Chapter 1681: Trip to Shenzhen

Flower City, White Swan Hotel.

The rain had cleared.

The sky was a clear blue, with clusters of white clouds stretching across it. Zhao Fusheng gazed up for a long time, a faint smile appearing on his face, leaving Chen Zhen beside him utterly bewildered.

“Chairman, are you happy?” Chen Zhen asked Zhao Fusheng cautiously.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, nodded, but said nothing.

He couldn't exactly tell him that the sky reminded him of a certain operating system's desktop interface—that would probably make Chen Zhen think he was insane.

Zhao Fusheng had always believed that one shouldn't appear too unsociable; that was very bad.

“When we arrive in Hong Kong, you'd better not go out alone. The eight of us will split into two shifts to protect you and the young lady,” Chen Zhen said, bowing to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded. “Don't worry, I won't cause trouble.”

He also understood that his love of freedom caused great trouble for the bodyguards around him, but there was no helping it—that was just the kind of person he was.

As he spoke, Zhao Fusheng smiled. “Besides, Hong Kong has already returned. Those gangsters are all trying to be good guys now; no one would dare cause me trouble.”

Chen Zhen shook his head. “Better to be cautious. To be honest, your status is too precious. If anything happened to you, even if we killed every gangster in Hong Kong, it wouldn't make up for it.”

His words suggested he held those Hong Kong gangsters in no regard at all.

Come to think of it, as a veteran of the country's most elite special forces, Chen Zhen had every right to be proud.

Thinking of those so-called elites in Hong Kong who constantly blustered, Zhao Fusheng found it utterly ridiculous. They only dared to be so arrogant because the mainland treated them too leniently.

If they were really pushed too far...

Hmph...

In Hong Kong, one step could make you a king, the next step death. It was the same for everyone.

“Don't worry.”

Zhao Fusheng nodded to Chen Zhen.

He also understood that his status was different now. If something really happened, not to mention others, the comrades from Future Security who relied on him to arrange for their families would make it impossible for Chen Zhen and his team to face them.

To be honest, sometimes when one's status changes, the most frustrating thing is that you can no longer enjoy an ordinary life like before.

He was already doing well now. At least because he kept a low profile, he wasn't harassed by the media. If he ever reached the point where he was surrounded wherever he went, that would be real trouble.

Like Ma Xiaoyun, like Boss Ma—they all had such troubles.

Even Boss Li from Baidu, who had a bottle of mineral water thrown at him during a speech and it became a trending topic—that was truly exasperating.

In the Internet age, the flow of information brings the disappearance of personal privacy. Public figures are gradually exposed by all kinds of searchlights, leaving them with no privacy at all.

In a sense, that's very bad.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't opposed to social progress; he just felt that everyone has a side they wish to keep, even public figures.

“Come on, let's go out.”

Zhao Fusheng said to Chen Zhen behind him.

“The young lady is still asleep. Should I wake her?” Chen Zhen hesitated and asked.

“No need, I'll carry her.” Zhao Fusheng smiled gently. They had played all day in Flower City yesterday, and Fan Beibei was truly exhausted. The little girl had even fallen asleep in the car on the way back.

The car, of course, wasn't rented; it was bought by the Future Group's Flower City office.

With Chairman Zhao Fusheng visiting in person, the entire office was shocked. Fortunately, the boss indicated he was just passing through, asked them to provide a few cars, and had no other requests.

“Is the big boss...”

Watching Zhao Fusheng and his team return the cars, reportedly to take the train to Shenzhen, an office employee whispered to the person in charge.

That person in charge, a veteran from Future Advertising, had naturally met Zhao Fusheng before. He lowered his voice and said, “Probably going to Hong Kong to survey the market.”

“Survey the market?”

The employee was startled, somewhat surprised.

“You don't know. Our boss is truly remarkable, doing things with bold and unconstrained creativity...” The person in charge began to ramble, educating his subordinate about Zhao Fusheng's glorious achievements back in the day.

There was no helping it. As one of the witnesses, he had personally seen how Future Advertising rose from Ninghai, fought its way to Binzhou, and then advanced to the capital.

To put it bluntly, for many young people from ordinary backgrounds without prominent family connections, Zhao Fusheng was a monument, a legend.

He made them realize that in this world, there really are people who start from scratch and build their own empire.

……

……

“Brother, where are we going?”

At that moment, Fan Beibei, sitting in the car, had woken up and looked at Zhao Fusheng with sleepy eyes.

Zhao Fusheng let her rest her head on his lap and chuckled. “How about going to Shenzhen? I'll take you to a place, a really fun place, okay?”

