Rebirth in 1958: Getting rich starts from Nanluoguxiang

After hearing Arthur's story about how Da Bao saved his life on the snowy plateau, Daisy and Susanna breathed a sigh of relief. It was so thrilling; it could be made into a movie.

Desley and Susanna's interest in Da Bao grew even stronger. To them, China, though an extremely underdeveloped place, was also a mysterious one.

The four of them started eating and drinking again.

Daisy was very curious about Da Bao's background and couldn't help but ask.

"Charlotte, please allow me to address you this way. Your demeanor suggests you have received royal etiquette training. May I introduce you to us?"

Da Bao smiled, raised his glass of red wine, and took a small sip.

"I don't actually have the surname Qin. I have another surname, Aisin Gioro."

Upon hearing this, Arthur and his two companions couldn't help but shout again, drawing many eye-rolls from the other diners.

"Oh my god, your surname is Aisin Gioro, doesn't that mean you are from an ancient royal family in the East?"

Da Bao's eyes were somewhat glazed as he gazed at the swaying red wine and said sadly.

“Ever since my grandfather was driven out of the Forbidden City by the rioters, I have decided that if we cannot restore our former glory, then our Prince Chun’s branch will forever bear the surname Qin, and will never change.”

He put on such a convincing act that he completely fooled the three bumpkin Europeans.

Ever since Da Bao saved him, Arthur has been very interested in Chinese history and culture, and naturally knows what level the Manchu Prince Chun was.

He quickly stood up, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed deeply.

"Norfolk greets His Highness the Prince."

Da Bao waved his hand, looking dejected.

“With the country destroyed and the family ruined, how can a wandering person be worthy of the title of Your Highness? Arthur, you don’t need to call me your benefactor anymore. We are friends, just call me Charlotte.”

Daisley understood Da Bao's feelings at that moment. His family and Susanna's family were also nobles who were overthrown after the French Revolution, just like Da Bao now.

Arthur, however, was different. England had always been ruled by the Queen, so his dukedom was much more prestigious than Daisley's. Seeing that the three of them looked a bit dejected, Arthur quickly changed the subject.

"Charlotte, what are your plans for coming to Europe this time?"

Da Bao sighed and said casually.

"I want to find someone in France, and after I find them, I'll go to London. In London, I want to start a financial company and dabble in futures and stocks. Oh, by the way, HSBC's parent company is in London, and I want to buy that parent company."

The headquarters of HSBC Hong Kong is in Hong Kong, but it is controlled by HSBC Holdings plc, which is headquartered in London.

Arthur and the other two were stunned, their mouths agape, unable to close for a long time. Although they were also old noble families with assets in the billions, compared to HSBC, their combined wealth was insignificant.

But now Da Bao is acting like he's buying groceries on the street, wanting to buy HSBC Holdings Limited. No one doubts that Da Bao is bragging, because people at their level don't bother with bragging. So what surprised the three of them was just how much wealth Da Bao actually had.

(HSBC Holdings Limited was established in 1991. The reason it was established here is to show how awesome Da Bao is. Don't take it too seriously.)

If you were to buy 50 percent of HSBC Holdings now, it would probably cost £3 billion. What was £3 billion in the 1960s?

In 1960, England's total GDP was £55 billion, and this £3 billion was equivalent to the entire country of England. (The last sentence appears to be unrelated and refers to GDP.)

At that time, a worker's annual wage was about three thousand pounds, which was enough to pay the wages of 100,000 workers for a year.

Da Bao's offer to buy HSBC left these three European bumpkins completely bewildered.

Da Bao saw that the three people had their mouths wide open, except for Susanna, whose mouth was a little smaller; the other two's mouths were so big you could see their kidneys.

He asked curiously.

"What's wrong? Is it strange to buy HSBC?"

Arthur swallowed hard and shook his head.

"This isn't strange at all. Let alone buying 50% of HSBC's shares, even just 15% would make you the largest shareholder."

Charlotte, you are, after all, an Asian. If I help you buy it, you can only buy back a maximum of 20%. However, 20% will automatically make you the chairman of the board of directors of HSBC Group.

Da Bao thought for a moment, then nodded with a hint of disappointment.

"Arthur, then I'll trouble you. Twenty percent it is. Have the accountant calculate how much money is needed, and I'll transfer it to you."

Arthur nodded repeatedly.

"No rush, no rush. Even if we want to buy, we can only do so on the London Stock Exchange. I'll provide you with two traders, and you can open your own account and buy it yourself."

Da Bao thought Arthur made sense. Since he was going to start a financial company anyway, he might as well treat this as his first practice run.

Daisy is now very careful when speaking to Da Bao. He raised his glass of red wine and toasted Da Bao.

"Charlotte, you mean you're going to France to find someone? Can you talk to me and Susanna about it? Although our family has declined in France, many people still listen to us. We'll help you inquire."

Da Bao nodded. This was one way to go, after all, they were nobles and might have dealings with Princess Susanna.

"The person I'm looking for is Princess Susanna. Is her husband Chinese?"

"what?"

Daisy and Susanna stood up at the same time and said in unison.

"Are you looking for my aunt?"

"Are you looking for my aunt?"

Da Bao was taken aback for a moment, but then he realized that Dai Sili and the other person were actually Susanna's juniors. Da Bao took out his wallet from his pocket. Inside the wallet were photos of Zuo Mingyue, Nuannuan, Niu Niu, and Wenwen taken in Hong Kong.

Da Bao took out the photo and placed it on the table. Dai Sili quickly snatched it away, and Susanna also leaned over to look at it together.

Daisy asked Da Bao, somewhat annoyed.

How do you have photos of my aunt when she was young?

Susanna nodded vigorously.

Da Bao tapped the table with his fingers and said lazily.

"Take another look."

Daisy and Susanna looked at the photo carefully. Daisy scratched his head and said to Susanna.

"She does look exactly like my aunt, but I always feel like something is off."

Looking at the two children with intellectual disabilities, Arthur lazily pointed at the photo.

"You two idiots, look at the time."