Veto

  The entire conference hall remained silent and still.

  Zhuang Haoran continued to browse the data on this trillion-dollar plan, his eyes revealing no emotion, as if he wasn't anxious at all. Occasionally, he would put it down on the table, resting his elbow on the armrest of the chairman's office chair, and supporting his chin with his hand, gazing at the data on the business plan from afar, his eyes showing an expression that was not interested in the slightest...

  The high-level people in the conference room started to look at Zhuang Huanran strangely, wondering why he had been silent for 15 minutes without showing any signs of agreement or disagreement.

  Jiang Tiankuai remained silent and opened the next meeting content with great elegance, focusing on it without any hurry.

  Zhuang Huanran changed his posture again, with his right elbow propped against the armrest of the chairman's chair, and then gently supported his chin with his hand, continuing to look at the proposal with a bit of boredom, his fingers lightly stroking his chin.

  Everyone was stunned, looking at Zhuang Huanran in the position of general manager with a look of not being related to him, curious and strange. Then they turned their heads to look at Jiang Tiankuai, who didn't make a sound either, with a look of concentrating on reading documents, as if this world only had these two people, everyone else was stunned.

  Dong Ying stood by, slightly turning her head, glancing at the two CEOs beside her, each doing their own thing, and she looked helpless.

  Zhuang Huanran's most trusted male secretary, Tai Xian, wearing a black suit, stood beside him, calmly silent, only slightly raising his eyelids to look at the three vice presidents below: Lin Chuyao, Su Luohe, and Leng Mohan. These three were once mysterious behind-the-scenes operators in Asian finance, now vice presidents of Huan Asia Group. They simultaneously looked up at Zhuang Huanran on stage with calm faces. Meanwhile, Zhuang's female secretary, Xiao Tong, showed a hint of playful expression as she raised her head to look at her boss.

  Asian Vice President Chen Junnan, Shen Junyu, Xiao Nai, Su Luoze, the four of them looked up at Jiang Tiankuang simultaneously.

  Time passed some more.

  The people in the high levels below have already begun to whisper some private words, all wondering about the meaning of Zhuang Huang's silence.

  Zhuang Haoran was still staring at the document, silent and unresponsive.

  Jiang Tiankuai calmly looked at the next business plan.

  Time passed a little more, and 45 minutes had already passed. Those designers, engineers, and high-level officials from various departments who participated in the trillion-yuan project were all extremely nervous as they stared at Zhuang Huanran. Even the chief accountant and the chief engineer quietly pulled out their handkerchiefs to wipe away the sweat on their foreheads.

  "I heard that Mayor Qin has been holding up our application to build an underwater hotel before I returned from the UK?" Zhuang Hao Ran finally put down the file, and with a forced smile on his face, looked at everyone.

  Jiang Tiankuai remained silent and continued looking at the file.

  Vice President Chen Junnan smiled and stood up, saying: "Once Mayor Qin questioned the environmental protection issues caused by our underwater hotel, our chief engineer of environmental protection personally went to the government office and presented a zero-pollution plan for the construction of the underwater hotel. Although the document has not been signed yet, it has been submitted for review, and I estimate that we will have an answer soon."

  "Very soon?" Zhuang Hao Ran smiled and looked at Chen Jun Nan, smiling and asked: "So-called very soon, is it?"

  Chen Junnan smiled knowingly and said, "Actually, the document wasn't approved because recently it was revealed that our Asian Group purchased a certain harbor and discovered oil, so the mayor temporarily put it on hold. We have prediction experts who came up with a solution to this plan."

  Zhuang Haoran remained silent for a moment, picked up the data on the file, and looked at it quietly for a few moments before speaking: "The President of Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, had once convened an underwater cabinet meeting in October three years ago, attended by important officials from his administration. This was the world's first underwater cabinet meeting, which aimed to raise awareness about global warming and its impact on the planet. According to the latest research report released by scientists, this country composed of 1192 small islands is likely to disappear due to global warming in this century. From then on, we can only reminisce about that beautiful place..."

  Everyone was silent and listened quietly.

  Zhuang Haoran calmly scanned the high-level officials in the conference hall, then suddenly smiled and said: "Of course, after holding this meeting, Maldives' tourism industry has grown rapidly, surpassing the economic income of previous years. However, currently, the most pressing global issue is always about global warming and carbon dioxide emissions. Even our country has to pay a huge amount of money to buy emission space due to its large carbon dioxide emissions. At a time when environmental protection is such a sensitive topic worldwide, and there are controversies, our country's major enterprises are working hard to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to gain recognition from the government and the world. Yet, we are building an underwater hotel on a large scale, which seems to be going against the global environmental agenda. Our Asian Group and Huan Ya Group are closely related, both being important subsidiaries of the Global Group. We are a company with a global vision, so all our developments must align with the world's direction."

  Many high-rise buildings are discussing this incident with their heads down.

  Jiang Tiankuai remained silent, but finally calmly raised his face and looked at everyone.

