After Mr. Jian Boyu spoke with such reason and evidence, Jian Wei still maintained her strong stance and said, “Fine, you can work on those two real estate projects, but you should understand that half of the advertising resources needed for these projects in Suzhou are controlled by my advertising company. I think Huatang Shengshi and Lijing Garden only assumed that, since you are my father, I wouldn’t make things difficult for you regarding the allocation of advertising resources, which allowed your company to secure these two projects. However, business is business, and I have to regretfully inform you that not a single one of my advertising resources is available for your use.”
“Weiwei…”
Jian Wei immediately interrupted, “This is a business meeting, please don’t call me Weiwei.”
Seeing this scene, Yang Congrong shook his head helplessly and whispered to me, “This girl’s methods are really ruthless; Old Jian might really suffer a setback this time!”
Mr. Jian Boyu spoke to Jian Wei in a consultative tone, “In terms of real estate planning capabilities, our company is the best in the Yangtze River Delta region. The clients must have their reasons for choosing us. As for the advertising resources you control, I can pay double the market price to purchase them from you. What do you think?”
“Even if you offer ten times the price, I won’t sell.”
Yang Congrong finally tried to mediate, saying to Jian Wei, “Weiwei, you’re clearly speaking emotionally here! You and your father could achieve a win-win situation regarding these two real estate projects. Why make things difficult for him?”
“Uncle Yang, you’re being unfair by saying that. I could also say he’s making things difficult for me. My Simmei Advertising is in a period of rapid growth. The significance of these real estate projects, which cost millions, for the development of my company is self-evident. With the advertising resources I control in Suzhou, am I really left with no opportunity at all? If he hadn’t extended his reach from Shanghai into my territory, I would have at least an 80% chance of securing these two projects. Then I could have chosen to collaborate with him by outsourcing the planning portion to his company, achieving a win-win situation as well. Why should he be the one in charge? Don’t you think that makes sense?”
Yang Congrong gave a bitter smile and said to Mr. Jian Boyu, “Old Jian, I really can’t say anything this time. Your daughter is just too formidable. You’re on your own now.”
Mr. Jian Boyu’s expression became very grim. After a while, he said to Jian Wei, “Everything I have now will eventually be yours. I really can’t understand your current approach!”
“You’re mistaken again this time… Ever since I went to the U.S. for further studies, I never intended to inherit everything from you. Therefore, I haven’t spent a penny from you ever since. After returning to China, I started my own advertising company. Even when I used the resources from your industry, I always paid you double the compensation. Today, let’s discuss these two projects based on the matter itself. There’s no need to keep bringing up personal feelings.”
Mr. Jian Boyu felt both helpless and pained. He glanced at me unconsciously before speaking to Jian Wei, “Then tell me, how do you plan to handle this matter?”
“It’s simple. You negotiate with the real estate developers, and I will issue a public announcement in the industry that Simmei Advertising will take over these two projects, outsourcing the planning portion to you. If you can accept this, we can continue our discussion. If not, we’ll call it quits here and pretend nothing was ever said today.”
Mr. Jian Boyu sighed deeply and finally nodded after a long pause. Just as Yang Congrong had said, he indeed suffered a defeat at the hands of his own daughter. Undoubtedly, he must be feeling very upset at this moment. As for Jian Wei, what was going through her mind now? I couldn’t see through her expression into her inner thoughts.
…
After Jian Wei and Mr. Jian Boyu reached an agreement, Yang Congrong and I finally had the opportunity to exchange thoughts. He said to me, “Tell me about your plans for career development in this phase. Recently, I’ve learned about several restaurants and bars you’ve acquired through various channels. Their features are distinctive and non-repetitive. Therefore, my personal judgment is that this must be a long-term strategic plan.”
I nodded and then conveyed to Yang Congrong my idea of creating a “Cultural Road” nationwide. He pondered for a while before saying to me, “This is a bold and rare idea. Even more impressive is that all your current establishments are profitable, which makes your idea highly executable. Therefore, I’m very interested in this Cultural Road. I have a premonition that once this road is established on the travel map in a few years, all the operating establishments will become new highlights, even attractions, in various tourist cities!”
Although Yang Congrong analyzed and predicted my idea purely from a business perspective without paying attention to the true meaning of this “Cultural Road,” I could understand it. After all, business is business, and my mindset also needs such a transformation. Otherwise, carrying only the indignation of a literary youth will never allow me to realize this dream in a market full of capital games.
Yang Congrong then asked me, “What is the biggest challenge you’re currently facing in your business operations?”
