Chapter 2296 Zhao Fusheng's Thoughts

China Auto Rental?

Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng with a bewildered expression.

Clearly, she didn't quite understand what Zhao Fusheng meant.

After all, in her impression, this company, founded in 2007, had good development prospects and, barring accidents, was likely to go public successfully.

You don't think all investments in the Shenzhou system are problematic, do you?

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Dong Chenxi asked softly.

If that were the case, it would be a big problem.

After all, Shenzhou Car Rental was developing well. This company, which claimed to specialize in car rental services, was established three years ago and headquartered in the capital.

They actively drew on successful international car rental models and, combined with Chinese customers' consumption habits, provided professional car rental services such as short-term rental, long-term rental, and financial leasing, as well as comprehensive supporting services like nationwide rescue and returning cars in different cities.

It had to be said that this approach was quite novel in China.

Especially compared to the traditional taxi industry, it was a paradigm-shifting model, offering customers a fast and convenient new car rental service experience.

Now, the company's service network covering major cities and tourist areas across China, along with 24-hour pick-up and return services and supporting services, could not only meet customers' car rental needs anytime, anywhere but also ensure their safe driving.

Some estimated that once the company went public, its market value could exceed ten billion Hong Kong dollars.

And now, Zhao Fusheng actually thought this company had problems?

For a moment, Dong Chenxi felt a bit panicked.

Seeing her reaction, Zhao Fusheng smiled bitterly: "Think about it, isn't the routine I mentioned very likely to succeed?"

Dong Chenxi frowned slightly upon hearing this, opening her mouth to refute Zhao Fusheng.

But after thinking it over, she remained silent.

The reason was simple: she knew that what Zhao Fusheng said was indeed possible.

Having been in investment for so many years, she wasn't a naive child. At the very least, Dong Chenxi knew that the capital operation model Zhao Fusheng described was actually feasible.

Or rather, it was purely about harvesting leeks.

Harvesting the leeks of stock investors!

In fact, if she wanted, Future Investment could also make similar plans.

It might even be more refined than what Zhao Fusheng said, ensuring it went unnoticed.

But would she dare to earn that money?

Or rather, would Zhao Fusheng allow Future Investment to do that?

Obviously.

Since Zhao Fusheng had said this to her, he must have looked down on it.

All along, Zhao Fusheng had been very resistant to certain aspects of the capital market and finance. Dong Chenxi knew this well, so even though she knew some operations could benefit the company, she dared not try them if they required playing gray tricks or skirting the law.

The reason was that Zhao Fusheng was strongly opposed to such behavior.

In Dong Chenxi's view, it was best not to do things Zhao Fusheng disliked; it would be pointless.

This was a consensus among many senior managers at Future Investment.

This even included some professional managers.

In their previous careers, they might have done things against their conscience.

But after becoming members of Future Investment, they had all reached a consensus: no matter what, they could not go against the opinion of their boss, Zhao Fusheng.

"How about this: find an investment firm to take over."

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Dong Chenxi: "Let's not make this money."

"Ah?"

Dong Chenxi was taken aback, then hesitated: "Is it necessary? Since you said they'll withdraw capital after the listing, can't we start exiting after the listing too?"

Her idea was relatively simple: since they knew some people behind the Shenzhou system liked to play tricks, they might as well wait until the listing, and once the other side withdrew, they would also pull out.

"No need."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "If we wait until then, and it gets exposed by investors, it will damage our reputation."

In fact, he wasn't worried about exposure by investors, but about the impact on Future Investment's reputation, which would then affect other companies under its control.

For example, if Shenzhou Car Rental went public and Future Investment immediately pulled out, once the company's situation became public, Future Investment would inevitably become a target, unable to explain itself clearly.

The subsequent result was self-evident.

People would definitely think that other companies under Future Investment would also use such steps to cash out and leave.

That would be a terrible outcome!

After all, a small Shenzhou Car Rental was too insignificant compared to the entire portfolio of companies invested in and controlled by Future Investment.

In that case, following Dong Chenxi's idea would be penny wise and pound foolish.

Soon, Dong Chenxi also realized and understood what Zhao Fusheng meant.

In fact, as Zhao Fusheng said, this matter really needed careful consideration.

Of course, the premise was that what Zhao Fusheng said was true.

"I'll investigate further."

Dong Chenxi thought for a moment and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Send someone to investigate secretly, don't alert anyone."

In fact, he really hoped Dong Chenxi would contact the Muddy Waters research firm in the US, but on second thought, doing so would make an enemy.

After all, blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents; making an enemy for no reason was completely unnecessary.

Besides, the company's listing targets were Hong Kong and US stocks. To put it bluntly, if they were harvesting leeks, they were harvesting foreign leeks. What did it have to do with him?

Zhao Fusheng only didn't want his reputation damaged; he wouldn't worry about those Hong Kongers and Americans.

For him, people who could afford to speculate in stocks weren't poor.

Because poor people have no mood to speculate in stocks; they're busy figuring out how to get enough to eat.

Only those who are bored and think they can go further would consider making money through stock speculation.

"Don't worry, I know what to do."

Dong Chenxi nodded upon hearing this.

She didn't think too much and didn't know what Zhao Fusheng had in mind.

Dong Chenxi just felt that if this matter was really manipulated by some capital behind the scenes as Zhao Fusheng said, it would be enough for her to withdraw early without making the other side think she had ulterior motives.

The saying "Better to make friends than enemies" was certainly very reasonable.

