Chapter 498: Li Yi’s Proposal!

Wan Chai Pier. The Green Dragon Society!

After hearing Li Yi’s analysis, Huang Lixing was in high spirits.

He was already quite wealthy to begin with; whether on Hong Kong Island or the mainland, he was a true millionaire.

Now that they’d made a huge profit in the stock market, Huang Lixing conservatively estimated his net worth to be at least 2 billion—most of it in cash—once the funds were settled.

If he could truly withdraw safely from the underworld, that would indeed be a rare cause for celebration.

But just as he was daydreaming about a cozy life with his wife and kids, Li Yi suddenly said, “Old Huang, I don’t think you need to rush into shutting down your pier business just yet. Instead, you should shut down the casino operations first!”

Hearing this, Huang Lixing was momentarily taken aback, staring at Li Yi in shock.

In his view, Li Yi was the kind of law-abiding citizen who strictly followed the rules—a fact evident from his past conduct.

Therefore, he assumed Li Yi would strongly disapprove of illegal activities like smuggling, but he never imagined he would say something so outrageous.

“Brother Li Yi, are you serious?”

Li Yi nodded and said, “I’m not joking. Although your dock business is indeed illegal in the eyes of the British Hong Kong government, it only harms the government’s interests—it brings nothing but benefits to the common people!”

“More importantly, your dock business will be of immense help to what we’re about to undertake. It would be a shame to just give it up like that!”

Actually, Li Yi didn’t have anything against the gray-area business of smuggling.

Although it is indeed an illegal business, whether smuggling is good or bad for a country depends on the circumstances.

Over the past few decades, we’ve been under Western blockades and embargoes, and many urgently needed supplies and industrial machinery were brought back into the country through smuggling.

Huang Lixing looked at Zhou Yang intently, making sure he wasn’t joking, then said, “Brother Li Yi, can you tell me exactly what you’re up to? Why do you need a smuggling team?”

“Bro, I started out as a laborer hauling heavy bags at the docks. It took me decades of hard work to get where I am today, so I know this business inside and out.”

“Don’t be fooled by the fact that shipping is a highly profitable business—the risks are unimaginable. You might make a fortune on ten trips, but one single mishap could wipe you out. So take my advice: if there’s any other line of work you can do, for heaven’s sake, don’t go down this path!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Old Huang, I know all that, but I’m not asking you to keep this team around to make money!”

“Then what is it?”

After a brief pause, Li Yi looked at Huang Lixing and said, “Old Huang, what do you think of the situation back home?”

“Apart from being a bit poor, things are actually pretty good!”

“Yeah, the country is poor!”

Li Yi continued, “A major reason the country is poor is the various blockades imposed on us by the West, led by the ‘Eagle Thieves’—from the economy to technology and every other aspect.”

“Although we’ve already implemented reform and opening-up, imperialism hasn’t given up on its ambition to destroy us. They still maintain strict controls over key technologies and equipment. Therefore, we need to use special means and channels to acquire technologies and equipment that benefit our people. In the future, this will be a major business focus for our investment company!”

After hearing Li Yi’s words, Huang Lixing was once again taken aback by his vision.

After a moment’s thought, he looked at Li Yi and said, “Brother, do you really think this will work? This isn’t like smuggling ordinary appliances—if we get caught, we’ll just have to pay a fine!”

“If we smuggle the kind of goods you’re talking about, and the British Hong Kong government finds out, they might treat us as spies!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Why wouldn’t it work? There are plenty of people on Hong Kong Island working covertly for the mainland, and I haven’t seen the British Hong Kong government dare to take action against them!”

Huang Lixing’s eyes lit up, and he immediately whispered, “Brother Li Yi, are you talking about the Huo family?”

Li Yi nodded with a smile!

It was common knowledge on Hong Kong Island that the Huo family worked for the mainland, and Huang Lixing knew this better than most.

The Huo family first began working for the mainland during the Korean War. At that time, large quantities of scarce supplies—such as medicine, gasoline, and tires—raised by patriotic merchants were stranded in Hong Kong and couldn’t be shipped back to the mainland. So, someone approached the Huo family and asked them to help smuggle the supplies across to Shekou Port.

At the time, the Huo family organized over a dozen ships and more than two hundred employees, working day and night to dispatch “special embargo shipments” to Shekou Port. Huang Lixing had only recently arrived in Hong Kong Island and was working as a porter at the docks controlled by the Huo family, so he was intimately familiar with the operation.

“Brother Li Yi, the Huo family is having a rough time right now. If you really go through with this, you’d better be prepared for the consequences!” Huang Lixing said.

Although the Huo family was highly secretive, the British colonial government in Hong Kong did not discover until the end of the Korean War that they had been secretly transporting scarce supplies across the strait.

But there’s no such thing as a wall that doesn’t let the wind through; eventually, the British Hong Kong government found out about it. As a result, for the past twenty-plus years since the 1950s, the Huo family has repeatedly faced malicious suppression and political isolation from the British Hong Kong authorities.

For instance, whenever the Huo family sought to purchase land from the government, even terms that had already been agreed upon would be renegotiated at the last minute. When they wanted to invest in a container terminal, the British Hong Kong government repeatedly raised the entry barriers, intending to deter them.

Li Yi was naturally aware of this, but he didn’t care in the slightest. Smiling, he said, “Old Huang, let’s not even mention that we have a legitimate company as a front—outsiders usually can’t detect this. Even if they did find out, so what?”

“Given the mainland’s tough stance, the British Hong Kong government won’t last long. The fact that they dare not touch the Huo family is the best proof of that!”

Huang Lixing thought for a moment and said, “Alright, since Brother Li Yi thinks this is doable, I’m definitely on board!”

Li Yi nodded, then asked, “By the way, Old Huang, does the investment company you registered for me have an office yet?”

“Um… I’ve got a few empty rooms here. With a little sprucing up, they’d be ready to use…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi shook his head and said, “No, that won’t work. There are too many people around here—who knows how many eyes are watching every day. I’d better find another place!”

“That’s fine. Since you’re running an investment firm, it really isn’t suitable to have an office over here at the docks!” Huang Lixing said.

“Okay, I’ll handle this!”

Then Li Yi added, “By the way, Old Huang, get some men ready over the next few days and have them stand by at the docks, waiting for my orders!”

Huang Lixing’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately whispered, “Brother, is it that young master from the Li family…”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Just keep this to yourself!”

“Alright, I’ll personally be stationed at the docks. As soon as anything happens, we’ll spring into action!”

“Alright, I’ll be heading out now!”

“Wait!”

Then Huang Lixing said, “I just got a call from Chairman Li’s assistant. He said he had something to give you, but he couldn’t reach you, so I told him to bring it here. Why don’t you wait for him?”

Li Yi knew that Assistant Zhou must be coming to deliver the contracts for Lan Xinyi and the others, so he nodded immediately and said, “Alright, I’ll wait then!”

“Alright…”

………

PS: There’s one more chapter before 11 PM!