Chapter 209: Ambush (Part One)
On the surface, the welcome party for Su Can's arrival had made California seem lively, but in truth, everyone knew a storm was silently gathering.
On Su Can's second day in Palo Alto, a California newspaper called the San Francisco Observer became the first to report the Facebook cofounder's arrival in the United States. Only then did scattered reports begin appearing in other media outlets. The broader American mainstream media did not follow up. One founder's arrival was not enough to stir up a storm. Everyone was waiting for the final outcome: whether Facebook could secure funding that would undoubtedly give it ample resources for its subsequent growth.
In fact, most leading American companies did not let major issues become public controversies in advance. Almost every move made by the boards of these enormous companies, composed of the very finest minds, was shrouded in secrecy. Even the precise list of directors was often kept confidential. Only once the dust had settled would a board announcement send towering waves through the outside world. The fiercest clashes were almost always kept secret, and could even be ruthless.
Before Facebook's board had reached any conclusions, news had already leaked that Zack intended to sell off Su Can's shares in the company. This was undoubtedly immature. Yet at this moment, people seemed collectively able to understand Facebook's lack of professionalism. What many deeply distrusted, amid their condemnations of its human rights record, was probably the two founders' youth-enough to make countless aging capitalists jealous.
But war clouds hung thick over Palo Alto.
Everyone at Facebook headquarters understood what the upcoming board meeting meant. When the young people working there went outside now, they no longer found Stanford girls striking up conversations with them, or a young café owner asking