Manhattan Reborn 1978

New York, Long Island.

It's approaching midnight~

A car was speeding on the road. When it approached an unknown forest path, it suddenly slowed down and turned directly into it.

Ten minutes later, we reached the end of the forest path.

New York Auxiliary Police Officer Far Bochvino took out a large military backpack from his car and walked to the edge of the woods. He looked up to determine the direction, turned off the flashlight, and walked silently into the depths of the woods.

"It's me, come out."

"..." In the quiet and dark woods, there was only the faint sound of the breeze blowing the branches.

"Hey~ I know you're here, come out."

"I don't have time to waste here with you!"

"..How do you know I'm still here?" Octopus Wasim, who had completely hidden himself in the woods, asked in a dry voice.

After hearing this voice, Far Bochvino heaved a sigh of relief, threw his backpack on the ground, and spoke quickly.

"I found some clues today and went to a flour mill in Yonkers in the north, where I finally found the temporary transit point they mentioned."

"But now the place is deserted, with only some very hidden traces left."

"Found them? Then what? Did you find out the new address where they were transferred to?"

"Yes!" Farr stood there and pointed at the backpack and answered.

"I brought some things over. Take care of those two bastards first, then I'll take you to find them!"

"Okay!" Octopus Wasim climbed up from not far away from Far, gently shook off the dead leaves and dirt on his body, put away his weapon, strode to Far, looked at him carefully in the moonlight, and smiled.

"There are two hundred thousand Mi Yuan buried under the tree behind you."

"..." Fal looked back at the tree, nodded silently, and pointed at the military bag.

"Here are weapons and a bulletproof vest that I got from the black market. Put it on first."

"Yeah." Wasim squatted down and checked the weapons in the military bag. It seemed that he had completely let down his psychological guard against Far at this moment. His tone was slightly calm, but his voice was still very dry.

"We've only known each other for a short time, and I'm always grateful that you're willing to help me!"

"But you are a police officer, and investigating cases is your job. It is not your obligation to investigate cases that violate regulations."

"Besides giving you money, I can't think of anything else I can give you..."

"Once we find them... you take them away safely when you can and perform your duties as a police officer. Leave the rest to me!"

"..." Fal took a deep breath, took out a cigarette from his pocket and was about to light it, but then he felt something was wrong, so he simply held the cigarette in his palm and whispered.

“You could die.”

"Yeah, I should have died a long time ago..."

"Click~" Wasim fiddled with the military automatic rifle in his hand, turned off the safety after confirming that the bullet was loaded, looked up at Far and smiled.

"But who wouldn't die?"

"From the moment we are born, we are all heading towards death, and no one can escape it."

"The only difference is that some people feel like they are living in heaven, while others feel like they are living in hell."

"You, don't have any children."

"You can't understand what a father can do!"

"..." Far stared at Wasim in silence for a long time.

Wasim didn't care about his reaction, he just picked up the tactical belt and the bulletproof vest and put them on, and asked Farr to help install the bulletproof plate module on the back of the bulletproof vest.

He then found a black hood, goggles, tactical gloves, a military dagger, a high-intensity flashlight, military boots, two Glock pistols, some bullets, magazines, grenades, etc. in the bag.

"Is this... also a grenade?"

"No, it's called a flashbang, a new product that appeared a few years ago. It's more suitable for indoor encounters than grenades."

"Oh~ Are there any precautions when using it?"

"Yes, close your eyes and open your mouth + cover your ears."

“Ha~ Not bad!”

"Is it not going to cause you any trouble if I use it?"

"..."

"Forget it." Wasim packed up all his equipment and left a few flash grenades in his bag.

He opened a bag of military rations with his rifle on his back and swallowed it directly, shaking his head: "FXXX! This stuff is still so disgusting..."

"Let's go~"

"If I'm not dead, I'll be waiting for you in your apartment on East 39th Street in a few days."

"If I die, don't forget to take the money from under the tree."

"Don't even think about collecting my body. It's not me anymore. It's just a pile of rotten meat."

"..."

"By the way, is there any water?"

“There’s beer in the car.”

"Beer is fine too." Wasim said as he walked out of the woods.

Farr still stood there, looking back at his back silently, his relaxed palms slowly clenched into fists, and the cigarette was clenched into a ball.

----

Asia, Hong Kong.

Afternoon~

In a high-end Western restaurant on Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula.

Ding Peishan and Ruan Xiaoling, who had never been to this kind of restaurant, carefully picked up the knives and forks and learned the "rules" of eating Western food under the guidance of the "knowledgeable" Zhou Liwen.

Ten minutes later, the main course arrived and the person they were waiting for also arrived.

Luo Qingren, the second son of the Hong Kong Luo family, walked to the table under the guidance of the waiter and said with a smile: "Sorry, I'm late because I had to deal with some things temporarily!"

"It's okay, please go ahead." Zhou Liwen was very aware of his status. He smiled and invited Luo Qingren to sit down. He took the initiative to hand over the menu that he had prepared long ago and said with a smile.

"Oh, no need for a menu."

"Give me the chef's recommended red wine beef, vegetable salad and Marseille bouillabaisse set meal, and give this gentleman and the two ladies an oyster each, and rabbit meat."

