Chapter 1060: The Pledge of Allegiance

A thousand men may have a thousand standards for a beautiful woman, but in this world, there is always a type of woman that no words can describe or depict.

Brigitte Lin on the screen was one, and Yu Feihong from a decade or so ago could also be considered one.

Now, Yu Feihong is merely a famous actress and a low-key philanthropist.

"Sis, you're not here to ask me for money, are you?" Zhao Fusheng said with a smile, looking at Yu Feihong. She had come to his house early in the morning, so something must be up.

Thinking about it carefully, there really weren't many things that could make Yu Feihong so concerned.

"I do need money, but not for the foundation—for myself," Yu Feihong said seriously to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng laughed, understanding her meaning.

He had already transferred funds to the foundation through Dong Chenxi, so Yu Feihong coming to him must be about that art film she had been pondering for a long time.

"I really love this film, and I've studied directing specifically for it. I've also carefully polished the script. I dare not say how high the box office will be, but at the very least, it's sure to win awards," Yu Feihong said earnestly, looking at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded with a smile but said nothing.

Seeing Zhao Fusheng silent, Yu Feihong grew uneasy. They had a good relationship, but the issue was that they were now discussing business, not personal matters.

In other words, this was a process of her seeking investment, without any personal favor involved.

"Sis, this is the first collaboration project between your studio and Future Films, right?" Zhao Fusheng said with a smile after a moment's thought.

"Yes," Yu Feihong nodded. "I had someone analyze it. Even if the domestic box office isn't good, at international film festivals, we can recover costs through copyright sales. It's not a loss."

Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but smile. It seemed his sister had really done her homework.

"Alright then, let's invest," Zhao Fusheng said calmly with a faint smile.

Yu Feihong was taken aback. "Uh, don't you want to think it over?"

Before coming, she had imagined several scenarios—what concerns Zhao Fusheng might have and how she would convince him—but she never expected him to agree so directly.

"Sis, setting aside our relationship, since you've already made a complete plan and had someone verify the chances of success, as a cooperating artist of the company, I would support this project anyway. Besides, sis, do you think I can't afford an investment of less than twenty million?" Zhao Fusheng said calmly, looking at Yu Feihong.

Yu Feihong was stunned, then smiled wryly and said nothing more.

Given Zhao Fusheng's current wealth, investing ten or twenty million yuan in an art film was really nothing.

That was the difference between true wealth and a nouveau riche.

A nouveau riche might have considerable assets, but every penny was hard-earned, so they would be cautious when investing.

But the truly wealthy had deep pockets; even several failed investments wouldn't worry them about serious losses.

Like Zhao Fusheng, with his current net worth, even if he lost money, he could afford it without worry.

It's often said that standing higher lets you see farther. That saying holds true; one's position truly can limit one's vision and perspective.

...

...

After seeing Yu Feihong off, Zhao Fusheng was thinking about going to the US in the next few days when he received an unexpected phone call.

"Mr. Zhao, hello, this is Jerry. Do you still remember me?" A somewhat stiff Beijing accent came through the phone.

Jerry?

Zhao Fusheng frowned slightly. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't recall which foreigner he knew named Jerry.

"Hello, you are?" he asked, puzzled and a bit confused.

"Oh, oh, I also have a Chinese name, Li Dezhu." The person on the other end seemed to remember something and said somewhat sheepishly.

"Ah, it's you." Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then laughed.

He actually remembered who this was: the friend of the ex-girlfriend's fiancé of Li Zhijie, the son of Zhou Qing, a colleague of Fan Bingbing...

Well, damn, that relationship was a bit convoluted.

Simply put, he was a good friend of that Citibank clerk, an American studying in China.

At the time, that clerk had personally visited. Zhao Fusheng had originally planned to see if he could negotiate with Citibank to get a loan using his NetEase stock as collateral.

But the other party didn't have that authority, and later, after selling his shares in Xiaonei.com and Shanda Technology, he came into a large sum of money, so Zhao Fusheng didn't think much more about it.

Unexpectedly, now Li Dezhu had come knocking.

"Mr. Zhao, do you have time now?" Jerry on the phone was quite deferential.

"I do have time. Is there something you need?" Zhao Fusheng asked curiously.

"It's like this: I have some materials I'd like to show you." Jerry didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "It's about Citibank."

Oh?

That piqued Zhao Fusheng's interest.

After all, for Zhao Fusheng, if he had the chance to get a loan from Citibank, it would be a pretty good thing.

"Alright, come to Future Investment this afternoon." Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Jerry.

Regardless, since the other party had something he was interested in, Zhao Fusheng didn't mind giving him a chance.

All along, Zhao Fusheng had been worried about not having suitable talent available. If this Jerry wanted to become his man, he would at least have to demonstrate enough value.

...

...

In the afternoon, Zhao Fusheng met Jerry in his office.

This American, whose Chinese name sounded a bit ridiculous, was now wearing a black suit and looked quite formal.

"Mr. Zhao, these are some materials I've investigated." Without any nonsense, Jerry placed the documents directly on Zhao Fusheng's desk, then stepped back to sit on the sofa.

Zhao Fusheng nodded and picked up the materials to read.

After a while, Zhao Fusheng put down the documents and looked at Jerry: "Mr. Jerry, according to your materials, Citibank won't provide me with a loan, is that right?"

Jerry nodded: "Mr. Zhao, to be frank, that is indeed the result of my investigation. Recently, Citibank's investment focus has been on the domestic market. Their confidence in the internet industry has been quite insufficient since the bursting of the internet bubble."

Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng frowned. He knew he would have to pay more attention to this Jerry.