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

Yuan Jie sat on the living room sofa with a gloomy face, smoking. His two wives stayed upstairs in the villa, too afraid to come down, and the children were also absent from school.

Lui Chi-wo suddenly disappeared. Rumors circulated that he had been kidnapped by Wang Yaotang's men. The police received a report and accepted the case, but they knew nothing about it. He was nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. That little money-grubber was quite shrewd in his work. It was highly likely that he couldn't be brought back to Hong Kong Island. The police simply assigned a group of unpopular people to investigate and then left it at that.

As long as the murderer isn't actually caught, everything is fine.

Having followed Lü Zhihe for 30 years, Yuan Jie may not have much business acumen, but when it comes to running a stone quarry, the most troublesome things are accidents, compensation, theft, and other shady dealings, which Yuan Jie handles. Therefore, Yuan Jie has quite a few connections with all sorts of people.

At first, he really didn't know what Boss Lu had done, but when news of what happened in Kwun Tong came out, and Lu Zhihe disappeared that night, he could guess what had happened.

Having done so many shady things for Boss Lü over the years, as his confidant, he knew all too well the boss's cold-hearted, suspicious nature and lack of trust in him, so...

Thinking of this, Yuan Jie sneered. After cursing under his breath for a while, his mood did not improve at all. Besides the famous title of "Little God of Wealth," that person's reputation for being "vengeful" and "ruthless" was not bad at all. Boss Lü was dead, but he had dragged Yuan Jie down with him.

Run away...

He had considered it, but he couldn't escape!

Mr. Lü is cold-hearted and suspicious. Over the years, he has not given him much money. In addition, in order to put Mr. Lü at ease, he has used most of his spare money to buy real estate and support his wife and children. He doesn't have much cash on hand. With two wives and four children, how can he run away?
If they run out of money and run away abroad, will they starve?
The real estate market is not good now. Not only have house prices fallen, but the market is also sluggish. It is difficult for him to sell his house to raise funds.

Besides, would that 'little god of wealth' let me off the hook?
Just as he was getting annoyed, the doorbell rang, startling him so much that he jumped up from the sofa, staring wide-eyed at the door, his heart pounding like a drum.

The doorbell rang incessantly, as if demanding his life. Yuanjie gasped for breath, gritted his teeth, and dragged his heavy steps over. What's meant to be will be; if it's meant to be, there's no escaping it!

As Yuan Jie opened the door, his heart sank, and his breath caught in his throat. Standing in the doorway was a man in a suit, followed by four men in black combat uniforms. The man in the suit, who was leading the group, was looking him up and down with a cold smile. "I thought you were dead inside, Yuan Jie. I didn't expect you to dare open the door."

Upon hearing the word "death," Yuan Jie's face turned deathly pale.

"According to the rules of the underworld, one should not harm one's family. Brothers, please give me face and let me go back and explain a few things, okay?" Yuan Jie grinned bitterly.

struggle?

He's already over 40 and can't fight anymore. Besides, even if he shoots and kills those four, what difference does it make? There are still countless people outside. Wang Yaotang has thousands of men under his command. Can he kill them all?
"Why didn't you say so when we were sharing the good times? It's unreasonable for you not to stand by us when we're in trouble," the man in the black uniform sneered from behind.

"You, you're going too far! Do you really think I'm afraid of you?" Yuan Jie's expression suddenly turned fierce, and he reached out to touch his lower back.

"Stop talking nonsense." The man in the suit turned his head and glared at him, while the man behind him chuckled and took two steps back.

"You're quite open-minded, so eager to settle your affairs? Master Yao wants to see you. Hurry up, we'll wait for you outside."

"Ah..." Yuan Jie had already drawn his gun and released the safety, but upon hearing this, he froze on the spot, somewhat dazed, and asked, "Master Yao wants to see me? What's the matter?"

"What, do I need to call you to make an appointment?" The man in the suit glanced at the big black star and sneered with disdain, "Trying to scare me with this thing? Your gun-drawing technique is too clumsy, it's been years since you practiced."

As he spoke, he lifted his suit jacket with his left hand to reveal a quick-draw holster under his arm. "Have you ever seen one? A quick-draw holster."

In front of Yuan Jie, the man in the suit gripped the gun with his right hand, flicked the safety with his thumb, pressed the unlock button with his index finger, and then pressed down to chamber the gun from the holster.

