Looking at Dolsen, who had come alone, Li Yi smiled and said, “I hear you’ve taken over all of the investment projects and funds left behind by Gusta. Congratulations!”
Dawson shook his head and said, “Li, compared to what you’ve gained, what I’ve received is practically nothing!”
“You don’t seem very satisfied?” Li Yi said casually.
“No, I’m just a little worried!”
“Are you worried you won’t be able to beat us in the future, or that one day we’ll defeat you?” Li Yi asked.
Dawson sighed and said, “Li, the strength of your Chinese Chamber of Commerce has grown far too quickly. Now you not only hold an absolute advantage in manufacturing and real estate, but you’ve also secured controlling stakes in major banks like Hang Seng and Longheng. On top of that, you’ve acquired a portion of Huifeng’s shares. I’m truly worried that one day you’ll drive our alliance out of Hong Kong Island in one fell swoop!”
Li Yi replied calmly, “That depends on the choices you make!”
“What do you mean?”
“Hong Kong is a free and open city. If you British-owned groups focus on doing legitimate business—rather than manipulating the financial markets and stock exchanges to bleed investors dry like you used to—both I and the newly arrived residents will welcome your investments here!”
Li Yi continued, “But if you still harbor malicious intentions and choose to oppose us, Gusta and Henry will serve as a cautionary tale for you!”
Dawson nodded and said, “I understand what you mean. I promise you that as long as I’m on Hong Kong Island, the British Capital Group will not be your enemy.”
“If I become the head of the family, the entire Sassoon family will not be at odds with you or the forces behind you!”
Li Yi nodded and said, “Hmm, tell me why you’re here. You didn’t come all this way just to say that, did you?”
Dawson paused briefly, then said, “The family asked me to contact you. They’re willing to accept all your terms—as long as you spare Gusta’s life!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Li Yi replied with a half-smile, “I didn’t expect your family to value that Gusta so highly. That doesn’t seem like a good thing for you, does it?”
Dorson frowned at first, then sighed and said, “Our family has four branches in total. For the past forty years or so, it’s been Gusta’s branch that’s held power. They don’t want the clan leader’s authority to return to our branch!”
“And since Gusta is the uncle of Haim—another strong contender for the family inheritance—and also his right-hand man, they certainly won’t give him up easily.”
“Do you want me to take him out for you?” Li Yi said indifferently.
“That won’t be necessary. A living Gusta is more useful than a corpse!” Dolsen replied.
Hearing this, Li Yi couldn’t help but laugh, then said, “We Chinese have an old saying: ‘Great minds think alike.’ I never expected our views on this matter to be so similar!”
The reason he hadn’t killed Gusta outright wasn’t just because he didn’t want to get his hands too bloody; more importantly, Li Yi felt that, in a certain sense, Gusta was his ally.
That’s right—an ally!
If it weren’t for his reckless blunder, Li Yi would have had a much harder time handling the British Investment Group—and the Sassoon family even more so.
To put it bluntly, if the Sassoon family had entrusted these funds to Dalson to manage this time, the situation might have turned out quite differently.
Setting aside whether it would have dealt a severe blow to him, at the very least, he wouldn’t have suffered such a crushing defeat as he had now.
Therefore, to the Sassoon family, Gusta was nothing but a liability!
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Dowson couldn’t help but laugh: “Exactly, great minds think alike!”
After the laughter subsided, Li Yi continued, “Since your family has already accepted those terms, let’s proceed step by step!”
“Alright, tomorrow I’ll have my lawyer handle the share transfer, and I’ll have Gusta issue a formal apology to you in the media.”
Dorson continued, “As for Gusta serving five years in prison on Hong Kong Island, we’ll leave that to the court’s decision.”
“Agreed!”
Li Yi then extended his hand and said, “Let’s work together!”
“It’s been a pleasure working with you!”
After seeing Dalson off, Li Yi let out a long sigh of relief!
With the settlement of that fund in the London futures market and the Sassoon family’s capitulation, this capital war had finally come to a complete end.
