Chapter 1168: The Art of Spending Money

Those who have truly seen through the mundane world, rather than pretending to do so while seeking a shortcut to fame, are mostly hidden in remote mountains and forests or staying in dilapidated temples with sparse incense. Few choose to live in bustling cities.

Only a mundane person like Zhao Fusheng would be single-mindedly focused on making more money to enhance his material comforts.

Of course, this is not wrong, as it reflects the life state of most people.

Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao were discussing how to enter the real estate industry. Zhao Fusheng, after some thought, recalled what Zheng Yao had mentioned earlier about entering the e-commerce sector.

After all, with money in hand now, even burning cash was within their means.

"By the way, how are things going with the e-commerce side?" Zhao Fusheng asked Zheng Yao.

Zheng Yao had mentioned earlier that she was interested in Ma Xiaoyun's company and wanted to try investing in it.

Although Zhao Fusheng was not optimistic about it, he did not oppose Zheng Yao's approach.

In fact, Ma Xiaoyun was probably in a state of dilemma. His company had developed well initially, but after being outmaneuvered by SoftBank, he frustratingly found that the major shareholder was not himself but SoftBank, which greatly displeased him.

That was why Alipay later emerged.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng didn't need to explain these things to Zheng Yao, as she might not believe him even if he did.

But undeniably, Taobao Mall had become a leader in domestic e-commerce, and online shopping platforms were becoming a must-visit for many internet users.

This feeling of witnessing history firsthand was both interesting and comfortable for Zhao Fusheng.

"It's going smoothly," Zheng Yao said, looking up at Zhao Fusheng as she explained, "Our people met Ma Xiaoyun. He is not opposed to cooperating with us."

This was based on the suggestion Zhao Fusheng had given her earlier: if negotiations with SoftBank went poorly, she should approach Ma Xiaoyun, believing he would be interested in partnering with Future Group.

When she first heard this suggestion, Zheng Yao thought Zhao Fusheng might be crazy—wanting to invest in someone else's company by approaching the founder seemed like a far-fetched, unreliable idea.

But to her surprise, the negotiations with SoftBank indeed went as poorly as expected. SoftBank scoffed at Future Group's proposal, explicitly stating they would not sell even 0.1% of Alibaba's stock.

However, Ma Xiaoyun gave Zheng Yao a pleasant surprise.

Zheng Yao even remembered that when she first met the short man, he enthusiastically said he hoped to cooperate with Future Group in all areas.

Then, almost imperceptibly, she became friends with him and talked a lot.

Afterward, Zheng Yao had to admit, as Zhao Fusheng had told her, that Ma Xiaoyun was exceptionally skilled at captivating people. Anyone who communicated with him for more than ten minutes would easily fall into his conversational rhythm and be led by him.

Even Zheng Yao herself, if not for Zhao Fusheng's prior warning, would have been led by him.

Zheng Yao would never forget the expression on Ma Xiaoyun's face when she proposed entering Alibaba—a mix of conflict and hesitation.

"How did you know Ma Xiaoyun would be willing to cooperate with us?" Dong Chenxi asked Zhao Fusheng curiously.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "Simple. Because he is a person with a strong desire for control. When the company cannot move in the direction he wants, he would rather seek partners than be subordinate to others."

Dong Chenxi seemed thoughtful, while Zheng Yao suddenly understood.

This was probably why Zhao Fusheng had told her to abandon negotiations with SoftBank and approach Ma Xiaoyun instead.

"If possible, try to take a stake in Alibaba," Zhao Fusheng said slowly to Zheng Yao. "Also, if he has any ideas or wants to start a new company, weigh the options and you can support him. But one thing: we only provide money, not effort. If he wants Future Advertising to cooperate, he needs to give us more shares."

Zhao Fusheng never worried about Ma Xiaoyun's development, but he had no interest in helping Boss Ma build his empire.

Investing for shares and then waiting for dividends—that was Zhao Fusheng's plan.

As for starting a business, well, in e-commerce, Zhao Fusheng knew little beyond the fact that you could buy things online. In his previous life, he rarely used Alipay, let alone Ant Check Later.

