Half-Mountain Villa. Second-floor bedroom!
Li Yi had just woken up and glanced at his watch—it was already 3:30.
Hong Kong in July was unbearably hot, and since air conditioning wasn’t common here at the time, Li Yi—being from the north—couldn’t stand the stifling heat inside the house.
After much deliberation, Li Yi decided to go out for a walk!
But just as he finished getting dressed and came downstairs, he saw Huang Lixing sitting on the sofa, holding a cigar as thick as a thumb, looking every bit the gangster boss.
Seeing Li Yi come downstairs, Huang Lixing immediately tucked the cigar away. He knew Li Yi didn’t smoke and was worried the acrid smell might bother him.
“Go ahead and smoke. I don’t smoke myself, but I don’t mind the smell!”
“Heh, that’s good to hear!”
“Old Huang, what brings you over here? Is it about the investment?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
“No, I told you I don’t get involved in the stock market. Whatever you do, I won’t stand in your way!” Huang Lixing said.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll lose all my money?”
“So what if I do? There’s no such thing as a sure thing in the stock market!”
“Heh, don’t worry, I won’t lose a dime!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Hmm, I actually came over to talk to you about two things!”
“What are they?”
“First, I’ve already registered the two companies you asked me to set up. One is Honglong Jindun Security Company, and the other is Honglu Investment Company!”
As he spoke, Huang Lixing took a stack of documents from a briefcase beside him and handed them to Li Yi.
Li Yi picked up the documents and examined them carefully. When he saw the equity structure of the two companies, he immediately frowned.
“Old Huang, something doesn’t seem quite right with these shares. Your stake is a bit too small!”
Huang Lixing smiled and said, “Bro, I know my place. You want to help me make money and give me a big break, but I can’t be too greedy—a 30% stake is already more than enough!”
That was indeed Huang Lixing’s truest inner thought!
At first, when Li Yi said he’d give him a windfall, he didn’t think much of it.
But a few days ago, Li Yi pulled off a spectacular performance, raking in 370 million Hong Kong dollars from the stock market in just a few short days. This made him realize that Li Yi’s promise of a windfall was no empty talk.
Although he wasn’t yet sure what Li Yi intended to do with these two companies, his intuition told him their future was extraordinary. After all, with an investment genius like Li Yi at the helm, making money was a certainty.
As a result, holding a 49% stake began to feel like a hot potato to him.
After all, if there were any changes in equity ownership in the future, Li Yi’s stake could fall below 50%, which would certainly pose a risk.
After much deliberation, he finally decided to reduce his stake to 30%, leaving the remaining 70% entirely to Li Yi.
Li Yi was silent for a moment, then said, “Let’s go with that!”
Huang Lixing smiled and said, “Bro, I’ve got a feeling I’ve come out ahead on this one.”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Let’s not talk about that. The security company needs a facility—somewhere we can conduct business and hold daily training sessions. Do you know of any suitable places?”
“Not at the moment, but I’ll put some effort into looking…”
“Hmm, if you can find one, great. If not, we’ll just buy a plot of land and build it ourselves!” Li Yi said.
“Building it ourselves would probably cost a pretty penny, wouldn’t it?”
Land in Hong Kong is incredibly expensive—even a single square foot of floor space costs 400 to 500 Hong Kong dollars, and land is even pricier, often running into tens of millions or even hundreds of millions. Add construction costs to that, and it’ll be even more.
“Don’t worry about the cost—we’re not short on money!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, I’ll get started on this right away!”
“Mm-hmm. I’ve got my eye on a plot over in Kowloon. Tie Ying knows the details. Have your people keep an eye on it—as long as the price is under thirty million, snap it up immediately!” Li Yi said.
Huang Lixing glanced at Tie Ying beside him and asked, “The plot Brother Li Yi mentioned?”
Tie Ying thought for a moment, then turned to Li Yi and said, “Mr. Li, you aren’t referring to that plot near the Kowloon Wharf, are you?”
“That’s right!”
Tie Ying exclaimed in surprise, “Mr. Li, that plot is worth at least 100 million. How could it have dropped to just a few tens of millions?”
Huang Lixing thought for a moment and said, “Could it be the plot that Jianing Company bought at auction for 150 million a while back?”
Tie Ying nodded and said, “That’s the one!”
“Brother Li Yi, are you saying that plot’s price is going to drop?”
“Haha, not a price drop—a crash!”
Li Yi clearly remembered that the plot had fetched a record 150 million at auction in early 1981, only to crash to 15 million by early 1982—a 90% loss in value.
He didn’t want to wait until the absolute bottom to buy; he could snap it up for 20 or 30 million. After all, it wouldn’t be long before land prices in Hong Kong soared again.
More importantly, this was one of the few years when there was still a chance to buy such a large parcel of land. In a few years’ time, even with money, it would be difficult to acquire such a vast tract of land.
“I’ll keep an eye out!” Huang Lixing said.
“Right. Also, starting now, recruit a large number of capable people—preferably veterans or mercenaries. But be sure to vet their backgrounds thoroughly; it’s better to have none than to settle for the wrong ones!”
“Got it!”
“As for the investment company, just help me hire a few finance staff for now. Don’t worry about the rest—I’ll handle that personally later!” Li Yi said.
“Got it!”
At that moment, Huang Lixing spoke up again: “There’s one more thing. I’d like to ask your opinion on something.”
“What is it?”
“That guy from the Far East Association called me out of the blue this morning, saying he’d like to meet with you!”
“The Far East Association—are you talking about Chairman Li?”
“Right. The call came from his assistant, but I didn’t agree right away. If you’re interested, go ahead and meet him; if not, just forget it!”
Previously, Huang Lixing had always wanted to make a name for himself in Hong Kong, so he was eager to curry favor with Chairman Li.
But now he no longer had the same ambition; he was more focused on a simple family life—a warm bed, a wife, and children—and had even considered retiring from the business entirely. Consequently, he no longer felt the need to curry favor with him.
Li Yi smiled and said, “I’ll meet him. Why not?”
“You really want to meet him?”
“Yeah, since they’ve already called you, it’d be rude not to meet them!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Since Brother Li Yi is interested, let’s meet them then!”
As he spoke, Huang Lixing let out a slight sigh of relief.
Don’t let his earlier indifference fool you—he’d been under considerable pressure. After all, Chairman Li was truly not someone like him to mess with.
When it comes to Hong Kong’s top elite families, many might think of the Four Great Families. In reality, within Hong Kong’s elite circles, while these four families are indeed wealthy, they are not the true, long-established families.
There are even more established elite families in Hong Kong, and they are the ones who truly hold the real power.
Take the Ho family, for example—the family of the “Gambling King”—which has been wealthy for over a century and has produced a steady stream of talented individuals.
The only family that can be mentioned in the same breath as the Ho Tung family is the Li family behind Chairman Li.
It’s safe to say that with just a flick of their fingers, they could make life impossible for him on Hong Kong Island.
Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, it’s best to treat such powerful families with deference.
By agreeing to meet with Chairman Li, Li Yi avoided the risk of snubbing the Li family.
Immediately, Huang Lixing picked up the villa’s phone and called Chairman Li’s assistant. After agreeing on a time and place to meet, they ended the call on good terms.
Since the meeting was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. that evening, and it was already nearly 4:00 p.m., the two immediately began making preparations…
……..