Chapter 1093: Sometimes You Have to Let Go

Zhao Fusheng had never wanted to be some domineering CEO; he knew his own limits all too well. Although he had worked hard to learn some knowledge of corporate management, moving from books to practice would inevitably take time.

This process might take two or three years, or even four or five, and would inevitably involve failures and numerous difficulties. That was why he needed to appoint people like Zheng Yao as senior management of the company.

After all, given his lack of experience, their role was to fill in the gaps for him.

Just like now, Zhao Fusheng realized how foolish it had been to entrust all investments and matters directly to Stephen Chow.

Fortunately, Zheng Yao was decisive. She had already contacted Media Asia Group in Hong Kong, and in exchange for Future Advertising helping them open up the domestic market, Media Asia agreed to be the Hong Kong distributor for *Kung Fu Hustle*.

In other words, Stephen Chow now had to face not only Zhao Fusheng himself but also Lin Jianle, the boss of Media Asia Group.

Zhao Fusheng had a deep impression of this company; it was they who had nearly swallowed the rights to *Infernal Affairs* back then.

But the most interesting thing in this world is that none of us can guarantee when a former opponent might become a partner.

Just like now, Zhao Fusheng was happy to see Media Asia putting pressure on Stephen Chow to force him to complete the film's shooting and editing quickly.

After all, every day of delay cost hundreds of thousands in expenses. Even if you had a mine at home, you couldn't afford to waste money like that.

After the group meeting ended, Zhao Fusheng did not tour the entire company as most had guessed but left directly. He had only come to show his face today, and since the meeting was over, it was time to go.

"Chairman." Just as Zhao Fusheng was about to get into the car, a voice came from behind. Turning around, he saw Dong Guoxiang approaching.

"Something up?" Zhao Fusheng asked Dong Guoxiang with some surprise, since Dong Guoxiang was not the type to seek him out without reason.

Speaking of which, among Zhao Fusheng's subordinates, Dong Guoxiang was truly an outlier.

Although his wealth couldn't compare to Zheng Yao and the others, compared to other peers, Dong Guoxiang's income was still outstanding. With his current status and position, it wouldn't be hard for him to attract quality women with both inner beauty and looks. Moreover, he had no girlfriend, spending all his time at the company or returning to the apartment in the Second Ring Road he had bought with the bonus Zhao Fusheng gave him. Occasionally finding a woman to relieve himself would be normal.

But this guy simply didn't do that. In the words Zhao Fusheng heard from Zhang Qian, Dong Guoxiang was practically like an ascetic monk.

In fact, aside from having followed Zhao Fusheng the longest, Dong Guoxiang was neither the most capable nor the best in other aspects within Future Network Technology. Yet it was he who defeated several highly touted candidates to become the company's general manager. The twists of fate are truly hard to judge.

In Zhao Fusheng's eyes, although Dong Guoxiang was a bit less capable, he could devote himself entirely to the company and remain loyal. That was far better than those who were capable but always looking for advantages and being disloyal.

It is often said that to do a good job, one must first sharpen the tools. Without adequate preparation, it is difficult to succeed.

Similarly, in Zhao Fusheng's view, he didn't need so-called genius subordinates, because any genius would pale in comparison to him.

Therefore, he needed loyal and reliable people like Dong Guoxiang.

"I think we should consider selling or seeking financing for Kaixin.com," Dong Guoxiang said directly to Zhao Fusheng without beating around the bush once inside the car.

Zhao Fusheng was startled and looked at Dong Guoxiang in surprise: "Why?"

This was crucial. As the head of the network technology company, Dong Guoxiang could certainly make such a request, but making this choice so soon after the company had just been integrated into the group required a reason.

"Because we've hit a bottleneck," Dong Guoxiang replied without hesitation, as if he had prepared for this for a long time.

"A bottleneck, huh..." Zhao Fusheng fell silent but did not speak immediately.

He naturally understood what Dong Guoxiang meant. Under the current circumstances, the competition Kaixin.com faced was already intense.

The development of China's internet industry was somewhat frustrating. Take Kaixin.com, for example; many of the features they developed could also be developed by other sites, at best achieving similarity.

