Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Xu Damao immediately explained, "She has nothing to do with this, right?"

"Look, I'm about to get engaged to Xiao'e, and look what this mess has become."

He glanced apologetically at Lou Xiao'e—"There's nothing I can do. I don't have much influence with Da Biao. This matter in your family is too big for me to handle."

Zhang Dabiao was somewhat surprised by Xu Damao's attitude; it seemed he had truly fallen for him.

However, he still nodded: "Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. This matter has nothing to do with Lou Xiao'e."

"However, Da Mao and Lou Xiao'e, this matter is no longer a matter for me to pursue or not pursue."

"72 US dollars is about 1.6% of our country's foreign exchange reserves this year. Even if I don't pursue it, do you think the higher-ups will let the Lou family off the hook?"

Whether Lou Xiao'e will be implicated at that time is not up to me.

"Of course, my losses must also be recovered; there's no room for negotiation on that."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao's face immediately turned grim. But he also knew that what Zhang Dabiao said was true; this was not just a matter of money, but concerned the country's foreign exchange reserves, so the higher-ups would naturally not agree to a private settlement.

Even if Zhang Dabiao agreed, the higher-ups wouldn't.

Now the Lou family is in for a rough time; they were just looking for a legitimate reason to deal with these capitalists.

"Xiao'e, what exactly happened? Why did your brother want Da Biao's money?"

Lou Xiao'e was very upset, but in the end she still told them what had happened.

It turned out that Lou Yufan had lost money in his business, and then the bank was pressing for repayment. In the end, in order to protect the assets of the Lou Family Business in Hong Kong, Lou Yufan misappropriated Zhang Dabiao's share of the profits—and even then, the money was not enough.

In 1960, Hong Kong's light industry was booming with the help of the post-war recovery, and the plastic flower industry was particularly thriving. Li Ka-shing rose rapidly with his precise European and American orders and low-cost OEM model. Lou Yu-fan's "Yu-fan Plastic Factory" was originally a leader in the industry, but it suffered a complete disaster that year, losing US$112 million and falling from an industry leader to the brink of bankruptcy.

Lou Yufan had a keen eye for opportunity, following the trend to enter the plastic flower market, and he set his sights on the most profitable high-end artificial flower market in Europe and America. However, he made the fatal mistake of "being greedy and trying to do everything at once".

In late 1959, upon hearing that the Paris Spring Home Furnishings Fair would be held, he saw it as a springboard to the European market and took a gamble: he mortgaged two properties in Shau Kei Wan and Tsim Sha Tsui, borrowed a huge sum of money from HSBC, spent US$80 to import the most advanced injection molding equipment from West Germany, and signed a production contract for 30 dozen high-end plastic roses and tulips, promising to deliver them within six months.

He gambled on "crushing competitors with a high-end strategy," but he didn't expect that his biggest opponent wouldn't be technology, but rather "cost cutters" like Li Ka-shing. At that time, Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Plastics Factory followed a low-profit, high-volume strategy—using locally produced equipment to replace imported machines, colluding with small and medium-sized manufacturers to drive down prices when purchasing raw materials, and implementing a two-shift piece-rate wage system for workers, reducing the cost of each batch of plastic flowers to two-thirds of Lou Yufan's. Even more ruthless was Li Ka-shing's understanding of the minds of European and American buyers: they didn't want "ultimate simulation," but rather "cheap, good-looking, and fast delivery." So Li Ka-shing proactively approached Lou Yufan's European distributors, offering prices 40% lower than Lou Yufan's, and promising immediate supply without the need for a six-month waiting period.

They just snatched it!

Moreover, Li Ka-shing didn't just snatch orders from "Yu Fan Plastics Factory"; he snatched every single order he could, leaving no one behind.

The loss of orders was just the first step; the real catastrophe was yet to come.

In the spring of 1960, Hong Kong was hit by a typhoon and torrential rains. The warehouse of Lou Yu Fan Plastics Factory in Shau Kei Wan was flooded, and 10 dozen plastic flowers that had just been produced were all ruined by water damage. The dyes bleed, the petals deformed, and they were simply undeliverable. Lou Yu Fan's West German equipment was delicate and frequently broke down after getting wet. Repairs required hiring engineers from Germany, and the travel and repair costs alone amounted to US$22. To make matters worse, a "return to natural flowers" trend suddenly swept through the European and American markets, causing the demand for plastic flowers to plummet. Lou Yu Fan's remaining inventory became unwanted waste.

To fulfill the contract, Lou Yufan had no choice but to purchase plastic flowers from other factories at high prices and rebrand them for delivery. This buying and selling resulted in a loss of $50. When the bank loan matured, two properties were seized to pay off the debt; the European agent demanded $40 in compensation for "delayed delivery"—this money became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

In the end, Lou Yufan suffered a total loss of US$112 million due to equipment investment, inventory scrapping, maintenance costs, breach of contract compensation, and lost orders.

It can be said that not only "Yu Fan Plastics Factory", but also the Lou Family Trading Company in Hong Kong almost went bankrupt!

Meanwhile, Li Ka-shing, relying on flexible pricing and rapid response, firmly occupied half of the Hong Kong plastic flower market and gradually ascended to the throne of "Plastic Flower King".

Xu Damao didn't understand, so he could only pretend to understand.

Zhang Dabiao clicked his tongue and shook his head – Of all people to run into, you just had to run into Li Huanggua?

How could you possibly beat Li Huanggua?

If you don't die, who will?

But this has nothing to do with me. My $72—I have to give it back to him.

Lou Xiao'e said helplessly, "My older brother has already misappropriated that money. Otherwise, the people from the underground banks in Hong Kong would have beaten him to death, and the bank would have taken back the Chamber of Commerce's factories, equipment, and properties."

"By then, this money will still be lost."

"Moreover, the contract was signed between you and my elder brother, who owns the Lou Family Trading Company in Hong Kong, and has no legal relationship with my father."

"Unless you appeal in Hong Kong, but that's not realistic."

"My dad, Da Biao, to be honest, if we can sell our belongings, we can repay your money."

"But who dares to take over the Lou family's businesses now?"

"This is all the cash our family can scrape together."

It sounds tragic, but it doesn't address the root of the problem.

Zhang Dabiao said impatiently while smoking, "There's no point in you crying and complaining about being poor. My money is gone because of you Lou family members, so you have to find a way to compensate me."

"And more importantly, they won't let your Lou family off the hook if you lose $72 in foreign exchange."

"If you can't solve the foreign exchange problem, there's no point in crying to me."

"And even if your family wants compensation, shouldn't you at least put on a show? Who are you trying to scare with 100,000 yuan?"

"I can't accept that."

Zhang Dabiao could never accept this, because if he did, it would mean he agreed to this form of compensation, and then he would have no reason to cause trouble again.

Either give it to me and I can get it myself, or I'll get a one-time compensation of 72 US dollars—this isn't just about exchanging RMB, it also includes remittance certificates!

I've lost a huge amount of money!

Seeing that Zhang Dabiao was unmoved, Lou Xiao'e nudged Xu Damao, but Xu Damao looked up at the sky, pretending not to know anything.

Yes, a wife is important, but brothers are just as important.

Besides, he has absolutely no say in this matter.

Finally, Lou Xiao'e reluctantly took out a small box from her bag and pushed it in front of Zhang Dabiao.

Zhang Dabiao raised an eyebrow. "What the hell?"