Chapter 0975: Giving and Taking

The weather was freezing cold, with a biting wind.

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-November, and the first snow of the year quietly arrived.

Although the snow last night wasn't heavy, the streets and alleys were still draped in a silvery white. Even though the snow had stopped now, looking up, the sky was still a gray expanse, with no sign of the winter sun.

The car drove along the street, lined with tall buildings. Zhang Qian was driving, while Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi sat in the back. Unlike the cold and bleakness outside, Dong Chenxi's face was beaming with joy, radiating a spring-like brightness.

"Fusheng, I really didn't expect this!" Dong Chenxi said, looking at Zhao Fusheng with excitement. "The user base of Xiaonei Network has reached five million! So fast—it's only been half a year!"

Clearly, she was extremely excited now, almost to the point of being incoherent.

This was understandable, because even Dong Chenxi hadn't anticipated such a result. A website similar to an electronic alumni directory, with just a few added web game elements, had turned out beyond her expectations.

Xiaonei Network quickly became popular among young people in major universities. It had to be said that this kind of novelty had a strong appeal to young people, especially college students. Dong Chenxi even felt that it might not be long before someone approached them hoping to acquire Xiaonei Network.

When that time came, would they sell or not?

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Dong Chenxi's excited expression and shook his head helplessly. "Come on, are you really that happy? Believe me, this kind of website will definitely spring up in large numbers in the future. Don't be too optimistic."

He was telling the truth. Others might not know, but Zhao Fusheng was all too aware that the Chinese people's ability to imitate was absolutely number one in the world. Half a year was enough time for many companies' R&D departments to develop social networking sites similar to Xiaonei Network.

In fact, just recently, Zhao Fusheng had received news from Dong Guoxiang that social networking sites of the same type as Xiaonei Network had already launched.

Moreover, they all used the slogan of reuniting old friends on the internet.

In other words, they were blatantly copying Xiaonei Network.

But there was nothing he could do. Zhao Fusheng didn't have the power to sue them; he could only accept it. After all, the country's laws and regulations in this area were relatively backward. Even for a TV series with a similar plot, there was no recourse.

National conditions—sometimes it was really a frustrating term.

"What do you mean?" Dong Chenxi wasn't stupid. Zhao Fusheng's words made her sense something unusual. She looked at him suspiciously. "Did something happen?"

Two years ago, she wouldn't have caught the implication in Zhao Fusheng's words, but now, after much experience in the business world, she had been tempered and naturally understood that Zhao Fusheng was hinting at something.

With a light laugh, Zhao Fusheng glanced at Dong Chenxi. "Don't worry about that. This time, we're mainly going to reward the R&D team of Xiaonei Network. You'll take the lead, and I'll play a supporting role."

After all, if you want the horse to run, you have to let it eat grass. Moreover, a horse won't get fat without night feed. Both Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi understood this principle, especially at this critical moment when Xiaonei Network had achieved such good results. It was only right to give appropriate material rewards to the R&D and management teams.

"I know that, but I still don't quite understand what you just said." Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng and said slowly, "As an investor, you have to let me know your next plan, right?"

Zhao Fusheng sighed. He knew that this woman's habit of getting to the bottom of things was probably incurable.

"It's like this: when we go there this time, besides rewarding the management and R&D teams, I also plan to discuss with Dong Guoxiang about spinning off the web game business from Xiaonei Network."

Zhao Fusheng looked at Dong Chenxi and slowly revealed his plan.

"Spin off?" Dong Chenxi murmured to herself. After a long while, she looked up. "You mean to use that as a basis to create a new website?"

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, raising an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Dong Chenxi to react so quickly. He had only mentioned the beginning, and she had already guessed his intention. It seemed she had been studying a lot about this area recently.

Since she had guessed, Zhao Fusheng didn't hide it. He nodded. "Xiaonei Network has good development prospects now, but I've discussed it with Dong Guoxiang. The web games like farming and parking have received good feedback from users. So I plan to separate this part out to make it more convenient for users."

