Chapter 38: 38. Starting to Pave the Way (Seeking collections, seeking recommendation votes!)

There are actually many speculations regarding how Huo Zhiyuan suddenly became the boss of Kangshilan, but most are just wild guesses with no evidence.

Now that Huo Zhiyuan has said it herself, that Kangshilan is not hers but Zhang Ran's, it is difficult for Meng Zixuan and Zhao Jingyu to accept for a moment.

Especially Zhao Jingyu; she never expected that the company she has worked at for seven years, and as Huo Zhiyuan's secretary assistant, she did not even know who her true boss was.

"That's not right, Huo Yi, you were already eighteen when you took charge of Kangshilan, and when Zhang Shu had his accident, you should have only been fifteen, this..." Meng Zixuan suddenly thought of something and said hurriedly.

Hearing her question, Huo Zhiyuan did not answer, but instead asked back: "Who did you hear that I only took over Kangshilan at eighteen?"

"Uh..." Meng Zixuan was stuck for a moment; it seemed this piece of news had indeed never been confirmed by Huo Zhiyuan.

It was just that Huo Zhiyuan only officially stepped into the public eye and took over all of Kangshilan at eighteen, so everyone naturally assumed Huo Zhiyuan became the boss of Kangshilan at eighteen.

"Before your Zhang Shu had his accident, the handover for Kangshilan had already taken place; at that time, I was already the owner of Kangshilan," Huo Zhiyuan explained.

However, what Huo Zhiyuan did not say was that back then, her shares were only five percent, and the rest all belonged to Zhang Ran.

At that time, for some reasons, Zhang Ran chose her to enter this industry; although the company was under Huo Zhiyuan's name, Zhang Ran had planned to wait until she graduated from university to train her, and then slowly have her take charge of the entire company.

But no one expected that such a thing would happen.

"Then why did you only officially take office as the president of Kangshilan at eighteen?" Meng Zixuan subconsciously asked a silly question, also because her mind was a bit chaotic right now.

"Do you think a fifteen-year-old little girl could manage a company well back then? And a green girl who knew nothing at that," Huo Zhiyuan said, becoming somewhat lost in memories.

When she learned the news of Zhang Ran's accident back then, she almost collapsed; during the darkest time of her life, it was that man who held up the sky for her, letting her see the light again.

Just when she thought she could hide behind this man for the rest of her life and enjoy the sunshine, she was suddenly awakened by this news that was like a bolt from the blue.

At that time, she had actually thought about just going with Zhang Ran; she did not know how she could go on living in this world without that man.

But it was also at that time that she thought of Kangshilan; this was a gift Zhang Ran left for her, and at the same time, it was evidence that Zhang Ran had existed in this world, so she had to make Kangshilan successful.

From then on, Huo Zhiyuan changed completely.

Previously, Huo Zhiyuan was a country girl from the mountains, insecure, cowardly, and afraid to speak loudly.

But she wanted to protect the legacy Zhang Ran left behind, and wanted the world to still know that that man had once existed.

So she gave it her all; in three years, she went from just starting high school to graduating from university.

In three years, she never slept for more than five hours.

In three years, she went from a little girl who was afraid to speak loudly to a new-era career woman.

Who could know how much bitterness she endured and how much suffering she went through for the goal in her heart during these three years?

No one knows!

But Huo Zhiyuan did not feel lonely, nor did she feel the slightest bit aggrieved.

All she had was happiness—happiness in her own growth bit by bit, and happiness in being able to do things for him.

Whenever she felt she could not hold on anymore, she would look at that one and only photo of her and Zhang Ran together.

Seeing that warm and gentle man in the photo, her heart would be filled with endless courage; even if there were mountains of blades and seas of fire ahead, she would dare to cross them alone!

Meng Zixuan and Zhao Jingyu both stared blankly at Huo Zhiyuan, who had a sweet smile on the corners of her mouth.

