Father of France

Chapter 185 Land Transactions
Koeman nodded in agreement. This man, who could be placed alongside Syngman Rhee, Marcos, and Aquino, was still released by France.

Based on the trajectory of the future, Ngo Dinh Diem will likely try to switch back and forth between France and the United States to find support, and eventually together they will welcome Emperor Bao Dai back.

Then, after the French influence waned, he ended the monarchy in Vietnam and did something similar to what Yuan Shikai did.

For a considerable period of time, Ngo Dinh Diem’s political opportunism was quite evident. He didn’t seem to have any unwavering principles and appeared to want to try out every ideology except those of the Viet Minh.

If Koeman were confident in preserving French Indochina's rule, he certainly wouldn't bother with such a person, but isn't it that he can't think of a way to preserve French Indochina?

Since they would have to leave sooner or later, Koman didn't care what stance Wu Tingyan would take in the future. He might as well use her while she was still useful, since they were all consumables anyway.

Koman, who was on the same boat, had chatted with Wu Tingyan a few times, but they had never had an in-depth conversation. He knew that Wu Tingyan had worked as a librarian in her youth.

He began his official career in this way, rising step by step from county magistrate, prefect, and governor, eventually becoming the Minister of Personnel under Emperor Baoda in the 1930s.

Even in the great Eastern powers of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the title of "Prime Minister" could be used. The Ministry of Personnel was, after all, known as the "Heavenly Official." Although the Ming and Qing dynasties didn't have a formal title of "Prime Minister," it didn't prevent others from using that title. Not every emperor was like Qianlong, repeatedly banning a particular title.

This time, France invited Ngo Dinh Diem to plead with Emperor Bao Dai to return to power, and naturally promised him high-ranking official positions and generous salaries. Since Ngo Dinh Diem had served as Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, if Emperor Bao Dai agreed to the restoration, he would become Prime Minister.

Koeman decided to let Ngo Dinh Diem work freely first, since he was French and it wasn't appropriate for him to directly intervene.

“Your investment now could yield a hundredfold return over the next few decades, no less than, and perhaps even more than, the returns from buying property in the capital of a European country,” Koman said to Ava Gardner in a seductive tone. “Right now, few countries are paying attention to the value here. By the time other countries do, you will have already acquired the best assets.”

Koeman is still focusing his main efforts on making money off his weekly-paid superstars, and now is the perfect time. Hong Kong's islands are mountainous, and there is limited land available for development. Central, as the earliest developed area, already has scarce land resources.

Due to the war, Hong Kong's population more than tripled to two million in a short period from the 1940s to the 1950s. This massive population growth was the core reason for the surge in Hong Kong's land prices.

And now, as long as Chang Gong can hold on for another two or three years, the land prices in Hong Kong have not yet skyrocketed. Of course, this lack of skyrocketing depends on who it is. Before leaving Sai Kung, Koman had already inquired about it. The monthly salary of an ordinary worker in Hong Kong is now roughly equivalent to the price of two square feet of housing in Central, which is about 0.2 square meters.

This housing price ratio shocked Ava Gardner. No matter how developed a country is, it is too much for a worker's monthly salary to be equivalent to only 0.2 square meters of housing price.

Ava Gardner had never seen anything like this before, and she was unaware that Hong Kong had a specific term for a "thousand-foot mansion," which translates to a mansion measuring ninety square meters.

The fact that she already had such great potential truly shocked the relatively inexperienced Ava Gardner, and she began to have high expectations for the hundredfold return that Koeman had mentioned.

Koeman could have chosen to wait two years, as the current exchange rate of the pound is overvalued. The pound's exchange rate against the Hong Kong dollar is fixed at 1:16, meaning it's not overvalued against the Hong Kong dollar. However, the pound is overvalued against the US dollar, at 4 US dollars per pound. Although Britain has a rich heritage and was the third most industrialized nation after the Soviet Union at that time, this is still not a true exchange rate.

Historically, around 1949, the pound sterling was devalued by about 30%, and the exchange rate against the US dollar changed from 1 to 4 to 1 to 2.8.

If you consider it this way, investing in real estate in Hong Kong at that time could have saved you 30% of the money, calculated in US dollars.

However, starting in 1949, which was also the time when a large number of people poured into Hong Kong.

The 30% benefit from the exchange rate savings is hard to say whether it's a loss or a gain compared to the land price increase caused by the influx of people.

So rather than waiting another two years, it's better to let the British take advantage of the situation and come in at the most opportune time.

Under the protection of some French soldiers, Wu Tingyan and Coman stepped off the passenger ship and onto the stone-paved streets of Hong Kong. The clanging trams traveled slowly between Des Voeux Road and Queen's Road. The carriages were crowded with ladies wearing shawls, gentlemen carrying account books under their arms, and coolies covered in sweat.

