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

Wang Yaotang led his men to work, and they trusted him, but it's always best to explain things clearly beforehand, as misunderstandings often stem from poor communication.

Once the internal consensus is reached, there will be direction for actions in the coming period.

The next day, Wang Yaotang didn't wait for Gerrard in his office. Instead, he went to the Seaview Garden Hotel in person. Ten cars were parked at the entrance, and forty people got out in a flash. This scene startled not only the hotel security, front desk staff, and waiters, but also the customers coming and going.

In Tsim Sha Tsui, even a low-level waiter knows 'Sing Yee' and 'Little God of Wealth's' style of doing business. Whenever he goes out, he is always surrounded by dozens of people. So it was okay. After realizing what was happening, the front desk immediately called the lobby manager. However, the tourists who had never seen such a scene were startled.

The lobby manager rushed over and used his walkie-talkie to call for General Manager Gerald to come down and greet them. Although they were all O'Neill's people by company name, Wang Yaotang was the hotel owner, not to mention his status and position...

The lobby manager came running over breathlessly, but was stopped by security before he could get close. After a body search to make sure he posed no threat, he was allowed to pass.

"Mr. Wang, welcome... no, not..." The lobby manager blurted out, then suddenly remembered that this was the boss, and froze, his face turning red with nervousness.

Wang Yaotang chuckled. He remembered that when he went to the InterContinental Hotel before, the lobby manager was also polite, but he wasn't running around as fast or as nervous as he is now.

"Alright, show me around now."

He had never actually been to the Seaview Garden Hotel before.

"Okay, okay." The lobby manager raised his hand to wipe his sweat.

The evaluation criteria for five-star hotels vary from place to place. In addition to basic accommodation functions, they also need to have at least three restaurants (Chinese, Western and specialty), an executive lounge, a heated swimming pool (≥25 meters in length), a fitness center, a spa, and children's facilities.

In addition to the above living facilities, there should also be a dedicated conference and business center, a multi-functional banquet hall (with an area of ​​≥500㎡), a shopping center, a gift shop, a 24-hour convenience store, and supporting parking facilities, among other commercial facilities.

Some hotels feature executive floors with dedicated business spaces, wine cellars with resident sommeliers, cigar bars, or other similar establishments.

To put it another way, staying in a five-star hotel allows you to solve most of your life and work problems without leaving the hotel.

After touring the lobby, multi-functional conference hall, and heated swimming pool on the first floor, Gerrard came downstairs, but security still stopped him outside and forcibly searched him despite his protests.

The lobby manager's lips twitched slightly. He hadn't expected that this American, who always considered himself noble and never smiled, would also be searched. He wanted to laugh, but he held it in.

Wang Yaotang watched with a smile as Gerald strode up, his expression shifting from indignation to a smile in just a few steps. "Mr. Wang, hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. You should have told me sooner. I was really impolite not to greet you downstairs in person."

The lobby manager's eyes widened slightly. "No, where's your anger? Where's your protest? If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd doubt anything had even happened!"

This is so un-American!
Wang Yaotang smiled and looked him up and down, "I thought you would protest first."

“Protesting is my right, and smiling and welcoming guests is my responsibility. I don’t think they conflict, right, Mr. Wang?” Gerald said with a smile.

Wang Yaotang glanced at the lobby manager, then at Zhan Zeyu who had followed him, and said, "See? That's what you call professional!"

"Do you know why you're just a lobby manager while he's the general manager?"

"Understood." The lobby manager forced an awkward smile, though he didn't understand what the point of this pointless act was, other than showcasing his face-changing skills.

Wang Yaotang could tell what he was thinking at a glance. He shook his head and said that he had no value for promotion. As a person, you can't just laugh or cry. You have to master both skills and switch between them flexibly.

The rest of the itinerary featured Gerrard personally introducing the hotel's various facilities. All I can say is, even when given the chance, you're still not up to the task!

"The hotel has three restaurants, offering regular breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets, 24-hour à la carte dining, and business banquet meals, providing guests with any kind of catering service at any time."

"There is a SPA hall on the third floor, with an area of ​​over 800 square meters, offering Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Finnish massage, health care, beauty treatments and other services."