He paused and smiled. "Besides, how long do you think the popularity of Xiaonei Network can last?"

"I understand what you mean, but doing this..." Dong Chenxi hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but stopped.

In fact, both she and Zhao Fusheng knew that Xiaonei Network had never been a long-term project for Future Capital. Ultimately, it was a project developed to generate cash. Once someone was willing to buy it at a high price, Zhao Fusheng would not hesitate to sell Xiaonei Network, just like when he sold shares to Han Bin before.

The more business one does, the more unconsciously one becomes utilitarian.

It was like the line Red said in *The Shawshank Redemption*: "These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them."

Zhao Fusheng tried not to be so utilitarian, but he had no choice. Business was business. If he mixed personal feelings into business, in the end, he would be the one to suffer.

Although he didn't have Cao Mengde's mindset of "I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me," Zhao Fusheng absolutely wouldn't let a project he had worked so hard on become a stepping stone for others' success.

He needed to make money and succeed, so naturally, he had to make sacrifices.

Some time ago, Zhao Fusheng called Wen Yu just to chat. Before the SARS outbreak, Zhao Fusheng had called to warn Wen Yu, telling his father, the deputy county head in charge of health, to be very careful.

Originally, Zhao Fusheng thought everything was fine and he didn't need to worry, but he never expected that Wen Yu's father would ultimately fall from grace.

To be precise, he resigned.

However, Wen Yu, stepping on his father's shoulders, was exceptionally promoted from an ordinary clerk in the Health Bureau to deputy director.

The reason was simple: after Wen Yu told his father about the impending SARS outbreak, Deputy County Head Wen thought it over for a long time and finally instructed his son to bring it up at the county's health conference in front of the county government leaders.

Wen Yu was puzzled but thought his father wanted the leaders to take it seriously, so he did as told.

But when he raised the issue at the county health meeting, his father severely reprimanded him, accusing him of alarmism and spreading rumors!

Wen Yu was stunned on the spot. He was still in a daze even after being thrown out of the meeting room.

It wasn't until the SARS outbreak officially began that Wen Yu suddenly became a visionary pioneer, gaining fame throughout the county and even the city's health system.

Coupled with his father's resignation to take responsibility, Wen Yu's image instantly became lofty, and he was naturally promoted exceptionally.

When Zhao Fusheng heard the news, he was quite surprised. He hadn't expected Wen Yu's father to have such high political wisdom.

The logic was simple: Wen Yu's father was already over fifty. In other words, no matter how well he handled this matter, at best he could only get a position as a member of the county party standing committee. It would be hard to advance in administrative rank; he would still be a deputy department-level cadre.

According to the unspoken rules of the domestic officialdom, at his age, it was basically difficult to be promoted again. Even if he were promoted, at most he would serve one term as the head of a poor county government.

To make further progress, he would need an extraordinary background.

But Wen Yu was different. He was young, educated, and after this incident, he had gained some experience. Coupled with his father's political resources, reaching his father's height before the age of forty was not a problem.

In other words, Wen Yu's father had paved the way with his own political career.

This was giving and taking.

Now, Zhao Fusheng was facing a similar choice. If he invested all his resources into Xiaonei Network, barring any accidents, it would develop quite well.

But the problem was that it would take time.

And for Zhao Fusheng, there was no need to waste several years on one project.

So, when Xiaonei Network's user base exceeded three million, Zhao Fusheng had already decided that if a suitable buyer came along, he would sell the project.

As for the web games, in Zhao Fusheng's view, that was a separate project.

"Don't worry, we won't lose money." Seeing Dong Chenxi's worried expression, Zhao Fusheng smiled and said casually, "We run an investment company, not a physical development firm. You have to understand that once an investment project pays off, we must develop new projects. Besides, we're short on cash now. Although it's a pity to let go of Xiaonei Network before it can go public and cash out, this is temporary. Once we have sufficient funds, we'll have more options."

Hearing this, Dong Chenxi's eyes lit up, and her expression shifted. Clearly, she had understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning.