Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

A short while after arriving at the company, Wei Tao informed that Old Ao from Marseille had called.

Judging by the time, it should be the early hours of the morning in Marseille, so Wang Yaotang made the call directly.

"Damn it, it's 3 a.m., you better really have something to do." An exasperated voice came through the phone.

"I am Wang Yaotang."

“Oh, Wang.” Olivier rubbed his temples, looking a bit annoyed. “It’s not urgent. Can’t you call again tomorrow?”

"Are you sure you'll be waiting for me by the phone during the day?"

“Uh… never mind.” Olivier was defeated by Wang Yaotang’s logic and said with a smile, “Your matter is settled. I contacted a shipyard in Marseille. He bought a three-axis CNC machining center from Germany last year, and he agreed to sell it.”

"What size parts can you process?"

“Huh? I didn’t know. Are they different?” Olivier was taken aback.

"Based on the maximum size of the parts that can be processed, they are divided into three grades: large, medium, and small, with huge price differences."

"I don't know, what are your requirements?"

Wang Yaotang was taken aback by the question, frowned and thought for a moment. Director Shi didn't seem to have mentioned this. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. As long as we have it, how do we get it?"

“He said he could create a fire, then tell the public it was an accident, and sell the processing center to a scrap yard after it was scrapped,” Olivier said with a laugh.

Wang Yaotang chuckled, surprised that foreigners also understood the principle of "the dragon burning the granary." Indeed, truth is universal.

"However, he also had a condition: he would only sell if the price was doubled."

"You told him it was sold to me?" Wang Yaotang frowned.

"No, but if we could go through the proper channels, why would we go to him? He's not stupid."

Wang Yaotang clicked his tongue twice. "Okay, agree to it. Since he said it was burned, then it can't just be a three-axis machining center that's burned. What about the other equipment? Give me a list, and I'll see what else can be burned."

Olivier laughed. “Great idea. I think he’d be happy to replace a whole batch of equipment.”

“I don’t take just any junk. You’d better tell him that if he dares to lie to me, I’ll send his whole family to heaven.”

"Don't worry, don't worry. Oh, by the way, the clothes are selling very well, and the videotapes are selling well too. So, I need more, a lot more. Also, Chinese films are only good for novelty; I want French romance films. Of course, German and Soviet films are also good. I want 50 boxes for the next batch."

"Looks like you've opened up a new market." Wang Yaotang laughed. "No problem, I can find someone to film a British movie for you, how about that?"

"Oh, oh, oh, that's fantastic! Remember to have those bitches wear the British flag. I bet I can sell a million, no, five million boxes!"

Wang Yaotang burst into laughter.

Replacing the equipment would bring in even more profit. The shipyard over there was very efficient and quickly sent over a list, which Wang Yaotang arranged for someone to deliver to Director Shi.

Two days later, after receiving a phone call, Wang Yaotang took a speedboat to the other side.

What the hell do you mean by "surprise"?

The surprise was that they not only had a CNC three-axis system, but also a series of supporting processing equipment!
Although it was a second-hand item used for ship repair, it was still something that wasn't available in China; it was very advanced.

Looking at the two devices marked with red lines on the list, Wang Yaotang asked somewhat sarcastically, "Are you saying you don't want the ones marked with red lines?"

"I want everything except the ones marked in red!" Director Shi said with great generosity.

Wang Yaotang nodded. "So, where's the money? Anything that can't be done through legitimate channels is obviously suspicious; they'll demand double the price."

Director Shi coughed for a while, then turned his head away somewhat embarrassedly and said, "You're not leaving... cough cough, how about I replace all of it with cooking oil and pork?"

"Wow, a get-rich-quick scheme! Tens of millions of dollars! How much cooking oil and pork could that buy? Do you think I'm going to feed the entire population of Hong Kong?" Wang Yaotang had been waiting for this moment. "Don't joke around. You know my background. Do you think I care about the meager profits from cooking oil and pork? I'm doing this for the 'company,' you know my background."

“The company used to sell drugs, but I don’t need to tell you how harmful they are. But if I don’t let them sell, I have to find them a way out. That’s why I sold cooking oil and pork. I’m already preparing to hand over all of these.”

Wang Yaotang looked directly into Director Shi's eyes and said, "I didn't have a choice before, but now I just want to be a good person."

Director Shi coughed lightly. "I understand, I understand. So, what do you suggest we do?"

Wang Yaotang shrugged, thinking to himself, "How could I possibly ask the country for help? That would be too unpatriotic."

I want warships, I want missiles, but you have no right to that.

There's really nothing worth mentioning in China right now, but in Hong Kong, with US dollars, you can buy anything.

Director Shi was indeed not good at negotiation, but he couldn't leave this matter to someone else. After thinking for a moment, he went straight to the point, "Didn't you want to cooperate with Zhuhai to mine stone? Consider it as your investment."

In 1982, the official exchange rate was 1:1.8926.

The equivalent of 1800 million RMB is not enough; Wang Yaotang will need to come up with a significant amount more.

I didn't realize it until I calculated it, and now I really have a toothache.

On the black market, the exchange rate between RMB and USD is 1:9, sometimes even exceeding 10...

Of course, from a broader perspective, shutting down the official exchange rate would stabilize the national financial system, but in this "big picture," Wang Yaotang would definitely be the one who suffers the most.

“Okay, since you’re supporting national development, I’ll definitely have no problem with that. I’ll bring over a few of their skilled workers to help you out,” Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

Director Shi's eyes lit up. He had heard from the other side that this thing couldn't just be transported back and installed directly; improper debugging would greatly affect its accuracy.

However, knowing Wang Yaotang's methods, he hesitated and said, "Won't there be any trouble?"

“If there’s any trouble, it’ll be our French friends’ problem. I’ll arrange for someone to accompany them. All they’ll know is that I’ve built a factory in mainland China. Even if there are problems, you can just deny it.” Wang Yaotang waved his hand.

Olivier: If I can't handle foreigners, I can certainly handle you!
"Okay." Director Shi nodded emphatically.

Pengcheng is a development zone, and the equipment that arrives isn't intended for use in Pengcheng. With the intervention of higher-level administrative orders, the feasibility issue was resolved, making it much easier to negotiate the investment amount with Zhuhai.

Upon returning from the mainland, Wang Yaotang stayed at the Hilton Hotel.

The Hilton Building is located at the intersection of Nathan Road and Granville Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. It is 14 stories high, with the bottom three floors being a shopping mall podium and the floors above the fourth floor being residential units. It has an underground parking garage and faces Victoria Harbour. In 1982, it was a luxury residential building with units ranging from 700 to 1400 square feet, priced at HK$2000 per square foot.

Wang Yaotang bought two of the largest apartments in one go, spending a total of more than 600 million yuan. He gave one apartment to his new love, Cherie Chung, and the other to Sally Yeh.

As for whether they'll meet, a real man never cares. Old Ao handled things brilliantly in Marseille, and Wang Yaotang couldn't afford to lose face, so he summoned Wang Jing the day after he returned.

Stepping out of the elevator, Wang Jing took a couple of excited breaths, straightened his clothes, and followed the two men in black suits. They had been discussing business at the Dynasty Hotel before, but this time it was at home. Regardless of whose home it was, the significance was completely different. He had made a point of washing his feet before coming and wearing his new shoes and socks.

Upon entering, Wang Jing saw Wang Yaotang sitting on the sofa in his pajamas. He quickly bowed and greeted him, "Brother Yao."

"Fatty, come sit down. What would you like to drink?"

"Cola will do."

Chung Chor-hung took it from the refrigerator, and Wong Jing quickly lifted his buttocks and took it with both hands. This woman looked familiar; he seemed to have seen her at TVB.

"thanks, thanks."

"Cherie Chung is my woman. If you need any good roles in your future films, you can ask her. Hmm, you can also ask Guan Weiping," Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

"Miss Zhong, okay, no problem," Wang Jing said quickly.

"Yes, you can also send me any film projects you have, and if they're suitable, I can invest in them," Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

Although it's supposed to be a legitimate business, there are indeed some money to launder in the course of business dealings, and movies are a good channel for that.

Especially considering how good the market has been in recent years.

"Okay, okay."

"I called you here today because the French market needs a lot of films with white protagonists. We need to shoot a large batch of them, and we can use British women as the main characters. French men like that."

"Okay." Wang Jing nodded emphatically.

Although these kinds of movies are not respectable, they are really profitable. Wang Jing has brought in another group of people to join the project, and now they are shooting one movie a day. Even so, they still can't meet the market demand.

Yaoguang Audio-Visual was also working overtime to copy videotapes, and the machines were practically smoking from all the work. Wang Yaotang ordered eight more industrial copying machines from Panasonic to make the most of Hong Kong speed.

These videos spread so fast that people coming to Hong Kong Island for business or tourism are taking them out in large quantities, and companies like Yee On, Tiao Lin, and Shing Wo are also selling them extensively through their branches in Southeast Asian countries.

According to Ah Jie, several companies have big names organizing the filming, but in the end, they still need to go to Yaoguang Audio-Visual to copy the videotapes.

It's not that no one has thought about doing it themselves, but the machines are expensive, the labor is expensive, and a large number of videotapes need to be stockpiled. Without 2000 million, it's impossible to start. So Wang Yaotang can only make money from this.

