Chapter 1899: Boss Ma's Worry

Zhao Fusheng's considerations were certainly not wrong; in fact, his thoughts were quite in line with an ordinary person's mindset.

But the problem was that he was a bit too presumptuous.

An arrow shot cannot be taken back. Some things, once started, cannot be easily stopped.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

Upon hearing the news, Zheng Yao stormed straight to Zhao Fusheng's home.

Zhao Fusheng looked at her helplessly: "Hey, how did you find out so fast?"

He really hadn't expected that Zheng Yao would learn about it only after several days at the earliest.

"When Wu Sijie handles things, he has to contact Shengda Technology, and they passed the news to me."

Zheng Yao looked at Zhao Fusheng and said bluntly: "You're planning to retire, aren't you?"

Zhao Fusheng felt a bit awkward, smiled, but said nothing.

After all, he was not yet thirty and already thinking about retirement—that was indeed a bit unreliable.

More importantly, Zheng Yao was his friend, his most capable assistant.

Facing her, Zhao Fusheng felt somewhat like a deserter.

"I know, you're worried about what to do if you fail later."

Seeing Zhao Fusheng silent, Zheng Yao thought for a moment and said to him: "How about this: after the companies go public, you gradually sell off the shares, but keep the voting rights. Is that okay?"

She thought this was the most reasonable approach.

To be honest, Zheng Yao didn't really care how Zhao Fusheng handled his shares in JD.com or Alibaba; no matter how much those shares were worth, it had nothing to do with her.

She was still herself, still the CEO of Future Group.

What Zheng Yao cared about was Zhao Fusheng's current attitude.

Or, to be more precise, she cared whether Zhao Fusheng planned to dispose of Future Group and all its subsidiaries.

The word 'retirement' could be understood in different ways.

Handing over power was retirement; selling all shares was also retirement.

Zheng Yao saw this more clearly than anyone, which was why she spoke to Zhao Fusheng like that.

Zhao Fusheng was stunned for a moment, looking at Zheng Yao with some surprise.

To be fair, he really hadn't expected Zheng Yao to make such a suggestion.

But on second thought, it seemed like a good proposal, a feasible idea.

Separation of equity and control wasn't something he had invented; many large companies were doing it now. After all, a company's development required substantial funds, and giving investors too much power was not beneficial to the company's growth.

Brilliant!

Smart!

Impressive!

Zhao Fusheng showered Zheng Yao with a string of compliments, smiling: "I think it's promising. How about we do it your way?"

Zheng Yao was speechless, pointing at Zhao Fusheng, unable to say a word for a long time.

After a long while, she turned to Fan Baobao and said: "Tell me, your husband is like this—don't you do something about it?"

"Why should I bother with him?"

Having known Zheng Yao for years, Fan Baobao was very close to her and replied directly: "I wonder who was his teacher back then. If you ask me, whoever taught him should give him a good scolding."

Zheng Yao was speechless...

Neither of this couple was easy to deal with.

"Alright, stop overthinking."

Fan Baobao walked over with a plate of fruit and said to Zheng Yao: "He's always like this, always brooding over things. But seriously, I also think the company's scope has gotten too big. I heard that Future Investment holds shares in dozens of companies..."

"Really?"

Zheng Yao was taken aback; she hadn't expected that. If that was the case, didn't it mean that Future Investment alone had more influence than the entire group?

"That's not how you put it."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand to stop Fan Baobao from continuing: "If you don't understand, don't spout nonsense. What do you mean by 'shares in dozens of companies'? That's called angel investing."

Then he said to Zheng Yao: "Future Investment's future strategy is to cast a wide net and keep the gems. We won't dabble in finance or futures."

"But aren't you currently targeting Tencent..." Zheng Yao said, puzzled.

Zhao Fusheng laughed: "That's a different matter. I'm waiting for Pony Ma to come talk to me."

"Huh?"

Zheng Yao frowned slightly; clearly, Zhao Fusheng's words were not easy for her to grasp immediately.

But fortunately, she wasn't stupid. After years of navigating the business world, Zheng Yao had become extremely shrewd. She mulled it over briefly and understood what Zhao Fusheng meant.

In short, Zhao Fusheng was using this tactic to scare Pony Ma!

