Chapter 1028: Far-Sighted and Deeply Laid Plans

Dong Chenxi's report was very detailed.

Or rather, she had been waiting for Zhao Fusheng to return so she could report to him on the recent situation of Future Investment Fund.

"Now, more than three companies have approached us, wanting to acquire shares of Xiaonei.com." Dong Chenxi handed a document to Zhao Fusheng. "Here are the materials on these three companies. Take a look."

Zhao Fusheng nodded, took it, and glanced at it, only to find that he didn't recognize any of them.

After all, there were many internet companies in China at the time, including the three major portal websites, all backed by various venture capital funds. Given how popular Xiaonei.com was, it was only natural that someone would take an interest in it.

"Among these, I suspect that JK Investment has ties to Hongshan," Dong Chenxi explained to Zhao Fusheng.

"Hongshan?" Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow, not expecting Hongshan Capital to be involved.

"Yeah, it's probably James pulling strings behind the scenes," Dong Chenxi said.

Zhao Fusheng immediately laughed, waved his hand, and said to Dong Chenxi, "Don't say that. It's not really pulling strings behind the scenes. If we're unwilling to cooperate with them, and they come in disguise, it actually shows they truly believe in our website, understand?"

Dong Chenxi was taken aback, then realized what Zhao Fusheng meant.

She looked at him in surprise: "You're planning to sell to them?"

Clearly, she hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to have no intention of continuing to run Xiaonei.com.

After all, Dong Chenxi had had professionals evaluate it, and barring any surprises, Xiaonei.com had a good chance of going public. After all, among young people, especially college students, Xiaonei.com was extremely popular.

"Not necessarily them. We'll compare offers and wait for the best price," Zhao Fusheng said nonchalantly.

Blinking, Dong Chenxi felt she was increasingly unable to understand Zhao Fusheng's tactics.

It wasn't that she was too young; it was that this guy's tactics were too deep.

Dong Chenxi consoled herself like that.

"Actually, it's simple. Do you think we have the energy and funds to sustain Xiaonei.com's development?" Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked, seeing Dong Chenxi's confusion.

Dong Chenxi opened her mouth to speak, then fell silent. After a moment of thought, she slowly shook her head.

She wasn't a brainless bimbo. If she were just a pretty face, neither Zhao Fusheng nor Zheng Yao would have promoted her to her current position.

In other words, Dong Chenxi had substance in her head.

Upon reflection, she understood what Zhao Fusheng meant. In fact, as he said, Future Investment currently lacked the capacity to sustain Xiaonei.com's development.

It wasn't a matter of having no money, but rather that pouring all liquid capital into a single project went against the interests of an investment firm.

By now, Dong Chenxi understood that in Zhao Fusheng's eyes, Future Investment was essentially a venture capital fund. For any project he valued, he would have Future Investment inject capital and take control. If, as she had suggested, they sustained Xiaonei.com until its IPO, it would mean pouring in the proceeds from the sale of the navigation website and even requiring Zhao Fusheng to 'bleed' further.

That was clearly something Zhao Fusheng was unwilling to accept.

"Got it?" Zhao Fusheng could tell from Dong Chenxi's expression that she understood.

Dong Chenxi nodded: "Got it."

"Future Investment plays a big role. Although Xiaonei.com is a good project, we have a long way to go and will encounter many more suitable projects. Should we pour capital into all of them and keep them all in hand?" Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Chenxi with a smile. "In investment, we look at returns. While Xiaonei.com might make a lot of money after going public, the problem is that it would take several years. In that time, we could invest in other projects and still make money, maybe even more."

Dong Chenxi nodded, then said, "So, Kaixin.com is also for sale in the future?"

Zhao Fusheng laughed, pleased with her ability to draw inferences: "Exactly. Remember, we won't limit ourselves to one project because that's too risky. In investment, you put eggs in different baskets. You should study the history of Hongshan Capital."

After all, Dong Chenxi wasn't a finance major. Even as she worked hard to improve herself, many of these principles required time to settle.

Even Zhao Fusheng himself was still exploring as he went along.

A person's abilities are ultimately limited to a certain scope. If someone were truly omniscient and omnipotent, being dissected would be only a matter of time.

Dong Chenxi naturally understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning and smiled, nodding in agreement.

Next, they discussed other matters. Dong Chenxi reported on the listings of Shengda Technology and Tencent Technology, as well as the recent situation in the US stock market.

"NetEase's stock has risen to thirty dollars. Should we consider selling?" Dong Chenxi asked tentatively.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and shook his head: "No rush. It will keep rising."

Although he didn't know exactly when it would reach over seventy dollars, Zhao Fusheng was clear that he could hold this stock long-term. After all, more than a decade later, it would be worth several hundred dollars per share.

With that in mind, Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Chenxi, "When it reaches fifty dollars, let me know. We can use these stocks to borrow from banks in the US."

Huh?

Dong Chenxi was stunned, not understanding why Zhao Fusheng suddenly wanted to take out a bank loan. What did he intend to do?

Zhao Fusheng didn't explain much. As the boss, he didn't always need to explain everything to his subordinates. Those who understood would execute; those who didn't would also execute—that was the normal relationship between superior and subordinate.

Even though Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi were friends, this rule still applied.

As for the loan, Zhao Fusheng had been considering it for a while. His various businesses might not seem troublesome now, but future development would inevitably require more capital.

Making money from money was the true path to wealth.

Among the four words 'increase income and reduce expenditure,' reducing expenditure was about saving money, but increasing income was the most important means.

Money was always earned more, not saved more.

Using NetEase's stock as collateral, Zhao Fusheng estimated he could secure a substantial loan from the bank. With that capital, he could expand his business scale.

Most crucially, after the subprime mortgage crisis hit in 2007, US banks would tighten lending, making it much harder to get loans then.

Of course, this was something he couldn't share with others. Zhao Fusheng had to make the decision alone, overriding any opposition.

Fortunately, his authority was high enough that Dong Chenxi, though not fully understanding, nodded in agreement.

After saying this, Zhao Fusheng got up to leave. He had just returned and hadn't yet gone home.