Hong Kong: Black Gold Tycoons

Ya Zi said, "He's been dead for so long, and the nightclub is nominally being managed by a few of his former subordinates, but in reality, those people don't know anything about business. The nightclub's business is getting worse every day, and the building's lease is about to expire. To put it bluntly, it's a mess, and no one dares to take it over for fear of getting into trouble."

"I will go to Henry and have him freeze all of Zhu Tao's properties under the pretext of 'investigating assets involved in the case,' on the grounds that he suspects these assets are proceeds from drug trafficking and that further investigation is needed."

"I also need your help," she added. "I'll investigate who's in charge of Zhu Tao's case. Can you help me find some dirt on them, not just things that ruin their reputations, but things that could land them in jail or even get them killed? I want them to do the same."

"Leave it to me." Chen Fei nodded. "And then what?"

Ya Zi said, "After the freeze, those old subordinates should panic. They were already afraid of being implicated. Now that their businesses are frozen, they can't get the money or get rid of their assets. They'll only get more and more scared. So I asked A Jun to talk to them, not with money, but with his life."

"Great, I like this plan." Chen Fei was very interested. "Go on."

"I will tell them that Zhu Tao owed me a large sum of money before he died. I will ask Henry to make an IOU for the exact amount owed, stamp it with Zhu Tao's personal seal, and date it three months before his death. Then I will show the IOU to them."

Ya Zi smiled and said, "Tell them that this debt can be settled either by paying back the money or by using their property. If they can't pay back the money, I'll sue them in court. In that case, the property will still be mine, and they'll have to face the lawsuit."

"What if they refuse to sign?" Chen Fei asked.

Ya Zi laughed out loud, "Then I'll have Henry invite them to the police station for tea, and we'll talk after that."

Chen Fei gave a thumbs up, "You're not giving me a way out."

"I gave them a way out," Yako said. "Sign, take the severance pay and leave; don't sign, you leave, keep your property, and don't get any severance pay."

"Severance pay is still required?"

"Here you go." Ya Zi pointed to the black and gold logo on the table. "Black Gold is a big company. They can't be so stingy as to not be able to afford this little bit of money. Give each person 30,000 to 50,000 as a token of appreciation. Let them feel like they weren't robbed, but sold. People feel much better once they've received the money."

Chen Fei couldn't help but applaud. "Just do as you say, but first have Henry issue the freeze order and leave them hanging for ten or fifteen days. When they're in a panic, then you can step in. At that point, they'll be willing to pay you, let alone give you money."

Ya Zi thought for a moment and then said, "I don't think this method will work at the printing factory. We still need to have Henry investigate. Once the seizure order is issued, the factory will stop production, the workers will leave, and the boss will naturally come looking for us because he can't handle it."

"Okay, it would be best if he gave us the things. If not, let's send him to the land reclamation site," Chen Fei said.

"clear."

"Once we've settled these two matters, if Henry has any ulterior motives, we'll send him back to his hometown," Chen Fei said.

Ya Zi seemed to have anticipated Chen Fei's words, and looked up at him, "When the time comes, can I fire a rocket at him?"

Chen Fei casually asked, "Why are you, a girl, so interested in rockets?"

"I'm a former police officer," Yako argued confidently. "When I was a police officer, I could only use guns, or at most hand grenades. Rocket-guns were things I couldn't even touch. Now that I have this opportunity, I can't be as shabby as before, can I?"

Chen Fei immediately agreed, "Okay, I'll let you blast him then, and let him know what it means to be the most vicious woman."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Tell Henry to find a way to arrange meetings for me with the Chief Secretary, Gita, the Financial Secretary, Sir David Jordan, the Customs Commissioner, and Attorney General, Sir John Willie. I intend to introduce them to me."

Ji Da is the head of all civil servants in Hong Kong and wields considerable power.

The Financial Secretary is in charge of all fiscal, tax, customs, and financial policies in Hong Kong.

The Commissioner of Customs is the highest-ranking official in charge of auditing Victoria Harbour, all ports, wharves, and warehouses.

As for the Department of Justice, although it is not as good as the Chief Secretary in terms of administrative coordination and not as good as the Financial Secretary in terms of financial control, it is the best in Hong Kong in terms of arresting and convicting people, covering up crimes, and providing judicial protection.

"Are you going to let them play that game of killing each other?" Yako glanced at him. "Give me something new to broaden my horizons."

Chen Fei said, "Peng Guodong and his men are useless to me, but I don't want to get my hands dirty, so I let them fight amongst themselves for fun. But Ji Da and his men are very useful to me, how could I let them kill each other?"

"Okay, I'll let Henry know."

Just as Chen Fei returned to his office, Le Huizhen rushed in like a gust of wind, carrying two magazines and looking irritable.

