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

Shek O and Lamma Island were originally owned by the British Hong Kong government, which can be considered a kind of alternative public company.

It is not to say that all companies in a capitalist society are private. No, whether it is Britain, which first implemented the capitalist system, or the United States, which is the most powerful country today, there are still many state-owned companies.

United States: U.S. Postal Service, Tennessee Valley Authority, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Railroad.

United Kingdom: BBC, Road Network, Royal Mail, UK Nuclear Energy Group

Of course, state-owned enterprises all share a common problem: bloated systems, overstaffing, and high labor costs. Ultimately, it all boils down to one thing: not making money.

Now that Shek O and Lamma Island have been acquired by Wong Yiu Tong, issues such as the resettlement, insurance, and medical care of the original company's employees need to be addressed step by step. Because of the original British system, the employees are different from those in private companies, which means it is difficult to handle.

Back then, Wang Yaotang had Xiong Demin and others incite these people to gradually gather and cause trouble, forcing the Hong Kong British government to auction off the company. Now, that old bastard Wang is using the same trick.

"I have over 100 people blocking the company office building. They're all elderly people, women, and children. The elderly are cursing, the women are making a scene, and the children are crying. It's impossible to work right now, and the handover process is very difficult to proceed," Xiong Demin said with a distressed expression.

Su Guangxuan nodded in agreement, “Boss, it’s about the same on my end, but the situation is a little better, there aren’t as many people causing trouble.”

"What's all this commotion about?" Wang Yaotang frowned.

Mass incidents are something not only the police fear, but also the Hong Kong British government and Wang Yaotang. If hundreds or thousands of workers really cause trouble, would he really send his henchmen down to fight them?

Don't be fooled by the fact that the police turn a blind eye to conflicts between gangs, or that a few threats and intimidations against some citizens are no big deal... but large-scale conflicts are absolutely unacceptable.

“The issue of compensation,” Xiong Demin explained, “Those injured in the mining accident, those who developed silicosis from breathing dust for a long time, their medical expenses were covered by the company and insurance companies. But now that the mine has been sold to a private company, they are not at ease and think that the private company will not take care of them in the long run, so they are causing trouble.”

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'causing trouble'? If you have a problem, you can propose a solution. What kind of nonsense is this?" Wang Yaotang frowned. "Didn't you communicate with these people?"

"We've communicated, but we can't reach a consensus. They're not only causing trouble for the company, but also for each other. Some want the company to pay a certain amount upfront and sever all ties with them afterward. Others want the company to sign contracts with them and pay for decades of insurance. Some want both. Some weren't injured because of problems at the mine; some were injured due to their own operational errors. Now they're all coming to the company, and I can't resolve this right now," Xiong Demin said with a wry smile. "I've used all the connections I can and persuaded some people, but the mine has been operating for so many years, and every year quite a few people get injured for various reasons. The number is still very high."

"There must be someone stirring things up behind the scenes. Some people want to take advantage of the chaos during this handover to make a profit, but we're not good at arresting people."

“It must have been that old bastard Li Xiangjiao who arranged for it,” Wang Yaotang said without even bothering to investigate.

Wang Yaotang could say that, but Xiong Demin and the other two wouldn't dare.

Even if they made the wrong judgment and delayed the solution, they wouldn't dare to scold Li Xiangjiao and his ilk.

"Alright, I understand. I'll find the person behind this and deal with them. Without the instigator, those troublemaking employees will be a mess, and you'll have to handle it yourselves." Wang Yaotang looked at the three of them irritably. "Where's the company's legal department? Are they all just sitting around doing nothing? Those who weren't injured at the mine, sue them for fraud! Send them all to jail."

Two years ago, if we encountered someone who dared to cause trouble and affect our business, we would have simply kicked them out. But that's not possible now. With dozens of companies and thousands of employees, we can't just deal with them as simply and brutally as we used to.

When a company reaches a certain level, it has to consider its reputation. It can't afford to become infamous, which is also why some organizations don't run their businesses well.

"Furthermore, those who get injured due to their own improper operation not only cause losses to the company, but the company also has to pay for their medical treatment? What kind of logic is that?"

