Era: Starting from divorce from female college student

Chapter 154, Suit Thug (asking for monthly ticket)
January 11, 1959, Sunday, Zhao Family Courtyard, near the Friendship Hotel, Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing.

It snowed again today, and the capital city was once again covered in silver, looking very romantic.

But all this romance has nothing to do with Lin Wan. She looks much more haggard now because she misses Zhao Mancang and is worried whether something has happened to him.

This week, the news from Li Baoguo and others that Zhao Mancang was buried alive by an avalanche has been bothering Lin Wan.

Although she went to find Xing Shuqi, the head of the steel plant, and asked him to help inquire about the specific situation of Zhao Mancang in Moscow at the I-shaped building on Ministry of Foreign Affairs Street.

Qi Zhengze, the office director, came to Lin Wan in person to inform her of the specific situation.

The story of being buried alive by an avalanche is completely false and does not exist at all. It is a rumor!

After listening to this, Lin Wan couldn't tell whether Director Qi Zhengze was comforting her or whether Zhao Mancang was really fine.

Even if Qi Zhengze is a higher-ranking leader, the credibility of his words should be very high.

But there is no smoke without fire. Who can guarantee that this is not true?
Lin Wan would never be able to feel truly at ease until she saw Zhao Mancang standing in front of her alive.

Moscow, that damn place, has really caused a lot of harm to people.

"No wonder Mancang was so reluctant to go before. If I had known earlier, I would have advised him not to go."

Lin Wan was lost in thought when her daughter, Lin Huijun, ran to her again, clutching her stomach and saying, "Mom, I'm hungry."

The little girl's face was also getting thinner day by day, not because of missing her, but because she was very hungry.

After Zhao Mancang left the capital, Lin Huijun no longer had a source of snacks, and she also had less meat in her daily meals, resulting in her malnourished.

Every day she takes Dahei and Xiaohei out to play and get as much exercise as possible. Even though it is the dead of winter now, they still run around every day and can't stay idle at all.

It is the period of growth, and if you are not getting enough nutrition, you will definitely become thinner easily.

When Zhao Mancang was still in the capital, she had enough food and drink every morning and evening except for the lunch, and she would go out to eat every few days.

She always orders meat when she eats out, so she's not a bad eater.

It’s not like now, where everything has to be saved. Alas, she really misses her father Zhao Mancang.

Upon hearing this, Lin Wan had no choice but to go to the basement to get some sweet potatoes for the little one and let her chew them slowly.

But just as Lin Huijun was eating the sweet potato, someone came to the door.

Big Black and Little Black barked twice and then stopped.

Lin Huijun, wearing a thick coat, ran towards the gate while chewing sweet potatoes.

The person who came was an old man. Lin Huijun had seen this man before. Her mother said that he was her father's biological father, but her father did not recognize him.

It’s a complicated relationship anyway!

Her father Zhao Mancang didn't allow her to call him grandpa, but her grandmother and her mother believed that children should be polite, so in the end she still called him grandpa.

"Hey, you're so sweet. Are you cold? Why are you eating sweet potatoes like this? Why don't you cook them first?"

Zhao Zhensheng said with concern.

Although Lin Huijun is not Zhao Mancang's biological daughter, nor even the biological daughter of his daughter-in-law Lin Wan, Zhao Zhensheng loves and cares for the little girl very much.

However, every time Zhao Zhensheng sent her cakes, snacks, meat, etc., Lin Wan would return them or send them to her next-door neighbors.

Out of politeness, Lin Wan just exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Zhao Zhensheng, thanked him for his kindness, and then ordered him to leave.

Lin Wan would definitely not be as blunt as Zhao Mancang and order the guest to leave. She asked the little brat Lin Huijun to wash the teapot and change the water.

The voice-over told Zhao Zhensheng to finish his sip of tea and stop chatting.

If you don’t have enough connections, don’t just make random attempts.

When he stood up, Zhao Zhensheng suddenly said:
"I asked my classmates and they said something must have happened to Mancang in Moscow. However, it's not entirely true. It's said that he escaped and might be back soon."