For instance, on Tencent's QQ, the Qzone feature officially launched, and a series of mini-games like Stealing Vegetables and Parking quickly snatched a large number of Kaixin.com users. Zhao Fusheng was well aware of this.

Many people think that internet projects are easy to start—just develop a project and it will instantly become popular online.

But this is actually a misconception.

Simply put, for a software or website to become known, the main method is to burn money.

Money is truly not money.

That was Zhao Fusheng's biggest impression of the internet industry—millions or tens of millions were thrown in casually, astronomical figures that many people couldn't even conceptualize.

"Are you thinking of selling or seeking financing?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Dong Guoxiang and asked.

Dong Guoxiang was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Zhao Fusheng to ask for his opinion, and for the first time, he stumbled.

Seeing his reaction, Zhao Fusheng smiled and waved his hand: "Just say whatever comes to mind. It's fine; we're just chatting casually."

Dong Guoxiang had followed him for so long, so Zhao Fusheng knew exactly what kind of person he was. Summoning the courage to suggest abandoning the Kaixin.com project was already his limit; he had probably agonized over it for a long time before finally deciding to speak up.

"I think we should sell the site," Dong Guoxiang said after a moment of contemplation, finally making up his mind and speaking seriously to Zhao Fusheng. "Personally, I believe that this type of social networking site will become rampant in the coming period. If we want to compete with other companies, it would be too costly and not in line with our principles."

Zhao Fusheng nodded. He had always instilled in Dong Guoxiang the theory that they would not be the ones burning money in the internet industry. By now, this mindset had fully taken root in Dong Guoxiang's heart.

Therefore, upon realizing that Kaixin.com's development had hit a bottleneck and might become a money-burning site, Dong Guoxiang decisively chose to abandon it.

"Alright, discuss it with Zheng Yao. Have the headquarters dispatch financial personnel, and put this on the agenda as soon as possible," Zhao Fusheng said after thinking it over. "I have only one requirement: no matter what, since we're selling the site, we should get the best price possible, understand?"

His meaning was simple: if you put it on the shelf, not getting a good price would mean a loss.

Dong Guoxiang nodded lightly, indicating that he understood.

With that settled, Dong Guoxiang naturally got out of the car. As the general manager of Future Network Technology, he had his own company car. He had stopped Zhao Fusheng only to discuss business.

"Are we really selling?" Zhang Qian, who was driving, suddenly asked Zhao Fusheng.

He had witnessed Kaixin.com from planning to establishment, so hearing that it was to be sold naturally made him reluctant.

"Many people think the internet industry has low barriers to entry and always believe they can get a piece of the action. In reality, it's an industry that burns money," Zhao Fusheng said with a faint smile. "And now everyone thinks social networking sites are hot and are jumping in all at once. Do you think the market is that big?"

Zhang Qian was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head: "I don't know."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, his gaze drifting out the window. In his line of sight, the high-rises outside kept receding, and in a daze, he saw the future he once knew.

In the future that Zhao Fusheng knew, starting from 2004, various social networking sites began to appear in China, reaching a peak in 2008.

That year, besides the Olympics, Stealing Vegetables became a term known across the country. It was a seemingly simple mini-game that had the magic to turn millions of netizens into 'farmers.'

In fact, the smooth operation of Zhao Fusheng's Kaixin.com was largely due to this.

The popularity of Stealing Vegetables was just one aspect of social networking sites. Almost overnight, similar sites across the country sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

Just like now, according to Zhao Fusheng's knowledge, there were already over a dozen sites similar to Xiaonei and Kaixin. But the problem was that these sites had no unique features; their products were highly homogenized and imitated without any innovation. This meant that although the industry had a large number of registered users and the resulting massive traffic, it couldn't translate into profitable advertising business.

In short, they only knew how to burn money to attract traffic but never considered how to turn traffic into profit.

That's a sad story.

In fact, even if Dong Guoxiang hadn't brought it up, Zhao Fusheng was already considering selling Kaixin.com before the market became completely chaotic.

After all, he knew very well that any internet project that couldn't be monetized would inevitably decline and eventually fade from the historical stage.