Chapter 1902: Ma Huateng Handles Heavy Matters with Ease

To be fair, Zhao Fusheng and Ma Huateng had a fairly good personal relationship.

Back in the day, they discussed the company's development prospects online, envisioning the future of internet enterprises. At that time, they were not just collaborators but, to some extent, like-minded partners.

But the problem was that, as of today, neither of them was the person they used to be.

Once upon a time, whether it was Tencent or Future Group, both were obscure players in the industry—just small fries.

But now, with assets worth tens of billions of RMB, both Ma Huateng and Zhao Fusheng were well aware that their relationship could no longer be compared to the past.

Because behind each of them stood a large number of people relying on them for their livelihoods.

Every decision they made would affect the lives of many.

"Make preparations. I'm inviting Zhao Fusheng to dinner."

Ma Huateng said to his secretary as he got out of the car.

"Okay."

Though somewhat surprised, the secretary nodded.

Although he didn't understand Ma Huateng's intention, since the boss had instructed, as a secretary, he had to comply.

Zhao Fusheng, however, was unaware of this. To be honest, he was somewhat worried about Ma Huateng's arrival in the capital.

After all, this man was a genuine big shot, someone who had been cursed and admired countless times in his previous life.

"I hope you won't let me down."

Zhao Fusheng muttered to himself as he sat in his office.

He was looking forward to seeing what the outcome of his meeting with Ma Huateng would be.

He even wondered if Ma Huateng would directly confront him, demanding to know why he had secretly acquired shares in Tencent Technology.

However, to his surprise, when they met the next day, Ma Huateng didn't bring up the stock issue at all. Instead, he chatted with Zhao Fusheng about the company's recent developments.

"Future Technology has projects, Tencent has users. I think there's ample room for cooperation between the two companies. What do you think?"

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Ma Huateng put down his chopsticks and said to Zhao Fusheng with a smile.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and nodded: "I think so too."

Ma Huateng nodded and said no more. The two continued chatting and laughing.

This left Zheng Yao and others, who were sitting in as company, somewhat puzzled.

After Ma Huateng left, Zhao Fusheng sat there wiping his hands. Zheng Yao asked him in confusion: "Is the talk over just like that?"

"Mm."

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "It's over."

"But you didn't say anything," Zheng Yao said, looking bewildered.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Who says? Didn't we talk about cooperation?"

"But..."

Zheng Yao was about to speak but suddenly froze.

She suddenly understood.

Although from start to finish, neither Zhao Fusheng nor Ma Huateng had mentioned the shares, the fact that Ma Huateng steered the conversation toward cooperation between Future Technology and Tencent meant he already knew what Zhao Fusheng was after.

And Zhao Fusheng's approach was clearly to go with the flow.

He followed Ma Huateng's lead and put forward his own ideas.

Clearly, this was a confrontation between two foxes.

And Zhao Fusheng, having gained the upper hand, had successfully won.

Of course, it was only a victory in this round.

After all, both sides knew this was just a temporary compromise.

The real falling-out would come only after one of the two companies—Tencent Technology or Future Technology—had grown significantly.

…

…

"Was that a warning to Ma Huateng?"

As they left together in the car, Zheng Yao asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Not really a warning, just letting him know through this matter that I have the power to counterbalance the current Tencent."

"I see."

Zheng Yao nodded and said no more.

Zhao Fusheng breathed a long sigh of relief inwardly and didn't speak again.

In fact, he knew very well that this time he had taken advantage of his foresight. When Tencent Technology's stock price was low, he used memory dollars to acquire ten percent of the shares. Plus, Ma Huateng really hadn't expected him to pull such a move, which was why he succeeded.

In other words, he had gained an advantage by catching the other off guard.

If Tencent's market value reached tens of billions of dollars or more, it wouldn't be a problem that could be solved with just a few billion dollars.

If Ma Huateng knew that Tencent Technology's stock price would skyrocket a hundredfold in ten years, he would probably spare no effort and stop at nothing to buy back the shares from Zhao Fusheng.

But unfortunately, although Ma Huateng was very smart, he wasn't a prophet; he didn't have Zhao Fusheng's foresight.

So, after expressing his dissatisfaction with Zhao Fusheng in his own way, he could only indicate his willingness to cooperate, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and getting rich together.

He didn't know that when he said those words, Zhao Fusheng was actually more nervous than he was.

Such is fate.

"By the way, keep a close eye on Tencent's movements."

Zhao Fusheng suddenly said to Zheng Yao.

"Okay, I understand."

Zheng Yao didn't think much of it; she assumed Zhao Fusheng was worried about Ma Huateng scheming behind his back.

But Zhao Fusheng wasn't worried about that at all. What he had in mind was Tencent's extraordinary stock price this year.

Doubling its market value within a year—such a rapid appreciation was impossible for anyone to ignore.

And Zhao Fusheng knew that the same would happen next year.

It was starting this year that Tencent had entered the fast lane.

In this process, Zhao Fusheng felt he deserved a piece of the pie.

"What do you think? Should we send someone to join Tencent Technology's board of directors?"

Zheng Yao thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Board of directors?

Zhao Fusheng frowned, but finally shook his head: "Forget it, no need."

To be honest, he had considered marginalizing Ma Huateng. After all, several of Tencent's profitable projects in later years were in his mind. He was confident that if he sidelined Ma Huateng, those projects from the original timeline would still come to fruition.

But the problem was, Zhao Fusheng couldn't guarantee that the person he sent to run the company would have Ma Huateng's ability to develop Tencent into a company worth trillions, as in his previous life.

For Zhao Fusheng, his goal was to make money, not to control a particular company.

This was a very practical issue.

Zhao Fusheng could rely on his foresight to know which companies would be worth hundreds of billions in the future, but he couldn't guarantee that if he ran the company himself, it would still achieve that success.

An orange grown in the south is an orange; grown in the north, it becomes a trifoliate orange.

If success were so easy to replicate, everyone who followed trends in business would become millionaires.

There wouldn't be so many people complaining about why others could make money while they only lost money.

"Alright then."

Seeing that Zhao Fusheng had rejected her suggestion, Zheng Yao said no more.

She had only thought that if Future Group could have a voice in Tencent Technology, it might be a good thing. But now it seemed clear that Zhao Fusheng didn't intend to do so.

Perhaps he had his own considerations.

"Don't worry, Tencent's development will definitely be good," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile to Zheng Yao. "What I'm worried about now is how we can hold on to this fifteen percent stake. That Ma Huateng is full of tricks."

This was true. In the original timeline, Ma Huateng used every means to reclaim many of Tencent's shares from foreign capital, and his methods were simply astonishing.

In this regard, Zhao Fusheng had to admire these Chinese entrepreneurs, including Zong from Wahaha and Ma Xiaoyun. They went to great lengths to retain ownership of their enterprises.

Or rather, the struggle between investors and entrepreneurs has always been an interesting phenomenon in business operation and management.