Chapter 0169: Laying the Cards on the Table

The reason Zhao Fusheng brought up the matter of shares was that he had his own considerations.

As the saying goes, a liter of rice fosters gratitude, a bushel fosters enmity. Small favors can be repaid like gushing springs; great favors are akin to great grudges. Human nature cannot withstand battering, interrogation, or temptation. Those who can settle both affection and money cleanly are perhaps the wise ones.

To put it simply, Father Zhao and his comrades might now accept the idea of joint shares, but once the supermarket grows big, will their hearts remain as united as they are now?

With over a dozen shareholders, how would power be distributed then? Who doesn't have relatives and friends, fair-weather or otherwise, who might want to get a hand in and take a share? What would be done then?

Many things, once they happen, we are unwilling to record, because we clearly know that although the process of these things is worth knowing, recording them forces us to relive the pain, anxiety, doubt, and even betrayal.

Zhao Fusheng was reluctant to delve too deeply into the matter with his father because he felt that at this stage, when his father and his comrades were in the early phase of starting a business, laying out possible future scenarios before them would cloak their genuine friendship in a veneer of money.

Generally speaking, human growth is a one-way street: as one ages, one becomes more humble, more reverent, more empathetic and compassionate, and gains a sense of weight—that is growth. But in reality, we often see the opposite, sometimes even discovering that people we once respected and recognized become increasingly unaware of themselves and others.

Why does this happen to people?

Perhaps it is because they take themselves too seriously. The perceptions of those around them could normally coordinate and balance self-knowledge, but because they value themselves too much, they only accept affirmation and reject negation. Over time, they form a small circle around themselves, all of whom 'promote' them, making them value themselves even more, turning them into a ruler that has lost its balance—taking their own centimeter as ten centimeters of others, or in other words, others' ten centimeters as their own one centimeter. Many talented people end up trapped in self-ignorance, losing their direction and themselves.

Zhao Fusheng now often warns himself not to become such a person, so he tells himself to at least do two things: first, not to be anyone's teacher or master, and not to accept students or disciples; second, if someone particularly likes him, or he particularly likes someone, to step back and maintain a certain distance—distance is the greatest objectivity. But can doing these two things ensure self-knowledge?

Probably not, but at least one can hope to possess humility and reverence. Understanding the world and discovering oneself—there seems to be no better strategy than reading.

Life is like calculus, infinitely decomposing in a wrong direction to reveal a cruel truth.

Zhao Fusheng had always believed that sometimes laying the cards on the table beforehand was more appropriate than being wise after the event. But the problem was, under the current circumstances, if he pointed out certain things, it might create an invisible rift between his father and his comrades.

This rift might seem insignificant now, but one day it would become a major problem affecting the entire supermarket business.

Therefore, Zhao Fusheng did not choose a drastic method to cut through the issue; instead, he used another approach.

"Fusheng, explain more clearly. How do we attract investment?" It wasn't Father Zhao who spoke, but Hou Liangping, who had been silent all along.

Since he was not familiar with his father's comrades, Zhao Fusheng did not have a deep impression of Hou Liangping, but he could tell that Uncle Hou was the type of person who was taciturn and not fond of talking.

"The method to attract investment is simple: we turn this shopping mall into a joint-stock company. Then all of you will be shareholders. But to prevent outside capital from infiltrating our internal structure, before attracting investment, we will internally structure the company with three types of shares: A, B, and C. All three types of shares have the same market value. However, each A-class share has only one voting right. Each B-class share has six voting rights. And each C-class share has sixty voting rights..."

"What did you say?" Before Zhao Fusheng could finish, Chen Hai interrupted.

"I've made it very clear. In short, to avoid our shares being diluted in the future, we need to classify the shares we each hold from now on. For example, our family currently holds half the shares. If investment comes in later, it will definitely be diluted, and we might even be forced out. To prevent that, I think our family's shares could be designated as Class C shares. As for Uncle Chen and the others, if you can sign an agreement promising not to sell, your shares can also be converted to Class C. Otherwise, they can only exercise voting rights as Class B shares. As for incoming capital, they can only be ordinary Class A shares." Zhao Fusheng spoke at length, leaving Chen Hai and Hou Liangping completely bewildered. Even Zhao's father looked utterly confused, having no idea what his son was talking about.

How could they be involved in share matters before the business even started?

Seeing their expressions, Zhao Fusheng knew his words had hit the older generation hard. He wasn't in a hurry, so he sat there, picked up an apple, and began eating, giving his father, Chen Hai, and Hou Liangping ample time to digest.

In reality, he was making a mountain out of a molehill. After all, even most tech companies in later years only used a ten-to-one dual-class share structure. And now, a newly founded supermarket was planning a three-class structure. If any economist found out, they'd probably go crazy.

But Zhao Fusheng knew that even this structure carried risks and couldn't guarantee the entrepreneur absolute control over the company. During financing, equity would inevitably be diluted. Once the founder's shares were diluted to a critical point, if other shareholders united against the founder, it was still very possible for the founder to lose absolute control.

To put it more plainly, if any of his father's comrades developed second thoughts after the equity dilution, his family might end up working for someone else's benefit.

It wasn't that Zhao Fusheng didn't trust these uncles and elders. It was simply that none of them were alone; they all had families to support. It was fine to start a business together now, but when success came, someone might harbor different ideas.

In his previous life, Zhao Fusheng had encountered such a situation. He started a business with a good friend, but in the end, that friend schemed to swindle him out of all his assets.

If Tan Kaixuan hadn't stepped in then, Zhao Fusheng might have ended up in prison.

And that time, facing the friend cornered by Tan Kaixuan and himself, Zhao Fusheng said, "I understand you have your difficulties, and I respect the reasons you had to do what you did. It's okay, I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed."

After that, Zhao Fusheng gave up the idea of partnering with others in business and honestly returned to his hometown to work.

Because he knew very well that he wasn't cut out for business. Rather than forcing himself to muddle along outside, it was better to face reality early and live out the rest of his life quietly, to avoid causing any more trouble.

But the rebirth that happened ten years later was something Zhao Fusheng never expected. After all, fate often leaves people at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng was only making a suggestion. Whether his father and his comrades would accept it was up to them.

If they were willing to accept, they could cooperate and start the business together. If not, Zhao Fusheng didn't mind returning their money and having them bow out.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng had never imagined that his father could lease a whole floor of Hualian Commercial Building. If he had known earlier, he would have directly taken a loan from Future Advertising to support his father's business.

He might as well confess everything to his parents rather than end up parting on bad terms.

In his mind, as long as his father's comrades didn't try to stir up trouble, he didn't mind helping these veterans achieve common prosperity.