Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Tianjing City, North Fifth Loop Road North Bridge, Tian’ao Forest.
The location was excellent, and the environment was deep and serene. The main road passed through the North Fourth Ring Road intersection and led directly to the center of Tianjing City. The shaded trees along the road made people feel relaxed and happy. The wide roads and the scant amount of vehicles proved that the traffic conditions were pretty good.
The main road—with a width of 20 meters—was, in reality, built by the Hong Family.
This road stretched all the way to the north and was surrounded by lush forests that seemed to stretch thousands of miles, causing the scenery to be particularly charming. At the end of the road, in the most central location of the Tian’ao Forest, there was a giant manor.
Hong family, Hong family’s family estate.
The four major mansions of Tianjing City included the “Liu family’s manor” of Liu Yihui’s Liu family, the “Pyramid” of the financial tycoon Jiang family, the “Underground Kingdom” of the oil tycoon’s Sun family, and the last one was the Hong family’s “Forest Capital.”
This whole piece of Tian’ao Forest belonged to the private territory of the Hong family. Since Hong’s Manor dared to call itself the “Forest Capital,” the scale of its territory was naturally very large. The entire manor had a building area of approximately 200,000 square meters, with nearly 100 buildings including four swimming pools, tennis courts, bowling rooms, cinemas, music theaters, underground wine kilns, and many more.
In fact, these things were not worth mentioning when compared to the luxury homes of Tianjing City. However, the large area of forests and lakes untouched by humans and the small hot spring were a rarity—one could even occasionally witness bears coming out to hunt for food.
In this manor, there were even three helipads, with three special helicopters stationed on it for members of the Hong family to use in case of an emergency gathering. With such a large scale, it was natural to understand why the sons of the Hong family sacrificed whatever they could just for the first few places in the family meeting—but the family members with excellent qualifications would never be embarrassed in the family. With just a request, they would even be able to receive up to 50 million worth of startup funds.
In the largest central conference room in the “Forest Capital” of Hong’s Manor.
The conference room was very spacious, measuring about 500 square meters, and the number of people inside was not few. The three old people sitting at the top were indifferent. They consisted of two men and one woman and were the three most respected elders in the Hong family.
The one in the center had two-inch white eyebrows, and his jaws held about one inch of white whiskers. Although his face had a lot of wrinkles, his face appeared bright and lively, with a pair of eyes that were not as turbid as an ordinary old man’s, still shining brightly. He was dressed in a black tunic suit with a gold cane in his hand. Sitting there, he did not appear angry but still seemed to exert his might over the others. He was the father of several brothers including Hong Weiguo’s father, the contemporary elder of the Hong family, Hong Tu!
The man on Hong Tu’s left was dressed in a dark red Tang costume with a black round cap on his head, looking like an old family’s birthday star on TV. His pair of eyes always seemed like they were squinting. In his hand, he held a pair of blood-colored fitness balls, turning it around here and there. He had a kind smile on his face, and he picked up his teacup occasionally to taste the Longjing Tea. This old man was naturally of another branch, but was of the same generation and held the same authority as Hong Tu. He was another elder of the family.
The third person was a grandmother with silver hair, hunchbacked, and holding a faucet cane carved from rosewood. She looked like the old lady from The Generals of the Yang family 1 . She was worthy of being named as the heroine and was the only woman of Hong Tu and Hong Wei’s generation, named as Hong Ying elder.
At this time, under the left-hand side of the three elders, three people were sitting there. One of them was handsome and was dressed in a tieless silver-gray suit. He was Hong Anbao’s father, Hong Weiguo’s fourth brother, Hong Jianye.
As for the other two, if Hong Dali had come, he would be surprised to see that it was actually Hong Anbao and Hong Ancheng who he had seen before!
On the other side was where some elders who had the right to speak and were not weak in the family were seated. Beside them were the younger generations who excelled in the family.
“I don’t know the meaning of father and the two elders…” Hong Jianye courteously asked the three elders.
Although Hong Tu was his father, Hong Jianye naturally didn’t dare to show any rudeness as he was an elder of the family.
“Jianye, you just said that in the past two weeks, Dali has already reached the age of 18, and according to the family rules, the family inspection team should be sent to evaluate his business talent. Is that correct?” Hong Tu faintly glanced at Hong Jianye and said indifferently.
“Yes.” Hong Jianye nodded.
“According to the family rules,” Hongtu said slowly. “family members who are 18 or older will have to have their first commercial talent assessment to carry out the initial asset allocation. However, the situation is special for this child. You should know that, right?”
“Yes, I know.” Hong Jianye said. “But the family rules cannot be abolished. Otherwise, I would not have come here in advance. Once the precedent is set, who will follow the rules set by the ancestors of the Hong family? This son here is bold but faithful, and is not doing so for selfish reasons.”
