This time, Leo brought even more designs.
The first set of drawings showed a specific style of house:
low-pitched roofs, deep eaves close to the walls, and three layout shapes—rectangular, L-shaped, or U-shaped.
"This is a very minimalist style," Kevin murmured.
"It's completely different from the Cape Cod or Federal styles from the Eastern Colonial period."
Thanks to his former boss's architect father, Leo could follow Kevin's professional jargon.
Compared to Leo's design, most houses in Eastern towns were steeped in European aesthetics: steady, elegant, complex.
And all those beautiful descriptions pointed to one thing—expensive.
A finely built Federal-style home would cost at least $50,000 to $80,000.
"You're right," Leo nodded.
"This style didn't originate in the East. It's actually popular out in California.
They call it Ranch Style Architecture.
The key features are simple shapes, efficient use of materials, and compatibility with prefabricated parts.
Based on the materials you brought back from New York, I crunched the numbers—
one of these houses costs just about $3,000 to build."
"That low?!" Kevin exclaimed.
"But… rich folks probably wouldn't want this kind of home."
Leo shook his head.
"It's not for old money. Look—glass walls, louvered windows, private lawns, and garages!
For people cramped in little townhouses, this gives them everything they've dreamed of.
And the best part?
All for $9,999.
The Sunshine Estate Dream Home — Just Bring Your Bags and Move In!"
Kevin looked at his own tiny one-bedroom apartment and muttered,
"I'm kind of tempted to buy one myself…
But why not just sell it for an even $10,000?"
He said "ten thousand" and immediately winced.
Then he said "nine-nine-nine-nine," and felt better.
He looked up, shocked.
"You're a real con artist!"
"No," Leo grinned. "I'm just chasing my American Dream."
Pointing back at the drawings, he continued:
"This style has one downside—it was designed for the Western U.S. climate.
That's where you come in, Kevin.
Try to adapt it to Lynchburg's weather without losing its strengths."
"I can do that," Kevin nodded.
"Also, just from a quick look, I think your cost estimate didn't even factor in material reuse and tool efficiency.
The real cost might be even lower."
"Perfect," Leo said, glancing toward the busy construction site of David Real Estate.
"To survive this competition, we need to open up a new track."
Kevin agreed. He flipped to the next page—and looked surprised.
"This is… landscape design?"
You couldn't blame Kevin.
At that time, landscape architecture in residential housing was still new and largely untested.
After the Great Depression and World War II, the U.S. was deep in a seller's market—
if you built it, people bought it.
Most companies only did basic landscaping.
Comprehensive community planning was seen as overkill, even in big cities—let alone tiny Lynchburg.
Kevin had seen some landscaped neighborhoods in New York and had been amazed—
but to him, those were like Long Island villas, meant for elites—not regular folks.
"This would add a lot of cost. I've never done it before either—not sure I could pull it off.
And is it really necessary?"
Kevin sounded concerned.
"Kevin," Leo said calmly.
"If all I wanted was to make some decent money and live comfortably in Lynchburg, I could just stick to renovations.
If I wanted to get rich quickly, I'd sell these ranch houses for $20,000—still way cheaper than those $50,000 to $80,000 homes.
With that price-performance ratio, we'd live like kings in this town.
But that's not my goal.
Remember what I said to you at the noodle shop?"
Kevin fell silent.
He murmured the words Leo had said that day:
"You only lost because fate played you—but why let it keep playing you?
The winds of change are here.
Now's our chance to flip fate on its head.
Let's build the greatest real estate company in America, and crush our destiny underfoot."
To be honest, Kevin had cried that day—he'd chalked it up to being drunk.
The next morning, he'd instantly regretted it.
But pride—and his son—kept him from backing out.
Even after the New York trip, he'd started to respect Leo more, but he still never believed that grand vision.
The greatest company in America?
Even at his most successful, Kevin had never dared to dream that big.
"I wasn't joking," Leo said.
"I believe every great company is driven by a great vision.
And for Lynchburg Real Estate, our vision is:
'Choose us—get the best life possible.'
To fulfill that, we need to give people the best we can.
Put simply:
Customer First. Perfectionist Attitude.
That's how you win on cost-performance."
Leo pointed to the landscape designs in Kevin's hand.
Truthfully, Leo's renderings were a hybrid of post-war landscape theory and modern green design—
adjusted for the era and housing materials.
He'd added larger green public spaces, an elegant community gate, children's play areas, and shared recreational zones.
And that was just the beginning—Leo wasn't about to reveal all his cards at once.
"This path won't be easy," Kevin said.
"But it's the right way."
He looked again at David Real Estate across the street.
"If ranch-style homes catch on, Jones and Fox Real Estate will definitely copy them.
But they won't be willing to sink money into things like landscaping—things that don't return profits quickly.
And that's our edge."
Leo clapped him on the shoulder.
"I'm glad you get it, Kevin—but there's one thing you're still missing."
"What's that?"
"Reputation. Word of mouth. The cornerstone of greatness."
Build a great reputation, and your brand will follow.
Leo knew that well—he wanted the brand premium that came with it.
It was a brilliant business move.
Seventy years from now, countless companies would prove it true.
—
"Desmond, under the gaze of God, bullets pass him by."
Walking back from the site, Leo heard children reciting nursery rhymes.
The tune was composed by music-loving Michael, and the lyrics—naturally—were Leo's handiwork.
Leo knew:
nothing spreads faster than a catchy rhyme.
In a town like Lynchburg, starved of culture, even rumors became delicacies.
The story of Desmond, blessed by God, had now firmly taken root.
Just look at the long line outside the Lynchburg University auditorium—
Leo couldn't help but smile.