Chapter 0840: Spring Festival Approaches

Venture capital, as the name implies, tests the investor's vision and the entrepreneur's ability.

Capital has always been the most despicable; when things are going well, it adds icing on the cake, but if you fail, those who kick you when you're down definitely include these capitalists.

That's why Zhao Fusheng advised Chen Tianqiao not to easily seek financing or give up his dominant position.

More importantly, he must clearly recognize the value of the company in his hands.

No one knows better than Zhao Fusheng how valuable Shengda will be in the future. If Zhao Fusheng didn't know that Chen Tianqiao would fade out of the industry circle ten years later, he actually wouldn't plan to sell his Shengda shares after the listing.

But there's no way around it; economics and politics have never been separate. A businessman who takes the wrong side must inevitably give up something.

This is actually the essence of life.

Because life is nothing but a combination of contradictions and choices, unrelated to right or wrong, only whether we have the courage to make a choice amidst contradictions and bravely bear all the consequences.

After all, nothing is difficult in the world if you're willing to give up. Once this busy spell is over, well, we can continue with the next busy spell.

With the popularity of the game "Legend," cheating software became rampant. As the first studio to sell cheats, Zhao Fusheng netted 40,000 yuan in one month after deducting shares for others.

In other words, just from the cheating software, the monthly income was actually nearly 100,000 yuan.

“Aren't we selling too many?” Dong Guoxiang, who never expected such high profits, asked Zhang Qian.

Zhang Qian had already discussed this issue with Zhao Fusheng and said calmly, “This is just the beginning. The game will become more and more popular. As long as our cheats maintain a technological edge, profits will keep increasing, but the risks will also grow. That's why Fusheng said we'll only do it for one year.”

“And after one year?” Dong Guoxiang frowned and asked in confusion.

His question represented not only himself but also the programmers he managed. After all, now that everyone had tasted the sweetness, few would be willing to give it up easily.

People are like that; the pursuit of profit has existed since ancient times. The discussion in "Das Kapital" about capital's mad chase for profit is actually conservative, because in Zhao Fusheng's view, even a 50% profit would drive some people crazy.

It's like betting on football: clearly, with 100 yuan you can only win 50, and if you lose, you lose the whole 100. Yet people still bet their entire fortunes on super-strong teams, thinking they'll surely make money. But when an upset happens, the rooftops start filling up like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

It's not that this is wrong, but sometimes people should leave themselves a way out.

Zhao Fusheng understood this truth, but many people might not.

For example, Dong Guoxiang.

He couldn't understand why they would give up money that was right in front of them and only do it for one year.

Although Zhang Qian also didn't understand what Zhao Fusheng was thinking, he had one smart trait: he was very obedient. He did whatever Zhao Fusheng told him to do, even if he didn't quite understand it, he would still carry it out.

Perhaps that was a habit cultivated in the military.

Hearing Dong Guoxiang's question, Zhang Qian looked at him and said seriously, “Fusheng said that after one year, we will transform and stop doing this gray business. So you manage your people well. Those who want to stay can stay; if they don't want to, they can leave now.”

Dong Guoxiang was startled, completely unprepared for such words from the usually lenient Zhao Fusheng. Although it was relayed through Zhang Qian, Dong Guoxiang knew very well that after knowing each other for so long, Zhao Fusheng always meant what he said.

With that in mind, he nodded: “I know what to do.”

In the end, Dong Guoxiang was Zhao Fusheng's man. Since Zhao Fusheng had made a decision, he naturally had to follow it. As for whether the people below understood, well, since when did bosses need to care about their subordinates' opinions?

Do you really think bosses are like the domineering CEOs in Korean dramas, always seeking others' opinions? Come on, they just like their female secretaries, not men.

At any time, don't question what the boss decides. Even if it's wrong, carry it out seriously, because they are the ones who pay you. If you're not satisfied, you can fire the boss, but never deny him and then continue working at that company.

Time passed quickly. Before Zhao Fusheng knew it, the New Year was almost here.

During this period, he seemed idle, but in fact, there was a lot going on. Future Advertising had completed its merger—more accurately, a restructuring. The original Beijing branch was officially established as Future Film Production Company, under Future Advertising.

But in reality, it had already become independent.

Employees in the company who wanted to continue in the advertising industry went directly to Future Advertising. Meanwhile, those in Future Advertising who were interested in developing in the film and television industry moved to Future Film.

