Hong Kong Tycoon: Starting from Delivering Dongfeng Express

Chapter 141 Gao Jin
Kwai Tsing, the dock.

Han Bin, the leader of the Kwai Tsing branch, one of the twelve branches of the Hung Hing Society, was now enthusiastically introducing the large boat on the water like a salesman:
"This Haiyan-M type hydrofoil boat is 32.85 meters long, 8.1 meters wide, and 5.2 meters in diameter. It is equipped with two five-bladed low-excitation propellers. When the wing mode is activated, the maximum speed can reach 80 kilometers per hour and the range is 350 kilometers!"

"Mr. Ye, this ship can be used for both cargo and passengers, and it's much faster than ordinary ships, with guaranteed safety. It absolutely meets your requirements!"

Ye Dongsheng looked at the Haiyan-M type hydrofoil in front of him and had some impression of it. This thing was an improved model of the "Meteor" series hydrofoil developed by the Alekseev Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau of the Soviet Union, mainly used for inland waterway and coastal transportation.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of the Haiyan-M type hydrofoils were brought to China and used as a means of rapid transportation on the Yangtze River and other waterways. They enjoyed great popularity for more than a decade, but gradually withdrew from the market due to competition from high-speed rail and highways.

Ye Dongsheng asked, "Is there anything wrong with this ship?"

"No problem! Absolutely no problem! Soviet industrial technology is absolutely reliable!" Han Bin assured, patting his chest.

Ye Dongsheng smiled and said, "Really? I heard that this ship has been in your hands for several months and you haven't been able to sell it?"

"Mr. Ye, that's because others don't know its value. It's only because someone like you knows its value that I'm willing to sell it to you!"

Ye Dongsheng glanced at Han Bin, who was making a firm promise; this guy really did have some ability.

Han Bin, nicknamed "Binny Tiger," was never high-profile within Hung Hing, but he was actually quite powerful. He used to be with another triad, Hop To, before switching sides to Hung Hing. For years, he had been working diligently in international trade, essentially smuggling.

However, this guy's smuggling operations are not limited to the mainland; they extend to Southeast Asia, as far as South America and Russia. In terms of sheer strength, even Jiang Tiansheng has to be wary of him.

Hung Hing's Thirteen Sister is a member of Han Bin's gang, and Han Bin always helps her out of danger.

Ye Dongsheng came to see him this time because he heard that Han Bin had a speedboat that he had acquired from the Russians.

He bought the boat, of course, to facilitate navigation between Chaoshan and Hong Kong Island.

Initially, his idea was that if it was for transporting express packages, a few large aircraft would suffice.

"Big Flying Boat" is a common maritime transport tool used by smugglers. It is a large motorboat that has been modified with a motor. Because it looks like it is flying close to the sea surface when it is traveling at high speed at sea, it is commonly known as "Big Flying Boat".

Each smuggling vessel is typically equipped with 5 to 7 imported engines with 250 horsepower each, and can reach a top speed of over 120 kilometers per hour, which is far beyond the reach of the naval police vessels, making them highly sought after by smugglers.

But this thing doesn't allow it!

Ye Dongsheng's shipping route was leased from Baojia Shipping Company, which is equivalent to being affiliated with them. Both Baojia and Shantou Port have requirements for ships, and the modified speedboats like Dafei do not meet the requirements at all!
Whether it's for safety or other aspects, they have requirements. Driving a modified speedboat simply doesn't meet the navigation standards of the route!

Therefore, large aircraft are best used for smuggling; they are not really needed for legitimate transportation businesses.

Normally, it would be most convenient for Dongfeng Express to directly charter ships from shipping companies for transportation, as they could use them immediately.

However, the Bao family's ships did not meet Ye Dongsheng's requirements at all. Firstly, they were too large; secondly, they were too slow; and thirdly, they were too expensive.

International shipping giants like Baojia operate container tankers, which are often tens of thousands of tons in size. Dongfeng Express simply cannot afford such ships at present!
Therefore, Ye Dongsheng can only purchase a ship that meets the requirements himself, preferably one that is already in stock, since ordering one would take several months.

The Haiyan-M type hydrofoil in front of him certainly met his requirements. First of all, it was fast enough to make three round trips between Chaoshan and Hong Kong Island a day, which fully met his timeliness requirements!
Moreover, its size is not very large, at most medium, but it meets the requirements of shipping companies and ports!

Of course, using a 30-meter-long boat for express delivery is a waste, so Ye Dongsheng plans to expand his transportation business further. He'll haul cargo along with each express delivery trip!

As for customers? He's not worried about it at all!
Other companies have to visit each business individually to find orders, but Dongfeng Express doesn't need to!
Those Hong Kong businessmen who invest in the mainland, don't they still have to bring the goods they produce back to Hong Kong Island?

