Chapter 2158: The Great and the Small

Lee Jae-hyun came to see Zhao Fusheng, naturally, to discuss something.

The place where the two talked was chosen by Zhao Fusheng at the restaurant where he had treated Bong Joon-ho and Won Bin to dinner.

Chairman Zhao, thank you for last time.

Lee Jae-hyun said to Zhao Fusheng with a smile.

Regarding the incident with Lee Mi-kyung last time, if Zhao Fusheng hadn't relented, the whole affair might have spiraled in an unpredictable direction.

For that, Lee Jae-hyun was very grateful to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly. "You're too kind, Chairman Lee."

To be honest, his impression of Lee Jae-hyun was not very good.

It wasn't that Lee Jae-hyun lacked ability, but Zhao Fusheng felt that, knowing Lee Byung-hee was not long for this world, Lee Jae-hyun repeatedly urged his father to sue Lee Kun-hee.

Frankly, Zhao Fusheng always felt that wasn't right.

Perhaps people from wealthy families consider things from a different perspective than ordinary people like himself, but Zhao Fusheng couldn't see how the Lee Jae-hyun family's wealth could ever be insufficient.

Since money was no longer an issue, was it for the sake of pride?

Moreover, Lee Jae-hyun's actions after Lee Byung-hee's death, in Zhao Fusheng's view, were nothing short of blinded by greed.

He was completely led by the government, lacking any semblance of a chaebol's dignity.

In Zhao Fusheng's eyes, such a person could only be a fair-weather partner, not a true friend.

Simply put, Zhao Fusheng couldn't guarantee when this guy might choose to abandon him.

Lee Jae-hyun was also well aware that Zhao Fusheng was highly wary of him.

He didn't know the reason, but he could still sense it.

But there was no choice; as one of CJ's most important partners, he needed Zhao Fusheng's support.

So, even though he didn't really like Chairman Zhao, whose methods were unconventional and never followed the rules, Lee Jae-hyun had to hold his nose and meet Zhao Fusheng to express his goodwill.

That was probably the helplessness of being a businessman.

No matter what you thought in your heart, you had to face this reality.

By the way, I heard CJ plans to increase investment in China this year?

Zhao Fusheng recalled something and asked Lee Jae-hyun.

Lee Jae-hyun was taken aback, then nodded. "Yes, we do have that intention."

For some reason, a chill ran through his heart.

You see, he had only brought up this matter within a very small circle at the company's board meeting.

At that time, there were probably fewer than ten people present.

Yet, within three days, Zhao Fusheng had found out.

What did that mean?

It was truly terrifying to think about!

Could it be that Hanxing Investment's infiltration had reached his inner circle?

Zhao Fusheng, however, had no idea that his casual question had made Lee Jae-hyun think so much, even sparking a desire to purge the company's board.

He knew nothing about that.

That remark just now was purely a guess.

To be precise, it was a group of people from Hanxing's Investment Strategy Planning Headquarters who, after synthesizing some recent moves by the CJ Group, arrived at a speculative conclusion.

Even Wu Sijie, who relayed this to Zhao Fusheng, only mentioned it casually, without taking it seriously.

As for Zhao Fusheng himself, well, he was just speaking offhand.

But seeing Lee Jae-hyun's reaction, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help laughing inwardly.

Unexpectedly, he had hit the mark!

What a sad story this was.

"China's potential is still enormous, and there are many high-quality projects. Welcome to the CJ Group's participation," Zhao Fusheng said with a faint smile.

But even as he said this, he decided in his heart that no matter what Lee Jae-hyun said, he would not allow any company under the Future Group to cooperate with CJ.

The reason was simple: on one hand, Lee Jae-hyun was indeed not a good person, and Zhao Fusheng was unwilling to cooperate with someone like him. On the other hand, if nothing unexpected happened, in a few years the Korean Wave ban would be implemented, and then Korean entertainers would no longer be able to make money in China. The Future Group would gain nothing from CJ. In that case, Zhao Fusheng would have to be crazy to consider cooperating with CJ Group.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng couldn't say these things to Lee Jae-hyun, so he only uttered some polite platitudes to fend him off.

Fortunately, at that moment, Won Bin and the others arrived at the hotel. Liu Yiming led people to greet them and soon brought them over.

"Chairman Zhao, hello."

"Uh, Chairman Lee?"

Won Bin and Bong Joon-ho were stunned when they saw Lee Jae-hyun.

As CJ was one of the dominant players in the Korean film market, they couldn't possibly not know Chairman Lee Jae-hyun.

And yet, Lee Jae-hyun was sitting together with Zhao Fusheng.

Anyone with half a brain knew what that meant.

No wonder the legend said that Chairman Zhao was a big shot who could turn the world upside down with a flip of his hand. Just the people he associated with were enough to prove that this saying was not unfounded.

"Director Bong Joon-ho, and Won Bin, right?"

Surprisingly, Lee Jae-hyun recognized them both.

After some pleasantries, Lee Jae-hyun took his leave.

He knew that Zhao Fusheng must have something to discuss with these two, though he didn't know what.

His visit today was purely to express goodwill. He had met the man and said his piece. As for the rest, Lee Jae-hyun felt there was nothing much to talk about with Zhao Fusheng.

As they say, men of different paths cannot work together. Clearly, he and Zhao Fusheng were different kinds of people.

"Have a seat, have a seat."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Won Bin and Bong Joon-ho, "Chairman Lee was just passing by and stopped to say hello."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, Chairman Zhao."

Bong Joon-ho and Won Bin nodded respectfully.

Their nervousness was understandable; after all, for them, Zhao Fusheng and Lee Jae-hyun were on a level far above theirs, belonging to a completely different world.

"I apologize for the abrupt invitation."

Zhao Fusheng smiled at Won Bin and Bong Joon-ho. "Director Bong and I are old acquaintances; we've met before, so I won't say much. Mr. Won Bin, thank you for your trouble this time."

Regardless, the man had set aside his ongoing film project to come help him. Zhao Fusheng would remember this favor.

He had always been this way. In Zhao Fusheng's view, those big shots were far less endearing than these ordinary people.

At the very least, these people were smart enough to know what they could and couldn't touch.

In contrast, those big shots who always thought themselves clever often did things that were baffling and inexplicable.

It wasn't that they were stupid, but that those so-called big shots always liked to think themselves superior, treating others as fools.