Chapter 0334: A Beautiful Day

As it turned out, people who achieve success in a certain field all have their own exceptional qualities.

After Zhao Fusheng dangled the bait of a one-million investment, Boss Ma did not immediately agree. Instead, after a moment of silence, he told Zhao Fusheng that he needed to discuss the matter with his partners.

Zhao Fusheng agreed. When he hung up the phone, even though it was deep winter, he still broke out in a cold sweat on his back.

In that instant, after making the proposal, he himself was scared silly.

That's right, he had just blurted it out, or rather, said it on a dare.

The reason was simple: Zhao Fusheng knew very well how far that future penguin would develop, and he also knew that if he went to Shenzhen, he would most likely show his weakness in front of a professional like Boss Ma.

Although not all bosses understand technology, the problem was that he had previously given the impression of being someone who knew technology.

Once he showed weakness, the hard-won trust between them would be completely gone.

So, with no other choice, Zhao Fusheng could only seize the moment while they still had mutual goodwill and decisively propose to buy in. That way, even if he was rejected, he would at least leave a good impression in the other's mind, and maybe there would be a chance to cooperate again later.

Unlike Shengda Technology, which had flashed briefly and then faded away, this was the penguin, one of the three giants of BAT. Having the opportunity to become one of its shareholders, Zhao Fusheng simply couldn't resist the restlessness in his heart.

You see, a sense of achievement, to some extent, stems from a certain regret deep in one's heart. For example, someone who was very poor as a child would feel a great sense of achievement upon earning a million. Another example: someone who hoped as a child to find a beautiful female star as a girlfriend but ended up marrying an ordinary person would feel a great sense of achievement when one day they found they could sleep with that star.

Of course, after sleeping with her, they might feel it's actually not that big a deal.

It had been raining recently in Shenzhen. Although it was winter, because a typhoon had passed through some time ago, it had rained for a whole week, dampening everyone's mood.

Fortunately, the hot stock market made many people smile. After all, although the rally that started last summer lasted into autumn, the subsequent decline had still upset a lot of people.

Sitting in his office, Boss Ma felt a bit excited. He rubbed his head and took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Someone valuing the company at twenty million was undoubtedly good news for him.

But the problem was, the equity stake the other party demanded made Boss Ma hesitate.

With that in mind, he took out his phone and sent a group message to several partners, asking them to come to his office. This matter had to be discussed by everyone together.

Soon, all the partners arrived at Boss Ma's office.

"Old Ma, what's up? Why did you need all of us to come over?" Zhang Yadong asked curiously. As Boss Ma's best friend, he had considerable say in the company.

Boss Ma didn't beat around the bush. He explained Zhao Fusheng's proposal and finally said, "That's all he asked for—no dilution of his shares, nothing else."

"Five percent of the shares for one million." The group exchanged glances. After a long silence, Zhang Yadong spoke up: "This Fusheng, who exactly is he?"

Boss Ma explained Zhao Fusheng's situation, though of course he didn't mention how he had met him, only saying that this person was the founder of MyHome.

"MyHome?" Zhang Yadong was quite surprised. As seasoned netizens, everyone present naturally knew this largest domestic online virtual community, and had even registered accounts, but they hadn't expected that Boss Ma could contact the founder of MyHome.

"This guy understands technology and gave me a lot of useful advice. The earlier suggestions about the chat room and email came from him," Boss Ma said slowly.

The development of a company necessarily involves division of labor. Zhang Yadong was mainly responsible for technical matters, and he was the one with the most say.

Hearing Boss Ma's words, Zhang Yadong said in surprise, "Really? This guy is a talent. We could totally bring him in..."

Boss Ma looked at him helplessly: "He can run his own website and just made a pile in the stock market. Why would he join us?"

"Give him shares then. Each of us can contribute one percent," Li Qing, who was in charge of company promotion and publicity, spoke up. "MyHome has a huge user base, which will help our promotion."

The implication was naturally that this was a mutually beneficial arrangement. As for why Zhao Fusheng valued Penguin so highly, they couldn't quite figure it out.

Boss Ma nodded. Since both partners had said so, there was no hesitation left on this matter.

He was a smart man, well aware that the success of a business couldn't rely on one person alone. Everyone had things they could do, and not everyone could do everything well.

It was like sex: a woman can give birth, but no matter how many times a man does it, physiologically there will be no result—he could pass out from exhaustion and it still wouldn't work.

Although he also understood that Zhao Fusheng's high valuation was surely aimed at greater returns, he had no choice at this moment. He needed someone to join in and give confidence to himself and the other partners.

It was like a seemingly sweet candy, nine times out of ten packed with shells. For the sake of a promotion, a raise, marrying a fair maiden, and reaching the peak of life, Boss Ma had to grit his teeth and swallow Zhao Fusheng's sugar-coated bullet.

At that very moment, Zhao Fusheng was sitting in his hotel room watching TV, but in his mind he was pondering whether to call Boss Ma and ask about it.

If he thought the money wasn't enough, he could add a bit more. Gritting his teeth, Zhao Fusheng felt he could go up to two million.

That was Penguin, after all—five percent non-dilutable shares. After going public, he would truly become a winner in life, damn it.

Just then, the phone on the bedside table rang. Zhao Fusheng glanced at the number, his pupils contracted. He took a deep breath to calm himself, picked up the phone, and pressed the answer button: "Mr. Ma, hello."

"Brother Fusheng, sorry to keep you waiting," Boss Ma said very politely.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly: "You're too kind, Mr. Ma. How did your discussion go?" Earlier, Boss Ma had said he needed to discuss the matter with a few shareholders.

Boss Ma was silent for a few seconds, then said slowly, "We've reached a decision."

In that instant, Zhao Fusheng's heart leaped into his throat, afraid of hearing a rejection.

Fortunately, Boss Ma didn't waste words and said directly, "We agree to your investment. Welcome to our team!"

Yes!

Zhao Fusheng let out a silent shout and excitedly pumped his fist.