Chapter 1636: Unwavering

Was Dong Guoxiang an idiot?

Of course not.

Many people always equate honest people with idiots, thinking that if someone is too honest, they must be an idiot.

In fact, this kind of thinking is so stupid that it defies description in words or writing.

Honest people simply don't want to scheme against others. If you truly treat them as fools, in the end, they will definitely surprise you.

"Are you really that confident in domestic games?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Dong Guoxiang and asked slowly.

To be honest, he really hadn't expected that Dong Guoxiang would have such thoughts.

Dong Guoxiang nodded: "They say the market decides everything. I don't believe that a market as large as ours in China won't have a place for domestic games."

Zhao Fusheng remained silent. Clearly, Dong Guoxiang's words struck a chord with him.

If Zhao Fusheng were a complete outsider, he might not care about Dong Guoxiang's words, or even think he was talking nonsense.

But the problem was, he wasn't.

Zhao Fusheng knew very well that Dong Guoxiang was not wrong; in fact, he had a keen insight.

As he recalled, although domestic games had taken many detours, they ultimately found their own path when the great era arrived.

Speaking of domestic games, in the mid-1990s, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy," produced by the twenty-six-year-old Yao Zhuangxian, was officially released in Taipei, embarking on a sixteen-year legend of xianxia.

On the mainland, in May 1995, Kingsoft Studio was established, one of the earliest game development companies in China, located in the Kingsoft Computer Building in Zhuhai. In December, another company called "Target Software" was officially founded in the capital, following Kingsoft onto the path of independent domestic game development. Thus, the so-called "Southern Kingsoft, Northern Target" game development landscape formed in mainland China.

In 1995, another seemingly insignificant event occurred. In September, Taiwan launched a MUD game called "Eastern Story (Weibo)." At that time, domestic single-player games were in their prime, and few paid attention to this somewhat crude online game with only simple text displays. But no one anticipated that a major wave in the gaming industry was emerging. Over the next decade or so, online games rapidly became the mainstream of China's gaming industry, eventually pushing the once-glorious single-player games into dire straits.

Today, the wave of single-player games has passed, and online games are the trend.

And that was what Dong Guoxiang valued.

"I understand what you mean."

After a long while, Zhao Fusheng looked up at Dong Guoxiang: "Do you still have thoughts about that real-time strategy game I mentioned to you before?"

Back when Future Technology was still just a studio, Zhao Fusheng had talked with him about several globally popular online games from his memory.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng didn't say much, just described those games he remembered in a speculative way.

At that time, Dong Guoxiang was already very excited and repeatedly said he wanted to make those games if given the chance.

Now, it was clear he hadn't forgotten his original idea.

Although he was no longer the head of Future Technology, his obsession with domestic online games had only grown stronger.

"To be honest, I'd rather be a programmer."

Upon hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Dong Guoxiang first smiled bitterly, then said seriously: "I've always lacked confidence in my abilities. I always felt that being a programmer suits me best."

That was just how he was—he never liked to compete for anything, but he also knew that his current position was one Zhao Fusheng valued greatly.

In a big forest, all kinds of birds exist. As the company grew larger, involving more funds and relationships in all aspects, if the supervision department wasn't headed by someone Zhao Fusheng trusted, problems would arise.

"You..."

Zhao Fusheng laughed, pointing at Dong Guoxiang, then said: "Stop dreaming. I'll allow you to check on things in your spare time, but going back to being a programmer is out of the question."

Now that Dong Guoxiang held an important position, Zhao Fusheng would never let him become a programmer again.

This was a matter of principle, impossible no matter what.

"I know, I'm just thinking about it." Dong Guoxiang laughed too, shook his head at Zhao Fusheng, and said: "But seriously, I think the group's current problem isn't expanding scale, but pulling back the fist and clenching it tight!"

As the head of the Supervision Department, he was one of the few people with access to the entire group's data. Naturally, he had a comprehensive understanding of the group's current situation. In Dong Guoxiang's view, Future Group's current scale of development was indeed considerable, but the problem was that in just five or six years, from a small advertising studio to what it was now, Future Group seemed prosperous on the surface, but in reality, the issue of an unstable foundation had always existed.

Except for Future Advertising, which had developed steadily, the other subsidiaries all suffered from a lack of deep roots.

Business was too scattered, profit points unclear—that was Dong Guoxiang's current impression.

"Yes, so I've been thinking about this too."

Zhao Fusheng sighed. As an old friend, only Dong Guoxiang would speak to him so candidly. Others like Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao, due to the change in his status, would follow his orders even if they knew his choices might not be right.

Only Dong Guoxiang, with his honest nature, would call a spade a spade and speak up when he saw a problem.

"You're the boss. You decide." Dong Guoxiang laughed.

Just then, his phone rang. He answered and spoke a few words, then said to Zhao Fusheng: "I have a meeting to attend. I can't eat with you. Goodbye!"

With that, he left.

Zhao Fusheng was dumbfounded. It took him a while to realize that he, the company's chairman, had been stood up by this guy.

Damn!

That bastard!

Zhao Fusheng cursed inwardly, shook his head helplessly, and called Hu Donghai and the others to eat with him.

After eating, Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and called Fan Baobao, planning to take his wife and child to his parents' place for dinner. Since buying a house in the capital, Zhao's father had been shuttling between the capital and Ninghai. Given the family's current conditions, he could even fly every day if he wanted.

He spent about half the week in the capital, since occasionally seeing his granddaughter was more important than anything else.

"No time."

As soon as Zhao Fusheng called, Fan Baobao refused him.

"What do you mean?" Zhao Fusheng was confused. He distinctly remembered Fan Baobao saying she had nothing to do today.

"Dad flew to Binzhou this morning. Mom and I took the kid out shopping. You go do whatever you need to do." Fan Baobao said bluntly: "Mom said she wants to buy a baby walker for our daughter..."

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes. His precious daughter was less than five months old, just starting to learn to sit up. What did she need a baby walker for?

He wanted to say something more, but his wife had already hung up, leaving Zhao Fusheng shaking his head helplessly.

"Chairman, we..."

Hu Donghai asked softly, not knowing what to say to Zhao Fusheng.

"Let's go check out Future Film." Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and instructed Hu Donghai.

"Okay."

Hu Donghai quickly nodded, and with a few of his men, escorted Zhao Fusheng into the car heading to Future Film.

The reason Zhao Fusheng chose Future Film was simple: Future Advertising was at the group headquarters, and if he went there, Zheng Yao would definitely catch him. He didn't want to listen to her nagging.

As for Future Technology, that was even worse—a bunch of programmers, utterly boring.

At Future Investment, Lee Boo-jin and Lee Jae-yong were locked in a fierce negotiation with Dong Chenxi. If he went, he'd only cause trouble.

So after thinking it over, the film company was a good choice.

Of course, Zhang Qian's Future Security was selectively ignored by Zhao Fusheng. That guy, every time he saw him, wanted to teach him some self-defense moves, saying safety first.

Zhao Fusheng had no intention of being his punching bag!