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

"Haha, Brother Banana, what made you think of calling me?" Wang Yaotang asked with a smile as he picked up the phone.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Brother Wang. I wonder if you have time? I'd like to invite you for a drink," Li Xiangjiao said with a smile.

"Drinking is no problem, what's the big deal?"

"I heard that Brother Wang is interested in Hong Kong Electric?"

“Yes, I want to integrate Hong Kong’s power grid,” Wang Yaotang said directly.

“As the saying goes, great minds think alike. I also want to acquire Hong Kong Electric and would like to sit down and have a chat with you.”

"Haha, I'm glad you called me, but I'm angry that you want me to quit."

"Can't we talk?"

"Power grid integration is imperative and there is absolutely no room for maneuver."

"After I acquire HK Electric, I am also willing to integrate with Kowloon Power Grid. When we brothers work together, we can greatly reduce the financial pressure."

"It's better for two people to control things than for me to decide everything. I'm the kind of person who likes to enjoy things all by myself."

"I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Yaotang smiled nonchalantly.

Once money reaches a certain amount, increasing the number itself is not very meaningful; it's about transforming it into influence. Just like Lei Jun, who once held billions in cash flow but felt very empty.

He has a reputation within the industry, but that's all he has. There's no negative press about him, and the authorities aren't keen on inviting him to participate in social activities.

People would respectfully call him "Brother Jun," but that was about it. It was only after the successful launch of Xiaomi that everyone genuinely called him "CEO Lei." He also gained some negative press and became more involved in social activities.

Many people despise Li Xiangjiao's character, but it is undeniable that this traitor's development plan and vision are indeed quite good.

Acquiring Hong Kong Electric will not bring Li Xiangjiao much asset appreciation in the short term. On the contrary, it will drag down his funds due to the construction issues of the Lamma Island power plant. However, in the long run, it will greatly enhance his influence in Hong Kong.

Real estate is crucial to economic development, while electricity is crucial to people's livelihood. If we focus on both the economy and people's livelihood, then even if the new government dislikes him, it will have no choice but to feign compliance with him.

However, Wang Yaotang certainly wouldn't let him have his way.

"What did that guy say?" A-Jie asked impatiently as soon as he got back.

"What else can I say? They're trying to get me to cooperate. Why would I cooperate with them if I can keep everything to myself?" Wang Yaotang chuckled.

"Now what?"

“As Ah Ji said, if you can’t solve the problem, then solve the person who created it.” Wang Yaotang pointed at Ah Ji.

"When did I say that?" Aji stared wide-eyed.

"Wow, Ah-Ji is so ruthless!"

"What a bloodthirsty nature!"

“I didn’t say that!” Aji said speechlessly. “Are you crazy? You’re kidding. That bastard Li Xiangjiao now goes out with at least a lead car and a rear car. The cars are bulletproof, and he always has about 10 security guards around him. Some of them have applied for gun licenses. He doesn’t appear in public places at all. There’s no way he can disappear silently.”

"To take him down, we'd have to deploy an elite squad, use a lot of automatic weapons and explosives, and make such a big commotion that everyone would know it was us. Yao's reputation is already bad enough; if we pull this stunt, he'll really become the target of everyone's ire."

"Look at you, you've even made a plan, and you still say you never said it!" Wang Yaotang pointed at Aji and said loudly.

Aji: "..."

Then came incomprehensible phrases like "as everyone knows," "routine plan," and "training program," filling the restaurant with a cheerful atmosphere.

After chatting and laughing for a while, the conversation turned to other wealthy people. They used to travel by bicycle without any bodyguards, but now they've all started to show off their wealth.

"Damn it, people's hearts are not what they used to be! How come the atmosphere in Hong Kong is getting worse and worse!" Wang Yaotang complained with a frustrated expression. "Can't people still have any trust in each other?!"

The brothers all looked over, their eyes filled with disdain. "Don't you know why you're so bad?"
Li Xiangjiao used to be such a low-key person, but he was forced by certain people to become cautious, making it impossible to take him down quietly now.

"Why are you all looking at me? Is the world ruined by me alone? I don't have that much influence!" Wang Yaotang said loudly.

"You know you're corrupting the world, don't you..."

“Let’s change the subject!” Wang Yaotang waved his hand. “If we can’t really kill him, can’t we at least scare him? I don’t believe that someone like Li Xiangjiao, who has no faith, isn’t afraid.”

Of course, some preparations are still needed.

"What do you need in a bit?" the bespectacled man asked as they finished eating.

"If you don't have to bother me, then don't bother me. I have meetings every single day lately." Wang Yaotang rubbed his hair in frustration. "I'm going to the Public Works Department in a bit to discuss the feasibility study for the East District undersea tunnel construction project."