"When I came here just now, I found that some people had not left the door. I think they are probably waiting for Mancang to come back."

"Be careful when you go out next time. If anything happens, go to the Friendship Hotel next door and ask for help. Don't try to handle it on your own."

"If Mancang comes back, tell him to leave the capital as soon as possible. But he probably won't come back openly, so it's best not to get too excited, so as not to upset the baby in your belly."

Lin Wan is pregnant and the most taboo thing is to be too excited, which may cause unexpected conditions to the baby in her belly.

Hearing the other party say this, Lin Wan suddenly became excited, "Is what you said true?"

At this moment, she had forgotten about the order to expel her, and even hoped that Zhao Zhensheng could reveal more information.

After all, the latter is a professor who has returned from studying abroad and works in a secret department. He has a high status, wide connections and rich experience, so what he says is more reliable and credible.

"If my classmates didn't lie to me, then of course everything I said was true."

Zhao Zhensheng smiled confidently, then his eyes dimmed and he sighed.
"If you have a chance, please tell Mancang that I'm sorry for not being able to stand up for him when he needed me the most."

Lin Wan also remained silent about this.

Lin Wan didn't know much about Zhao Mancang's past, but she was heartbroken just by hearing some rumors from others.

Not to mention anything else, when Zhao Mancang married Lin Wan, his biological mother Lin Shuyi appeared at the scene, but Zhao Mancang didn't give her any face at all.

From this glimpse, we can roughly understand what Zhao Mancang had experienced that led to such a tense relationship between mother and son.

"Mom, grandpa has passed away. Should these chocolates be sent to next door?" Lin Huijun's crisp voice rang out, bringing Lin Wan back to her senses.

At this time, Zhao Zhensheng had already left, but he did not take away the things he brought.

Seeing the little guy staring at the chocolate and drooling, Lin Wan chuckled and said:

"Come on, I'll take you to buy chocolate."

"Really?"

This surprised the little girl, until she saw her mother smiling and nodding, she immediately jumped up with joy.

Just when Lin Wan took Lin Huijun out to buy chocolate, Zhao Mancang had already moved into his new house in Hong Kong Island, more than 2,000 kilometers away.

8/F, Yee King Garden, Kwun Tong, Kowloon Peninsula.

This is a luxurious large flat on the 18th floor, with a view of Victoria Harbour.

Zhao Mancang originally wanted to buy a luxury villa in Deep Water Bay, but no one was selling it. In the end, he had no choice but to purchase the land and build the luxury house himself.

Therefore, the house in Yijing Garden in front of us was the home before the Deep Water Bay Villa Estate No. 66 was built.

After finding a place to stay in Hong Kong Island, Zhao Mancang began to plan to return to Beijing.

Under the current circumstances, it is almost impossible to return to the capital through formal channels.

China Resources Company is located on Tin Wah Road in Central, so it is not difficult to contact them. The problem is that Zhao Mancang has no relationship with them. What should he do?
Besides, after Zhao Mancang returns to Beijing, he will definitely need to return to Hong Kong Island. Does he also need to go through formal channels?

Besides, he originally wanted to keep it secret and didn't want the KGB to know that he was back.

After all, he knew very well what he had done in Moscow. If Moscow knew that he was in Hong Kong Island, he would never have a peaceful life in the future.

In the afternoon, Zhao Mancang carried a package and came to the HSBC Bank on Queen's Road Central in Central, ready to exchange the 500,000 pounds in his hand into Hong Kong dollars.

At this time in the bank lobby, bank manager Joseph Grant was impatiently exchanging pleasantries with Yu Jingrong, and casually called another supervisor, Anthony Lawrence, to receive Yu Jingrong.

The latter is an ordinary customer of HSBC Bank with a deposit of HK$100,000, which is considered a medium-sized customer.

If it were any other time, Joseph Grant would definitely treat Yu Jingrong well, but today was different.