I thought for a moment and replied, “There indeed are challenges. Taking the inn currently being developed in Suzhou as an example, although the location is somewhat remote, the street environment is very good, and the rent cost is relatively low. If tourists know about the existence of this inn, staying there would be a very cost-effective choice for them. However, the difficulty lies in how to spread this information to consumers. After all, the Cultural Road is currently just an idea and slogan without any recognition yet. Tourists won’t actively seek you out… This is the biggest challenge in current operations.”
Yang Congrong nodded and then smiled, “For you, this is indeed a challenge, but if you choose to cooperate with my Easy Travel website, this problem will be easily resolved. It can also solve the bottleneck I’m facing in my development. After all, the website has reached a point where there’s not much room for growth anymore. We need to develop new territories offline.”
“Then please tell me how you envision the cooperation model.”
Yang Congrong lit a cigarette and fell into thought. After a long while, he looked excitedly at me and said, “If we do cooperate, initially I will create a dedicated second-level page on the Easy Travel website to promote this Cultural Road you envisioned. I will introduce each inn, bar, and restaurant that you develop, and use the website platform for sales, expanding the sales channels. Of course, once this Cultural Road reaches a certain scale in the future, I will invest funds on other platforms for comprehensive promotion. I could even produce a road movie based on this Cultural Road, truly expanding this industry and fully tapping into its commercial derivative value, while also injecting real cultural connotations into this project!”
Yang Congrong’s vision immediately broadened my thinking. It was as if I could see a towering giant in the future commercial empire. After a long silence, I finally said, “Uncle Yang, are you saying that all the resources needed for promoting this Cultural Road will be entirely handled by you, while I take care of the operations and planning?”
Yang Congrong nodded, agreeing with my understanding.
“Then what kind of compensation do you require?”
“30% equity, can you accept that?”
As soon as Yang Congrong put forward this request, Jian Wei immediately looked at me with anticipation. I knew she hoped we could reach an agreement. Once the cooperation was established, I would be firmly backed by Yang Congrong and the Easy Travel website, and my future would be bright…
I weighed it in my mind. To be honest, 30% equity is a significant share, but the resources Yang Congrong could provide are also enormous. At the very least, initially creating a separate second-level page on the Easy Travel website for the “Cultural Road” project and building an online sales platform would have a market value of at least millions. More importantly, this method of resource-based equity participation could greatly shorten the development time for the Cultural Road, like adding a pair of strong wings, creating a fierce hurricane in the tourism industry. Moreover, considering the tremendous help he had given me before, I should also return the favor. Therefore, I couldn’t refuse his request for 30% equity!
I finally nodded to Yang Congrong and said, “Uncle Yang, I’m very willing to cooperate with you. I hope we can work together to create this truly culturally rich Cultural Road on the tourism map!”
Yang Congrong immediately stood up and extended his hand to me, saying, “…Your idea has filled me with excitement and has brought back the long-lost thrill in my career endeavors. I hope that one day in the future, on a certain night, I can feel the wind at the foot of the mountains in Ulan Bator and drink a cup of coffee made in our cafe.”
My hand shook hands with Yang Congrong’s, and in my heart, I imagined that perhaps one day this “Cultural Road” could really extend to foreign lands, spreading a sense of purity and tranquility to all those in need, and telling the world that as long as one walks on this “Cultural Road,” life can temporarily bid farewell to those fierce desires…
Jian Wei gazed at me and nodded gently. After a while, she reminded me, “Zhaoyang, since you’ve already reached a consensus with Uncle Yang on cooperation, you should consider establishing a company now.”
“Yeah, I’ll register it soon.”
“What are you planning to name it?”
I thought for a moment and answered, “Lukou Tourism and Culture Co., Ltd.”
“Lukou? What does it mean?”
I smiled and said, “It’s easy to understand from the literal meaning… I hope that whether in life or in travel, we can all walk on a cool and awesome path all the way…”
Jian Wei responded with a smile and said, “The word ‘cool’ can summarize a lot of emotions and experiences. I like this name.”
I nodded. Suddenly, tears welled up in Jian Wei’s eyes. She quickly covered her eyes with the back of her hand, waved her hand, and said to us with a slight sob, “Sorry, I need to go to the restroom…”
Jian Wei hurriedly left. Mr. Jian Boyu looked at her retreating figure, lit a cigarette, and then closed his eyes with a tired expression… At this moment, those emotions I never wanted to recall in my life surged in my heart once again!
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