Therefore, Dongfeng Express's customers are the best source of customers. By simply placing their transportation business at their doorstep, they will naturally receive transportation orders!
As for why the Bao family doesn't do this? Because their scale is too small!
For example, goods from the Chaoshan region might take a week to accumulate and still not fill a fraction of the capacity of their large ships. Moreover, they don't like small businesses piecing together small orders; they prefer to take orders from large clients. Therefore, Bao's ships only ship once every two weeks.

Dongfeng Express is different; it runs back and forth every day, which can fully meet the transportation needs of small and medium-sized businesses that can't wait!
Ye Dongsheng didn't expect to make much money from the shipping orders, but he hoped to at least make back the shipping and fuel costs!
As for passenger transport, he doesn't have the qualifications right now. Passenger transport has higher safety and other requirements than cargo transport. It would be good enough if he could just lease this route and do some cargo transport.

After listening to Han Bin's extensive introduction, Ye Dongsheng asked, "Mr. Han, how much do you want for this boat?"

Han Bin chuckled: "Mr. Ye, the official Soviet price for this ship is 300 million rubles, and it's only sold to countries in their camp. Other countries can't buy it even if they want to! I had to go to great lengths to get it back from the Russians!"

Then Han Bin gave a thumbs up: "I won't take advantage of you either. 1 million rubles, according to the current official exchange rate, 100 ruble is worth 1.17 US dollars, which is 117 million US dollars!"

Ye Dongsheng smiled and nodded: "One million rubles? That's a good price!"

Upon hearing this, Han Bin was overjoyed. It seemed that he could finally sell the ship this time!
He got this ship from the Russians when he was smuggling goods. He had no choice but to bring it back, but he can't sell it at all!
This boat is in an awkward position. First of all, it can't go long distances. If it's used for short-distance smuggling, such as to the mainland, it's too big and not as agile as a small speedboat like Dafei. So, no smugglers would buy it.

Currently, shipping is in a downturn. Legitimate companies with shipping qualifications, such as the Tung family, are trying to reduce their burdens, so why would they buy his ships again?
As for selling it to rich kids to modify into yachts, it's not comfortable enough, and it's not cool enough. Rich kids buy yachts to show off, so why would they want this kind of thing?

So the ship had been brought back for several months and he couldn't sell it. He thought it was going to be stuck with him, but unexpectedly Ye Dongsheng came to his door. It seemed that he really intended to buy it!
But the next moment, Ye Dongsheng said:
"However, Mr. Han, your calculation is incorrect. As far as I know, the exchange rate between the ruble and the dollar on the Russian black market is 1 dollar to 5.8 rubles!"

Based on this calculation, 100 million rubles is equivalent to $17.2. Let's sign the contract at this price!

Han Bin opened his mouth, he didn't expect that Ye Dongsheng, who was in Hong Kong, would know the exchange rate on the Russian black market!
He immediately shook his head: "Mr. Ye, how can the black market exchange rate be accurate?! We should do business according to the official exchange rate!"

Ye Dongsheng scoffed, "Official exchange rate? Who still recognizes the Russian official exchange rate these days? Go ask the Russians themselves if they recognize it."

Han Bin exclaimed, "My ship is so big, it would cost more than $17 even if I sold it as junk!"

Ye Dongsheng shook his head and said, "Boss Han, if you really want to sell, just give me a fair price. You and I know the condition of this ship. If someone were really willing to buy it, you wouldn't have kept it in your hands for months!"

Han Bin's expression changed. He hadn't expected the other party to see through his predicament, and he was speechless for a moment.

Ye Dongsheng was not in a hurry and waited quietly.

At this moment, Thirteen Sister walked up and said with a smile, "Binny, we're all friends, it's okay to sell the boat cheaper, don't ruin our friendship!"

Han Bin glanced at Thirteen Sister and understood what she meant: it's better to sell it cheaper than to have it stuck with you!

Han Bin took out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked half of it before saying, "Since you were introduced by Thirteen Sister, Ye Sheng, then we'll do it your way, black market exchange rate! But it has to be calculated at 300 million rubles!"

300 million rubles, at a black market exchange rate of 5.8, is equivalent to $52, which is more than half the price of $117 million before!
Ye Dongsheng surveyed the Haiyan-M hydrofoil in front of him; the price of $52 was indeed much more reasonable than before. It had to be said that Russian products were indeed good quality and inexpensive. Ordering a similar-sized hydrofoil from the US or Europe would cost at least two million dollars! And it would take several months to arrive.

"Okay! $520,000, but I want to sign an installment plan. I'll pay $200,000 upfront, and if there are no problems with the boat in three months, I'll settle the balance! How about that?"