It was at this time that Joseph Grant saw Zhao Mancang coming to his house again, and he smiled happily. Especially when he saw the black leather bag that the latter was carrying, he became even more enthusiastic.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to leave Yu Jingrong behind and welcomed Zhao Mancang with super high treatment.

As a manager of HSBC, Joseph Grant should not have been in the lobby, but Zhao Mancang called him in advance, so he must have come early to wait.

"Joseph, is this the guest you're waiting for? Let me tell you, I'm here to deposit 50,000 Hong Kong dollars. If you don't receive me, I'll go to the Standard Chartered Bank next door."

Yu Jingrong shook off Anthony Lawrence, came to Zhao Mancang and Joseph Grant, and said arrogantly.

The British are awesome, but it depends on the individual.

Just like Joseph Grant and Anthony Lawrence in front of us, they are just employees of HSBC.

At HSBC, there are too many middle and senior bank executives like Joseph Grant and Anthony Lawrence.

And Yu Jingrong is a big client of the bank.

In this era, anyone who can deposit more than 100,000 yuan in the bank is considered a big customer.

Banks all have deposit-attracting requirements, and the tasks required of middle and senior management are even more demanding.

Therefore, maintaining good relationships with customers is part of the daily work of people like Joseph Grant.

"Mr. Yu, I hope you understand that I was originally waiting for Mr. Zhao, not to serve you specifically!"

Joseph Grant was very angry, but the other party was a big customer and it was not easy to offend him, so he patiently explained and then yelled at Anthony Lawrence:
"Why are you still standing there? Do you want me to teach you how to do things?"

Before the latter could speak, Yu Jingrong became relentless.

It is obvious that Yu Jingrong is a nouveau riche and has no intention of keeping a low profile.

Zhao Mancang, who was standing next to him, didn't care about these things at all. Instead, he followed Joseph Grant into the VIP room.

The VIP room was very luxurious, and Joseph Grant even had tea prepared. The key point was that the bank clerk who poured the tea was wearing black stockings and looked pretty good.

Zhao Mancang looked straight ahead and opened his handbag with a smile, revealing the pounds inside.

hiss!
Joseph Grant and the pretty bank employee Ning Shujia both gasped, because the visual impact of five hundred thousand pounds was maximized.

"Mr. Zhao, how much is this?" Joseph Grant asked excitedly.

He could actually make a rough estimate, but he still wanted to know an exact number, so it was faster to ask.

The figure of five hundred thousand pounds made Ning Shujia's eyes brighten a little, and his expression became more gentle as he looked at Zhao Mancang.

Before 1972, Hong Kong and Kowloon had always inherited the pound sterling exchange standard with local characteristics. This was a localized system since the currency reform in Hong Kong and Kowloon in 1935.

The so-called pound sterling exchange standard was, firstly, that the British government in Hong Kong and Kowloon established an 'Exchange Fund', which to a certain extent performed the function of a 'currency board', but it was not a currency board in the full sense; secondly, the right to issue currency after the reform was not concentrated, but rather dispersed.

That is to say, in addition to the British government in Hong Kong and Kowloon being able to directly issue metal coins, it can also directly issue Hong Kong dollars. At the same time, the three private commercial banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Yau Ma Tei can also issue Hong Kong dollars.

At that time, the exchange rate between Hong Kong dollars and British pounds was one British pound equal to sixteen Hong Kong dollars.

In other words, the 500,000 pounds that Zhao Mancang took this time is equivalent to 8 million Hong Kong dollars.

In today's Hong Kong and Kowloon, an ordinary worker only earns three dollars for a day's hard work, and an ordinary white-collar worker earns only three to five hundred dollars. A newspaper costs only two or three cents. Prices are low and wages are not high.

Ning Shujia's monthly salary is only 580 yuan, which is of course very low for HSBC, but it is quite high in Hong Kong and Kowloon.

However, even with such a monthly salary, it would take 1,149 years to earn 8 million Hong Kong dollars.

Zhao Mancang smiled slightly, not surprised by the surprise of the two people in front of him.

