Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 271 272 [A Little Surprise]

In a tea restaurant in downtown Kowloon
Luo Qihong sat alone at one table, and the other bodyguards sat at another table.

It was lunch time and there were many customers in the tea restaurant. However, due to Luo Qihong's aloof temperament and the fact that he ordered quite a few dishes, no one was willing to join him.

Suddenly, a good-looking girl walked in. After looking around, she found that the only vacant seat at Luo Qihong's table was empty. After thinking about it, she walked over.

"Sir, is anyone sitting here?" The girl leaned over, exposing her delicate collarbone to the view.

Luo Qihong shook his head. "No, you can sit down."

This girl is exactly the fish that Luo Qihong wants to catch, Lin Yunxue, the illegitimate daughter of Lin Zuhui's family.

"Thank you!" Lin Yunxue smiled politely and then called the waiter to take the order.

Lin Yunxue noticed that the other table was full of men in suits, obviously the bodyguards of the man in front of her, so she looked at Luo Qihong a few more times and immediately knew his identity.

Of course, she was also familiar with the grievances between the Lin family and Luo Qihong, and was aware of Luo Qihong's strength, so she couldn't help but have some thoughts in her mind.

"Are you Mr. Luo Qihong? I didn't expect you to come to the tea restaurant for dinner." Lin Yunxue pretended to be naive.

Luo Qihong smiled and nodded. "Hello! I'm Luo Qihong. Judging from your attire, do you work for a company nearby?"

"Yes! I went to your company for an interview last time, but I was rejected because I didn't have enough ability." Lin Yunxue said.

"Really? Where do you work now?" Luo Qihong thought to himself, 'This woman is quite scheming, and she fits the image of a rich family's illegitimate daughter.'

"Work as a small supervisor at Haofeng Real Estate Company." Lin Yunxue wanted to use more private information to gain Luo Qihong's trust.

Luo Qihong looked at him strangely, and said with a smile, "Work hard and strive to become a manager. Haofeng Real Estate Company is a good company in the industry and has a bright future."

The two of them ate and chatted. About half an hour later, Luo Qihong finished his meal and left the tea restaurant.

Lin Yunxue returned to Haofeng Real Estate Company and after much consideration, she walked into Lin Zuhui's office and told Lin Zuhui about the matter.

Lin Zuhui is indeed an old fox in the business world. He immediately smelled something unusual, but it also seemed somewhat reasonable, making it difficult for him to confirm the truth of the matter.

Moreover, Luo Qihong had not had any conflicts with the Lin family for a long time, nor had he made things difficult for the Lin family, which forced Lin Zuhui to believe that this was a chance encounter.

"Are you trying to make something of Luo Qihong?" Lin Zuhui asked, staring at Lin Yunxue.

Lin Yunxue nodded and said, "Dad, my third brother has made a lot of money by cooperating with Luo Qihong. I think this is a good way. My major in college is finance, so I can help."

Although Lin Zuhui dotes on Lin Yunxue, he is very sensitive about the power in the company. The fights among his family members such as Lin Luoxun and Lin Luoqi make him very sad, so he begins to doubt Lin Yunxue's intentions.

Lin Zuhui is now suspicious of everyone. He only believes in himself and his property.

Seeing Lin Zuhui's gloomy face, Lin Yunxue guessed something and said coquettishly, "I just want to open a securities and stock department to be responsible for the company's investment in this area. The funds required are not much, 5 million will be enough."

"Besides, this is to help the company make money. I know that you are not suitable to come forward, so let me do it. If anything goes wrong, I will be responsible for it myself."

Lin Zuhui was still wary, but his fighting spirit was awakened. After careful consideration, he said, "Okay, don't use the name of Haofeng Real Estate. Register a new company and register it under the name of Haofeng Real Estate."

"Thank you, Daddy! You are so nice to me. I will definitely help you make more money." Lin Yunxue took the opportunity to act cute.

Lin Zuhui said, "It doesn't matter whether you make money or not. The main thing is to give you a chance to exercise. Maybe Daddy is really old, and some of his ideas can't keep up with the changes of the times. It's time to slowly hand them over to you young people."

"No way, Daddy is not old at all. We still need your guidance." Lin Yunxue made full use of her daughter's body.

Deep Water Bay Luo Family Villa

After Chen Yusan's introduction, Lin Ya unexpectedly invited Li Yude's family to her home as guests without knowing it.