"Boss, you're finally back." She slammed the magazine on the table. "Look, I found this on the street in Mong Kok this morning."

Chen Fei picked up one of the books, a pirated copy of "Black Gold." The paper was yellowed and brittle, and the printing was so blurry it was like looking through frosted glass; even the face of the cover girl was doubled.

He turned to the inner pages again; the handwriting was crooked and ink was all over his hands.

The other book, "Yes!", is no better; the layout is misaligned, the colors of the pictures are distorted, and even the "Yes!" logo is printed crookedly.

"There's suddenly been a surge in pirated copies on the market," said Lok Wai-ching, hands on her hips, her face flushed with anger. "I sent my men to Causeway Bay, Mong Kok, and Tsim Sha Tsui, and they found pirated copies of these two books everywhere. Our legitimate sales have dropped by almost 30% this week, all because of these rip-offs."

Chen Fei casually flipped through it and said, "The quality of this pirated copy is terrible. Even the piracy is so poorly done."

"You're still laughing?" Yue Huizhen glared at him. "I've already called the police, but when they came, they just took away a few copies from the stall. Then the stall just put them back up. They arrested a few thugs and asked who printed them, but they all said they didn't know. If this continues, we'll lose a lot of revenue."

Although the Hong Kong British government had a Copyright Ordinance, its enforcement was extremely lax, the penalties were very light, and the authorities would not investigate unless the public complained.

Although the copyright order has just been revised and a copyright tribunal has been established, these measures are merely for show, and almost no one has been caught printing pirated goods.

The consensus in the industry is that printing books is not subject to copyright, so you can make money as long as you can print them.

Chen Fei threw the pirated magazine into the trash can and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

……

Meanwhile, in a printing factory in the Kwun Tong Industrial Area of ​​Kowloon, the machines were running at full speed.

The printing plant's full name is "Yongfa Printing Co., Ltd.", and it is just one part of the business empire of printing businessman Raymond Chester.

This Englishman in his early forties controls more than 40% of Hong Kong's magazine printing business; most of the well-known magazines on the market are produced in his factory.

In addition, he also owns a paper trading company, a book publishing company, and a logistics fleet covering the entire Hong Kong.

Bald, wearing a plaid vest, with a slightly overweight belly, he was standing in the glass office on the second floor, smoking a cigar and looking down at the workshop.

His father was a businessman from the old colonial era. He came to Hong Kong in the 1930s and settled down, starting with a small printing workshop.

After Raymond took over, he turned the family business into an industry leader.

But in recent years, the magazine business has been tough, and the sudden rise of Chen Fei's "Black Gold" and "Yes!", which were not printed for him, made him very uncomfortable.

What made him even more uncomfortable was that the better the two magazines sold, the more insignificant he, the "King of Printing," seemed.

"Boss!" A thin, middle-aged man pushed open the door and came in. It was his Chinese manager, Lin Zhaotang, with a somewhat solemn expression. "There's news outside that Black Gold has reported it to the police, and it's not just a normal report. It seems they've pulled some strings, and someone from the Commercial Crime Bureau has started to get involved."

Raymond exhaled a smoke ring and said unhurriedly, "Call the police? Let them call them."

"But……"

"Ah Tang, how many years have you been with me?" Raymond turned around, patted Lin Zhaotang on the shoulder, and said nonchalantly, "The 'tea money' I give the police station every month isn't for nothing. Inspector Chen from the Commercial Crime Bureau, he's from the same golf club as me, we were drinking together the other day. Do you think they'll come after me?"

Lin Zhaotang frowned slightly: "However, Black Gold seems to have some tricks up his sleeve..."

"Methods? You don't actually believe those scandalous stories about wealthy families and counterfeit money transactions in magazines are true, do you? Remember, the truth is always known only to a few, so it's only 30% true, 70% fabricated, and the rest is all made up."

Raymond then pointed to the printing presses downstairs. "Look at those printing presses. I can change the printing plate and print legitimate orders in half a day. After the inspection, I can change it back. Do they have any evidence? Even if they arrest a few deliverymen, what does it have to do with me? My fleet of vehicles travels all over Hong Kong every day. Who knows which truck is carrying pirated goods?"

Lin Zhaotang was still somewhat uneasy: "But..."

Before he could finish speaking, Raymond said, "Don't worry, believe it or not, I don't even need to step in. Those pirated copies on the market can crush his genuine product. Once his sales plummet to the point where he can't hold on anymore, he'll naturally have to obediently come to me to print. At that time, I'll decide the price and the profit sharing."

As he spoke, he took a cigar from the table for Lin Zhaotang and continued, "In the Hong Kong printing industry, no one can make money without me, Raymond Chester. If he doesn't let me print for him, I'll make sure what he prints becomes waste paper."