"Okay, sir." The well-trained young male waiter took back the menu, smiled respectfully and nodded, then turned and left.

Luo Qingren glanced at Zhou Liwen and the other two, then took the bottle of white wine next to him and poured himself half a glass, then raised the glass and smiled.

"I have been busy getting familiar with my work at the university recently and have not been able to find time to invite you three to express my gratitude."

"You're too polite, Mr. Luo." Zhou Liwen, as a representative, gestured to Ding Peishan and the others and raised his glass.

"Ding, ding~" The four people's glasses clinked one by one. Luo Qingren drank up the wine very generously and said with a smile.

"The owner of this restaurant is my friend."

"In order to open this restaurant for his girlfriend, he specially went to Paris, France to invite the chef of a two-star Michelin restaurant. All the ingredients of the restaurant are also airlifted from France every day."

As he spoke, Luo Qingren turned his gaze to Ding Peishan and Ruan Xiaoling, and said with a smile: "You may not be used to the red wine beef and Marseille fish soup I ordered."

"So I took the liberty of ordering oysters and rabbit, which you should be able to accept."

Ding Peishan smiled and nodded without saying anything.

Ruan Xiaoling's eyes met Luo Qingren's, she pursed her lips and deliberately lowered her voice: "Well, thank you!"

"Hehe~" Luo Qingren stared at Ruan Xiaoling for a few seconds, turned his head slightly to look at Zhou Liwen, took the initiative to change the subject, and asked about the details of the three of them going to the gold and silver trading market this morning.

Because he knew that among the three, only Zhou Liwen could now tell him clearly some details of their encounter, conversation and transaction with Michael Kadoorie.

Luo Qingren was not particularly surprised that Maigao recognized the three of them.

When his junior David Coleman came to Hong Kong, the three of them had appeared and were later accepted by David. They will definitely be remembered by some people with ulterior motives.

What really surprised him was that Mai Gao was willing to sell the gold to them at a loss, and he was very polite and took the initiative to leave his contact information, hoping to contact them more in the future.

Who is Michael Kadoorie?

Although Luo Qingren didn't pay much attention to the family business since he was a child, and rarely went out with his father or elder brother for social events, he had heard the name of the Kadoorie family countless times after he became an adult.

Michael's father is Roland Kadoorie Sr., the current head of the Kadoorie family.

In the past few decades, he has been re-elected as a government member for many times and has held some important positions. He is a super boss who can "walk sideways" in both the political and business circles.

But judging from the history of recent decades, old Roland did not show an attitude of treating Hong Kong as a "hunting ground". Instead, he really wanted to use Hong Kong as a family base, hoping to rely on the "innate advantages" here to gradually expand the scale and influence of the family business.

In fact, old Roland spent his entire life doing just that.

Nowadays, the Kadoorie family can be found in Hong Kong real estate, hotels, textiles, banks, rubber trade, warehousing, shipyards, financial investment and other industries.

For example, in 1964, Roland also reached a cooperation agreement with the famous American oil company Standard Oil and its subsidiary Oriental Energy Company.

The two parties jointly invested to establish the Peninsula Power Company and built Tsing Yi Island. Kadoorie held a 40% stake and was responsible for electricity sales.

Electricity, as a resource that people in modern society cannot live without, will bring endless wealth to the Kadoorie family.

For example, in 1971, on behalf of the Kadoorie family, Roland Sr. reached a cooperation with Standard Chartered Bank and Schroders to jointly invest in the establishment of Baoyuan Finance Company. Kadoorie held 20% of the shares and served as chairman of the board of directors.

After the Hong Kong government lifted gold trade controls in 74, the company began to expand its operations into various financial businesses. Today, it is one of the few large financial companies in Hong Kong and a member trader with a very high ranking in the Gold and Silver Exchange.

In the past few years, the international gold price has risen from 71 million yuan per ounce in 35 to about 75 million yuan per ounce in 200.

Later, at the end of 76, the price of gold fell to 104 million yuan per ounce, and then rose to around 266 million yuan per ounce this year.

The international gold price fluctuates so much. As one of the most financially powerful member traders of the Gold and Silver Exchange, how much money has the Kadoorie family made in recent years?

Perhaps only old Roland and his son Mike know the exact number for this question.

However, Luo Qingren is a talented student who graduated from the School of Economics at Harvard University. He already had some guesses about this question.

Suppose that the wealth of the Luo family is compared to a standard unit of measurement.

In the past few years, Luo Qingren felt that if the Kadoorie family had only invested in spot gold and all operations were correct, the net profit should be four standard units.

If the Kadoorie family not only invested in spot gold in Hong Kong and London, but also invested in gold futures contracts in Chicago, the United States, then the final net return on the investment would be difficult to calculate.

This number could be six, eight, ten, or even more.

Anyway~

According to Luo Qingren's speculation, the wealth earned by the Kadoorie family in the gold market should be enough to buy at least four Luo families!

But even so, the Kadoorie family controlled by old Roland has become increasingly powerful, but in recent years it has become increasingly low-key and less and less visible in Hong Kong.

Why is it, or he, like this?

Luo Qingren asked his father and got the answer: "When you become rich, you naturally have to keep a low profile."