Hong Kong International Airport!
By the time Li Yi and Li Yunbao stepped off the plane, it was already the afternoon of November 15th.
Since Zaiying Airlines doesn’t operate many flights to Hong Kong—departing only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with no service on other days—
Furthermore, since the route only operates between Hong Kong and San Francisco, Li Yi had to fly from New York back to San Francisco first, and then from San Francisco to Hong Kong.
It might sound like just a single layover, but in reality, the entire process was extremely cumbersome.
Even with his “superpowers” clearing the way, by the time they returned to Hong Kong, four days would have already passed.
Outside the airport, the Li family’s motorcade of bodyguards had been waiting for quite some time.
As soon as they saw Li Yi and Li Yunbao emerge from the terminal, all the bodyguards rushed forward to greet them, then escorted the two out of the airport.
Although the whole process only lasted three or five minutes, people still noticed that the Li family’s bodyguards had come to the airport to pick up Li Yi.
Soon, news of Li Yi’s return to Hong Kong Island spread like wildfire, catching the attention of many interested parties.
Back at the Li family estate, Li Futao and Huang Lixing were already waiting for them.
In fact, upon learning that Li Yi was returning to Hong Kong Island, they had considered going to the airport to greet him.
On the one hand, it was a matter of where their relationship stood!
On the other hand, Li Yi’s short-selling of gold in New York had gone extremely smoothly. Based on current international gold prices, in just over ten days, Li Yi had already made four to five billion Hong Kong dollars—a significant portion of which was earned on their behalf.
Both professionally and personally, both out of duty and out of goodwill, they ought to go to the airport to welcome him!
But the situation on Hong Kong Island was currently as treacherous as ever. The British-owned conglomerate had suffered heavy losses both openly and covertly, and now they were like rabid dogs, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge.
To prevent those scoundrels from resorting to underhanded tactics again—or even going all-in with a dirty move—Li Futao and Huang Lixing decided to keep a low profile for the time being and stay put.
This was certainly for their own safety, but they also didn’t want to put Li Yi in danger.
Li Yi and Li Yunbao returned to the estate. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Futao and Old Huang led the two of them upstairs to the study.
As soon as they entered, Li Futao said in a grave tone, “Brother Li Yi, you really shouldn’t have come back. After all, our project in New York isn’t finished yet. How can Xinghua and those few young women under your command possibly handle a project worth ten billion dollars?”
Huang Lixing chimed in, “I know you’re worried about me, brother, but we can handle things here in Hong Kong…”
“What you call ‘handling it’ is nothing more than tiptoeing around and making concessions—and that’s not what I want!” Li Yi said coolly.
“Brother Li Yi, so what do you plan to do now that you’re back?”
Li Futao knew Li Yi’s temperament. Since he was back now anyway, there was no point in saying anything else; it would be better to hear what Li Yi had to say first.
“I’m going to formally declare war on them!” Li Yi said, his words coming as a shock.
“Declare war?”
“That’s right. Since those bastards don’t play by the rules and have even brought in mercenaries, we can’t just pretend nothing happened!”
Then Li Yi added, “Taking a beating without fighting back—that’s not my style!”
Stunned, Li Futao hurriedly asked, “Brother Li Yi, you aren’t planning to use those guys from Shield Security to take on the executives of the British-owned group, are you? To give them a taste of their own medicine?”
Li Yi shook his head and said, “Old Li, you’re way off. Those foreigners have no scruples—how could I stoop to their level? I intend to declare war on them fair and square in the business world and crush them in one fell swoop!”
“Phew! That gave me a heart attack. I thought you were going to play dirty with them too, Brother Li Yi!”
“Playing dirty isn’t out of the question, but it’s unnecessary. If I can defeat the enemy with fair and honorable means, why resort to underhanded tactics?” Li Yi said.
Li Futao nodded, then looked at Li Yi and said, “That may be true, but it won’t be easy to crush the British-funded conglomerate in the business world!”
Although Li Futao looked down on those foreigners as despicable, shameless, and without scruples, when it came to business operations, he had to admit he admired them.
