1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 252 Settlement
"The four Zhao family theaters, Jade, Gold, Baosheng, and Wenhua, now all have 1024 signs. I pay Zhao Yifu about million in rent every year."

Zhai Yuan shook the three incense sticks in his hand and inserted them into the small copper burner with Zhai Xiaosheng's photo hanging on it.

The shrine was not placed in the living room like when she lived in public housing before. Zhao Meizhen felt that if the photo of her dead father was placed in a conspicuous place, it would scare visitors, so she separated an area next to the Kitchen God. Zhai Yuan often forgot to burn incense as he did not go home often, but she and Zhai Yao never stopped burning incense sticks every morning and evening.

Today, Zhai Yuan took the initiative to pay tribute to Zhai Xiaokang, and he kept muttering about his current property, which made Zhao Meizhen behind him frightened.

Thirty million in rent a year? If anyone were to tell them about this expense, it would scare the hell out of the neighborhood residents.

"But fortunately, there's still money to be made in the film industry. If I make a movie like 'A Better Tomorrow' every year, I can offset this part of the rent."

Zhai Yuan lit the incense sticks, stepped back a few steps, examined Zhai Xiaosheng's photo, and turned to smile at Zhao Meizhen. "Auntie, you haven't been to my company yet? I have nothing to do today, so I'll show you around. That way you won't think I'm struggling to make a living and can't even afford servants."

Zhao Meizhen said "oh" in a somewhat confused tone, still thinking about the 30 million yuan in rent.

Zhai Yuan went out to ask Wei Xing to drive the car over, and got into the car with Zhao Meizhen. He pointed out several cinemas in 1024 along the way, and the car finally stopped downstairs of the office building of Jiuyi Entertainment in Ngau Tau Kok.

"The last time you came here was when the theater opposite opened. Now I have also rented the fifth to ninth floors of this office building. The rent is much cheaper than that of the theater. I am considering buying the entire building, but the owner has immigrated to Australia and has no time to return to Hong Kong to transfer the ownership."

Zhai Yuan pulled Zhao Meizhen out of the car and walked into the office building. Employees passing by stopped to greet him when they saw him.

"Hello, Mr. Zhai."

"Well, I brought my mom to inspect the work."

"Hello auntie."

Zhao Meizhen stayed at home for a long time and was afraid of causing trouble for Zhai Yuan. Apart from meeting a few directors who came to visit during the holidays, she hardly met other employees of Jiuyi.

Now, being called "Auntie" by a group of white-collar workers in suits and ties with a respectful attitude, I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Mom, you don't have to bend so low when someone greets you."

"I don't know how to act like a rich lady. I've been used to talking to people like this for years... am I embarrassing you?"

"No! I'm afraid you'll scare them! Think about the time when you were wearing plastic flowers in the public housing estate, the counting workers who delivered the parts looked so arrogant. It would be enough if you looked a little bit like them."

Zhao Meizhen was quite intelligent and put on some airs, but when she met employees who came to greet her, she would just respond with a smile.

The news that the old lady was coming to inspect the company spread quickly throughout the building like a gust of wind.

Many curious employees came to visit, wanting to see what kind of woman could educate a talent like President Zhai.

The result was a huge disappointment.

In everyone's eyes, Zhao Meizhen is just an ordinary middle-aged woman who dresses simply and is very polite and courteous to others. This alone makes people doubt whether Zhai Yuan's daughter is hers.

Judging from Mr. Zhai's personality, the old lady should be a cunning, shrewd and ruthless character!

When Shi Nansheng heard that the old lady was coming, he hurried out to greet her. Shen Wei, Wang Jin and others also came out to greet her. These shrewd people made Zhao Meizhen smile with just a few words, and praised Zhai Yuan to the sky, making him feel a little embarrassed.

Zhai Yuan turned his back to Zhao Meizhen and said to Shi Nansheng and the others with emotion: "Everyone, I never thought that I have such a great image in your minds."

Shi Nansheng joked: "As the saying goes in the northern dialect, who doesn't eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year? Bring your aunt here next year and we will continue to praise you."

A group of girls including Zhou Huimin, Li Lizhen and Lan Jiying also looked around curiously, their eyes constantly sizing up Zhao Meizhen.

When they got closer, the other girls called her auntie sweetly. Little Youdea didn't know what she was thinking. When she saw Zhai Yuan pulling Zhao Meizhen over, her face turned red again.

"Mom, this is my most senior disciple. He looks a little stupid, but he's actually not stupid."

Zhai Yuan rubbed Zhou Huimin's little head, in return she rolled her eyes.

Zhao Meizhen nodded with a smile. Looking at the beautiful girls around her, she suddenly remembered that she had Zhou Haimei at home. She looked at Zhai Yuan and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Mother-in-law!"

