Chapter 0194: The Trap

One cannot have too high expectations in life, because the greater the expectation, the harder the disappointment.

This truth is not well understood by those born with a silver spoon in their mouths. After all, people who live a life of luxury do not know the feeling of having to work hard for everything they want.

You see, sometimes, even if you try your hardest, you may still end up with nothing.

The city of Ninghai was not really that big. After all, a city where it takes less than an hour by bus from east to west in the urban area could only be considered a fourth-tier city in China.

In Zhao Fusheng's words, it was a stagnant pool. The pace of life in the city was slow, and the consumption level was as low as the wage level. If coastal cities were striving to cross into the new century, then the people here were still living in the mid-1980s.

A few years ago, the city once held a basketball tournament, allegedly organized by the municipal government. At that time, the whole of Ninghai was stirred up. Zhao Fusheng's high school, where he was studying, even trained with great enthusiasm.

In the end, the over-forty-year-old secretary of the municipal party committee led his team to win the city championship, while the mayor took the title of one-on-one king.

From then on, no matter what activities were held, the citizens lost all interest.

Those familiar with Zhao Fusheng knew that once this guy set his mind on something, even nine oxen couldn't pull him back. He was completely the type who wouldn't shed a tear until seeing the coffin, and wouldn't turn back until hitting the wall.

From the very beginning of his rebirth until now, Zhao Fusheng had never thought about working for someone else.

Arriving at the meeting room of Future Advertising, Zheng Yao and Bai Jie were sitting there looking tired, along with Qin Wentao, Dong Chenxi, and Tang Yu, the deputy minister of the planning department.

"Where's Minister Li?" Zhao Fusheng glanced around, found no trace of Li Jianguo, and asked curiously.

"He has been dismissed," Zheng Yao said seriously.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged, surprised at Zheng Yao's speed of action, but not particularly shocked. After all, he had seen Zheng Yao's decisiveness before.

In a sense, Zheng Yao was actually more suited for business than Zhao Fusheng, because she was someone who could harden her heart at critical moments.

"Your proposal should be ready, right?" Zheng Yao said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded and tossed it to Dong Chenxi: "Let everyone have a look."

The proposal was only a preliminary plan; the specific details were not yet complete. After all, there was only one night's time. Fortunately, there were enough hands yesterday. A group of people worked through the night, initially setting up the framework and filling in some details.

After Dong Chenxi divided the proposal into several parts and showed them to everyone, Zhao Fusheng slowly said, "Yesterday I talked with Chairman Han of Aipu Mobile. He agreed to entrust the next year's advertising planning for Aipu Mobile to our company."

"Great!" Tang Yu, the deputy minister of the planning department, was overjoyed. Although he had already heard the news from Zheng Yao, hearing it from Zhao Fusheng at this moment made him even more excited.

Tang Yu was just over thirty, at a time when his career ambition was particularly strong. He had actually suspected the things Li Jianguo had done before, but without evidence and with Li as his direct superior, he could only be angry but not speak out. Now that Zheng Yao had set things right and brought such a big deal, how could he not be excited?

Zhao Fusheng smiled and looked at Zheng Yao: "The proposal is here. As for the rest, do I need to say more?"

Zheng Yao nodded: "I understand. Next, you will be responsible for refining this proposal. Minister Tang, contact the person in charge at Aipu Company immediately and sign the contract first. As for Liu Dehua and Zhou Feifei, Bai Jie, first contact Andy Lau. I want to meet Yue Yiling."

Bai Jie was sitting with Qin Wentao and nodded: "I know. But shouldn't we contact Wang Jinghua for Andy Lau's domestic agency contract?"

Zheng Yao shook her head: "Wang Jinghua is Zhou Feifei's agent. For this matter, we need to start with Andy Lau."

In the latest plan Zhao Fusheng submitted, the advertising endorsement fee was pressed extremely low, almost free. In terms of status, Zhou Feifei was far inferior to Liu Dehua, so she needed to first overcome the hurdle of Liu Dehua.

As for the advertisement itself, it was no longer that important now.

Zhao Fusheng watched Zheng Yao methodically assigning tasks to everyone, smiled, said nothing, and picked up the bottled water in front of him to drink.

"Hmm?"

Looking at the bottle in his hand, Zhao Fusheng suddenly thought of something: it seemed the drinking water market was still a blank slate. But then he quickly shook his head. Even if he knew, what could he do? Not to mention the low consumption level at the time, just the capital investment alone was something he couldn't afford. Equipment, factory construction, and even the water source—a series of things required a large upfront investment, which was simply impossible.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but sigh helplessly. In the end, it was still a lack of money.

If he had a hundred million in hand, Zhao Fusheng was confident he could double or even multiply that money tenfold within a few months.

But unfortunately, he didn't.

So Zhao Fusheng could only look at the ocean and sigh. He knew a ton of profitable projects in his mind but could only stare helplessly.

Unexpectedly, his sighing and head-shaking caught Zheng Yao's attention: "What? Is there something inappropriate about my arrangement?"

"Ah?" Zhao Fusheng looked up, bewildered: "What did you say?"

Zheng Yao swore that if it weren't for this guy securing the Aipu Mobile advertising campaign, she would have beaten Zhao Fusheng black and blue right now.

Fortunately, this wasn't at school, or Zhao Fusheng would really be done for.

To be daydreaming at such an important moment! Did he really think Teacher Zheng was a good-tempered little girl?

"I'm asking you, do you have any objections to my arrangement?" Zheng Yao said to Zhao Fusheng word by word.

If there were comic effects at this moment, the great Teacher Zheng would surely have three black lines on her forehead, and behind her would be a black-clad demon king wielding a scythe.

Zhao Fusheng touched his nose and smiled awkwardly: "No, no, I fully comply with Director Zheng's orders."

Are you kidding? It was said that you should never provoke a woman in a rage. Zhao Fusheng had learned this lesson thoroughly from Fan Baobao and his mother when he was a child, so no matter what, he dared not provoke Zheng Yao now.

Zheng Yao nodded with satisfaction: "Good. Then, regarding Wang Jinghua, you will handle the contact. Remember, the endorsement fee cannot exceed one million, and it's best if we only cover accommodation and travel expenses."

What?

Zhao Fusheng suddenly felt that he had fallen into a trap.