"The fourth floor is a business area with an area of ​​1800 square meters. It is designed with electric partitions, which can be opened for unified use or divided into areas of different sizes for separate use. It can accommodate up to 6 groups at the same time. It provides printing, copying, faxing, international long-distance calling, simultaneous interpretation systems and necessary audiovisual equipment, including movie screenings."

He showed us around the building, including the presidential suite on the top floor. Although Wang Yaotang often stays at the InterContinental Hotel, he has only used the business meeting room, restaurant, and accommodation. He has never actually been to the other parts.

For example, no one told him that five-star hotels require a minimum area of ​​36 square meters, 70% of guest rooms (excluding bathrooms) to be ≥30 square meters, and there are requirements for carpets, wooden floors, marble floors, sound insulation, and even the illuminance of lighting. Bedding must be Egyptian cotton with a thread count of 300 or higher, etc.

Indeed, the five-star hotel was far superior to their previous Maple Leaf Inn Express hotel...

After an hour of browsing and looking at everything, Wang Yaotang took Zhan Zeyu to Gerald's office.

After taking his seat, Wang Yaotang smiled and said, "I was prepared before I came that Onim wouldn't continue to manage the business, since there was a bit of an unpleasant incident before. Now it seems I don't need to hire anyone else."

"Headquarters did call to ask about what happened before and asked for my opinion. My answer was that there was nothing unpleasant about it," Gerald said with a smile.

"Didn't those guys report being kidnapped after they got back?"

"A complaint has been filed."

“You weren’t forcibly taken away from the auction house.”

"They were taken away."

Wang Yaotang raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this unpleasant enough?"

“No!” Gerald nodded firmly. “Whether you were kidnapped or not is not for them to decide. It needs to be decided by the court. Until then, everything you are accused of is a slander against you!”

Wow, Wang Yaotang looked at Gerrard with a surprised expression.

Gerald said very seriously, "As for the auction, I personally think it was just a small misunderstanding. It was because I didn't have any identification to prove my identity that I was asked to leave. What surprised me was that the security on site was very strict. Every order was strictly enforced, and no compromises were made because of my personal status. This perfectly ensured that the auction went smoothly."

Wang Yaotang smiled and clapped lightly. Sure enough, when you become powerful, great scholars will naturally come to debate the classics for you.

Who says Americans are all tough and inflexible?

Now you can see she's quite flexible!
That's very reasonable!
Gerald smiled and nodded, continuing, "I think this series of events precisely proves Mr. Wang's enormous influence in Hong Kong. You know, the hotel industry may seem to have low barriers to entry, but that's not the case in practice. Not just anyone can do this industry. Decades ago, hotel owners would carry a revolver on their waist and always hide a double-barreled shotgun in the counter."

"What makes a five-star hotel different from other hotels? Is it the luxurious hotel amenities? Is it the 24-hour catering services? Is it the business multi-functional hall? No, those are things that can be done with money and are not difficult. So what is the real difference?"

"Safety is paramount!" Gerald waved his arm vigorously. "The hotel receives so many people every day, from different countries, races, and faiths. There's a very high probability that there will be conflicts between them. How to ensure that there are no conflicts between guests, how to control the situation after a conflict occurs, and how to ensure the safety of guests—that's the most important and the most difficult thing!"

"The first thing every guest asks for when spending money at a five-star hotel is safety; only then do they consider all other services!"

Hearing this argument, Wang Yaotang's expression also became serious. This guy wasn't just a flatterer; he actually had some skills.

In my past life in China, I would always book five-star hotels when I went out to play. Four-star hotels might get checked, but five-star hotels would never be!
I told you to sweep, but I didn't fucking tell you to sweep it on your own head...

The level of security offered varies from region to region...

It is indeed a bit expensive, but it's safe, safe, and fucking safe!
“We at Onim believe that this hotel will not be the last one Mr. Wang opens. With Mr. Wang’s strength, there will be Yaofu InterContinental Hotels in places like Macau, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and even the north. Yaofu InterContinental Hotels will inevitably be an important part of the future East Asian hotel industry,” Gerard concluded.

"Very good, very good." Wang Yaotang clapped his hands loudly. "Gerald, what Onim can give you, I can give you. What Onim can't give you, I can also give you. I don't have top-notch hotel industry professionals under me yet. Do a good job, I have faith in you!"

