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

Wang Yaotang had high expectations for Zhang Qifu's treasury.

In 1987, Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug lord and head of the Medellín Cartel, who monopolized 80% of the world's cocoa, made his first appearance on Forbes, with the magazine estimating his wealth at the time to be over $10 billion.

For the next seven years, Pablo appeared on the Forbes list until his death in 1993. During that time, Forbes estimated his net worth at $30 billion, ranking him seventh in the world.

Wang Yaotang didn't know if this valuation was inflated, since he wasn't familiar with the company, but Zhang Qifu, who also monopolized 85% of the global market for No. 4, couldn't be too stingy, could he?
Wang Yaotang felt that the figure of 300 billion was a bit exaggerated. After all, the Medellín Group was only the producer, and the goods still had to be distributed to the United States through the Guadalajara Cartel in Mexico. The three parties that split up after the dissolution of the Cartel in 89—Sinaloa, Juárez, and Tijuana—had even bigger appetites, not to mention that the CIA also wanted a share...

Even if you squeeze out 90% of the excess, it's still $30 billion!

As a super drug lord of the same level as you, Zhang Qifu, you are not exploited by the CIA. Surely you don't even have this much wealth!
Wearing noise-canceling headphones, watching the reinforced concrete of the cold storage warehouse crumble bit by bit, Wang Yaotang was overwhelmed with emotion. He couldn't help but clasp his hands together and pray, "Jade Emperor, Queen Mother of the West, Buddha, please protect Zhang Qifu's assets, may they all remain here..."

On second thought, since Southeast Asia was the territory of the Buddha, Wang Yaotang began to focus on Amitabha Buddha.

This scene left Chen Yuanchao and the others standing nearby both amused and exasperated.

"Bang", "Bang", "Bang", "Bang"

"Ahhh..." A cheer rang out as the concrete wall was finally breached. Wang Yaotang's heart was in his throat. He quickly turned his head and saw that it was just a gap the size of a human head.

"Boss, this is where it gets simple." The person in charge of the excavation said quickly, "After drilling ten or eight more holes for blasting and inserting detonators, the opening will be wide enough for people to pass through."

"Won't it blow up the things inside?"

"Don't worry, it definitely won't happen!" This was the blasting expert who flew in overnight from the Shek O mine in Hong Kong.

"Alright!" Wang Yaotang led his men out. He didn't have to wait long. They heard several "boom" sounds, but they didn't feel the ground shake. Obviously, the explosions weren't very powerful.

Going down to the underground parking garage again, it was filled with gravel and dust, and the smell was quite pungent.

Once the dust settled, a large hole more than two meters in diameter was visible, with a large number of concrete blocks scattered around it.

However, it's still inaccessible; haphazardly laid steel bars block the way. The vault is pitch black, but when you shine a strong flashlight through it, you can see stacks of neatly arranged cubes wrapped in plastic wrap.

This scene made everyone who witnessed it gasp in shock, followed by a collective gasp of astonishment. They had inhaled all the smoke and dust from the scene...

The flashlights continued to shine everywhere. There were many of these neatly stacked "money" mountains, and there was no time to count them all. Everyone's attention was drawn to a pile of golden things, which were pyramids made of gold bars!

A true pyramid!

"Holy shit!" Wang Yaotang cursed instinctively.

Despite being mentally prepared, Wang Yaotang's heart still raced at the sight. However, upon hearing the gasps behind him, he quickly calmed down, turned around, and kicked Chen Yuanchao and Hai Dazhao once each. He then glanced around with disdain and said with some contempt, "Look at how pathetic you are. I'll make you count all this money later."

We already saw 200 billion in cash from selling logs before, so this is just a drop in the ocean!
Of course, even a light drizzle feels different when it's all your own.

"Hehehe, go ahead and count it. I'm perfectly fine living with money."

"Yeah……"

"Heh." Wang Yaotang sneered, "You're talking big to me now, but you'll be sick of seeing US dollars! Don't beg me to let you leave later."

"Alright, get to work!"

Acetylene cutting was brought in, and the scattered concrete blocks also needed to be cleaned up to facilitate subsequent vehicle access and handling.

It took more than half an hour to completely fix it. Fortunately, the circuitry inside the vault hadn't been damaged. Wang Yaotang was the first to go in, found the switch, and turned on the light. At that moment, Wang Yaotang couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!"

Whether it was designed by Zhang Qifu or not, the lights inside the vault first illuminate the dome from all four sides. The dome is inlaid with various gemstones to create a celestial constellation map. Each constellation is made of the same type of gemstone. At first glance, it really gives you the feeling of looking up at the starry sky in a dazzling and colorful way.

