Chapter 1170: The Profiteer

For Zhao Fusheng, Dong Chenxi's growth was something he was happy to see.

He was a sentimental man, well aware that although the people around him had been working hard over the years, in reality, compared to true businessmen, the gap was still significant.

After all, as the business grew larger, there would certainly be many more problems to face. Dong Chenxi and the others maturing quickly would benefit both themselves and the company.

Leaving Zhao Fusheng's office, Dong Chenxi stopped at the door, turned to look at his sharply defined profile, and said seriously, "Based on your reasoning, if nothing unexpected happens, it's likely that Mr. Li will step forward. What will Tong Zhenbang do then?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled. "That's their own business. And believe me, if I'm not mistaken, Tong Zhenbang has probably also bought shares in NetEase privately. Maybe next time we meet, he'll bring out a sum of money and hope we help him invest."

He paused, then added, "When that time comes, I won't mind letting Mr. Li know about it."

Dong Chenxi frowned slightly. She suddenly felt that Zhao Fusheng had been waiting for this opportunity all along.

"In that case, they'll definitely end up fighting, won't they?" Dong Chenxi said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and nodded. "Maybe they'll even tear each other apart."

Blinking, Dong Chenxi looked at him helplessly. "Isn't this like making them consume their strength through internal strife? Aren't you afraid it will affect your classmate?"

Zhao Fusheng laughed softly, neither confirming nor denying, but said indifferently, "When dealing with those who harbor ulterior motives and deep greed, amplifying a certain desire in their hearts and letting them be devoured by it is the most effective way to defeat them. What exists is reasonable. I believe that if such a situation arises, Chen Shijie will know what the most appropriate choice is."

Dong Chenxi fell silent, sighed, and turned to leave Zhao Fusheng's office.

Although Zhao Fusheng hadn't said it directly, she already understood his meaning. At this moment, there was no way to consider too many things.

……

……

Sitting in his office, Zhao Fusheng sighed softly. He was well aware of Dong Chenxi's concerns, but at this moment, he simply couldn't afford to think about too many things. Excessive compassion was the last thing needed now. If his hesitation delayed the entire plan, Chen Shijie would surely resent him even more.

"I hope you understand," Zhao Fusheng muttered to himself.

In his heart, he had already decided that if the opportunity arose, he would definitely meet with Chen Shijie, tell him his plan, and have him cooperate. That way, the chances of success would be at least a bit higher.

As for danger, in Zhao Fusheng's view, if you want to succeed, taking risks is inevitable.

The casino king in Macau who loved ballroom dancing was a playboy all his life, but don't forget, when he was young, he spent a whole year shipping goods for Lianchang Trading Company in Macau, nearly killed by fleeing soldiers, before earning a million in dividends and building his own career.

Any successful man, besides intelligence and ability, must have courage.

Heaven may give you a chance to rise to wealth and status, but if you miss it because of a lack of guts, you can't blame your bad luck.

……

……

With things on his mind, Zhao Fusheng had no mood to do anything else. He had originally planned to visit the set of "A World Without Thieves," but after thinking it over, he didn't go.

Just after he got home, Ye Jing called.

"Old Jiang is about to join the crew, but judging by the pace of early shooting, the budget for this film will be at least thirty million," Ye Jing said bitterly. "And that's with the guest stars only taking travel expenses."

"What's going on?" Zhao Fusheng frowned.

An investment of thirty million was already a huge sum in the current mainland film market.

This wasn't like later times, when investments of hundreds of millions were common, and you'd be embarrassed to say you were making a film if you only invested thirty or fifty million.

Not everyone was like old Jia, who finally made a film with a production and marketing budget of seventy million, "Ash Is Purest White," only for it to be the most expensive film he had ever directed.

"All expenses are normal. It's mainly the harsh environment here; the actors are suffering from severe altitude sickness..." Ye Jing said with a wry smile.

He was now leading the crew filming on the plateau, and the harsh conditions went without saying.

If it weren't for the fact that the budget was clearly going to be exceeded, he wouldn't have called Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng fell silent upon hearing Ye Jing's words.

He was now somewhat knowledgeable about the film industry and more or less understood the issues involved.

Ye Jing certainly wouldn't dare deceive him, which meant he was indeed facing a problem.

As the largest investor, since Future Films was taking the lion's share of the profits, it naturally had to take responsibility. As for Xinbaoyuan and Huayi, neither Zhao Fusheng nor Ye Jing had ever counted on them.

People's words are often time-sensitive. At the moment they're spoken, you can't deny their sincerity, but as time passes, those words often take on new meanings. And they can be justified, eventually becoming empty platitudes.

Initially, Xinbaoyuan and Huayi had both expressed full cooperation with Future Films.

And they did cooperate—they put up money, and their artists agreed to cameo. Now that the budget was exceeding, Zhao Fusheng was a hundred percent sure that if they put up more money, they would demand a larger share of the profits.

Business is business, and personal relationships are personal relationships.

Zhao Fusheng knew this, the Wang brothers knew it, and Zhao Baogang knew it too.

So, after a moment's thought, Zhao Fusheng said to Ye Jing, "In that case, let's start the bidding."

"Bidding?"

Ye Jing was taken aback. "What bidding?"

Zhao Fusheng chuckled. "Advertising bidding, of course."

He continued, "Don't forget, Future Advertising is one of the top three advertising companies in the north. 'A World Without Thieves' is such a big production. The brands of clothes the male and female leads wear, the cars they drive, the drinks they consume—all of these can be put up for advertising bidding. Also, if any company wants to appear in the film, that's not impossible. We can give them a few more shots."

At that moment, the only word that came to Ye Jing's mind to describe Zhao Fusheng was: profiteer.