America: My Time

Chapter 65: A show of force

Chapter Sixty-Five: A Show of Force
HSBC's charity gala is not open to just anyone; attendees are all wealthy and influential celebrities, making it a very high-profile event. It's customary to bring a female companion to such a charity gala, and John only had Sally Yeh as his date in Hong Kong.

Upon entering the reception, John saw many Hong Kong tycoons and some movie stars. As the most influential bank in Hong Kong, its clients were diverse, including many social elites.

Although John's time in Hong Kong was short, many eyes were still watching him closely when he appeared. After all, he was a powerful figure from outside Hong Kong who dared to make such an astonishing investment in Hong Kong at this time. Many people wanted to know what this powerful figure was thinking!
As the host of the party, Sir Michael Sandberg was also secretly observing John. Compared to others, Sandberg was more aware of John's strength, and a large part of the reason for today's party was also aimed at John. As a local bigwig in Hong Kong, Sandberg wanted to know what the other party was thinking and what impact the other party's actions would have on HSBC.

HSBC is currently at its weakest point, facing immense pressure due to the real estate sector. However, it remains highly wary of outsiders like John, especially given his brazen foray into the financial market, which compels HSBC to exercise extreme caution.

Most people don't know John, so naturally few people came up to talk to him. If anyone was mentioned, it was just a few people from the entertainment industry. So John and Ye Qianwen's side was still quite quiet. After all, everyone was wary of outsiders and dared not act rashly. Many people here knew about Pacific Investment's poaching of HSBC employees, and Yuan Tianfan himself was also at the party.

In contrast, Yuan Tianfan and his Phoenix Group associates were not snubbed, while John, the boss, was snubbed by a group of Hong Kong bigwigs, as if everyone was waiting for HSBC's decision.

As the host of the party, Sir Michael Sandberg greeted those around him while walking toward John with his wine glass in hand. “Mr. Bayard, why aren’t you chatting with everyone?”

Hearing the voice behind him, John turned around and saw it was Shen Bi. He smiled calmly and said, "I don't know many of the people here, and as a junior and an outsider, it wouldn't be good to rashly get involved in their circle!"

Who is Shen Bi? He is the host of the party, and he attracts attention wherever he goes. Many people were surprised to see Shen Bi chatting with John, since everyone knows John's identity.

"As the owner of Phoenix Group and Pacific Investment, there's nothing wrong with me getting involved in this circle. After all, many people are curious about Pacific Investment's next plans and its views on Hong Kong."

"I am naturally very optimistic about the development of Hong Kong, otherwise why would I invest such a large amount of money? I wonder what HSBC's opinion is on Pacific Investment?"

"What a clever little fox! So cautious!" Upon hearing John's response, Shen Bi couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Such cunning at such a young age was truly difficult to deal with.

"HSBC's opinion is not important. What matters is what Pacific Investment will do. The point of coming to the party is to make friends. Staying out of the way is not a good thing." With that, Sir Michael Sandberg gently patted John on the shoulder and walked in another direction, not giving John a chance to respond.

"What a cunning old fox, he's shrewd and meticulous in his work!" Although it was only a brief exchange, John still felt the pressure from HSBC. It was clear that HSBC harbored hostility towards him and Pacific Investment, and it seemed that the other party's intentions at today's party were not good.

"Old Huo!" Unfortunately, John didn't have time to think carefully about Shen Bi's words before he ran into Old Huo, whom he had visited before.

"John, come on, I'll introduce you to some of my friends over there." Although Old Huo had only met John once, he was very optimistic about John's future, otherwise he wouldn't have wanted to introduce John to some friends at this time.

"John, this is Mr. Lim Por-yen, Chairman of Lai Sun Group!"

Through Mr. Fok's introduction, John met many Hong Kong tycoons. Although it was only their first encounter, it was a good start, a beginning of his exposure to Hong Kong's high society—at least, that's how John saw it. Because of his status and age, John didn't want to have too much interaction with Mr. Fok and the other Hong Kong tycoons. After all, this was HSBC's reception, and HSBC's attitude needed to be considered. He had to give the host some face and not embarrass them, and these Hong Kong magnates wouldn't risk offending HSBC because of him.

"Let's go, let's rest over there for a while!" After understanding HSBC's attitude, John didn't have any high hopes for this charity gala. As long as it ended smoothly, that would be the best outcome. He was facing an old fox like Sir Michael Sandberg, and no one knew what 'plans' the other party might have.

Without clarifying the situation between John and Pacific Investment, how could HSBC and Sir Michael Sandberg be willing to give up? After all, upon seeing John, his youthful appearance inevitably made Sir Michael Sandberg somewhat disdainful. No matter how cautious Sir Michael Sandberg was, he would still have some sense of disdain when facing such a young man.

Today's party was originally a test arranged by Shen Bi. How could he be satisfied with the result? How could he give up? Moreover, this is Hong Kong, where Shen Bi has no taboos.

The charity gala naturally included a charity auction, and soon the auction began. Whenever John participated in the bidding, he was met with obstruction from others. These obstructions were not from the Hong Kong tycoons John knew before, but from the HSBC group. It was clear that this was a show of force to intimidate him.

Faced with repeated obstruction, John did not lose his temper and compete with the other party. Instead, he chose to give up. John also wanted to see how many people were in the HSBC group and how many would stand up against him.

John considered these people his enemies when they tried to stop him. Regardless of their thoughts or schemes, they were his enemies as long as they were involved in his battle with HSBC.

"What remarkable composure! He remained calm in the face of such provocation from HSBC. I'm afraid Sir Michael Sandberg has misjudged him this time!"

"Yes, it takes a dragon to cross the river. To have such composure and patience at such a young age is something not everyone can do. Shen Bi really misjudged the situation and has brought a great enemy to HSBC!"

This is Hong Kong, HSBC's territory. John chose to ignore their provocation, which is something not everyone can do. Moreover, HSBC's probing this time went a bit too far. There's a limit to how often something can be done, but HSBC crossed that line, repeatedly thwarting their efforts and trying to intimidate them.

Although this is HSBC's home turf, many Hong Kong tycoons disapprove of HSBC's behavior. After all, this charity gala hosted by HSBC itself involved repeatedly suppressing a young man, which is not something a banker should do, especially since the other party is not an ordinary person.

The auction was drawing to a close, and the last item was up for auction. However, when John made his bid again, he was once again met with resistance from the HSBC group.

At this moment, a faint sneer appeared on John's face, showing his disdain for HSBC's show of force.

"Boss, HSBC has gone too far! This was the last item up for auction. What are they trying to do? Even if there's a grudge, they shouldn't be making such an irrational move. They clearly don't respect us!"

“Tianfan, this is HSBC, this is Sir Michael Sandberg, this is their show of force. They can act recklessly because this is their home turf. You don’t need to care. There’s a long road ahead. Things won’t stay like this forever. Let’s go. Since these bastards don’t welcome us, we don’t need to give them any face!”

Since the HSBC faction wasn't giving him a chance with the last item up for auction, and they all wanted to push things to the extreme and embarrass him, why should he give HSBC or Sir Michael Sandberg any face? As he spoke, John stood up abruptly, seemingly unconcerned that the auction wasn't over, and prepared to leave.

(End of this chapter)