Chapter 993: 988. Mr. Zhang Ran Had a Profound Influence on Me

"Mr. Aili, could you describe the situation inside in more detail?" a reporter asked impatiently; they were all feeling quite anxious at this moment.

How could such big news allow them to remain calm?

Aili smiled and said, "Of course I can."

After saying this, Aili seemed to fall into his memories, "When I first met Mr. Zhang Ran, I already had a small fortune; to say the least, I had fifty million US dollars."

Those who know me might know that, yes, it was right after my first venture that I met Mr. Zhang Ran.

Many people who heard this were speechless; *first venture*? Didn't you only ever start one venture?

Yes, Aili's first venture was a huge success, and at that time, he was still someone who hadn't been in university for very long.

Aili ignored everyone's thoughts and continued on his own: "After my first venture succeeded, I realized one thing: it was actually very simple for me to make money."

This statement made many people truly grit their teeth in frustration, yet they had to admit that what Aili said was true.

"Actually, at that time, after indulging myself for a period, I felt a bit lost, because during that initial time of success, I was indeed very excited, and the indulgence was indeed particularly comfortable."

"But as time went on a little, I discovered that such success and such a life of indulgence were a bit too dull."

"At that time, I was a bit lost, not knowing what I should do. Actually, I knew I could completely focus on making money; no matter what I did, as long as it made money, that would be enough."

"But I slowly discovered that this life was not what I wanted; I didn't want to make money purely for the sake of making money."

"But I also didn't want to spend my days enjoying life like that; to me, that was just wasting my life."

"So I was lost, not knowing what I should do."

Aili's narrative made many people fall silent; although they might not understand Aili's mindset at the time, they understood that everything Aili said was fact.

And this kind of Aili seemed to be the Aili in their hearts.

If Aili were purely for the sake of making money, then Aili would not have his current status.

Aili ignored them and continued: "It was right at that time that I attended an entrepreneurial dance party. I thought I was just going to relax, but that was when I met Mr. Zhang Ran."

As he spoke, Aili chuckled and said, "Actually, I'm not afraid of being laughed at, but before this, I had already heard Mr. Zhang Ran's name; Mr. Zhang Ran's reputation in the investment circle was quite significant at the time."

"At that time, I actually looked down on Mr. Zhang Ran a bit, thinking he was just a vulgar person chasing wealth."

This statement once again made many people twitch their lips; weren't they just such people themselves?

Zhang Ran also let out a laugh; no wonder Aili was a bit resistant to him back then. Zhang Ran had wanted to invest in Aili at the time.

After all, Aili's track record was too good, and his grasp of the future was also quite accurate.

But when he went to find Aili, he was met with a direct refusal from Aili.

Later, Aili's attitude improved quite a bit, but Zhang Ran didn't know the reason; it turned out to be because of this.

Aili looked at Zhang Ran and smiled, nodding at Zhang Ran with some embarrassment; he had been too young and arrogant back then.

Even though he realized his mistake later, he never said it out loud.

It was also because of his youth that, although he wanted to invite Zhang Ran to cooperate at the time, he felt too embarrassed to bring it up because of this previous misunderstanding.

As for Zhang Ran, because he had been rejected once—and a firm rejection at that—even though their relationship improved a lot afterward, he never proposed a similar request again.

After all, the environment at the time could be said to be filled with gold everywhere; it was just a matter of where one went to pick it up.

So, regarding this matter, Zhang Ran didn't take it to heart.

Aili smiled apologetically and continued: "However, after I talked with Mr. Zhang Ran, I realized that I had misunderstood Mr. Zhang Ran."

"The things Mr. Zhang Ran actually did were all driven by his own ideals."

"At that time, Mr. Zhang Ran said it like this: he liked money, and he liked making money, but he didn't like making money purely for the sake of it. If he could help or push the development and progress of an industry along the way of making money,"

"That kind of money is the most comfortable and the most meaningful to earn."

Aili spoke very earnestly; this passage was probably something even Zhang Ran couldn't remember clearly, and it was even possible that it was something Zhang Ran said back then just to hoodwink Aili.

But Aili remembered it clearly.

"So afterwards, I had a goal. My goal was still to make money, but it was no longer the kind of pure money-making for the sake of money as before."

"While making money, I also needed to consider the future of the industry; it would be best if I could push the development and progress of this industry." Aili finished saying everything he wanted to say.

He didn't hide anything. As for whether his prestige would drop because of this? He didn't care about that, and these were all facts anyway.

Zhang Ran laughed and said, "These were things Mr. Aili figured out himself; I admire Mr. Aili's actions very much."

Some reporters stopped talking at this moment; everyone seemed to have thought of the common ground between the two people.

Neither of them had engaged in monopolistic behavior in any industry, and the industries they participated in all had significant progress and development.

Perhaps because Zhang Ran had been missing for a period of time, it wasn't easy to document, and although many people knew the inside story, in reality, some things were not easy to publish completely; that would involve too many things.

However, everyone understood Aili's situation; everyone knew that Aili was not lying, and he had been doing exactly this for so many years.

It was just because his business vision was too good that, even doing this, he had already earned vast amounts of wealth.

But he earned this money with a clear conscience, without any psychological burden, and everyone also believed that this money was what he deserved.

Some reporters wanted to ask something, but they found they didn't know what to ask; at this moment, they were all moved by the stories of these two richest men, the old and the new.

Compared to others, there was something different about these two.

They were both the world's richest men; logically speaking, many people who hated the rich should be very dissatisfied with them.

But in reality, there were really not many people dissatisfied with these two, especially in the business world.

Compared to some investment groups, many people were actually willing to accept investments from these two, even if they took a smaller share, especially some people just starting out, because these two, in many cases, would not destroy an industry for the sake of money.