"Joseph, please help me convert it into Hong Kong dollars as soon as possible and deposit it in HSBC."

"Oh, okay, Mr. Zhao, I'll do it for you right away."

Joseph Grant said respectfully that this attitude definitely showed that the service was in place.

Last time, Zhao Mancang only took out 50,000 pounds, but this time it increased tenfold. I really don’t know where this rich man named Zhao came from.

Anyone who can possess so much British pounds in cash must be no ordinary person. He must be a good service provider.

Throughout the entire process, Joseph Grant helped Zhao Mancang complete the exchange and deposit of the money in the VIP room, with a respectful attitude as if he was serving the emperor.

With eight million Hong Kong dollars, Zhao Mancang is already a super big customer of the bank. Anything above that is no longer an ordinary customer.

Ning Shujia's big eyes were watery, and she always wanted to get close to Zhao Mancang, but the latter remained unmoved, leaving her no chance.

Only after Joseph Grant had completed the business for Zhao Mancang did the latter get up and leave HSBC. The whole process was very smooth.

After leaving HSBC, Zhao Mancang changed his clothes and strolled towards Tin Wah Road, probably just passing by there.

However, he couldn't get any information at all, he was just passing by.

Therefore, if he wanted to leave Hong Kong and Kowloon and return to Beijing, he had to either find a way himself or go back by himself.

If he wants to find a way himself, he can directly contact Henry Fok, the big boss behind Lixin Real Estate. With this person's relationship, Zhao Mancang will most likely be able to catch a ride back to Beijing.

However, this method is quite difficult. After thinking about it, Zhao Mancang rejected it.

The reason is simple. What is his relationship with Fok Ying-tung? At most, he bought a house from Fok Ying-tung's company. So why would he guarantee Zhao Mancang?

Another way is to find Henry Fok or the relevant person in charge of China Resources Company and ask them to help donate money to our country.

If it were 1960 or 1961, if Zhao Mancang donated grain at that time, there would be a high probability that our country would accept it.

However, this possibility is not great, and Zhao Mancang will also be investigated at that time, which will easily cause trouble.

So the best way is to go back to the capital by yourself.

On the eighteenth-floor balcony of Yijing Garden in Kwun Tong, Kowloon Peninsula, Zhao Mancang looked at the beautiful sunset over Victoria Harbour in the distance and thought about countermeasures.

"If I want to find a way to return to the capital, I first need to decide whether to go by water, by land, or by plane."

"The water route is too slow and very dangerous. After all, heading north from Hong Kong and Kowloon passes through the Formosa area."

"If I go by land, I'll need to create a fake identity, which is also very troublesome, so I chose to fly, but..."

Taking a plane is impossible because Cathay Pacific is currently the only airline in Hong Kong Island. They do not have direct flights to Beijing, but they do have direct flights to Kimura in Osaka.

However, Zhao Mancang didn't really want to go to that damn place, Osaka.

For a moment, Zhao Mancang was at a loss.

These are not the most critical things, because the most important thing is that the current system experience value balance is not much.

After leaving the underground cave space in the Moscow primeval forest this time, the thousands of experience points accumulated during the escape were reduced to only single digits.

If Zhao Mancang encounters any accident when returning to the capital this time, he will most likely be imprisoned, which is not what he wants to see.

Because he would not underestimate the KGB, especially in this era, he needed to be cautious in any action he took.

The current system experience value balance is probably more than 500, because Li Baoguo, Qi Zhengze, Pei Yimin and others contributed a lot in the past few days.

As long as it was confirmed that it was the experience points contributed by these people, Zhao Mancang could probably guess that what happened in Moscow had been reported back to the capital.

Lin Wan also knew about this, as did Zhang Dongyue, Lin Guohua, and Lin Kai's family. Therefore, the system experience value balance soared to 500.

But even with a number like 500, it is still a drop in the bucket.

Having previously escaped from Moscow back to Hong Kong and Kowloon, Zhao Mancang was well aware of the importance of experience points. This was probably the so-called "poor at home, rich on the road".

