Chapter 1674: Zhao Fusheng's Choice

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng never had any hope for the conscience of Americans.

It wasn't because of any prejudice, but because theirs is a capitalist society, built on contracts.

In other words, as long as there's no contractual restriction, they dare to do anything.

What's more, even with a contract, these Americans are particularly good at exploiting loopholes.

Zhao Fusheng had experienced this many times.

So, after hearing those words from Ye Jing, he wasn't surprised at all.

He just couldn't understand why Disney had started approaching Marvel so early. After all, the first Iron Man had just finished filming and hadn't even been released yet, and the second was only under discussion.

Under these circumstances, with the future box office of the film unknown, Disney was already eyeing Marvel. This really caught Zhao Fusheng off guard.

After all, in his view, Marvel now seemed more like a desperate gamble than a company with potential.

"Interesting."

Zhao Fusheng muttered to himself: "I didn't expect Disney to have such early intentions."

"What should we do? Should we warn Marvel?"

Ye Jing asked Zhao Fusheng.

The reason he had rushed Zhao Fusheng over was precisely this.

After all, in his mind, Zhao Fusheng's acquisition of Marvel was part of his layout for the entertainment industry. Now that Disney dared to set its sights on Marvel, it was bound to conflict with Zhao Fusheng's plans.

"Warn them?"

Zhao Fusheng laughed: "Why should we warn them?"

"Huh?"

This time, it was Ye Jing's turn to be confused. He looked at Zhao Fusheng in bewilderment: "What do you mean? Why not warn them?"

"Haha, you..."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand with a smile and pointed at Ye Jing: "You don't think I acquired Marvel to use it as a bridgehead to enter the American film industry, do you?"

"Uh, isn't that the case?"

Ye Jing asked in surprise, realizing only now that his thinking might be off.

"Of course not."

Zhao Fusheng looked at Ye Jing and said slowly: "You have to understand, to Americans, we are always foreign capital, right?"

"Of course." Ye Jing nodded. He understood this principle well. After all these years, despite Americans shouting about freedom and democracy, true racial equality had never been achieved in the United States.

The agreement Lincoln signed back then only gave Americans a legal reason to be proud. The reality was that on American soil, besides whites, all other races were more or less discriminated against.

Take Zhao Fusheng, for example. Although he now possessed considerable wealth in the United States, he still couldn't break into mainstream American society.

"Since that's the case, why would I go all out to develop Marvel?" Zhao Fusheng said lightly.

"Huh?"

Hearing this, Ye Jing suddenly felt something was off.

He didn't speak immediately but frowned in deep thought. After a long while, he slowly raised his head and looked at Zhao Fusheng: "Don't tell me you've been planning all along to develop Marvel and then sell it at a good price?"

Now he finally understood Zhao Fusheng's idea. It turned out that the guy never intended to be a long-term shareholder in Marvel. His plan had always been to make Marvel better, attract other buyers, and then cash out.

Simply put, Zhao Fusheng was treating Marvel as an investment.

He was investing in Marvel the way one does in venture capital.

It had to be said, this was a rather risky move. If Marvel didn't develop well, the over a billion dollars Zhao Fusheng had invested might go down the drain.

But now, it seemed things were heading in the direction Zhao Fusheng had hoped.

"Of course."

Zhao Fusheng smiled at Ye Jing: "Think about it, how could this company ever be of use to me? To them, I'm a Chinese person who bought company shares and brought in cash flow. My role ends there."

"But we have the Chinese market behind us..." Ye Jing hesitated and said solemnly.

But the next moment, he couldn't continue.

The reason was simple: although the Chinese film market had made some progress and had good prospects, it was still far from the level of Hollywood.

What did that mean?

It meant that for Marvel now, the Chinese market wasn't something they cared about.

In other words, what they cared about was Zhao Fusheng and the cash behind him.

Money talks!

This saying was most realistic and fitting in Hollywood.

By the same token, if a more suitable investor than Zhao Fusheng appeared under the same circumstances, whether it was Marvel's board or Kevin Feige, they would all lean toward the other party.