In Yuan Jie's eyes, all he saw was the man in the suit pulling out a gun and pointing it at his chest.

"Pull out, release safety, load, aim, fire. My best time is 0.8 seconds. What's your skill level?" The man in the suit nudged Yuan Jie with the muzzle of his gun.

"No, I didn't, I just now, that..." Yuan Jie forced a smile. He had never even heard of anything like pulling out a holster. He still kept his gun in his belt just like 30 years ago.

The man in the suit chuckled, put down his gun, removed the magazine with one hand, rubbed the slide with his left hand, grabbed the ejected bullet, put it back into the magazine, and pushed it back into the gun before finally putting the gun back into the holster.

"What are you standing there for? I'll give you three minutes, hurry up."

"Ah, oh, okay, okay." Yuan Jie hurriedly turned around and immediately saw his two wives lying on the stairs, looking down at him with worried expressions.

"What are you looking at? Go back home and take care of the kids. I'm going out for a bit." Yuan Jie said softly, then waved and left after hiding the gun.

Wang Yaotang didn't put on airs at all. Instead, he served tea and received Yuan Jie according to the rules for receiving fellow martial arts practitioners.

He didn't ask him about Lü Zhihe's affairs or what illegal or disorderly things he had done for Lü Zhihe. He just had someone bring out two leather suitcases and put them on the tea table.

Looking at the small mountain of Hong Kong dollars on the table, Yuan Jie swallowed hard, his eyes glued to it, unable to look away.

“My men told me that Brother Yuanjie worked for others for over 30 years, but in the end, he didn’t accumulate much wealth. I don’t know if that’s true or not.” Wang Yaotang smiled and took a sip of his tea. “However, I, Wang Yaotang, never let anyone do things for free. Whether he’s a policeman, a friend in the underworld, or a government official, I always agree on a satisfactory price beforehand. What do you think, Brother Yuanjie?”

“Master Wang… Master Yao.” Yuan Jie opened his mouth, but in the end he didn’t complain about his former brother and boss, Lü Zhihe. “Whatever Master Yao needs, I, Yuan Jie, will do without hesitation.”

"Hehe, one penny for one effort, I want to know the whereabouts of the Lü family's wife, children and elderly. Is that enough?" Wang Yaotang asked with a smile.

Yuan Jie pursed his lips, stared at the mountain of money for a long time, and finally shook his head. "I don't know."

Wang Yaotang squinted at Yuan Jie and said, "Fine, if you say you don't know, I'll take that as true. But you haven't forgotten all the illegal and disorderly things that Lü Zhihe has asked you to do for him over the years, have you?"

"No." This time, Yuan Jie answered decisively.

“Okay.” Wang Yaotang tapped the table. “I will arrange for a top lawyer to help you reorganize all the cases, find the plaintiffs, sort out the evidence, and finally, I want you to bring the other murderers to turn themselves in.”

"I..." A moment of hesitation flashed in Yuan Jie's eyes, "What about my family?"

"You can decide how to arrange things. If we're in Hong Kong Island, I'll arrange for someone to take care of you and make sure your two wives don't have affairs and that your children can receive a normal education."

"If you want them to go abroad, that's fine too. I'll help them get green cards in whichever country they want to go. In addition to this 500 million, I'll give them another 500 million to ensure they live a worry-free life. But I can't help with their safety. For now, my Sheng Yi's tentacles can't reach that far."

"Of course, if you're looking for safety, that's easy too. Sending them north, to Beijing, Guangzhou, or Shanghai, I can help arrange it. Being listed as a Hong Kong businessman will get them a lot of preferential treatment."

Yuan Jie was surprised that Wang Yaotang had offered so many options, and for a moment he was at a loss for what to do.

"Hehe, no need to jump to conclusions so early. It will take a lot of time to organize the case and collect evidence." Wang Yaotang smiled and poured himself another cup of tea. "I'm not a policeman, much less a judge. I have no interest in dealing with those dirty old things. What I want is to indict Jia Hua and Lü Zhihe to the maximum extent possible. The plaintiff will also demand the maximum amount of compensation, not send you to jail."

"Of course, Mr. Yuanjie was previously controlled by Lü Zhihe and forced to do many wrong things. Now that Lü Zhihe has disappeared, no one can force you anymore. Out of guilt and remorse, you are willing to find the victims who were oppressed and framed back then and take the initiative to stand up and take responsibility. Newspapers and TV stations will interview you and publicize you. Your lawyers will also try their best to help you with the case. The court will also consider public opinion, your surrender, repentance, and other factors, and will give you a lenient sentence."