The walls of the vault were covered with top-quality tapestries. Wang Yaotang went up and touched them. He wasn't particularly interested in such luxury goods and couldn't tell where they came from for a moment, but the feel of them and the unique design of the entire wall told him that they were definitely custom-made and incredibly expensive!

It costs more than $20000 per square meter, and the larger the size, the more expensive it is.

I glanced at the hole in the wall; the damaged tapestry was worth at least a million dollars.

He stomped his foot. The ground was also covered with a huge carpet, many areas shrouded in mountains of money. It wasn't hard to tell this was a Buddhist carpet, a custom-made one.
Wang Yaotang licked his lips. This treasure trove, the interior renovation alone might cost tens of millions of US dollars…

What the hell do you mean by luxury?!

But thinking about it, it makes sense. They made so much money by selling their souls, but in the end, they can only live in remote mountain villages and have to make up for it in these places.

Very nice, very luxurious, but now it's mine!

Thinking of this, Wang Yaotang couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He chuckled twice, but no one echoed his laughter. He then realized that the group that had followed him in were all staring blankly at the 'mountain of money' and 'mountain of gold,' as if their breaths had stopped.

Wang Yaotang ignored them, raised his hand and counted: there were 26 "Mountains of Money" in total. If they were all made of 100-yuan bills, that would be 26 billion US dollars!
A mountain of gold, its exact weight unknown, magnificent and dazzling, but Wang Yaotang estimated it probably wasn't much, maybe a ton or two at most, and its value was less than a fraction of these US dollars.

After doing the math, Wang Yaotang frowned slightly. The total value was less than 30 billion US dollars?
They controlled the Golden Triangle for decades, and this is all the wealth they have!
Damn it, you piece of trash!

It's not a pity to die!

"Don't fucking stand there!" Wang Yaotang went up and beat everyone awake.

"Boss, this, this, so much money..." Chen Yuanchao asked somewhat haltingly, "Does this money need to be handed over?"

"To hand over?" Wang Yaotang asked with a hint of mockery, "To whom?"

“Give it to the country… uh…” Chen Yuanchao stopped mid-sentence.

"Should we hand it over to Burma or Siam?" Wang Yaotang asked, amused.

"That's definitely not going to work!" Chen Yuanchao shook his head vigorously, and Hai Dazhao and the others also shouted no.

Wang Yaotang said in a serious tone: "Those drugs were sold all over the world, to the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia, poisoning people all over the world. They were all ill-gotten gains. Myanmar and Siam couldn't control them, so I did it for them!"

This is what I said...

It received unanimous approval!
The main credit for Zhang Qifu's defeat went to Wang Yaotang, so of course he deserved the lion's share!
The New Myanmar Workers Association was established under the strong impetus of Wang Yaotang.

Luo and Bao's equipment was provided by Wang Yaotang.

The battle plan was formulated by Wang Yaotang.

Wang Yaotang facilitated the cooperation from neighboring countries.

Zhang Qifu's two core cities were both captured by Wang Yaotang.

The Myanmar government, aside from nodding in agreement, did nothing and instead enjoyed the benefits of eliminating the largest armed group within its borders.

Aside from cheering and shouting slogans, Siam only provided some logistical support. With Zhang Qifu's death, the destruction of the Golden Triangle began its countdown, eliminating the biggest scourge in the northwest and fundamentally improving the security environment within Siam.

These benefits are enough; asking for more would be asking for more.

Of course, that's the reality, but once the money is inside their territory, they definitely won't let it go, so...

"Lock down the entire White House, not even a rat is allowed to get in or out!"

"Block out the surrounding areas, with a focus on defending the Mae Hong Son province of Siam," Wang Yaotang ordered loudly.

"Yes!"

"The road leading to Homon in front of the White House is well-maintained, sturdy, and fairly straight. Drive all the prisoners over here, give them tools, cut down the trees on both sides of the road, and have Ye Fengsong Prefecture transport some markers for a temporary airport. We'll use this road to build a temporary airport."

As Wang Yaotang walked out, he had someone bring him a satellite phone to call Hong Kong directly, instructing Four-Eyes to immediately charter a transport plane from Cathay Pacific.

Now that I own a bank, I can ship all these dollars and gold back home, and my overseas trust business will flourish immediately!

As for the source of the huge sum of money... ha, those who shouldn't know have no right to interfere, and those who have the right to interfere can't.

The spoils I seized from Burmese drug traffickers, and Burma hasn't said a word about them. What business is it of the Hong Kong British government?

Not a single penny of tax will be paid; there are no relevant provisions in the Hong Kong British tax law. Myanmar will certainly speak up, and the Soviet Union definitely wants to recover this money, but… go talk to my aircraft carrier fleet!
After giving the orders, Wang Yaotang relaxed and prepared to take a good look around his 'White House'. To be honest, the decoration far surpassed his Deep Water Bay mansion, and even Pattaya and Phuket couldn't compare.

