Chapter 1987: Overturning the Table

After seeing Ye Jing off, Zhao Fusheng sat in his chair, rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and pressed the intercom on his desk.

"Gather information on the recent situation of Marvel and Disney."

Zhao Fusheng said.

"Yes, Chairman."

Liu Yiming nodded and immediately began delegating the task.

As Zhao Fusheng's secretary, he naturally didn't need to collect those materials himself; he only had to assign the task, and others would handle it.

Moreover, since it involved the latest developments of Marvel and Disney, it would require contacting the US side and Future Film and Television. Liu Yiming would take charge of coordination, compiling the gathered information and presenting it to Zhao Fusheng—that was the most appropriate approach.

If he were to collect it all himself, Zhao Fusheng probably wouldn't see the complete materials until next year.

In the age of information, the greatest advantage of advanced communication means was that many things didn't require personal presence to obtain.

When he got home from work, Fan Baobao, with her big belly, casually asked Zhao Fusheng, "I heard you want to take Future Film and Television public?"

"Even you know about it."

Zhao Fusheng looked helpless. "That's the idea—I plan to list Future Film and Television in Hong Kong. You can let the news slip and have Wang Qiang and Zhou Yun prepare to subscribe to internal shares."

This was considered an employee benefit; after all, these people had been with the company all along, so they deserved some perks.

Zhao Fusheng understood this well.

Although many of them didn't care, he still had to do what he should.

Of course, not everyone was eligible for this subscription agreement.

For example, Jiang Wen and Zhou Yun, Wang Qiang—these were people who would never leave the company no matter what happened to Future Film and Television, so they naturally qualified.

As for the rest, it depended on their loyalty to the company.

After all, once such internal shares went public, one could instantly transform from a millionaire to a billionaire.

To put it bluntly, it was like picking up free money.

"So that's why you canceled Liu Xiang's endorsement and gave it to Future Film and Television?"

Fan Baobao asked.

"Sort of."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded.

He could only say that; otherwise, explaining it to Fan Baobao would take a lot of effort.

Moreover, Zhao Fusheng felt she didn't need to know all this.

……

……

July 7th, clear skies.

Zhao Fusheng arrived at the company and was about to look at the materials Liu Yiming had given him when Zheng Yao called him.

"Chairman, there's something you need to come over for."

Zheng Yao was quite polite on the phone.

Frowning slightly, Zhao Fusheng nodded. "Okay."

For Zheng Yao to speak in that tone, it seemed there were outsiders present.

Putting down the phone, Zhao Fusheng said to Liu Yiming, "Yiming, find out who President Zheng is meeting."

"Okay."

Liu Yiming took out his phone, sent a few text messages, and quickly got a reply.

"It's people from the track and field team, several leaders from the General Administration of Sport, and reportedly a deputy director." Liu Yiming reported to Zhao Fusheng.

"Oh? Coming to demand an explanation?"

Zhao Fusheng sneered.

Since they were from the track and field team, it must be related to Liu Xiang.

But Zhao Fusheng hadn't expected these people to actually come looking for him.

"Let's go take a look."

Zhao Fusheng said to Liu Yiming after a moment's thought.

Although he could handle this without showing up, Zhao Fusheng felt it was better to see for himself.

Liu Yiming quickly followed behind Zhao Fusheng, and the two walked toward the meeting room.

Obviously, since Zheng Yao was meeting with people from the General Administration of Sport, it would be held in the meeting room.

Sure enough, when Zhao Fusheng and Liu Yiming arrived, the people in the meeting room were already talking.

"President Zheng, I think the General Administration of Sport needs a reasonable explanation for this matter."

An official-looking person was speaking to Zheng Yao.

"Yes, canceling Liu Xiang's endorsement out of the blue—do you know how much that affects our preparations for the Olympics?"

Another person said.

He seemed to be a leader from the track and field team.

"What you're doing is harming national honor!"

