50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 738 Comedy Turns into Tragedy

These colorful balloons danced in the sky, looking like a long, flying dragon, creating a spectacular scene.

According to the organizers, shortly after they released the balloons into the sky, it started to rain heavily, which would cause the balloons, which had already floated in the air, to fall back to the ground under the blows of the rain.

When the time comes, the cleaners they have prepared will swarm in and be able to clean up the fallen balloons as quickly as possible, restoring the city to its clean appearance.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes; bad weather doesn't always go according to human will.

Soon, a violent storm struck, with rain and wind howling across the square.

Instead of descending slowly as the organizers had expected, the balloons in the sky were blown back into the city by strong winds and scattered everywhere.

In less than half an hour, the entire city of Cleveland was covered with colorful balloons.

The balloons drifted onto the road, causing traffic to come to a standstill in Cleveland and resulting in multiple car accidents.

The balloons drifted into the airport, blocking the runway and forcing the airport to close urgently.
Balloons drifted onto the surface of Lake Erie, obstructing the fishermen's view and causing two fishermen to drown. Their bodies were hidden by the balloons that covered the lake and were not found by the search and rescue team until three days later.

It was as if a rain of balloon meteorites had fallen over Cleveland, with debris from the fallen balloons scattered throughout the city.

Sun Zhiwei and Tong Jiajia witnessed the entire disaster from the coffee shop in the square, and they were both shocked by the accident.

They never imagined that what could have been a historic celebration would turn into a tragedy.

In fact, the organizers did not make any major mistakes in this event; they simply underestimated the impact of the storm on the event.

This is actually a problem with urban event safety management. The city lacked a full assessment of weather changes and safety hazards, and this was a bloody lesson.

After this incident became known, it became a negative example for many city planning activities.

This has led many cities to adopt a more cautious and responsible approach when organizing similar events in the future.

Originally, Sun Zhiwei and his team planned to return to New York after the event, but now that such a big thing has happened, and since they were also participants in the event, they couldn't just leave, so they stayed at the hotel.

Three days later, Mayor Gerald, who had finally managed to resolve the issue, visited again.

They learned from Gerald about the outcome of the disaster. The campaign raised more than $300 million, but the compensation alone for the losses caused by the balloon disaster exceeded that amount.

The event organizer, United Way, is just a small charity in Cleveland. Unable to bear the responsibility for this disaster, they were forced to file for bankruptcy.

Mayor Gerald had no choice but to take over the mess from them and be responsible for the aftermath of the event.

After three busy days, Gerrard finally managed to sort things out and couldn't wait to rush to the hotel to meet Sun Zhiwei.

He intuitively realized that the rubble recovery project was an opportunity for Cleveland to begin to change, and he didn't want to miss it.

After learning about his ideas, Sun Zhiwei did not directly refute them, but instead helped him analyze the development prospects of the recycling industry.

Making money is certainly possible, but if a city becomes a city whose main industry is recycling, it will certainly not return to the state that its residents hope for.

Because the recycling industry is also polluting, Cleveland residents have had enough of the ubiquitous pollution and are now rejecting any industry that causes pollution.

Therefore, Gerrard's idea may not be feasible.

He then casually brought up the Cleveland Clinic. He first praised the Cleveland Clinic's contributions to medicine, and then mocked them for being intellectuals who were too aloof to do business and had squandered a winning hand.

The topic raised by Sun Zhiwei quickly caught Gerald's attention. He had always known that the Cleveland Clinic was famous, but he was not clear about its true value.

At this moment, based on Sun Zhiwei's description, a new idea popped into his mind, but it still needed to be investigated and scientifically verified.

Gerrard chatted absentmindedly with Sun Zhiwei for another half hour.

The two agreed again that the city's ruins cleanup would begin a month later, and he hurriedly left the hotel to return to the city hall.

He needed his team of advisors to immediately help him gather information on the medical industry and assess the Cleveland Clinic's position and value within the field.

If things are really as Sun Zhiwei said, then he really is looking for a better opportunity while still having a better one.

After seeing Gerrard leave in a hurry, Sun Zhiwei smiled. This Gerrard truly lived up to his reputation as a self-made, pragmatic talent; he grasped things instantly.

Tong Jiajia, who had been watching the whole thing, was curious about his thoughts: "Do you think this Cleveland Clinic is very valuable?"

"Of course, it is very valuable. If we talk about medical achievements, he would be second in America."

"Then why don't we just acquire them?"

"It's not that it's impossible, but the founders of the Cleveland Clinic and his successors were all academic types."

"If we don't want to restrict their development, we can't tie their hands with capital."

“If the city hall is cooperating with them, then the Cleveland Clinic will be in charge.”

"They will maintain their leading position in scientific research, so that they won't be nipped in the bud by capital before they even have a chance to grow."

"What I value are their past, present and future research achievements, but I don't need to completely control them."

"Another key point is that even if the Cleveland Clinic develops into a medical group, it won't make money because they will invest most of their profits in medical research."

"We don't necessarily have to raise a hen if we want to eat eggs."

"The Cleveland Clinic's future operation, development, and expansion—these laborious tasks—will naturally be handled by Gerald and his team."

“We only need to invest a small amount of money to obtain a shareholder status. We don’t have to put in any effort, and we can still enjoy the results. Why not?”

"In short, the main point is that they don't make any money." Tong Jiajia had completely seen through Sun Zhiwei's thoughts.

"Of course, right now I'm focused on making money, making money quickly. These past few years have been a rare opportunity for development, and I want to expand into more areas to prepare for the future."

The honeymoon period will last a few more years. Once the Russian bear falls, our difficult times will begin.

When faced with various blockades and targeting, and with a disadvantage on all sides, we can only endure it. This endurance will last for thirty years, making it hard to breathe.

He only hoped that his efforts would shorten the time he had to endure this.

(End of this chapter)