"Ahem, boss, back then the mines belonged to the British Hong Kong government, so the money saved would go to the British Hong Kong government anyway, so..." Xiong Demin said with an awkward smile.

"Damn it, so now you're blaming me, huh? I'm a capitalist, I'm here to make money, not to run a charity!" Wang Yaotang cursed a few times, but there was nothing he could do. This was a legacy issue, and there was no way to investigate it further.

"Make sure you draft all the rules and regulations in detail. Tell those legal people to ask them if they can do the job. If they can't produce results, they can get the hell out of here. I can't manage all those workers, but I can't even manage a dozen or so legal people. My money isn't just for show!"

"And you three, stop coming to me for everything. I'm paying you guys such high salaries so you can solve my problems. If I'm the one doing all the problems, what am I supposed to do with you?!"

The three lowered their heads, none of them daring to speak. Jiao Peilin felt very wronged, as it had nothing to do with him.

Wang Yaotang frowned. "Will the handover affect production?"

Xiong Demin said in a low voice, "A little."

“This won’t do.” Wang Yaotang tapped the table. “The handover is too slow. The longer it drags on, the more opportunities that old bastard Li Xiangjiao will find to cause trouble. The Hong Kong government might even cooperate with him. We must speed things up.”

"Xiong Demin, Su Guangxuan, during the early days of Yingyou, there were bound to be those who got in through connections, those troublemakers who didn't do their jobs and only knew how to complain all day, and those idiots who liked to stir up trouble. Find them and hand over the list."

“My company doesn’t need this kind of scum. Their presence only wastes resources. Without these people hindering us, can the handover process be accelerated and can production be increased?” Wang Yaotang stared at the two men.

Upon hearing this, the two men trembled involuntarily, suddenly remembering what had happened after they were brought onto the boat by someone impersonating a policeman. This person in front of them really could shoot and kill.

"Yes!" The two nodded hurriedly.

“Remember what you said.” Wang Yaotang then looked at Jiao Peilin. “How’s the ore dressing plant in Zhuhai doing?”

"The mainland is moving very quickly." Jiao Peilin said with a look of emotion. "The site has been completely leveled, and the factory and office buildings are under construction. The equipment has also been delivered. It is expected that sorting and beneficiation can begin in another half month. I am recruiting at the same time. The first batch of people has already started training to ensure that the workers can take over as soon as the project is completed."

"Hmm, not bad. What difficulties are you facing?" Wang Yaotang liked to hear good news.

"Indeed, the power supply is a major problem." Jiao Peilin said with a serious expression, "The power supply there is severely insufficient. As far as I know, many factories in Zhuhai are implementing a 'three days off, four days on' policy, meaning they stop work for three days a week and operate for four days. Residential electricity is also frequently subject to power outages, and most rural areas have no electricity at all."

“We have communicated with the city many times. Because we can earn foreign exchange, the city has guaranteed 8 hours of electricity every day. But even that is not stable. There is no way to provide electricity at other times. In addition, the supply of fuel oil is also severely insufficient. If we want to complete the screening of all the stone quarries in Zhuhai, the power supply and fuel oil supply will need to be increased by at least 10 times.”

Wang Yaotang frowned deeply. He did remember seeing news reports about the severe shortage of electricity and fuel in the early days of reform and opening up in his previous life. At present, the garment factory in Pengcheng is mostly powered by diesel generators. The electricity consumption there is not high, and the diesel generators can barely keep up.

The cold storage facilities at Shekou Port also mostly use diesel generators.

But that won't work in Zhuhai. The mining industry consumes too much electricity, and fuel is also a major problem.

I remember that the electricity problem was alleviated to some extent after the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant was built, and it wasn't completely solved until after 2000.

As for the fuel shortage, Guangdong has already started collecting a 'special tax on fuel'...

The fuel problem seems to have been resolved only after 2000, but the price of oil is a complicated story.

However, I remember that they still export a lot of crude oil every year. Last year, it seems that they exported 3000 million tons. Wang Yaotang shook his head, "I don't understand. Maybe the higher-ups have their own ideas."

"How do you plan to solve this problem?" Wang Yaotang asked in a deep voice.

