Siheyuan: My wife is Xu Huizhen

This 4% stake not only failed to secure a seat on the board of directors, but also meant that Hutchison Whampoa had little say in the company's operations and decision-making, and could only passively accept the company's development as a minority shareholder.

The morning mist along the Huangpu River had not yet dissipated. He Yuzhu rolled up the cuffs of his crisply pressed suit by half an inch, looked at the rising sun reflected on the glass curtain wall of the Wheelock House, took a deep breath, and pushed open the revolving door.

This long-established company, rooted in Central, Hong Kong for over 30 years, is now not only a negotiating partner for him, but also a key bargaining chip to break the deadlock.

Wheelock's history unfolds slowly, like a faded old photograph.

Founder George Madden is a business legend. When this British Jewish businessman retired in 1959, he had already built the company into a business empire spanning shipping and real estate.

At the time, major newspapers vied to report on his bold remarks at his retirement banquet:

"A true businessman always leaves half a door open for those who come after him."

Today, the person in charge behind this door is his only son, John Madden—this Cambridge-educated young master who took over the reins after his father's sudden death and transformed himself from a financial analyst to the group's chairman in three years.

When the elevator numbers jumped to the 38th floor, He Yuzhu noticed a huge black-and-white photograph at the end of the corridor:

George Madden stands in front of the original Wheelock Building, with a crane behind him hoisting the last steel beam.

Meanwhile, an electronic screen at the corner was displaying live clips of John Madden's interview from last week:

"Tradition is an anchor, not a shackle."

Two completely different business philosophies collide and spark a subtle synergy in the interplay of light and shadow.

Seven days after making contact with the other party, He Yuzhu received an electronic invitation with a gold-embossed logo, and the attachment detailed the coordinates of the meeting room and access control permissions.

He deliberately set off half an hour early, passing through the office buildings whose glass curtain walls reflected a golden light, and looked up to see the rotating corporate logo on the top of the Wheelock Tower—a logo he had seen countless times on industry exhibition posters, now hanging three meters above his head, casting an eerie shadow on the building's surface as the clouds moved.

In the office building lobby, the smart navigation screen flashed a pale blue light. He showed the QR code on his phone to the recognition area, and the metal turnstile hummed mechanically. As the elevator ascended, the change in air pressure made his eardrums throb slightly. The moment the numbers jumped to the 28th floor, the mirrored elevator doors reflected his image as he adjusted his tie, his Adam's apple bobbing more violently than he had expected.

The moment you push open the carved wooden door of conference room C2803, the scent of sandalwood mixed with cedarwood wafts out.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Huangpu River meanders like a ribbon, and the skyscrapers on the opposite bank are faintly visible in the thin mist. The moment his leather shoes touched the Italian handmade carpet, he suddenly realized that this negotiation was not only about the contract, but also the first time in his career that he had truly stepped into the top of the industry.

Wheelock & Fung started as a small trading company in Kowloon, Hong Kong in 1958. Under the leadership of its founder Cheng Yu-tung, who believed in "integrity as the foundation and diversification as the expansion path," the company has gradually built a business empire spanning real estate development, financial investment, and international trade through the innovative efforts of three generations of managers.

In 1987, it successfully listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming one of the first Chinese-owned enterprises to complete shareholding reform.

As of the end of 2024, the Group’s total market capitalization exceeded HK$128 billion. It holds controlling stakes in 27 wholly-owned subsidiaries and has equity stakes in 43 affiliated companies. Among them, Wheelock International Holdings and Dechang Industrial have achieved dual listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Singapore Stock Exchange, respectively, forming a global business map with Hong Kong as its headquarters and radiating to the Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Its landmark buildings, such as Wheelock House in Central and the Bund Financial Center in Shanghai, are not only important components of the city skyline, but also classic examples in the field of commercial real estate.

Wheelock's investment portfolio is like a magnificent global panorama, with its business reach extending far beyond geographical boundaries, freely traversing the tropical rainforests and financial centers of Southeast Asia, the vast ranches and ports of Australia, and the urban jungles and emerging development zones of North and South America.

Turning to its development yearbook, one can see that since the last century, the group has demonstrated keen market insight by creating landmark commercial complexes in Marina Bay, Singapore, developing high-end shipping terminals in Sydney Harbour, and acquiring prime office buildings in Manhattan, New York. Every investment has precisely hit the key points of regional economic development.

Returning to Hong Kong as the foundation and lifeline of the group's development, Wheelock has built an unbreakable business barrier in the two core areas of real estate and shipping.

In the real estate sector, from top-tier luxury residences in Repulse Bay to skyscraper office clusters in Central, from integrated development of new towns to urban renewal projects, the group has not only created iconic urban skylines such as the International Finance Centre, but also continues to lead the trend of Hong Kong's high-end property market with its "refined + differentiated" operating strategy.

Its achievements in the shipping sector are equally remarkable. Its ocean-going fleet traverses the world's five oceans and has established long-term partnerships with more than 100 ports worldwide. It has consistently maintained a leading position in the industry in niche areas such as container shipping and special cargo transportation.

With more than half a century of dedicated work, Wheelock has long been an unshakable pillar in Hong Kong's business landscape, and its every move affects the pulse of the industry.

However, it is worth mentioning that the gears of fate had already quietly begun to turn.

On some seemingly ordinary trading day in the future, Wheelock, this commercial behemoth, will sail into another sea—becoming the domain of Y.K. Pao, the "Shipping King of the World," and becoming an important landmark in his vast business empire.

This acquisition not only signifies a change in corporate ownership, but also marks a deep integration of Hong Kong's two shipping and real estate giants. The Pao family will use their unique business acumen to inject new momentum into Wheelock's development.

However, in the current business climate, Wheelock still maintains strong growth momentum.

The neon lights of the headquarters building shone brightly all night, business proposals were constantly being generated in the boardroom, real estate projects under the group sprang up like mushrooms after rain on the city skyline, and the financial business stirred up waves in the capital market with its sound strategy and innovative model.

Every strategic move and every market action it takes affects the industry, demonstrating the formidable strength and influence of this established business empire.

The glass revolving door exhaled air carrying waves of heat. When He Yuzhu signed his name in the front desk registration book, the nib of his pen left a small stain on the paper.

The staff member in the business suit adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his fingertips tracing the schedule on the tablet, the sound of his metal fingernails tapping the screen crisp and clear, like cracking ice.