The wisdom and experience summaries of the ancients were never spoken casually. They were necessarily summaries drawn after experiencing profound lessons learned through blood and tears.

Now Zhao Mancang can only plan before taking action.

"Then spend half a month and try to accumulate as much experience points as possible. If that doesn't work, just take advantage of the situation."

"Now that I'm in Hong Kong and Kowloon, I can't just sit back and enjoy the scenery. I need to find a way to make a living."

"Forget about the doctor path for now. It's too conspicuous, and I'm not sure I'll earn much experience points."

As a doctor, it is not difficult for Zhao Mancang to develop in Hong Kong and Kowloon. The problem is that he needs to earn more experience points within half a month, which is not easy.

Zhao Mancang wanted to get to know more people and let them provide him with more experience points. After much thought, he decided that the most likely option was to start his own business.

Thinking of this, Zhao Mancang took action.

Through Joseph Grant's introduction, Zhao Mancang contacted a headhunting company in Hong Kong and Kowloon.

In the restaurant of the Peninsula Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, Zhao Mancang sat by the window and exchanged greetings with Steve Clauser from Heidrick & Struggles, and they quickly got down to business.

"I heard from Joseph that Mr. Zhao, you're looking for two management members? I wonder what your company is?"

Before Steve Claus came, he had asked people about Zhao Mancang, and even Joseph Grant had asked for a long time, but no one could tell him more information about Zhao Mancang.

Joseph Grant said that Zhao Mancang was a wealthy man, but he did not disclose information such as the specific amount of his deposits.

Apart from this, Joseph Grant didn't know any other information about Zhao Mancang.

In other words, Steve Claus now only has a little information about Zhao Mancang, and no other information at all.

If it weren't for Joseph Grant's strong recommendation and Zhao Mancang's willingness to pay a referral fee of HK$10,000, Steve Claus would not have come to see Zhao Mancang even though the two had been good friends for many years.

As one of the partners of Heidrick & Struggles in Hong Kong Island, Steve Claus has a wide circle of friends.

This also means that he is very busy and he will not waste his time if it is not profitable.

If you successfully introduce a management member to Zhao Mancang, you will get 20,000 Hong Kong dollars, but Zhao Mancang needs two management members, which means 40,000 Hong Kong dollars, far exceeding the market price.

In Hong Kong Island in 1959, the salary of many managers was actually only two to three thousand Hong Kong dollars. The shareholding system was still very rare in Hong Kong and Kowloon.

Abroad, especially the Sam family, they started in the 1950s, and banks such as Morgan Bank, First Citibank, and Chase Manhattan Bank all underwent earth-shaking changes.

Because these companies have expanded their influence and improved their own strength through shareholding reform, listing, and acquisitions and mergers with the help of social forces, they have completed the transformation of the consortium.

In this era, people in Hong Kong and Kowloon are still living on raw meat and drinking blood, and they simply do not have the courage or ideas in this regard.

Therefore, the senior executives of companies in Hong Kong and Kowloon all receive fixed salaries and almost never receive dividends from shares or become company partners.

Steve Claus certainly knew the current situation of professional managers in Hong Kong and Kowloon, so according to the usual recruitment business, the compensation that their Heidrick & Struggles could get would naturally not be much.

It's rare to find a boss as generous as Zhao Mancang.

"I'm sorry, the company is still in the process of applying, but don't worry, your company's compensation will definitely not be less." Zhao Mancang emphasized again and continued:

"What I need is a newspaper editor-in-chief and a printing factory manager. I'll pay them 8,000 yuan a month."

The most likely entrepreneurial venture that would allow Zhao Mancang to gain experience points in a short period of time is the newspaper entertainment industry.

It’s not that other industries are not suitable, but the time requirements are too tight, so the newspaper industry is the most suitable.

Half an hour later, Zhao Mancang watched Steve Clauss's back as he walked away. After sitting there for about twenty minutes, another person came.

"Excuse me, you are Mr. Zhao, right?"