Further away, in the crowded squatter quarter, the impoverished people struggled for a bite to eat, their sweat and hopes equally heavy. Passersby couldn't help but glance at Coman's attire, which was clearly different from that of British soldiers, but as Coman met their gaze, their eyes immediately looked away.

Perhaps this is the kind of avoidance of gaze that American soldiers experience in countries like Japan and South Korea.

In Saigon, Corman rarely encountered such situations; he always traveled by car and didn't interact much with the poor. While the wealthy Chinese on the embankment initially received similar looks, they eventually became familiar with each other. Eva Gardner, on the other hand, was more accustomed to it. After several months in the Eastern superpower, she had grown used to such gazes. "The British colony was similar to Saigon, much more prosperous than the Chinese country itself," she said.

Ava Gardner still had a say, but Koeman smiled slightly and said, "The world's fifth-largest economy can't possibly lack decent cities."

"Fifth in the world?" Ava Gardner's tone was full of surprise. Even though she had been to several cities, she couldn't connect the fifth-largest country in the world with a major Eastern power.

"Yes, but only for this period of time. Europe and Japan have already been destroyed. Canada, with a population of just over ten million, is gone."

Koeman explained with feigned seriousness that as for India, British India was not yet independent; they would discuss it after independence. French colonies comprised a group of countries, and British colonies comprised another group of countries.

In those days, the population of most countries was not large. If we were to make a real calculation, the great Eastern power could indeed rank among the top five in the world.

But now, once the Marshall Plan is implemented, the Eastern power will no longer be ranked so high. Being in the top five in the world is just a special phenomenon at a very special time, and it does not conflict with the lives of four or five hundred million people living in abject poverty.

Do you know how the United States described its adversaries in the Korean War in the 21st century? The claim is that the United States confronted the world's second-largest power, the Soviet Union, and the world's sixth-largest Eastern power on the Korean Peninsula, successfully preserving South Korea's independence.

The descriptions of the Cold War also portray the socialist camp as having great weight, suggesting that the United States defeated the world's largest country by area and the world's most populous nation, thus achieving victory in the Cold War.

Because by the end of the Cold War, the Eastern superpower had already ranked third or fourth in the world in terms of production capacity in many fields, making it a very important country. In terms of production capacity, it had surpassed any European country except the Soviet Union and was catching up with the United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan.

Therefore, statistics is a very fascinating subject. If we put China and the Soviet Union together in terms of their national nature, wouldn't the United States' victory in the Cold War become even more glorious?

At this time, Hong Kong was in a period of great need for reconstruction. When Governor MacDougall learned that the French representatives had come to Hong Kong to persuade Emperor Baotai to return to China, he did not pay much attention to it. However, when he heard that an American businessman wanted to invest in Hong Kong, he stepped forward directly.

Hong Kong's fiscal revenue last year was only HK$83 million, and it has not yet escaped the influence of Japanese occupation.

The Governor of Hong Kong, who should have been a high-ranking representative of the British Empire, had to personally greet American businessmen like an official attracting investment, due to the difficulties in Hong Kong.

"I'm benefiting from your success," Koman joked with a smile as he walked alongside Ava Gardner. He even had the illusion that he was living off her, though it must have been an illusion.

"Don't say things like that." Didn't Ava Gardner know how much exaggeration Koman had? More exaggeration than her own.

Hong Kong's annual GDP, converted to pounds sterling, was just 100 million pounds, which could only provide 5 million pounds in fiscal revenue. This led to Governor MacDougall's attention to the matter. British political officials also had their own ambitions; everyone knew that the Americans were now rolling in money.

Upon seeing Coman's appearance, Governor MacDougall even maliciously wondered if this was a bootlicker who had risen to power. But then again, it was a good thing for the Frenchman.

For this meeting, which could potentially change the future of Hong Kong, Governor MacDougall displayed impeccable manners, preparing to add a significant chapter to his future honors record.

The war severely damaged Hong Kong's economy. While the population returned rapidly after the war, the overall standard of living remained low, and business activity was in its early stages of recovery. Land sales were not a vibrant investment market.

Therefore, after hearing that Ava Gardner intended to invest in land, McDougall even had the impression that Ava Gardner was a fool with too much money.

The ownership of land in Hong Kong was held by the British Hong Kong government, and it was untouchable until now. Although Central was already the core area of ​​Hong Kong at this time, its area was still not large compared to the land held by the British Hong Kong government, so it was negotiable.

“Ms. Ava, I need to consult with the London side and will get back to you soon.” This matter is neither a huge nor a small one; it’s not about the size of the land, but about ten million US dollars in cash.

This represents almost half a year's revenue for Hong Kong. If we could obtain it, many problems would be easily solved. Therefore, we still need to report this to London. Governor MacDougall demonstrated consideration for all parties involved.

While Koeman and Eva Gardner were discussing land investment with the port city, Wu Tingyan had already met with Bao Dadi, who was living in seclusion. The Frenchman was buying land, and he was seeking out Bao Dadi; everyone had a bright future ahead of them.

(End of this chapter)