Chapter 1299: A Moment of Leisure Amidst Busyness

There is a saying in South Korea: Personality is pulled out of one's wallet.

Perhaps many people don't understand, but in South Korea, even between brothers, borrowing money is rare. Koreans regard private property as extremely important, and the standard for measuring the quality of a relationship between two people can be seen in whether they would lend money to each other without hesitation. If they do, it means the relationship between the two is truly good.

After all, the Republic of Korea is a magical country where treating someone to a bottle of mineral water counts as a treat.

"Boss, Jinshan called." Liang Jingyu's somewhat excited voice came through the phone. Just now, Jinshan had called him, agreeing to the conditions Zhao Fusheng had proposed earlier.

"Alright, sign the contract with him." Hearing Liang Jingyu's words, Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Give him five percent of the shares and invite him to join the company's board of directors."

Liang Jingyu nodded in agreement.

Putting down the phone, Zhao Fusheng looked at Dong Chenxi and said lightly: "See? Jinshan has made his choice."

Dong Chenxi frowned slightly: "This man has no small ambitions."

Obviously, Jinshan, now a prominent lawyer, had given up an annual consulting fee of 1.8 billion Korean won to accept five percent of Future Entertainment's shares, clearly aiming for better development in the future.

In other words, he was very ambitious.

Zhao Fusheng smiled. He did not agree with Dong Chenxi's words: "The city has no feelings. Whether you are a high official or a commoner, whether you come or go, it still operates as usual. Humans, like ants, live busily in this nest made of steel and concrete. Countless joys and sorrows unfold in every corner, and everyone strives to weave their own world. But no matter how hard you try, you can be replaced. These people include you and me."

Pausing, Zhao Fusheng said meaningfully: "Jinshan is an ambitious man, so it's normal for him to make such a choice. Just like when we were unwilling to stay in Ninghai back then."

Dong Chenxi was startled, then nodded.

She naturally understood Zhao Fusheng's words. In essence, people and companies are the same, because companies are managed and operated by people. The reason an enterprise keeps growing and strengthening is ultimately that its leaders have ambition and want to develop better.

"So, what do we do next?" Dong Chenxi thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Do nothing. Since Jinshan has become a shareholder, he naturally has the obligation to serve the company. We don't need to worry about the rest."

Then he laughed: "I plan to take a look around South Korea. As for you, it's up to you."

Dong Chenxi rolled her eyes: "Easy for you to say. You have time, but I don't. Since that's the case, I'll go back to China in a few days. There's a lot going on at the company, and I still need to go to Zhejiang Province to see Ma Xiaoyun."

Zhao Fusheng nodded. Alibaba was the priority, he knew that well.

...

...

In the following days, Zhao Fusheng became a free man. At Future Entertainment, Jinshan and Liang Jingyu started taking action. Under Jinshan's leadership, Liang Jingyu quickly integrated into Seoul's business circle.

Meanwhile, Dong Chenxi set off back to China after the funds were transferred.

As for Zhao Fusheng, he holed up in his apartment with nothing much to do.

During this time, he received a call from Zhu Yushi, inviting him to join the Taishan Association. After much consideration, Zhao Fusheng politely declined.

Whether it was the mysterious Taishan Association or the equally famous Jiangnan Association that would emerge later, they were ultimately just games played by these big shots. In Zhao Fusheng's view, capital was the most important thing.

What a tycoon club could offer him was nothing more than circles and connections, which were very useful for business expansion.

But the problem was, with his foreknowledge, he didn't need these at all.

More importantly, Zhao Fusheng didn't want to be associated with these big shots in the eyes of others one day. He greatly admired Wang Wei of SF Express, a representative of making a fortune quietly. SF Express's business was huge, yet Wang Wei still firmly held the company's controlling stake and rarely appeared in public, remaining extremely mysterious.

In recent years, many tycoon clubs had indeed emerged in China, from the earliest Chang'an Club to the later Capital Club. In essence, they were all tricks of playing circles.

Chang'an Club, located at No. 10 Chang'an Street, was initiated by Li Chaoren and Huo Daheng. Individual membership fee was 16,000 US dollars, while corporate membership was 180,000 US dollars. Members were mainly business people. The Capital Club, located at Xinyuan South Road, was initiated by Hong Kong real estate tycoon Xu Daheng and Li Chaoren's son. Individual membership fee was 100,000 RMB, while corporate membership was around 130,000 RMB. Members were mainly foreign company presidents and consulate staff.

As for the Taishan Association that Zhu Yushi invited Zhao Fusheng to join, it was founded in 1993. The president was Liu Maiban of Lenovo, and it included fifteen top business tycoons with considerable status in various domestic industries.