Although the entire process had been nerve-wracking and fraught with danger, the outcome was excellent.
Now it was time to plan the next round of the hunt. This time, he intended to take his wife along for some fun…
………
Downtown. Yuan’s Restaurant!
In a luxurious private room, Li Yi held his daughter in one arm while feeding the little one with the other.
Beside him, Jiang Xue held their son and fed him in the same way.
In contrast, the older children, Rui Rui and Huang Min, were sitting in high chairs, eating on their own without needing to be fed by an adult.
The little girl, however, didn’t want Li Yi to feed her. She squirmed in his arms, her big, teary eyes fixed intently on the plate of roasted goose on the table, glistening with a rich, glossy sheen!
Ye Lingyun, standing nearby, couldn’t stand it anymore and said with a smile, “Xiao Yi, Yunjin always eats by herself at home. You should just let her eat on her own!”
“Is that so?”
Li Yi immediately had the little girl stand on the chair, while he held her small body from behind, letting her reach out to grab the dishes on the table herself.
This really got the little girl going. Pointing at the roast goose on the table, she drooled and mumbled, “Eat… eat chicken…”
Li Yi picked up a small piece of goose leg for her. The little girl clutched it with both hands and happily began to gnaw on it.
Seeing this, everyone in the private room burst into laughter at the little girl’s greedy little face…
Huang Lixing, sitting nearby, served food to his daughter Huang Min as he remarked, “Time really flies. I remember when I first met Brother Li Yi, my little one wasn’t even born yet, and now she can already feed herself!”
Chen Chuhong added, “If it weren’t for Brother Li Yi coming to our rescue back then, we probably would have…”
Before Chen Chuhong could finish, Li Yi cut her off, saying, “Sis, please don’t say that. Our meeting was fate.”
“Besides, I saved you back then on certain conditions. Since you’ve fulfilled all of them, let’s not bring it up again.”
Chen Chuhong smiled and said, “Speaking of that, we actually have an idea we’d like to discuss with you!”
“What idea?” Li Yi asked immediately.
“According to Aying (Chen Chuying), over the past two years we’ve donated more than 400 primary and secondary schools in North Sai Province, and another 200 are set to break ground this year. But in the neighboring provinces of Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai, many areas still lack schools. So we’re planning to expand our school donation efforts to these provinces. What do you think, Brother Li Yi?” Chen Chuhong said.
Hearing this, Li Yi was moved and immediately said, “That’s a great idea, but it’s going to cost a lot of money…”
Before Li Yi could finish, Huang Lixing chimed in with a laugh, “It’s a drop in the bucket! I plan to invest 50 million Hong Kong dollars to start with, and if that’s not enough, I’ll add more!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “What I mean is, I want to do my part too. Since you’re putting up 50 million, I’ll match that with 50 million as well. Let’s work together to carry out this charitable project!”
They say poverty breeds cunning, while wealth fosters a conscience.
After Li Yi made his fortune in his previous life, he had been quietly doing charity work all along. His original motivation was simple: atonement.
And he had indeed helped many people. Sometimes, Li Yi even wondered if the chance to start over was connected to his decades of unwavering dedication to charity.
Therefore, in this life, philanthropy and charity were also a crucial part of Li Yi’s life plan.
When he had no money, he made it a condition that Huang Lixing and his wife do the work in exchange for saving lives.
Now that he has money, he naturally intends to do it himself.
Upon hearing that Li Yi also planned to invest in charity work, Huang Lixing immediately asked, “Brother Li Yi, are you planning to build a school too?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “It should be more than just schools, but I haven’t figured out the specifics yet. I’ll put together a detailed plan in a few days!”
“Make sure to show it to me once you’ve finished the plan!” Huang Lixing said.
“Sure!”
At that moment, Huang Lixing glanced at his watch and said to Li Yi, “It’s almost two o’clock. We should head to the meeting!”
Li Yi nodded, then said goodbye to Jiang Xue, his mother-in-law, and the others before heading to the company with Huang Lixing and the rest of the group!