Chen Yusan was worried that Luo Qihong would be angry, so she specifically told him that she couldn't stand the pressure from Lin Ya and used Li Bingjun to take the blame, but she couldn't stop it.

Originally, Luo Qihong had tried to persuade Lin Ya, but after being scolded so badly, he had no choice but to accept this fact.

"Mr. Luo, sorry to bother you!" Li Yude stood up to greet him, and his wife Cheng Nan also stood up.

Luo Qihong responded somewhat awkwardly, "Mr. Li, Mrs. Li, you are too polite! Please take a seat!"

"Hurry up and sit down. You're welcome!" Lin Ya greeted him hurriedly. "I heard that Li Sheng and Ah Hong have a lot of business dealings. Please take care of them in the future!"

These words made Li Yude feel a little hot on his face. If someone else had said this, he would have thought he was being ridiculed.

"Luo, you're too polite! It's Xiao Luosheng who has always taken care of us and helped us make a lot of money. The Hongpu Real Estate Company in my hands originally belonged to Xiao Luosheng." Li Yude didn't dare to be arrogant. Although he tried his best to remain calm, his tone was inevitably inferior.

"No need. Instead of calling him Xiao Luosheng, Xiao Luosheng, just call him Ah Hong." Lin Ya also felt it was strange. Why didn't he have the awareness of an elder?

Luo Qihong kept smiling and signaled Li Yude to do as Lin Ya said.

Li Bingjun went on to say, "Ah Hong, there are rumors in the market that De'an Company will make a big move. I wonder if it's true or not?"

Luo Qihong was startled, then reacted and said, "The market is so bad right now, there are no big moves for the time being, and any big moves will be aimed at the Japanese market."

Luo Qihong didn't know where Li Bingjun got the information from, but since Li Bingjun knew it, it must have spread like wildfire in the market, which is the most difficult thing to solve.

Seeing this, Lin Ya changed the topic and returned to ordinary things, no longer about work or business. In the following conversation, Luo Qihong rarely interrupted. It was Luo Zegui, Lin Ya, Li Yude and Cheng Nan who talked to each other, and the children occasionally interrupted.

It was not until 8: that Li Yude and his family left the Luo family's villa.

Chen Yusan found Luo Qihong again in private and said embarrassedly, "Ah Hong, it's all my fault this time. I caused you trouble."

Luo Qihong waved his hand and said, "Sister-in-law, this matter is not a big deal. Let's not do it again."

Chen Yusan tactfully chose to walk away and no longer bother Luo Qihong.

In fact, Luo Qihong had no feelings for Li Bingjun. This woman was capable and good-looking, but he just wasn't attracted to her. Li Bingjun seemed to have the same reaction.

After entering December, the weather became colder and colder. Magical attacks and continuous drizzle cast a layer of fog over the uncertain future of Hong Kong.

The struggle in the Land Company was coming to an end. People like Newbigin who were about to leave were still no match for Simon Keswick who took the throne. A large number of senior employees left the wings of Newbigin and Bao Fuda and successfully docked at Simon's dock.

Simon Keswick, who had basically secured his position, began to reorganize the assets and debts of the Hong Kong Land Development. The stock market was in a mess at that time, and it was impossible to raise funds or issue shares. Jardine Matheson also had many problems and it was impossible for it to lend its own funds to the Hong Kong Land Development to tide over the difficulties.

Therefore, there was only one way left for Simon Keswick, which was to sell his assets, some valuable assets, such as shares in Hong Kong Telephone Company, Hong Kong Electric Company, and shares in Golden Gate Construction and other companies.

As for the properties under the Landmark Group, selling them now would result in huge losses and would not be enough to cover the debts of the Landmark Group, so Simon Keswick decided to sell the equity of these high-quality companies first and retain the relatively high-quality properties.

On December 12, the Hong Kong Land Development officially put up for sale its shares in the Hong Kong Telephone and Electric Company, and the reserve price was naturally the original purchase price.

Upon hearing the news, many large conglomerates began to get ready to move. Li Zhaoji was very anxious and took the lead in contacting the Swire Properties and offered a price of HK$29 billion.

Simon Keswick was tempted, but was persuaded by his subordinates, who said that other consortiums would make bids and there was no need to reply to Li Zhaoji so quickly. He needed to wait until other consortiums made offers before making a decision.

Li Jiacheng was still thinking about waiting and seeing, but the rumor broke out and he also offered HK$29 billion to the Hong Kong Land Development.

