Chapter 1990: A Reluctant Choice

Zhao Fusheng was quite satisfied with the grand display Liu Qiangdong had put on.

Just as everyone loves flattery, everyone also enjoys being treated with courtesy.

Zhao Fusheng was human too; although he didn't expect everyone to respect him, he was naturally pleased when someone gave him high treatment.

As for Liu Qiangdong's face?

Heh, was it important?

As long as Liu Qiangdong succeeded and Jingdong Mall grew bigger, people would only say that Liu Qiangdong was smart, knowing how to curry favor with his major shareholder.

"Chairman Zhao, President Dong, welcome both of you."

Liu Qiangdong, leading a group of Jingdong executives, welcomed Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi.

"Sorry for the intrusion, President Liu."

Dong Chenxi smiled and nodded at Liu Qiangdong.

As for Zhao Fusheng, he smiled at Liu Qiangdong and then began to look with interest at the management team behind Liu Qiangdong.

This was the foundation of Jingdong's rise; under Liu Qiangdong's leadership, this group had turned Jingdong from a small home appliance sales company into one of the e-commerce giants.

That was beyond doubt.

Speaking of which, behind every successful big shot, there is a group of loyal and capable subordinates.

Even Zhao Fusheng himself had a group of people gathered around him.

It had always been this way throughout history.

"Please come in, both of you."

Liu Qiangdong said to Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi.

Today he was determined to convince Zhao Fusheng no matter what.

Originally, he had been hesitating about how to move Future Investment and get Dong Chenxi to agree to his plan, but unexpectedly, Zhao Fusheng had also come.

In that case, as long as he convinced Zhao Fusheng, the chairman, he believed Dong Chenxi would surely agree.

After all, the boss was the one who truly made the decisions.

Liu Qiangdong understood this principle very well.

The group walked inside, with Liu Qiangdong personally leading the way. Zhao Fusheng walked shoulder to shoulder with him, while Dong Chenxi followed a little behind Zhao Fusheng.

Behind them were a group of Jingdong's mid-to-high-level managers.

……

……

Soon, after touring Jingdong, Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi were invited into Liu Qiangdong's office.

"The development is very good."

Zhao Fusheng nodded, sipping tea, and smiled at Liu Qiangdong.

This was his honest opinion. Although he had reservations about Mr. Liu's character, he recognized his business acumen.

"You flatter me."

Liu Qiangdong said modestly.

In front of others, he might have been able to be a bit proud.

But in front of Zhao Fusheng, he dared not have any hint of pride.

After all, his own start-up had relied to some extent on his ex-girlfriend's family connections in the ministry.

But the man before him had truly started from scratch.

More importantly, the wealth the other party now possessed could, without exaggeration, completely overshadow most so-called entrepreneurs in the country.

However, Zhao Fusheng was always low-key, so low-key that even his opponents didn't know exactly how much money he had.

But Liu Qiangdong knew very well that the Future Group was absolutely a behemoth.

Therefore, he had always been extremely respectful to Zhao Fusheng, because Liu Qiangdong knew that the other party could easily acquire his company if he wanted to.

Don't offend those you cannot afford to offend.

This was the most useful knowledge Liu Qiangdong had learned in college.

"I heard from Miss Dong that you plan to go head-to-head with Gome?"

Zhao Fusheng put down his teacup, looked at Liu Qiangdong, and smiled: "What, do you feel Jingdong's development has hit a bottleneck?"

"Yes."

Liu Qiangdong was quite candid in the face of Zhao Fusheng's question. He introduced the company's current situation and finally said: "I believe that home appliance sales in the internet field will see a leap forward. Gome is currently a giant in the domestic home appliance sales sector. If we can defeat them head-on, I think..."

Then he explained his plan.

The content was actually very simple, similar to the future development strategy of Jingdong that Zhao Fusheng knew, nothing new.

"Alright, I'll invest in you."

Zhao Fusheng's sudden remark stunned Liu Qiangdong.

Looking at Zhao Fusheng in surprise, Liu Qiangdong thought he had misheard.

"Chairman Zhao, you're not joking, are you?"

Liu Qiangdong said to Zhao Fusheng in astonishment.

He really hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to agree to his plan without hesitation.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled lightly and waved his hand: "But I have one condition."

"Please go ahead."

Liu Qiangdong quickly nodded.

Zhao Fusheng's saying this actually made him feel much more at ease.

In this world, there is no love without reason, nor hate without reason.

If Zhao Fusheng had agreed to his plan without any conditions, Liu Qiangdong would have been suspicious, wondering if Zhao Fusheng had some conspiracy against him.