"What does this research have to do with you?" A-Jie asked, puzzled.

"Without my support, how can they build anything—earthwork, sand, and stone? Just one mine like Anderson's is not enough. I control 70% of the sand and stone building materials market. Without my approval, no project in Hong Kong can be built!" Wang Yaotang leaned back in his chair, looking like he was trying to bribe me.

"What kind of seminar is this? It's just a spoils-dividing party!" A-Jie complained.

"How can giving us benefits be called sharing the spoils?"

"Haha, that's definitely not called that."

"Besides the undersea tunnel, there is also a recent seminar on the construction of a new subway line, and in a few days there will be a seminar on the reclamation project of Chek Lap Kok Airport on Lantau Island, followed by a seminar on the reclamation construction of Kwai Chung Pier No. 6. There will be meetings every day for some time to come."

"What is influence? This is influence. If you don't give me a share, you can forget about getting any projects!" Wang Yaotang chuckled.

"What benefits do they want?" The four-eyed guy frowned. "They're all in real estate. They'll make a fortune building houses and selling them near the tunnel exit and subway station. But we don't do real estate."

"Damn, real estate is so lucrative!" Awei cursed enviously and jealously.

"That's right. Ordinary people have no way of knowing this kind of information, but these real estate developers know it early on and can easily make several times their money by acquiring a piece of land."

"Those financial companies must know that these big projects will definitely need to be financed through them. They've already positioned themselves in related real estate, construction, steel, and machinery stocks. Once the news is announced, a little speculation will cause the stocks to surge. Then they'll sell at the peak and reap another wave of profits." The bespectacled guy's eyes were red with envy. He had recently made over 20 billion in cash through Hong Kong mining, and now everyone understood how these financial companies operated.

The richer you are, the easier it is to make money; the poorer you are, the greater the information asymmetry, and the more likely you are to remain poor.

The little money you earn from working is gradually taken away by those in real estate and finance, which is frustrating to think about.

Hard work leads to wealth?

Capable, the more you do, the more you earn.

Diligent, the more diligent, the more laborious.

A working person will always be a working person; there's no way they can turn their life around.

Wang Yaotang coughed lightly and tapped the table. "Hey, hey, hey, we all climbed up from the bottom. Who says we don't have a chance to turn things around? Don't be so absolute. All those old brothers who followed us are now small-time tycoons."

Of course, the prerequisite is that you have to travel through time and be reborn...

After exchanging a few jokes, they changed the subject, and Ah Jie asked, "Can't we send someone else?"

"Why don't you go and argue with Li Xiangjiao, Li Zhaoji, Old Man Zheng, Old Man Bao, and the Guo brothers, those ten richest men, over profits?" Wang Yaotang tilted his head and smiled. "Oh right, there are also Japanese companies and British companies involved."

"The Lantau Airport SkySea project is even more impressive. My hometown is one of the main developers. Do you dare to compete with them?"

"Um, my wife is about to give birth, I have to go." Ah Jie got up and left.

"Tch!" Wang Yaotang raised his middle finger.

……

There's no rush to intimidate Li Xiangjiao; we need to let Jardine Matheson handle the negotiations. Once things are mostly settled and the transfer price is agreed upon, Wang Yaotang can reap the rewards. During this period, Wang Yaotang has been traveling back and forth between several seminars.

In reality, it's still the same people who hold these meetings. The Hong Kong British government knew this, which is why they brought all these seminars together. After all, it's difficult to satisfy everyone on a single project, and only by having more projects can everyone get a share of the profits.

After much back and forth, time flew by and it was now 1985...

Wang Yaotang's fifth child has been born, not including the fact that three more women are pregnant.

Live! Live fiercely!
“Then it’s settled. I’ll take Kwai Chung Container Terminal 6.” Wang Yaotang’s gaze swept over the faces of Mr. Bao, who owns Hyundai Container Terminals under Wharf Holdings, and Mr. Li Xiangjiao, who owns Hutchison Whampoa International Container Terminals, before finally settling on the face of the Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong.

The group nodded slightly.

Other developments, including land along subway lines, shopping malls, plots of land on both sides of tunnel exits, airport hotels, shopping malls, and logistics terminals, were divided up by several major real estate developers. Construction companies and machinery companies took the profits from engineering construction, while financial companies, in addition to providing loan financing services, could also make a fortune in the stock market.

Hong Kong's working class has secured job opportunities.

Everyone has a bright future!