“Are there toys?”

Fan Beibei said with great interest.

“Toys? Definitely,” Zhao Fusheng said with a laugh.

At Tencent Technology headquarters, there should be penguin plushies, right?

If not, Brother Ma Huateng's image would be completely ruined.

After all, this little girl in front of him owned 0.1% of Tencent Technology's shares.

A bona fide shareholder!

……

……

At that very moment, at Tencent Technology's headquarters in Shenzhen, it was utter chaos.

“What did you say? Zhao Fusheng is coming in person?”

Ma Huateng received the report from his subordinate, looking shocked.

“Yes, Future Group just notified us that their Chairman Zhao Fusheng will arrive in Shenzhen this afternoon and will personally visit you tomorrow.”

The head of the President's Office said with a wry smile to Ma Huateng.

She hadn't expected the boss of Future Group to come so suddenly.

“Make preparations.”

Ma Huateng thought for a moment and said to the office director, “Shen Xing, arrange a lively welcome ceremony for when Zhao Fusheng arrives tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

Shen Xing, director of Tencent Technology's President's Office, was dumbfounded. She had only joined Tencent Technology in recent years and knew that Future Group was one of the company's shareholders, but she didn't understand why the boss of a small shareholder's arrival warranted such careful treatment from their own president.

“What, don't you understand?” Ma Huateng could tell from her expression that she didn't grasp his meaning.

Shen Xing hesitated. Seeing that the boss seemed in a good mood, she cautiously nodded. “Mr. Ma, I really don't understand. Doesn't Future Investment only hold a small stake in our company?”

Because Zhao Fusheng hadn't ordered Dong Chenxi to disclose the shares secretly acquired, in publicly announced materials, Future Investment only held 4.9% of Tencent Technology's shares.

But in reality, both Ma Huateng and Zhao Fusheng knew that this number was just a symbol.

The truth was that Zhao Fusheng had secretly accumulated nearly 8% of Tencent Technology's shares.

This number was neither too much nor too little. If it were swayed to the opposition, it would be a troublesome matter for Ma Huateng.

More importantly, in Ma Huateng's view, Zhao Fusheng was someone who understood technology, and he was more willing to cooperate with someone like that.

Better than those purely profit-driven businessmen.

“Zhao Fusheng is more complicated than you think.” Ma Huateng smiled, waved his hand at Shen Xing, and said, “Just arrange it as I said.”

Shen Xing nodded. Just as she was about to leave, Ma Huateng's phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, was somewhat surprised, but signaled Shen Xing to wait and answered the call directly.

“What's this? Scouting ahead for me?”

Ma Huateng said with a smile, a hint of unexpected amusement appearing on his bespectacled face.

“Boss Ma, I don't understand what you mean.” Zhao Fusheng laughed. “I'm just letting you know that this trip to Shenzhen is a private visit. Don't misunderstand.”

“Private visit?” Ma Huateng was taken aback, somewhat surprised.

“Yes.”

Zhao Fusheng didn't beat around the bush. “I plan to take two months off and take my sister around. By the way, she's a shareholder of Tencent Technology.”

“Shareholder?”

Ma Huateng was stunned, then recalled something and immediately understood.

“Hahaha, great! Then I'm looking forward to that shareholder's arrival.” Ma Huateng said with a laugh.

After chatting for a few more moments, they hung up.

“Cancel the arrangements just made.”

Putting down the phone, Ma Huateng said to Shen Xing.

“Cancel?” Shen Xing was startled, confused.

Ma Huateng nodded. “That guy is visiting our company in a personal capacity. Also, prepare some company merchandise like plushies—he's bringing a child along.”

He paused, then explained, “It's a family member who holds a small stake in our company.”

“Okay, I understand.” Since the boss instructed so, Shen Xing naturally didn't dare to slack off. She left Ma Huateng's office and began making arrangements.

Meanwhile, Ma Huateng sat in his office, his expression somewhat strange, because he couldn't figure out what Zhao Fusheng was really up to.

To be honest, regarding Zhao Fusheng, Boss Ma had gone from initial mutual admiration to later awe, and now, he actually feared Zhao Fusheng.

Yes, fear!

Because Zhao Fusheng was simply too terrifying. Every company he targeted had become highly valuable. But the more that was the case, the more Ma Huateng worried: what if one day Zhao Fusheng decided to go after Tencent Technology?

For a businessman, seeing the company he built with his own efforts become someone else's meal would be the most painful thing.

Ma Huateng absolutely would not allow that to happen!