Chapter 0250: Preparing for a Rainy Day

Conversation is a science.

From a certain perspective, conversation is a branch of psychology, because when chatting, you need to analyze the other person's expressions, movements, and even their psychological state.

But we have to admit that speaking is truly an important science.

Of course, those who master this science are either swindlers, people in officialdom, or fraudsters.

And also, religious fanatics.

For example, if you listen to a pyramid scheme speech, you might think, 'This person's speech is full of holes, why are so many people willing to be deceived and listen to them?'

But if you truly immerse yourself in that setting and listen to the entire pyramid scheme lecture, you'll find that from the moment you enter the venue, you are enveloped by an atmosphere, and even when speaking, you unconsciously let yourself be guided by the speaker, going from initial disbelief to skepticism, and finally becoming one of them.

Smart people might snap out of it afterward, but those with slightly less sharp minds become completely addicted.

Zhao Fusheng had never been involved in pyramid schemes, but he had experienced far too many things. Those so-called motivational gurus always liked to use various theories to promote their success philosophies, which, in essence, was nothing more than manipulating people's minds.

'President Han, when a person is extremely hungry, as long as we have the ability, we must give them a bowl of rice, otherwise, who knows what they might do,' Zhao Fusheng said calmly. 'Building a hundred Hope Schools near Beijing might not earn as much gratitude as building ten schools in those impoverished mountain areas.'

This wasn't because Zhao Fusheng had any prejudice against the people of Beijing, but because he felt that compared to the capital, where any disturbance could be known by the higher-ups, children in remote mountainous areas needed more attention.

It was like the issue of education: parents in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, where a score of 400 could get into a key university, had the least right to speak.

After all, if you enjoy convenience, you should stay low-key. Enjoying benefits while flaunting your power is truly shameless.

Similarly, in his past life, when Zhao Fusheng read novels online, he couldn't afford to read legitimate copies due to his circumstances. Even if he wasn't satisfied with the plot, he wouldn't attack the author, because he knew the author wasn't making a penny from him. Eating a free meal and then cursing the cook—such behavior could only be described as shameless.

Han Bin remained silent. Although he didn't fully understand Zhao Fusheng's words, he knew that if he was a hundred times more experienced than Zhao Fusheng in business, then in matters of advertising planning, even a random idea from Zhao Fusheng would probably take him a while to figure out.

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Han Bin had understood this truth when he was a teenager, after being carried out of the sea by an unremarkable sailor on his father's ship.

That time, their ship was hijacked. If it hadn't been for that sailor, who was usually looked down upon but had been given some medicine by Han Bin when he had a fever, risking his life and dragging Han Bin through the sea for over two hours, he probably wouldn't have lived to see the sun today.

From then on, Han Bin learned one thing: never underestimate anyone.

'In that case, I'll send people out right away.' Han Bin paused and asked Zhao Fusheng, 'How much for the initial donation?'

Because this involved the promotion of Aipu phones, he asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment. 'Donate one million first, to build ten schools.'

He paused and said solemnly, 'Don't be afraid to spend money. Build the schools to be as solid as a fortress. Even if ten or twenty years later, when floods or earthquakes come, we must ensure that the teaching buildings stand firm. This is the quality that Aipu phones stand for. Our products can withstand drops, and the schools we donate are the same.'

Han Bin was momentarily stunned, then his expression changed. After a long while, he said seriously to Zhao Fusheng, 'Thank you, Planner Zhao.'

He wasn't stupid. What was Zhao Fusheng's purpose in doing this?

Was it just an advertising campaign? Just a promotion?

Probably not.

Han Bin knew well that his father's path to wealth wasn't entirely clean. That was why Han Pojun was eager to launder their reputation. Both he and his father understood that in China, it was impossible to remain in a gray area forever. The maritime business would eventually have to be abandoned.

Rather than being wiped out completely, it was better to clean up and go legitimate early. That was the main reason the Han family had ventured into real estate and the mobile phone industry.

And what Zhao Fusheng was doing now was undoubtedly helping the Han family build a charitable reputation.

In China, reputation could sometimes be an extremely useful protective talisman.

Zhao Fusheng didn't waste words with Han Bin. Some things, if the other party could understand, they would figure out on their own. If they couldn't, there was nothing he could do.

Having taken someone's money, he naturally had to plan for them. Zhao Fusheng had a strong sense of professional ethics.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Fusheng let out a long breath.

Some things, though uncertain whether they would happen, required preparation in advance. He hoped to save more lives.

As a time traveler, although he couldn't remember many things, he still vaguely recalled some major events that had occurred on Chinese soil. He wasn't a god, and he couldn't guarantee whether the fluttering of his small butterfly wings would affect the world's course.

But if, a few years later, that tragedy really happened, Zhao Fusheng hoped that the insignificant preparations he was making now could save more children's lives.

After all, in that tragedy, too many innocent children had lost their lives.

In fact, he had already considered it. Not only would Aipu phones do this, but in the future, as long as it was within his power, Zhao Fusheng would strive to build Hope Schools in places like Sichuan.

Whether it could change some people's destinies would depend on fate.

Back in the dormitory, Zhao Fusheng turned on his computer and downloaded an OICQ. According to Tan Kaixuan, this software had just appeared not long ago. Although the system sometimes had various issues, overall, it was quite good.

Zhao Fusheng searched online and found that this was an instant messaging software modeled after America's ICQ, meaning 'opening I seek you,' implying an open ICQ.

In early November, registered members had just exceeded sixty thousand.

'So it really is a penguin...' Zhao Fusheng muttered to himself with a smile as he looked at the rudimentary interface.

He was a veteran netizen, but even so, the QQ number he used in his past life was only eight digits. After all, in the early days of Tencent, due to insufficient promotion or perhaps because the internet wasn't well-developed, many netizens had the habit of applying for a new QQ number every time they went online.

Back then, Zhao Fusheng remembered clearly, occasionally you could still get a six-digit number online, and numbers ending in triple digits were common, but no one took it seriously.

Years later, people would joke that if you had applied for a batch of six-digit QQ numbers around 2000, even if you kept them for a few years, you could sell them for a good sum.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng didn't care about that now. He casually applied for a QQ number, glanced at the digits, and was quite satisfied: 663663.

He registered a nickname called 'Fusheng' and explored the interface. He found that OICQ at this time was really rudimentary. Apart from the user search function, all the other features he was familiar with in his past life, such as Qzone and membership, were absent.

But for netizens at the time, having a search function was enough.

After playing around for a while, Zhao Fusheng logged off. For someone like him, who was used to WeChat, OICQ was really boring.

In fact, in Zhao Fusheng's view, this thing had too many areas that needed improvement. He idly thought that if he ever had the chance to meet Ma Huateng, he would definitely give him some suggestions. Maybe if Ma was happy, he would give him some Tencent shares. Tsk, that would be truly unbeatable.

But thinking about it, he knew it was just a pipe dream. Such a big shot was not someone Zhao Fusheng could easily persuade at this point.