Chapter 1634: Negotiations Begin

Zhao Fusheng had his own considerations in having Zheng Yao receive Lee Boo-jin and her party.

After all, the visitors were the Lee siblings, essentially the heirs of Samsung.

It would not be an exaggeration to say they held high positions and wielded great power.

Under such circumstances, if he appeared directly, it would essentially mark the start of formal negotiations.

That was not the outcome Zhao Fusheng wanted to see.

Therefore, he chose to have Zheng Yao handle it.

Though frustrated, Zheng Yao was only momentarily so; she naturally understood that Zhao Fusheng had other considerations in doing this.

Soon, Samsung's reply arrived: at the end of March, Lee Boo-jin and Lee Jae-yong would lead a Samsung delegation to visit China.

Of course, the stated reason was to inspect Samsung's factories in China.

The purpose was simple: to divert public attention and prevent the outside world from detecting their true intentions.

Zhao Fusheng did not mind; whatever reason they gave, in his view, since Lee Kun-hee had sent people, it meant the other party had accepted his open strategy.

In other words, reaching a cooperation was only a matter of time.

They say life is about stirring things up; Zhao Fusheng was quite looking forward to seeing what results he could achieve this time.

"Make all preparations."

Having given instructions to Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao, Zhao Fusheng leisurely left the company.

Well, he intended to be an absentee boss.

…

…

Saying he was an absentee boss was just talk.

Many things we say are merely spoken and never put into practice.

It's like countless people who, after a hard day's work, howl that they'll never go to work again tomorrow and never want to see that damn supervisor's face.

But in reality, the next morning, they still obediently get up, rush to the company by subway or bus, clock in, and then put on a fawning smile for the supervisor they cursed in their hearts the night before.

That's life; no one can change it.

For Zhao Fusheng, though he talked about being an absentee boss, with such a large company, just the reports from various subsidiaries took him hours to read every day.

Whether it was Future Investment, Future Technology, Future Advertising, or Future Film, every important matter from each subsidiary, even if it didn't require his nod as chairman, would still have the report sent to him for review.

And Zhao Fusheng, down to the smallest detail, would carefully read everything and give his judgment.

"Chairman, I'm back."

Wu Sijie returned to China from the United States, travel-worn. Recently, he had been following up on Marvel matters in the US. Now that Ye Jing had finally gotten Marvel on track and the filming of Iron Man had officially begun, he came back.

As the chairman's assistant, he naturally had to report to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "How was it? Everything went smoothly in the US?"

"All good." Wu Sijie nodded repeatedly: "Americans are very efficient. Marvel is burning their bridges this time; Shawn Feury and Kevin Feige practically live in the studio."

"That's good."

Zhao Fusheng smiled but made no comment.

He didn't think those two were truly burning their bridges; in his view, they were just seizing the opportunity to stage a brilliant comeback.

After all, in recent years, Marvel had been beaten badly by competitors; any slightly famous comic book character had its copyright sold off for cash, which was hardly pleasant for anyone with pride.

Now that they had a chance to turn the tables, no one would take it lightly.

"It's best that you're back." Zhao Fusheng smiled and explained his cooperation plan with Samsung to Wu Sijie: "This matter is still under wraps; the media doesn't know about it yet. Keep an eye on it. President Zheng and President Dong are handling the negotiations, and you report to me. Understand?"

Wu Sijie was stunned, never expecting that Zhao Fusheng's move this time was so bold—he actually wanted to complete such a major deal with Samsung!

More importantly, he himself was to act as Zhao Fusheng's agent at the negotiation table.

"Rest assured, I will handle this matter well."

Wu Sijie nodded repeatedly, expressing his determination to Zhao Fusheng.

"Mm-hmm, I'm reassured when you handle things." Zhao Fusheng nodded and said with a smile.

He had confidence in Wu Sijie's abilities—not only was he reliable in handling matters, but he was also good at keeping secrets.