After he said this, the other family elders also nodded, and the young people in the surroundings couldn’t help but sneer. Obviously, they were greatly jealous of Hong Dali’s prestigious background.
“Ai, this child was born in a good family, but his body condition is very special. Now that he is about 18, the family meeting should be held. When he comes, I’m afraid that he will be in a difficult position. Jealousy can really cause himself to be killed by subtle means.” With a helpless smile, Hong Tu secretly shook his head.
Hong Dali was born in a good background, but his own strength and abilities are not enough. Although he managed to bring up a female star in this period, that’s only because he was lucky. Things related to luck can’t be repeated. Nowadays, I heard that he seems to be burning money to produce a show called “I Am a Singer.” He used up more than five million of reserve funds in a go.
With these people rushing to ask for his sin to be punished in this family meeting, it was obvious that they intended to exert authority over Hong Weiguo so that he could no longer condone Hong Dali’s squandering behavior. With Hong Dali’s squandering behavior, once the expedition team set off and the results come out, then it would be hammered into reality. No matter how much Hong Weiguo pampered Hong Dali, he would definitely be helpless in front of the family rules.
When Hong Weiguo reached 40, 90% of the money he earned would be collected by the family because he had no qualified heirs. In this way, the money earned by Hong Weiguo was even a wedding dress for others.
However, what Hong Jianye said just now was reasonable. Even the elders couldn’t directly oppose it.
One of the most important reasons why the Hong family could develop to such an extent was because of its iron family rules!
The Hong family did not condone people who leeched off the family!
Any family member who was at least 18 years old must start investing in an industry. Although one might need to study and couldn’t take care of it themselves, as long as the company was invested by one of the Hong family members, a professional would be sent by the Hong Family’s Manor “Forest Capital” to handle it.
As for earning more or earning less, it was entirely up to the foresight of the family member that had invested.
In Hong’s family history, there had been a few prodigals, performing unruly acts all the time. Without exception, at the family meeting at the age of eighteen, the prodigal would be kicked out of the core family members. Although he could eat and drink without worry, he would be unable to live the prodigal life from before.
Although Hong Tu was sighing in his heart, the family rules were there, and Hong Jianye’s words were Hong Dali’s weakness.
“What you said is a bit reasonable, but have you considered Hong Dali’s physical conditions?” Hong Tu asked.
“Yes, father.” Hong Jianye’s mouth turned into a ridiculous arc, saying, “But this is not the reason why he doesn’t invest. Father, you also know, our Hong family doesn’t need its member to personally take care of one’s business after turning 18. As long as there is an investment, there would naturally be specialized personnel to handle it. So, what I mean is, Dali could have just chosen a few business investments. Not to mention,” Hong Jianye paused and said slowly, “I heard that during this period, his body seems to have been getting better. Every day, he would go and play with Tang Muxin of the Tang family until late before going home to sleep. I don’t think he seems like a sick person anymore, right? ”
“Well, this is true.” Hong Tu nodded. “The child’s body has really been getting stronger recently.”
At this time, Hong Wei, who was wearing a Tang suit, smiled and said, “Brother Tu, it’s good news that Dali’s body is getting stronger. Before, I did send people secretly to monitor him. I cannot say that he has completely recovered, but he is at least not as feeble as in the past.”
On the side, Hong Ying also said, “Ai, this child Dali was sick from birth. It was not an easy task for him to turn stronger, but he is coincidentally 18 years old when recovering. God is really cruel to him.”
“This is destiny and can’t be changed.” Hong Tu said with a wry smile. “Speaking of which, the last time Hong Dali called me grandpa was five or six years ago. I’m not sure if I can hear him call me that the next time we meet, ai.”
Listen to him say that, Hong Wei and Hong Ying’s face also turned distant.
Speaking of which, Hong Dali carried a lot of their hopes. He was the son of this generation’s most outstanding talent, Hong Weiguo. Unfortunately, the higher the hope, the bigger the disappointment. Hong Dali’s case was indeed too disappointing.
“Father, then your meaning is that…” Hong Jianye said. “After all, the family rules are there…”
“Well, at least Hong Dali’s birthday on May 28th is just a few days away. We can wait until then to say it.” In the end, although he was a Hong family’s elder, Hong Tu could only follow the rules. He really wanted to protect Hong Dali, but unfortunately, no one could break the family rules.
As soon as they heard elder Hong Tu’s decision, the family members around suddenly started to discuss in soft voices: “The elders actually agreed. This time, Hong Dali, the prodigal, is in big trouble.””The elders are also unable to do much. Who dares to break the family rules? “Hey, in fact, think about it, Hong Dali’s life is also very poor. Although he was born well, he was sick when he was born. He couldn’t help it.” “Even if he were to be born in a good background, he would still end up being swept out of the core circle?”
Unexpectedly, just when everyone was talking about it, suddenly, a thick male voice rang: “Is this to say that when Dali turns 18, the family will send an expedition team? I oppose it!”