"Oh, by the way, be careful not to damage the walls and carpets in the treasure vault downstairs. Those things are very expensive; I estimate they're worth at least several million," Wang Yaotang suddenly remembered and said.

"How much?" Hai Dazhao's tone changed completely.

"US dollars!" Wang Yaotang emphasized.

"Fuck, are you crazy?"

"Hehehe, Zhang Qifu's money doesn't grow on trees, does it? How else can he spend it?" Wang Yaotang joked.

"By the way, what happened to Zhang Qifu?" Hai Dazhao asked curiously.

"I don't care, just leave it to the new Myanmar industry. Let them make a name for themselves on the international stage and use the politically correct anti-drug slogan to gain a lot of prestige. But Su Mao will be cursing. For the military government, it's better for Zhang Qifu, this drug trafficker, to continue to exist. Whether he's a drug addict or not, what does it have to do with the Myanmar military government? On the contrary, they're making a lot of US dollars from all over the world."

Wang Yaotang said with a mocking expression, "It's hard to say whether Myanmar's foreign exchange reserves are even one-tenth of what Zhang Qifu has."

"Definitely not, even the national treasury reserves back home weren't this much before."

Of course, that was before the logs were purchased.

Wang Yaotang did not leave Hemeng. With $26 billion in cash, such a large sum of money that almost doubled his personal assets, he would definitely want to see it all transported back before he felt at ease.

The four-eyed guy acted quickly; the next morning, a Cathay Pacific transport plane landed on the road in front of the White House.

Wang Yaotang was on tenterhooks during the landing. Luckily, he was a pilot who flew Kai Tak Airport, one of the world's most dangerous airports, year after year. Someone else might not have been able to land safely. After all, it was just an ordinary cement road, which did not meet the requirements of an airport runway at all. It would probably have been scrapped after only a few takeoffs and landings.

The hatch opened, and Four-Eyes, Jack, and Wei followed. They were very excited when they heard about the $26 billion in cash; they had never seen so much money before.

Ah Jie, who was based in Siam, had been there even longer. As soon as the three brothers arrived, he rushed over, shouting, "Come on, come on, I'll take you there! Damn it, you've never seen anything like a gold mine before, it's fucking outrageous!"

"That bastard Zhang Qifu knows how to enjoy himself to the fullest."

Wang Yaotang said with a smile, "Ah Jie, if I were you, I would pretend to be nonchalant and wait until they are staring at Jinshan in disbelief before casually mocking them for being ignorant."

Ah Jie was stunned for a moment, then realized what he had done and slapped his thigh hard. Damn it, how could he not have thought of that? He missed such a good opportunity to show off. What a loss!

The brothers chatted and laughed as they went to the treasure vault. Looking at the mountains of money and the pyramids of gold bars, they were still incredibly excited, even though they had mentally prepared themselves beforehand!
Once I calmed down, I looked at the decoration of the treasure vault again and didn't think there was anything wrong with Zhang Qifu's decoration. After all, a treasure vault should be this luxurious!

For security reasons, not only did the three brothers accompany the plane, but Hai Dazhao also brought 10 fully armed men to protect them, in order to prevent any accidents from happening during the handover at Kai Tak Airport.

The overseas trust was only notified that a large sum of US dollars in cash would be shipped over, but the exact amount was unclear, only that it would exceed 100 million.

With all procedures finalized and the 5 tons of US dollars successfully loaded onto the plane, Wang Yaotang quietly told his brothers before leaving, "Remember that batch of US dollars we robbed from Standard Chartered? We can take it out and mix it directly into this batch of US dollars."

"Huh? I had forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Damn, that's tens of millions!" Ah Jie said in a low voice.

“That batch of US dollars was stolen money,” the bespectacled man said, frowning.

"The way you're talking makes it sound like this batch of US dollars isn't stolen money," Wang Yaotang said with amusement.

"Uh……"

"Will there be any problems with its distribution?" the four-eyed man asked with some concern.

"Standard Chartered's money was stolen by robbers. The money was used by drug traffickers to buy No. 4 from Zhang Qifu. We were just eliminating the stolen money that Zhang Qifu had seized. It was the robbers who stole their money. What does it have to do with us!"

"Hiss...that makes sense." The four-eyed guy chuckled.

"This amount of money is too large. Will someone cause us trouble?" Aji asked in a low voice.

“Legally, only the local government has the right to handle this. If Su Mao is not satisfied, he can go to Hong Kong to find me.” Wang Yaotang grinned. “I will not pay attention to anyone, neither admit nor deny, and I will not take responsibility.”

