Chapter 1682: Boss Ma

By the time Zhao Fusheng and Fan Beibei arrived in Shenzhen, it was already evening.

After dinner and settling the little girl down, Zhao Fusheng finally rested.

But before he could sleep, he received an unexpected visitor.

Ma Huateng!

"Why are you here?"

Looking at Boss Ma before him, Zhao Fusheng was somewhat surprised and asked in confusion, "Weren't we supposed to meet tomorrow?"

Originally, according to his agreement with Boss Ma, he and Fan Beibei were to go to Tencent headquarters tomorrow. But now that he had just arrived, the man had come to him—it was indeed a bit surprising.

"I have something to discuss with you."

Boss Ma didn't say much; he smiled at Zhao Fusheng and said, "What, our company's little shareholder is asleep?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "The kid is a bit tired. I took her around Huacheng for a day yesterday."

"Your sister?"

Boss Ma was somewhat surprised.

He didn't know much about Zhao Fusheng's family situation and assumed she was Zhao Fusheng's biological sister.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "My wife's sister, my sister-in-law. She's in elementary school this year."

"Well..." Boss Ma shrugged, indicating he shouldn't have asked. An elementary school student who was a shareholder of Tencent Technology—truly unique.

The two sat down on the sofa. Without calling a waiter to pour water, they each poured a glass and sat facing each other.

"What made you think of taking a break?" Boss Ma took a sip of water, somewhat curious.

To be honest, compared to Zhao Fusheng now, he was actually in a similar position. Of course, his wealth was certainly not as substantial as Zhao Fusheng's, but in reality, he too was extremely busy.

So when Zhao Fusheng said he wanted to rest for two months, it really surprised Ma Huateng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "I've just been too tired lately. You know, cooperating with Samsung, then going to the US—I've basically been working non-stop."

"Same here." Ma Huateng agreed deeply and sighed: "Sometimes I wonder, why do we struggle so hard? Before success, we strive desperately; after success, we have to keep striving. There's no end."

Zhao Fusheng nodded, agreeing with Boss Ma's words.

At their level, one indeed feels this way. It's not that they feel lost about the future—after all, they are people with ideas and their own goals. But working so hard all the time, sometimes one really feels exhausted.

"Man is really no different from a mill donkey." After a moment of reflection, Boss Ma summed up his thoughts, and Zhao Fusheng strongly agreed.

"By the way, how's the company's recent development?" Zhao Fusheng casually asked Boss Ma.

Boss Ma was taken aback, then smiled: "Are you asking as a shareholder or as a friend?"

"As a friend."

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "After all, we once discussed technology online. I can't treat you like others, can I?"

That was true. Thinking back to the days when they chatted on the little penguin, it felt amusing. Years had passed in a flash.

The once virtual community had vanished, and Ma Huateng, who had to moonlight as customer service back then, was now the boss of a listed company.

Time flies, changing so many things.

"Yeah, back then, it really was..." Ma Huateng laughed as he spoke.

"The company's overall development is good. After all, we have a vast user base." Ma Huateng said to Zhao Fusheng: "Recently, they submitted a proposal to license a Korean role-playing game called 'Dungeon & Fighter.' I took a look—it's not bad and has great potential."

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then laughed: "Not bad. A huge user base means a broad market for online games. Very good."

In fact, he knew very well that Ma Huateng's thinking was correct.

For Tencent, the massive user base was their greatest asset. No matter what business they developed, as long as they relied on these users, they wouldn't fail.

Even if problems arose, they wouldn't be issues in the face of the user base.

For example, if a new internet company launched a game, it might fail due to insufficient promotion funds or low user numbers, eventually having to close down.

But such a thing was hard to happen at Tencent Technology.

The reason was simple: Tencent Technology had too many users. That little penguin had accompanied the growth of almost all post-70s and post-80s netizens. People used the penguin to communicate and were also used to logging into games with it.

In memory, the shooting game called CF was clearly a copy of Counter-Strike, yet it still became popular for a time. The reason lay here.

The habitual nature of internet users is the foundation of whether a website can survive.

Including search engines: if users are used to using a certain search engine to find information, they will keep using it unless some force majeure occurs.