After the business handover, both companies began operations simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Tan Kaixuan called Zhao Fusheng, saying he planned to invest the money from selling the KFC franchise. Zhao Fusheng didn't ask what the project was but simply told Tan Kaixuan that as long as he didn't break the law, he could do whatever he wanted. Zhao Fusheng would just be a shareholder collecting dividends and wouldn't interfere in Glory Technology's affairs.

Tan Kaixuan didn't waste words and hung up directly.

On Chen Tianqiao's side, there was no news about the financing for now. The game "Legend" stormed into the nearly vacant online game market with a狂暴 momentum.

No one expected that an online game could develop so quickly. In less than a month, "Legend" suddenly became a dark horse in the internet field.

As for the bot business, Zhao Fusheng hadn't thought that a sudden whim of his could actually gather a group of programming talents. Making money was a small matter; having a group of programmers under his command in 2002 was quite useful to Zhao Fusheng.

Yes, what he valued was these people's abilities.

After all, for Zhao Fusheng, there were too many ways to make money, but which was more important, the egg or the hen that lays the egg? The answer was obvious.

Of course, there was something even happier: Fan Baobao was finally on break.

As the Spring Festival approached, one of the most important holidays for the Chinese nation, everyone understood the sentiment of missing family more during the festive season. Even if Wang Xiaoshuai was a tyrant on set, he had a family and needed to celebrate the New Year.

Moreover, the entire crew of dozens of people weren't all locals, so he simply waved his hand and gave the crew a month-long vacation.

Speaking of which, directors of art films had this habit: they liked to shoot a film in segments. Compared to commercial films that were finished in a month or two, some art films took a year or half a year to complete, which was common.

For instance, when Director Wang Jiawei shot "The Revenge of the Swordswoman," that guy took several years. In the middle, main actors like Tony Leung went off to shoot several other films, which was truly exasperating.

Wang Xiaoshuai was better; he just gave everyone a month off for the Spring Festival. In his words, it was to relieve stress.

Zhao Fusheng naturally welcomed this with open arms. Are you kidding? The well-fed don't know the hunger of the starving. At his age, full of vigor, being separated from his girlfriend for a month—hmm, that feeling wasn't pleasant.

...

...

"So, are you glaring at me now?"

In the restaurant, Jiang Wen, who had dragged Zhao Fusheng out to meet, looked at him speechlessly.

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Yes, if looks could kill, you'd probably have died a thousand times in my mind, each time in a different way."

"Holy crap!" Jiang Wen's mouth fell open, not knowing how to respond.

"Spit it out. I'm waiting to go home," Zhao Fusheng said, glaring at Jiang Wen irritably.

Originally, they had planned a romantic evening for two, but this guy had dragged him out of the house with a phone call. Zhao Fusheng was furious.

A person, especially a man, interrupted at a critical moment, could have a mood that burned everything.

"Ahem, it's nothing big. I just wanted to discuss with you: what do you think about Zhou Yun and me getting married?" Jiang Wen said a bit sheepishly to Zhao Fusheng.

"What?"

Zhao Fusheng raised his eyebrows in surprise, then said helplessly: "This kind of thing, you two can decide on your own. Why ask me?"

"Look, I don't have many young friends. I thought you could give me some advice. Marriage isn't a small thing; you have to propose." Jiang Wen blushed, a rare sight.

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes and decided to ignore this guy who liked to flaunt his love at every opportunity.

Dragging him out of his lover's arms to discuss a proposal—was this guy's brain working right?

"What's so hard about it? Buy a diamond, set up a romantic scene, dress sharply, prepare a heartfelt confession. That's it." Zhao Fusheng stood up, spread his hands, and said to Jiang Wen: "In short, women love romance. As long as you grasp that, you'll be fine."

Jiang Wen looked at Zhao Fusheng uncertainly: "Really?"

After all, at his age, he wasn't good at this kind of thing. Compared to that, he was somewhat skeptical of Zhao Fusheng's words.

Zhao Fusheng looked at Jiang Wen, blinked, and offered a suggestion that years later, when Jiang Wen remembered it, he would still want to grab Zhao Fusheng and beat him up.

"If all else fails, if she's still hesitating, just rush over, kiss her hard, and carry her away." Zhao Fusheng shrugged and said calmly.

He could give advice; as for the consequences, well, what did that have to do with him?