Chapter 1945: Strong-Arming

What is the essence of charity?

Zhao Fusheng had been pondering this question for a long time.

Only back then he was broke, and considering this question was purely to pass the time and kill boredom.

After all, in the internet age, even the poor can learn how the rich live through the web. Although one cannot reach their standard of living, it is still a pleasant thing to imagine.

This is the method of spiritual victory.

Zhao Fusheng finally concluded that charity is a virtue, referring to caring for others with compassion, kindness, and goodness.

The essence of charity should be twofold: one is voluntariness; the other is reciprocity.

Voluntariness means that the donor acts out of personal inner will, engaging in charitable activities without being forced, required, coerced, swept along, or deceived.

For example, being asked to donate by teachers at school, or by company units as an adult, can hardly be called honorable charity. It is an unreasonable method of depriving others of their property and is unreliable.

Forced charity is itself an encroachment on others' property.

To put it bluntly, how much money I have is my own business; why should I be morally blackmailed by others?

Zheng Yao had just mentioned that several charitable organizations, including the Red Cross, had come knocking, hoping Zhao Fusheng, Fan Baobao, or Future Group would donate to them.

To put it nicely, it's fundraising; to put it bluntly, it's moral blackmail.

Therefore, Zhao Fusheng would never agree to such a thing, no matter what.

As for reciprocity, that's even simpler.

Reciprocity means that one has received favors from others and makes charitable donations as a form of feedback or repayment.

This kind of reciprocity is not directional; a person who received help for schooling may not necessarily give back to education but might instead contribute to poverty alleviation.

A person who received poverty relief does not necessarily repay the community but may enter medical charity.

It's just that each repayer tends to give back in areas where they have received more favors, because it is easier to find spiritual comfort that way.

Because that is what charity should entail: alleviating suffering and reducing disparities. And such spiritual appeal is universal rather than ethnic.

However, due to funding constraints, information barriers, personnel shortages, and other reasons, the state or government lacks sufficiently broad action, so private charity becomes a necessary supplement.

This is why charitable causes and systems must exist. The ultimate goal of the charity system is not to eliminate inequality among humans but merely to make up for some of humanity's own defects.

This is a fact: inequality and imbalance in human society are universal, and no charity can cover all fields or all people.

Bill Gates donated a hundred billion but still couldn't solve the AIDS problem. Li Yapeng's 'Smileangel Fund' can only focus on children with cleft lips.

Zhao Fusheng understood very well that what is more important in charity is the guidance of a spiritual force; we need everyone to participate in all fields.

For those donors, no matter where they invest or how much money they put in, we should be grateful. Because no matter how much they help, it is a contribution to the well-being of all humanity. There are no geographical boundaries, no racial boundaries, no wealth boundaries, no national boundaries here.

Doing good deeds, regardless of size, only differs in whether one does them or not.

If someone donates one hundred thousand, it is their own freedom; if they donate one hundred million, it is their own decision. If one questions them because of differences in status or position, that is being unreasonable.

“Should we, at least, donate a little, just to go through the motions?” Zheng Yao looked at Zhao Fusheng and said cautiously.

She could tell that Zhao Fusheng really wasn't interested in those few charitable organizations. Although she didn't know the reason, she still offered her opinion.

Better to deal with the king than the little devils.

Such organizations, though not influential, are nasty in that if word gets out, it would not be good for the company's image or the image of Zhao Fusheng and his wife.

So Zheng Yao's idea was to make peace and spend money to avoid trouble.

Give a few million and be done with it.

“No.”

But Zhao Fusheng said seriously, “Later, issue a public notice: every cent of charitable funds donated by Future Group and myself will undergo accounting audits and be disclosed to the public.”

“?”

Zheng Yao was stunned and looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise.

“Are you kidding?”

Zheng Yao confirmed with Zhao Fusheng again.

“Of course not,” Zhao Fusheng said very seriously.

This was the truest thought in his heart, and also a question Zhao Fusheng had been considering all along.

How to do charity well—perhaps this is the answer.

Zhao Fusheng didn't want to turn the money he invested into a business, so he simply put everything in the sunlight.

That way, at the very least, he could ensure that every cent he invested would help those in need.

Having seen too many cases of people driving luxury cars while claiming welfare, Zhao Fusheng really found it hard to trust the effectiveness of certain institutions.

“Alright, you call the shots,” Zheng Yao said helplessly.