"Could we invest in building a power plant in Zhuhai?" Jiao Peilin asked cautiously. "Once it's built, it can not only supply our own electricity needs, but also sell to the local area to solve the power shortage problem. If the boss can handle things in Haojiang, we can also sell electricity to Haojiang, which is also short of electricity."

Wang Yaotang's eyelids twitched, and he looked at Jiao Peilin in astonishment. "She really dares to think that way!"

At least Wang Yaotang never imagined that he would invest in a power plant. It's a joke. Electricity, petrochemicals, steel, and telecommunications are all state monopolies. Only someone who grew up in a capitalist system would have the idea of ​​investing in these areas.

Seeing that Wang Yaotang didn't speak, Jiao Peilin continued, "As for fuel, can't we buy it ourselves? Hong Kong Island doesn't have a shortage of fuel. We can get fuel from Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Right now, Zhuhai needs to buy fuel from the China National Chemical Import and Export Corporation. We need to submit reports and get approval, which takes a long time. And I heard that most of the approvals don't go through. Even if they do, there will be delays in delivery. We simply can't produce like this."

“You…” Wang Yaotang rubbed his teeth. “Okay, I understand. I’ll go talk to them over there later.”

……

Since there were no branches in Shek O or Lamma Island, Wang Yaotang entrusted the task of finding the instigator to Gao Lishi, who was in Bojiwan, which was closer to the area.

That evening, Gao Lishi led his men to Shek O and went door-to-door to find the troublemakers on the list given to him by Xiong Demin.

If the company handles this kind of thing, it will create conflict between superiors and subordinates, and the police will have even less reason to arrest and question people. The best way is to hand it over to some criminal gangs... It's not that we have to call for violence, it's just that it's easier for them to question people.

To put it another way, black gloves.

Existence is reasonable.

Gao Lishi sat in the car at the entrance of the village. Wang Yaotang had warned them that the police would conduct a targeted investigation and that they should be careful, so he left the actual work to his subordinates.

The leader was a bald man with a large tattoo on his arms, accompanied by two fierce-looking young men carrying machetes. They immediately started banging on the door, yelling, "Open the door, you bastards, hurry up, stop playing dead!"

There are no apartment buildings in the villages of Shek O; most families live in single-story houses, and those with better financial conditions live in two-story houses.

The people inside were terrified; how could they possibly open the door?

The two henchmen smashed the window with the hilts of their knives. "Crack!" "Crash!" The glass shattered all over the floor. If it weren't for the steel security bars on the window, the two men would have jumped right in.

He picked up the gasoline can and placed it on the shattered window, saying, "You think you can get away with this just because you closed the door? I'll burn your whole family to death!"

"Come out and talk! I'm not some bad guy!" The big-skinned man gripped the security window with both hands, his face contorted in pain, making him look even more menacing. "Who invited you to cause trouble? Tell me, and I'll leave right now. I won't make things difficult for you."

Crying and tantrums are completely useless when dealing with people who don't respect the law.

He quickly confessed, and the man with the large arm tattoo tossed HK$200 into the box before leaving, saying, "This is to compensate you for breaking your window."

Once the money is paid, any threats or intimidation will cease to exist. These are all things taught by the "teachers" in the training courses. Gao Lishi is right outside; they wouldn't dare to embezzle this money.

The commotion here is so loud that all the neighbors heard it. If Chu Guohua were still alive, he would definitely have brought his men out to check the situation upon receiving the news. He wouldn't have allowed outsiders to swagger around on his own turf; otherwise, where would he put his face?

But now that the person is dead, naturally no one can stand up and stop it. Things always have two sides, and the influence of the underworld is not all bad.

After smashing the windows of seven or eight houses, most of the village knew what had happened. It was much easier to ask around after that. After several groups of people returned, they reported the information they had gathered to Gao Lishi, and they immediately identified four targets.

It wasn't necessarily because they were acting under orders, but that didn't matter. Gao Lishi simply said casually, "Separate them up, arrest them, and send them to the ships at the dock." He had learned from Wang Yaotang that they now preferred to take people out to sea to do their jobs—it was safer and easier to destroy the evidence.

After questioning them one by one, it was discovered that one of them felt it was a rare opportunity and wanted to take advantage of privatization to enhance his local prestige and prepare to make a big splash.

