It took quite a while before the group finally finished reading the document in front of them.
After a brief silence, He Guangdong looked at Li Futao and asked, “Third Master, is this information accurate? Does that ‘Big Circle Guy’… no, Mr. Li really have ties to a ‘red family’?”
Li Futao nodded. “The information is definitely accurate. It took my people over half a month to dig this up. Mr. Li’s father-in-law is a high-ranking official with real power in Guangdong Province across the border, and their family still has two elder figures alive today!”
“Judging by this, Mr. Li really is a formidable force—a tiger unleashed from its cage!” Li Mingji exclaimed in astonishment.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that Hong Kong Island is currently under the administration of the British Hong Kong government and has no direct ties to the mainland.
However, given that Hong Kong’s future remains uncertain, no one dares to ignore the attitude of the mainland.
If we could establish a connection with a young man with a Communist background, it would be nothing but beneficial.
At that moment, Li Futao spoke again: “If this Mr. Li’s family has a ‘red’ background, that wouldn’t be a big deal. But all signs point to the fact that he is very likely a representative sent over from the other side!”
“Third Master, are you saying that Mr. Li represents the will of the other side?” He Guangdong asked, looking utterly shocked.
“That can’t be. He’s so young—how could he possibly represent them?”
“That shouldn’t be possible, and there’s no evidence to prove it either…”
Before he could finish, Li Futiao said in a deep voice, “Who says there’s no evidence to prove it!”
“Third Master, is there really evidence?”
“Yes. You must surely be aware of Mr. Li’s astonishing moves in the stock market this time—that is the evidence!” Li Futiao said.
“But… how can that count as evidence?”
Li Futiao immediately replied, “According to our investigation, this Mr. Li crossed the border from Guangdong Province with Huang Lixing on July 15th. Just one day later, they entered the stock market with 43 million Hong Kong dollars and, despite the market being stable, shorted the Hang Seng Index with five times leverage. I ask you, who among you has the guts to do that?”
Before anyone could answer, Li Futao continued, “What’s even more shocking is that the very next day after they aggressively shorted the Hang Seng Index, the index plummeted due to a bank rate hike—the timing was perfect!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than He Guangdong frowned and said, “That doesn’t make sense. Even if the mainland places great importance on Hong Kong, it couldn’t possibly influence the banks here not to raise interest rates, could it?”
Li Futiao shook his head and said, “Whether they influence them or not is irrelevant. For this Mr. Li to short the Hang Seng Index with such confidence, he must have conducted extremely rigorous analysis beforehand. To know with such precision that the Hong Kong Bankers’ Association would raise interest rates—and to predict that the Hang Seng Index would plummet as a result—is something no individual or company could possibly achieve without state backing!”
“Furthermore, what truly led me to this conclusion was his subsequent moves!”
As soon as he said this, the group in the study once again turned their attention to Li Futiao.
Everyone’s expressions betrayed three parts gravity and seven parts curiosity; they all wanted to know exactly what Mr. Li had done to make Third Master Li so certain that he was the representative on the other side.
Li Futao didn’t keep them waiting long. He cut straight to the point: “After his first successful short-selling move, he didn’t stop there. Instead, he immediately switched to going long on the Hang Seng Index, raking in a staggering 370 million Hong Kong dollars in just four days.”
“But what was truly unexpected was that just as we were working with the British Hong Kong government to rescue the market—and the stock market was soaring with everything looking promising—he struck again, shorting the Hang Seng Index. And just as before, he poured all his available capital into the position at once, once again using five times leverage.”
“Just the day after he re-entered the market, the mainland rejected the ‘Youth Elite Group’s’ proposal and issued its strongest-ever statement. As a result, the stock market completely crashed—everything fell into place perfectly.”
Everyone thought about it carefully—and realized it was exactly as he said!
“Third Master, are you suggesting they’re working with him?”
Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but shudder.
Good heavens, coordinating national policy with his actions here—that’s truly chilling when you think about it.
“Whether they’re coordinating or not remains uncertain for now, but one thing is certain: he knows about this. Otherwise, the timing wouldn’t have been so precise!” Li Fu said.
“If that’s the case, then this Mr. Li is definitely not someone we can afford to mess with!” He Guangdong said solemnly.
Li Mingji agreed, “Exactly. This man’s background is truly staggering. Provoking him could very well mean provoking the other side!”
“No wonder he so decisively turned down everyone’s invitation yesterday. It turns out he wasn’t being arrogant—he actually had the power and confidence to refuse us!”
“Hmm, thanks for the heads-up, Third Master. Otherwise, we might’ve really made a huge mistake!”
“Thank you, Third Master…”
Li Futao cleared his throat, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
Then he continued, “Yesterday I went to see that Mr. Li. His attitude was quite intriguing. He turned you all down, yet invited everyone to his home tonight. I suspect tonight might be about more than just a simple meeting.”
“Third Master, are you saying he might have ulterior motives tonight?”
“Yes! That’s why I’m inviting you all to come along. This could be an opportunity for us!” Li Futiao said.
“What kind of opportunity?”
“An opportunity to surpass the British interests!” Li Futiao said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, everyone present couldn’t help but breathe more rapidly.
For nearly a century, Hong Kong Island has been a British colony; the British established the Governor’s Residence here and seized most of the power over this land.
Although they publicly claim not to take a single penny from Hong Kong Island, they have used their privileges on the island to control nearly all of its livelihood-related businesses and have reaped massive profits through their monopolistic position.
To their knowledge, Jardine Matheson and the port operations they control alone generate at least 50 billion Hong Kong dollars in annual revenue from Hong Kong Island, all of which is legally transferred to the British Isles.
To amass even greater wealth and profits, British-owned enterprises ruthlessly suppressed Chinese capital; in fact, there were many businesses here that Chinese people were simply barred from entering, a situation that deeply angered Hong Kong Island’s Chinese entrepreneurs.
Everyone hoped that one day they could surpass the British-owned enterprises, reclaim the power that rightfully belonged to them, or at the very least, stand on equal footing with them.
But many years have passed, and Hong Kong Island remains the same. British-owned enterprises are still as arrogant and domineering as ever, while Chinese-owned enterprises continue to face harassment and oppression at every turn.
If there were truly an opportunity to surpass British-owned enterprises, who wouldn’t welcome it!
“Third Master, tell us what to do. We’re willing to stand with you through thick and thin!”
“That’s right, we’re willing to stand with the Li family through thick and thin…”
Li Futao shook his head and said, “We still don’t know what Mr. Li has in mind. For now, we just need to attend the dinner he’s hosting with a clear mind. As for the rest, let’s wait and see how things unfold!”
“Alright!”
“By the way, Third Master, where does that Mr. Li Yi live?” He Guangdong asked again.
“Cloud Peak No. 1!”
“Cloud Peak No. 1?”
He Guangdong exclaimed in surprise, “Isn’t that the dowry you prepared for your eldest niece? How did it end up in that Mr. Li’s hands? You aren’t planning to recruit him as a son-in-law, are you?”
“Nonsense! Mr. Li Yi is a married man. I simply lost a bet with him, so I had to hand over Cloud Peak No. 1 to him!” Li Fu said.
“Using Cloud Peak No. 1 as a wager? You guys are playing for such high stakes?”
Li Futao smiled and proceeded to recount the epic wager between him and Li Yi to the crowd.
After hearing Li Fuzhao’s account of the events, everyone looked at him with envy.
Wow, that wasn’t just losing a bet—that was clearly a massive win…
……..