Chapter 1956 Report (Part 1)

Zhao Fusheng arrived at the Future Group headquarters by car.

Counting his trip to Xichuan, it had been half a month since Zhao Fusheng resumed work.

Naturally, the general managers of each subsidiary came to report to him.

First, there was a general meeting in the conference room, after which everyone clamored to speak with Zhao Fusheng about matters.

“Let’s start with the film and television company.”

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Fusheng singled out Ye Jing.

He had Liu Yiming take the others to the reception room to wait, while he first had Ye Jing enter his office.

“For the summer season, *Crazy Racer* is about to be released, and the promotional work is ready.” Ye Jing held a document and said to Zhao Fusheng, “Ning Hao has already contacted the actors, and they’ll give full cooperation.”

Zhao Fusheng nodded. “Good. Ning Hao is still someone we can rely on.”

That was the truth. At least from the perspective of a commercial film director, Ning Hao was the kind who delivered quality, quantity, and box office returns.

That was why Zhao Fusheng had gone to great lengths to keep him at Future Films back then.

For one simple reason: he could make money!

“Also, Xu Zheng is asking for an additional three million in the budget.” Ye Jing continued his report to Zhao Fusheng. “I’ve already approved it. He’s quite frugal when shooting.”

“Heh, that guy.”

Zhao Fusheng laughed. He had always had a mixed impression of the greasy, balding Xu Zheng. There was no helping it—the guy was too womanizing and quite unsavory in private.

But since his wife didn’t mind, Zhao Fusheng, as his boss, cared even less.

“Here’s what you do: send an accountant over to him later.” Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Ye Jing. “Also, tell him I don’t care what trouble he stirs up on set, but if his personal affairs affect my film, I’ll make him pay!”

Zhao Fusheng had heard about this from Fan Baobao. Wang Qiang once mentioned over dinner at Fan Baobao’s that Xu Zheng had a woman on the crew.

Such on-set couples were common in the entertainment industry and were private matters, so no one could say much.

Thus, Zhao Fusheng was just giving him a warning.

“Also, many directors from Hong Kong are coming to the mainland seeking cooperation. Should we…” Ye Jing asked Zhao Fusheng.

His meaning was simple: the decline of the Hong Kong film market was inevitable, so Future Films could take in some Hong Kong film industry workers.

“What would we do with them?”

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand. “No cooperation, no contact. If other companies want to use them, let them. We won’t.”

He had little goodwill toward that place.

In fact, he was rather pleased to see the decline of the Hong Kong and Taiwan film industries.

Especially the Hong Kong film industry, which peaked in the early 1990s, slipped slightly before the handover, and collapsed during the financial crisis.

In 1991, Hong Kong released four hundred films a year.

By 1998, that number had dropped to just one hundred.

In 2003, Zhao Fusheng’s *Infernal Affairs* gave the Hong Kong film market a brief回暖, but in recent years, the industry had entered a deep freeze.

And Zhao Fusheng was happy to be a bystander, witnessing this history.

Of course, if the opportunity arose, he wouldn’t mind kicking it while it was down.

The Hong Kong entertainment circle wasn’t entirely devoid of good people, but those who kept their hands clean were truly rare.

“Alright, I understand.”

Though he didn’t know why Zhao Fusheng was so averse to the Hong Kong entertainment scene, Ye Jing nodded in agreement.

He himself was indifferent to the matter.

After all, Ye Jing was one of the big shots in the Beijing circle. Over the years, wielding power at Future Films, he had become quite prominent. He preferred to see the domestic film industry thrive rather than rely on people from Hong Kong.

Co-productions sounded good, but everyone knew who really called the shots on set.

“Anything else?”

Zhao Fusheng asked Ye Jing.

Ye Jing shook his head, then recalled something and casually said, “About Liu Yiming’s sister’s matter, I’ve contacted Wang Changtian. He agreed, but he wants to meet you.”

“Fine, contact him and set a time.”

Zhao Fusheng nodded. After all, since he was poaching someone from him, he had to show some courtesy.

…

…

Ye Jing left. Next was Dong Chenxi.

“Tell me, what’s been happening lately?”

Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked Dong Chenxi.

“Overall, it’s fine.”

Dong Chenxi was more relaxed than Ye Jing. She said to Zhao Fusheng, “Facebook is developing smoothly. That Zuckerberg guy is a real genius. I suspect that after Facebook goes public, its market cap could exceed a hundred billion dollars.”

Zhao Fusheng smiled. “That’s normal. If he didn’t have that ability, do you think I would have sold Twitter back then instead of Facebook?”