Zhan Zeyu snapped out of his daze and glared at Gerrard with hostility. Was he trying to steal Gerrard's job?
Oh my god!
Of course, he would praise him, but he would definitely include Zhan Zeyu in the praise. These foreigners are good at saying one thing and doing another. He is a kind person and does not want to throw such a talent to the fish one day.

In addition to Zhan Zeyu, the hotel's security also needs to be replaced. From now on, it will be handled by Umbrella (Hong Kong) Company. The current security personnel are all recruited locally in Hong Kong by Onim, and they are not very good.

In foreign countries, five-star hotels offer a wide variety of services, which vary depending on the membership level. Often, if you encounter any problems outside the hotel, you can call home and someone will come to help you. These services range from basic things like calling a taxi or ordering food to more serious matters such as conflicts with local forces or being detained by the police.

Of course, this is a paid service, but it's still much better than being completely helpless.

At noon, we sampled various dishes at the hotel and then took a nap in the presidential suite reserved for the boss. In the afternoon, Wang Yaotang went to the Landi Stone Quarry to deal with the mess at Jiahua as soon as possible.

It's easy to shut down a mine, but difficult to resume operations. A week has passed since the transfer of ownership was completed...

Miners also need to support their families. After they stop working here, very few of them stay at home to rest. Instead, they go out to find other jobs to earn as much as they can.

When Wang Yaotang arrived, Gu Yuanbin and his team greeted him at the entrance. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wang put on his safety helmet and headed into the mine to check on the progress of production resumption.

After making his rounds, Wang Yaotang appeared quite satisfied. He returned to his office, brewed some tea, and had a private chat with his subordinates, without mentioning Anderson or the Lei Yue Men incident. As the boss, he didn't need to explain anything to his subordinates.

"You can transfer all of Jia Hua's assets to Yao Ming Building Materials, and make all of Jia Hua's companies empty shells. Then transfer the Shek O and Lamma Island companies here as subsidiaries. I will explain this to Xiong Demin and Su Guangxuan."

"Okay, boss." Gu Yuanbin perked up. His biggest worry was that if Jia Hua's three major mines were gone, he would end up worse off than when he came from afar. He was afraid that his peers would laugh him to death in private.

"Yes, the integration in Zhuhai will have to be carried out step by step. First, we'll turn the ore dressing plant into a subsidiary and bring it under Yaoming Building Materials. You can contact Jiao Peilin about this later and cooperate more to improve work efficiency."

"Good boss!"

"In addition, the storage area of ​​Tuen Mun Port is leased to Yiu Ming Construction Materials. Calculate how much it will cost to build there, and Yiu Ming will pay in the name of rent. After that, Yiu Ming Construction Materials will be responsible for the operation. This includes the port, understand? Oh right, there are also the ports of Lamma Island and Shek O. I will set up a special port management company to be responsible for investing in, constructing and operating these ports."

"Yes, boss." Gu Yuanbin nodded emphatically.

Wang Yaotang's assets are growing, and his business interests are expanding into more and more industries. This is perhaps an inevitable path for the wealthy, another manifestation of not putting all your eggs in one basket. The concept of 'diversification' was first systematically proposed by American management scholar Igor Ansoff in his 1957 paper "Strategies for Diversification." It is defined as a strategy for companies to explore new areas outside of their existing products and markets. It clearly distinguishes four growth paths: market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification, and proposes to select the optimal strategy through quantitative analysis.

Take General Electric as an example. Through technological development and the integration of industry and finance, its business covers fields such as finance, education, and entertainment, making it a benchmark for diversification.

In 1962, American scholar Gort further defined diversification as "an increase in the number of industries a company is involved in," which strengthens its cross-industry characteristics and greatly increases the company's risk resistance and profitability.

For example, if you get involved in real estate, you can keep doing real estate, and your business will grow bigger and bigger, and your assets will increase. But once a systemic risk occurs, the collapse can happen in an instant, and you won't even have a chance to recover.

Old Xu: Say that again!

Old Wang: Yes, yes, yes!

Of course, Wang Yaotang only knew the concept of 'diversity'. He didn't know who specifically proposed it, nor did he need to know, including the more specific theories. But he knew that Lao Wang was still steadfast!

And that bastard Li Xiangjiao.

If you don't understand, then learn from existing examples.