The visitor was also a Great British man named Uris Wolf, a lawyer introduced by Pelton Lamorris, the manager of Standard Chartered Bank.

Like HSBC, Zhao Mancang also brought 500,000 pounds to Standard Chartered Bank, and with the help of Standard Chartered Bank manager Pelton Lamorris, he successfully exchanged the 500,000 pounds into 8 million Hong Kong dollars and deposited it in the bank.

If Zhao Mancang wants to continue living in Hong Kong Island, these are all necessary things.

In addition to Standard Chartered Bank, Zhao Mancang also took out 100,000 pounds and deposited it directly into the Hong Kong and Kowloon branch of First Citibank.

Never put all your eggs in one basket. This is the most important thinking in investment, especially when Zhao Mancang is still a transparent person in Hong Kong and Kowloon.

Pelton Lamorris introduced the lawyer Yuris Wolff, and Zhao Mancang only valued one thing about him: he was famous enough and strong enough.

"Pelton, I don't care what your past experiences are. I trust you just as much as I trust Pelton. So, I hope you can help me complete the acquisition of a printing plant."

After chatting with Yuris Wolf for a while, Zhao Mancang stared into his eyes and said seriously:

"If you can satisfy me, I will give you other large orders to complete. I have two options for your compensation. One is a fixed amount of 100,000 yuan, and the other depends on your ability."

Option 2 is very simple. If a printing factory is priced at HK$1 million, the owner of the printing factory may ask for HK$1.2 million when it is acquired.

Assuming that Yuris Wolf can persuade the printing factory owner to lower the price, no matter how much it can be reduced based on the one million, Zhao Mancang will make up the difference.

Of course, Zhao Mancang would personally contact a third-party auditing company to review this so-called pricing, rather than just letting Yuris Wolf or the printing factory owner say what the price was.

After hearing what Zhao Mancang said, Yuris Wolf hesitated for a moment, asked Zhao Mancang a few questions, and only after confirming it did he choose option two.

"It's a smart decision. I wish us a happy cooperation."

Zhao Mancang smiled and praised the other party, and Yuris Wolf stood up and shook hands to express his gratitude.

After a few more words of small talk, Yuris Wolf also left.

Five days passed in a blink of an eye, and with Zhao Mancang spending a lot of money, the assigned task was quickly completed.

First, the headhunting company Heidrick & Struggles introduced several candidates to Zhao Mancang. After the interviews, Zhao Mancang selected two of them.

One is the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Chen Liangsheng, a top student from the University of Hong Kong, who previously worked as deputy editor-in-chief at a British newspaper in Garden City.

Recently, his mother was ill and needed him to come back to take care of her.

Since his mother was reluctant to leave her hometown and was reluctant to give up the "family business" here, she had no choice but to let Chen Liangsheng return to Hong Kong and Kowloon to develop.

The other is a top student at Oxford University in Great Britain named Bruce Chapman.

This is a Great British man, and Zhao Mancang specifically requested it.

It’s not that Zhao Mancang is pro-Western, but this is the current situation in Hong Kong and Kowloon. Most of the knowledgeable and capable people are from Great Britain.

Secondly, whether Zhao Mancang admits it or not, it is more convenient for British people to live in Hong Kong and Kowloon, and it can also prevent some unnecessary troubles.

After these two people were decided, Zhao Mancang arranged for them to start work directly.

At this time, Uris Wolf also completed the acquisition of a printing factory.

This is a printing factory with average performance. It cannot be said that the performance is poor, but it can only be said that they are really average.

The city of Hong Kong and Kowloon, although its current population is close to three million, is not a lot of people, but it is definitely not a small number either.

But even in such a city, there are more than 200 newspapers in Hong Kong and Kowloon, including various tabloids, evening papers, etc., which is very scary.

In the late 1950s, there were 30 newspapers published every day. If we include various weeklies, monthlies, tabloids, etc., the average number of copies published each day was at least 50.

Let’s put it this way, throughout the 1950s, the competition in the newspaper industry in Hong Kong and Kowloon was almost unprecedented and extremely fierce.