It's often said that poor people owe tens of thousands on credit cards and need to cash out from Huabei every month. Actually, that's wrong, because truly poor people don't have credit cards or Huabei.

Because they can't even afford the minimum payment.

Zhao Fusheng's words were naturally heeded by Zheng Yao. She nodded: "Don't worry, I know what to do."

...

...

Zheng Yao had other matters to attend to, so after chatting for a while, she left Zhao Fusheng's office.

Dong Chenxi, however, used the excuse of having other things to discuss with Zhao Fusheng and stayed behind.

"What's up? Anything else?" Zhao Fusheng asked Dong Chenxi curiously, not recalling any unfinished business with her.

Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng helplessly: "Don't tell me you plan to swallow that hundred million dollars. Aren't you afraid Tong Zhenbang will blow up?"

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily, knowing Dong Chenxi would ask that. He waved his hand: "You worry too much. Who said I'm going to swallow that money? Don't forget, that money is being watched."

No way, even if he were crazy, he wouldn't dare swallow that money. Once it entered the country, it was as good as handed over to the state. He didn't have the guts to embezzle state property.

He could toy with Tong Zhenbang or even Mr. Li behind him, but he absolutely dared not oppose the state.

Countless blood and history have proven that those who oppose New China come to no good end.

Dong Chenxi frowned slightly, looking at Zhao Fusheng: "If that's the case, why are you making such a big show of investing?"

That was what she couldn't understand. At a time when caution was needed, Zhao Fusheng was flamboyantly planning investments in real estate and e-commerce, as if afraid others wouldn't know he was spending money.

What was going on?

Dong Chenxi urgently hoped to get an accurate answer from Zhao Fusheng.

Seeing her serious inquiry, Zhao Fusheng knew she was genuinely worried. He smiled and explained: "Simple. I want Tong Zhenbang to know that I've already invested that money."

"Uh..." Dong Chenxi was momentarily stunned, puzzled. Her bright eyes fixed on Zhao Fusheng, clearly hoping he would continue.

Zhao Fusheng sighed. Dong Chenxi was still a bit naive, or more precisely, she didn't understand the dirtiness of the business world and the dark side of human nature as well as he did.

This was probably due to experience. In his previous life, he had seen too much of society's dark side and understood what 'unfathomable human hearts' truly meant.

Dong Chenxi, on the other hand, had joined Future Advertising right after college and later moved to the capital to develop film and investment companies. Overall, her path had been smooth, without major setbacks.

Perhaps that was the problem with the people around him.

"Think about it," Zhao Fusheng said slowly to Dong Chenxi. "If we never touch this money and only use it for stock trading, will they continue to cooperate with us? They could do stock trading themselves. Hiring a few traders to buy some stocks is easy. Why go through all this trouble?"

Dong Chenxi fell silent. She had to admit Zhao Fusheng was right. If it were just stock or futures trading, Tong Zhenbang wouldn't need to go through Future Investment. He could find traders in the US and achieve the same result, especially since Zhao Fusheng had already pointed the way.

"In the end, they want to launder money and go legit," Zhao Fusheng said with a faint smile. "I'm investing all this money for them. When they see returns, it's like a tasty bait for Tong Zhenbang—he can't resist swallowing it!"

Experience was crucial. Tong Zhenbang and Mr. Li were both top talents. Even in the underworld, reaching their level required ruthlessness and experience.

But the problem was, they didn't understand finance yet were determined to launder money and go legit. That was why they were doomed to fail.

Sometimes, people feel invincible and unconsciously underestimate their opponents, yet they willingly enter games they can't afford to play.

In their own circles, both were cunning and calculating.

But in this situation, whether Tong Zhenbang or Mr. Li, in Zhao Fusheng's eyes, they only deserved one description: ambitious but lacking ability.

Even Zhao Fusheng wouldn't dare stand against the state.

Yet they recklessly treated the domestic police as fools, thinking they could launder money and go legit in China. Did they really think the authorities were just collecting paychecks?

In Zhao Fusheng's view, if you've taken the crooked path and want to go legit, you should find a remote place to live out your days quietly, never thinking about making a grand entry into the country.

Because the louder you jump, the faster you die. Zhao Fusheng firmly believed that.