However, Wang Yaotang will not put all his businesses in the same group. Group management has both advantages and disadvantages.

The benefits include reduced communication costs, improved management efficiency, and increased resilience to risks.

The downside is increased risk; if something goes wrong, it can trigger a chain reaction, making it easy for everyone to be wiped out...

Old Wang: You're talking!

Old Wang's approach is vertical integration; core assets such as Wanda Plaza and Wanda Cinema are all within the group's system, facilitating unified management and resource allocation.

Li Xiangjiao, on the other hand, adopted a horizontal split approach, dividing its business into independent listed companies such as CK Hutchison Holdings, CK Property Holdings, CK Infrastructure Holdings, and Power Assets Holdings, thereby reducing the risk of related-party transactions. The business is diversified from infrastructure and retail to telecommunications, forming a counter-cyclical business portfolio to reduce the risk of relying on a single market.

From this perspective, that old bastard Li Xiangjiao really does have something going for him.

After assigning Gu Yuanbin a whole host of tasks, his mental state visibly improved instantly, and he looked incredibly energetic, clearly possessing the innate physique of a bull or horse. So, whether or not to take on such tasks depends on his personal willingness...

After handing over all the mining development business to Gu Yuanbin, Wang Yaotang could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He had been so busy lately that he hadn't had time to care about Deng Lijun. Just as she was about to give birth, the Deep Water Bay villa came along, and he personally went to pick her up and take her to the villa.

It had been quite a while since they last met, and Teresa Teng had gained weight; her already round face was even rounder. As soon as she saw Wang Yaotang, she ran up to him, supporting her belly, which startled Wang Yaotang, who hurriedly went to help her up. "Running so fast, are you trying to take off?"

"I just missed you, you haven't come over in so long." Teresa Teng sobbed. Pregnant women are already emotionally unstable, and she didn't even have a formal status...

If it weren't for a group of people taking care of him every day, who knows what would have happened to him.

"You're crying again? I came with a surprise." Wang Yaotang didn't mention what he was busy with; that wasn't what the woman wanted to hear.

Teresa Teng shifted her body a few times, turning her face away from Wang Yaotang, as if to say, "I can't coax you." But she asked, "What surprise?"

"The villa I bought in Deep Water Bay has been renovated. The villa now needs a lady of the house. I wonder if I would have the honor of inviting Ms. Deng to take charge of the overall situation?"

"Really!" Teresa Teng suddenly turned her head, her face full of surprise.

"Of course it's real, more real than real gold!"

"Ooh..." Teresa Teng hugged Wang Yaotang's head and kissed him.

After a long while, they separated. Teresa Teng was panting heavily, her face flushed, it was hard to tell whether it was from holding her breath or from holding it in...

Wang Yaotang waved for the servants and nurses to leave, then his gaze slowly moved downwards. "Come, let Dad check the grain reserves carefully!"

"Uh...uh..."

They said they were bringing the lady of the house in, but it wasn't something they were in a rush for just a day or two. Teresa Teng had lived here for several years, and with her pregnancy, she had a lot of things to take care of. They also needed to prepare some supplies for pregnant women, babies, and postpartum care in Deep Water Bay.

Before going to bed that night, Wang Yaotang went out. There are certain things you can't do at this stage of pregnancy, and he has to bear the consequences of his foolishness. He's really angry right now!
Teresa Teng knew that she was unwilling to admit defeat, but she was also prepared. She thought that she would soon move into Deep Water Bay and get ahead of everyone else, so she didn't care about the other women.

Wang Yaotang didn't need to worry about moving; he was there to put Teresa Teng at ease. These past few days, whether it was because her man was by her side or because she had officially moved in, Teresa Teng's overall condition had improved a lot. Perhaps it was both.

One advantage of living in Deep Water Bay is that Wang Yaotang can handle many things from home. The 1800-square-meter house has a dedicated office area and a reception area. With Wei Tao planning the schedule, he can simply wait at home every morning for his subordinates to come and report on their work, which greatly saves him time.

The Union Building is also an option, as it's closer to various companies, but the space is too small and the environment is far worse.

Youlian's office has the most basic decoration, only about 30 square meters in total, divided into an office and a reception area. Then look at the home...

