Chapter 1521: The Meeting

Fan Baobao was actually somewhat skeptical of Zhao Fusheng's words.

But she also knew that when it came to choosing scripts, Zhao Fusheng was more professional than she was—after all, he had once been a proper scriptwriter.

We must learn to recognize one thing: don't use your amateur hobby to challenge someone else's livelihood. The fear of being dominated by those you look down upon—many people might still know nothing of that power.

But as Zhao Fusheng said, facts speak louder than words.

"Let's hope so."

Fan Baobao tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said with a smile.

When people are young, they all wish for a life of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and wine. But in the end, they can't escape the daily grind of firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea.

For her, she was very satisfied with her current life.

After all, not everyone, like her, could live a life free from worries about food and clothing, or even fear that pregnancy and childbirth would cost them their exposure.

Though in truth, Fan Baobao didn't really care about that.

Since he said he would stay home to accompany his wife during her pregnancy, Zhao Fusheng naturally had to follow through.

He simply canceled all his appointments and stayed home with Fan Baobao during this time.

At first, Fan Baobao was a bit unaccustomed to it, but Zhao Fusheng handled all his work via computer and email, and after a while, she got used to it.

No woman dislikes having her husband spend more time with her, even though they also hope their husbands will achieve fame and success.

But if the two could be unified, who wouldn't like that?

……

……

Time passed quickly, and October was gone in the blink of an eye.

Even Zhao Fusheng hadn't expected that his break would last a full month or more.

During this time, under Zheng Yao's leadership, Future Group officially announced that several of its subsidiaries would become self-financing starting next year.

As soon as the news broke, public opinion was in an uproar.

Those in the know were aware that Zhao Fusheng was always a man with ideas, and this move was clearly part of a larger strategy.

"What exactly does this guy want to do?"

In the headquarters of SoftBank Asia, Ono Masao sat at his desk, muttering to himself as he looked at the newspaper's analysis of Future Group's subsidiaries.

SoftBank had suffered huge losses in the United States, even affecting its布局 in Asia.

At this moment, Ono Masao recalled his earlier exchange of Alibaba shares with Zhao Fusheng and couldn't help but regret it deeply.

Now anyone could see the downturn in the U.S. economy, but there was no way out—no one was stepping in to take over, and SoftBank could only grit its teeth and hold on.

In comparison, Future Group's current situation was truly enviable.

Although Zhao Fusheng had invested in several projects in the U.S. before, he had pulled out heavily before the economic crisis, retaining only shares in Twitter and Facebook, leaving no other stakes.

Even more frightening, he had cashed out part of his Facebook shares before the crisis.

This series of moves had truly dazzled Ono Masao.

Once upon a time, he had mocked Zhao Fusheng for picking up sesame seeds while dropping watermelons, ignoring the bright prospects of the U.S. market in favor of Alibaba shares.

But now, facts proved that Zhao Fusheng was the one who laughed last.

A transaction worth several hundred million dollars was not a trivial amount even for a deep-pocketed company like SoftBank. When Zhao Fusheng was negotiating with Sequoia Capital, Ono Masao had heard about it, but at that time, both SoftBank and he himself saw Zhao Fusheng's behavior as a sign that the man had gone mad.

Or rather, in their view, what Zhao Fusheng did was far too shortsighted.

Giving up the thriving Facebook to acquire Alibaba shares was undoubtedly a move that defied business logic.

No one expected that just a few months later, the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis would begin!

America now was simply an investor's nightmare!

That was why Ono Masao had rushed to China in such a hurry.

He planned to seek help!

And his target, naturally, was Zhao Fusheng, who had ample cash on hand and an excellent reputation in banking and finance.

…

…

"Ono wants to see me?"

Zhao Fusheng received Dong Chenxi's call just as he returned home from the zoo with Fan Beibei.

In the morning, the amusement park.

In the afternoon, the zoo.

From tigers to pandas, and along the way Zhao Fusheng also treated Fan Beibei to a ton of snacks.

Originally Zhao Fusheng planned to take the little girl to the night market in the evening, but Fan Beibei, having played all day, was too exhausted and fell asleep on Zhao Fusheng's arm on the way home.

As the saying goes, one trains an army for a thousand days to use it for one moment.

When he got out of the car holding the little girl, Zhao Fusheng felt that his entire arm no longer belonged to him—it was completely numb.

Then he received Dong Chenxi's call.

"Yes," Dong Chenxi said to Zhao Fusheng. "He talked with me earlier. It seems this time he wants to cooperate with us?"

"Cooperate?"

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback. After a moment's thought, he said, "Investigate what's been happening with SoftBank in the US recently."

Anything out of the ordinary is suspicious. In Zhao Fusheng's view, Masao Ono's unsolicited visit surely had ulterior motives.

It's often said that those not of our kind are bound to have different intentions. Zhao Fusheng never trusted the Japanese, let alone a Japanese businessman.

No matter how Masao Ono tried to whitewash the situation, he couldn't hide his greedy nature.

And for Zhao Fusheng, such an opponent, though challenging, also meant opportunity.

"I've already arranged for an investigation," Dong Chenxi said. "But since he insists on meeting you, will you meet him?"

After all, Masao Ono was a big shot in his own right. Although Dong Chenxi had the final say at Future Investment, when it came to major matters like cooperation with SoftBank, Zhao Fusheng, as the boss, still had to appear in person.

In fact, both Masao Ono and Dong Chenxi knew that no matter how smoothly their talks went, without Zhao Fusheng's nod, the cooperation couldn't proceed.

"Alright," Zhao Fusheng nodded. "Set a time, and I'll find a moment to chat with him."

Then he chuckled. "I used to be the one fooling Ono. This time, it seems Ono plans to give me a taste of my own medicine."

Smart as he was, how could he not guess what Ono was up to?

Hanging up the phone, Zhao Fusheng carried Fan Beibei inside. As soon as he entered, he saw Fan Baobao pacing back and forth in the room under Zhao's mother's watchful eye—apparently it was good for the baby's health.

"Quick!"

Zhao Fusheng said to his mother with a pained expression. "Take her."

"What's wrong?" Zhao's mother asked, puzzled. Why was her son so exhausted just from holding Fan Beibei?

"Don't even mention it. On the way back..." Zhao Fusheng recounted the whole story, finally adding helplessly, "When I answered the phone just now, someone else had to hold it for me."

"Hahaha!"

Fan Baobao couldn't help but burst out laughing.

After all, it was rare to see Zhao Fusheng, who always seemed so composed, show this side of himself.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly. "You're still laughing! Have you no sympathy?"

"Sympathy?"

Fan Baobao looked stunned, staring at Zhao Fusheng in surprise. "What, you mean you're not happy holding our Beibei?"

Zhao Fusheng was about to retort when he noticed that the little figure in his arms had its eyelids moving—clearly, the little girl was awake.

He shot Fan Baobao a helpless glare and shook his head. "How could that be? I love holding Beibei. Our Beibei is so adorable—who wouldn't adore her?"

The next moment, Zhao Fusheng clearly felt the body in his arms relax.

Shaking his head, he couldn't be bothered to complain about Fan Baobao's opportunistic behavior and carried Fan Beibei toward the bedroom.