The sun is shining brightly outside the window, and the central air-conditioning continues to blow out cool air, but some people are still wiping the sweat from their foreheads with tissues.
The conference room was filled with the heated arguments of the experts. Huo Zhendong sat in the main seat and listened attentively, while his secretary took shorthand notes beside him.
Huo Ran sat on the other side of him, occasionally lowering his head to write something in his notebook.
Like Huo Zhendong, he was wearing a high-end custom-made suit and had a stern expression, looking as if he was thinking about a problem worth hundreds of millions.
Under the heavy dark brown table, he first crossed his legs calmly, then suddenly remembered the article "Be careful, this sitting posture is not allowed!" that Tao Zhiyue forwarded to him last night, so he consciously put his legs down.
Another day of sitting in the conference room until my butt is numb.
Based on the suggestions he provided to Huo Zhendong last time, after repeated discussions, the development direction of Huo's TOD project has undergone some changes.
Therefore, everyone was very busy these days, and Huo Zhendong stayed in the office until late at night every day. He couldn't find a suitable opportunity to talk to Huo Zhendong about relationship issues.
But Huo Ran, who was in love for the first time, was filled with joy and wanted to enjoy it every day. He couldn't tell his best friend about it, and it was meaningless to tell other friends he didn't have a close relationship with. Huo Sihan, who had been victimized repeatedly, had threatened to block him.
Only his father was not poisoned.
Huo Ran secretly glanced at Huo Zhendong and felt extremely itchy.
Huo Zhendong, who was observing everyone's expressions, noticed his gaze, leaned over slightly, and whispered, "What do you want to say?"
Yu Huoran also quietly moved closer and said seriously: "I think we are starting to go off track again. We should first determine the first batch of cities to be launched, and then discuss the details."
When many people are discussing one thing at the same time, it is easy for a situation like this to occur: people with different professional backgrounds will focus on something that has not yet been determined, and keep discussing the possible pros and cons, and the discussion will continue to expand from there. In the end, they will find that they have been talking in vain for a long time, and this thing may not even appear in the plan.
Huo Zhendong pondered for a while, then found a gap to interject: "Now we have two main ideas. We can either invest in high-yield cities or take over small and medium-sized cities with less influence. Now that we have collected almost all the data, let's choose one path first."
Seeing that the two men were about to start another long discussion, Huo Ran quickly looked through what he had written over the past few days and spoke first.
"Ladies and gentlemen, given that our main business purpose is to build brand and influence, I would like to provide an idea from the perspective of young people."
His expression was very serious: "The basic target of TOD services are the residents of this city, but what really makes it famous and has a huge influence are actually tourists from all over the country and even all over the world."
"Now the main force of tourists, who also have the right to speak on the Internet, are young people. I think we should start from the interests that they most share."
"In addition to the scenic spots that are simply replicated, I think the two most important attractions are food and shopping. Food has a lower entry threshold. In recent years, several tourist cities that have become famous have basically used delicious food as a selling point."
"You can imagine a scenario where you can enjoy a one-stop food experience and shopping in the TOD complex during a short trip on weekends or even weekday nights at the subway station or even the airport station. The unique style of the city will also be reflected in this miniature metropolitan area."
"In this way, they can come and go as they please, and in just a few hours they can appreciate the most attractive scenery of the city in their eyes. It can turn cross-city and cross-provincial travel into a daily routine, and the repeat visit rate will increase significantly, and the topic and influence brought about by this will grow exponentially."
"I think if we start from such a vision, we should give priority to whether the city has sustainable tourism appeal, rather than whether it is small or medium-sized."
After he finished speaking, there was silence in the conference room for a while, and soon a heated discussion in this direction broke out.
Huo Zhendong looked at him with some surprise.
Today's meeting was initially effective. After the meeting, Mr. Huo stayed behind, as Mr. Huo was anxious to get off work.
After everyone else had left, Huo Zhendong took a sip of tea and started talking: "Tell me, what have you encountered recently?"
Huo Ran put away his standard CEO expression, loosened his tie, and asked in surprise: "Is it that obvious?"
"You had no interest in my business since you were young, and you didn't want to study business in college. After graduating, you played around for a year and actually came back on time. I was actually surprised."
Huo Zhendong said calmly: "I originally thought you were going to wander around for a few years, but you had no choice but to come back because of my oppression."
"So I didn't ask you to get involved in specific company affairs right away. You should start by interacting with people and slowly develop your interest, so that you won't give up when a lot of things are thrown at you."
Huo Ran said guiltily: "How can it be so exaggerated... And you can't blame me, if you are not interested, then you are not interested, this is heaven."
"That weird telescope?" Huo Zhendong rarely made a joke with him.
"Of course not." Huo Ran immediately denied it, "If it really doesn't work, then blame it on the genetic mutation."
On Huo Ran's fifth birthday, Huo Zhendong, who had already established his own business, originally planned to buy him a set of children's books on financial management as a birthday present to help him develop his financial intelligence from an early age.
On the day of the big event, a large meteor shower suddenly occurred. Huo Zhendong, who was sitting in the car on the way to the mall and was busy making a business call, saw it in a flash.
