Chapter 508: An Unattainable Banquet!

Tai Ping Shan. Cloud Peak No. 1!

By the time Li Yi and the others returned from the new company, it was already past 1:00 PM.

Just a short while ago, they had visited the temporary office of Star International Investment to check on the renovation progress.

It must be said that the professional renovation team here was highly efficient; in less than a week, the over 200-square-meter office space had already been completely refurbished.

After inspecting the site, Li Yi instructed Lan Xinyi to notify all company employees to report to work on time tomorrow morning and attend the company’s grand opening ceremony.

After taking care of these matters, Li Yi led the group back to Cloudtop No. 1.

But as soon as he walked in, Li Yi spotted a familiar face sitting in the villa’s grand living room—none other than Li Yunbao, the eldest son of the Li family!

“What are you doing here?”

Li Yunbao looked at Li Yi with a somewhat complicated expression, then said, “I’ve resigned. Where is your company? When do I start?”

Hearing this, Huang Lixing, Lan Xinyi, and the others standing nearby were all taken aback.

They had assumed it was just a joke, but they never expected the Li family’s eldest son to actually honor that wager and come work at their small company.

The expressions of the young women nearby, however, were entirely different. Hearing that they would be working in the same company as Li Yunbao, they all seemed eager to get started, and the looks they cast at him were tinged with a hint of passion.

They say those closest to the water get the moon first—this was the eldest son of the Li family, after all. Just being associated with him would guarantee a life of luxury.

Even if they couldn’t marry into the Li family, it would guarantee a life of comfort and security for the rest of their days!

The only concern now was whether the boss would dare to take on this young master of the Li family. For a moment, everyone’s gaze in the lobby was fixed on Li Yi.

However, Li Yi paid no attention to any of this. With a calm expression, he said, “The company is still in its early stages; we’re not planning to open until tomorrow. Miss Lan will give you the address later!”

Li Yunbao’s eyes widened, and he frowned. “So you’re telling me you don’t even have a proper company yet, and you’ve just lured me here?”

Li Yi grinned and said, “Don’t put it that way. I didn’t trick you here—I earned you!”

Li Yunbao: #￥%……%￥#

After a long pause, Li Yunbao spoke again: “I see. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “Of course there’s something. Head to the study now and draft a contract for me!”

“Alright!”

Although Li Yunbao had a bit of a fiery temper, he was a man of his word and highly capable at his job.

Since he had decided to honor the wager, he quickly got down to business and followed Li Yi upstairs.

Meanwhile, Huang Lixing, Lan Xinyi, and the others weren’t idle either; they were all downstairs, helping Li Yi make arrangements for the evening banquet to host the tycoons of Hong Kong’s elite families.

Since today’s guests were a different crowd—all bigwigs from Hong Kong’s elite families and CEOs of major corporations, the absolute cream of the crop—no one dared to take it lightly.

To ensure Li Yi’s reputation remained intact, Huang Lixing not only brought in the professional culinary team from the Emperor Hotel but also specially selected over 100 capable young members from the Qinglong Society to assist.

Consequently, even before the banquet had begun, the number of staff on hand had already reached over two hundred—a truly impressive display.

……..

However, just as Huang Lixing and his team were busy preparing for the banquet, rumors were already swirling throughout Hong Kong’s high society.

All the rumors centered on a single question: the true identity of Li Yi, this investment genius who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Some claimed that this investment genius, who was making waves in the stock market, had a special background—not only was he a direct descendant of a prominent “red family” from the mainland, but he was also backed by a mysterious and powerful force, and was likely a civilian representative sent to Hong Kong by the mainland.

Wow, even the term “civilian representative” has come up—how terrifying is that!

Others claim that his ability to sweep through the Hong Kong stock market with such lightning speed was entirely the work of the other side, intended as a show of force against the British Hong Kong government.

As for why Li Yi pulled back in time—choosing not to wipe out the market completely—it was also because he received instructions from the other side.

Otherwise, given how favorable his position was at the time, he could have easily waited a little longer.

If he’d waited until today to close the net, he could have made at least another 300 million.

Li Yi really didn’t dare tell them the truth: he didn’t pull back because someone ordered him to, but because he was afraid someone would have him quietly eliminated!

