Chapter 1661 Heart-to-Heart

"To be honest, I never imagined that one day I'd have so much cash at my disposal." Dong Chenxi sat on the sofa, coffee cup in hand, speaking to Zhao Fusheng and Zheng Yao.

Zheng Yao nodded: "Yeah, I never thought back then that I'd one day sit across from Lee Kun-hee and negotiate with him."

That was the truth. Ten years ago, they were just ordinary people, never imagining that their fates would change so dramatically.

Life is like that—it always throws us all kinds of surprises.

"You two, why are you getting so sentimental?"

Zhao Fusheng looked helplessly at the two women lost in their reflections, shook his head, and said with a smile, "There'll be plenty of busy times ahead."

He was telling the truth. Although Future Investment was growing rapidly now, it hadn't yet reached its peak.

Once the several companies in his hands were all listed, Zhao Fusheng knew that would be the real explosion.

"Really? Even busier than now?"

Dong Chenxi clearly didn't quite believe Zhao Fusheng's words. In her view, even after the shares of the companies she currently managed were listed and developed, it wouldn't be too dramatic.

Take Facebook, for example. In Dong Chenxi's estimation, its market cap would solidly exceed one hundred billion US dollars, but she didn't think it would go much higher.

As for other companies, including Alibaba, Dong Chenxi didn't believe they would exceed the estimates of herself and her investment department.

Of course, they were calculating based on the current situation.

After all, the global economic climate was mediocre. Even though the internet economy was developing well, one must remember that it was virtual e-commerce, still somewhat lacking compared to the real economy.

That was the view of most people. Although the internet industry in China and worldwide had gradually emerged from the shadow of the 2003 dot-com bubble, many still harbored lingering fears. In their eyes, despite the booming internet industry, no one could guarantee it wouldn't fall into another bubble as before.

"More or less."

Facing Dong Chenxi's question, Zhao Fusheng smiled and said with certainty, "To be fair, I've always believed that the development of the internet industry is just beginning."

Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao were startled, looking at Zhao Fusheng in surprise. They rarely saw him speak so seriously about something.

Zhao Fusheng sighed. He knew he needed to give them some confidence, or rather, make them understand the reasons behind his current decisions.

"First, we need to clarify: what does the internet economy rely on?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao and slowly began, "It relies on the development of the internet."

"What do you mean?"

Dong Chenxi didn't understand, but Zheng Yao showed a thoughtful expression.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "The internet is developing faster and faster. Technological progress has extended the internet economy into many industries. For example, Alibaba's online shopping, the development of express delivery, and the rise of more e-commerce. People can now buy what they want online. As things progress, one day they might even do whatever they want through the internet, right?"

"That's true." Dong Chenxi nodded. She wasn't completely ignorant of this; as the woman in charge of Future Investment, she had some understanding.

"Apple in the US has developed the latest mobile phones that can access the internet and watch videos. Do you know what that means?"

Zhao Fusheng asked Dong Chenxi.

Dong Chenxi was taken aback, then her expression shifted: "You mean, a handheld computer?"

A handheld computer was essentially a PDA, a personal digital assistant. As the name suggests, it was a digital tool to assist personal work, mainly providing functions like note-taking, contacts, business card exchange, and scheduling.

If a mobile phone became a handheld computer, anyone who wasn't an idiot would understand what that meant.

If the situation Zhao Fusheng described really came to pass—mobile phones replacing computers for office work—then the internet industry would extend into every corner of our lives.

If that happened, Dong Chenxi suddenly felt that perhaps Zhao Fusheng's earlier predictions might become reality.

"Now do you understand?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Dong Chenxi and said slowly, "I have to admit that although the internet is developing rapidly now, it's far from its fastest. One day, perhaps Future Group will invest in even more internet industries."

"The reason is that the real economy has hit a bottleneck. We can't put our money into manufacturing, which has relatively low input-output ratios and slow returns."

He spoke seriously, and Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao listened just as seriously.

They knew well that Zhao Fusheng wouldn't bring this up without reason. He was clearly explaining his future plans to them in advance.

After all, as the controllers of Future Investment and Future Group, Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao were Zhao Fusheng's two most important assistants. If he couldn't get them to identify with his future business direction beforehand, there would surely be many disputes later.

Zhao Fusheng didn't have many friends at his current position, and he didn't want to lose friends like Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao.

"So, your earlier investments in Alibaba, Facebook, and even JD.com were all part of a layout?"

After a long silence, Zheng Yao suddenly asked Zhao Fusheng.

She had been listening to him and now understood that perhaps from the very beginning, Zhao Fusheng's target had been the internet industry, which was why he invested so heavily in it.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded: "Yes, from the start, I was optimistic about the internet industry. In my view, internet-related business will become our company's main profit point in the future."

"You really are..."

Zheng Yao shook her head helplessly. Even she had always been somewhat puzzled that most of Zhao Fusheng's investments were related to the internet.

She had always thought Zhao Fusheng had a special fondness for the internet, but now it seemed he had been laying the groundwork all along.

"To be honest, I really didn't expect this."

Dong Chenxi looked up at Zhao Fusheng and said calmly, "I thought you were just interested in the internet, but I didn't realize you had thought so far ahead."

She was speaking from the heart. Previously, when Zhao Fusheng invested in Facebook and Twitter, she and Zheng Yao thought it was because he had started with virtual communities and was interested in that area.

They hadn't considered that the guy had already set his sights on the internet industry ten years down the line.

Perhaps this was why Zhao Fusheng could rise so quickly in this turbulent era—because his eyes were never fixed only on the present but were always on the future.

"What can I do? If I don't lay the groundwork early, I'm afraid we won't even get the scraps." Zhao Fusheng said to them with a smile.

That was the truth. Compared to other large companies, Future Group had disadvantages in many areas.

Whether in terms of capital or foundation, Future Group faced more competition and difficulties. The reason it had developed so smoothly so far was Zhao Fusheng's consistently accurate judgment.

From the earliest investments to current decisions, Zhao Fusheng had always been consistently correct, which was why Future Group had grown so rapidly.

In fact, Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao had even discussed privately that if not for their boss's unwavering brilliance, Future Group would likely have had to accept failure in several previous situations.

After all, along the way, Future Group's opponents were truly formidable.

Whether it was SoftBank Asia, Sequoia Capital, or even Chen Tianqiao, any one of them was extremely powerful.

"I hope we can continue to be as smooth as we are now."

After a moment of silence, Zheng Yao said slowly.

She didn't know how Future Group would develop in the future, but she felt that under the current circumstances, they should prepare for difficulties.

"Hopefully."

Dong Chenxi smiled and said the same.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "It will definitely happen."

To be honest, he had more confidence than Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao, because he stood on the shoulders of giants.