Chapter 1651 Trust

Zhao Fusheng certainly envied Zuckerberg.

After all, to be honest, he also wanted to be as carefree as the other, wearing sandals and a casual shirt, but unfortunately, he didn't have that opportunity.

Under Mark Zuckerberg's leadership, Zhao Fusheng toured Facebook's headquarters and met with several members of the management team, including, of course, the former.

"Zhao, what do you think? Don't you think our development is faster than Twitter's?"

Zuckerberg asked Zhao Fusheng smugly.

Clearly, although he didn't say it out loud, he had always been dissatisfied with Zhao Fusheng's earlier investment in Twitter.

After all, Twitter's current development trend was not bad. Although it couldn't be said to be overwhelmingly oppressive to Facebook, it at least made Zuckerberg realize that he had a competitor.

"Zuck, this is the first time I've seen you so childish." Zhao Fusheng laughed and said bluntly to Zuckerberg, "The issue between Twitter and Facebook, I think you know better than I do, don't you?"

Americans always prefer to be straightforward, unlike us Chinese, who tend to speak in a roundabout way.

Of course, some call this the art of language.

But if you think about it, sometimes speaking does require this kind of art, but often, when you make something simple unnecessarily complicated, it's not a pleasant experience for the listener.

"Alright."

Zuckerberg was quite frank, shrugging: "I knew you wouldn't give in easily."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "It's not about giving in. Twitter and Facebook are actually two different markets. Don't tell me you don't know that."

Zuckerberg remained silent.

Zhao Fusheng's words were absolutely correct. In fact, he understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning very well.

The gap between Twitter and Facebook was like that between Moments and Weibo—two completely different concepts, one for the high-end market and one for the low-end market. It seemed that Twitter was putting considerable pressure on Facebook now, but in reality, to those who truly understood computers, this was only a short-term phenomenon.

As time went on, the development of the two websites would yield different results.

"That's right, Zhao, Mark. I think you two should stop dwelling on this issue." At this point, Sean Parker stepped in to mediate.

After all, he was familiar with both Zhao Fusheng and Mark Zuckerberg, so he naturally had the right to join their conversation.

The other Facebook executives were not familiar with Zhao Fusheng and, facing this investor, naturally lacked the confidence to speak.

This was an unwritten rule in business: investors were like benefactors to company managers; offending the benefactor meant courting death.

"Okay."

Zhao Fusheng nodded, glanced at his watch, and said to Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker with a smile, "I have other matters, so I'll take my leave."

The two exchanged glances, nodded to Zhao Fusheng, and personally escorted him to the door.

"Mark, I think we need to talk alone."

After Zhao Fusheng left, Sean Parker said to Zuckerberg with a serious expression.

Zuckerberg was startled: "What's wrong?"

Sean Parker didn't say anything more but looked around.

The people nearby tactfully moved away, leaving enough space for the two.

"What's going on, Sean?"

Zuckerberg asked Sean Parker curiously, not understanding what Sean Parker wanted to say to him.

Sean Parker looked at Zuckerberg: "Mark, don't you think we should consider diluting Zhao's shares?"

Huh?

Zuckerberg looked at Sean Parker in surprise: "Sean, do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I know."

Sean Parker said seriously to Mark Zuckerberg, "I understand that Zhao has been our investor since you first founded Facebook, and I've known him for a long time too. But the problem is, you have to understand, this man is a businessman, and a businessman from China. Do you think he will always support us like this?"

As the company's CEO, Sean Parker had more to consider. In his view, since Zhao Fusheng could give up his shares in Twitter, he might also give up Facebook for greater profit.

Therefore, to avoid such a situation, Sean Parker thought it necessary to consider diluting Zhao Fusheng's shares.

"The number of shares doesn't matter." Mark Zuckerberg shook his head, not agreeing with Sean Parker, and said to him, "I hold the voting rights, what do I have to fear?"

Indeed, according to Zhao Fusheng's original design, most of Facebook's voting rights were concentrated in Mark Zuckerberg's hands. In other words, no matter how diluted the shares became, control of Facebook remained in Zuckerberg's hands.

"But the problem is, if he sells his shares..."

Sean Parker hesitated, still somewhat worried.

Zuckerberg shook his head: "You're overthinking. Zhao is a businessman, no doubt, but don't forget, Facebook can bring him more than Twitter, can't it?"

As he spoke, Zuckerberg himself laughed, a strong confidence, after all, Facebook's development in recent years had proven his words.

"Alright."

Sean Parker sighed and said no more.

Zuckerberg's authority had grown stronger over the years; even though he had known him for so long, he gradually dared not say much. Many times, decisions made by Zuckerberg were opposed by no one in the entire company.

"By the way, pay attention and tell the technical staff below to monitor the comments about China on our website, and don't let them say whatever they want."

Zuckerberg suddenly spoke as Sean Parker was about to leave.

"Huh?"

Sean Parker was startled and looked at Zuckerberg in surprise: "Doing this, won't some people think we..."

His meaning was simple; after all, the United States has always prided itself on fairness and democracy. If they followed Zuckerberg's approach, wouldn't they be criticized?

Zuckerberg sneered: "Who cares what they think? We need to set our sights long-term. China has a population of over a billion. Even if only a tenth of those people become our users, how big a market do you think that is?"

"This..." Sean Parker's eyes lit up. He was also a genius in management and naturally understood what Zuckerberg meant. In fact, if what Zuckerberg said was true, it would undoubtedly be very important for Facebook today.

"That's what Zhao said."

Zuckerberg didn't hide it from Sean Parker and said seriously, "He came this time precisely to remind me of this."

"I understand." Sean Parker nodded and said nothing more.

At that moment, he finally understood why Zhao Fusheng held such an important place in Mark Zuckerberg's heart. This guy was really capable, able to influence Zuckerberg's judgment.

More importantly, even he had to admit that what Zhao Fusheng proposed was indeed very reasonable and practical.

The Chinese market was simply too tempting!

If they could really open up the Chinese market, Sean Parker thought, Facebook's valuation would increase by at least another two billion dollars.

He was a management genius. In the original history, after Sean Parker took over as CEO of Facebook, he quickly opened up the Canadian and North American markets for Facebook, expanding its influence.

And now, he had actually set his sights on the Asian market, given Asia's large population and vast market. In Sean Parker's view, if, as Zhao Fusheng said, there was an opportunity to open up the Chinese market, it would mean that Facebook was ahead of other social networking sites in the competition.

There were many social networking sites in the United States, all desperately expanding their markets.

What is a market?

It's the number of users, the influence globally.

And China, which occupies one-fifth of the world's population, is undoubtedly a very important market.

After all, with the development of China's economy, the growth of the internet was also accelerating. No one believed that this ancient Eastern country would remain in a state of backwardness forever.

Therefore, for those smart people, how to break into the Chinese market was a question they had always been considering.

And now, Zuckerberg's words ignited a fire in Sean Parker's heart.

Watching Sean Parker's retreating figure, Mark Zuckerberg revealed a smile. Zhao was right; only interests are eternal.