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

"I'm injured. Can't you see I was hit by a grenade explosion?" After listening to the fax read aloud by his secretary, Yud raised his hand and pointed to his thigh, clearly annoyed.

The secretary nodded immediately. "I will reply to Downing Street that the Governor is unable to handle official business due to his injuries, and the documents will be forwarded to the Administrative Secretary for processing."

After the secretary left, Youde muttered under his breath, "A bunch of bastards, do they think this is 20 years ago? If they're so capable, they should handle it themselves, ptooey!"

He did want to help the Israelis, but what could he do when they were so incompetent? Now the whole of Hong Kong knew about it, what could he do?
It's impossible to order the court to acquit those people!

If he dares to give the order, then the judges dare to issue the verdict.

This isn't about punishing some ordinary people; it's fine if they're forcibly sentenced. But the Chinese, Wang Yaotang, and the Kadoorie Foundation are not to be trifled with.

What's wrong with the judge?
Judges don't just spring from the rocks; they also have families, social lives, and the need to make a living.

Although the heads of various departments were all Britons, his subordinates didn't do their jobs, so he, the governor, was just a figurehead. What could he do?

The government is never a place where one person can have the final say.

They sent people from Selangor, but once they arrived in Hong Kong, they found it impossible to move an inch. Their hotel room was next to Sheng Yi's, and they were constantly being watched whenever they showed their face. Even when they urinated, there were people sitting next to them...

We are truly engulfed in the vast ocean of people's war.

Sheng Yi has several thousand members, and the number of thugs and hooligans they can mobilize on the periphery is countless; their human resources are too abundant.

With the Sele Oil Vampires all handed over to Wang Yaotang, the foundation's transition to charity is progressing smoothly, and Elias Corner is now leading his team to fully promote the establishment of the Shajiao B Power Plant.

……

The production and operation of the Qingshan Power Plant are handled by CLP Power, while the technology, equipment, and maintenance are handled by ExxonMobil, since they effectively control 60% of the shares. The general manager here is from ExxonMobil.

meeting room.

After discussing the second phase of the Qingshan project for a while, Eliascohn asked with a smile, "Mr. Kukoc, you know about the Shajiao B power plant that the Chinese are preparing to build, right?"

Kukoc nodded, picked up his coffee and took a sip. He had been observing when the Kadoorie family clashed with Wang Yaotang, looking for an opportunity to invest in CLP Power. He just didn't expect the Kadoorie family to disappear so quickly... The competition in the local business world is too damn fierce!

This startled him, so he remained silent during the subsequent battle for the Kadoorie Foundation.

I'm just a regional vice president stationed at a branch office. It's really not worth risking my life for such a small amount of money.

"The joint venture power plant between Laos and China involves a huge investment and offers significant room for profit, including relinquishing control over the plant's subsequent operation. This is very attractive. CLP Power has successful experience operating the Castle Peak Power Plant and has a good chance of securing this cooperation. However, as you know, our equipment and technology come from the United States..."

"You want to involve ExxonMobil? Will they agree?" Kukoc was somewhat surprised. In his eyes, the Chinese were very conservative, and he found it hard to imagine what such a cooperation would be like.

“Our Kadoorie Foundation has been rooted in Hong Kong for a century and is already closely tied to this land. We have that much credibility. Moreover, the major shareholder of CLP Power is Mr. Wang Yaotang, who has an excellent reputation among the Chinese. We have all the conditions for cooperation. Now we only need the last piece of the puzzle,” Eliascohn said with a smile.

"What?" Kukoc suddenly became interested. Expanding the business scope and extending his reach into the reform and opening-up front of the old China, if he really succeeded, he could be promoted to vice president of the Greater China region based on this achievement. Isn't that much better than being a branch manager in Hong Kong?

"West, nuclear power, Daya Bay."

"This is impossible!" Kukoc shook his head violently. "This is simply impossible!"

This is the Cold War era. Given the nature of China, how could the United States possibly hand over its technology to China?

This is definitely something that's subject to embargo!
“The Laos and China are fully committed to developing the coastal areas. Once completed, the profits will be continuous for decades to come,” Eliascohn advised.

“That’s impossible.” Kukoc shook his head repeatedly. “It’s not a question of whether the company wants to or not; it’s that Capitol Hill won’t agree.”

"Lobbying!"

“Lobbying is impossible.” Kukoc shook his head again. “There is no possibility at all. Although those politicians are greedy, if this technology were to flow to the Chinese, they would inevitably be attacked. They would not risk their political careers.”

Eliascohn let out a long sigh, and instead of directly saying to stop the third and fourth phases of Aoyama as Wang Yaotang had suggested, he put on a smiling face and said, "Okay, I understand."

After chatting about Aoyama for a while, Eliascohn took his leave.

Kukoc watched Cohen's retreating figure. These oil stains were willing to betray even God for profit, and he knew Cohen wouldn't give up. However, this had nothing to do with him, and he didn't intend to report it.

Why report something if you can't get credit for it?

It adds unnecessary trouble.

