Chapter 866: The Mightiest Tycoon!
In the office, Li Yi poured water for the two men while saying to Huang Lixing, “Old Huang, you’ve invested 4 billion Hong Kong dollars this time, bringing the total principal and interest to 9.23 billion. If you need the funds, just settle up with Zhao Xinlan; if not…”
Before he could finish, Huang Lixing interrupted, “No… no, just keep guiding my investments!”
“Alright then!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Futiao asked, “Brother Li Yi, I see everyone’s spirits are high today. I doubt many people are willing to settle their funds and leave; in fact, they’ll likely keep pouring money in. Can you really handle that much capital?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “We can. This project is very special—we can handle any amount!”
This investment project was indeed unique, and it involved no real difficulty or risk—it was simply a quick way to make money by capitalizing on the appreciation of the British pound.
Put simply, it involved converting all the raised funds into pounds, depositing them in the bank, and waiting for the British government to adjust the pound’s exchange rate.
When the pound appreciated, the amount of Hong Kong dollars that could be exchanged would increase, and the investment would be a success.
In short, it’s currency speculation.
Of course, this assumes you know the fluctuations in a country’s exchange rate and have legal channels to obtain that country’s currency.
In many countries, currency speculation is illegal, so even if you know how exchange rates will fluctuate, it’s difficult to profit from it.
However, since Hong Kong is currently a dependency of the British Empire, the Hong Kong dollar has long been pegged to the pound. This means the Hong Kong dollar can be exchanged for pounds at any time—a process that doesn’t even require a trip to London.
“Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease!” Li Fu said.
“Hmm, by the way, Old Li, there’s something I’d like to ask for your help with!” Li Yi said.
“What is it? Go ahead.”
“Here’s the thing: I want you to contact some manufacturing companies in Hong Kong and get them to set up factories in the Pengcheng Special Economic Zone across the strait. Then we’ll place orders for production at those factories over there. What do you think, banbanhaobang?” Li Yi said.
“What are the specific requirements?” Li Futao asked.
“They must be legitimate manufacturing enterprises—like garment factories or toy factories. We’ll provide the capital and raw materials here, while they’ll provide the land and labor, along with tax incentives. It’s a win-win for both sides!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, I’ll discuss this with them. It shouldn’t be a problem!” Li Futiao said.
“Great!”
Then Li Yi added, “Also, in a few days, I plan to take Xiao Xue to New York. Could you help us with the paperwork?”
“Sure!”
Then Li Futiao added, “Oh, and the Henry family has responded. They’re willing to pay 10 million Hong Kong dollars to buy Henry’s freedom. What do you think?”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “I don’t want their 10 billion Hong Kong dollars. As far as I know, the Henry family controls 22% of Huifeng’s shares. Just have them transfer 5% of their shares to me!”
Li Futiao thought for a moment and said, “Huifeng’s market cap is only 18 billion right now. A 5% stake is worth just 900 million Hong Kong dollars. Are you really taking shares instead of cash?”
“Yeah. Tell them I don’t want to see that guy on Hong Kong Island anymore. Once the shares are transferred, kick him out immediately!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, what about the Liu family? How do you plan to handle them?” Li Futao asked again.
“The Liu family is in the shipping business, right?”
“Right, they own a shipping fleet, but their operations aren’t very large!”
“Let their company go bankrupt. The business can be acquired by the Bao family or other interested Chamber of Commerce members. As for the head of the Liu family, he can go serve a few years alongside Gusta—that way, we won’t put their family through any hardship,” Li Yi said.
“Alright, I’ve got a plan. Get this sorted out as soon as possible!” Li Futiao said.
“Alright…”
………
Late at night, all was quiet!
In the luxurious master bedroom of the grand villa, the young couple, having just shared a passionate moment, were now leaning against the soft headboard, chatting.
Li Yi ran his hand over Jiang Xue’s “breast” as he asked, “Did you have fun at the party today?”
