Chapter 2 The Next Day

Su Yeh-hao slept in.

He got up after nine o'clock, freshened up and changed into casual clothes. He went to the Four Seas Club to chat with his old man for a while, and politely greeted several elders.

Then he picked up Miss Vera, asked her to accompany him to a restaurant for breakfast, and then set off for Fragrant Hills Park.

When they arrived at their destination,

Su Yeh-hao said helplessly, "It's not the fiery red autumn foliage I imagined. It's already October, why is it still so green?"

Looking around, most of it was still green. About 30% of the area was covered with red leaves. Overall, there was more green than red, and the plants were particularly lush.

The sky was blue, the air was fresh, and birds chirped one after another.

Among the entourage, two cars were specially arranged for SWAT officers, a total of six people.

Other businessmen certainly didn't have this kind of treatment. After all, they weren't the second richest man in the world.

As Su Yeh-hao's reputation spread around the world, some people were afraid that something would happen to him locally, so they would rather be redundant in advance and try to nip the risk in the bud.

The Su family father and son had been busy investing all over the country in recent years, and had therefore received widespread attention.

In addition, a young female secretary was also sent today to act as a guide. Her task was to try her best to get some more large orders, such as acquiring land near Fragrant Hills to develop villas, or building a cultural tourism city.

Although Su Yeh-hao made it clear that he was here to play, what if he suddenly changed his mind? Some people were unwilling to miss any opportunity to win investment.

At this moment, walking in from the gate, the seemingly capable little secretary introduced:

"The weather isn't that cold yet. The main tree species near Fragrant Hills is the smoke tree. The temperature on the mountain is slightly lower, and there will be more red leaves than here."

Su Yeh-hao suddenly understood and said,

"We came too early. No wonder it's not red enough. I really just came out for a walk today. There's no need to waste your time, Miss Zhou. I guess we'll walk up the mountain later. Taking the cable car would be less interesting. If you have other things to do, you can go back to work first, or sit in the car and wait for us."

"It's okay. The last time I came was in junior high school. I'm in good shape. I can help Mr. Su carry his bag and hand him water."

Secretary Zhou said with a bright smile, adding,

"My boss gave me a task. In case Mr. Su suddenly has a whim on the way and prepares to build a building, or invest in a factory or something, how can there be no one to help you answer your questions? I'm familiar with this place in the capital. Just pretend I don't exist at other times."

With a cheerful smile, Su Yeh-hao nodded without saying much.

Fortunately, only one secretary was sent. If he hadn't politely refused when they set off, I'm afraid someone would have rushed to receive him, and the interest in climbing mountains and visiting parks would have been affected.

Going out for a walk with a girl, with such a large entourage, a total of more than a dozen people, forced Su Yeh-hao to maintain a certain distance from Vera, lest he be photographed by some tourists, and finally spread to newspapers and the Internet, causing some gossip.

Stopping to look at the road sign, Su Yeh-hao asked the female secretary again, "Which route should we take to go to Incense Burner Peak that's more beautiful? Fragrant Hills Park used to be a royal garden, right? It looks a bit simple."

"Yes, it's mainly quiet. It was looted twice by the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1860 and 1900. It should have been more beautiful before. Many old buildings were burned down. The Three Hills and Five Gardens in the western suburbs of the capital were famous in those years. The Old Summer Palace was one of them. The animal head sculptures donated by Mr. Su came from there."

"...Damn it. As the old saying goes, 'Born in sorrow, die in pleasure.' Those old colonialists have been living off their old capital for hundreds of years. Their decline shouldn't be far away."

Seeing Su Yeh-hao's reaction was so great,

The female secretary was quite surprised. She didn't respond, but only said,

"You can go and see the Zongjing Dazhao Temple. The Glazed Tile Pagoda is also nearby, or go to the Temple of Azure Clouds. Choose two different routes for going up and down the mountain. I looked at the introduction of the scenic spots on the way here. I can't be a professional guide, but I have memorized the information. You can ask me if you encounter anything of interest."

Miss Vera was slightly taken aback and asked in clumsy Mandarin, "You memorized everything after reading it once on the way?"

"Pretty much. I've had a good memory since I was a child..."

It was the first time they had met today.

Vera looked surprised after hearing this. She didn't have the social skills to become friends with anyone. After a few compliments, she quickened her pace and followed Su Yeh-hao.

Su Yeh-hao was secretly sighing about meeting another talented person with a photographic memory. The gap between people is really big.

Parents often say that their children don't work hard enough, but the fact is that learning talent really depends on whether God feeds you. Some smart people can easily achieve photographic memory, while others memorize it dozens of times, but forget it again when they turn around. Some gaps really can't be filled by hard work alone.

Walking along the road, it was more difficult to go uphill.

The scenery in the park was quite nice, making people feel relaxed and happy. Miss Vera's physical strength was a bit poor. After more than ten minutes, she was already panting, and sweat appeared on her forehead.

Using the excuse of looking at the scenery, he took her to the pavilion for a short rest. During the period, they met an old man who recognized Su Yeh-hao and enthusiastically asked him to take a group photo.

It was just a matter of a few seconds, so Su Yeh-hao didn't refuse.

He even chatted with the old man and unexpectedly learned that he was also a resettled household and had also been allocated three new houses.

During the peak period of resettlement, except for the area near the Imperial City, old city renovation was taking place everywhere in the capital, and a large number of resettled households emerged.

The old man's former home was demolished, and it was said that it would be used to build the main stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games, only three or four hundred meters away from his old house.

Su Yeh-hao hadn't paid much attention to this aspect. He only learned after asking Secretary Zhou that the design plan for the main stadium had just been finalized. Without his help to get back on track, the Bird's Nest would eventually be shelved.

It was replaced by a plan called "Ark of the Future", which had a more modern appearance and looked like a spaceship from a science fiction film.

Celebrations are very expensive. After some venues are built, they will most likely be abandoned in the future. The cost of maintenance may be higher than the daily revenue. The main stadium can be used for exhibitions, concerts, and so on.

Probably because he had already experienced it once, Su Yeh-hao had no feeling for the Olympics. Instead, he remembered that around the Olympics, the subprime mortgage crisis swept the globe. For him, that was the real celebration, and there was another opportunity to reap a wave.

After walking around, his back was already soaked with sweat when he climbed to the top of Incense Burner Peak, which was more than 500 meters above sea level.

Too lazy to walk downhill, he chose to take the cable car down and had lunch at the Fragrant Hills Hotel. It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon when he returned to the parking lot.

He still had to go to the Four Seas Club to help his old man receive guests. Thinking of going home to take a shower and change clothes first, Su Yeh-hao asked Vera on the way back, asking her,

"The activity tonight is estimated to end around 8:30. How about we find a place to soak in a hot spring then?"

Vera became alert immediately, blinked her eyes, and asked, "What kind of hot spring? A communal bath with a lot of people, or a private hot spring pool?"

"Of course, only the two of us will go. Do you want to be stared at by a bunch of old men and women? It would feel very strange."

Miss Vera continued,

"But wouldn't it be even stranger to accompany you to a hot spring alone? I'm worried that you'll have some strange ideas. It's better not to provoke you..."