At the same time, another group from the Kadoorie Foundation flew directly to Paris. There are many oil slicks in France. After settling in various places, oil slicks build their own communities. The global oil slicks maintain communication through communities and churches, building a global network.

Of course, this is just a link in the exchange of benefits.

As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, post-World War II France had a completely different perspective, and there was nothing they wouldn't dare to sell.

Through the oil stain community and churches, Kadoorie quickly made contact with senior executives at EDF (Électricité de France).

In 46, France nationalized 1390 private power companies and established EDF (Électricité de France). EDF not only monopolized the domestic power supply, but also required the approval of EDF for the export of power-related equipment with core technologies.

Therefore, both coal-fired power generating units and Framatome's nuclear power equipment exports and patent licensing must go through EDF (Électricité de France).

With the support of high-ranking executives at EDF and the Kadoorie family's vast assets, private communication proceeded smoothly. The only issue was that the actual users of the technology were Chinese, but it was not impossible to negotiate if the conditions were right.

In the past, when China negotiated with France, they made very demanding conditions, requiring China to take sides in international politics. But now, with the help of the "oil stain" as an intermediary and a large sum of money being spent, the French have quickly softened their stance.

A direct agreement is impossible, but we can start by cooperating on coal-fired power generation. Once we see the benefits, the cooperation can be gradually deepened.

After receiving the news, Wang Yaotang immediately informed Duan Mingyu, who promptly agreed.

Compared to the harsh conditions imposed by the Japanese, such as demanding to bear the exchange rate difference, operate completely independently for ten years, and purchase all equipment from the Japanese, EDF, as a state-owned company, doesn't profit at the expense of individuals...

Both sides have the intention to cooperate, so Wang Yaotang doesn't care about the specific negotiations, as he doesn't understand those things anyway.

……

The Victory Building has a rooftop garden built with glass greenhouses. When he has nothing to do, Wang Yaotang prefers to stay in the greenhouse on the rooftop, where it is lush and green, which is much more comfortable than staying in the office.

His office on the top floor was luxurious, grand, and imposing, perfect for listening to reports from subordinates and entertaining guests, much like the imperial court in ancient times, but it was uncomfortable to be there in person.

In the rooftop garden, a few brothers sat around a table eating barbecue and drinking beer, chatting about the businesses they were currently managing.

"The Kengtung hydroelectric power station is finished. It was already in operation when I came back. It finally feels like a modern society. Before, it felt like ancient times, pitch black at night, like a ghost town." A-Jie laughed and cursed. "The cars and tractors were also delivered, along with 50 tons of fuel, but Zhang Qifu took half of it in Tachileik, saying it was to repair the road to Kengtung." "Don't worry about it, that's their business. We just need to be good distributors." Wang Yaotang picked up a skewer of roasted camel meat, took a bite, and mumbled, "The road definitely needs to be repaired, otherwise how will the mine's output be transported out? Even if it's just a gravel road, there are a lot of people in Shan State, and they don't have that much land to grow. They're just sitting around doing nothing anyway, so it's good to get them working."

“Now that you mention it, I understand why these guys have so many soldiers.” A-Jie’s eyes lit up. “I was wondering before how they could have more soldiers than us with their meager assets. Turns out it’s to absorb young labor.”

“By absorbing the labor force, winning over the tribes, and intimidating them, do you really think Zhang Qifu has so many troops to garrison? The battles he fights are small-scale and unnecessary.” Wang Yaotang smiled. “Aji, how’s the training over there?”

“Peng and Luo each selected 1000 men to train in Kengtung and Kokang respectively. The results are hard to say. Their basic battlefield skills are fine, but their fighting spirit is another matter.” Aji spoke cautiously.

"Did they say when they would attack Lashio?"

"It's not that easy to fight. Lashio is not like Kengtung. The railway line there goes directly to Yangon. The number of Burmese troops, equipment, and fortifications are relatively complete. They have tanks, armored vehicles, and a real airport. After Chen Yuanchao's actual inspection, he said that Peng Jiasheng was just bragging. Even if he were to launch a surprise attack, he would not be able to win."

“Definitely.” Wang Yaotang wasn’t surprised. “If he were really capable of fighting, he would have already broken out of that remote mountain village of Kokang.”

"Of the three, Luo Xinghan has the best geographical location. He has mines right next to him and a highway leading to Siam. He is the most suitable for development. Peng Jiasheng and Zhang Qifu are not suitable."

"But it doesn't matter. When they start fighting, we'll send a batch of heavy firepower over. It'll be a battle of weaklings, and we'll see who makes the strongest first move. There's still hope."

"How's the situation at the port?" Wang Yaotang asked the bespectacled man.

"Everything is going smoothly. Construction has started on two 50,000-ton berths at Tuen Mun Port at the same time. They are expected to be completed in three months. In the future, we will no longer need to transfer ferries, which will save a lot of costs." Four-Eyes said with a smile, "In addition, there are berths under expansion in Shek O and Lamma Island, with a design target of 5000 tons. Transportation costs will also be reduced a lot in the future."