Ta Kung Pao, Wen Wei Po, New Evening News, Hong Kong Commercial Daily, Jing Bao, etc., as well as Overseas Chinese News, Lianhe Zaobao, United Daily News, China Times, Sing Pao, Sing Tao Daily, etc., these are the most mainstream Chinese newspapers on the market.

Ming Pao was not established until May this year. Zhao Mancang wanted to package up Louis Cha and Shen Baoxin, but the problem was that Zhao Mancang was not strong enough now. If he relied solely on money, it would be unlikely to attract the other party.

So we can only take it step by step.

In the fiercely competitive newspaper industry in Hong Kong and Kowloon, the printing factory's operating efficiency is poor. Although it has not lost money, it has not made much money either.

Therefore, after Yuris Wolff contacted him, the decision was made quickly.

Zhao Mancang paid 400,000 yuan to the printing factory owner and paid Yuris Wolf a salary of 80,000 yuan.

The latter always felt that he had been cheated. If he had known earlier, he would have directly chosen the fixed salary of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Losing big!
After taking over the printing factory, Zhao Mancang immediately arranged for Chen Liangsheng and Bryce Chapman to make adjustments to the printing factory.

There are not many people in the printing factory, only fifteen in total, so it can be said to be a very small company.

However, although the sparrow is small, it has all the organs.

The four hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars was not wasted, on the contrary it was a big profit.

The previous boss entered the printing industry three years ago. He printed for publications such as Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard, pirated books, and was involved in all these businesses.

Logically speaking, this kind of business can still make money.

But they are pirated products, and the prices of Dragon, Tiger and Leopard are not expensive, so the profits are low.

The printing factory has 15 employees, and has purchased a large number of imported printing machines, as well as water, electricity, rent, etc., which are all costs. If the income continues to stagnate, it will soon fall into a vicious cycle.

There is fierce competition in the Hong Kong and Kowloon newspaper industry, and the competition in other industries is similar.

This is simply because the population of Hong Kong and Kowloon is growing very fast, with hundreds of thousands of people added almost every year. With so many people and so little land, the competition is of course fierce.

Not everyone is as powerful as a dragon crossing the river, and not everyone can quickly make a name for themselves.

"Liangsheng, Bruce, you two must recruit workers as soon as possible to expand our printing factory. We must recruit according to the standard of a full staff of 60 people."

Inside the printing factory, Zhao Mancang looked at Chen Liangsheng and Bruce Chapman seriously and gave instructions.

It turned out that the fifteen employees in the printing factory were all waiting for the "instructions" from the new boss, Zhao Mancang. When they heard the boss say that he wanted to expand the recruitment, everyone was very happy.

But Zhao Mancang later said that the original fifteen employees would also have to take part in the assessment, and the last-in-first-out system would be adopted.

Any unqualified employee may be eliminated.

Faced with the risk of unemployment, everyone became nervous.

After reorganizing the printing factory, the next day, Yuris Wolf contacted Zhao Mancang again and said that he had found an evening newspaper.

How to start a business quickly in a short period of time?
The answer, of course, is through acquisitions and mergers.

The South China Economic Daily is a small newspaper that has been in publication for five years, but it has been declining and has suffered severe losses.

In theory, from the early 1950s to the 1980s, the Hong Kong and Kowloon newspaper industry was definitely the fastest and most vigorous industry that accompanied the economic development of Hong Kong Island.

It’s a pity that behind the prosperity of the newspaper industry, there are also many companies that have been left behind by the times.

There are many reasons behind this, but Zhao Mancang was too lazy to delve into them and directly acquired the South China Economic Daily. All he wanted was the talents of this newspaper.

If he had not acquired other newspapers but started a business from scratch, then for Zhao Mancang, this would be the most wasteful of time and energy.

Although the South China Economic Daily is a small newspaper with very poor performance, for Zhao Mancang, having employees in a complete newspaper system is enough.

Spending less than 200,000 Hong Kong dollars, Zhao Mancang successfully acquired the South China Economic Daily.