"You fucking bastard, you want to show off your skills, huh? You want to fight? Then here you are." Gao Lishi waved his hand with amusement, and several of his henchmen rushed up and started punching and kicking him.

"Come on, tell me loudly, do you like it or not!"

"You idiot!" Gao Lishi rubbed the guy's face with the sole of his shoe, but his gaze fell on the faces of the other three people.

Fortunately, it was on a boat with wooden planks, otherwise my face would have been completely smeared.

"Come on, tell me, what did that person say to you, and what benefits did he promise you?"

The three men were terrified, their faces pale and their teeth chattering. They only knew that the Shek O mine had been bought by a private individual, but they had no idea who it was or what it did.

Wang Yaotang would never tell his subordinates that he bought the property himself, much less promote "Shengyi," as that's not a good reputation. Those who need to know already know. Ordinary people should just focus on their work; promoting such things to them is completely useless.

After the three men's legs were broken, they were left on the beach. The one who had shown off his skills, although bruised and battered and in pain all over, was actually not seriously injured. After resting for a while, he got up and went back to the village to call for help.

The next morning, Gao Lishi met Wang Yaotang at Youlian.

"Brother Yao, the person behind this is called 'Xu Hengyi.' He works at Qingzhou Yingni, where he purchases cement mixing stones for the company. He deals with stone quarries a lot. He promised those who instigated the trouble that if they couldn't get promoted in the new company after this job, Qingzhou Yingni or the internal construction team of Changshi Industry could provide them with positions to be responsible for purchasing the necessary stone materials for the company's real estate projects. That's why these guys dared to incite others to cause trouble."

"Master Yao, what do you think we should do with them? Should I take some men and take care of them?" Gao Lishi said menacingly.

"You need to ask me about something like this?" Wang Yaotang glanced at him sideways.

"Understood." Gao Lishi nodded immediately.

……

Around midnight, two pickup trucks drove up Victoria Peak along the mountain road. When they were almost at Li Xiangjiao's residence, the two trucks turned off their lights and slowed down to approach.

They reversed and parked in front of the large iron gate. Six or seven people wearing hats and masks got out of the car, took two ladders from the back of the pickup truck, and placed them side by side on the large iron gate. Then they carried a black body bag out of the car.

After much effort, I got it onto the ladder and threw it into the yard.

……

"what!!!"

Early in the morning, a piercing scream echoed through Li Xiangjiao's mansion. When the servants came out to do their chores in the morning, they saw the bag, and when they opened it, they were so frightened by the bloody corpse that they fell to the ground.

Not long after, Li Xiangjiao walked out of the villa with a gloomy face. He recognized the body in the body bag at a glance: Xu Hengyi!

He didn't personally issue the order to incite people to cause trouble in Shek O and Lamma Island. Li Xiangjiao's success today is naturally due to his exceptional abilities. He has an excellent memory and can remember the names of the middle and senior managers of every company under his name.

The fact that the body was dumped at his home is clearly intentional on Wang Yaotang's part, intended as a warning and intimidation.

He hadn't expected to be able to keep it a secret forever, but being caught so quickly still surprised him. The action was too swift; even if this happened in his own company, he wouldn't have been able to catch the person so quickly. Moreover, the methods were too decisive—they actually committed murder.

But that wasn't what angered him the most.

What really angered him was that Wang Yaotang dumped the body in his house. What bad luck! It was just too bad luck!
In Hong Kong, from the wealthy to officials, there is no one who doesn't believe in feng shui and destiny.

Furthermore, the discovery of a body in his home would inevitably cause a huge uproar when the police came to handle it, creating a very negative impact. How could he then continue to send people to Shek O and Lamma Island to cause trouble?

People below do things to get promoted, not to risk their lives.

Damn it, that little bastard is too decisive!

He had his servants call the police, and Li Xiangjiao left without even having breakfast, not wanting to stay with the corpse for even a second longer.

……

Chai Wan.

A plump, middle-aged woman with droopy eyes and thin lips came out of a dim sum restaurant and was about to go to her car for work when she suddenly heard a scream, "Robbery! Robbery!"

She gestured to turn around and saw a hooded man running towards her. Without thinking, the middle-aged woman dodged to the side to make way.