"The shipyard in Kwun Tong has also been put into use. The cost of commonly used spare parts has been reduced a lot by purchasing them from our hometown. With the upgrade of the lathe equipment and the addition of the workers from our hometown, we can also process irregularly shaped spare parts. Business is pretty good."

"Also, didn't you keep saying you wanted to build the biggest nightclub on Hong Kong Island? The underground parking lot in Peninsula Centre is currently available for rent; it's 5000 square meters. What do you think?"

"Rent?" Wang Yaotang raised an eyebrow. "It's not very meaningful. Wouldn't it be better to just buy?"

"Where's the money?" The mention of the bespectacled man irritated her, and she felt like poking him with a stick. "My God of Wealth, do you even know how much wealth you have right now?"

Wang Yaotang tilted his head and did some quick calculations. "Yaoxing's current market value is 26 billion. We hold 54% of the shares, which is 14 billion. The three stone quarries are worth at least 10 billion, right? The Seaview Hotel and Victory Building property are worth at least 10 billion. The wharves and warehouses in Tuen Mun and Tsing Yi Island are worth at least 15 billion. And our 55% stake in CLP Power is worth at least 30 billion. That's 80 billion in total."

The four-eyed guy chuckled, "Anything else?"

“Yaoguang videotape production accounts for 70% of the Hong Kong market, Tiansheng has more than 30 nightclubs, and our original garment factory is spread all over East Asia, these…” Wang Yaotang hesitated as he spoke.

"Tell me, these are all light assets. They don't own many properties, and the garment factory mostly relies on OEM manufacturing. It's worth at most 3 million!" the bespectacled guy said irritably.

"KPC shares, several 5-ton bulk carriers, and the Pattaya tourism city project—these are all worth at least 15 billion, right?"

"Do you know how much money you owe?" The bespectacled man took off his glasses, tilted his head, and looked at him with a half-smile.

"Uh..." Wang Yaotang blinked, and asked weakly in a low voice, "How much?"

"10."

"So little?" Wang Yaotang was somewhat surprised.

"Dollar."

"puff!"

"Why are there so many?"

"The acquisition of CLP Power and Peninsula Hotel cost a whopping $6 million!" the bespectacled man scoffed.

"No, how come there are still several hundred million missing?"

"If Kadoorie's entire family dies, how can CLP Power remain unaffected?"

"No, what happened to all the money I've worked so hard to earn over the years?" Wang Yaotang's eyes widened.

"Property, land, all fixed assets, private jets and yachts alone cost over HK$3 million." The four-eyed guy laughed. "Not bad, brother, over HK$20 billion in four years, how much more do you want to earn? Besides, the warships and weapons of Umbrella Corporation can't be counted in terms of money."

Wang Yaotang picked up his glass and gulped it down. "Still poor, huh? I wanted to build an electronics factory to produce pagers, telephones, videotape factories, cement plants, fertilizer plants, and I wanted to build docks in Southeast Asian countries, and I wanted to..."

I'm thinking too much!

"Oh, right, we also need to acquire Jardine Matheson's Hong Kong Electric. Hong Kong Electric is worth 30 billion, so we'll need at least 15 billion Hong Kong dollars to get a controlling stake!"

"Brother, we've mortgaged everything we could!" the bespectacled guy said with a troubled expression. "Banks aren't charities; we can only get a maximum of 70% back from the mortgages!"

"To make money, I need to find a way to make a sum of money in a short period of time..." Wang Yaotang closed his eyes and began to rack his brains.

"Let's kidnap Li Xiangjiao, that old guy's got money!" A-Jie said, sounding eager.

"Don't be ridiculous. How would you clean up 10 billion? HSBC and Standard Chartered know exactly where our funds are flowing. Such a large sum of money would be discovered immediately. Cash is even more ridiculous. We haven't even found a place to spend the more than 3000 million US dollars we robbed before," the four-eyed guy said with a look of disdain.

"Tch, just kidding. Do you think I don't know how to handle this?" A-Jie rolled his eyes. "Which Southeast Asian country produces gold? We can secretly use this money to buy gold back, as long as we don't expose our identities."

“Gold…” Awei said softly, “I’ll go check it out.”

"I've got my eye on where to make money!" Wang Yaotang suddenly slapped his thigh. "Didn't I tell you to investigate Jianing Group before? Those guys are running a Ponzi scheme. Let's find a way to short them!"

After saying that, one would expect the others to look surprised, but in reality, the four of them remained expressionless.

“I said short selling!” Wang Yaotang repeated.

"Caring shares ceased trading on the exchange on January 3, 1983." The bespectacled man chuckled speechlessly.

"Huh?" Wang Yaotang was taken aback. "Nobody told me!"

"Then I'm sorry, how could such a small matter bother you, my little money god? After all, the market value was only 8 million before the trading was suspended."

"Damn it!" Wang Yaotang grinned. "Why do you have to force me? I want to be a good person too!"

"Awei, find out where there are gold mines in Southeast Asia, and go for it!"

"Brother, if a coal mine is this difficult, is a gold mine even possible?"

"You wouldn't know this, but gold mines are actually easier to get," Wang Yaotang said with a smile. (End of Chapter)