“Sir!”
After uttering those two words, Li Jiuying couldn’t help but let out a long sigh; clearly, this name held special significance in his heart!
Meanwhile, Li Futao and Huang Lixing, standing nearby, turned pale upon hearing the name, while only Li Yi remained composed, his expression unchanged.
“Who exactly is this ‘Sir’?”
“His name is Anluns. He’s the head of the British-owned conglomerate in Hong Kong. His status is higher than that of an ordinary company executive; to a certain extent, he holds even more power than the Governor!” Li Jiuying explained.
Li Yi furrowed his brow and said, “We don’t seem to know this man. Why would he come after us?”
“Because the Governor’s daughter is the Sir’s son’s fiancée. Since Miss Su Li was humiliated by you, the Sir naturally has to avenge his future daughter-in-law, so…”
Before she could finish, Li Yi said calmly, “If it were merely because of that, they wouldn’t have gone to such extremes. It seems those foreigners are trying to test my background and connections!”
Hearing this, everyone present fell silent—including Li Jiuying!
“Apart from you, was anyone else involved in this?” Li Yi asked.
“I’m not entirely sure about that, but the person who contacted me initially was a senior executive from Jardine Matheson, and the Duke also reached out to me personally afterward!” Li Jiuying replied.
“Alright, I see.”
At that moment, Li Jiuying suddenly looked at Li Yi and asked, “Mr. Li, do you plan to continue handling this matter?”
“That’s none of your concern!”
Li Yi then added, “Although we’re letting you off the hook this time and didn’t stop your family from leaving Hong Kong, that doesn’t mean the Li family will be forgiven.”
“Mr. Li… you…”
“Rest assured, I said I’d let you off the hook, so I won’t hold this against you. But whether the Li family survives depends entirely on your future conduct!”
Li Jiuying was a shrewd man. He understood why Li Yi and his men had spared him when the odds were heavily in their favor—it was to make him a thorn in the side of the British-owned conglomerates, and to set an example for certain wavering factions.
If he could pull this off, he could turn the extremely unfavorable situation around—at the very least, he wouldn’t be fighting on two fronts like he was now.
Besides, this was exactly what he wanted to do!
As expected, once word got out that he’d sold most of his assets to Li Yi and his group, the British-funded conglomerate would come after him with everything they had.
Rather than sitting idly by and waiting for the end, he might as well strike back—at worst, it would be a case of “sink or swim”!
With that in mind, he immediately said solemnly, “Mr. Li, please rest assured—I know exactly what to do!”
Just then, Li Yunbao finished reviewing the documents.
After confirming there were no issues, the HK$1 billion transaction was quickly finalized under the supervision of both parties’ lawyers.
However, after signing the agreement, Li Jiuying didn’t receive a single cent; the two parties simply signed another agreement.
The terms stipulated that the Li family would assume the Li family’s 1 billion debt to Longheng Bank. With this agreement in place, the massive debt to Longheng Bank would no longer be the Li family’s responsibility.
The reason for this arrangement was primarily the concern that Li Jiuying might abscond immediately after receiving the money.
Given the Lai family’s current predicament and Lai Jiuying’s audacity, it was entirely possible that he would do just that if he actually received the HK$1 billion.
If that were to happen, the Li family’s shares in Longheng Bank would become a hot potato, and they might even have to inject massive amounts of capital again to revive the bank.
But with this agreement in place, there’s no need to worry about any of that. When the time comes, the Li family will simply take their shares and bring 1 billion in cash to take over Longheng Bank—essentially joining the board with capital in hand. Who would dare to complain then?
Although Li Jiuying felt deeply resentful, the situation had reached this point, and he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
The greatest dignity of an adult is understanding the situation—knowing that if you’ve done something wrong, you must accept the consequences!
Since the Li family’s acquisition of the other shareholders was still underway, Li Futiao requested that this transaction between the two parties remain confidential for the time being; it wouldn’t be too late to announce it once the Li family had secured all the major and minor shareholders of Longheng Bank.
Li Jiuying, however, already harbored a deep-seated hatred for the British Capital Group and was only too happy to see them get what was coming to them, so he readily agreed.
After the deal was finalized, Li Jiuying had no desire to linger and immediately left Cloud Peak No. 1!
Watching Li Jiuying’s receding figure, Li Futao took a deep breath and said, “I can’t help but feel like I’ve let a tiger back into the wild!”
“Are you afraid?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
“I’m not exactly afraid, but I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling!”
At that moment, Li Yi interjected, “We could have easily crushed him with a single blow, but now we’ve let him go. We’ll have to put up with him running around right under our noses, and we’ll have to watch out for him turning on us. It’s a bit unsettling and frustrating—is that how you feel?”
“Exactly. Since things have come to this, we might as well uproot the problem completely!” Li Fu said.
Li Yi, however, gave a faint smile and said, “Old Li, if we really did that, those foreigners at the British Capital Group would thank our ancestors for eight generations. They’d be more than happy to see that ‘blemish’ Li Jiuying disappear immediately!”
“You have to understand: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. When the enemy is strong and we are weak, we must unite every force we can. Only then can we defeat a powerful foe.”
Li Futiao shook his head and said, “With the Li family’s meager strength, even if we could use them, it wouldn’t be of much help!”
“One Li family isn’t much, but what about ten Li families? Or even a hundred?”
Li Yi continued, “As I said earlier, the Li family is currently a stain on the British-owned conglomerate—and at the same time, a cautionary example of those willing to work themselves to the bone for the conglomerate.”
“After this battle, I think anyone with half a brain will consider whether it’s worth it. As long as they don’t want to end up as miserably as the Li family, they’ll have to think about leaving themselves an escape route. The British-funded Group, which was never a monolithic bloc to begin with, will soon crumble into a pile of loose sand. By then, whether it’s Jardine Matheson or that worthless ‘Journeyman,’ they’ll all be nothing but worthless trash!”
“You’re thinking of taking action against the ‘Jarl’?” Li Futao frowned.
“Is that not allowed?”
“It’s possible, but as far as I know, the ‘Jarl’ isn’t just the head of British-owned conglomerates like Jardine Matheson and Swire; he’s also connected to John and the major financial groups on the ‘Thief Eagle’ side. It won’t be easy to shake his foundations!”
“Hah, just because it’s hard to shake doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Just because we can’t do it now doesn’t mean we can’t do it later!”
Li Yi continued, “In any case, I, Li Yi, am not in the habit of taking a beating without fighting back. I never have, and I never will!”
“What do you need me to do?”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “I know your Li family wields considerable influence in Hong Kong’s political circles. Help me and Old Huang weather some of the official pressure—don’t have people coming to investigate this and that at the drop of a hat. It’s a pain!”
“No problem!”
“Also, help me look into that damn ‘Journeyman.’ First, find out what his core business—or his family’s core business—is. Second, figure out who his connections are. No need to dig too deep; just get a general idea!”
As the saying goes, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.” Li Yi never fought battles he wasn’t sure he could win. Before taking action, he would study his opponents repeatedly until he uncovered their fatal weaknesses.
Of course, weaklings like Ma Biao and Li Jiuying were a different story—in Li Yi’s eyes, they were nothing but gaping holes and weaknesses!
“Alright, leave it to me. I’ll let you know as soon as I have any news!”
“Mm…”
……….