Upon hearing that he would only receive $20, Han Bin almost lost his temper, but Thirteen Sister quickly pulled him back with a smile:
"In business, installment contracts are normal! Mr. Ye has a very good reputation!"

Han Bin waved his hand: "I guess I'm just unlucky. I went through all that trouble to bring it back from the freezing cold of Russia, and it turned out to be a losing proposition!"

Ye Dongsheng laughed and said, "Mr. Han, you can't think like that. You were stuck with this ship, but now that I'm willing to buy it, you've made $52! You should be happy!"

Han Bin shook his head with a wry smile: "I'll never do business with the Russians again!"

Then he asked Ye Dongsheng, "Mr. Ye, what are you going to do with this boat?"

Ye Dongsheng smiled and said, "I drive Dongfeng Express, so of course I deliver packages!"

Han Bin opened his mouth, thinking to himself, "Such a big ship for delivering packages? What a waste! I wonder how much the fuel cost per trip!"
However, it was their business, and he couldn't say much. Besides, considering that they had secured the flight routes through the Bao family, Han Bin couldn't help but feel envious.

After all, someone like him, a member of a triad, wouldn't even have the connections to rent airline routes; there's no way anyone would rent them to him!
Once you join the underworld, you can no longer do many legitimate jobs!

Thirteen Sister, standing nearby, smiled at the two and said, "Congratulations to you both on the successful collaboration! You've both achieved your goals!"

"I must thank you, Sister Thirteen, for making this connection!"

Ye Dongsheng smiled. He was indeed indebted to the other party for being able to get the ship sorted out so quickly this time. Otherwise, it would have been a real hassle to have him reorder a new ship and wait for several months!

The group chatted and laughed as they walked back.

Suddenly, several people rushed out from the front. The one in the lead was soaking wet, with disheveled hair and bloodstains on his body. He staggered as he ran, followed by five or six fierce-looking men wielding knives and clubs in hot pursuit.
"Damn it, you dare to run away!"

"Catch this brat! He dares to bite me! I'll kill him!"

The man in front was clearly injured and looked exhausted. He tripped and fell to the ground. He was quickly caught up by the men behind him, who pinned him to the ground and started beating him.

"Run! Let's see where you can run to!" The men shouted as they punched and kicked him.

Seeing this, Ye Dongsheng and his group stopped in their tracks. Han Bin frowned and said, "Damn it, Zhang the Human Tooth, what the hell are you doing?"

One of them turned around and saw Han Bin, immediately bowing and smiling obsequiously, "Brother Bin, I'm so sorry! One of my men ran away, I'm sorry he caught your eye!"

Han Bin could be said to be the most powerful triad in Kwai Tsing District. No one dared to mess with him here, so the man quickly apologized.

Han Bin snorted coldly: "Get out of the way!"

"Yes, yes, yes! We'll go right away!" The man bowed as he urged them to hurry and lead the people away.

At this moment, Ye Dongsheng raised his hand: "Wait!"

Han Bin and Thirteen Sister both looked at Ye Dongsheng, wondering what he was going to do.

Ignoring their gazes, Ye Dongsheng stepped forward and looked at the man who had been beaten. His face seemed somewhat familiar, and he asked, "What's your name?"

Zhang, the human accomplice, quickly stepped in front of Ye Dongsheng and said with a smile, "Sir, this is my distant nephew. I'm so sorry he offended you! I'll take him away right away!"

"Stop right there! Who said you could leave!"

Han Bin also came up and then pushed him away.

"Brother Bin..."

"Shut up, you have no right to speak!"

As soon as Han Bin spoke, his underlings immediately subdued the men.

Han Bin explained to Ye Dongsheng, "Mr. Ye, this is a group that deals in human trafficking. Do you know this person?"

Ye Dongsheng replied ambiguously, "Perhaps."

Then he looked at the man lying on the ground, who was thin, unshaven, and whose disheveled hair covered most of his face.

"What's your name?" Ye Dongsheng asked again.

The young man on the ground struggled to lift his head, looking at Ye Dongsheng standing in front of him, and weakly said, "I... my name is Gao Jin..."

Upon hearing the name "Gao Jin," Ye Dongsheng couldn't help but smile, then said to Han Bin, "My friend~"

Zhang the human accomplice's expression immediately changed, but before he could speak, Han Bin waved his hand, and a group of his underlings pinned them to the ground and started beating them.

Gao Jin looked at the handsome young man in front of him and imprinted him firmly in his heart.

Although he didn't know him at all, and didn't know why he said he was his friend, he knew he had finally been saved from the hellhole!

PS: Han Bin: The Young and Dangerous series

Gao Jin: *SPL 2: A Time for Consequences*

(End of this chapter)