The Li Family Courtyard!
By the time they got home, it was already 8:30.
Usually, this was the time when Yun Rui and Yun Jin were half-asleep, so as he entered, Li Yi moved cautiously, afraid of waking the two little ones.
Sure enough, as he pushed the door open, he saw Jiang Xue sitting on the kang, gently patting the two little ones on the back.
Seeing Li Yi enter, she immediately made a shushing gesture.
Li Yi understood immediately and tiptoed into the study next door.
Although tonight’s events were within his expectations—after all, the existence of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce had indeed undermined the British Empire’s comprehensive control over Hong Kong Island and further disrupted their plans to plunder the island’s economic resources—
It must be noted that over the past few decades, London had successively relinquished a vast number of colonies, including India—which they regarded as the brightest jewel in the British Crown.
Yet they had never relinquished Hong Kong Island. The primary reason was that, despite its small size and seemingly insignificant stature, the value it generated for the British Empire each year far exceeded the average person’s imagination.
Before Hong Kong’s handover, London reaped hundreds of billions in profits annually from this tiny piece of land. Such a massive windfall would make anyone’s mouth water.
More importantly, since Hong Kong Island was then a colony of the British Empire, they also enjoyed numerous hidden benefits there. For instance, there were explicit requirements that much of Hong Kong Island’s infrastructure—such as buses, the Kowloon-Canton Railway, MTR trains, and electrical equipment—must be sourced from the United Kingdom.
Furthermore, many of Hong Kong’s monopolistic companies were controlled by London and its affiliated interests. For instance, the Great Eastern Telegraph Company, which controlled Hong Kong’s external communications, the telephone company, and Cathay Pacific Airways—all were British-owned enterprises.
Just think about it: transportation, telecommunications, and the well-known financial sector—these industries vital to people’s livelihoods were all in the hands of British-owned companies. How could the profits be anything but substantial?
But ever since he burst onto the scene in Hong Kong like a catfish, everything changed.
First, he took everyone by surprise by short-selling Hong Kong stocks, raking in tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars, and used that money to establish the renowned Starry Sky Investment.
He then made another fortune by shorting gold, and in the process, repeatedly defeated the British-backed conglomerates—the vassals of the British Empire—inflicting heavy losses on them.
While establishing his authority, he also won over a large number of Chinese merchants who had long been oppressed by the British-owned groups, uniting them to form the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
Today, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce is riding high and wields immense power. Not only has it forced the British-owned conglomerates into retreat, but it has also, through various means, gained control of a large number of financial and other industrial companies on Hong Kong Island, including New Territories Warehouse, Hang Seng Bank, and Lung Hang Bank.
Even in the Huifeng Bank, which the British-funded groups regarded as their exclusive domain, Star Investment has secured a 12% stake.
More importantly, for the past few months, Star Investment has been quietly buying up shares in promising companies on Hong Kong Island at rock-bottom prices.
Li Yi knew that starting next year, Hong Kong’s economic crisis would come to an end, and the region would enter a period of rapid growth over the next three years, soaring from the current level of over 650 points to over 4,000 points—a surge of approximately sixfold.
During this period, Hong Kong’s real estate and stock markets would soar like rockets, shattering one record after another.
To capitalize on this wave of opportunities, Li Yi had already devised a plan for Star Investment to buy Hong Kong stocks at rock-bottom prices before returning to the mainland.
If this plan succeeded, regardless of how many companies would fall into Li Yi’s hands, he would have a stake in every profitable industry on Hong Kong Island.
That was one thing, but more importantly, Li Yi wasn’t the type to keep all the profits to himself. The Li, Ho, Lo, Fok, and Huang families—including Huang Li-hang’s—were all his friends, and they had all made a fortune through their partnerships with him.
The pie is only so big. Now, a tiger leading a pack of hungry wolves is rushing in to snatch food right from the British Empire’s pot—and naturally, they cannot tolerate this.
That is why they have now demanded that the Chinese Chamber of Commerce be dissolved.