Since Zhao Fusheng had said that, what more could she say?

But to be honest, she also understood that Zhao Fusheng was right.

"Don't worry, doing this is also for the sake of those who need help." Zhao Fusheng smiled, comforting Zheng Yao.

Zheng Yao nodded and said nothing more.

……

……

Soon, the official announcement from Future Group was released.

As soon as the news came out, it caused an uproar.

Many charitable organizations never expected Zhao Fusheng to pull such a move; it was simply too outrageous.

Of course, Zheng Yao didn't go to extremes as Zhao Fusheng had suggested. Instead, the announcement directly stated that if any charitable organization accepted donations from Future Group, they would have to abide by Future Group's rules and submit to audits by accounting firms.

In other words, Future Group needed to know how every penny it donated was spent.

Unexpectedly, after the announcement, none of those charitable organizations bothered Future Group again.

"Is this... real?"

Even Zheng Yao herself hadn't expected such an outcome.

"Of course it's real."

But Zhao Fusheng wasn't surprised at all. He looked at Zheng Yao: "Now do you understand why I did what I did?"

Today was a private gathering. Fan Baobao, having nothing to do, had invited Zheng Yao, Dong Chenxi, and others to her suburban villa for a get-together to strengthen their bonds.

As a pregnant woman, she naturally took precedence.

The others, having nothing pressing recently, all came along.

Of course, only those familiar with Fan Baobao and who had been with Zhao Fusheng since his entrepreneurial days could attend this gathering.

Even Ye Jing was not qualified to be here.

It wasn't that Ye Jing and Zhao Fusheng had a bad relationship, but he found it hard to fit into this atmosphere.

Dong Chenxi, Dong Guoxiang, Bai Jie, Zhang Qian—these people had been with Zhao Fusheng since his college days.

Outsiders were well aware that Future Group had its internal factions.

At the very least, those who, like Zhao Fusheng, hailed from Ninghai Normal University were seen as a circle.

Among them, Zheng Yao, as CEO of Future Group, was regarded by outsiders as the leader of the Normal University clique. Dong Guoxiang, Dong Chenxi, and Bai Jie, along with her, were considered the founding members of Zhao Fusheng's venture.

Zhang Qian, having always been Zhao Fusheng's personal bodyguard, was also included in their circle.

The rest, such as Ye Jing, Xue Yuanfang, and Liang Jingyu, were considered part of the outer circle.

It wasn't that Zhao Fusheng didn't trust them, but everyone understood that distinctions of closeness and distance existed everywhere.

Those who had been with him from the start, building from scratch, were naturally different from those who joined later to add glory.

Zhao Fusheng knew this too, but he didn't mind.

With a mental age of several decades, if he still cared about such things, he would be too immature.

Moreover, since even the founding emperors couldn't solve this problem, he had no good way to deal with it either.

As the founding emperor said, 'Within a party, there are factions; all kinds of strange things exist.'

That saying held a lot of truth.

Besides, Zhao Fusheng felt that this outcome was actually good for him.

For a business owner, if all subordinates got along harmoniously, that wouldn't be good news.

"I can understand, but I don't quite get why these people act this way."

Zheng Yao gave a bitter smile. She didn't feel pleased with Zhao Fusheng's smugness.

Was it something to be proud of that charity had been turned into a tool for profit by some people?

"Simple, because they have no goodwill in their hearts." Zhao Fusheng said flatly.

"Alright, you two, can you stop talking about those things?"

Fan Baobao spoke up at this point: "Can we talk about something happy at our gathering?"

"Fine, fine, you're the boss."

Zhao Fusheng laughed and apologized proactively.

"Yes, let's stop. I'll keep you company." Zheng Yao also laughed, saying to Fan Baobao.

She and Fan Baobao had become close friends. Though there was an age gap, their similar personalities made them get along well.

A group of women huddled together, chatting and gossiping about all sorts of things. Zhao Fusheng was utterly exasperated and eventually stepped aside, joining Zhang Qian and Dong Guoxiang.

And then...

The two of them were actually talking about fitness.

"Keep it up every day. Your figure is starting to go, that's not good." Zhang Qian, unusually talkative, was sharing exercise tips with Dong Guoxiang.

Dong Guoxiang nodded in agreement: "Yeah, I feel like my body isn't what it used to be."

His mouth twitching, Zhao Fusheng felt that the vibe was a bit off.