“With such an astronomical sum of money, someone will inevitably be unable to resist reaching for it,” Aji shook his head.

"Don't worry, we've made a name for ourselves in this battle, and the situation is completely different now. There aren't many forces that can make us bow down today. As long as our hometown doesn't speak up, we don't need to fear any force. Anyone who dares to lay a hand on us will have their whole family turned into feed!" Wang Yaotang said casually.

"Okay, as long as you know it." Aji nodded.

"Don't worry." After making the arrangements, the group boarded the plane.

With this $26 billion, Wang Yaotang dares to make a $100 billion investment, and the future will immediately be on the fast track!

It took two days to send the $26 billion and more than 2 tons of gold back to their Hong Kong base. Originally, the Umbrella Corporation had successfully completed its mission, and Wang Yaotang should have gone back to Bangkok to say hello to his employer and hand over the spoils. However, having seized so much cash, he simply took the last flight and fled.

The handover can be left to Chen Yuanchao, since he was in charge of both engagements. Let him get the limelight.

Chen Yuanchao: Thank you so much!
On the other side, Luo Xinghan and Bao Youxiang finally accepted Zhang Qifu's surrender. After all, they had been dealing with each other for decades. Back in the day, they even had to "pay taxes" to Zhang Qifu when they were transporting goods. Now, seeing their old rival groveling and begging for mercy, they couldn't be happier.

For that reason alone, they wouldn't let Zhang Qifu die.

Wang Yaotang didn't bother with any of this, he just warned Zhang Qifu not to talk nonsense.

Making money by selling No. 4?

That's not true. The money has been invested in the construction of the Mong-Tai military. Whether you believe it or not, it doesn't matter.

Su Mao of Myanmar had been paying close attention to the situation here. Some of Zhang Qifu's men had fled into the mountains, while others had eventually surrendered to the military government. The news had spread, and Su Mao was immediately alarmed by the huge sum of money.

Wang Yaotang: I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush.

There's no use in rushing!

The Siamese side received the news a little late. Chachai Chunhawang scolded Wang Yaotang for a while. No wonder he ran away after the matter was over. It turned out that he had obtained such a large sum of money!

They even said they lost 1500 million, damn it, what a profiteer!

He guessed that Wang Yaotang already knew that Zhang Qifu had a huge amount of cash, which was why he was so proactive.

Wang Yaotang: Can't I simply make a contribution to the cause of drug control?
However, Chatchai Chunhawang only cursed for a while and did not have any other thoughts. From any point of view, Siam was not entitled to that money, so he refused to even meet with the man surnamed Wang. He was really petty!

The people back home received the news last and were the most shocked. They never imagined that a mere drug dealer could amass such a massive amount of money; it was simply outrageous.

What shocked his hometown even more was the way the Umbrella Corporation operated during this conflict. It was entirely dominated by the air force, with the army playing a completely secondary role. This was completely different from past war experience. The higher-ups took it very seriously and even contacted Wang Yaotang to send Chen Yuanchao, who was in command, and the flight squadron leader back home.

Chen Yuanchao didn't have much to say. His operational strategy was given by Wang Yaotang, and it implemented the concepts of "surprise attack," "cutting off communications," and "saturation bombing." He didn't expect it to be so effective.

Wang Yaotang also went north once for this purpose. He couldn't say that he drew inspiration from the future US military's "Desert Storm" program; he could only say that it was designed to address the weak air defense capabilities and serious lack of preparation of these small and medium-sized countries and armed forces.

However, I also imagined the future battlefield where the air force would carry out long-range precision strikes, first destroying enemy electronic facilities such as radar, and then carrying out saturation bombing of high-value targets such as military facilities, power plants, and factories. This does not necessarily have to be the air force; missiles and rockets can also be used. The high mobility of the air force would leave the enemy at a loss, making it impossible for them to focus their defenses.

This operational concept has been conceived by many, but it has remained at the level of simulation without any factual basis, thus failing to form a feasible theoretical framework.

War is not child's play; it cannot be decided on a whim.

Wang Yaotang: I feel like you're mocking me!

The text praised Wang Yaotang highly, practically calling him a military genius whose talents were wasted on business. It claimed that with this practical experience, the theory could be studied in depth.

After all, the world is a huge makeshift organization, and Zhang Qifu is not weak; most countries in the world are not much stronger than him.

By the time everything was finished, it was already June. The Zhang Qifu incident had also passed, and Wang Yaotang finally had time to take care of the businesses under his control.

"It's a complete waste to keep all this gold in a vault. Let's build a gold mine and show the people of Hong Kong what gold is like!"

Li Menghui: "Huh?!"

……

P.S.: Zhang Qifu's father is from Shandong, and his mother is from Myanmar. (End of Chapter)