Chapter 0691: Coming to the Door

Han Bin found Zhao Fusheng strange; in fact, there was someone even more puzzled than him.

Ma Qianli looked at Hou Liangping in front of him with confusion and a strange expression: "Old Hou, what do you mean by that? Who is that kid named Zhao Fusheng?"

He had been confidently preparing to acquire Wanda Commercial Plaza, when this Hou Liangping suddenly came running over to tell him to be careful because that young man named Zhao Fusheng had returned, which left Ma Qianli feeling somewhat bewildered.

Since when did he, Ma Qianli, need to care about a young man in his twenties?

Having navigated both the legitimate and underworld circles in Ninghai for years, Ma Qianli could claim to have some influence even with many of the higher-ups, yet according to Hou Liangping, he was supposed to be wary of this young man named Zhao Fusheng—of course he found it strange.

"Boss Ma, Zhao Fusheng is Old Zhao's son. It was his idea to start the shopping mall project in the first place," Hou Liangping said with a wry smile. He knew his claim might sound absurd to Ma Qianli, but the moment he heard that Zhao Fusheng had returned from Beijing, he knew this deal would not be easy to pull off. After all, Zhao Fusheng had left too deep an impression on him before—whether it was the initial strategy or the subsequent planning, especially the suggestion about equity division. In fact, if Old Zhao had followed Zhao Fusheng's plan for equity allocation, today's situation would never have arisen.

"Oh?" Ma Qianli was taken aback. In fact, deep down, he had a lot of admiration for this Wanda Commercial Plaza; at the very least, the entire mall's business philosophy left him quite impressed.

When it first opened, Ma Qianli had even told his subordinates that the project's planner had a keen economic mind.

But he never expected it to be the work of a twenty-year-old.

Lighting a cigarette, Ma Qianli fell into thought. He understood what Hou Liangping meant: this Zhao Fusheng was likely playing the role of an advisor in the Zhao family.

In other words, the real highlight was yet to come.

...

...

"I reckon Ma Qianli is with your Uncle Hou by now." In the mall's office, Zhao's father looked at Zhao Fusheng with a worried expression.

His son said he went to the mall with a friend, but in the end only he himself showed up at the office; the so-called friend had vanished without a trace. Old Man Zhao didn't press further and instead started talking about Ma Qianli.

"It's fine. Since I'm back, I'm sure they'll find out anyway," Zhao Fusheng said indifferently.

He hadn't taken this matter to heart at all. He had never intended to hide his return. At this point, he was only one step away from an outright confrontation, so rather than being evasive, it was better to be straightforward.

Moreover, this was hardly some earth-shattering secret. Zhao Fusheng was actually looking forward to having a good showdown with that Chairman Ma Qianli.

"Then, should we look into Ma Qianli's background?" Old Man Zhao hesitated and asked Zhao Fusheng.

After all, Ma Qianli's background wasn't clean—he had washed his hands of his underworld ties. Though times had changed, a thorough investigation might turn up something useful.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "No need, Dad. Since he hasn't used any official connections, we don't need to dig up his old dirt. Everyone has their privacy."

In fact, he had another thought he didn't voice: if they really dug deep, Dad's own rise to power wasn't without its dark history.

Business competition was brutal. Ma Qianli was smart enough to know that neither he nor Old Man Zhao had clean records. If they exposed each other, it would be mutual destruction with no benefit to anyone, so he had wisely confined the fight to commercial tactics.

Doing what Dad suggested would be like opening Pandora's box. Slinging mud at each other would leave neither side with a clean reputation, and in the end, no matter who won, the result would be the same.

For businessmen, unless it was a life-or-death situation, who would really want to burn bridges?

Zhao Fusheng was actually grateful that the internet wasn't very advanced yet. When it did become advanced, privacy breaches would be common. People would rage about their own privacy being violated while fantasizing that if they could peek into others' privacy, they would either become the greatest cybercriminal in history or a chivalrous hacker who punished evil and promoted good.

They completely forgot that they had no right to access others' privacy.

But in this era, at least, Zhao Fusheng didn't have to worry about anyone waging so-called cyberbullying campaigns online.

"Alright then. So what do you plan to do?" Old Man Zhao asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng said, "I want to go see Ma Qianli."

No matter what, since he was an opponent, he had to meet him first.