"Come on, let's go see Kevin Feige."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Ye Jing.

Regardless, this matter had to be discussed with Marvel.

Zhao Fusheng saw this more clearly than anyone.

…

…

Seeing Zhao Fusheng appear before him, Kevin Feige didn't seem surprised.

"Zhao, I knew you would come."

Kevin Feige said with a smile.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "Is that so, Mr. Feige? I think you should have guessed why I'm here, right?"

Zhao Fusheng wasn't surprised by Kevin Feige's reaction. The man was a professional manager who had deep feelings for Marvel, but precisely because of that, he would surely work in Marvel's best interest rather than stick to conventions or principles.

"Yes."

Kevin Feige admitted frankly in response to Zhao Fusheng's question: "Disney has been contacting us recently."

He wasn't stupid. Since Ye Jing had called Zhao Fusheng from China, it meant that Disney's underhanded moves had been discovered. Rather than hiding it, it was better to admit it openly.

After all, Disney hadn't succeeded in the acquisition yet, and Zhao Fusheng was still a major shareholder of Marvel.

"That's normal."

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Disney has always wanted to make progress in this field, and Marvel is undoubtedly their most suitable choice."

"Yes."

Kevin Feige nodded, finding Zhao Fusheng's words reasonable.

"Marvel has great development prospects."

Zhao Fusheng looked at Kevin Feige calmly: "What I mean is, even if Disney wants to become a major shareholder of Marvel, they have to pay a sufficient price."

Hearing this, Kevin Feige was momentarily stunned and looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise.

Clearly, Zhao Fusheng's answer caught him off guard.

After all, Disney's approach was essentially poaching from him, but judging by Zhao Fusheng's demeanor, he didn't seem to care.

It almost seemed like he was even open to cooperating with Disney!

"Mr. Feige, are you surprised?"

Seeing Kevin Feige's confusion, Zhao Fusheng said with a faint smile.

"Yes."

Kevin Feige admitted honestly: "Zhao, I really don't understand what you want to do."

"Me?"

Zhao Fusheng said calmly: "Of course I want to make money."

"Uh..."

Kevin Feige was taken aback: "You mean..."

Zhao Fusheng smiled without saying anything more.

His meaning was already clear. If the other party couldn't understand, that wasn't his problem.

The subsequent conversation mainly revolved around Iron Man. Kevin Feige expressed that, as an important project for Marvel's rise, he hoped Zhao Fusheng would increase his support for the company.

Clearly, he was testing whether Zhao Fusheng was willing to help Marvel.

Zhao Fusheng remained calm and nodded in agreement, as if the unpleasant negotiation atmosphere between them just moments ago didn't exist.

"What's going on?"

As they left Marvel headquarters, Ye Jing asked curiously.

"What?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "What's going on?"

"I mean, you and Kevin Feige." Ye Jing said irritably.

Clearly, he hadn't understood the cryptic exchange between Zhao Fusheng and Kevin Feige.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Nothing much. I was just stating my position to him."

Position?

Ye Jing frowned and began recalling the exchange between Zhao Fusheng and Kevin Feige.

After a long while, his expression suddenly changed.

"Got it?"

Seeing Ye Jing's expression, Zhao Fusheng knew he had probably guessed his and Kevin Feige's stance.

"Got it."

Ye Jing smiled bitterly. He finally understood Zhao Fusheng's attitude.

From the moment he met Kevin Feige, he had clearly stated his position, which was why Kevin Feige brought up Iron Man.

Because Zhao Fusheng had told him that he was just a businessman who needed profit.

No matter how Marvel and Disney interacted, the prerequisite for Disney to get a piece of the pie was to let Zhao Fusheng make money.

In other words, Zhao Fusheng didn't mind Marvel adding a shareholder or reducing his own shares, but only if Disney was willing to spend money and turn his previous investment into profit.

If not, then sorry, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't cooperate with their actions.

In business, talk business—that was Zhao Fusheng's attitude.

And Kevin Feige had clearly understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning, which was why he brought up Iron Man. He knew that only if the film was a box office hit would Marvel have the leverage and qualification to negotiate with Disney.