“Come on.”

Dong Chenxi said irritably, “Twitter is doing well now too. I’m telling you, Lee Kun-hee definitely made a profit.”

“Maybe.”

Zhao Fusheng shrugged.

He couldn’t exactly tell Dong Chenxi that the people at Twitter, in terms of strategic vision and ability, were no match for Zuckerberg.

Though they claimed to follow in Facebook’s footsteps, Twitter’s eventual development wasn’t even worth a tenth of Facebook’s value.

“Anything else?”

“JD.com has been growing at an astonishing pace these past few months. That Liu Qiangdong guy seems crazy, expanding like mad.” Dong Chenxi said. “He’s already shouting the slogan of surpassing Alibaba within the company.”

“Heh, he’s an ambitious man. That’s normal.”

Zhao Fusheng nodded, unconcerned.

Liu Qiangdong, whether he liked green tea or matcha, was undeniably capable in business. Perhaps because of his background, he also liked to court fame, but that was personal morality, unrelated to business.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng could understand him.

People are like that: the poorer they are, the more they like to show off their wealth in front of friends; the more afraid they are, the more they like to make bold claims; the less aristocratic they are, the more they fear appearing uncultured—even eating soup too loudly feels embarrassing.

That’s inferiority.

What is inferiority?

Inferiority is feeling that one is lacking in some way. For an ordinary person, inferiority is just self-pity, because no one cares about them—whether they feel inferior or not, it’s the same. It could also be called self-awareness.

But when someone reaches Liu Qiangdong’s position, inferiority can lead to startling behavior.

That’s why he always stirs up something different from others.

Even knowing his company can’t surpass Alibaba, he still shouts that slogan. That mindset is definitely at play.

“Then…” Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng, clearly seeking his opinion.

“Don’t worry about him.”

Zhao Fusheng chuckled. “When he proposes financing, we’ll consider whether to reduce our stake.”

JD.com’s market cap was what it was. Zhao Fusheng couldn’t invest too much in it. Being a major shareholder was neither here nor there.

That was Zhao Fusheng’s true feeling now.

After all, with Alibaba already in his portfolio, JD.com had become a chicken rib—not worth much but a pity to discard. He had invested initially because he thought the company had potential.

Most importantly, back then, Zhao Fusheng hadn’t expected his wealth to grow so fast.

Yes.

Plans can’t keep up with changes.

Zhao Fusheng now deeply understood that.

“Alright.”

Dong Chenxi nodded, having no objection to Zhao Fusheng’s decision.

“Liang Jingyu sent word that Samsung and CJ are planning to jointly establish a film production company and have invited him to participate.” Dong Chenxi added.

Although Korea Star Investment was a subsidiary of Future Group, its major shareholder was Future Investment. For matters like this, they had to coordinate with Dong Chenxi first.

“Agree to them.”

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and slowly said, “But we won’t participate in management or operations. If needed, we can send a director to the board.”

He paused, then continued, “However, I hope the representative director of this company will be Ms. Lee Boo-jin. If it’s her, our voting rights can support her. Otherwise, I reserve the right.”

“Alright.”

Hearing Lee Boo-jin’s name, Dong Chenxi was slightly surprised. She gave Zhao Fusheng a curious look, then nodded and made a note.

Zhao Fusheng looked at her helplessly. “Don’t overthink it. Among the people I know, only this Miss Lee has decent management skills. As for the other Lees, heh…”

That was the truth. Whether it was Lee Jae-yong or the others, in Zhao Fusheng’s view, their management skills were mediocre.

As for Lee Meng-hee’s children, they were even worse. CJ had turned a royal flush into a losing hand. In his past-life memories, Lee Jae-hyun had even lost his chairman position.

Zhao Fusheng really didn’t trust those people much.

Anyway, that Samsung princess, though she liked cosmetic injections, you had to admit that in terms of both skill and demeanor, Lee Boo-jin was a suitable person to manage a company.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Fusheng naturally chose the most suitable person to support.

“Alright, I understand.”

Dong Chenxi, caught off guard by Zhao Fusheng’s exposure of her little thoughts, chuckled and didn’t mind. Then she asked, “Alibaba’s market cap has been rising. By my estimate, it’s about to peak.”

“Peak?”

Zhao Fusheng laughed but shook his head. “Don’t be so sure.”

He knew what Dong Chenxi meant. Alibaba’s stock price had recently stabilized. Based on market reaction, unless the company saw major growth, its market cap was basically at that level.

But Zhao Fusheng knew this was just the beginning.

Alibaba’s truly glorious days were still far from here.