Chapter 1777: Making Things Difficult

"You really are..."

Back in the country, Zhao Fusheng met with Zheng Yao.

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked Zheng Yao.

"Why didn't you discuss the Pangu Bank matter with us?"

Zheng Yao looked helpless. Zhao Fusheng had done things like this more than once; it seemed he had a habit of making certain decisions on his own, occasionally causing trouble for her.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "It's not that serious, is it?"

"It's not."

Zheng Yao sighed: "The problem is, by doing this now, you've put Dong Chenxi in a tough spot, and me too. We still have to explain to Ma Xiaoyun and others..."

"Why explain?"

Zhao Fusheng wore an absurd expression, looking bewildered: "What's there to explain?"

"Huh?"

This time it was Zheng Yao's turn to look at Zhao Fusheng in confusion.

"You need to understand, we are shareholders, and Alibaba hasn't gone public yet." Zhao Fusheng looked at Zheng Yao and said slowly: "Why should I explain what I want to do or what I'm going to do to them?"

Then he sneered: "Don't think I don't know what they're thinking. Those guys are all hoping to become major shareholders, but unfortunately, I won't give them that chance."

"What do you mean?" Zheng Yao frowned slightly. Her intuition told her that Zhao Fusheng's purpose in doing this was definitely not as simple as it seemed.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, a cunning expression on his face: "Alibaba's shares will definitely be diluted after going public. Since that's the case, we might as well reduce our holdings appropriately now, exchange them for some cash, and then keep pledging the equity after the listing."

"You mean, exit?"

Zheng Yao looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise.

She hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to consider pledging equity.

Equity pledge, as the name suggests, means pledging the company's equity. 'Pledge' refers to offering as collateral. The object of the pledge is the company's equity. It refers to the act of using equity as a form of guarantee for a pledge.

Many people are unfamiliar with equity pledges. Generally speaking, for companies with high valuations—that is, companies in good operating condition—when shareholders need funds, they can use equity pledges as a guarantee to obtain credit from banks and other financial institutions. An equity pledge is essentially a form of guarantee. Due to the special nature of equity, it cannot be mortgaged, only pledged.

An equity pledge refers to a pledge established by the pledgor using the equity they own as the subject matter of the pledge.

In short, it is the act of a pledgor pledging their company's equity to obtain funds due to financial needs. If the debtor fails to repay the debt when it matures, the pledgee can obtain repayment by disposing of the pledged equity.

There was naturally no possibility of Zhao Fusheng being unable to repay, so Zheng Yao could only interpret this as him not intending to hold Alibaba shares long-term.

"It's not just exiting."

Zhao Fusheng said seriously: "All the shares in Future Investment will eventually be cashed out. Even if not all are sold off, I won't keep too many. I plan to retire completely by the time I'm thirty-five."

"Retire?"

Zheng Yao was stunned, staring at Zhao Fusheng in disbelief. She really hadn't expected that Zhao Fusheng, not yet thirty, was already thinking about retiring.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled but didn't explain much.

In his view, he had already made himself clear.

From the beginning, Zhao Fusheng's goal in making money was to provide a rich material life for his family and himself. With the shares he now held, after the company went public, around 2015, they would definitely reach a peak.

At that time, Zhao Fusheng planned to sell off the shares he needed to, keeping enough cash to do what he wanted.

As for the subsidiaries like Future Network in his hands, Zhao Fusheng felt he could also appropriately step back and let trusted people take over.

That was also why he agreed to the company going public.

Of course, this required a process; it couldn't be achieved overnight, and Zhao Fusheng didn't intend to do it that way.

...

……

After seeing off Zheng Yao, Zhao Fusheng relaxed at home with his daughter. Fan Bao was busy rehearsing at the People's Art Theater, and the child was left with Li Yuan. Apart from playing with his daughter and occasionally visiting the company, Zhao Fusheng found himself with nothing much to do.

The new house had a nice environment, and he liked it, but having nothing to do was not Zhao Fusheng's style.

So he went straight to Future Security, found Chen Zhen, and asked him to help with exercise.

Since Zhang Qian took over as head of the Supervision Department, Zhao Fusheng had been much more at ease. Unlike Dong Guoxiang, Zhang Qian was more meticulous and impartial; anyone he found with problems was dealt with severely.

At first, Zhang Qian was worried that his actions might cause internal backlash within the group, but Zhao Fusheng simply told him not to worry about anything and to investigate every case he found.

Zhao Fusheng understood this better than anyone.

As the saying goes, a thousand-mile dike collapses because of an ant hole. For any large company, the beginning of its decline from prosperity is due to various kinds of pests. For Zhao Fusheng, he could accept Future Group being acquired, but he absolutely could not tolerate it being eliminated by the market because of various pests.

Not only that, Zhao Fusheng even occasionally visited some of the company's projects himself and told Zhang Qian to deal with anyone involved, no matter who it was, strictly.

With Zhao Fusheng's support, Zhang Qian was like a fish in water and quickly changed the atmosphere within Future Group.

For a time, many internal problems in the group were resolved, and the atmosphere became upright.

"Chairman, you..."

Watching Zhao Fusheng struggling to lift dumbbells, Chen Zhen looked helpless.

"What's wrong?"

Panting heavily, Zhao Fusheng looked up and asked Chen Zhen, "Is this not right?"

"Of course not."

Chen Zhen shook his head and said to Zhao Fusheng, "Fitness isn't like this. And you can't just come whenever you feel like it today; you have to persist every day."

"I see..."

Zhao Fusheng blinked and finally understood.

Lifting iron was something that required persistence.

After thinking it over, Zhao Fusheng stopped.

"But the feeling of breaking a sweat is pretty good." Zhao Fusheng thought about it and decided to set up a gym at home, since there were spare rooms.

"Old Chen, arrange for someone to set up a gym at my place too."

Zhao Fusheng said to Chen Zhen.

Chen Zhen was taken aback but nodded: "Okay, I understand."

The two went to take a shower together and then went to Chen Zhen's office.

"Have a seat."

Zhao Fusheng took a sip of water casually, then asked Chen Zhen, "How is the company's business development? I haven't asked you about it before."

"Overall, it's okay."

Chen Zhen chose his words carefully and said to Zhao Fusheng, "But I think we might consider expanding our business scope. What do you think?"

Zhao Fusheng frowned: "Expand the business scope?"

Chen Zhen nodded: "Yes, currently most of our business comes from within the group, with very little external business. I think everyone's experience is now rich, and the management team is mature. It's time to expand our business."

Zhao Fusheng didn't speak. He understood what Chen Zhen meant. Future Security was originally established to ensure the safety of the company's senior management and artists.

As for its later development, Zhao Fusheng had never paid attention; it was just an idea at the beginning.

But now, unexpectedly, it was ready to expand into the market.

What to do?

Zhao Fusheng sat there, torn.

To be honest, he knew a little about other industries, but for the security industry, Zhao Fusheng's only impression was of those black-clad men in sunglasses.

That being the case, Zhao Fusheng felt he should seriously consider it.