"Exactly, it's clearly undermining stability and unity!"

Labeling people was something certain individuals were very good at, especially bureaucrats.

Faced with these accusations, Zheng Yao maintained a faint smile on her face, seemingly unmoved.

"Chairman, we..."

Liu Yiming, standing beside Zhao Fusheng, had clearly heard their conversation. His face cold, he was about to enter with Zhao Fusheng.

But Zhao Fusheng waved his hand to stop him.

"Don't rush. Let's hear what President Zheng has to say."

Zhao Fusheng smiled.

Clearly, Zheng Yao was not someone easily dismissed.

Or rather, she was smarter than most people thought.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to lead the Future Group to where it was today.

If she were clueless or had poor resilience, she would have been crushed long ago.

Sure enough, Zheng Yao did not disappoint Zhao Fusheng.

"Dear leaders, I think you've misunderstood."

Zheng Yao smiled and said to them, "First of all, regarding our country's sports endeavors, the Future Group has always been very supportive. We have been backing sports projects that receive little attention. Based on this alone, I think the accusations of undermining stability and unity or harming national honor are untenable, don't you think?"

Everyone fell silent.

They knew very well that what Zheng Yao said was reasonable.

The Future Group invested tens of millions each year in supporting niche sports, which itself was support for sports. Their previous accusations were completely unfounded.

On this point alone, the Future Group's sponsorship of sports projects was not for fame or profit.

Seeing that they remained silent, Zheng Yao smiled and continued, "As for canceling Liu Xiang's endorsement, to be honest, I had no choice. After all, we are a large group. Many times, we have to consider not just individuals but the entire company."

"Huh?"

The group exchanged bewildered looks, clearly not understanding Zheng Yao's meaning.

Zheng Yao chuckled and was about to speak when Zhao Fusheng pushed the door open and walked in.

"Because it was my decision."

Zhao Fusheng's voice rang out in the meeting room. Everyone was startled and looked up at him.

"Chairman."

Zheng Yao also stood up, bowed slightly to Zhao Fusheng, and then introduced him to the group, "This is our Future Group's chairman, Mr. Zhao Fusheng."

"Director Chen, we meet again."

Zhao Fusheng's gaze swept over the leaders from the General Administration of Sport and finally settled on Director Chen. The two had met before.

"Hello, Chairman Zhao."

Director Chen looked a bit embarrassed but still nodded to Zhao Fusheng in greeting.

Looking at the group, Zhao Fusheng didn't even bother to hear their self-introductions. He said calmly, "I was the one who canceled Liu Xiang's endorsement. What, do you have objections?"

"Of course we have objections. I..."

Blah blah blah, it was the same speech again.

In short, the Future Group's current action had greatly affected Liu Xiang's preparations.

"Oh? Is Liu Xiang training to shoot commercials?"

Suddenly, Zhao Fusheng's not-so-loud voice rang out in the meeting room. He said bluntly, "Since when is an athlete's competition preparation affected by whether they have advertising endorsements?"

Since things had already come to this, he didn't care about burning bridges.

Besides, listening to these people talk just now had really angered him.

"I'm the boss of the Future Group. My film and television company is planning to go public, so I'm transferring endorsements from my advertising company to my own artists. Is there a problem? As for Liu Xiang? He's famous enough; he doesn't need these few endorsements."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand, not giving them a chance to speak. "We are businessmen; we only do what benefits us most. If you leaders think that not giving Liu Xiang endorsements is sabotaging the Olympics, then fine—let's call the media, hold a press conference. I'd like to hear exactly what the rules are here."

Then Zhao Fusheng glanced at Zheng Yao and said flatly, "President Zheng, notify the media now. Let these leaders repeat what they just said. If the media and the public also believe that not endorsing Liu Xiang is sabotaging Olympic preparations and letting down the nation, then fine—I'll pay up!"

Since these people didn't want to play nice, then no one would play.

Zhao Fusheng simply overturned the table!