The unexpectedly fallen meteor streaked across the sky with a long tail, so brilliant that the pedestrians on the road all looked up and stopped, gazing deeply at the night sky lit up by the light.
Huo Zhendong rolled down the car window and forgot to say anything for a moment, just letting the sound of "hello, hello, hello" come from the other end of the phone.
Finally, he hesitated for a while in front of the book counter in the mall, then walked away silently and bought a very accurate astronomical telescope for Huo Ran.
Since receiving the gift that night, Huo Ran has been attracted by the romantic and magnificent starry sky. He would pester the housekeeper to take him to a good place to watch the stars whenever he had nothing to do.
When he grew a little older, he began to talk about traveling around the world every day, and had no interest in Huo Zhendong's business that was making a lot of money.
Before Huo Ran returned to China after his global tour, except for friends he had known since childhood, almost no one knew that he was Huo Zhendong's son. Even his roommates at school thought he just came from a well-off family.
With a brother like him who has completely gone astray on the path of being a second-generation rich, his sister Huo Sihan follows suit and doesn't look like a young lady at all.
"But I'm still curious. If you had bought me the book that day as planned, what would I be like now?"
Huo Ran couldn't help but sigh: "Will I become a workaholic with a unique business mind?"
"Nothing is as big as this." Huo Zhendong shook his head. "There are countless forked paths on every road. Where you go is both a matter of fate and a matter of chance."
Speaking of this, Huo Ran felt that this was a good opportunity.
He cleared his throat and said solemnly: "Dad, I have recently embarked on a path that may seem a little strange to outsiders..."
Huo Zhendong suddenly became a little nervous, and his back straightened: "You tell me, I can bear it."
"... Don't show that expression that is ready to kill your relatives at any time." Huo Ran said nervously, "I just got a boyfriend, it's not that serious."
Huo Zhendong was stunned and looked at him straight.
Huo Ran tried to guess his expression and couldn't help but pick up the cup to drink water again, preparing for the coming storm.
After a moment of silence, Huo Zhendong asked, "Are you serious about dating someone? Someone like Xiao Jin?"
"Seriously! I'm definitely different from him!" Huo Ran answered, "Speaking of him... How about you find a chance to talk to Uncle Jin? Persuade him to stop messing around. Life like that will be so boring."
Huo Zhendong nodded: "Oh, I see."
Huo Ran waited for him to continue, but Huo Zhendong just stopped and stared at the leaves floating in the clear tea in the cup, wondering what he was thinking.
"Dad, weren't you so shocked that you didn't react for a while?"
Huo Ran was still worried, so he had to make small talk: "You can tell me whatever you want to say. Don't hold it in. If you are angry, just let it out. I am still very strong and can bear it..."
While he was mumbling, Huo Zhendong suddenly asked: "You have become very serious when you come to the company recently. Is it because of him?"
"Ah? I think so." Huo Ran scratched his head, "I haven't thought about it this way, but now that you mention it, it seems that there is a reason for this..."
As he spoke, he analyzed to himself: "Actually, I can't say that I have no interest in your business at all. Maybe I have always felt that you have done a good job in this area, and I have never surpassed you, so I subconsciously felt that it has nothing to do with me."
"I don't know why, but I suddenly feel motivated. But he works really hard, and I am definitely infected by him, so you are right, it's for him."
In addition to his concluding remarks, Huo Ran did not forget to give his target some compliments.
Huo Zhendong looked at his expression, and his eyes gradually revealed infinite nostalgia.
"You are very much like me 20 years ago, but you are luckier than me. Life was so hard back then that even to help me mend a piece of clothing, your mother had to keep an eye on how much thread was left. She didn't dare to have children for fear of harming you."
"Later, I quit my factory job and started a business, setting up a street stall. Every day when I counted my money after work, I was just like you now, so excited that my hair almost stood up."
"Unfortunately, I later took the right path, which was said to be a miracle, but I also took the wrong path, which was more important. You should learn from my experience."
As Huo Zhendong sighed in a low voice, Huo Ran felt as if his heart was gently hit.
"Have you visited your mother recently?" Huo Zhendong asked.
"I went there the night before yesterday and she had gained a little weight. She looked very healthy, but she actually said that I had gained weight."
Huo Ran suppressed his emotions and laughed as he recalled: "I told her about this. She was surprised for a long time and said she thought I would always be single. I wanted to tell you a few days ago, but you were too busy and I didn't find the opportunity."
"That's good."
Huo Zhendong also smiled a little, which wrinkled the corners of his eyes.
"It's almost time. If you want to get off work, go back now."
"I won't interfere in your private affairs. I believe you know what you are doing."
He concluded: “I should have believed this sooner.”
It took Huo Ran a long time to realize that this was Huo Zhendong's apology for the past.
He stood up and prepared to leave. Before turning around, he thought for a moment and stretched out his hand to shake hands with Huo Zhendong.
"Dad, thank you." His voice was sincere. "I'll be here tomorrow."
Huo Zhendong sat there, watching him leave, nodded slightly, and responded, "Tomorrow."