"Phew—" Yuan Jie let out a long breath.

He had thought he was doomed, and his wife and children might not even survive, since Wang Yaotang had sent people thousands of miles to track down the Lü family... He never expected things to turn out this way. According to Wang Yaotang's current statement, he was just a pitiful person who had been forced into this situation, and he might be released after serving seven or eight years. He would only be in his early fifties by then.

In the prisons on Hong Kong Island, most of the inmates have triad backgrounds. He was arranged to go there by Wang Yaotang. It wasn't very comfortable inside, but there wasn't much suffering either. It was like taking a long vacation in prison.

It's good that I'm innocent again after I come out.

After thinking it through, Yuanjie nodded in agreement.

"Haha, since Brother Yuanjie has agreed, then we're on the same side now. I, Wang Yaotang, said I wouldn't treat my brothers unfairly. Everyone says there are a lot of swindlers in Hong Kong, but that's not true. Men work themselves to the bone to earn money outside, and one day they come home to an empty house, their wives have run off with the money, especially those who have been to jail."

Wang Yaotang smiled and winked, "My brother works hard for the company, but his family life is in turmoil. He got screwed over by a woman. Wouldn't I be a very incompetent older brother?"

"I can't control whether you love each other or not, but I can control whether they can be virtuous wives. Forced relationships are never sweet; just satisfy their thirst."

"So, even while you're in jail, you'll still be an employee of Jia Hua Company. Your monthly salary and year-end bonus will continue to be paid in full, and the money will be deposited into your personal account. Your two wives and children will visit you every month, and then you can arrange for the bank transfer."

"He's the head of the household, so what if he's in jail? He'll still get paid every month, not a penny less. How can this not be considered going to work? Just treat it as a business trip."

Wang Yaotang's words made Yuan Jie laugh out loud, and the pent-up frustration in his heart from the past few days dissipated with the laugh.

Yuan Jie stood up and bowed respectfully to Wang Yaotang, "Thank you, Master Yao."

Wang Yaotang laughed and waved his hand, "What are you thanking me for? I'm sending you to jail, and you're thanking me?"

"Of course I'm grateful. So many people want to go to prison but can't even get a chance to." Yuan Jie said respectfully. He was no longer the short, thin boy he was 30 years ago who would do anything for a bite to eat.

“Heh, if you put it that way…” Wang Yaotang paused, and Yuan Jie’s heart tightened immediately.

Seeing Yuan Jie's expression, Wang Yaotang continued, "Well, I was planning to meet with the heads of Jia Hua and the various mines below, but I was worried about not having someone I knew to introduce me. I'll leave this to you, how about it?" Yuan Jie immediately felt relieved and patted his chest to assure him, "No problem, leave it to me."

That evening, at Gu Yuanbin's home.

Gu Yuanbin never expected Yuan Jie to come, let alone that Yuan Jie would bring Wang Yaotang with him, which made him feel inexplicably uneasy.

He ushered the two men inside, brewed some tea, and then asked somewhat awkwardly, "Mr. Wang, what brings you here...?"

"How about I recruit you? Are you willing to work for me?" Wang Yaotang said softly.

“Brother Gu, I’ve followed Boss Lü for 30 years. No one knows him better than me. People call him the ‘Stone Mine King’ not only because he controls 7% of Hong Kong’s stone mine production, but do you know why?” Yuan Jie took over the conversation, his smile somewhat sarcastic, and said, “Because his heart is as hard as stone.”

Do you know why Boss Lui is so determined to get his hands on 'Shek O' and 'Lamma Island'?

"Isn't it because they want to monopolize the stone mining industry?" Gu Yuanbin asked, frowning.

Now even Wang Yaotang was a little curious.

“Not only that.” Yuan Jie shook his head. “Back then, those people in the stone mining industry, those with connections were squeezed out and forced into bankruptcy and sold off, while those without connections were dealt with more decisively by Boss Lü. Heh, I led the team to do it all. Some were intimidated and gave up, while others died because they were unwilling to accept it.”

"The last two large stone mines left are 'Shek O' and 'Lamma Island,' but because Mr. Lui was unscrupulous and offended too many people, the British Hong Kong government held onto the two stone mines for 20 years. This was Mr. Lui's biggest worry."

Gu Yuanbin seemed to realize something.

