Chapter 0439: Like a River of Spring Water Flowing East

After leaving the company, Zhao Fusheng did not return to the dormitory but went to the library instead, where he read for two hours before leaving.

Walking along the school paths, the air was filled with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers. It was early summer, with gentle sunlight, and the branches danced with the wind like youthful maidens.

The weather was nice today; the sunlight fell on people, making them feel warm and even a little lazy.

Zhao Fusheng grew a bit tired from walking, so he stopped and sat down on a bench.

Behind the bench stood a large tree. Zhao Fusheng sat there, leaning against the trunk, with the sunlight filtering through the leaves above, memories slanting through the gaps, scattering thoughts of longing all around.

When he opened his eyes, he stood up, patted his clothes, and headed toward the dormitory.

In fact, if Dong Chenxi could think of that problem, how could Zhao Fusheng not? After all, his mental age was not twenty. But the issue was that, for Zhao Fusheng, time was tight.

It was almost June, and the July break had already been promised. He had agreed to go to Beijing for Yu Feihong, and then Fan Baobao, that girl, would definitely not let him off easy.

So Zhao Fusheng knew he needed to handle everything in Ninghai before July.

The KFC store had Tan Kaixuan; the arcade had Qian Dongliu, who was up to the task; as for the navigation webpage, Dong Guoxiang was doing a great job, and even with the internet bubble starting to burst, it could still bring in nearly a hundred thousand yuan.

As for Future Advertising, there was even less to worry about. Zhao Fusheng knew that once he finished these few planning proposals, Zheng Yao would definitely make a killing.

What happened next was up to Zhao Fusheng himself.

Zhao Fusheng now seemed to be dabbling here and there, but he knew that everything he did was actually part of a larger plan.

In this world, the reason hindering open communication between people was, in the end, that everyone had their own secrets and thoughts.

In other words, there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand readers' eyes, and in ten thousand people's hearts, there are ten thousand different thoughts.

The year 2000 was, in a sense, the last chance for China to break the固化 of class stratification.

At this time, if one was willing to work hard and endure hardship, they might get lucky and achieve the feat of leaping over the dragon's gate. Think about it: a young person with nothing, leaving their hometown to struggle in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou for a few years, and finally returning home in glory—it was a complete adult fairy tale.

Being good at studying is not as good as being born well; there's no helping it. The gap between the rich and the poor has existed since ancient times. In Zhao Fusheng's view, since he couldn't be a rich second generation, he would let his descendants be rich second and third generations.

From a certain perspective, as a reborn person, a time traveler, Zhao Fusheng knew clearly that if he didn't seize the opportunity to plan now, in another ten years, he really wouldn't be able to make any big money.

Even if he knew the housing prices would rise, buying dozens of apartments and waiting for them to appreciate would ensure food and clothing, but to start a career was impossible.

Because by then, the entire social atmosphere seemed to have undergone a strange change.

Ideals and patriotism became words people were ashamed to mention, even feeling awkward. Society grew more and more restless, and even university campuses were filled with disgusting incidents.

Naked loans, academic fraud, sugar daddies—a string of words made people lose respect for the intellectuals within the ivory tower.

Principles and bottom lines were breached again and again.

Celebrities repeatedly broke scandals like drug use and infidelity, yet they still brazenly appeared on screen. Big tigers and little flies were common, making civil servants synonymous with corruption.

As for journalists, hah, protecting a sexually assaulted little girl required mobilizing a large group from the public security, procuratorate, and court: arrest, evidence collection, lawsuit, review, judgment. Four years, first trial, second trial, special approval for anonymity, transfer of household registration. But to kill her again, it only took a flippant article, 'Looking for Tang Lanlan,' by the stupid journalist Wang Le from The Paper.

Sometimes Zhao Fusheng even felt that the era he lived in, though materially abundant and informationally explosive, was like walking in darkness.

Yes, darkness.

