Chapter 608: The Show Is About to Begin!
The next day!
When Li Yi woke up in his room, it was already 11:30 a.m.
It had been nearly 4:00 a.m. when he saw Li Futiao off yesterday.
So even though it was nearly noon, Li Yi still felt groggy.
If it weren’t for the urgent knocking at the door, Li Yi would have loved to sleep a little longer.
Rubbing his sore eyes, he climbed out of bed and opened the door.
As he opened the door, he saw “Bandit” standing there.
Seeing Li Yi come out, Zhang Ziqiang hurriedly said, “Brother Yi, Mr. Huang and Comrade Yang Wenguang are here—they’re waiting for you downstairs!”
“Okay, tell them to wait a moment. I’ll wash my face and be right down!”
“Got it!”
After a quick wash and a change into clean clothes, Li Yi went downstairs.
The place where they were staying was located halfway up Taiping Mountain—an unused villa belonging to the Li family.
Usually, only Li Yunling would come to stay for a day or two now and then, and few people ever noticed the place.
Realizing that Li Yi didn’t want to reveal his whereabouts—and that he clearly couldn’t return to his Cloud Peak No. 1—Li Futao had arranged for him to stay here.
When he reached the ground floor, he indeed saw Old Huang, his brother-in-law, and Squad Leader Yan there. The group was chatting in hushed tones, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Hearing footsteps coming from the staircase, they immediately stopped and turned their gaze toward Li Yi.
Upon entering the living room, Li Yi smiled and asked, “What brings you all here?”
Huang Lixing smiled and said, “It’s lunchtime, so we brought you some food. Also, Old Li has some news!”
Li Yi glanced at the table beside him, which was piled high with takeout boxes. From the packaging, they appeared to be from Yuan’s Restaurant.
He immediately turned to “Brother Bandit” beside him and said, “Save one for me. Divide the rest among the others—it won’t taste good once it gets cold!”
“Got it!”
While Zhang Ziqiang was handing out the meals, Li Yi turned to Huang Lixing and asked, “What’s the situation with Old Li?”
“He’s already found the actors and spread the word. With that guy Li Jiuying’s cooperation, the Lin family has taken the bait and is currently negotiating with Old Li’s people!”
“That fast?”
“Yeah. That’s why Old Li asked me to check with you—how high do you plan to set the price?”
“22.2 million per ton—not a penny less!”
“Isn’t that a bit too high? At this rate, the price is already exceeding the international gold price!” Huang Lixing immediately replied.
“It does exceed the international gold price—it’s about 30 dollars more per ounce!”
“Will the Lin family agree to such a high price?”
“They will. Besides, our price isn’t that outlandish. Don’t be fooled by the fact that their jewelry store prices fluctuate with the international gold price—they’re selling at retail, which is far higher than the international price. This price is well within their acceptable range!”
Li Yi had already done his research: the price of gold jewelry here is calculated as the daily international gold price multiplied by the weight of the gold, plus 1.02, plus a labor fee, with the 1.02 representing a commission.
As for the craftsmanship fee, each gold shop has different rules, but generally, it adds about ten to twenty Hong Kong dollars per gram on average.
But with a $30 increase per ounce, that’s only a $1 increase per gram. At the current exchange rate, that’s less than 7 Hong Kong dollars—they’re still making a profit.
Seeing that Li Yi had said this, Huang Lixing didn’t press the issue any further, but instead said again, “By the way, Old Li told us to send a batch of gold over this afternoon—at least one ton!”
“Got it!”
Li Yi then glanced at Yang Wenguang and Squad Leader Yan Guangming beside him and said, “Brother-in-law, Squad Leader Yan, we’re counting on you two for this!”
“We’ll get the job done!” Squad Leader Yan and Yang Wenguang said in unison.
Li Yi smiled and said, “This isn’t the army, so you don’t have to act like soldiers. Relax a bit!”
“Yes, sir!”