Yuan Jie gave a self-deprecating "heh," and as he shook his head, he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that Wang Yaotang was looking at him sideways with a sharp gaze.

Yuan Jie's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, he must have said something wrong again. I really didn't mean anything by it!

I really want to slap myself. After all these years, how come I still can't speak properly?

Swallowing hard, Yuan Jie quickly added, "Boss Lü is as hard-hearted as a rock. He never trusts anyone. The shares have been firmly controlled by the Lü family for so many years. Brother Gu has worked diligently for him to manage Jia Hua for so many years, and that's how much salary he pays Brother Gu. What are the salaries of other companies with the same output value?"

"Let's talk about Yao Ye, who's known in the underworld as the Little God of Wealth. He's the best at managing money, making money, and giving it away. We both came from the underworld, but in just two or three years, Yao Ye's wealth has become no less than Lü Zhihe's. Look at the people around him, Yao Ye's brothers are all worth tens of millions. And look at me, I've followed Lü Zhihe for 30 years, what have I gotten in return? In the end, he's always wary of me."

“Brother Gu, Lu Zhihe must have asked you to collect information about Yao Ye’s company. Compare the treatment yourself. Yao Ye’s company has shares, high salaries, and protection wherever he goes. Look at you, your salary is low, Lu Zhihe treats you like a dog, ordering you around and making all the decisions. You’re just a gofer. Don’t you feel frustrated?”

Yuan Jie speaks bluntly and often offends people unintentionally, but lies don't hurt, the truth is the sharpest knife. Gu Yuanbin's face was very ugly.

Wang Yaotang said with a smile, "Gu Yuanbin, I have already established connections with the Portuguese and Macau governments. All the stone materials for their Tianhai Project and airport project will come from my company. In addition, I have also cooperated with the Zhuhai government to form a joint venture to jointly develop Zhuhai's stone mines and river sand. With the low labor costs in the mainland and Hong Kong's tax-free policy for sand and gravel, Jia Hua has no room to compete with me. Otherwise, Lu Zhihe would not have gone all in. I am determined to take over the Hong Kong and Macau stone mining industry. Even Jesus cannot stop me."

Gu Yuanbin looked hesitant, his expression shifting back and forth.

For so many years, Gu Yuanbin had been suffering under Lü Zhihe's command with a low salary. On the one hand, Lü Zhihe was inhuman, but on the other hand, Gu Yuanbin had a problem with indecisiveness. He was fine in managing the company, but he would hesitate when it came to making important decisions.

“Brother Gu, feel free to speak your mind. We’re all acquaintances, and Master Yao is a very magnanimous man. He wouldn’t make things difficult for a working-class person like you,” Yuan Jie said with a smile. He had heard Lü Zhihe talk about Gu Yuanbin’s faults in private quite a bit.

"Um, well, Li Xiangjiao came to see me the day before yesterday..." Gu Yuanbin said hesitantly.

Yuan Jie looked at Wang Yaotang, who scoffed, "Old Li bastard, do you think he can suppress me?"

"No, no, no..." Gu Yuanbin waved his hands repeatedly.

With a chuckle, Wang Yaotang wouldn't vent his anger on Gu Yuanbin, waving his hand dismissively, "What did he tell you to do? What promises did he make you?"

"Still the position of general manager." Gu Yuanbin smiled somewhat embarrassedly. As for what he was asked to do, it was still the same old routine: hollow out Jia Hua from within, artificially create chaos, and finally go bankrupt and liquidate.

In the end, the methods of business competition are no different; it all comes down to connections and financial resources.

"You don't need to think so much. Just do what you need to do. As for Li Xiangjiao, you can just wait to be embraced by the final victor." Wang Yaotang said with a smile, "That's all. Sorry to bother you, Mr. Gu."

Yuan Jie quickly stood up and shook his head at Gu Yuanbin.

Gu Yuanbin smiled bitterly. Wasn't this just saying he was a fence-sitter? He might lack decisiveness, but he wasn't stupid. But who should he side with...? A man fears choosing the wrong career; once he makes the wrong bet, he'll regret it!

After seeing the two off, Gu Yuanbin's mind was in a whirl.

"Brother Yao, I'm sorry, I..." Yuan Jie apologized softly after getting into the car.

"It has nothing to do with you." Wang Yaotang waved his hand. He and Li Xiangjiao had the same idea, but they approached it from different angles.