“It was fun, but I’m still getting used to it!” Jiang Xue said with a hint of self-pity.
“What didn’t you get used to?” Li Yi asked immediately.
“First of all, they spend way too much money. Between buying clothes, getting my hair done, and buying a gift for Mrs. Luo, I spent 180,000 Hong Kong dollars in just one day. It’s so extravagant!”
Jiang Xue continued, “Also, compared to those wealthy ladies and heiresses, I felt like a country bumpkin—I just didn’t fit in at all!”
Hearing this, Li Yi realized his little wife was feeling a bit insecure.
After all, compared to those aristocratic ladies and young ladies, both the Jiang and Li families seemed more like nouveau riche.
And she, having been born in a small county town and spent 19 of her 21 years in poverty, was nothing but an ugly duckling compared to those wealthy ladies and young misses who had lived a life of luxury since childhood.
“Has anyone bullied you?” Li Yi asked.
“Not really. Whether it was Mrs. Luo, Miss Luo, or anyone else, they were all very friendly to me—they even seemed to be trying to curry favor with me a little!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Good for them for knowing their place. From now on, you should attend more of these socialite gatherings. Once you’ve gotten to know these wealthy ladies and young ladies, you can even invite them over to our place.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“Why not? You have to understand that high society is all about connections—it’s the same for men and women alike. Only by entering these circles can you truly share resources!” Li Yi explained.
“Sister Hong did mention to me that everyone attending today’s gathering comes from the most prominent wealthy families on the entire island. Ordinary people don’t even qualify for an invitation. But can I really fit into such an exclusive circle?” Jiang Xue said, sounding a bit unsure.
“Why do you need to fit into their circle?”
“Didn’t you just say I should spend more time with them…”
Li Yi smiled, then said with authority, “I told you to interact more with those wealthy young ladies and ladies of the house not so you can figure out how to fit in with them, but to give them a chance to befriend you. You must understand that right now, our family is the wealthiest in Hong Kong Island—the Li family is the largest and most powerful elite family on the island!”
Jiang Xue was clearly stunned by Li Yi’s words. She stared at him with her beautiful, wide eyes for a long moment before asking, “Is our family really the richest in Hong Kong?”
“As far as I can tell, no one is richer than us right now!” Li Yi replied.
“Then how much money do we have in total?”
Jiang Xue’s question stumped Li Yi; he hadn’t actually calculated how much money he had.
It wasn’t that Li Yi didn’t want to calculate it; rather, for a super-rich person, his wealth fluctuates constantly, making it impossible to arrive at an exact figure.
But since his wife had already asked, Li Yi naturally had to give her an answer.
He fell into deep thought.
After a moment, Li Yi finally said, “I haven’t actually calculated exactly how much money we have, and I couldn’t even if I tried. But Sheffield Steel alone has a market value of 10.4 billion pounds. We control 90% of the company’s shares, which is worth 9.3 billion pounds—that’s nearly 160 billion Hong Kong dollars…”
“160… billion?”
Jiang Xue clearly hadn’t realized just how wealthy her family was; her voice trembled slightly as she spoke!
“And that doesn’t even include our holdings in Hong Kong, the mainland, and New York. For instance, we own 70% of Hang Seng Bank, which is worth 5 billion Hong Kong dollars, and 94% of New Territories Warehouse, valued at 6 billion. On top of that, there’s Star Investment and Shield Security—these two companies aren’t publicly listed, so they’re hard to value, but they’re certainly worth a pretty penny!”
Li Yi continued, “And then there are our investments in New York. For instance, we own 30% of Green Brothers and 10% of Apple. Combined, that’s worth several billion US dollars!”
Listening as her husband laid out their family’s wealth item by item, Jiang Xue was completely dumbfounded.
Finally, she understood where her husband got the confidence to claim that the Li family was the most powerful tycoon family in Hong Kong…
………