Chapter 0960: The True Protagonist

Summer in the capital was as hot as a steamer. They say spring brings drowsiness and autumn fatigue, but in truth, people are even more prone to sleepiness in summer, especially at noon. Even the incessant chirping of cicadas couldn't ward off the waves of drowsiness.

The SARS epidemic had been brought under control, and people had returned to normal life and study. Another graduation season was approaching. Recent graduates, like blood flowing from all vessels toward the heart, streamed from the city's various universities toward Zhongguancun.

There was no helping it—computer science was now considered a hot industry.

Especially in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, graduates had a keen grasp of the pulse of the times. Clutching meticulously crafted resumes engraved with the essence of their four years of life, they hoped to meet a discerning talent scout, then get promoted, raise their salary, marry a fair maiden, and reach the pinnacle of life.

Interviews were just like that.

For most young people, interviews and written tests were like a game of levels. Facing various examiners, they had to pull out all the stops, only to realize afterward whether what they had learned over the past four years was of any use.

Often, they went from confident and high-spirited to self-doubting and anxious, and finally to vacant-eyed and dejected, as if they had been ravaged by a hundred men—all in just a few hours.

Every ordinary young person entering society for the first time would be taught life's first lesson.

What cruelty meant.

Zhao Fusheng had naturally experienced this, and even more so.

So today, when Dong Guoxiang dragged him out to be an interviewer, he had already prepared himself mentally to be a kind and benevolent talent scout.

But at this moment, his mood was as bad as if he had eaten expired food.

"Hello, I graduated from the University of Electronic Science and Technology. I believe I can independently develop a game that surpasses the current 'Legend.' My personal requirement is to enjoy company dividends..."

Facing Zhao Fusheng, Dong Guoxiang, and the head of the technical department, this guy's opening words nearly gave Zhao Fusheng internal injuries.

"Um, classmate, your ideals are quite good, but we haven't considered developing games for now. Please step out." Dong Guoxiang wore a professional smile, politely and respectfully showing him out.

"Are they all like this?"

Zhao Fusheng blinked and looked at Dong Guoxiang.

Since sitting down, he had seen at least five such oddballs.

They came in claiming to be talented, that the company should hire them, and that if it didn't, it would be the company's loss, blah blah blah. Some wanted dividends, some wanted shares, and some thought they could be vice president of the company.

Zhao Fusheng really wanted to ask if they wanted him to hand over his position as boss.

"Cough, no help for it—the good and bad are mixed together." Dong Guoxiang said bitterly.

Today was the second day of recruitment; yesterday had been even more absurd.

"Forget it, you take over the interviews. I'm afraid I'll burst out laughing." Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly, looking resigned.

Even with his life experience, facing these graduates so green they were laughable, he felt helpless.

They say being a self-made man isn't as comfortable as being born into wealth. Zhao Fusheng hadn't quite understood that before, but now he got it.

At the very least, being born into wealth meant you didn't have to go through the hardships of starting a business like a self-made man.

Founding a dynasty wasn't easy.

Simply put, even a small mistake by an entrepreneur could affect their career, potentially leading to failure on the brink of success.

But the next generation had the foundation laid by their elders. Even if they were a bit lazy or wasteful, it didn't matter, because in most people's eyes, they had the capital to squander.

If any descendant did better than their father, they instantly became a model of "like father, like son."

Doing well was accidental; doing poorly was inevitable.

That was how most people viewed the second generation of wealth.

Unfortunately, although Zhao Fusheng now wanted to be a rich second-generation kid, and his father's business could support him as a carefree one, the problem was that he couldn't stop anymore.

……

……

From a certain perspective, Zhao Fusheng had always believed that doing everything oneself was not as good as planning ahead.

He ran many businesses now, but none of them were managed by him personally. He found people he trusted and then stayed behind the scenes.

It wasn't that Zhao Fusheng thought the whole thing would be too difficult, but because he knew he wasn't the type to settle down and manage a company.

Zheng Yao managed Future Advertising, Dong Chenxi handled the investment company, Dong Guoxiang was in charge of internet-related tech development, and Bai Jie ran Future Film and Television.