"By the way, over at Future Films, did Ye Jing have any instructions?" Zhao Fusheng suddenly remembered something and asked Wu Sijie.

Since Ye Jing was currently in the United States, Future Films lacked a person in charge. Zhao Fusheng was curious about Ye Jing's arrangements—was he directing remotely?

"Nothing much over there. President Ye said he had already arranged for someone to take charge," Wu Sijie quickly replied.

"That's fine."

Zhao Fusheng nodded. He was relatively at ease with Ye Jing's capabilities.

Moreover, at this time, because the internet had not yet developed so rapidly and information transmission was not so exaggerated, the film and television industry was still relatively clean.

But as time progressed, the entire industry would face more complex changes.

For example, around 2005–2006, the investment for a TV series was only fifty to sixty million yuan, and it was mostly the company's own funds, or several companies invested together. If there was a shortfall, they would seek financing from the real estate industry, paying some interest. In short, the risk was limited—even if they couldn't sell the broadcast rights, they only lost their own money.

However, as the commercial boom in film and television grew, and financial capital entered the industry, the cost of a single production often reached two to three hundred million yuan. Suppose three hundred million was invested by four companies, each contributing fifty million, and the remaining hundred million came from funds or other companies' financing.

But in fact, within each of those four companies' fifty million, only a small portion was their own capital; most was financial capital, which carried significant interest. If the production couldn't air, the interest expenses would be considerable.

The key point is that financial capital affects not only investment but also revenue. For example, a three-hundred-million-yuan TV series sold to TV stations for two hundred million and to video platforms for another two hundred million would show a profit of one hundred million on paper. But the problem is, that's not real!

The TV stations' two hundred million—getting fifty or seventy million is already the ceiling. The four hundred million in revenue might take four or five years or even longer to recover.

That is a nightmare!

This industry is like that—if you're not careful, you fall into a big pit.

Making money isn't easy, but losing money is definitely not difficult.

Zhao Fusheng did not want Future Films to fall into such a predicament one day, and he would never allow any financial capital to enter his company.

It wasn't that he was afraid of losing money, but because Zhao Fusheng felt that would ruin the company.

"By the way, Chairman, the negotiation representatives from Samsung are coming. Should we prepare anything?" Wu Sijie thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then laughed and waved his hand: "No need, it's not that complicated. Just arrange for them to eat at Quanjude or something. Foreigners, after all, like our Chinese specialties..."

Wu Sijie nodded, naturally keeping the boss's words in mind.

...

...

Time passed quickly, and before long it was the end of March. Lee Boo-jin and her brother finally arrived in China.

Having called ahead, Zhao Fusheng did not go to the airport to pick them up himself but had Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao receive the siblings.

As for Zhao Fusheng, he received a call from Lee Kun-hee.

That's right, Lee Kun-hee.

Although he had sent two of his children to China, he was still not entirely at ease and specially called Zhao Fusheng.

Of course, they didn't say anything substantial on the phone—just exchanged pleasantries and expressed their intention to cooperate.

It must be said, an old fox is an old fox. Lee Kun-hee's exchange with Zhao Fusheng was watertight, as if he didn't care much about the cooperation between Future Group and Samsung.

But Zhao Fusheng was not anxious either. He said nothing, revealing none of his true plans, only indicating that he welcomed Lee Boo-jin and Lee Jae-yong to visit Future Group.

"Little fox!"

When he hung up the phone, Lee Kun-hee cursed inwardly.

To be honest, he had never expected Zhao Fusheng to be so shrewd. But on second thought, it seemed normal—after all, the other party was a young man who had built his fortune from scratch.

In other words, he was an entrepreneur, a first-generation rich man like his own father.

But he also understood that Zhao Fusheng genuinely hoped to cooperate with Samsung.

After all, it was a mutually beneficial matter.

"Old fox!"

Little did he know, Zhao Fusheng was also cursing the same words. For him, an opponent like Lee Kun-hee was no easy mark.