The people around him were cold and icy, surrounded by deception, lies, and ugliness. If not for the occasional warmth and sunshine, he felt as if he might suffocate.

Zhao Fusheng didn't like the Koreans, but he had to admit that their movies and TV shows were often really bold in what they said and wrote.

At the very least, when facing certain dark aspects of themselves, they dared to tear open the bloody wounds, while we, aside from covering up from top to bottom, seemed to have no other way.

Ironically, we have the environment of 'Silenced' but worry about 'The Hunt'; we have the public opinion of 'The King's Daughter' but worry about 'The Hunt'; in our vast rural areas, countless real-life versions of 'Dogville' and 'Blind Shaft' are playing out, and we're still fucking worrying about 'The Hunt.'

Thinking it over, Zhao Fusheng felt he needed to do something.

Of course, whatever he wanted to do, the prerequisite was to become strong. And the measure of whether a person was strong enough was, to some extent, how much wealth they possessed.

The more wealth one had, the more they could do.

...

...

The days quickly arrived at Children's Day. Little Fan Beibei had been bustling early on, insisting that Zhao Fusheng accompany her to the amusement park.

To this, Zhao Fusheng said that being able to spend a wonderful day with the little princess at the amusement park was the lifelong wish of his life.

When he said that, even Li Yuan was amused.

Li Yuan had something to do at the mall, so Zhao Fusheng took Fan Beibei alone to the amusement park for a wild time.

Ferris wheel, bumper cars, pirate ship—one big and one small figure darted among various rides, having a blast.

"Brother, I'm so tired."

When they finally took a break, Fan Beibei said to Zhao Fusheng with a tired face.

The girl had really had her fill today; after playing until now, her little face was flushed like an apple.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and wiped the sweat off the little girl's face: "Beibei, if you're tired, let's rest a bit. How about big brother buys you an ice cream?"

Fan Beibei looked at Zhao Fusheng, hesitated, and shook her head: "No, Mom said things here are expensive, and told Beibei not to waste money."

Zhao Fusheng was speechless, then laughed, picked up Fan Beibei, and said: "Beibei is so good. It's okay, big brother will treat you. Big brother has earned money."

"Really?" The little girl looked at Zhao Fusheng with suspicion.

Zhao Fusheng nodded firmly: "When has big brother ever lied to you?"

"Alright then." Fan Beibei thought for a moment, as if recalling whether Zhao Fusheng had ever deceived her. After thinking it over, she finally agreed.

Carrying the little girl to the ice cream stand, Zhao Fusheng took out his wallet and bought two ice creams. The two of them, big and small, sat on a bench, eating with great enjoyment.

He really wasn't short of money now. Of the one point five million that Yu Feihong needed, one million had been returned to him. He spent nearly six hundred thousand to open the arcade, and after some miscellaneous expenses, he still had over three hundred thousand untouched. Moreover, the wo123 navigation webpage brought in nearly a hundred thousand yuan every month.

Speaking of which, recently the internet bubble was collapsing faster and faster. Many websites announced closures one after another. Even Chen Tianqiao felt the pressure and asked Zhao Fusheng several times if he was interested in continuing to invest.

To this, Zhao Fusheng indicated that even the landlord had no surplus grain.

He wasn't stupid. Chen Tianqiao's so-called investment didn't offer any shares; it was simply asking him to throw in money. Only a fool would agree to that.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but sigh. No wonder the future gap between Chen Tianqiao and Ma Huateng was so huge. The former only thought about how to cheat investors, while the latter considered how to make money for them. With different starting points, naturally they stood in different positions.

"Brother, let's go!"

Just then, a vigorous voice sounded in his ear. Zhao Fusheng looked up and saw Fan Beibei, who had finished her ice cream, standing before him fully revived, pointing at the Ferris wheel in the distance: "Let's ride that one more time!"

Swallowing his saliva, Zhao Fusheng decisively abandoned his thoughts about the future of the internet. He'd better focus on coaxing the little princess in front of him first.