only started getting into e-commerce in the past couple of years. A few months ago, he had just discussed with him and decided to close all physical stores and formally shift the company's business to e-commerce. Yet now, not long after, this guy wanted to raise funds again. What did he plan to do?

After thinking it over, Zhao Fusheng said to Wu Sijie, "Alright, call Jingdong and ask Liu Qiangdong to meet with me."

Regardless, this matter had to be discussed between him and Liu Qiangdong.

In the afternoon, Zhao Fusheng met with Liu Qiangdong.

"What do you want to do? What is Jingdong's goal?" Zhao Fusheng didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.

Liu Qiangdong was a bit embarrassed but still said seriously, "I plan to make Jingdong the largest e-commerce website. Here's my plan, Chairman Zhao, you can take a look."

Zhao Fusheng was skeptical but took the plan from Liu Qiangdong and began reading.

The next moment, he was stunned.

In this report, Liu Qiangdong divided Jingdong's e-commerce business into two parts: operations and distribution.

Operations referred to the business website. Merchants selling goods had to pay fees to Jingdong to join the platform, and buyers also had to pay to get information. Both parties could conduct transactions autonomously online, with the system automatically settling prices—simple and convenient.

The distribution center was a large-scale distribution hub. Warehouses would be built in various locations, and transportation equipment would even be purchased. After an online transaction was completed, Jingdong's distribution center would handle delivery. The buyer would pay the purchase amount to Jingdong, and Jingdong would settle the payment with the seller, deducting logistics fees.

This guy, he wasn't a time traveler too, was he?

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Liu Qiangdong, who was sitting before him looking somewhat uneasy, and silently complained in his mind.

There was no help for it—this plan was almost identical to Jingdong's later development model. Although it was somewhat immature now, Zhao Fusheng had to admit that no wonder Liu Qiangdong succeeded later; the man truly had skill.

Liu Qiangdong watched the expressions on Zhao Fusheng's face shift constantly and silently prayed. To be honest, he had little confidence in his own plan.

Poverty stunts ambition. Though he was reluctant to admit it, Liu Qiangdong had to say that investors like Zhao Fusheng were truly hard to come by.

An investor who didn't meddle, didn't interfere with the company's operations, and simply held shares honestly—such an investor was undoubtedly the best partner in an entrepreneur's mind.

But precisely because of this, Liu Qiangdong understood all the more that if he couldn't deliver results, Zhao Fusheng would certainly not be satisfied.

After all, the man had poured tens of millions of real money into it. If there were no returns, who would be happy?

Seeming to sense Liu Qiangdong's nervousness, Zhao Fusheng smiled and said, "President Liu, don't worry. Overall, I'm satisfied with this plan."

"Great!"

Liu Qiangdong breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling a huge weight lift off his mind.

For him, this was undoubtedly an excellent start.