Chapter 0955 Unity is Strength

In Zheng Yao's eyes, Zhao Fusheng had more tricks up his sleeve than anyone she had ever met.

So when Zhao Fusheng said he had a solution, Zheng Yao had no doubt. After all, every time they encountered an insurmountable problem before, Zhao Fusheng had used his intelligence to help her through.

This time, it should be fine too.

Sure enough, Zhao Fusheng looked at Zheng Yao and said with a smile, "I think, since everyone is so enthusiastic, why not let them join forces?"

"Join forces?" Zheng Yao looked bewildered, her expression showing she didn't understand.

What did joining forces mean? What kind of lousy idea was that?

With a light laugh, Zhao Fusheng explained, "Look, for example, if one performer does a three-minute act, five performers would need fifteen minutes, right?"

"Yes, and that's not counting the time for announcements," Zheng Yao nodded.

Although she had little experience in planning galas, her subordinates did. After reading the proposal, Zheng Yao was worried because, according to the plan, even five hours might not be enough. Too many entertainment stars had signed up.

Though she held the power of decision, the problem was that with such enthusiasm, she couldn't afford to disappoint them.

If word got out, CCTV's reputation would suffer, and Future Advertising would become a laughingstock.

Zheng Yao didn't care about face—even if an advertiser threw wine in her face, she'd wipe it off and carry on for business. But damage to the company's reputation was something she could never accept.

Having built Future Advertising from scratch, she now valued it more than herself.

So this matter was truly important to her.

Hearing Zheng Yao's words, Zhao Fusheng chuckled softly, "You're so rigid. Think about it: one person's act takes three minutes, but five people doing one act still takes three minutes, doesn't it?"

"What?!"

Zheng Yao was stunned, her mouth wide open, unable to utter a word.

She had imagined all kinds of solutions from Zhao Fusheng, but never this one.

"You mean... let them perform together?" After a long pause, Zheng Yao asked hoarsely, word by word.

Zhao Fusheng nodded matter-of-factly, "Come on, this is CCTV's disaster relief charity performance, not a star concert or a party. These people come to show the leaders they support the central government's decisions. All agencies and groups must serve the bigger picture. Want a solo? Hah, do they really think they're that important?"

He meant it. In his view, at this level of gala, being allowed on stage was already a great honor. To perform solo, one needed serious backing.

Moreover, Zhao Fusheng thought this joint performance format was quite good. The stars got face time with the leaders, and the TV audience got a treat.

As for how much they donated, that was up to the stars and their teams, none of his or Future Advertising's business.

Zheng Yao initially wanted to argue, but on second thought, she found his words made sense and she had no rebuttal.

"Don't overthink it. Just do as I say. Three or four people, or even more, it's fine—a group performance," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile. "Those who sing well can lead those who don't. Perform whatever you can. The gala isn't the goal; inspiring the nation's confidence is."

He paused and added, "That's what the higher-ups said."

Zheng Yao smiled wryly but had to admit Zhao Fusheng's idea might actually work.

With nothing to lose, she decided to implement his plan. If it succeeded, great; if not, she'd think of something else, or blame CCTV.

With that thought, Zheng Yao nodded, accepting Zhao Fusheng's suggestion.

Seeing the matter resolved, Zhao Fusheng didn't linger. After chatting about other things, he got up and left Zheng Yao's office.

When he got home, he saw an unexpected visitor.

"Why are you here?"

Looking at Dong Guoxiang in surprise, Zhao Fusheng asked curiously.

If it were Jiang Wen or Yu Feihong, he wouldn't be surprised—lately, entertainment stars had been flocking to Beijing. But Dong Guoxiang? Zhao Fusheng remembered telling him to keep the programmers away for now.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, these programmers were rare talents. Though paying their salaries stung a bit, he believed they would bring him rich rewards once this period passed.

As it turned out, he was right.

The returns came quickly.

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's question, Dong Guoxiang showed a simple smile and said, "It's like this—we've built that website."

"Built it?"

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then jumped up, staring at Dong Guoxiang in surprise.

He wasn't stupid; he knew exactly which website Dong Guoxiang meant. "How so fast?" he blurted out.

After asking, he shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Calling it fast, but actually, quite some time had passed—from before the New Year until now, almost half a year. And with his guidance, a group of programmers who could make cheats building a social networking site wasn't really something to brag about.

Originally, he wanted them to develop a game, but after careful thought, the browser game market wasn't mature yet. With Legend setting a high bar, few would be interested in browser games. So Zhao Fusheng didn't interfere when their research direction deviated from his initial instructions.

Now, finally, Zhao Fusheng had the news he needed.

"This website, following your idea, has a friend-making feature. Each user needs to provide their university, high school, and elementary school information. When searching for friends, they use this," Dong Guoxiang slowly explained. "We call it the Alumni function."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded, "Good, so people from the same school will show up."

"Yes," Dong Guoxiang said. "Also, we added some mini-games you mentioned before, like parking and stealing vegetables."

"Oh?"

Zhao Fusheng was a bit surprised this time. He didn't expect Dong Guoxiang and the team to remember his earlier remarks and add those web mini-games from his past life to the site.

Thinking that the site could both make friends and play games, he suddenly felt its prospects brightened.

"Have you tested it?" Zhao Fusheng asked, getting to the key point.

Dong Guoxiang nodded, "Of course. But due to time constraints, we've only just started internal testing. It'll be a while before the official launch."

Zhao Fusheng frowned, thinking of the legendary Facebook—a super company every time traveler dreamed of being part of.

Though he knew that in reality, getting a stake in Facebook would be extremely difficult.

The reason was simple: Americans would have to be crazy to let someone from China control Facebook shares.

Just as China doesn't allow Facebook or Google into its market, there are too many uncontrollable factors. No government would allow media it can't control.

In his memory, Facebook should appear around 2003 or 2004. He couldn't recall the exact date—he wasn't a computer, nor did he have any cheat system. Remembering the general time was already impressive.

So Zhao Fusheng gritted his teeth and said to Dong Guoxiang, "Speed up the testing. Aim for an early market launch. We can use my123 for promotion."

By now, my123 navigation page had become the largest in the country. Most people and public computers used it as their default search page. Zhao Fusheng could confidently say that before 360 started bundling its browser, my123's role was significant.

"Okay, got it," Dong Guoxiang nodded, noting down Zhao Fusheng's words.

Zhao Fusheng looked at him and said with a wry smile, "Tell the guys: once the site is done, year-end bonuses will be doubled!"

He knew these guys worked so hard largely because he had always been generous, offering them high salaries.

People's hearts are made of flesh. He gave them high pay, so they naturally wanted to achieve results. With results, they could ask for even higher pay.

Zhao Fusheng saw nothing wrong with that. If he were in their shoes, he'd do the same.

As for choosing to return to the capital during the SARS outbreak, it was simply a case of seeking fortune amid danger. The fatality rate of SARS was only a few percent; the panic stemmed more from fear of the unknown.

When a person's desire for success outweighs their fear of death, some choices become easier.

The world has always been fair: you gain some, you lose some. To get something, you must take risks. Money may let you do as you please, but it can't achieve everything.