Chapter 1376: On the Path of Future Technology

The culture of drinking at the table is a custom that has persisted in China for thousands of years. There are rules for how to behave when drinking with superiors and how to act when drinking with subordinates. It must be said that the knowledge involved is profound.

Zhao Fusheng could also tell that with him present, the tech geeks from Future Technology couldn't relax at all. So after eating for a while, he got up and left.

Once he left, Dong Guoxiang naturally followed, leaving the rest of the group feeling relieved.

It wasn't that they disliked this boss—any boss willing to give employees a raise is likable. But bosses and employees are inherently two different classes; with the boss around, these people naturally couldn't let loose.

"Why did you come out too?"

Outside the hotel, Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Guoxiang with a smile.

"Nothing much anyway, just thought I'd take a stroll," Dong Guoxiang replied with a grin.

Having known him for so long, he was still that person who wasn't good at lying. Zhao Fusheng waved his hand, didn't call him out on it, and walked out with a smile.

Dong Guoxiang followed behind Zhao Fusheng, just like when they first started their business.

In September, the capital already had a hint of chill in the air. The autumn breeze was refreshing, making people feel comfortable.

"Fusheng, there's something I'm not sure if I should ask."

Walking along the road, Dong Guoxiang suddenly spoke to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then smiled: "Go ahead, between us, what can't be said?"

To be honest, among the people around him, if he had to choose the most trustworthy subordinate, Zhao Fusheng would undoubtedly pick Dong Guoxiang.

Perhaps he wasn't the most capable, but Dong Guoxiang knew his place, was loyal, completed all tasks assigned to him well, and worked diligently. Such a subordinate would be liked by anyone.

"It's like this. Do you think it's possible for us to develop our own game, like Zhu Yushi did?" Dong Guoxiang hesitated but still spoke to Zhao Fusheng.

Clearly, this idea had been lingering in his mind for a long time.

As a professional, watching all kinds of foreign games flood the domestic market, it was impossible not to have thoughts about it. But Dong Guoxiang also knew that the cost of doing this was significant. First, a capable team was needed to handle technical challenges. Additionally, huge financial investment was required as support. The main reason most game development teams struggled to last was that they simply couldn't bear the enormous R&D costs. They might not even have a prototype after a year, only to find they'd run out of money and had to close down.

There were many such examples in the US, Japan, and South Korea.

In the internet industry, anything related to network programming burns money.

Even with the current agency for World of Warcraft, Dong Guoxiang knew that Blizzard had invested at least over a hundred million US dollars in this game.

If he were Zhao Fusheng, having to spend tens of millions or more to develop a game with an uncertain future, unsure of its market reception after completion, he would also hesitate.

But the thing was, this idea had been on his mind for a long time. Dong Guoxiang felt that if he didn't ask Zhao Fusheng about it, he would truly regret it.

"Independent development?"

Zhao Fusheng stopped, tilted his head in thought, and suddenly smiled: "Not a bad idea, but how do you plan to solve the funding issue?"

Ah?

Dong Guoxiang was stunned, looking at Zhao Fusheng in surprise: "You, you agree?"

Zhao Fusheng laughed: "I didn't agree. I'm asking you, how do you plan to solve the funding problem? And do you have game planners and developers ready?"

Dong Guoxiang shook his head with a wry smile: "No, we just discussed the possibility among a few of us in charge."

Since Zhao Fusheng was being frank with him, he naturally held nothing back from Zhao Fusheng.

"You're my senior and my friend, so I'll speak plainly," Zhao Fusheng said earnestly to Dong Guoxiang. "Every project has a profit point. You want to make a game, fine—but what's the profit point? Where is the selling point of the entire game plan? These are things you need to show me. I also started in the internet business, so I know how appealing a domestic online game can be. But don't forget, there have been people in China over the years trying to develop online games. What happened?"

Dong Guoxiang was silent. He understood Zhao Fusheng's words, and he could even give an accurate answer to the question Zhao Fusheng raised at the end.

The Chinese internet didn't appear overnight. Similarly, since Shengda Technology achieved great success with the promotion of Legend, online games were no longer a mysterious industry in China. Many companies were trying to profit from it.

