Chapter 228 - The Prodigal Phenomenon
The whole world was going crazy. But people still underestimated the impact of the Black Tortoise appearing in the world.
Heavenly State was a Nation that had always believed in totems.
The Black Tortoise was on par with the Green Dragon, White Tiger, and the Vermilion Bird. Speaking of which, a lot of things weren’t that rare actually. The Green Dragon that could fly and control the clouds was never seen before, the flaming Vermilion Bird also didn’t exist, but the White Tiger was quite common. They could be found in the zoos, just that… their sizes were not large enough.
This alligator snapping turtle, seriously speaking, wasn’t a rare species too. Quite a lot of them existed on the planet, and some were even raised as pets. However, once an animal’s size reached a certain extent, its meaning would be different.
In just a number of days, whether it was the news that was going around on Xinhai Weibo or the recommendations to one another on So Cool, or just simply the passing of news from one friend to another, the news of the Black Tortoise emergence shoot up the ranking board on So Cool’s most viewed and download list to the top ten. Don’t think that this isn’t fast enough, because the first seven on the list were all the stuff related to Hong Dali.
After another three days, the download ranking rose to number eight, the other seven being those programs made by Hong Dali. Now, this was the eighth one.
Not too long in the future, Hong Dali might be the most powerful prodigal in history who dominated the entire list.
It must be admitted that this was a weird phenomenon.
An expert named this phenomenon the “Prodigal Phenomenon.”
One couldn’t help but say that this name was quite funny, yet quite accurate too…
Everyone watched on in bewilderment. Then, they totally went crazy.
The fourth day after this, Zhang Cai opened a press conference and announced that the Black Tortoise would, out of friendship, act in the movie “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre: Pugilistic World.” Also, she announced another news—Hong Dali was planning to build an ecology zoo around Fengyuan Lake. The area at the mountain top would become the “Marshes of Mount Liang” that would have inns and wine shops. At the bottom, different areas would be allocated for the raising of animals.
Also, the Changjiang Gold cruise ship from Hong Dali’s coming of age ceremony would be officially released to the public. It included private clubhouses, top-grade suites, and various other services. The most alluring thing was that the guests on the Changjiang Gold cruise ship would have a chance to play in the water together with the divine beast, the Black Tortoise.
Therefore, ever since this press conference was announced, on the internet, other than those people who constantly refreshed the website, another group of people existed—the stand-ins.
All they did every day was to put themselves in Hong Dali’s shoes and imagine they were him whenever the latest news of the Black Tortoise was released. Then, they would become excited as if they had drunk 100 ml of sorghum wine.
Therefore, Wu Youdao was so excited that he had a heart attack again, and again went into Tianjing City’s hospital’s intensive care unit—the sudden surge in the visitor volume of So Cool video-sharing website caused him to faint from happiness.
As for the surrounding area of Fengyuan Lake, a 300 heavily armed army was stationed there. Anyone who dared to commit some crime or evil act would definitely be settled by them—probably killed first before needing to report to anyone.
…
“He actually got the Black Tortoise out.” The incredibly handsome Liu Mingxin stood in front of the window and looked down at the crowd shaking his head helplessly. “This Hong Dali, he is really adored by the Heavens. He could even manage to find such a huge turtle, hehe. Looks like it really is difficult to compete with him. From the current looks of things, the prices of the land in the West Fourth Loop will rise rapidly again. What a pity about my family’s land there that was sold to them.”
Thinking up to this point, Liu Mingxin could only express that this was a play of fate.
“Forget it, let’s not think so much about that anymore. My family’s pan-entertainment all-win plan will be started soon. By that time, we should be able to reap quite a substantial reward. As for the matters here, we can’t do anything about it anymore.”
…
Hong Family estate.
The small building that Hong Anbao was kept in confinement.
Hong Tu sat on the sofa and looked at the dejected Hong Anbao, softly giving off a sigh.
“Anbao, are you still thinking about Dali?” After maintaining the silence for a while, Hong Tu gradually spoke. He said, “Everyone has their own destiny, you can’t force it. Your character is too set on winning, but you are too narrow-minded sigh…”
“Big Grandfather.” Since they were chatting privately now, Hong Anbao didn’t have to call him Old Elder. Once he called him, Hong Anbao’s eyes went red. “Is it that I can’t compare to Hong Dali in any aspect? My company is in trouble now, but I’m locked in confinement—my status could be said to have fallen all the way to the ground. Even that b*tch Tai Yajing also ran away with someone else. But Hong Dali is basking in glory, and now, he even has a Black Tortoise for a mount. Big Grandfather, why do you think the difference between us is so huge?”