He only needed to manage these four people and ensure the company's general direction was correct.

As for Tan Kaixuan...

Zhao Fusheng was too lazy to complain about that guy anymore. Originally, they had agreed that Tan would lie low in the US until Zhao dealt with the SARS situation before starting formal investments.

But after Tan Kaixuan met up with Qian Dongliu, who had rushed over, he started testing the waters in the US stock market.

That's right, with the 40 million RMB he had, which converted to less than 5 million USD.

Relying on that capital, within ten trading days, Tan Kaixuan had increased his principal from 5 million to 8 million.

When Zhao Fusheng heard the news, he was dumbfounded.

"How did you do that?"

"Just did it. Picked two stocks, bought them, and sold when they'd risen enough." Tan Kaixuan answered matter-of-factly, leaving Zhao without the energy to complain.

"Never made a mistake?" Zhao Fusheng was silent for a long time before asking Tan Kaixuan.

"How could that be? I did have some misses. On two days, the gains were lower than I expected." Tan Kaixuan replied.

Lower than expected...

Zhao Fusheng felt that the stock market he knew might not be the same one Tan Kaixuan knew.

That guy was practically cheating!

You see, the US stock market is different from China's Shanghai and Shenzhen markets. The US market has no daily price limits, meaning if a stock is strong enough, it can go from $1 to $10 without hitting a limit up or down.

US trading hours during daylight saving time are from 9:30 PM to 4:00 AM, and outside daylight saving time, from 10:30 PM to 5:00 AM—a total of six and a half hours, with pre-market and after-hours trading.

Moreover, the US market has no restrictions on trading volume; even one share can be traded, and there are no transaction fees. Short selling is allowed as long as the bid price is higher than the last traded price.

Also, unlike China's T+1 model, the US market allows trading as long as there are sufficient funds, because it uses a T+0 model.

Additionally, the US market only pays cash dividends, which are directly deposited into the investor's securities account.

They say Wall Street is a magical place where you can become rich overnight or lose everything overnight. Zhao Fusheng hadn't quite understood before, but now, from Tan Kaixuan, he seemed to get it.

He never expected Tan Kaixuan to turn less than $5 million into $8 million in such a short time.

According to Qian Dongliu, if he hadn't held him back and they had followed all of Tan Kaixuan's plans, the funds would now be nearly $10 million.

So Zhao Fusheng had simply given up. That guy Tan Kaixuan had a natural instinct for the stock market, and there was no need for Zhao to interfere.

Everyone has their strengths. Maybe Tan Kaixuan's was making waves in the financial markets.

And Zhao Fusheng was looking forward to the day when that guy might bring him even bigger surprises.

As for NetEase's stocks, Zhao Fusheng hadn't thought of handing them over to Tan Kaixuan. In fact, he had vaguely hinted to Tan that the stock would rise significantly.

But Tan Kaixuan cruelly refused.

That's right, in Tan Kaixuan's view, NetEase's prospects were mediocre. Even if the stock rose, it would be at least a year later.

For him, a year was too long.

Hearing Tan Kaixuan's answer, Zhao Fusheng felt terrible. But there was nothing he could do—he wasn't as talented in finance as that guy.

……

……

On June 1st, the website named Xiaonei.com by Zhao Fusheng officially launched.

No one expected the craze this website would trigger once it was released.

Even Zhao Fusheng, the initiator, never expected it.

With the homepage ad on My123 navigation page and recommendations from several major portal sites that had previously cooperated with My123, many college students and white-collar workers who loved surfing the internet suddenly found they could find their alumni through this site.

Young people had the strongest ability to accept new things.

In just half a month, Xiaonei.com's registered users exceeded 100,000.

Don't underestimate this number. Although the number of internet users in China had already exceeded 10 million, not all of them were interested in social networking sites. People preferred instant messaging software like QQ.

And these 100,000 users were mostly students and white-collar workers. According to the theory of six degrees of separation, the number of people they could influence was incalculable.

Facts proved Zhao Fusheng's guess was correct.

In just one month, Xiaonei.com's users surged to 500,000.

Some even came knocking on the door to give Zhao Fusheng money, and this time, Zhao Fusheng didn't plan to refuse.