But the problem was, very few had truly succeeded.

Whether single-player or online games, the path for domestic games seemed to be narrowing.

What to do?

Dong Guoxiang stood there, frowning slightly, and began to think carefully.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head, sighed inwardly, patted Dong Guoxiang on the shoulder, and said nothing more.

For some things, he only needed to provide the initial idea; the rest would be handled by others. That was the privilege of being the boss. Compared to those who only followed orders, as the boss, Zhao Fusheng could undoubtedly command Dong Chenxi, Dong Guoxiang, and others to act according to his thoughts.

And most importantly, if successful, it was the boss's wise decision; if it failed, it was the employees' lack of execution.

That was reality.

Of course, Dong Guoxiang's relationship with Zhao Fusheng was different, so some things naturally differed.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng was quite interested in online game development.

After all, online games and online novels both fell under the category of entertainment. In Zhao Fusheng's impression, the future development of these two industries was worth looking forward to.

Chen Tianqiao of Shengda Technology was already paying attention to this area. Not long ago, he had acquired several literature websites, apparently planning to venture into the literature business.

Although Zhao Fusheng was interested in this, he could only hold back because he had too many profitable projects on hand. Biting off more than one could chew was completely unnecessary.

The value of a person lies in knowing contentment. That was what Zhao Fusheng thought.

Regardless of which subsidiary under the Future Group, the prerequisite for expansion was that the company must have a core project that ensured profitability and self-sufficiency before considering new projects.

In other words, if this hadn't been proposed by Dong Guoxiang, and if Future Technology's agency for World of Warcraft hadn't guaranteed that the company would be profitable for the next three years, Zhao Fusheng would never have agreed to this.

Don't argue with money.

Zhao Fusheng firmly believed this and kept it in mind.

"Think it over carefully, and give me a specific proposal later." Seeing Dong Guoxiang still seriously pondering his words, Zhao Fusheng smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I find your proposal somewhat interesting."

The implication was that he agreed to Dong Guoxiang's plan.

Dong Guoxiang was overjoyed. For him, the biggest issue was that without Zhao Fusheng's permission, he couldn't proceed.

Although Zhao Fusheng had always let him independently handle Future Technology's affairs, Dong Guoxiang was actually a very insecure person.

From the start of their venture until now, although he was responsible for internet-related matters, unlike Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao who could handle things independently, Dong Guoxiang was mostly in charge of technical aspects.

In other words, he was really not good at corporate management.

This made Dong Guoxiang very unconfident. Without Zhao Fusheng's backing, he even felt he couldn't handle major responsibilities.

But the more this was the case, the more he valued Zhao Fusheng's opinion. Without Zhao Fusheng's nod, even if he knew something would make money, Dong Guoxiang wouldn't do it.

As many insiders of the Future Group put it, Manager Dong of Future Technology was the kind of person who, even if the chairman asked him to develop a program for watching beautiful women online, would do it without question.

And yet, this person became Zhao Fusheng's most trusted subordinate.

That was the art of employing people.

For any superior, they would rather choose a loyal subordinate with slightly less ability than one who could always guess their thoughts and even predict their intentions.

Because smart people often have many thoughts. In the workplace, the more cunning a person is, the harder they are to manage, as you can't tell if they have ulterior motives or might stab you in the back at a critical moment.

Therefore, those with simple minds and loyal hearts are more favored by leaders.

There are too many smart people in the world, like guard dogs. You can find a hundred job seekers in the talent market who would kneel and call you 'dad,' but once these people gain a foothold, when interests are at stake, they will abandon you without hesitation to protect themselves.

Meanwhile, those simple-minded ordinary people will stand by your side without hesitation.

Zhao Fusheng wished to live as a smart person like the former, but as a boss, he naturally knew that if everyone around him were that kind of person, the Future Group would eventually collapse. What the company truly needed were honest people like Dong Guoxiang.

Now that even the honest man was starting to get ideas and wanted to contribute to the company, Zhao Fusheng was naturally happy to see it and was curious about what surprise Dong Guoxiang would bring him.