This was no joke. The president of the Taishan Association was Boss Liu of Lenovo, the chairman was Duan Yongji of Stone Group, and members included: Feng Lun of Vantone Group, Lu Zhiqiang of Oceanwide Group, Guo Guangchang of Fosun Group, Zhang Yue of Broad Air Conditioning, Lin Rongqiang of Xinyuan Holdings, Zhu Yushi of Giant Group, Li Yanhong of Baidu, Duan Yongping of BBK, Chen Qingzhen of Zhongguancun Kehai Group, Zheng Yuewen of Kerui Group, Wang Siyuan of Sida Group, Xu Wenrong of Hengdian Group, Wu Li of Heguang Group, and Wang Zhongjun of Huayi Brothers.

In short, this was a capitalist alliance!

How powerful was the Taishan Society?

When Zhu Yushi failed with his Giant Building project back in the day, it was the people from the Taishan Society who helped him make a comeback. Later, Duan Yongji even spent 1.2 billion to buy Brain Gold and gave Zhu Yushi a 20% stake in Stone Group. And then there was Didi, which many later generations used—its founder was the daughter of Liu the comprador. As for why Ma Xiaoyun was so eager to help, the reason was simple: he had connections.

Ma Xiaoyun's first pot of gold came from building a website for the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation in the capital. Liu the comprador's fellow townsman and elder brother was the old head of the ministry. After the elder brother was promoted, he arranged for an iron lady to succeed him. During that time, Ma Xiaoyun took on many projects. Why were Liu the comprador and Ma Xiaoyun on such good terms later, always doing things together? Because they were sworn brothers from the same sect.

To Zhao Fusheng, the circles of these top big shots were far too complicated.

Joining them might bring some benefits, but it also came with risks. Zhao Fusheng didn't want to be labeled a member of a capitalist alliance one day.

So, in the end, he turned down Zhu Yushi.

Of course, the reason was simple: he was too young to have anything to talk about with a bunch of old men.

Zhu Yushi didn't think much of it. He had only casually mentioned Zhao Fusheng joining the Taishan Society, not expecting that everyone would be so interested in him.

But as Zhao Fusheng said, he was too young, with too big an age gap from all the leaders in the Taishan Society.

More importantly, Zhu Yushi felt that Zhao Fusheng was a very ambitious man, and perhaps he had other plans in mind.

Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

Zhu Yushi understood this principle. In his view, for someone Zhao Fusheng's age to have started from scratch and come this far, he must be ambitious.

Having him join the Taishan Society and bow down before a bunch of old men—clearly, the young and proud Zhao Fusheng was unwilling.

He didn't realize that Zhao Fusheng simply disliked such circles.

Besides, in a few years, more and more business clubs would be established in China, and many of their members would overlap.

At the root of it, wasn't it because there were only so many top-tier people in the country?

Unless you were the CEO of a company invested in by Tencent or Hillhouse, who wouldn't want to sit at the same table as Ma Xiaoyun? Conversely, unless you had received investment from the Alibaba camp, who wouldn't want to chat with Ma Huateng?

……

……

"Come for a walk with me?" Zhao Fusheng, bored out of his mind, said to the bodyguard who had been following him these past few days.

Zhang Qian had originally come along but later returned to China. Future Security had recently started taking on bodyguard services, and Jiang Wen, Yu Feihong, and others had helped introduce quite a few clients. To build a reputation, Zhang Qian, as the general manager, naturally had to stay in the capital.

Staying in Seoul were four of Zhang Qian's comrades.

The leader was called Hu Donghai, said to be Zhang Qian's former squad leader during their army days.

"Alright."

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Hu Donghai nodded.

Like Zhang Qian, he was the silent type, not talkative on ordinary days, but if something happened, he would charge forward without hesitation.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and left the apartment with Hu Donghai.

Hu Donghai made a gesture, and the other three bodyguards followed at a distance, providing covert protection.

Zhao Fusheng had no choice but to make such a big show. A man of wealth should not sit in a dangerous place. At his current status, if anything happened, it wouldn't affect just one or two people—thousands of employees and their families would suffer. So safety couldn't be ignored.

That was also why Zhao Fusheng rarely went out for walks like he used to. He had to consider his bodyguards too. As the boss, if he acted too recklessly, those around him would naturally have to deal with the consequences.

"Hmm, don't drive. Let's take the train."

Seeing Hu Donghai about to call for a car, Zhao Fusheng waved his hand and said.

"Train?"

Hu Donghai was taken aback, a bit surprised.

"Yeah." Zhao Fusheng smiled. "Since there's nothing to do, let's go out and explore, visit another city."

Blinking his eyes, Hu Donghai felt he understood his boss less and less.