Chapter 0332: An Invitation That Must Be Refused

The meal was a pleasant one for both host and guests. When it came time to pay the bill, Zhao Fusheng glanced at the price and couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise.

Though he was an adult, Zhao Fusheng was certain that if he weren't treating someone, he would never come to a place like this to eat—it was practically robbery, wasn't it?

Seeing Zhao Fusheng's pained expression, Tan's father smiled and said, "What's the matter? Think it's expensive here?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded honestly. "Yeah, it really isn't cheap."

"Haha, this is a place for rich people anyway. We can only occasionally afford a mid-range restaurant," Zhao's father chuckled, patting Zhao Fusheng on the shoulder. "Uncle looks forward to the day you treat me to a meal. When that day comes, it has to be a feast, alright?"

"Okay."

Zhao Fusheng nodded and said with a smile.

Back then, there was no such thing as checking for drunk driving. Although Tan's father had drunk a bit, he still drove the family home.

They dropped Zhao Fusheng off first. Getting out of the car at the hotel, Zhao Fusheng said to Tan's father, "Uncle, since you've been drinking, try to drive slowly, or better yet, don't drive at all."

Tan's father was taken aback, then nodded. "Alright, I understand."

Watching the Tan Kaixuan family drive away, Zhao Fusheng turned and went back into the hotel.

The next morning, Tan Kaixuan came charging over, as he put it, to split the spoils.

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes helplessly, at a loss for words regarding this guy's way with language.

But he wasn't wrong about one thing: this time, he and Zhao Fusheng had made a killing.

The two of them had invested a total of a million, and by the time they cashed out, it had turned into over two million six hundred thousand. At that ratio, Tan Kaixuan would get over seven hundred thousand, while Zhao Fusheng's share became over one million eight hundred thousand.

"Old Zhao, shouldn't we do something else?" Coming out of the bank, Tan Kaixuan blinked and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "I don't know what to do. At this time, pretty much anything carries some risk."

That was the truth. The internet bubble was about to burst, and this seemingly thriving industry was about to enter a harsh winter. E-commerce was nothing but a money pit. Zhao Fusheng really didn't know which field to go into; it seemed no timing was quite right for anything.

"Forget it, I'll think it over," Zhao Fusheng shook his head and said to Tan Kaixuan.

Seeing his troubled expression, Tan Kaixuan knew Zhao Fusheng wasn't lying. He nodded, but his mind was already mulling over other things.

After grabbing a bite with Tan Kaixuan outside, Zhao Fusheng originally planned to go shopping on Nanjing Road or in Xujiahui, but thinking about his next stop, he simply abandoned the idea. There would be plenty of chances to come to Shanghai in the future; there was no need to lug around a bunch of stuff.

There was no computer in the hotel room. After agonizing for a while, Zhao Fusheng finally went downstairs and asked the front desk, learning there was an internet café nearby. He went to the café, rented a machine, and logged into his account.

There were quite a few people in the café, most playing single-player games, some browsing forums. Zhao Fusheng even saw someone playing MyHome and someone using wo123 to surf the web.

This gave him a peculiar sense of accomplishment—this was the world he had changed.

People are always like this: occasionally accomplishing something can bring comfort and satisfaction to the soul, achieving spiritual healing.

Looking at those young people sitting in front of computers with serious expressions, Zhao Fusheng revealed a faint smile, wondering how many of them would end up in the internet industry many years later.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, his generation, perhaps due to age and era, burdened with heavy responsibilities, had to work desperately to earn money and support their families, while the generation growing up in the first decade of the millennium, perhaps because of too much happiness, often felt that they had everything but seemed unhappy.

Youth, time, material possessions, status, more choices, a more convenient life... They had plenty, yet often wore worried expressions and were melancholy.

They cared more about reality, about the present moment, not knowing what they were striving for. Even if they achieved nothing, they were too lazy to seek the meaning of progress, moving forward toward realistic goals.

Even Zhao Fusheng himself had thought: what is the meaning of struggle?

Facts prove that the meaning of struggle lies in fulfilling one's dreams, achieving goals, and making those around you happy.

Just like now, although Zhao Fusheng didn't know if Tan Kaixuan would continue to投身 the financial market, at least when Tan Kaixuan first entered the stock industry, he learned the principle of knowing when to quit.

Moreover, Zhao Fusheng placed another option before Tan Kaixuan. As for which path he would take, that depended on Tan Kaixuan's own choice.

And now, looking at the name Pony on the computer screen, Zhao Fusheng's expression was very conflicted.

"If you have time, I hope you can come to Shenzhen so we can discuss in person."

This was the message Pony left for Zhao Fusheng, along with his phone number.

At that moment, Zhao Fusheng's heart felt like ten thousand grass-mud-horse monsters were galloping past. Had he just obtained the legendary Boss Ma's phone number?

Although this deviated somewhat from his plan, he still felt a sense of excitement, after all, that was one of the three giants of the internet, a big shot that countless people looked up to.

And now, he was inviting Zhao Fusheng to go to the company headquarters in Shenzhen to discuss great plans.

At this moment, Zhao Fusheng's heart was immensely satisfied.

He finally understood why the protagonists in many novels were so determined to defeat the three giants. The reason was simple: the satisfaction of that sense of achievement was really exhilarating.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Fusheng took out his phone, recorded the phone number, and then chose to pay and log off.

Boss Ma's invitation disrupted his previous plan. Originally, Zhao Fusheng had intended to go to Shenzhen himself, but now it seemed that if he went, he would most likely be recruited by Boss Ma.

And for Zhao Fusheng, he didn't want to join Tencent.

Not to mention that being someone else's employee wasn't great, the problem was that Zhao Fusheng knew his own abilities well. All his suggestions about Tencent's development were based on foreknowledge.

In other words, if it came to specific technical details, a few words from Boss Ma would expose his bluff.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng felt it was better to develop steadily. Going to Shenzhen was not the best option.

But if he didn't go to Shenzhen, how could he get a piece of the pie from Boss Ma?

Zhao Fusheng scratched his head and fell into deep thought.

Seeing a huge cake right in front of him, not taking a bite would be really hard to bear.