Back in the day, the Chinese-owned conglomerates on Hong Kong Island were no slouches either, especially in the financial sector, where they were almost on par with the British-owned groups.
But look at the situation now: the vast majority of profitable industries on Hong Kong Island are controlled by these foreigners. Aside from the four major Chinese families, the rest of the Chinese-owned conglomerates have either been crushed to the point of being unable to hold their heads high or have already become vassals of the British-owned groups. This clearly demonstrates just how powerful these people are and how ruthless their methods can be.
Although Li Yi is a true business genius, he is, after all, an outsider. It seems highly unlikely that he could defeat the British-owned conglomerates in Hong Kong Island fair and square.
However, Li Yi’s reaction took Li Futao completely by surprise.
He tapped the table lightly and said, “In the past, it would indeed have been difficult, but now? We have at least an 80% chance of winning!”
“Oh, really? Are our chances that high?”
“Yes!”
“Then where do you plan to start, and how can Old Huang and I help?” Li Futao asked.
Li Yi paused briefly, then said, “I want to start with the New Territories Warehouse Center!”
“You want to acquire the New Territories Warehousing Center?”
“That’s right!”
Hearing the affirmative reply, Li Futao wasn’t particularly surprised; after all, Li Yi was far from the only one with his sights set on the New Territories Warehousing Center.
The New Territories Warehousing Center is located in the heart of the New Territories, home to Hong Kong Island’s second-largest maritime terminal. Its portfolio also includes hundreds of large warehouses near the terminal, as well as high-quality assets such as hotels, office buildings, and tram lines.
Although the New Territories Warehousing Center is smaller in scale than the adjacent Wharf Holdings, the quality of its assets is second to none.
Consequently, a saying is currently circulating among Hong Kong Island’s elite circles: “Whoever owns the two major warehousing centers in Kowloon and the New Territories holds the commercial sway over Hong Kong Island’s external trade.”
This may sound somewhat exaggerated, but upon reflection, it makes perfect sense—after all, these two warehousing centers virtually monopolize the vast majority of Hong Kong Island’s cargo handling, storage, transportation, and cross-harbor ferry operations.
Ever since the Shipping Tycoon snatched Wharf Holdings from the British-owned group two years ago, the New Territories Warehouse has become a coveted prize in the eyes of many—who knows how many people are keeping a close eye on it?
“Brother Li Yi, those foreigners have already lost Kowloon Wharf. They’ll never let New Territories Wharf slip away!” Li Futao warned.
“Haha, some things don’t just stop happening just because they don’t want them to!”
Li Yi continued, “Back in the day, those foreigners certainly had the strength to hold onto New Territories Warehouse, but now? They don’t have any advantage over us at all!”
“So what’s our advantage?”
“Does having more money count?”
“Um… I suppose so, but…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi spoke again: “Old Li, the New Territories Warehouse Center is a publicly traded company. Thirty percent of its shares are publicly traded, while the remaining seventy percent are controlled by those foreigners. If we launch a takeover bid targeting their publicly traded shares, what do you think those foreigners will do?”
“They’ll fight back with everything they’ve got and battle us for the shares!”
“Exactly. But fighting for shares requires capital. The problem is, those foreigners have just suffered such massive losses and are stuck with so much money tied up—do they even have the resources left to compete with us for those shares?” Li Yi said.
“That may be so, but I’m sure they still have that much money,” Li Futao said.
“No, they don’t. And even if they did, I’ll make sure they don’t!” Li Yi said confidently.
“So what can we do?”
Li Yi paused to think for a moment, then said, “Old Li, right now, help me investigate the equity structures of companies like New Territories Warehouse Center, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, and Swire Properties. At the same time, arrange meetings for me with the heads of the Ho, Lo, and Li families!”
“No problem!”
“Old Huang, you guys just resolved your internal issues. Keep a low profile for the next few days. When we launch our offensive on the business front later, it’ll be your turn to shine!” Li Yi said.
“Got it!”
“That’s all for today. Let’s get some rest first, and we’ll discuss the specific offensive plan tomorrow!” Li Yi said.
“Alright…”
………