At this moment, they perhaps finally knew what kind of position Zhang Ran occupied in Huo Zhiyuan's heart!

"Jingyu, you go to Zhang Siyan's shop this afternoon and say that the company plans to adjust its agents, that she has been selected as a candidate, and have her go to the company to learn for a period of time.

All sales channels within the company are to be open to her; let her know as many of the company's sales channels as possible and understand their operational models," Huo Zhiyuan instructed with a serious expression.

Zhao Jingyu's expression changed, and her voice was somewhat strained, "Sister, are you planning to..."

She seemed to have guessed what Huo Zhiyuan was going to do.

Huo Zhiyuan smiled faintly: "This was originally the Zhang Family's property; it was just temporarily deposited with me. Now that the rightful owner has returned, it is time to return it."

Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere suddenly quieted down, leaving only some heavy breathing sounds.

Zhao Jingyu did not know if Huo Zhiyuan had hesitated when making this decision, but putting herself in her shoes, if it were her, she definitely would not be able to bear it.

But since she was only a secretary now, she could only follow the boss's instructions.

And Meng Zixuan's mood was actually even more complicated; she never imagined that a simple surname could have so many stories behind it.

At the same time, she was also thinking, what if she had really changed her surname back then? What would it be like now?

And just how much charisma did her Zhang Shu have?

Whether it was her father Meng He or Huo Zhiyuan, they were both prepared to return so much property the moment Zhang Ran returned.

And did Zhang Ran leave behind other industries back then? Meng Zixuan suddenly thought of a circle that Huo Zhiyuan and Meng He were in years ago; she seemed to have thought of something and was immediately frightened by her own thoughts.

But soon, Meng Zixuan shook her head, cast the thoughts in her mind away, and laughed at herself in her heart, feeling that her thought just now was ridiculous—how could that possibly be true.

Meng Zixuan knew that Huo Zhiyuan was now prepared to have Zhang Siyan serve as her next successor.

While envying Zhang Siyan, Meng Zixuan also had some doubts: why did Huo Zhiyuan talk to her about changing her surname earlier?

Was she not afraid that this would make her feel jealous or dissatisfied with Zhang Siyan?

It was not just Meng Zixuan who was puzzled; Zhao Jingyu was the same. While Meng Zixuan went upstairs to change clothes, she asked the question that was in her heart.

Facing Zhao Jingyu's question, Huo Zhiyuan said: "Do you know why the previous secretary left?"

"I heard it was because she didn't follow the rules and leaked some company secrets?" Zhao Jingyu only heard bits and pieces occasionally, and she did not know the specifics very well either.

"Right, just because she said some things she shouldn't have and leaked some things she shouldn't have, she left," Huo Zhiyuan said.

Hearing this, Zhao Jingyu understood Huo Zhiyuan's meaning; there are no secrets in this world. Even if not many people know about this matter, or you think only you know, in reality, that is not the case.

Rather than having Meng Zixuan find out about this through other aspects later, it was better for Huo Zhiyuan to tell her directly now.

Everything Huo Zhiyuan is doing now is to better return the company; she needs to hand back a complete company.

"Alright, go do your work. During this time, you should also think it over carefully, prepare yourself, and see what position you want to go to; this is also what you deserve," Huo Zhiyuan said again.

Zhao Jingyu pursed her lips and ultimately said nothing. Now that Huo Zhiyuan had made up her mind to start clearing the path for Zhang Siyan before she took over, even she was among those being cleared out.

Zhao Jingyu suddenly felt a bit envious of Zhang Siyan; without knowing anything, someone had already started paving the way for her to take charge of an enterprise.

At the same time, she also sighed secretly in her heart, wondering how many people would be caught in the crossfire this time.

As for why Huo Zhiyuan did not return the shares directly to Zhang Ran but instead wanted to complete it through Zhang Siyan, that was not a matter for a secretary to worry about, though Zhao Jingyu also knew that Huo Zhiyuan must have had her own ideas in this.