Chapter 0989: Lord Zhao Goes Fishing

Sometimes, when you think about it, the poor really don't have it easy. It's not that they think the rich bastards stand too high, nor that they blame the pretty, spirited women for being too proud. It's just that no matter how hard they try, they can never climb to that position or get into those beds.

Zhao Fusheng had once been a poor man. Before the age of thirty-five, he endlessly repeated the tedious cycle of effort, failure, more effort, more failure, until it finally wore away his former ambitions.

But hope is such a slut. Just when you decide to ignore her, she'll shamelessly tease you, reigniting the fire in someone who was ready to be ascetic.

After that drunken stupor, Zhao Fusheng, who had lost all hope in life, suddenly discovered he had a chance to start over. How could he give that up?

So in this life, Zhao Fusheng seemed a bit greedy, because there were too many things he wanted to grasp and change.

They say hunger and cold breed thievery, and a lean horse grows long hair.

But in the end, it's all because of poverty.

Yet poverty doesn't necessarily mean lack of ambition. Ambition is something every man has, more or less. When it swells, he thinks that with persistence he can stand at the pinnacle of a city.

But Zhao Fusheng knew that life can easily destroy a family and effortlessly cut down a striver with shallow roots.

For that reason, he truly dared not slack off.

Even though he was reluctant to leave his family, after resting at home for a week, Zhao Fusheng still boarded the train to the capital.

Only Zhang Qian accompanied him.

As for Fang Minya and Sun Jun, Zhao Fusheng had already forced them to go on a trip to Europe. As for the check, Fang Minya flatly refused to take it. Helpless, Zhao Fusheng finally gave them thirty thousand yuan in cash.

He didn't know that Fang Minya and Sun Jun would give him a surprise when they returned from Europe.

"Why not fly?"

Sitting on the train, Zhang Qian asked Zhao Fusheng curiously.

In fact, when they left Ninghai this time, Zhao Fusheng had specifically instructed him to buy train tickets whenever possible and avoid plane tickets if he could.

"My mom saw some news somewhere saying that flying is too unsafe. If something happens up in the sky, there's no ground to fall on, no one to call for help. It's safer to take the train." Zhao Fusheng explained helplessly. "So she told me that if I'm in the country and not in a huge hurry, it's best to take the train. It's slower, but at least it's safe, and she won't have to worry."

Zhang Qian was stunned, but on second thought, it made some sense. After all, a man of wealth should not sit under a collapsing roof. His mother's concern wasn't unfounded.

Actually, Zhao Fusheng didn't care much about safety. At this time, domestic flight safety was still quite high, and there hadn't been any major incidents in years. But he had to listen to his mother's advice. After all, nothing worried her more than him and his father.

"These are small matters. How are the preparations for what I told you last time?" Zhao Fusheng waved his hand, changing the subject, and asked Zhang Qian.

Zhang Qian immediately replied, "Dong Guoxiang is ready. The site can go live anytime."

He was referring to Kaixin.com, the social networking site focused on web games that Zhao Fusheng had asked Dong Guoxiang to spin off from Xiaonei.com.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, Xiaonei.com would eventually attract venture capital. Baidu's earlier probe was one such example, but Baidu had a greater need for navigation pages, so it backed off.

Now, Zhao Fusheng felt he could consider selling Xiaonei.com.

More precisely, it was time for the next round of financing.

After all, for an internet project to continue developing, financing was inevitable. It wouldn't be cost-effective for Zhao Fusheng to invest a large sum himself.

Zhao Fusheng only wanted to use these projects to obtain funds; he didn't intend to stay in them forever, because he knew it would be hard for these projects to survive the internet wave.

Especially before the advent of smartphones, many of the projects in Zhao Fusheng's mind were just castles in the air.

So before that, Zhao Fusheng felt that what he should do most was to accumulate funds.

"Then start as soon as possible." After a moment's thought, Zhao Fusheng said to Zhang Qian.

Since everything was ready except the east wind, there was no need to delay. Launch the site first, and worry about the rest later.

Zhao Fusheng was never a rigid person, especially when it came to making money.

"Okay."

Zhang Qian nodded, got up, and went out to call Dong Guoxiang.