Of course, projects won't be launched all at once. It's not that there's a lack of funds or workers, but rather that launching projects simultaneously would result in serious waste of resources and would not maximize profits. For the Hong Kong government and the Chinese community, launching projects simultaneously would certainly boost the economy in the short term, but after completion, economic activity and unemployment would both surge.

Implementing projects in batches is best for everyone.

……

“谈的差不多了。”奥克利在电话里低声说道：“和记黄埔以每股7.1港币的价格收购置地公司持有的46800万股港灯非流通股，11300万股流通股，总计41亿2000万！”

"Holy crap, the price went up again? Damn it, so we actually made a profit when we agreed to 38 billion?" Awei said speechlessly.

Oakley chuckled and said, "Indeed, Li Xiangjiao is terrified of Mr. Wang." "Tsk tsk, he's fucking rich."

"It's just HSBC financing."

"Okay, I see."

After hanging up the phone, Awei spread his hands at Wang Yaotang, "We lost out!"

Wang Yaotang pursed his lips. "No, am I fucking that scary?"

"He spent at least 5 million more just to fight me. Did I kill his whole family or fuck his mother?" Wang Yaotang gritted his teeth. "If he has so much money, he can just give it to me!"

He remembered that there were definitely not this many in the original historical trajectory.

Normally, on January 22, 1985, Hutchison Whampoa Limited used HK$29.03 billion in cash to acquire 450 million shares of HK Electric held by Hongkong Land, at a price of HK$6.4 per share, holding 34.6% of HK Electric's shares and becoming its largest shareholder.

Jardine Matheson still held some shares in Hong Kong Electric as a minority shareholder, but now Li Xiangjiao is afraid that Wang Yaotang will forcefully intervene, so he has no choice but to acquire them all.

With the sacrifice of the entire Kadoorie family, God blessed the power sector with a promising outlook, and Jardine Matheson held a larger stake, resulting in a significant increase in the overall acquisition price.

After hurling a few curses, Wang Yaotang proceeded with the arrangements.

That night...

A small Antelope took off from the deck of the Hing Yip, which was parked in the open sea, flew low over Lamma Island, entered Deep Water Bay, and hovered over Deep Water Bay Road 79.

The pilot pressed the hoisting latch switch, and a dark, round object 'whooshed' down.

"Boom!"

In the middle of the night, a loud noise suddenly came from the courtyard, and the villa seemed to tremble. Li Xiangjiao was so frightened that she sat up abruptly from the bed, her face pale, her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest, and her forehead was covered in sweat.

Listening closely, there were no gunshots, and a huge weight was lifted from my heart. A few days ago, Wang Yaotang's gaze at me during the discussion was very strange, and his words were veiled threats. Considering that I had taken Hong Kong Electric from him, I didn't expect this guy to go crazy again, so I finally agreed to give up Kwai Chung Pier No. 6.

otherwise……

Just as I was thinking, "Ah!!"

A servant's scream from inside the courtyard startled Li Xiangjiao again. Ignoring his wife's incessant chatter, Li Xiangjiao jumped out of bed and went outside.

"what happened!"

"Yes, outside, sir, outside, there are, there are..."

"What is it that's causing this stammering?" Li Xiangjiao's heart also tightened, because the Filipino head maid's face was too pale.

"bomb!"

"What!" Li Xiangjiao's voice changed in shock.

The lights in the yard were turned on at this moment. The maids, driver, and bodyguards of the house were all hiding inside the villa. Li Xiangjiao hurriedly walked to the window and glanced out. A green, cylindrical object with a pointed tip and tail fins was stuck in the lawn of the garden.

Li Xiangjiao felt her heart stop beating completely, her body went limp, and she stumbled, only to be caught by the bodyguard beside her. Two more gasps came from behind her, and she knew without turning around that it was her son.

Clutching her chest, Li Xiangjiao, supported by her bodyguard, immediately moved away from the window to the other side, trying to stay as far away from the huge bomb as possible.

After calming down for a while, Li Xiangjiao looked at the bodyguard and asked, "Is it real or fake?"

"It really is an aerial bomb!" The bodyguard was quite knowledgeable about these things.

"What, what..." Li Xiangjiao gasped for breath, "Why didn't it explode? Could it be fake? Just a scare tactic?"

"It wasn't uncommon for aerial bombs to land without exploding during World War II." The bodyguard didn't explain the reason, "I suggested getting away and immediately calling the police to handle it. No one can explode; it won't suddenly explode."

"Yes, yes, call the police immediately."

"Call the police!"

"Call the police!"

Li Xiangjiao and his two sons immediately shouted.

"Sir, please take shelter in the basement for the time being."

"Good good."

Police Headquarters, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Division.

