Chapter 1146: Jiang Taigong Fishing

Humans are creatures adept at forgetting, so after a period of time, we always pause to take stock of our gains and losses. If what we have gained outweighs what we have lost, it proves that the previous period was not wasted, and then we ecstatically continue with the next chapter of life.

Of course, if the opposite is true, it means that the previous time was wasted, so we lament with passion, sigh deeply, and wish there were a regret pill in this world that would allow us to start over.

But unfortunately, a regret pill is the only medicine that cannot be bought in this world; no matter how much we toss and turn, we still cannot obtain it.

And Zhao Fusheng was undoubtedly the lucky one who bought that regret pill.

It is said that the ignorant are fearless. As the beneficiary of the greatest miracle in this world, Zhao Fusheng's reverence for some unknown existence in the unseen was beyond the imagination of others.

So, in many situations, he often appeared cautious.

To be precise, he rarely did bad things.

Because Zhao Fusheng always felt that, in the unseen, someone seemed to be watching him.

This was not exactly a psychological effect; it was merely a certain adherence to the principles deep within his heart, as an adult who had gone through life-and-death trials.

"Podcasting software, what is that?" Tong Zhenbang asked Zhao Fusheng, somewhat embarrassed.

Clearly, this was something he had never heard of.

After all, he was a man living in the shadows, not an ordinary person walking in the sunlight. In other words, if you asked him about the pros and cons of a certain firearm or the state of the underground market in a certain place, he could rattle them off like a string of beads. But if you asked him about internet matters, Tong Zhenbang was truly clueless.

It must be noted that even when Zhao Fusheng told him about NetEase stocks, he had to have people investigate in the US before obtaining the information.

So when Zhao Fusheng talked to him about podcasting software, Tong Zhenbang felt as if he were listening to a heavenly book.

Like a chicken talking to a duck, or playing the lute to a cow—that was probably the situation.

"Podcasting technology, simply put, is self-service broadcasting, a completely new form of broadcasting. When listening to traditional radio, we passively listen to programs we might want to hear. But podcasting technology allows us to choose the content we listen to, the time we listen, and how we give others the opportunity to listen as well." Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly, seemingly not noticing Tong Zhenbang's embarrassment, and explained to him with a laugh.

After a while, Tong Zhenbang nodded thoughtfully: "You mean, this technology can put some programs on the internet and let people choose whether to listen or not?"

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then laughed: "You could put it that way."

Actually, Tong Zhenbang's understanding was somewhat narrow, but in Zhao Fusheng's view, given his intelligence, that was the level he could grasp.

Zhao Fusheng felt no contempt for this; after all, they were not on the same path, and such a gap in understanding was normal.

"Sounds a bit interesting," Tong Zhenbang said to Zhao Fusheng after a moment's thought.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, his expression quite indifferent.

He knew very well what attitude he should adopt. It is said that the proactive person suffers the most, and that is indeed true. Whether in matters of the heart or in business, the more proactive one is, the easier it is for others to manipulate them.

So, if someone loves you, let them love. If flowers are sent, say thank you. If someone invites you, consider it. In this world, others being good to you rarely hurts you. Only when you are good to others does it backfire repeatedly, causing you pain. So, boldly let yourself be loved, but love cautiously.

Of course, that is a way to handle emotions. In the business arena, it naturally becomes about taking the initiative and not letting your opponent easily know your cards.

Just like now, Tong Zhenbang's cards were completely seen through by Zhao Fusheng, and thus he was in Zhao Fusheng's grip.

Having piqued Tong Zhenbang's interest in podcasting technology, Zhao Fusheng did not press the advantage and continue introducing it. Instead, he turned around and began to close his eyes and rest, leaving Tong Zhenbang sitting there with a changing expression, lost in thought.

Everyone has things they are good at and things they are not. Tong Zhenbang was good at scheming about people's hearts, but he was not good at business.

And coincidentally, Zhao Fusheng was somewhat skilled at doing business.

This naturally created an unequal situation between Zhao Fusheng and Tong Zhenbang.

So, Zhao Fusheng was very calm, because he knew that Tong Zhenbang could not resist the bait he had thrown out.

As for when he would take the bait, Zhao Fusheng could not guarantee that, after all, Zhao Fusheng was not a god and did not have the power of prophecy.

The plane slowly cruised at an altitude of twenty-five thousand meters. Zhao Fusheng and Tong Zhenbang sat together, while Chen Shijie and Zhang Qian sat on the other side. Since it was first class, there were not many passengers, and occasionally a flight attendant would come by to ask if the guests needed anything.