If you don't negotiate with me!

I'm going to acquire your company!

Just thinking about how Pony Ma would react when he got the news, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but find it amusing.

"You're too wicked."

Zheng Yao rolled her eyes at Zhao Fusheng, speechless.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "That's how people are. If you don't make them feel the pain and let them know your strength, they won't care what you say."

This was a lesson he had learned from years of life experience.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, it was the same everywhere: if you didn't speak up, others would take everything for granted.

Take Tencent Technology, for example. When Future Technology approached them for cooperation, they thought that because they had users, they could do whatever they wanted, even obstructing many details and demanding more.

But now, Zhao Fusheng planned to use facts and actions to tell them that some people couldn't just be copied.

If you do wrong, you get hit.

…

…

Time passed quickly, and a week went by in the blink of an eye.

Although Dong Chenxi and Tan Kaixuan had tried their best to be discreet, the fluctuation in stock prices still attracted attention. Especially after Dong Chenxi, following Zhao Fusheng's advice, acquired most of Tencent's outstanding shares, it finally caught the attention of Tencent Technology headquarters.

"What's going on?"

Ma Huateng threw a stack of documents onto his desk and said coldly to his trusted subordinates: "Why did it take until now to discover that someone has been buying our company's stock?"

"Chairman, there was nothing we could do about it. The other party was very discreet before, and no information leaked out. At first, we thought it was just normal stock price fluctuations."

Yes, they simply hadn't expected it!

Although these were also seasoned professionals with years of experience, the problem was that Tencent Technology's stock was quite unremarkable on the Hong Kong stock market.

Whether in terms of market capitalization or other aspects, the only thing attractive about this stock was Tencent's considerable development potential.

But oddly enough, this very stock had been steadily appreciating with slight gains.

At first, these people didn't notice anything wrong. By the time they did, Dong Chenxi and Tan Kaixuan had already completed the acquisition of ten percent of the shares and abruptly stopped.

Even so, the news reached Ma Huateng's ears.

Looking at the documents before him, Ma Huateng's face was extremely gloomy.

"So, you're telling me that ten percent of Tencent Technology's shares are now in the hands of some unknown fund? Is that what you mean?"

Taking a deep breath to keep from being infuriated by the idiots in front of him, Ma Huateng said coldly.

"Yes."

His subordinate cautiously glanced at Ma Huateng's expression and then whispered: "We suspect it might be the work of a shareholder. After all, if it were outside capital, there would be no need to use such methods."

"A shareholder?"

Hearing this, Ma Huateng's face grew even darker.

He was well aware that Tencent's shareholder composition was complex, but he hadn't expected that someone would still be eyeing the company's shares under these circumstances.

But the question was, who could it be?

Those foreign institutions?

Or perhaps some members of the founding team?

Sitting at his desk, Ma Huateng was utterly perplexed.

He really couldn't figure out who would pull such a trick.

"Investigate thoroughly."

After thinking for a long time, Ma Huateng nodded and instructed his subordinates: "Trace the source of the funds and see if you can get any information."

That was the only approach he could think of, as this matter was not that simple.

"Yes, Chairman."

The several people nodded, knowing they couldn't afford to be negligent, as this involved the company's shares.

Watching his subordinates leave, Pony Ma sat in his office and remained silent for a long time.

He seemed quiet and reserved on the surface, but in fact, he was a man with strong opinions; otherwise, he wouldn't have come this far.

From a tech geek to where he was today, despite coming from an ordinary family, Pony Ma was a man with lofty ambitions. He had always hoped to become someone like Bill Gates.

Of course, in China, becoming Bill Gates was not easy, given the different national conditions and the changing times. Some things were not so easily achieved.

"Who could it be?"

Tapping lightly on his desk, Pony Ma muttered to himself.

He tried to recall anyone in his memory who might be related to this matter, but he couldn't come up with anything.

At first, he thought Shanda Technology was behind it, given the ongoing competition between Shanda and Tencent. But obviously, he was overthinking; Chen Tianqiao didn't have the time or energy to cause him trouble.

So, who could it be?

Wait!

Could it be him!

A name suddenly flashed through his mind, and Ma Huateng's face turned grim.