Everyone was in investment. Between capital and capital, unless there was a conflict of interest, they rarely truly opposed each other.

Not everyone was like Soros, who liked to act as a gunman for some big country.

...

...

After seeing Dong Chenxi off, Zhao Fusheng sat at home and couldn't help shaking his head.

He had to admit that, in a sense, his advantage of foreknowledge was gradually fading.

On one hand, due to blurring memories; on the other hand, because many things in this world were increasingly different from his original understanding.

"Stay steady."

After muttering to himself, Zhao Fusheng said nothing more.

Some things, he knew well enough in his own heart.

As for the rest, there was no need to say much.

Dong Chenxi acted quickly. After returning, she commissioned a research firm to secretly investigate Shenzhou Car Rental.

Soon, she discovered a problem.

Just as Zhao Fusheng had said, behind the rise of this company was a hidden force, a powerful one—definitely a strong combination within China's capital circles.

Then she dared not dig any deeper.

"I think we should stop here."

Dong Chenxi came to see Zhao Fusheng in person and said to him.

Outside the door was Zhao Fusheng's secretary, Chen Qiuyan; in the room, only the two of them.

"Found something off?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Dong Chenxi.

Dong Chenxi nodded: "I dare not investigate further."

The waters here were deep; if she continued, Dong Chenxi feared she would bring trouble to Future Investment or even Future Group.

She always considered issues from Zhao Fusheng's perspective. Since there was risk that might affect the company, Dong Chenxi certainly would not keep pursuing it.

Even though she was also very curious about the truth.

But she knew what the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' meant.

"Alright."

Zhao Fusheng nodded with satisfaction. He highly approved of Dong Chenxi's sense of proportion.

It had nothing to do with how much money he had. As a person, especially as a businessman, one must learn when to stop.

Endlessly digging to the bottom without any benefit to one's own interests was a very foolish act.

Like many people in later times, they always thought the truth of a matter was very important.

From a moral standpoint, that was true.

But the problem was, many things in this world were not simply right or wrong.

It was like the famous trolley problem.

A high-speed train is hurtling toward you. On your left is one person, on your right, ten. If you have a choice, which one do you save?

In fact, no matter which side you choose, you are saving people.

But some people insist on making it a matter of right and wrong, of greater love versus lesser love—wasn't that just having a hole in their head?

Yet such people often gained a large audience.

Fortunately, there weren't many such people around Zhao Fusheng.

Dong Chenxi was an even smarter woman; she knew when to make what trade-off was the most correct choice.

"Haha, no need to investigate further. It has nothing to do with us."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand and said to Dong Chenxi, "Just focus on your own work."

Then he casually added, "What do you think about moving Future Investment's headquarters abroad?"

"Abroad?"

Dong Chenxi was taken aback, then shook her head: "Not appropriate, is it? After all, we weren't registered as an offshore company from the start. There's no need for that. Besides, we can control shares of other companies through transactions."

"Alright."

Zhao Fusheng nodded and said nothing more.

In these matters, he still respected Dong Chenxi's opinions.

After all, Dong Chenxi was different from Ye Jing.

Ye Jing had his own social circle and background; before joining him, he was one of the big shots in the Beijing circle. It was only because his career had failed and he was unwilling to accept it that he joined Zhao's camp.

Now that his forces were strong, it was natural for him to have other ideas.

But Dong Chenxi was different.

To put it bluntly, everything Dong Chenxi had now was obtained through Zhao Fusheng, so she naturally belonged to his side.

This was true for many top executives of Future Group, including Zheng Yao and Bai Jie.

This was where Zhao Fusheng's confidence lay.

…

…

Not long after, Future Investment officially sold its shares in China Auto Rental.

Of course, the external reason was that they were preparing for a large project and needed substantial funds.

Although the outside world had some doubts, they didn't think much of it.

After all, everyone knew about the Alibaba situation.

The withdrawal of Yahoo and Sequoia Capital made many realize that the battle for Alibaba's equity might be about to see a major turning point!

At such a time, Future Investment's actions were understandable.

"But, speaking of which, you're not planning to completely retire, are you?"

Zheng Yao knew Zhao Fusheng too well; she always felt that there was something hidden behind his actions.

So she simply came directly to talk to him face to face.

"No,"

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "I'm just considering a transformation."

Although he couldn't be completely open with Zheng Yao, there were some things he could tell her.

For example, his plans for the future, his overall development strategy for Future Group, and so on.

Transformation?

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Zheng Yao frowned slightly.

In fact, ever since Future Group began to develop, she had often heard these two words from Zhao Fusheng's mouth.

It seemed that, for the entire group, Zhao Fusheng had always had a sense of insecurity. Zheng Yao felt that his enthusiasm for business was no longer as high as it had been at the beginning.

At the start of their venture, Zhao Fusheng gave the impression that he was serious about everything and always thinking about how to maximize profits.

But now, the Zhao Fusheng of the past was nowhere to be seen.

The current Zhao Fusheng was so steady that it made people's scalps tingle, as if he had become a different person.

"What, aren't you tired?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Zheng Yao and said with a slight smile, "They say health is the capital of revolution. You, on the other hand, seem to want to work yourself to death in the office. Busy all day long, aren't you tired?"

"Huh?"

Zheng Yao was taken aback. She really hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to say that.

What did this guy mean?

"You, don't worry about too many things lately."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand and said to Zheng Yao, "Future Group will definitely be restructured. As for how to arrange the subsidiaries, I've already thought it through. I'll give you the plan later, and you can take a look."