"What?! Are you kidding me? How could there be an aerial bomb?! Are you sure you're talking about an aerial bomb?!" The duty superintendent of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Division jumped up from his chair in shock.

"You're not kidding? At Li Xiangjiao's house? Someone threw it 10 minutes ago?"

"I fucking..." The superintendent felt a chill run down his spine.

Yes, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Division deals with these kinds of things, but isn't using aerial bombs a bit too much?

What merit or ability do I possess!

The call ended, but despite their reluctance, they still had to go on the call. The team arrived at Deep Water Bay fifteen minutes later. Looking at the aerial bombs stuck in the lawn, everyone in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit hesitated, finding it hard to move their legs.

The story of bomb disposal experts never came to fruition. A bunch of third-class citizens in a colony, where would they get so much noble sentiment?
In Hong Kong movies of the 80s, whenever a superior gave an order, the reality was that everyone else would step back instead of stepping forward...

Whoever the superintendent looked at had to lower their head and back away.

This isn't some homemade explosive or detonator where wearing a bomb suit would likely prevent any damage. This is an aerial bomb; if it explodes, it's a nightmare to expect it to shatter into pieces.

"Boss, we can't handle this thing. This bomb is thicker than a person and weighs at least several hundred pounds."

"Yes, it's so heavy, we can't possibly go in and carry it."

"It's not that we're afraid, it's that it's beyond our capabilities."

"It needs to be lifted by an engineering vehicle."

"Yes, yes, let's find a construction team."

The superintendent's eyes lit up, and he immediately reported to his superiors, as he didn't want to get involved in this mess.

Headquarters contacted a crane again. The engineering company was willing to rent the machinery, and they could get reimbursed by the police if there was an accident, but the driver refused!
You expect me to work my life away for a few thousand yuan a month?

Add money?

Even offering more money won't work!
The bomb falling on Li Xiangjiao's house in the middle of the night is hardly a coincidence. People are willing to kill Li Xiangjiao's entire family. They have the life to make money but not the life to spend it.

After several hours of frantic activity, it was already dawn and the bomb was still stuck in the grass. Li Xiangjiao was extremely anxious, his eyes were bloodshot, but if he wanted to leave, he would have to pass by the bomb, and he was terrified!
The police were helpless, and in the end, Li Xiangjiao found a novice with no ties in Cheung Shing Building to drive a crane up. Even after it was lifted up, they couldn't be sure if the thing would explode, but in any case, it gave Li Xiangjiao and his family a chance to escape.

No one can stay at 79 Deep Water Bay anymore!

"brute!"

"Damn it!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"frenzied!"

"You motherfucker!"

"I'll never let you get away with this!" Li Xiangjiao started cursing as soon as she got in the car.

Wang Yaotang is trying to kill his whole family! What kind of composure is he trying to maintain?

As long as this kind of madman is in Hong Kong's business community, wouldn't everyone in Hong Kong be living in fear?
Once he was safe, Li Xiangjiao immediately called prominent Hong Kong families such as Huo, Bao, He, the Li family, and the Guo family. He had to expose Wang Yaotang's atrocities to the public and get everyone to condemn this madman!
"Misunderstanding! How could it be a misunderstanding? Who else in Hong Kong besides Wang Yaotang would do such a thing? Everyone wants to acquire Hong Kong Electric based on their own resources. He threatened to kill my whole family because he couldn't compete with us commercially. Can you guarantee that he will never compete with you in this lifetime? What will you do then?"

"Willing to retreat and hand over all the property!"

"Just wait for him to kill your whole family!" Li Xiangjiao accused tearfully. "Think of Lü Zhihe, think of Kadoorie!"

"Before Wang Yaotang, which big shot in Hong Kong had ever been killed?"

"Think about how many important figures in Hong Kong have died tragically in recent years!"

“I suspect that Wang Yaotang killed Shen Bi. Over the years, Shen Bi has made countless connections and has never had any serious conflicts with anyone. Who would target a professional manager like him? Only Wang Yaotang!”

"As long as Wang Yaotang lives, Hong Kong's business community will never have peace!"

"What's the difference between this kind of robbery and ***? They're birds of a feather!"

"Gentlemen, we can't let this go on any longer!"

These words were well-reasoned and supported by evidence. Everyone put themselves in the other person's shoes, and their brows furrowed in dismay.

After a long pause, just as someone was about to say something, Old Huo spoke up first: "If you don't want to make a decision in a hurry, ask him. It won't take much time. Let's see what he has to say."

Li Xiangjiao's lips trembled, and a flash of resentment crossed her eyes as she looked at Old Master Huo! (End of Chapter)