Some also say that Li Yi is hosting a banquet tonight at Genting No. 1 for the elite bigwigs of the upper crust. It’s not just about meeting everyone; more importantly, it’s to convey certain messages from the other side.

Li Yi really hadn’t thought that far ahead; he simply wanted to meet with the bigwigs from Hong Kong’s wealthy families, get to know them, and build some goodwill—that was all!

But others didn’t see it that way!

In short, within Hong Kong’s elite circles, different versions of rumors about Li Yi were circulating constantly.

Although every one of these rumors sounded far-fetched, few people questioned them. Everyone tacitly agreed that Li Yi must have intricate connections with the capital.

On one hand, regarding Li Yi’s background, many wealthy families and clans had sent people to investigate him long ago, and the findings revealed that Li Yi indeed had extraordinary ties to families in Beijing such as the Jiangs, the Yees, and the Lins.

On the other hand, no one believed that a young man in his twenties could dominate the entire Hong Kong stock market without the backing of state power.

Consequently, these rumors led to a situation where every family of any standing in Hong Kong Island wanted to attend this dinner.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Hong Kong is currently under British rule; anyone with a modicum of foresight could see that the mainland would never back down on this issue.

At this juncture, it was still quite necessary to forge ties with the “friendly envoy” from the mainland.

Moreover, given that the other side had just swept through the Hong Kong stock market and was sitting on tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars in cash, a partnership would be all the better.

However, since no formal invitations were sent out for tonight’s dinner—only a message relayed by Li Futiao—the major families had no choice but to call him directly to seek his advice.

After receiving more than twenty calls in a row, Li Futao realized something was amiss.

Especially after receiving a call from the Governor’s Office, he knew things were about to take a turn for the worse.

After making a few inquiries, he discovered that an unexpectedly large number of people were eager to attend the banquet.

Li Futao hadn’t anticipated things would escalate to this point. With no other choice, he had to call Li Yi.

Upon receiving Li Futiao’s call, Li Yi was completely taken aback!

He had no idea about the wild rumors circulating in Hong Kong’s high society, so he didn’t understand why these people were showing him such deference. Could it be because he’d been hyped up as the “Stock Market Guru”?

Although he wasn’t privy to the details, Li Yi knew exactly what his home could handle!

If so many people flooded into his home all at once, it would be absolutely packed to the brim.

After all, these Hong Kong socialites had a habit of bringing their entire families to parties, which is why the major newspapers were often filled with reports of high-society gatherings featuring wealthy matrons and their daughters-in-law.

No matter how large or well-prepared Cloud Peak No. 1 was, it simply couldn’t accommodate that many people.

After some thought, Li Yi asked Li Futi to help screen the guests, ideally keeping the number to within a hundred or two.

After hanging up, Li Futiao fell into deep thought. He knew Li Yi was placing his trust in him by asking for his help in managing the guest list.

But Li Futiao also knew this was a task that would inevitably offend people; after all, those who were turned down would inevitably be displeased.

After much deliberation, Li Futiao decided to follow Li Yi’s instructions and distribute the 200 spots evenly among the bigwigs of various business factions, allowing them to submit their own names.

They say where there are people, there is a “underworld,” and where there is an “underworld,” there are factions—and Hong Kong Island is no exception.

Don’t let the small size of the place fool you—there are quite a few factions here. In the business world alone, there are four major factions: the Chaoshan faction, the Shanghai faction, the Cantonese faction, and the Taishan faction.

Each of these factions has two or three prominent figures, such as Li Ka-shing of the Chaoshan faction and Bao Yugang of the Shanghai faction.

Rather than agonizing over who to invite and who to turn down, why not let these bigwigs deal with the headache themselves?

Immediately, Li Futiao called the bigwigs of each faction in Hong Kong’s business community, instructing them to each recommend 10 guests—each of whom could bring a companion—and to report the final list to him once confirmed.

Thanks to Li Futiao’s maneuvering, coupled with the fueling of various rumors, what was originally a very ordinary banquet suddenly took on an air of unattainable grandeur.

And all of this was quietly brewing without Li Yi having the slightest clue…

……..