Father Zhao thought for a moment, then shook his head: "No, it's meaningless for you to see him. You..."

In his view, his son was too young and had no deterrent power at all in front of that Ma.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly: "Dad, you don't understand. I'm actually going to spy on the enemy. Since we're going to compete with him in business tactics, we have to at least find out what price he's offering."

Father Zhao was silent. He increasingly felt that he couldn't fathom what his son was thinking.

Zhao Fusheng didn't explain further to his father. Some things couldn't be clarified in a few words. In fact, he also wanted to see what kind of person Ma Qianli really was.

As it turned out, there were still many smart people in this world.

Just as the Zhao father and son were chatting in the office, Ma Qianli's figure appeared at the entrance of Wanda Mall.

"Old Zhao, Ma Qianli is here."

Chen Hai pushed open the door to Father Zhao's office and said to him with a grim face.

"They say haste makes waste. This Boss Ma seems a bit too impatient." Zhao Fusheng chuckled lightly.

"Fusheng, you're not an outsider, so I won't beat around the bush. This matter is not as simple as you think." Chen Hai glanced at Zhao Fusheng, knowing that Father Zhao must have told him the situation, and didn't mince words. He said solemnly, "Your Uncle Hou and the others don't have any ill intentions. They just feel they've earned enough money and don't need to take any more risks. In their view, that Ma is rich. If he acquires our mall, everyone can take a sum of money and live their own lives—it's a very good deal."

Zhao Fusheng nodded. He wasn't surprised by Chen Hai's words, because his father had already told him about this.

Not everyone is bent on expanding their business and making it bigger and stronger.

It was the same choice that Wang Zhen's parents had made back then.

In other words, without the advantage of foresight, even Zhao Fusheng himself, faced with such an opportunity, would probably make the same choice as them.

After all, investing a few tens of thousands and getting back millions in less than two years—anyone would have to think it over carefully.

People are selfish creatures. The goal of doing business is to make money, and the purpose of making money is to improve one's own life. Now that the goal has been achieved, how many people would still think about doing something big?

It's often said that one's position determines one's vision. This saying holds a lot of truth. Why is it hard for the underprivileged to produce outstanding talents? To a large extent, it's not only because of external environmental influences, but also because children from humble backgrounds have a narrower perspective and vision compared to those who have received elite education since childhood.

Just like Father Zhao's comrades-in-arms. In their view, the mall was basically at a standstill now. Rather than taking risks to continue participating in the business, it was better to sell their shares to Ma Qianli while the mall was still valuable and pocket the money.

As for Father Zhao and Chen Hai's insistence, they saw it as being blinded by power.

In fact, even Father Zhao and Chen Hai themselves didn't believe that Zhao Fusheng could revive a building that was on the verge of collapse. In Chen Hai's view, the reason Father Zhao supported Zhao Fusheng in handling this matter was merely to save face. It was like two masters playing chess; when the endgame approached, they realized their dragon had already been slaughtered. To avoid losing face, they simply let their apprentice take over. Even if they lost, it wouldn't be too shameful.

But Zhao Fusheng didn't think that way. In his eyes, since Ma Qianli dared to reach out, he couldn't blame him for using him as a sacrificial victim. To kill the chicken to scare the monkey, you had to find a chicken.

And in Zhao Fusheng's eyes, Ma Qianli was that struggling chicken.

"Uncle Chen, don't worry. I know my limits." Zhao Fusheng glanced at Chen Hai and then at his own father. He knew they were both uncertain. Although he now held the majority of shares, the problem was that most of the mall's departments were in the hands of Hou Liangping and the others.

In other words, because his father and Chen Hai had diverted a lot of funds from the mall to develop the Qiulin Company plaza, focusing all their energy there, they had actually neglected the trouble brewing in their own backyard.

By the time they noticed, the other side was already forcing a showdown.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, this was a very naive performance. After all, no businessman should make such a mistake of looking after the front while neglecting the rear. It was like handing your back to others. If you met someone with morals and principles, it was fine. But if you met a scumbag without底线, they would definitely stab you in the back.

Moreover, the marketplace is like a battlefield. Although you shouldn't have the intention to harm others, you absolutely cannot lack the heart to guard against them.

Zhao Fusheng also hoped that his father could grow through this incident and truly understand the essence of business. After all, he wasn't a god; he couldn't always be sure to help him clean up the mess.