“You still haven’t get over it?” Hong Tu stretched out his slightly withered hand and lightly patted Hong Anbao’s shoulder. “Many a time, some things can’t be envied. Everyone has their separate paths to walk, there isn’t a need to see how others walk their path. Anbao, think about it. You see that Dali is very lucky and think that he wins over you in everything, so you feel uncomfortable. However, did you notice the other members of our family? Others aside, just in terms of birth, can that child Yuxi be compared to you? Can Anjin that child be compared to you? Keep a tranquil heart. Don’t think too much, just try your best. There isn’t a need to win over others in everything. As for Dali, look at that child, he didn’t have any sense of arrogance for being the Rookie King—he is just like that, not concerned with anything. As long as you are good to him, he will be good to you too. Look at those people around him, they all treat him like a treasure and adore him. Is this only because of his good birth?”
Hong Tu’s words were simple, but the logic behind it wasn’t simple at all.
Hong Anbao wasn’t a fool, to begin with, he naturally understood. He thought for a while and suddenly smiled, then said, “Big Grandfather, now that you said this, I feel much better inside, hehe. Yuxi is a genius, but that’s a result of her hard work, right? Although my birth background can’t be compared to that of Dali, as long as I work hard, I will be able to reap my rewards, hehe.”
“Haha, good child, you didn’t waste my effort of dragging my old bones here to talk you.” Seeing that Hong Anbao had finally thought it through, Hong Tu was delighted. “It’s fine as long as you have thought it through. What past is past, the time is always moving forward, so don’t always look back. Regrets have no use in the slightest, so cherishing what you have now is what you should be doing.”
“Yup, I understand, Big Grandfather.” The previous haze that clouded his heart had dispersed. The current Hong Anbao’s face finally showed a sunshine-like smile. “Big Grandfather, you are really good to me.”
“Silly child, both of you are my grandchildren. If I’m good towards Dali, naturally, I will be good towards you too.” Seeing that Hong Anbao had finally corrected his mindset, Hong Tu’s mood was very good. He said, “Anbao, have you eaten your lunch? If you haven’t, then why don’t you accompany this old bone in drinking some alcohol?”
“Sure! I will just follow what Big Grandfather says!”
…
Hong Family estate, the other side. Hong Weiguo was sitting on a chair, leisurely smoking and drinking tea. Also, he was listening as secretary Xiao Liu reported to him on the latest news regarding Hong Dali.
This precious child of his was always able to give him surprises every time. Hong Weiguo was quite satisfied with this.
“CEO Hong, currently, because of the news regarding the Big Turtle, the prices of the land in the West Fourth Loop have skyrocketed. Currently…” Secretary Xiao Liu stood in front of Hong Weiguo, his face full of delight as he reported. “Currently, the normal housing estates have increased from the previous 1,000 yuan per square meter to 1,500 yuan now, and it’s still rising rapidly.”
“Hehe, not bad.” For him, this was definitely a very good thing. Hong Weiguo smiled and asked, “What’s the situation regarding those pieces of land that we have now?”
Although Sangle was an internet company, they earned a massive fortune through investing in real estates this time. Xiao Liu’s mood was as good as it could get. He replied, “There are people inquiring on when we will be developing and building on those lands every day. There are even those who are willing to pay up first. After all, CEO Hong, you understand—if they don’t buy it now, it will just get more and more expensive. Also, quite a lot of people have started communicating with our employees in the housing estates department, wanting to get in through the back door.”
Speaking of this, Xiao Liu’s expression changed to that of something that wasn’t sure what it was. It seemed a bit happy, a bit surprised, a bit helpless, and also a bit incredulous. In conclusion, it was just a very weird expression. “According to my sources, there were quite of a lot of employees who encountered clients who actively asking to be slept with in return for helping them buy an estate…”
“These people, hehe. Ignore this stuff. Remember, keep a close eye on this aspect, don’t let any unnecessary loss occur.” Speaking up to this point, Hong Weiguo laughed and shook his head. “Dali, this little prodigal, he always manages to give me surprises.” Hong Weiguo’s nerves were trained by Hong Dali to become very stable now. As he drank tea, he asked, “What about our company’s stocks?”
“Our share price has started to rise.” Xiao Liu said, “Ever since we released the news about the land in the West Fourth Loop, the share price has been rising quite stable. Now that the Big Turtle has appeared, it’s rising even faster. Currently, the share price has risen by 6%.” In the end, Xiao Liu added, “Plus, it’s still rising. According to the analysis of the experts in our company, it should be able to rise by 12%n total.”
The market value of Sangle Enterprise was now 26 billion and more. A 12% increase would be equivalent to a three billion increase in their net worth!
And this was totally a result of Hong Dali’s aimless squandering.
“Hahaha! This little rascal, he can really mess around!” Hong Weiguo directly decided. “Increase his pocket money to 20 million. I think this kid is probably going to squander in larger sums now. As long as he doesn’t do something illegal like murder or arson, let him spend the money any way he likes. Maybe, we will have even more surprises in the future.”
“OK, CEO Hong.” Reporting to this point, the secretary wasn’t afraid of anything anymore. As long as it was something related to Hong Dali, it must be something incredulous. Therefore, he was quite calm now. I think maybe I should just throw away my sense of logic in the future. This way, when facing something regarding Young Master Dali, my heart will not have any problems—I still want to live for an extra two years.