Chapter 0670: Cunning, Cunning

Generally speaking, if we don't want to answer someone's call, we usually put the phone on silent. If we can't avoid it and the surroundings are inconvenient, we pick up and politely say, 'Hello, who are you looking for?' even though the caller ID clearly shows who it is.

Conversely, if there aren't that many complications, we usually answer directly with, 'This is so-and-so, what's up?'

As for Zhao Fusheng's current situation, he could only smile apologetically at his mother and Li Yuan, then step out the door.

While going downstairs, Zhao Fusheng pressed the answer button.

'President Chen, long time no see,' Zhao Fusheng said with a polite smile.

Chen Tianqiao's voice on the other end sounded weary. He replied, 'Mr. Zhao, indeed it's been a while.'

In fact, the two had not been in touch for a long time. Ever since selling MyHome to Chen Tianqiao and receiving ten percent of Shanda's shares from him, Zhao Fusheng rarely contacted Chen Tianqiao.

It wasn't that Zhao Fusheng looked down on him or anything; mainly, Zhao Fusheng believed that a big shot like him had his own development trajectory. To put it bluntly, this man was destined to become the richest man in the future. If, because of him, Chen Tianqiao's fate changed, wouldn't that be a huge loss?

That's right, Zhao Fusheng firmly believed that if Chen Tianqiao didn't become the richest man, his ten percent of Shanda's shares would lose their meaning, and naturally, that would be a huge loss.

'How have you been lately, President Chen?' Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked.

In fact, he knew very well that Chen Tianqiao's recent days must have been extremely tough—'each day feels like a year' was not an exaggeration.

The reason was simple: after the burst of the internet bubble, the entire internet industry was now in a winter. Various small companies were closing down every day. The most obvious example was that the advertisements on Zhao Fusheng's navigation webpage had decreased significantly.

To be fair, if he weren't a time traveler, Zhao Fusheng asked himself honestly: under such circumstances, even he wouldn't have much confidence in the internet. There was no helping it, because almost everyone around him was badmouthing the internet.

And at this time, Chen Tianqiao was still persevering. It showed that some people's success actually had inevitable reasons.

'Mr. Zhao, why play dumb? You should know the current state of the internet better than I do,' Chen Tianqiao said with a bitter smile.

Strangely enough, Chen Tianwen and Zhao Fusheng had dealt with each other earlier, but Zhao Fusheng could never become a true collaborator with him; there always seemed to be a barrier between them.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng felt that although Boss Ma sometimes complained about him, Zhao Fusheng would rather call Boss Ma for help than bother Chen Tianqiao.

Thinking carefully, it was probably because Boss Ma came from a technical background, unlike Chen Tianqiao, who was a pure businessman.

In a businessman's eyes, profit is above all else, while in a tech geek's eyes, there is still some room for human feelings. Of course, this was only for now. In a few years, when Boss Ma realized what the penguin in his hands meant, he wouldn't be so easy to deal with.

Or rather, by then, he would have completed the transformation from a technician to a businessman.

'President Chen, don't lose heart. The prospects for the internet are still good. Difficulties are only temporary,' Zhao Fusheng said, seeing Chen Tianqiao somewhat dejected.

As he said this, he felt a little smug inside. After all, a future internet tycoon was seeking comfort from him—that feeling was indeed secretly satisfying.

'I know. Have you considered continuing to invest?' Chen Tianqiao suddenly said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then laughed: 'What, President Chen, are you planning to sell your shares?'

'Haha, well, I didn't mean that. I was just asking if you've considered continuing to invest in our Shanda Technology,' Chen Tianqiao said with a laugh, directly changing the subject.

No way—he valued his shares more than his life; how could he easily give them up?

Zhao Fusheng smiled lightly: 'If President Chen is willing to sell your shares, I might invest a bit more money.'

He wasn't stupid. Injecting capital into Chen Tianqiao for no reason—did Chen think Zhao Fusheng was crazy?

Both had played their mind games, so naturally, the topic ended there.

'President Chen, is there something else for calling today?' Zhao Fusheng chatted aimlessly with Chen Tianqiao for a while, then asked with a smile.

Anyway, Chen Tianqiao wouldn't call him for no reason. If there was nothing, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.

Chen Tianqiao was silent for a moment, then nodded: 'There is indeed something. I wonder if you have time to come to Shanghai recently. Let's meet and talk.'

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback. He hadn't expected Chen Tianqiao to actually have something to discuss, and to the extent that they needed to meet in person.

In his memory, Shanda was going through a very difficult period at this time.

Zhao Fusheng had read a magazine interview about Chen Tianqiao, which said that after the internet bubble burst, the large investment Shanda received from China.com was depleted at a visible rate within half a year.

In the end, Chen Tianqiao used his last $300,000 to obtain the agency rights for the game 'The Legend of Mir 2' from the Koreans, thereby turning things around and escaping death.

So Zhao Fusheng knew very well that Chen Tianqiao was not as relaxed as he appeared.

'As for meeting, how about some other time? I'm flying to Beijing in the next few days and won't have time for now.' Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and didn't immediately agree to Chen Tianqiao, but refused him.

In business, although it's said that opportunity knocks but once, the problem was that Zhao Fusheng knew Chen Tianqiao was in trouble. If he didn't keep him hanging and showed too much enthusiasm, he might end up being led by the nose.

At any time, once you let the other party take the initiative in business, the outcome is bound to be bad.

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Chen Tianqiao was clearly disappointed. After hesitating for a moment, he said, 'If it's convenient, I'll go to Beijing to see you. We can talk face to face, how about that?'

'Hmm...' Zhao Fusheng hesitated.

But inside, he was already overjoyed. It seemed that the future richest man Chen was really in trouble; otherwise, he wouldn't be so eager to discuss the company's development with him.

After all, apart from Zhao Fusheng, Shanda's equity was held by Chen Tianqiao himself. In other words, 'The Legend of Mir 2' was indeed about to appear!