Although Tong Zhenbang had his eyes closed at this moment, Zhao Fusheng and Chen Shijie did not exchange a single word, not even a glance.

It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they didn't dare.

Under such circumstances, any inadvertent mistake could cause the entire plan to fail. Neither Zhao Fusheng nor Chen Shijie would take such a risk.

Thus, throughout the journey, aside from occasional exchanges between Tong Zhenbang and Zhao Fusheng, the four of them sat quietly, each occupied with their own interests.

…

…

When the plane landed at New York International Airport, as they reached the exit, Tong Zhenbang said to Zhao Fusheng with a smile, "President Zhao, I have some friends to meet here, so I won't accompany you."

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback for a moment, then understood; it seemed Tong Zhenbang was going to see his boss.

Thinking this, Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly. "It's fine, Mr. Tong. Please go ahead with your business. I also have some friends to visit here."

Both were actors; neither needed to put on a show for the other.

Watching Tong Zhenbang and Chen Shijie leave, Zhao Fusheng and Zhang Qian did not linger either, heading straight for another exit.

Soon, he saw Evan Williams standing there.

"Hi!" Evan Williams, still far from Zhao Fusheng, beamed and stretched out his arms. "Dear Zhao, the wizard from the East, welcome to America again."

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes helplessly. This guy was utterly speechless.

At first, when they weren't familiar, Evan Williams seemed like a tech geek who only knew programming. But after getting to know him, Zhao Fusheng discovered that this guy was a total goofball.

Who would randomly include a set of美女写真 (beautiful women's photos) when sending a new company plan? Zhao Fusheng's computer speakers were on at the time, and when he opened the file, he found a bunch of pictures of blond, blue-eyed women posing seductively.

Worse still, Fan Baobao was right beside Zhao Fusheng at that moment.

If it weren't for Zhao Fusheng's consistently good behavior and his proven track record of timely 'delivery of grain,' he might have faced a domestic fire and household unrest.

"Evan, I think we need to have a serious talk about that set of photos you sent me..." Zhao Fusheng hugged Evan Williams and then said bluntly, "My fiancée thinks I've made a bad friend."

"Haha, dear Zhao, you should see that as a kind of情趣 (fun)." Evan Williams, upon hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, was not ashamed but proud. "Come, let me introduce you. This is my friend Biz Stone. I'm planning to start a business with him."

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then smiled and extended his hand to the somewhat shy young man before him. "Hello, Mr. Stone."

Americans are different from Chinese; their names are reversed—first name first, last name last. Since Zhao Fusheng was familiar with Evan Williams, he called him by his first name, Evan. But meeting Biz Stone for the first time, he naturally addressed him by his surname.

Biz Stone smiled lightly and shook hands with Zhao Fusheng. "Hello, Zhao. Evan has been talking about you, saying you're a genius with extraordinary foresight."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand. "He's joking. I'm no genius, nor do I have the ability to foresee the future. I'm just good at analyzing some data."

These two were true masters. Zhao Fusheng absolutely dared not pretend to be an expert in front of them. Evan Williams proposed the concept of blogs, while Biz Stone and another person together developed Twitter. Although it wasn't as glorious as Facebook, remember, Twitter's threshold was lower than Facebook's. Even if it wasn't as good as Facebook, that was relative.

A company with a market value of tens of billions of dollars naturally couldn't compare to one worth hundreds of billions.

But the thing was, for a businessman like Zhao Fusheng, as long as it made money, who cared about the market value?

After some small talk, the group got into a car and headed toward the city.

Not long after they left, Tong Zhenbang's figure appeared at the exit, followed by Chen Shijie and a large group of people, men and women. The men all exuded a fierce aura, looking somewhat intimidating.

"Check the identities of those two." Tong Zhenbang ordered calmly. Then he looked at Chen Shijie. "A-Jie, what do you think?"

Chen Shijie remained silent and did not speak.

It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, but because he knew Tong Zhenbang too well. At this moment, Tong Zhenbang was asking him not because he wanted advice, but out of habit.

In fact, deep down, Tong Zhenbang had already made a decision.

"Let's go. We're going to see Mr. Li." After a moment of contemplation, Tong Zhenbang finally instructed the people behind him.

The group left, heading in the same direction as Zhao Fusheng and the others—toward downtown New York.