Chapter 2058 Things Change, People Change

Zhao Fusheng did not attend Marvel's board meeting.

To him, Kevin Feige's ultimate fate no longer mattered.

Once a professional manager loses the board's trust, the outcome is self-evident.

So Zhao Fusheng simply had Dong Chenxi attend the board meeting on his behalf, while he himself went shopping in New York.

After all, since he was out, he might as well bring back some gifts for the elders.

Besides, with so many friends and relatives, giving gifts was a way to show his appreciation.

But two days later, Zhao Fusheng received a call from Dong Chenxi and was stunned.

"What did you say? You didn't agree to the proposal to dismiss Kevin Feige?"

Zhao Fusheng held the phone, asking Dong Chenxi in surprise.

Just now, Dong Chenxi told him that she had rejected the Marvel board's decision to terminate Kevin Feige.

As the representative of the largest shareholder, Future Investment, she certainly had that authority.

"Yes."

Dong Chenxi said calmly, "I think that would be a loss for us."

"What happened?"

Zhao Fusheng was puzzled and asked in confusion.

He didn't quite understand what Dong Chenxi meant; this Kevin Feige had been about to contact Disney behind his back.

"As someone with no other options, we kept him, and we can also dismiss him, can't we?" Dong Chenxi explained frankly in response to Zhao Fusheng's confusion.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback and remained silent for a long time.

He had to admit that what Dong Chenxi said seemed very reasonable.

"I see."

After a long while, Zhao Fusheng finally spoke slowly.

Dong Chenxi laughed: "My work is done. I'm taking a week off to go shopping in Paris, so don't call me."

With that, she hung up the phone.

Leaving Zhao Fusheng completely bewildered.

It took a while before Zhao Fusheng realized she had said she was taking a vacation...

"This woman!"

Zhao Fusheng muttered to himself, his expression helpless.

To be honest, he owed a great deal to Dong Chenxi, Zheng Yao, and the others.

They had started their careers with him in their twenties, and yet to this day, they remained single.

Even dating had become a luxury; they could only occasionally take a break, a week off being their only free time.

The rest of the time, they were constantly helping him handle company matters.

In a sense, they were not like Kevin Feige, a professional manager.

After all, Kevin Feige was a professional manager, while Dong Chenxi and the others were first and foremost Zhao Fusheng's friends. This relationship meant that as long as they believed something was beneficial to Zhao Fusheng, they would do it.

Professional managers, to put it bluntly, will serve anyone who pays them.

Some say loyalty is only a matter of insufficient betrayal incentives.

This isn't absolute, but for those professional managers, it's not wrong.

Thus we often see top executives leave one company and quickly find new positions at another.

Because for them, they are not loyal to any individual in a company; they are only loyal to their own positions.

Just like Kevin Feige, who believed allying with Disney would benefit Marvel's future development, so he chose to cooperate with Disney.

But conversely, Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao were not like that.

Besides being professional managers, they were also close friends of Zhao Fusheng and his wife.

This meant that even if Zhao Fusheng were to leave this world one day, he could still entrust the company to Zheng Yao and the others, letting them help his heirs.

But if Marvel's major shareholders left, they would not trust Kevin Feige.

Of course, it wasn't even a matter of trust.

Because between them, it was purely a business transaction.

"Chairman, you..."

Seeing Zhao Fusheng standing there silent for a long time, Liu Yiming quickly walked over and asked with concern.

They were now on Fifth Avenue in New York, buying luxury goods.

Zhao Fusheng's sudden silence after taking a call startled the nearby salesperson.

If it weren't for the fact that this Easterner was followed by a large group of bodyguards, clearly of high status, they might have called the police.

Zhao Fusheng laughed and waved his hand: "It's nothing, nothing."

Then he said to Liu Yiming, "Pay up."

"Okay."

Liu Yiming quickly nodded and began to pay.

Shopping was just an interlude; with this incident, the matter at Marvel naturally came to an end.

Zhao Fusheng knew very well that the real highlight of his trip to the United States was yet to come.

He was going to Silicon Valley to meet Mark Zuckerberg.

...

...

"Zhao, my friend, long time no see."

When Zuckerberg met Zhao Fusheng, he was still very enthusiastic, as if reuniting with an old friend after many years.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and hugged him, then said, "Mark, I think you've gained weight?"

