Chapter 1185: Ono's Objective

To be fair, Zhao Fusheng really hadn't expected that Ono Masao would bring up Taobao with him.

Although Zhao Fusheng wanted to refuse, he had to admit that after weighing it in his mind, he ultimately sighed. Ono Masao was indeed a skilled negotiator.

At the very least, the condition he proposed was one Zhao Fusheng simply couldn't reject.

Or rather, unless he was crazy, Zhao Fusheng couldn't resist the temptation of being a Taobao shareholder, even though Dong Chenxi was already in contact with Ma Xiaoyun.

There was no help for it; Zhao Fusheng knew too well the immense potential of Taobao's future development. Ma Xiaoyun had become the object of many men's resentment because of this company.

Seeing Zhao Fusheng's reaction, a smile crept onto Ono Masao's lips. He knew that Zhao Fusheng couldn't refuse this bait.

“Mr. Ono, it seems you've come well prepared.” Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily, speaking to Ono Masao with meaningful implication.

Ono Masao laughed as well: “President Zhao's words are very reasonable. You Chinese have an old saying: 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' I think it's very true.”

Clearly, Ono Masao was quite pleased with himself now, feeling that he had finally managed to regain some ground against Zhao Fusheng.

Although Zhao Fusheng couldn't guess Ono Masao's exact thoughts, he could roughly sense them. But he didn't mind; only losers think about reclaiming lost face before the victor. The victor never needs to care about the loser's feelings.

In fact, the principle was simple. When people's lives are difficult, they focus on their own small family, on their own little patch of land. But when life undergoes earth-shaking changes, they shift their gaze from their small family to a broader world.

Just like Zhao Fusheng, when he first started his business, he never imagined that one day he would sit before a big shot like Ono Masao and haggle with him.

After all, at that time, even though he had been reborn, he wasn't truly confident deep down.

Small potatoes are called small potatoes because, from every perspective, they aren't successful. Perhaps in the advertising field, Zhao Fusheng could claim an unparalleled advantage. But in other areas, he really couldn't guarantee that he was better than others.

To this day, Zhao Fusheng still maintained a humble heart. He acted boldly but lived modestly.

“Mr. Ono, I think you might have misunderstood one thing.” Looking at Ono Masao, Zhao Fusheng said calmly, “I, personally, don't like to negotiate terms with others.”

Now it was Ono Masao's turn to be surprised. He looked at Zhao Fusheng with some bewilderment: “President Zhao, don't you want to hear my conditions?”

Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly: “Mr. Ono, you probably don't know much about the Future Group's situation. Personally, I hold a conservative attitude toward the e-commerce industry, but my subordinates have always been optimistic about this sector, believing that current investments are for better future development. Although I don't entirely agree with their views, I respect my employees' opinions. After all, they are trying to help me make money, so I allowed them to contact your company.”

“Perhaps this gave you an inappropriate impression, Mr. Ono, leading you to think that I might accept your conditions. I'm sorry, but I see no need for negotiation on this matter. In my view, NetEase's stock is a non-sale item for future investment.”

Having said this, Zhao Fusheng picked up the teacup before him, drained it in one gulp, then stood up and walked straight out of the tea room, leaving Ono Masao dumbfounded.

Watching Zhao Fusheng's retreating figure, Ono Masao nearly bit his tongue off.

What was going on?

Why was it completely different from what he had expected?

No matter how hard he tried, Ono Masao couldn't understand what had happened. How could Zhao Fusheng suddenly change his attitude so drastically, even adopting a posture of unwillingness to negotiate?

But regardless of what Ono Masao thought, Zhao Fusheng had already left. And he, after hesitating, did not send anyone to stop him.

“Mr. Ono, what should we do?” At that moment, Ono Masao's assistant entered and said in a low voice.

Shaking his head, Ono Masao said, “No hurry. Let's wait and see.”

Intuition told him that he and Zhao Fusheng would meet again.

…

…

“Old fox!”

After leaving the tea room, Zhao Fusheng got into his car. Seeing that Ono Masao hadn't come out to stop him, he muttered to himself in reproach.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Qian was a bit puzzled. He hadn't followed Zhao Fusheng inside, so naturally he didn't know what had happened inside, only seeing Zhao Fusheng come out alone.

"Nothing. That old fox Ono Masao was trying to pump me for information." Zhao Fusheng snorted, pulled out his phone, and called Zheng Yao.

"When you were in contact with SoftBank Asia, did you meet Ono Masao?" Zhao Fusheng asked directly as soon as the call connected.

Zheng Yao was taken aback, then admitted, "I did meet him and had a chat. I proposed buying their shares of Alibaba, but he refused, saying that investment in that company was not for sale."

"Huh, same line he gave me." Zhao Fusheng snorted. "Check it out—ah, forget it, I'll have someone else check."

With that, he hung up, leaving Zheng Yao on the other end completely bewildered, with no idea what had happened.

After hanging up, Zhao Fusheng called Dong Chenxi.

"What's up? Something happened?" Dong Chenxi sounded quite surprised when she answered the phone, asking Zhao Fusheng in astonishment.

She knew Zhao Fusheng wouldn't call her for no reason.

"Check on any recent movements with NetEase's stock. Also, what's SoftBank up to?" Zhao Fusheng instructed Dong Chenxi.

Dong Chenxi was startled: "SoftBank? Ono Masao?"

Clearly, that was the only opponent's name she could think of.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, giving a mental thumbs-up for Dong Chenxi's quick wit.

"What's really going on?"

Before Zhao Fusheng could praise her, the composed and quick-witted Dong Chenxi's next question left him speechless.

"If I knew what was going on, would I have asked you to investigate?" Zhao Fusheng replied irritably.

Dong Chenxi realized how foolish her question was, gave an awkward laugh, and simply hung up.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly after putting down the phone. He was desperate too; his team, like himself, were all amateurs who had switched careers midway.

Corporate managers who switched careers midway might have broad thinking, but in terms of professionalism, there were still some limitations.

"Ono wants to buy NetEase stock?" Zhang Qian asked in surprise.

Although Zhao Fusheng hadn't said it, he had overheard some of the phone call.

"Yeah, and he's threatening me with the Alibaba matter." Zhao Fusheng snorted.

Zhang Qian was stunned, hesitated for a moment, but didn't say anything more. After all, this involved the company's operational strategy, and no one but Zhao Fusheng could make the decision.

Zhao Fusheng naturally understood this as well and didn't say anything further to Zhang Qian.

...

It must be said that Dong Chenxi was quite fast. Three days after Zhao Fusheng called her, she had already sent the investigation results to his email.

Looking at the contents of the email, Zhao Fusheng's expression was rather strange.

"What's wrong?"

Fan Baobao wrapped her arms around Zhao Fusheng's neck and asked softly.

The little girl had already gone to sleep. The two had secretly been intimate, but then Zhao Fusheng sat in front of the computer staring blankly. She found it odd and asked.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Nothing. It's just that those Japanese from SoftBank are planning to make a move on American tech stocks."

"What does that have to do with us?" Fan Baobao was puzzled.

"Of course it does. They've set their sights on the American internet companies I hold." Zhao Fusheng said calmly.

Fan Baobao was completely confused, but Zhao Fusheng's expression brightened. No wonder Ono Masao had taken the initiative to approach him. It seemed this time, the Japanese had big plans.