But now that the other party had a condition, it actually put him at ease.

"The competition between Jingdong and Gome must be kept within a certain scope." Zhao Fusheng looked at Liu Qiangdong calmly and said evenly: "I hope Jingdong's target is Alibaba, not Gome."

He paused, looking at Liu Qiangdong with a half-smile: "Do you understand the difference?"

Liu Qiangdong frowned; of course he understood what Zhao Fusheng meant.

Zhao Fusheng was forcing him to make a choice.

With Alibaba as the target, Jingdong's main direction was the e-commerce industry; with Gome as the target, Jingdong's main direction was home appliance sales.

Zhao Fusheng had made it very clear.

If it was the former, I will fully support you; but if it was the latter, I'm sorry, I won't do that.

To be fair, if it were five years ago, Liu Qiangdong would have thought Zhao Fusheng's challenge was a joke, because at that time, the e-commerce industry was just emerging, while the home appliance sales industry had already proven itself.

Gome had started with home appliance sales, and Huang Guangyu had even become the richest man in China.

Although this richest man title was somewhat questionable, and many people disdained being on the list, you had to admit it proved the industry's potential.

Now, with Alibaba's listing and the progress Jingdong had made after its own transformation, Liu Qiangdong realized that the e-commerce industry might become the most profitable industry in China over the next decade.

Physical industries, including home appliance sales, would inevitably be impacted by e-commerce!

Under these circumstances, where should Jingdong go?

The choice Zhao Fusheng presented seemed not difficult to make at this moment.

Sitting there, Zhao Fusheng watched Liu Qiangdong, waiting for him to give his answer—an answer that would determine the future direction of Jingdong Mall.

……

……

On the way out of Jingdong, Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng and asked puzzledly: "Did you know in advance that Liu Qiangdong would choose that way?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled without speaking, looking very pleased with himself.

"Can't you just talk properly?"

Seeing Zhao Fusheng's expression, Dong Chenxi got anxious and glared at him: "If you keep being cryptic, I'll call Zheng Yao and we'll both take leave..."

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Zhao Fusheng was instantly speechless. What was wrong with this person? She was throwing sand while playing.

If Zheng Yao and Dong Chenxi both took leave, Zhao Fusheng, as chairman, would have to go to the company to handle those matters. For Zhao Fusheng, who was always lazy, that would be an extremely painful thing.

Zhao Fusheng would rather stay at home all day with his children and wife than spend every day in the group office handling business.

People have different aspirations; he was just not the type who liked to toil.

Zhao Fusheng was very satisfied with his current life. Except for the frequent leave requests from Zheng Yao and Dong Chenxi, his life was as good as it could get.

"So, tell me, what's going on?"

Dong Chenxi asked Zhao Fusheng triumphantly.

She was just making noise; the company had so many affairs, it couldn't possibly all be handled by Zhao Fusheng alone.

Besides, if it really came to that, she would be too irresponsible.

Zhao Fusheng had given Dong Chenxi five percent of Future Investment's shares. Only Dong Chenxi herself knew how much those five percent were worth now.

She just didn't want to appear in the media; otherwise, she would have long been the richest woman in China.

By the same token, Zheng Yao's net worth was also high, because she also owned shares in Future Advertising.

Basically, Zhao Fusheng's strategy was that whoever was responsible for a company got a small share of that company—not much, but definitely valuable.

After all, these people had followed him for so many years, contributing their efforts if not great achievements. Zhao Fusheng didn't want to be the kind of person who kicks away the ladder after climbing up.

Besides, that wasn't his nature.

"It's nothing really."

Zhao Fusheng said calmly: "Liu Qiangdong is just a smart man."

"You mean he had already decided to develop e-commerce?" Dong Chenxi thought for a moment; that was the only explanation.

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Exactly. Don't forget, a few years ago, he was already thinking about making a big move in e-commerce. The reason Jingdong has grown so fast is actually because he focused on e-commerce."

Then, Zhao Fusheng sneered: "Don't be fooled by his sweet talk about going all out against Gome. In fact, he just wants to seize the initiative in e-commerce for home appliance sales."

"That guy really is a fox!"

Dong Chenxi was silent for a moment before sincerely exclaiming.

This was true. Today, Liu Qiangdong had put on a very humble posture in front of them. Someone who didn't know might have thought he was the general manager of a subsidiary of the Future Group.

But in reality, he had already made up his mind to use Future Investment's money to develop and strengthen himself.

As expected, people who read too much are not reliable!