Chapter 0421: The Arcade Problem

"Time is tight, and the task is heavy." Zhao Fusheng sat in the conference room, addressing the few future advertising management members who were privy to his identity.

"What do you mean?" a deputy director from the planning department asked curiously.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged and looked at Zheng Yao.

Zheng Yao was also confused, blinking to indicate she had no idea what was going on either.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly: "Come on, I'm about to start my internship..."

A few people burst out laughing, suddenly remembering that the person before them was only a junior in college, still a student.

Or more precisely, including Dong Chenxi, Qin Wentao, and Zhao Fusheng himself, many in Future Advertising were still students.

"If you're interning, why not just come to the company?" Qin Wentao frowned at Zhao Fusheng.

He naturally knew about the internship; in fact, he had chosen the company as his own internship site.

It was just a matter of getting a stamp, no big deal.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "That's not how I see it. I think it's better to get some experience at school."

He couldn't very well say he just wanted to make up for some regrets from his past life.

Seeing Zhao Fusheng's firm stance, Qin Wentao and the others had nothing more to say and fell silent.

After all, how to live was Zhao Fusheng's own business; outsiders had no right to judge or dictate how he should live.

"It's May now, and I have two months left." Zhao Fusheng sat there, looking at everyone: "In these two months, if there's anything you need me to do, just say the word, and I'll fully cooperate."

He had already discussed with Zheng Yao that before the summer break, he would put more effort into the company's plans.

In other words, he would personally step in to drive Future Advertising's development.

Zheng Yao naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

After all, for an advertising company to grow quickly, the only answer was to continuously produce satisfactory planning proposals.

More bluntly, they needed to make all advertisers understand that entrusting their ads to Future Advertising would boost their product sales.

For businessmen, as long as it brought profits, Future Advertising would become a sought-after entity.

Zhao Fusheng knew this well, which was why he said he would fully support the company before the summer break.

After staying at the company for a while, Zhao Fusheng didn't say much more and left.

He wasn't the type to enjoy sitting in an office anyway; as an ad planner, not a manager, what was the point of holing up in an office all day?

As for Zhao Fusheng's near-absentee behavior, Zheng Yao and the others chose to turn a blind eye.

After all, his office was usually closed most of the time, occasionally borrowed by Dong Chenxi, but otherwise empty.

Leaving the company, Zhao Fusheng didn't plan to stay in Binzhou. His purpose in coming was simply to give the staff some confidence and to meet with Zheng Yao to discuss future development plans, since some things were hard to explain over the phone.

Now that business was done, Zhao Fusheng naturally headed back.

He was used to staying in small places, and besides, he had no acquaintances in Binzhou, so staying was pointless.

...

...

After a six-hour train ride back to Ninghai, Zhao Fusheng received a call from Zhang Qian as soon as he got off, and he suddenly felt he had returned just in time.

"Business license?"

Sitting across from Zhang Qian, Zhao Fusheng asked in surprise.

Zhang Qian looked at Zhao Fusheng helplessly. Zhao Sihai and Li Kunlun were overseeing the renovation at the mall, while he and Qian Dongliu were running around for the arcade's permits, only to hit a snag at the Industry and Commerce Bureau.

"Yeah, they said it's an entertainment venue and needs careful review." Zhang Qian said helplessly to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng frowned. Arcades were indeed considered entertainment venues back then, and reviews were strict, but he hadn't expected it to be this strict.

"It's just a large video game hall. Isn't this a bit much?" Zhao Fusheng muttered to himself, rubbing his chin.

He felt something was off; after all, it was just opening a game hall, and the bureau shouldn't be putting up obstacles.

"I've prepared all the documents." Qian Dongliu interjected: "But they won't budge, just keep saying it needs review."

Zhao Fusheng's expression darkened. After a moment, he asked: "Did you give them anything?"

"Gifts?" Zhang Qian asked in surprise: "Why?"

Huh?

This time it was Zhao Fusheng's turn to be dumbfounded.

"You didn't give gifts?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Zhang Qian, then guessed the answer from the expressions on his and Qian Dongliu's faces.

"We're opening a legitimate business, why should we give gifts?" Qian Dongliu reacted the same way as Zhang Qian. Clearly, they thought that since they were doing honest business, there was no reason to bribe the bureau officials.

Sighing, Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly. He now truly felt it was foolish to have these guys around.

"Well, what you said is right, but the problem is, this isn't the time to argue about principles." Zhao Fusheng said helplessly to Zhang Qian and Qian Dongliu.

He admitted their words were perfectly fine—why should they need to bribe anyone for legitimate business?

But the issue was that this was how Chinese society worked, especially in the north, particularly in the Northeast. No matter what you did, especially business, if you didn't give gifts to the supervising authorities, they would really hold you up.

"I'm not giving gifts anyway. I'd rather spend that money on clothes for the kids at the home." Zhang Qian shook his head at Zhao Fusheng.

In his view, giving money to those people was like throwing meat buns to a dog—gone forever.

Zhao Fusheng sighed again. He finally realized what had been bothering him all along.

Zhang Qian and his comrades, including the kids from the welfare home, would certainly do their best for the arcade, but they were too naive, or rather, too straightforward. They didn't understand these social intricacies and resisted them from the heart.

Zhao Fusheng himself resisted too, because strictly speaking, demanding bribes wasn't right. But the social environment was what it was, and he had no good way to stay out of it.

With that thought, Zhao Fusheng said to Zhang Qian: "Forget it, I'll handle this. Probably just a couple of packs of cigarettes, and they won't make trouble for us anymore."

But would things really go as smoothly as he thought?