One is from top to bottom, and the other is from bottom to top.

As for who wins or loses, it still depends on individual skills.

……

A trip to Gu Yuanbin wasn't entirely fruitless. While the guy couldn't decide whose side to take for the time being, he leaked all of Jia Hua's secrets without reservation. First of all, there was the debt. Jia Hua was in the mining business, and its main purchases were mining machinery, spare parts, safety equipment, and fuel. Other items included workers' clothing and supplies.

After making copies of where the items were purchased and how much debt was owed, they were sent to Wang Yaotang.

"Tell me, once there's a mole inside, what company can survive?" Wang Yaotang said with a smile after quickly flipping through the document.

"He never intended to be a mole. The boss himself is incompetent; do you expect a mere employee to risk his life to protect the company?" the four-eyed man laughed.

"Why risk your life for tens of thousands of yuan a month?" Ah Jie said with a smile.

"Ah Xiang, it's up to you. Buy all these debts," Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

“No problem.” The four-eyed man nodded and said solemnly, “According to the law, the order of repayment in a company’s bankruptcy liquidation is liquidation costs → employee rights → government taxes → secured claims → unsecured ordinary claims → shareholder rights. These debts are just unsecured ordinary claims. You’ll have to deal with the banks. After all, Li Xiangjiao is a long-established Hong Kong tycoon with close ties to banks. Once he gets the secured claims, we’ll have completely done his bidding.”

“I know.” Wang Yaotang nodded. No one could do anything about the first three items. The only real bargaining chip in the fight for assets was the 'whether or not' of ordinary debt secured by collateral.

Gu Yuanbin listed several banks that offered loan services to Jia Hua: HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Wing Lung Bank, Dah Sing Bank, OCBC Wing Hang Bank, and Fubon Bank. Wang Yaotang immediately ruled out HSBC.

Rumor has it that Li Xiangjiao is selling hooks, and that the tycoon Shen Bi is so devoted to supporting his lover.

Wang Yaotang's first target was Standard Chartered. Yesterday, he contacted Johnny, the general manager of Standard Chartered in Macau. He was going to pick someone up at the pier later. With Johnny as the middleman, securing the loan from Standard Chartered shouldn't be a problem.

It's always easier to get things done with acquaintances. I had lunch with Mr. McLaren, the general manager of Standard Chartered (Hong Kong). We had a great chat, talking about everything from local customs to the UK, from football to finance. Mr. McLaren introduced a fund to Wang Yaotang, and Wang Yaotang immediately invested HK$500 million.

How could someone working in a bank possibly accept bribes? All their income must be legitimate and legal!

After finishing their meal and drinks, they rested at the hotel for a while. In the afternoon, feeling refreshed, they returned to the bank, where the mortgage loan of over 7000 million yuan was transferred to Wang Yaotang by Standard Chartered.

Later, they talked about security outsourcing at the bank, and McLaren was quite interested.

McLaren not only receives no share of the tens of millions of dollars in security expenses that Standard Chartered Hong Kong spends annually, but security problems also occur frequently. He was robbed of US$2300 million and has not been heard from since. The investigation team at the London headquarters focused on the security department and found many corrupt officials. As the general manager of the branch, McLaren has to take responsibility.

If you outsource it, you can seek compensation from the security company if problems arise, and their liability will be much smaller, not to mention a reasonable exchange...

Of course, there is also great resistance. There are so many mouths to feed in the security line. It's like killing one's parents for a criminal's money; it can't be touched lightly.

Wang Yaotang will need to work on these relationships himself.

It was around 5 p.m. when Wang Yaotang left Standard Chartered Bank. It was almost time to get off work, and he had an appointment with the general manager of Wing Lung Bank for dinner.

As a local bank, Wing Lung Bank has many shareholders, but the general manager has the final say on operational issues such as debt re-mortgaging, and the shareholders have little say in such matters.

As time went by, Wang Yaotang and Li Xiangjiao were essentially competing to see who could acquire more debt. Contrary to expectations that most banks would side with Li Xiangjiao, this did not happen, which pleased Wang Yaotang. It seemed that Li Xiangjiao was not without rivals after all.

Everyone in the upper echelons of Hong Kong knew that Lui Chi-wo was gone, and that K Wah was being targeted by two powerful figures, one old and one new. Some people were watching the show, some were preparing to take a cut, and some were plotting to use someone else to do their dirty work.

Everyone has a bright future... (End of Chapter)