The office area features a walnut wood door with an intaglio laurel leaf pattern, an 80-square-meter space, and Carrara white marble mosaic flooring. The central circular area is inlaid with a miniature replica of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, made of dark brown walnut wood. According to the liquidation staff, this miniature replica alone cost over 100,000 yuan, which is enough for a down payment on a 1,000-square-foot luxury apartment these days…

The reception area features twelve Rococo-style armchairs, with a carved and gilded coffee table in the center. The chairs are covered with dark green camel hair carpets from the Middle East, and the shell carvings on the armrests are plated with 24K gold leaf.

The entire east wall is occupied by custom-made 18th-century style bookshelves. The dark brown oak cabinets reach the ceiling, and each shelf is decorated with gilded meander patterns. Various classic books with gold-stamped leather covers are available. The books that the wealthy read are all custom-made!

A small, temperature-controlled wine cabinet is embedded in the center of the bookshelf, with vintage Port wines from the Douro region of Portugal perpetually chilled in an ice bucket. On a silver tray next to it, a set of crystal decanters and an engraved cigar cutter await the owner's use.

Compared to other wines, Wang Yaotang prefers Port wine.

Isn't working in this kind of environment better than that awful place, the Yulian Building?

The streets below the Union Building are all one-way streets, and there are traffic jams all the time...

Anyway, Wang Yaotang felt much better after moving in, but he was going to have to put up with the tough times with Gu Yuanbin, Li Menghui, Lao Song, Guan Houfa, Qiu Dechang and the rest of the gang.

He hadn't stayed home for many days when he received a call from Cherie Chung informing him that she was pregnant.

Pregnancy is good, it adds a new member to the Wang family. I went to visit her, and also went to see Ye Qianwen. She's over six months pregnant. When she's about to give birth, I'll take her to Deep Water Bay. By then, Teresa Teng will have finished her postpartum confinement. Even if she gets angry because another woman comes in, it won't be a big problem... Wang Yaotang felt like he was a beast.

Since I was already out, I decided to stop by my home in Kowloon Tong to visit Ah-Ji's maternal grandmother and Ah-Jie's mother. As I entered, I bumped into the bespectacled girl's sister, Kwan Ka-Wai.

The younger sister's eyes lit up the moment she saw someone, and she put her hands on her hips and shouted, "Why can Teresa Teng go to Deep Water Bay, but I can't!"

Wang Yaotang: "..."

Oh no, I forgot about that. Having a lot of women is always this kind of hassle…

“Go, go, of course I’ll go. You’re a well-known rich woman in Hong Kong now. I thought you wanted to buy your own villa and didn’t want to see other women.”

How would I know if you didn't invite me!

Wang Yaotang rolled his eyes. Did you even need to ask?

"You can go anytime you want, how about tomorrow?"

"you sure?"

"Sure!"

"That's more like it." Guan Jiahui didn't press the issue any further and decided to stop while she was ahead.

Her brother, the four-eyed guy, looks so honest, but now he's keeping three women. Men are all the same.

I didn't stay in Kowloon Tong for long. In the evening, I first went to Lam Kit-ying's place to try my best, and then stayed at Sally Yeh's place as a consolation. The next morning, I went straight to the pier, took a yacht, and headed straight for Guangzhou.

"hide?"

"How could that be? Is that the kind of person you think Yao-ge is?"

“You know how busy the company is. We need to revitalize K. Wah’s assets, which are worth over a billion dollars. My trip to Guangzhou is for serious business. We’ve acquired six docks this time. We’ve never done dock business before, it’s very complicated. I’m going to Guangzhou to find partners to cooperate on construction. The docks in Tuen Mun all need to be rebuilt…”

After a lengthy explanation over the phone, Wang Yaotang finally calmed Guan Jiahui down and breathed a sigh of relief. Women, whether you lie to them or not doesn't really matter; a little coaxing is all it takes.

If you can't appease them, it's either because they're poor or ugly; if all else fails, their ego is big enough...

Besides, everything Wang Yaotang said is true; he is absolutely not lying!

Tuen Mun Port is to be developed into the largest resource-based port, which is beyond the capabilities of the current temporary docks. The construction company he casually set up before could manage interior decoration, but building a dock...

Stop it!
The construction companies owned by Hong Kong's wealthy are capable, but they are too expensive.

It's time to give Hong Kong people a real shock with the speed of Shenzhen! (End of Chapter)