He was always like that—highly proactive. Tasks assigned by Zhao Fusheng were always executed immediately, rarely delayed. That was what Zhao Fusheng admired most about him.

After all, many people aren't incapable; they're just not used to working at a fast pace.

...

...

Back in Beijing, Zhao Fusheng was still busy. As he had expected, Mr. James of Red Mountain Capital, after realizing he had done something incredibly stupid, didn't lose heart. After all, as a businessman, if you're not thick-skinned, it's hard to reach such a position.

Not long after Zhao Fusheng returned, James came knocking.

Of course, he came to the door of Future Investment.

"Dear Zhao, please allow me to express my deepest apologies." The moment James saw Zhao Fusheng, he was very polite and extended his hand.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, didn't put on a sour face, and shook James's hand. "Mr. James, can I take it that you were too busy admiring our beautiful Miss Dong at the time?"

"Thank you for your forgiveness, my sir." James was exceedingly polite.

In fact, his humble attitude surprised Zhao Fusheng.

Nothing comes for free; if someone is overly polite, they have an ulterior motive. That was a lesson Zhao Fusheng learned as a child.

If James had come in with a businesslike attitude, Zhao Fusheng might not have thought much. But the man started by apologizing and being so polite, so Zhao Fusheng's first reaction was that James was definitely trying to scheme against him.

Otherwise, why would a senior partner at Red Mountain Capital be so polite to him?

Zhao Fusheng was self-aware. Although he was now somewhat wealthy, compared to a behemoth like Red Mountain Capital, he was still far behind.

They say the nouveau riche are wealthy, especially some domestic tycoons or their children who like to flaunt their wealth. But compared to the Middle Eastern tycoons in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, they're still far off.

So Zhao Fusheng was very self-aware. He always felt that one could be high-profile in doing things, but when it came to making money, it was better to keep a low profile.

He didn't want to be set up one day and have no way to cry out.

Matcha is good, but you can't really be face-blind. That was the painful lesson of Brother Liu @Doesn't Know His Wife Is Beautiful @Strong @Face-Blind @Loves Matcha @East. Zhao Fusheng didn't want to become a laughingstock one day.

"Mr. James, what brings you to our company?" Zhao Fusheng sat down and didn't beat around the bush, asking James with a smile.

Since he knew James was from Red Mountain Capital, he felt there was no need to play games. They could just lay their cards on the table.

James also liked this way of chatting. He was a Chinese-American raised in the U.S., more accustomed to Western work styles.

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, James smiled and said, "Zhao, my friend, I think we might have a good talk about Shengda Technology, don't you think?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled lightly. He knew this guy was after Shengda Technology.

After all, Shengda Technology was developing so well that anyone with eyes could see the company was destined to go public and likely soar afterward.

"Mr. James, I think you shouldn't be asking me about this." Zhao Fusheng shook his head and said slowly, "As far as I know, Mr. Chen Tianqiao has been actively negotiating investments from various parties. Why would Red Mountain Capital come to Future Investment instead?"

Did he think he could hook me that easily?

Since it was business, Zhao Fusheng didn't mind dragging things out with James. After all, there was still about a year before Shengda Technology went public. That was bad news for James but good news for Zhao Fusheng.

Every passing day brought more good news about Shengda Technology, making it more attractive to investors.

James frowned and glanced at Zhao Fusheng. He didn't know if Zhao was saying that deliberately or was unaware of what had happened. But either way, it was clear that this young internet upstart wasn't planning to negotiate with him now.

That wasn't good news.

Though his heart was bitter, James's face remained impassive. He glanced at Dong Chenxi and then smiled, "Zhao, my friend, can we talk alone?"

Clearly, he had something to discuss with Zhao Fusheng.

But unfortunately, Zhao Fusheng had no intention of discussing anything substantive with James today. This was only their first formal meeting; trying to get down to business was out of the question.

This kind of business negotiation consumes both sides' time and patience. Whoever loses their composure first will concede.

And this time, James was clearly at a disadvantage. Zhao Fusheng had no reason not to play hard to get. After all, shopping around and waiting for the best offer was the most reasonable choice.

He knew that not only Red Mountain Capital but also others were interested in the Shengda Technology shares he held.

Zhao Fusheng was now like Jiang Ziya fishing—waiting for the willing to bite.