Chapter 673: The Idea of an Alliance!

Hong Kong. Kai Tak International Airport!

At 11:00 a.m. on January 7, 1982, a dozen luxury cars were lined up in neat rows in the parking lot outside the airport.

At the same time, a large contingent of black-clad bodyguards stretched from inside the airport all the way to the motorcade, seemingly waiting for someone.

At the airport exit, a dozen or so heavily armed bodyguards surrounded several people, creating a tense yet high-profile atmosphere.

When people saw the central figure in the midst of the bodyguards, they were all stunned.

As the second most powerful figure of the second generation on Hong Kong Island, Li Futao was a household name there; people truly never expected to encounter such a prominent figure at the airport.

In addition, the figures standing beside Li Futao also caught the public’s attention, as they were no ordinary people either—they included Ho Tung-ying, the head of the Ho family; Lo Man-wah, the eldest son of the Lo family; and Wong Lap-hing, a big shot from the Green Dragon Society.

With so many bigwigs gathered at the airport—and apparently waiting for someone—passengers arriving for their flights couldn’t help but glance their way.

Everyone began speculating about who could be arriving on Hong Kong Island—someone with such high-profile connections that Li Futao, Huang Lixing, and others had come personally to greet them.

Consequently, passengers with a bit of time to spare didn’t rush off; they all stopped to watch the commotion.

Before long, a crowd had gathered at the exit!

At 11:15, as a group of over a dozen people emerged from the airport, Li Futao, Huang Lixing, and the others immediately stepped forward to greet them—clearly, the person they were there to meet had arrived.

When the onlookers saw Li Yi, surrounded by the group at the center, they finally realized that Li Futao and the others had come to welcome him.

This revelation came as a shock to many!

Recently, Li Yi and his company, Starry Sky, had become a household name on Hong Kong Island. Both the island’s established families and British-owned conglomerates paled in comparison to him.

Everyone also knew that this young man from the mainland had good relations with established families like the Lis, the Hos, and the Luos; on several occasions, these Chinese business tycoons had stepped forward to speak out in support of this mainland lad.

But they never imagined that his status and standing were so high that it had reached the point where Li Futao, Ho Tung-ying, and Wong Lap-hing would personally come to the airport to greet him.

Consequently, some couldn’t help but speculate whether Li Yi was truly backed by some unspoken superpower, and whether his purpose in coming to Hong Kong was really just to invest and make money…

In fact, it wasn’t just the onlookers who were taken by surprise—Li Yi himself hadn’t expected Li Fuzhao and the others to come all the way to the airport to greet them!

After a round of warm greetings, Li Yi, surrounded by the crowd, boarded the Li family’s motorcade and headed straight for the Li family estate.

Once inside the car, with only Li Futao and the driver remaining, Li Yi couldn’t help but ask, “Old Li, why did you bring Mr. He and Mr. Luo to pick us up? This is really embarrassing.”

Li Futao shook his head and said, “It wasn’t my idea to bring them along—they were the ones who insisted on coming!”

“They asked to come on their own?”

“Exactly. And it’s not just them—there are dozens of wealthy Chinese businesspeople waiting for you at the estate. If I hadn’t stopped them, they would’ve all come along too!” Li Futao said with a laugh.

Hearing this, Li Yi was taken aback and immediately asked, “What on earth is going on?”

“It’s nothing much. They just found out about you shorting gold in New York, and everyone wants to meet the man who single-handedly wiped out Wall Street!”

Li Futiao continued, “It wasn’t us who spread the word. It’s just that the commotion you caused in New York was simply too massive. A few days ago, all kinds of media over there—including newspapers, magazines, and TV—were reporting on how you wiped out the New York futures market. The media here in Hong Kong took notice and immediately started going crazy reporting on it too.”

“After all that extensive media coverage, quite a few people called me asking for confirmation. As you know, I can’t keep things hidden from families like the He’s and the Luos. Plus, since you’ve already closed the net over there, I had no choice but to tell them the truth!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “So that’s how it was. I thought Old Li had specifically invited them to pick me up!”

“Not at all. But everyone genuinely wanted to throw you a welcome party, so I just went ahead and organized a reception at the estate!” Li Fu said.

“Alright!”

………

By the time they returned to the estate, it was nearly midnight!

The reception was all set up. As soon as the motorcade returned, Li Futiao gave the order to officially begin the reception.

Li Yi glanced around; the room was filled with familiar faces.

In addition to He Dongying, Luo Wenhua, and others, there was also “Ship King” Sir Bao, the “Li Ka-shing” of the real estate industry, and members of the typically low-key Huo family.

In short, everyone present was a heavyweight in the Chinese business community.

Although their combined strength still fell short of the British-funded conglomerates at their peak, it was now virtually on par with those same conglomerates, which had since suffered significant losses.

Upon seeing them, Li Yi began to form a vague idea of what these Hong Kong tycoons were up to!

If all goes as expected, these tycoons intend to unite and resist the British-owned conglomerate and its foreign executives.

That’s right—resistance!

As a British colony, Hong Kong Island had a population that was 90% Chinese. Yet, like the indigenous peoples of all colonies worldwide, the economic lifeline of the region had always been controlled by those foreigners.

Although Chinese capital had risen rapidly over the past century, reaching a considerable scale by twenty years ago,

However, once these foreigners realized that Chinese capital had grown strong enough to threaten them, they colluded with the British colonial authorities and spared no effort in suppressing it.

Faced with the bullying of these foreigners, some had considered resisting, but the results were far from satisfactory.

Over the past few decades, countless wealthy Chinese have fallen victim to their suppression and persecution, with many families destroyed and lives ruined.

In the end, people were left with no choice but to either swallow their pride and back down, or grovel and serve as others’ lackeys.

But things are different now. Since Li Yi descended like a war god, he has not only forced the British-funded conglomerates into retreat, leaving them utterly humiliated, but also inflicted heavy losses upon them.

More importantly, Li Yi actually dared to travel alone to the “Eagle’s Nest,” where he wreaked havoc in New York, laying waste to the entire Wall Street.

Such ability, such audacity, and such a track record have set the hearts of Hong Kong’s wealthy Chinese ablaze with excitement.

At the same time, they saw hope in resisting those foreign devils, which is why they’d all come today!

Sure enough, just as Li Yi had anticipated, when the event began and host Li Fuzhao delivered his opening remarks, he spoke many words laden with deep meaning.

Although he didn’t explicitly mention forming an alliance, the implication was clear—after all, phrases like “unity,” “uniting against external threats,” and “pursuing common interests” aren’t used lightly.

However, forming an alliance is always a serious matter, so Li Futiao did not bring it up publicly at the reception. Still, his words had already planted a seed in the guests’ minds; it was just a matter of time before it sprouted.

The reception lasted over two hours. By the time most of the guests had left, Li Futiao summoned Li Yi, Huang Lixing, and Li Yunbao to his study.

The group sat around a small round tea table, and Li Yunbao tactfully served everyone tea and water, which greatly pleased Li Futao, who was watching from the side.

In the past, although his son hadn’t carried himself with the airs of a wealthy young master, he hadn’t really understood the ways of the world and had come across as a bit of a hothead—lacking any sense of composure.

However, after working with Li Yi for a few months, regardless of how much his skills had improved, he had made significant progress in his interpersonal skills.

Li Futiao cleared his throat and got straight to the point: “Brother Li Yi, the He and Luo families have asked me to ask you something. They want to establish a Chinese-funded conglomerate modeled after the British-funded group. I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining?”

Upon hearing this, the eyes of everyone in the room fixed on Li Yi, waiting for his answer…

…….