After wrapping up the business talk, Yang Wenguang asked, “Xiao Yi, how are your sister and Ruirui doing? Are they settling in well in Beijing?”
“They’re both doing great. A couple of days ago, Ruirui was able to stand up holding onto the wall, but he still can’t walk yet!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Really? But come to think of it, the little guy is already eleven months old—it’s about time he started walking!” Yang Wenguang said with a delighted expression.
“My older sister asked me to bring you quite a few photos of her and Ruirui. They’re all in the suitcase upstairs. I’ll get them for you in a moment!” Li Yi said.
“Sure!”
“By the way, brother-in-law, let everyone know that if they want to write letters home or anything, they should just tell us. I’ll have someone take the letters to Yangcheng or Pengcheng on the other side of the river and mail them out for everyone!”
Li Yi continued, “If anyone wants to make a phone call or send a telegram, I’ll have someone arrange for you to do that back on the mainland!”
“Alright, I’ll let everyone know as soon as I get back!” Yang Wenguang said.
“Alright…”
……..
Downtown. Lin’s Gold Shop!
As Hong Kong Island’s second-largest gold retailer, the Lin family’s headquarters was quite impressive, occupying an entire four-story building right on the street.
The ground floor serves as the storefront, while the remaining three floors are entirely dedicated to office space.
In comparison, the headquarters of Starry Sky Company—which currently manages tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars—looked rather modest.
In the largest office on the fourth floor, the Lin family’s patriarch, Lin Zhengrong, was reclining in a comfortable leather chair, listening to a report from his trusted assistant.
Before the other person could finish speaking, Lin Zhengrong couldn’t wait to ask, “So does that mean the Zhou family is really going to sell their gold to stay afloat?”
“That’s right. I’ve already spoken with Mr. Zhou on the phone and confirmed that he does indeed have a batch of gold he’s ready to sell!”
“How much is it? Did he mention a price?”
“Mr. Zhou said the quantity is no less than one ton, but he didn’t mention the price, and…”
“And what? Don’t beat around the bush—just spit it out!” Lin Zhengrong said sternly.
“Yes. We just received word from our inside source that the Li family is raising funds—it looks like they’re planning something big. I suspect they’re after this batch of gold!”
“Hmph. That bastard Li Jiuying sure has his fingers in the right places, but as long as the Lin family is around, the Li family won’t get their hands on that gold!”
Lin Zhengrong then added, “Send an invitation to the Zhou family for me. Tell them I’ll be paying Brother Yingyuan a visit this afternoon!”
“Alright. But if you’re after that gold, I’d suggest you prepare plenty of funds. I suspect the Zhou family will jack up the price and demand an exorbitant sum!”
“Are you saying it’s because of the Li family?”
“That’s part of it, but not the whole story!”
“What other reasons are there?” Lin Zhengrong asked again.
“The Zhou family is short on cash!”
“Short on cash?”
“Right. Think about it—the main reason the Zhou family is putting their gold on the market is that they suffered massive losses in the stock market recently. On top of that, real estate prices have plummeted by half. They’ve been forced to sell their gold just to stay afloat. Since they’re desperate for a large sum of cash to keep things running, they certainly won’t sell it at a low price!”
“Haha, at the very least, the international gold price is holding steady. Even if the Zhou family is short on cash, their asking price won’t be too outrageous!”
Then, Lin Zhengrong changed the subject and said, “But you do have a point. Let’s see how much we have left in our accounts.”
“Just under two hundred million!”
“That’s good—enough to snap up this entire lot!”
But then he added, “Still, just to be on the safe side, we should let Mr. Smith know. After all, we can’t tie up all our capital at once—better to be prepared for any contingencies!”
The Li family was a cautionary tale; he couldn’t risk working his fingers to the bone only to be sold out in the end.
“Yes, sir. I’ll call Mr. Smith right away!”
“Go ahead. Also, pick out a decent gift for me to take with me when we visit the Zhou family this afternoon!” Lin Zhengrong reminded him again.
“Okay…”
………