Ye Yuqing rushed out from the crowd and scared Zhao Meizhen as soon as she opened her mouth. She held Zhao Meizhen's arm as if she was a familiar person, and her eyes swept across the faces of the girls including Zhou Huimin with a proud look, and she raised her chin proudly.

"Don't yell!" Zhai Yuan tapped her on the head and explained to Zhao Meizhen with a wry smile, "This is the sister of another business partner of mine. She looks smart, but she's actually a bit silly."

Zhou Huimin and the others had suffered from Ye Yuqing for a long time, and when they heard Zhai Yuan say this, they all chuckled.

Ye Yuqing pouted and was about to retort, but Zhai Yuan glared at her. She immediately became aggrieved and stopped talking. She then turned her attention to glaring at Zhou Huimin and the others.

"Jiuyi, we have almost finished our tour. I will take you to the next place."

Zhai Yuan felt that he could not stay here any longer, otherwise it would easily disrupt the existing ecological environment.

After pulling Zhao Meizhen out of the office building, they went to see the environment of the secret garden. Zhai Yuan did not tell her the specific business operations of the company, but only told her that it could earn millions every month. Zhao Meizhen was amazed.

"The women here dress rather plainly and look quite old. They shouldn't have anything to do with you, right?"

After coming out of the secret garden and getting into the car, Zhao Meizhen couldn't help but ask Zhai Yuan a question.

Zhai Yuan laughed and said, "You said that as if the other woman had something to do with me."

Zhao Meizhen was silent for a moment: "The girls from Jiuyi just now all look pretty good, but it's a pity that things are different now, and I can only marry one, so I think Haimei is the most suitable."

Zhai Yuan smiled noncommittally and said, "Let's not talk about this today. I'll take you to see a gambling boat."

When the car arrived at the dock, the Natural Selection was still parked at the port for maintenance.

Zhai Yuan and Zhao Meizhen boarded the gambling boat. Ye Zhiming was not on the boat. Only Guizai Tian came out to greet the mother and son.

"Secret Garden makes millions a month. This boat can earn several months' worth of Secret Garden revenue every night it goes out to sea. It's also my most profitable business right now."

Guizaitian took the mother and son on a tour of the boat. Even though Zhao Meizhen was no longer sensitive to money, her eyes still widened when she heard this number.

"Just take a look around first. I heard they have fresh abalone today. I'll ask the kitchen to make two and serve them up."

Zhai Yuan looked at the dozen or so glass partitions that had been arranged in the hall and knew that Ye Zhiming had made adjustments according to his suggestions.

He beckoned a waitress to show Zhao Meizhen around, then pulled Guizai Tian over to ask, "How's business these past two days?"

Guizai Tian smiled and said, "The glass boxes that Mr. Ye put on the boat are very creative. Usually, those women cost a few hundred yuan, but when they enter the glass room and pose, there will be high-rollers bidding for them. Some people even come on board to show their support, just like idols and fans."

Zhai Yuan smiled. This was similar to the live broadcast rewards in later generations. When other gambling ships appeared to compete on the sea, they would either raise the red limit or resort to such tricks. Moreover, cash was of little use on the ship. Mud codes were the hard currency. As long as people came on board to consume, it would eventually go into the gambling ship's revenue.

"I heard that you are known as the king of Hong Kong code recently, and there is also a new name for Ximitian?"

Zhai Yuan put his arm around Guizaitian's shoulders and asked, "How's it going, Code King? Did you treat my cousin well?"

Guizai Tian said, "It's all thanks to Mr. Zhai that he got the opportunity. Zhai Jinghao has lost a lot recently, and he's signed IOUs for over two million. But now he's being praised to the skies by those junket operators, who call him 'Brother Hao'. He also thinks he has Hong Bin's protection, so he never counts when signing orders. He probably still thinks he only owes a few hundred thousand."

Zhai Yuan said in a tone of admonition: "So, it is three points more dangerous to be in front of the brother and behind the brother. It is the same for you and Chen Jiale. Young people should not be confused by the flattery outside."

Guizai Tian smiled and said, "There are also many people outside who call Mr. Zhai "Brother Yuan."

Zhai Yuan said hypocritically: "Hey! I can bear it!"

The two chatted casually about some things on the gambling boat. Zhai Yuan, the absentee shareholder, learned from Guizai Tian that in order to attract customers, Ye Zhiming recently planned to increase the casino's betting limit from the original 500,000 to 1 million, in order to stimulate more high-rollers to come and take over the casino.

The more you lose, the more you win.

If a gambler is lucky enough to bet on high odds under the one million limit, he can earn tens of millions in a single game.

Zhai Yuan thought for a moment and said, "You can try it if you are sure, but I suggest not to raise it too high for now. Limiting red is like masturbation. When you are not interested in pornographic pictorials, you will switch to third-level videotapes. If you start watching videotapes, the threshold will be higher and higher. What will you use to stimulate customers in the future?" Guizaitian was amused by his analogy and said, "I will tell Mr. Ye about your theory when I see him tonight."