"Have I?"

Zuckerberg smiled: "Maybe it's because I haven't been exercising lately."

Everything seemed fine. It all appeared normal.

But.

Zhao Fusheng knew very well that Zuckerberg was putting on an act for him.

Because before coming, Zhao Fusheng had learned from the information gathered by Dong Chenxi and Liu Yiming's people that Zuckerberg had recently been frequently contacting some Wall Street investment tycoons.

Clearly, before Facebook's official IPO, Zuckerberg wanted to dilute shares further.

This guy was no longer the innocent Harvard boy he once was.

Now Zuckerberg was a complete businessman, with only interests and wealth in his eyes.

After all, it was a number that no one could ignore.

In short, people die for wealth, birds die for food.

Even if Mark Zuckerberg was once a pure-hearted teenager obsessed with programming.

Faced with tens of billions of dollars in profit, he simply couldn't maintain his composure.

How to maximize his own interests was what Mark Zuckerberg needed to consider.

"I'm sorry about Sean."

Zuckerberg said to Zhao Fusheng, "I never thought he would do such a thing in his own villa."

Just over a month ago, Facebook's CEO Sean Parker was arrested by the police for allegedly harboring marijuana at a party he hosted at his home.

Even after posting bail and leaving the police station, he had to resign as CEO to preserve Facebook's reputation.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't surprised at the time, only a little regretful, since in his previous life's history, Sean Parker had also lost his CEO position because of this incident.

This time, it should be due to historical inertia.

But after learning that Mark Zuckerberg had repeatedly contacted Wall Street financial groups, Zhao Fusheng suddenly realized that there might be some inside story he didn't know about.

According to the data, Sean Parker was quite satisfied with Facebook's current development; in his view, as long as Facebook continued to grow, it would inevitably become the absolute king in the internet social networking field.

But Mark Zuckerberg thought differently; his goal was to control Facebook to the greatest extent.

Thus, the two had serious disagreements on whether to continue introducing investment, even arguing several times.

And shortly after their most severe argument, Sean Parker's party ran into trouble.

No one knew the reason, but after much thought, Zhao Fusheng still couldn't understand why Sean Parker would do such a thing, especially after he had already sternly warned him.

Now it seemed the waters were deep.

Of course, in front of Zuckerberg, Zhao Fusheng still appeared very calm, politely exchanging pleasantries and amiably greeting the Facebook executives he had brought along.

As if he knew nothing.

At this moment, Zhao Fusheng gave off an impression of being harmless and endearing.

If those familiar with Zhao Fusheng back in China were here, they would tell Mark Zuckerberg that this was when Zhao Fusheng was most dangerous.

In Chinese terms, wearing one's anger and joy on one's face actually indicates a relatively simple person.

Only those who do not show their emotions are the most terrifying.

After some small talk, Zhao Fusheng and Zuckerberg had dinner together.

Of course, Zuckerberg's Chinese-American girlfriend also joined them.

Zhao Fusheng had met her before; after exchanging greetings, they got down to business.

Most of the time, it was Zuckerberg talking and Zhao Fusheng listening.

No matter how much he had changed, Zuckerberg was originally a programmer, and he understood computer technology better than anyone, so he could explain things more clearly to Zhao Fusheng.

"Zhao, I've always believed that internet social platforms can have more extensions."

Zuckerberg looked at Zhao Fusheng excitedly and said, "Whether it's multimedia or online payments, I think Facebook can develop even better."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded: "You're right, Mark. You are indeed the smartest one."

Although he disliked the hypocritical Zuckerberg before him, Zhao Fusheng knew very well that he was the most suitable person to lead Facebook. Even though Sean Parker was no longer Facebook's CEO, it wouldn't affect Facebook's development.

After all, the real control of Facebook had always been in the hands of this curly-haired man who wore a constant smile and seemed very likable.

"I knew you would agree with my ideas." Zuckerberg said excitedly.

His feelings toward Zhao Fusheng were complicated. Although this guy was an Easterner, Zuckerberg had to admit that at times, Zhao Fusheng understood his thoughts better than anyone around him.

Especially regarding Facebook's development strategy, Zhao Fusheng often resonated with him.

That was what mattered most to Zuckerberg.