There's no way to relocate the factory to the mainland; if you get caught doing that, you'll be executed!
Lingerie is already the limit; even toys can't be manufactured there.

With all the backlogged issues from before the Lunar New Year resolved, good news also came from Four-Eyes' side: all the procedures for Umbrella (Hong Kong) Company have been completed, and it can officially begin operations.

"The registered office is located at the command headquarters on the 14th floor of Wah Fung Building. There's no other suitable place. But a security company with more than a thousand people can't just be scattered all over Yau Tsim Mong like before. So, we still need to find a base with enough space," the four-eyed guy said with a smile.

"Buy?" Wang Yaotang asked instinctively.

"Of course it's rented. Where would you buy one?" The bespectacled man looked at Wang Yaotang with some surprise. "Don't you understand?"

Seeing Wang Yaotang and Ah Jie shake their heads in unison, Four-Eyes explained, "All land on Hong Kong Island is granted in the form of leases, and the New Territories is no exception. However, the leases are different. Land leased before 1898 has a lease term of 999 years and allows the lessee to freely transfer the right to use it. This type of land is very, very expensive."

"The land lease term was shortened to 75 years after that, and it can be renewed for another 75 years, so the land is cheaper."

"However, in the New Territories, the land can only be leased for a maximum of 99 years minus 3 days, so it is the cheapest. These real estate companies are unwilling to develop land in the New Territories, and the public also feels that the properties there are not secure enough, you understand?"

“The Kowloon Tong where we live now is just north of Boundary Street and belongs to the New Territories, so that 600-square-foot villa is only worth a little over 300 million HKD. A villa of the same size across Boundary Street in Kadoorie is worth twice as much.”

"What about a villa on 999-year land?" Wang Yaotang asked, somewhat surprised.

"Otherwise, why do you think Victoria Peak is so expensive, and why are the buildings near Central so expensive?"

Wang Yaotang suddenly realized why housing and land prices plummeted during negotiations; they believed the other side would never accept permanent ownership.

Such a petty mind!

Malicious speculation!

"Where should we rent?" the bespectacled guy asked.

The bespectacled man picked up a file bucket next to him, opened the stopper, and poured out a map. "This is the land currently listed for lease that I got from the Lands Department. It shows the price per square foot. The lease term is 75 years for land in the New Territories and 99 years for land in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon."

Wang Yaotang looked directly at the New Territories, saying that the so-called 999 was just a remnant of capitalist poison, and that everything would be unified up to 2047 in the future.

His gaze swept around, finally settling on the area next to Kowloon Tong. "This is commercial land, right? How come it's cheaper than industrial land?"

“I know!” Ah Jie shouted, “Haha, because this is Kowloon Walled City. If you set up a factory here, you’ll get robbed every day.”

"Damn it!" Wang Yaotang also realized what was happening and laughed and cursed, "We've chosen this place, this plot of land. Others may be afraid of Kowloon Walled City, but we have over a thousand well-trained armed men. They should be the ones who are afraid!"

The four-eyed guy let out a soft "Huh?" and said, "Brother Yao, if that's the case, once we buy it, the prices of several plots of land around here will all go up!"

(As shown in the picture: surrounding plots)

In short, the five brothers looked at each other in bewilderment.

"No, we must take all of this." Wang Yaotang slammed his hand heavily on the map.

“We can take it, but what should we do with it? Build a skyscraper? Build a shopping mall? We don’t have the money. The Hong Kong government has regulations that require us to develop it within a certain timeframe once we take it,” the bespectacled man said with some distress.

"Hold the plate!" Wang Yaotang laughed and said, "We only need the middle section. We can just put a few bulldozers around it to handle things. Once our thousand-plus people come in, we can resell this section and make a fortune!"

"Brother Yao, didn't you say land prices would drop in the next two years?" A-Jie scratched his head.

Wang Yaotang blinked. "Building a few public toilets is also part of development. What's there to be afraid of? It'll be fine in two years. I can't just let others take advantage of me for nothing."

The bespectacled guy took a deep breath. "Let's prepare for the loan."

“Well, these past two days I’ve dragged Jiang Zhizhen along to have dinner with that old bastard Shen Bi. It was this bastard who proposed the trade of sovereignty for governance in the Sino-British negotiations. Heh, he seems very tough, but he knows better than anyone that Britain can’t afford to fight. He’s the most pessimistic one. Getting the loan will be a piece of cake!” Wang Yaotang said, waving his hand.

"That won't do. The day after tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and we need to choose a new leader," Aji reminded him.

Wang Yaotang slapped his forehead, "Oh dear, I forgot because I had too much to do." (End of Chapter)