"Okay, in a nutshell, playing with high limits isn't our advantage. If we lose, we won't be able to compensate the big bosses on the other gambling boats out there."

Zhai Yuan didn't plan to let the gambling boat encounter some storms and then quench his thirst with poison for the time being. He thought he should find an opportunity to talk to Ye Zhiming in person.

He asked Guizai Tian, "Is Ye Zhiming resting at home?"

Guizai Tian shook his head and said, "Mr. Ye got off the gambling boat this morning and made an appointment with the HSBC boss. He brought Hong Bin with him to meet him and help Mr. Zhai deal with the Xiawan Village matter."

Zhai Yuan nodded in understanding after hearing this. Ye Zhiming had considered it all carefully. It was indeed not convenient for him to show up in person for such matters.

"Then wait until he finishes the work in Xiawan Village, then I'll ask him out to talk about the ship."

Zhai Yuan patted Guizaitian's shoulder and saw that Zhao Meizhen had returned from a tour on the boat. He said, "Come and have a meal with my mother, and find a few pretty girls who can talk to liven up the atmosphere."

After having dinner on the boat, Zhai Yuan did not stay for long. He said hello to Guizaitian and took Zhao Meizhen off the boat.

When he got to the shore, he saw Zhao Meizhen still immersed in the luxurious decoration of the gambling boat, and said with a smile: "If you like it, take some chips and go for a tour of the high seas with the boat tonight."

Zhao Meizhen immediately glared and said, "What a fool! I don't even know how many playing cards there are, and you want me to gamble?"

After that, she advised Zhai Yuan, "Although this business makes money, it's not a legitimate one. Don't get too involved. Auntie doesn't preach. Do you understand me?"

"I understand." Zhai Yuan got into the car and jokingly said, "But the legitimate business isn't profitable. My film company and other businesses all rely on this gambling ship for support. If I don't do it, my funding chain will be cut off in a minute."

Zhao Meizhen asked: "What will happen if the funding chain is broken?"

Zhai Yuan said, "If I go bankrupt, the villa will be taken away by the bank, and my family will have to live in public housing again. All those girls you pick on will leave me, and you may never get married. It will be a miserable end for you!"

The corner of Zhao Meizhen's eye twitched. She took a deep breath, her eyes gradually becoming firm. "Since the Hong Kong government allows you to run a gambling boat, it must be legal and compliant. Why can't it be considered a legitimate business? Son, remember, if you want to do this, you have to be like Dr. He of the horse racing business. Be the best and kill all those gambling addicts!"

In the face of monetary interests, simple values are vulnerable.

Zhai Yuan smiled and said okay, then asked Wei Xing to continue driving to the VCD factory in Yuen Long.

He turned to Zhao Meizhen and said, "I've shown you around the profitable businesses. Now, let me show you the unprofitable ones."

Zhao Meizhen was puzzled and asked, "Why do you want to do a business that doesn't make money?"

Zhai Yuan leaned back on the cushion, closed his eyes and said, "This is a long-term investment. After tonight, this business will soon turn a profit."

…………

"Mr. Ye, according to the Law of the Sea, if you want to use these deeds as collateral for HSBC, you must first go to the registry office to apply to change the name of the landlord on the deeds, and pay a stamp duty to them. Only with the new deeds can the land be considered yours."

HSBC Main Building, 1 Queen's Road Central, Central.

At that time, the HSBC head office building had undergone three reconstructions and three demolitions. After the handover issue was negotiated, the foreigners rebuilt the bank for the fourth time in order to transfer foreign exchange. Every floor tile had to be airlifted from the UK. The cost of building the unfinished building exceeded US$10 billion, making it the most expensive building in the world.

At this time, this office in this unfinished building is being put into use in phases.

The foreign boss Dai Johnson leaned back in his chair, opened his eyelids to put eye drops into his eyes, and casually explained the situation to Ye Zhiming and Hong Bin sitting opposite him.

"Manager Dai, what you said has nothing to do with me."

Ye Zhiming waved his hand and pointed at Hong Bin, saying, "All I know is that this Malaysian Datuk owes me a large sum on the gambling boat. He can't come up with the money now and wants to use the land deed to pay it off. It doesn't matter who the landowner is, as long as I can get the money."

Hong Bin was kicked away by Ye Zhiming like a ball, with a fat smile on his face: "Yes, Manager Dai, I am the one who makes the decision throughout this matter, you just need to communicate with me."

Dai Johnson sat up straight, wiped the drops from the corners of his eyes with a tissue, looked at Hong Bin and smiled, "It doesn't matter who you communicate with, Mr. Dato, I've made it very clear, you have to go to the Registry to apply to be a new landowner..."