Of course, the fact that those Westerners chose to make such a demand at this time and in this setting was also meant to send a warning.
They want to test the higher-ups’ stance on Hong Kong by putting pressure on him.
Now that he has explicitly refused them, barring any surprises, London certainly won’t let this slide. They will inevitably take action against him and the Chinese Merchants’ Association, thereby making an example of them to warn others.
Although Li Yi wasn’t afraid of them—after all, the British Empire was no longer the “Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets” of old, and with their country currently facing a severe economic crisis, they didn’t have many cards to play—
But even a starving camel is bigger than a horse, and Li Yi dared not take this lightly. If those foreigners truly mobilized the full might of their nation against him, it would indeed be quite troublesome.
Therefore, he had to plan ahead and prepare early.
Just as Li Yi was pondering his next move, the study door suddenly swung open, and Jiang Xue walked in carrying a thermos.
Walking up to Li Yi’s desk, Jiang Xue poured him some water and asked, “How was the state banquet? Was it lively?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “It was just so-so—pretty much like a big feast back in our village!”
Jiang Xue shot him a look and said, “How could that be? The people attending a state banquet like that are all high-ranking officials—it’s nothing like the ordinary villagers in our village.”
“Haha, aside from the food being a bit better, there really wasn’t anything special. If I get the chance next time, I’ll take you to check it out!” Li Yi said.
“You’re just talking nonsense. A state banquet isn’t something an ordinary student like me—who has neither a government position nor any merits—could possibly attend!” Jiang Xue said with a laugh.
“Don’t say that. Who says you can’t go just because you have no official position or merits…”
Before Li Yi could finish, Jiang Xue cut him off: “Enough with all that nonsense. I need to tell you something!”
“What is it?”
“Do you know about Zhang Ziqiang and Sister Feng dating?” Jiang Xue asked.
“They didn’t tell me, but I could tell. What’s up?”
Although the two of them were trying to be discreet, this sort of thing isn’t something you can hide just by being careful. When you’re in love with someone, the way you look at them is practically melting—anyone who isn’t blind can see it.
So Li Yi had noticed something was up with them a long time ago, but since neither of them had brought it up, he’d just pretended not to know.
“You noticed… then why didn’t you tell me? You almost made me look like a fool!” Jiang Xue said, feigning annoyance.
“What kind of embarrassment?”
Jiang Xue replied immediately, “A few days ago, I went to Grandpa’s house with Mom. While chatting with Uncle San, I heard him complain that Cousin Jian’an still hasn’t gotten married—it’s driving him and Auntie San nearly crazy. I thought Cousin Jian’an and Sister Feng were about the same age, so I figured I’d try to set them up…”
“Did you ask Zhang Feng about it?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
“Well… and you’re laughing. When Sister Feng told me she was dating Brother Qiang, you have no idea how awkward I felt. Thank goodness Brother Qiang isn’t home today—otherwise, I wouldn’t have known how to explain it to him!”
Li Yi chuckled and said, “What’s there to be embarrassed about? They didn’t tell us when they started dating!”
“It still felt awkward…”
Li Yi didn’t press Jiang Xue on the matter but said, “Since Zhang Feng has already told you about this, I think their happy day is coming soon. Later, you should prepare a big gift for them—consider it a wedding present from the two of us!”
“What kind of big gift? I… I’ve never done this before, so I don’t know what to give,” Jiang Xue said.
“Just like the betrothal gift I prepared for Xiaogouwa, you should prepare something for them too. I’m sure they’ll be happy to accept it!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
Then Jiang Xue looked at Li Yi and said, “It’s pretty late. Should we get some rest?”
Hearing those familiar words, Li Yi immediately looked up at his wife and saw, sure enough, that her gaze was filled with passion.
As an old married couple, Li Yi naturally knew what she was thinking. He immediately said, “Alright, you go back to the room first. I’ll take a shower!”
“Let’s do it together!” Jiang Xue whispered.
“Alright, let’s do it together!”
With that, Li Yi immediately stood up, took his wife’s hand, and led her toward the bathroom in the inner room…
……….