Dean's Office

Luo Qihong naturally received such important news very early, but unfortunately the company's funds were stuck in Hutchison Whampoa's shares at this time and it was impossible to withdraw them.

Therefore, there was a break in Luo Qihong's grand plan. If he wanted to obtain this part of the profit, he had to enter the market as soon as possible and could not hesitate for too long.

"It will take some time to cash out the investment in Japan. The only way now is to borrow from the bank." Bai Jinyan reminded, with anxiety in his tone.

Luo Qihong asked, "How much can you borrow? The electric light company's project requires at least 3 million yuan."

Bai Jinyan pondered and said, "1 to 2 million yuan should be no problem. Can you mortgage the Japanese company's shares held by De'an Company? Or can you be a personal guarantor?"

Luo Qihong has abundant assets, and if he acts as a guarantor, the bank will be happy to lend the money.

Luo Qihong shook his head and said, "Just buy as many stocks as you have the funds. I will buy the rest personally. There is no need to give the interest to the bank."

Bai Jinyan nodded somewhat unwillingly. This was of course different for her. If De'an Company did it, she would get 10% of the profits, but if Luo Qihong did it privately, she would get nothing.

However, the situation is stronger than people. 8% of the credit for De'an Company's current scale goes to Luo Qihong. Whether it is betting or judgment, all the decisions are made by Luo Qihong, and Bai Jinyan is just the executioner.

A few days later
Bai Jinyan successfully bought 5.6% of the shares of the Electric Light Company through De'an Company, of which De'an Company held 2.7% and Luo Qihong personally held 2.9%.

Luo Qihong immediately asked the Tiantian Daily to publish an analysis report on the Electric Light Company to help build momentum for the company and exaggerate the quality of the company and how many of Hong Kong's current high-quality assets survived.
Let the citizens of Hong Kong understand the quality of the electric light company, instigate the consortium to quickly compete and drive up the electric light company's stock price.

Unexpectedly, this issue of newsprint was very popular, with sales exceeding 15 copies, breaking the record of "Tiantian Daily".

Such sales volume also caused a favorable response among peers. Those newspapers began to increase the space they covered in reports on the Electric Light Company, and even used multiple headlines such as "Hong Kong's Electricity King", "Hong Kong's Last Monopoly Company", and "Hong Kong's Electric Light Sale". The sale of the Electric Light Company became a hot topic.

Simon Keswick was no fool, seeing this he raised the price of the Electric Light Company and spread the word that "a foreign consortium offered 32 billion yuan to acquire the 34.9% stake of the Electric Light Company held by the Hong Kong Land Development". As a result, the share price of the Electric Light Company began to rise towards this price level, with room for an increase of as much as 2 yuan per share.

Cheung Kong Holdings Office

Li Jiacheng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He looked at the report document without saying a word.

"The Hong Kong Land Company is greedy. According to reliable sources, Simon Keswick was originally going to sell for 29 billion yuan, but now the price has been raised to 32 billion yuan. There are also many consortiums participating in the bidding, and the most threatening one is Henderson Lighting Company."

"Li Zhaoji urgently needs a base like the Electric Light Company. Judging from the attack on Luo Qihong in 82, Li Zhaoji's offensive will not be too weak, and he may have been preparing for a long time."

Hong Xiaolian analyzed, but she didn't care how dark Li Jiacheng's face was.

The Englishman Ma Shimin thought for a long time and said, "Mr. Li, the Hong Kong Electric Company is priceless to you. Even if it is 32 billion yuan, it is very worthwhile. I think what we need to do now is to offer a price that satisfies Simon Keswick and quickly take over the electric company. Otherwise, we will have to pay a higher price."

Hong Xiaolian agreed with Ma Shimin's opinion and said, "Mr. Ma is right. We really need to make a quick decision and should not delay."

Li Jiacheng finally made up his mind and said, "Okay, help me make an appointment with Simon Keswick immediately. I want to convince him personally."

Li Zhaoji on the other side also made the same decision, but he smelled that Luo Qihong was causing trouble. However, at this moment he did not have the energy to pay attention to Luo Qihong. The person he needed to deal with now was his old friend Li Jiacheng.

The two have also had some collaborations, such as the Shatin First City project and investments in Japan.

However, at this point in time, Li Zhaoji naturally would not give in. After all, this was related to the future development and growth of the family company.

(End of this chapter)