The reason Google lost to Baidu in later years was not just due to keyword issues, but also because people had become accustomed to using Baidu.

"It's rare to hear praise from you."

Ma Huateng laughed at Zhao Fusheng's words and said, "When it comes to promotion and advertising in the future, you must help out a lot."

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "I have no objections. Go talk to Zheng Yao about this. I'm trying to be a hands-off boss now."

"..."

Ma Huateng couldn't be bothered to say anything more. This guy was really speechless.

"By the way, do you think we should develop a video website business in the future?" Ma Huateng suddenly mentioned to Zhao Fusheng. In recent years, video websites had developed rapidly. Whether it was Youku, Tudou, or other video sites, they were growing fast. Many internet companies, including Shengda Technology, had started to lay out video businesses.

So Ma Huateng was a bit tempted.

After all, there were voices within Tencent Technology hoping the company would consider this.

Ma Huateng himself was somewhat hesitant. Coincidentally, Zhao Fusheng had come to Shenzhen, so he specially visited him, hoping to get some advice.

After all, to Ma Huateng, Zhao Fusheng was an investor who understood technology.

Compared to investors who only cared about profits and returns, Ma Huateng found it easier to communicate with Zhao Fusheng. At least, some things he said, Zhao could understand without needing to explain again.

Don't underestimate this detail. For many investors, if they can't understand what an entrepreneur says, it means they won't listen no matter what the entrepreneur says.

For example, after a website gets 50 million in venture capital, the founder plans to do a certain project. But shortly after the project starts, the investor learns about it and objects.

At this point, the founder has two choices: either give up or communicate with the investor to gain their support.

During communication, if the investor is a layman and can't understand the founder's explanation of the project, no matter what is said, the project will eventually be aborted.

Conversely, if the investor is an insider, they can not only understand but might even offer reasonable suggestions.

The difference here goes without saying.

Zhao Fusheng was undoubtedly that kind of knowledgeable investor.

At least in Ma Huateng's view, he could definitely provide experience on this matter.

Sure enough, upon hearing Ma Huateng's words, Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and then suddenly laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Ma Huateng asked, puzzled by Zhao Fusheng's strange reaction.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Nothing. I just don't understand why we would leave our good business to venture into the video website field. Don't you think there are already too many video websites in China?"

Ma Huateng was taken aback, then immediately understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning.

Thinking carefully, he wasn't wrong.

Under the current circumstances, China's video website market was indeed somewhat saturated.

Dozens of video websites stood like forests, all scrambling for user market share. In this situation, it was like a pack of hungry wolves eyeing a plate of meat—too many wolves, too little meat.

If Tencent joined in, it would indeed feel a bit redundant.

"You mean we shouldn't participate?" Ma Huateng thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded, then shook his head: "Let's put it this way: the video website market is a big cake. It will indeed be promising in the next few years, but the problem is, not now."

"Not now?"

Ma Huateng frowned, looking at Zhao Fusheng: "The timing isn't right?"

"Exactly!"

Zhao Fusheng was not at all surprised that he understood his meaning. Pony Ma was a true professional, understanding technology and management—otherwise, he couldn't have brought Tencent Technology to where it is today.

Looking at Ma Huateng, Zhao Fusheng slowly explained: "Think about it: current video technology is not mature. Whether it's video websites or chat video sites, they're all in a stage of野蛮生长. In the short term, this field shows no hope. If we invest a lot of money and resources, only to end up making a wedding dress for others, would you be willing?"

Ma Huateng didn't speak. Clearly, he wouldn't be willing to help others make wedding dresses.

That's a situation no capitalist wants to see: working hard to expand territory, only for others to come and pick the fruit.

Not to mention Ma Huateng—believe that no normal person would allow such a thing to happen.

Taking a deep breath, Ma Huateng said to Zhao Fusheng: "I understand what you mean. You're saying we should wait, keep waiting, and be the one who picks the fruit in the end?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Exactly. Let them fight. When they're battered and only a few remain, we'll enter the market."

In fact, what he said was precisely the strategy Tencent had chosen in the original timeline.