As a result, on the second day after the acquisition, someone came to collect protection fees.

At that time, Zhao Mancang was attending a meeting with Chen Liangsheng, Bruce Chapman and others, but he didn't expect someone to come and disrupt the situation.

Bang bang bang!
Li Yongan, Wu Xianwen, Zheng Dahua and others pushed the newspaper employees, tables and chairs, making a harsh noise.

"Master Li, didn't we just pay the protection fee half a month ago? It hasn't even been a month yet, why are you here again today?"

Fan Chunbao, the former chief editor of the South China Economic Daily, looked unhappy, but still spoke in a flattering way.

With his new boss standing behind him, Fan Chunbao of course has to perform well, hoping to leave a good impression in front of his new boss.

Although he certainly won't be able to continue serving as editor-in-chief, being a deputy editor-in-chief should be no problem, right?

"Didn't you get a new boss? With a new boss, you have to pay protection fees all over again. Otherwise, how can you do this?"

The arrogant Li Yongan pushed Fan Chunbao aside and came to Zhao Mancang, Chen Liangsheng, Bruce Chapman and others. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm, smiled, and said in a rampant tone:

"You guys are all here, and you're all dressed so nicely. You must be bosses, right? You must be very rich, right? So, from now on, you will pay 20,000 yuan per month for protection. Is that okay?"

Bruce Chapman received Zhao Mancang's eye signal, then stood up and said in very stiff Mandarin:

"What's your name? I'll call Inspector John later. You'd better remember what you said. I hope you can still be so tough later."

Li Yongan was not afraid at all when he heard this:
"Greek? Do you think I was scared? It's no use calling out to the inspector. Don't you know who I am? In this area of ​​Yau Ma Tei, who am I afraid of?"

Zhao Mancang frowned when he heard this.

This matter is not simple!
Logically speaking, he just acquired the South China Economic Daily yesterday, so the outside world should not know about it. After all, the entire signing process was only known to Yuris Wolf and others. Chen Liangsheng and Bruce Chapman were both his people. Who else would spread this matter?

But there is no need to rush these things, let’s deal with the things at hand first.

So Zhao Mancang had no choice but to call HSBC manager Joseph Grant, but Li Yongan pulled the phone line, making it impossible for him to make the call.

"You want to call for help? You want to call for help without even saying hello to me? Are you dreaming?"

Li Yongan moved close to Zhao Mancang, almost sticking to him, but he was only 1.75 meters tall, far less than Zhao Mancang's 1.85 meters, so he looked a little funny in front of Chen Liangsheng and others.

"Why should I say hello to you?" Zhao Mancang was so angry that he laughed. He asked, and then suddenly punched the other person.

Bang!
Zhao Mancang used 50% of his strength and knocked Li Yongan flying three or four meters away until he hit the desk and stopped.

Chen Liangsheng, Bruce Chapman, Fan Chunbao and others never expected that the well-mannered and literary young boss, who was wearing a suit and was obviously a gentleman, would be so strong?
Knocking someone three or four meters away with just one punch is not something that ordinary people can do.

Moreover, Li Yongan didn't just stagger backwards so far, he flew out directly. It was definitely because Zhao Mancang used too much force.

In fact, if the desk hadn't blocked his way, Li Yongan could have flown even further.

He's simply a thug in a suit!

Wu Xianwen, Zheng Dahua and others swallowed their saliva, somewhat in disbelief, but after coming to their senses, they immediately picked up their machetes and slashed at Zhao Mancang.

They are all young people around 20 years old, at the age of passion, how could they care about so many things?

Most of them have just arrived in Hong Kong and Kowloon not long ago. In order to make a living, they have no choice but to work hard.

But they couldn't get close to Zhao Mancang at all. After three people were injured by Zhao Mancang, the other ten or so people were all dumbfounded and dared not move forward.

Even with a machete in their hands, they were afraid.

After all, Zhao Mancang's leg skills are too strong, much stronger than their mortal enemy, the red double-stick big mouth.

(End of this chapter)