Hong Bin's smile remained unchanged. "How about 2 million?"

Dai Johnson rubbed his eyes and said, "A large number of these land deeds are owned by Ding Quan. Those country folks in Yuen Long are so difficult to deal with!"

Hong Bin said, "2 million."

Dai Johnson still looked uninterested, and said weakly, "Death warrant, Mr. Dato, I'm afraid that if I mortgage it on the first day, my boss's company will be destroyed by those country people on the second day."

Johnson's boss is the wealthy businessman Li Ka-shing. When he was young, he served in the Foreign Legion for five years. When he was in the Far East, he joined Jardine Matheson and worked there for more than ten years. He also set up a private bank of his own. Later, he was appreciated by Li Ka-shing, who acquired his company and all of his clients, and asked the HSBC board of directors to appoint him as a senior executive of the Hong Kong headquarters. This is how Johnson has achieved his current status.

Seeing that the other party even brought out the big boss, Hong Bin felt a little uneasy. He glanced at Ye Zhiming who was still casually trimming his nails. He gritted his teeth and quoted the price again.

"2 million!"

Dai Johnson snorted and laughed, still not commenting on the price.

Hong Bin didn't dare to lower the price again and looked at Ye Zhiming beside him again.

"Hey, 2 million is about right! I'm on the gambling boat tonight, and I'll personally give you another million in mud chips to play with. Your boss's business is as high as the sky, are you really afraid of these unruly people down there?"

Ye Zhiming finally spoke, threw down his nail clippers, took a deep breath, and smiled at Dai Johnson: "Besides, I think this piece of land is very suitable for development. I plan to buy it back later. When the time comes, I will still offer 2 million. This means that you don't have to do anything for this business. You can help your boss make 3000 million in cash and million in mud chips. What else is there to be dissatisfied about?"

"make a deal!"

Dai Johnson finally looked Ye Zhiming in the eye, and his attitude towards Ye Zhiming was much stronger than Hong Bin's. He smiled warmly and said, "Of course I have to give Mr. Ye face, but don't think I'm making a lot of money. The high risk and high cost will make me bear the main responsibility if anything goes wrong."

Ye Zhiming was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. He leaned back in his chair and said silently, "Stop it, boss. In this city of Hong Kong, even if HSBC is wrong, it's still right."

…………

"That's not a problem. Let's not talk about those foreign directors. The Chinese board of directors is full of people of Li Jiacheng, Bao Yugang, and Deng Lianru's level. How could they be afraid of those villagers in Xiawan Village?"

When Zhai Yuan received Ye Zhiming's call, he was chatting with Guan Weiming outside the CD factory in Yuen Long.

Inside the factory, Tao Zongyi and a group of technical backbones took Zhao Meizhen to visit the latest VCD machines and greeted her, the financial sponsor, warmly and enthusiastically.

Zhai Yuan retracted his gaze and continued to talk to Ye Zhiming on the other end of the phone, "Mortgage the land deed to HSBC. No matter how big a commotion happens, they will cover it. Think of 3000 million as buying insurance. This little money can get you 7 square meters of land. It's a win-win for everyone~"

In Zhai Yuan's impression, the parties that sued HSBC were either the US Congress, the South Korean Procuratorate, or later a mobile phone brand in mainland China.

Villagers of Xiawan Village? Who in the hall is suing me?

Ye Zhiming said on the phone, "It's pretty much what I thought. That's why I didn't ask Hong Bin to scam the HSBC boss as well. He's been on my ship too many times, and it would be easy to get into trouble if he scammed HSBC."

"It's good enough to get the land. It's really not appropriate to create trouble." Zhai Yuan asked: "When will Hong Bin leave?"

Ye Zhiming said: "We will go out to sea with the ship tonight, and a yacht will pick him up when the ship reaches the high seas."

Zhai Yuan hummed, "I have things to do here, so I won't go aboard to see him off. See you in the rivers and lakes. Also, help me get the 2 million loan from HSBC through a few hands on the boat, and then deposit it into my account with the profit from the gambling boat, so that I can use it to buy back the title deed later."

Ye Zhiming smiled and said, "So cautious?"

Zhai Yuan said: "It's better to be safe than sorry. I don't want to be bothered by the ICAC or the HKMA. It's annoying."

Ye Zhiming yawned on the other end of the phone and said jokingly, "Anyway, this is a good game. If you want to make a movie, you can make a movie based on this. The title of the movie will be "The 2 Million Case: The Wind Rises in Xiawan Village."

Zhai Yuan laughed when he heard this and said, "2 million? Is such a small amount of money involved in the case worthy of being put on the table?"

He thought to himself: Hong Kong people are still too narrow-minded. They always commit billion-dollar cases and billion-dollar robberies. Look at my brother, Boss Xu, who started with trillions of dollars. That's a real legend.

(End of this chapter)