"Obese, get out of the way!" the man shouted as he lunged at the neck with his knife.

"puff!"

With a flick of the blade, blood spurted out six or seven meters away. The middle-aged woman clutched her neck in pain and collapsed to the ground, her eyes fixed on the figure running past. "I clearly dodged it, why?"
why!
……

On a small ferry bound for Lamma Island, two men sitting in the back pulled stockings out of their pockets and put them over their heads, an action that stunned the people around them.

The two men stood up, drew two sharp knives from their waists, and shouted, "Robbery! You fucking behave yourselves!"

"Take out anything of value you have, quick!"

"Wallet, watch, necklace, bracelet, ring, hurry up, don't fucking make things difficult for yourselves, this is at sea, there are no police to protect you!"

"You son of a bitch!" He reached out and ripped open a woman's collar, tearing off her gold necklace in the process.

There were more than 40 people on the boat, including men, women, and children. Some were trembling with their heads down, while others dared not speak out in anger. Not one of them dared to stand up and resist.

After robbing a round of people, when it was the turn of a middle-aged man wearing glasses, the robber looked him up and down and said, "What are you looking at, you four-eyed guy? You got a problem with that, huh?"

"No, no, no..." The four-eyed guy was sweating profusely.

"Learn from me, learn from me, you bastard!" The robber's face was ferocious as he swung his knife and stabbed at the bespectacled man's neck.

The bespectacled man screamed in fright and instinctively reached out to grab the knife. The robber had used a lot of force, and the man's hand was cut in half. He screamed and let go.

"puff!"

"puff!"

Two more stabs, and the man collapsed to the ground in agony...

Screams erupted around them. The robber, his face and head covered in blood, turned to look at the crowd. Everyone fell silent instantly, and for a moment, only the sound of crashing waves could be heard.

"Pull out all the money, hurry up! Anyone who tries to hide anything will suffer the consequences!"

Seven or eight minutes later, an old speedboat caught up with them, and the two robbers jumped into the sea.

……

In just one morning, Xiong Demin and Su Guangxuan submitted a list of troublemakers, during which three people died and six were injured. The news quickly spread throughout the two mines.

Some say that these people committed evil deeds and did not know how to accumulate good karma, and now they are being punished.

Some people suspect that the group offended too many people, and someone took the opportunity to retaliate.

Some people suspect that the new owner arranged for it, since these individuals had a bad reputation within the company and said a lot of bad things during the privatization process, even back when Ying was still in power.

There were all sorts of rumors circulating, and Xiong Demin didn't have anyone stop them. Let them spread whatever they wanted. Without these rotten apples, the company handover went much more smoothly. At the same time, the fate of these people served as a warning to most people: things are different now than before, and doing nothing is definitely not an option.

After Gao Lishi led his men to intimidate the two mines, Xiong Demin and Su Guangxuan's work became much easier. The legal department came to talk to all the workers who had been injured on the job, and determined a set of compensation standards based on the severity of the injury and the time of the injury, and settled all the cases in one lump sum.

After signing the one-time buyout compensation agreement, the legal counsel then said, "Our new boss, Mr. Wang Yaotang, is very compassionate towards everyone, so he ordered that the compensation standards be raised by one level. Mr. Wang will personally pay for this part of the money. Be grateful to the boss. This is not to buy you off, after all, none of you are employees of the company."

The compensation agreement has already been signed, which is an unexpected bonus. People are showering each other with words of gratitude, and some are so moved that they burst into tears.

If you say it before signing, it will have absolutely no effect.

The employee placement and company handover proceeded at a rapid pace, and Wang Yaotang finally had time to focus his attention on Li Xiangjiao.

That bastard first made me spend an extra 2 million, and now he's doing something behind my back. Wang Yaotang won't feel at ease unless he gets revenge.

With the shutdown of Jiahua's three major mines, Shek O and Lamma Island fell into Wang Yaotang's hands, and the market gap was filled by stone mines in Zhuhai. Currently, 80% of the Hong Kong Island stone market is under Wang Yaotang's control.

"Cut off all sand and gravel supplies to Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa's construction sites. Don't sell them a single stone or a single grain of sand!"

"Damn it, go build your mother's grave instead of a house!" (End of Chapter)