  Zhuang Haoran looked around at everyone again, and then solemnly said: "So regarding this proposal, before I returned to China, I had already made a plan for the underwater hotel and called Mayor Qin of this city. The reason he didn't approve it wasn't because of oil, but rather because of environmental concerns. Is what's known as 'environmental protection' really just about zero pollution?"

  Chen Junnan remained silent, stretched out his hand, and lightly tapped the file with his fingers, still saying nothing.

  "I have vetoed this trillion-dollar project, not because I oppose President Jiang, but because we need to be more cautious in obtaining government support and even global shareholder support. Environmental protection is no longer a means of warfare for our company's transactions; it is a deep cooperation with the government. We must show our sincerity and dedication to environmental protection construction, so that the government can see our efforts. In the future, we will invest more money to establish an environmental research institute to study the development direction of hotel environmental protection. At a more convincing time, we will build underwater hotels, which is our ultimate goal! Operating this special hotel is my and President Jiang's common wish. However, today... I reserve my opinion for now. Please give us your support. In the future, I want to see that our company's environmental director can make a zero-pollution plan for building underwater hotels, which is feasible even after a series of practical calculations, before making a decision! This is my opinion today."

  All the high-ranking officials bowed their heads again and discussed this matter.

  Jiang Tiankuai finally listened calmly to Zhuang Haoran's words, then raised his head, looked around at all the high-level executives, and smiled: "Regarding the question raised by President Zhuang, our Asian Group has spent nearly seven months discussing with the Director of Environmental Protection and submitting a 'cross' proposal, which has been approved by the National Bureau of Environmental Protection. Of course, in the Asian Hotel, where guests are treated like home, sleep peacefully every night, and relax and entertain, we need to think more about the future development of humanity, because people are the foundation of our Asian Hotel. If President Zhuang is skeptical about the construction of underwater hotels, we should strive to obtain more accurate data to convince everyone, including ourselves. In the future, our Asian Group will continue to work hard on this trillion-dollar investment project, and President Zhuang will also stay in the country with me to supervise the development plan of the underwater hotel. Asia and Huan Ya Group will enter a new era of globalization together. Everyone, let's work hard next."

  Applause thundered forth.

  Jiang Tiankuo and Zhuang Haoran stood up from their seats with a smile, first looking around the world, then turning to face each other, smiling and extending their hands, shaking hands in this historic moment.

  Everyone from the Jiang and Zhuang families' camps looked at them shaking hands on stage for a moment, all letting out a slight sigh of relief.

  The large 'door' of the conference hall burst open with a loud noise.

  Jiang Tiankuai and Zhuang Haoran walked out of the conference hall together, whispering and laughing about what had just happened in the meeting. It was unclear whether they were friends or enemies, as a subtle undercurrent flowed between them.

  "You've just returned and already called such an urgent meeting, it's really tiring for you." Jiang Tiankuai said with a smile as he walked forward.

  Zhuang Haoran smiled and said: "It's all because you're a workaholic, never letting me rest."

  "Is this my fault?" Jiang Tiankui said with a smile.

  "I'm dying to have the steamed 'mandarin fish' made by that old chef who's as greedy as the ocean, those scallions are cut so fine!" Zhuang Hao Ran laughed heartily and said to Jiang Tian Kuai: "Dad and uncle are really biased, leaving me in some godforsaken place abroad, while you're here living a life of luxury?"

  Jiang Tiankuang's eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled gently: "Your tastes have always been special. Dad and Uncle Zhuang didn't understand what you liked, so they assigned you to such a faraway place, taking charge of the entire European and American business."

  Zhuang Hanran intentionally frowned and looked at him for a moment before suddenly smiling, shaking his head, and continuing to walk forward with Jiang Tiankuai.

  Lin Chuyao, Su Luo Heng, Leng Mohan, the three vice presidents of Huan Ya, followed behind the two presidents in front, listening to their intentional and unintentional comments, smiled without making any comment. However, Lin Chuyao, a gentle-looking man, looked at his other two companions and said with some surprise: "By the way, on such an important day, why isn't Ying Jie here?"

  As soon as the words came out, Zhuang Huanran and Jiang Tiankui stopped in their tracks at the same time, turned around to look at Lin Chuyan, especially Zhuang Huanran, whose eyes sparkled with a bright light, as if he had just remembered this person. He looked at Jiang Tiankui with a smile and said: "Yes, I let Ying Jie graduate from England and then come to the Asian Hotel to learn from you. Is he doing well?"

  "He managed the Royal Restaurant with great efficiency and was a rare talent," said Jiang Tiankuai with a smile.

  "Oh? Then I'll go take a look. Let's go." Zhuang Hanran smiled and slightly raised his hand, walking towards the Yu Zun restaurant with Jiang Tiankui at the same time.

  Shari quickly walked out of the elevator and rushed into the Western restaurant, looking around anxiously, finally seeing Chen Manhong and Cao Yingjie standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, chatting with a French old man about today's new dishes. Then she saw Shari rushing in, they frowned, just heard Shari panting: "Chairman Jiang and Chairman Zhuang will be dining at our restaurant in a few minutes!"

  "Ah?" Chen Manhong exclaimed in surprise.

  Cao Yingjie's face lit up with excitement and he smiled.

  Today's update is over.