Chapter 240 [Don’t I have any face? ]

The beginning of April

After a long investigation, and the planned escape of Xu Shoukun and others, Hong Kong Governor Murray MacLehose finally made up his mind and approved the ICAC's arrest operation.

One hour before Xu Shoukun was about to board the ship, officers from the ICAC formally arrested him in his apartment and listed some evidence of his crimes. Xu Shoukun had originally wanted to struggle a few times and take the opportunity to escape, but unfortunately the ICAC officers had applied for guns, and facing the black muzzle of the gun, Xu Shoukun had no choice but to be arrested.

When he arrived at the interrogation room of the ICAC, Xu Shoukun initially wanted to "make a fuss" and get out as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the evidence was before him, and Xu Shoukun acted like a "man of insight" and directly bit out those former brothers in an effort to reduce some of their sentences, including a series of things like Li Wendi, bribing Peter Godber, and how to bring down Lin Jianmin.

The evidence was so obvious that even if the ICAC did not want to pay attention to Li Wendi, it had no choice but to invite Li Wendi back for "tea".

However, this time the attitude was very polite, because the ICAC did not have any actual evidence and could not convict Li Wendi based solely on the testimonies of Wei Zuhui and Xu Shoukun. Of course, there were also lessons learned from the last time (Li Wendi complained about the actions of the ICAC).

"Mr. Li, we are just conducting a routine inquiry because Xu Shoukun and Wei Zuhui's testimonies both implicated you in the bribery of Ge Bo."

Li Wendi was a little impatient, but he managed to suppress it. "Okay, if you have any questions, just ask them now. I don't want to stay here too long."

The ICAC staff kept asking the same questions over and over again. Li Wendi was tired of answering them, but considering that it was just a formality, he answered them again.

The ICAC staff asked Li Wendi not to leave Hong Kong during this period so that they could summon him at any time.

Li Wendi agreed. He knew that the ICAC was just being polite and had actually sent out notices to airports and other areas. It would be very difficult for Li Wendi to leave Hong Kong through formal channels.

Li Wendi remembered that by 75, the real estate market had gradually recovered. Although the stock market still did not show much improvement, it would stop falling (perhaps because it had fallen no further). The Hang Seng Index rose slowly, and those companies that were not badly damaged in the stock market crash and the economic crisis began a new round of acquisitions, rapidly expanding their own strength and scale. Even the four major trading companies, Jardine Matheson, Swire, Hutchison and Wheelock, personally got involved and acquired some companies or completely privatized high-quality enterprises, such as the privatization of Gammon Construction Company by Hong Kong Land Development.

The Golden Gate Construction Company asked for more than HK$7 million for the Golden Gate Building in Central alone. It was sold again in 80 for HK$9.98 million, which was a sky-high price in that era.

You have to know that in the 80s, the market value of the Eagle Properties Limited was only more than 30 billion yuan. A single Golden Gate Building was worth one-third of the Eagle Properties Limited. How amazing is that.

The strength of Kinmen Construction Company can also be seen from this. Most importantly, Kinmen Construction Company is one of the four largest construction companies in Hong Kong, and its annual profit is no lower than that of some medium-sized real estate companies.

Gammon Construction Company was also one of the companies acquired by the Jardine Matheson Group in 75 and 76.

Changxin Real Estate Company is naturally not as strong as Jardine Matheson Company, but it is still easy for it to acquire some small real estate companies. Due to insufficient funds, Li Wendi plans to select particularly high-quality companies to start with, rather than "biting off more than he can chew".

Therefore, Li Wendi asked Zhang Wentao to start collecting information on small real estate companies in Hong Kong and some medium-sized real estate companies with lower rankings so that he could make screening.

Li Wendi sat on the chair and roughly browsed the documents, then asked Zhang Wentao, "What is the specific situation of Mingcheng Real Estate Company?"

Mingcheng Real Estate Company was established in 1965. It is not very large and can barely be considered a medium-sized real estate company. It also specializes in property investment and property rental. It is not very interested in land development, but sometimes invests in land development through some cooperation. It does not interfere with the project operations of the cooperative company, but only enjoys profit sharing.

In 72, Wu Lixing, the boss of Mingcheng Real Estate, took advantage of the booming real estate market to acquire many properties, including a large amount of bank loans. Initially, the rent could still cover the interest expenses, but now the land market has plummeted and the rent has decreased. Wu Lixing can only sell some properties at a low price. Unfortunately, he still owes a lot of loans to the bank. Now Mingcheng Real Estate Company is just barely able to maintain operations.

After listening to Zhang Wentao's statement, Li Wendi frowned. Mingcheng Real Estate Company was not very high-quality, but some of the properties and land investments it had were somewhat tempting. Moreover, it would be difficult for a company that was too high-quality to be successfully acquired by Changxin Real Estate.

Even if the acquisition is successful, it will add some burden to Changxin Real Estate, which does not seem to be a good thing.

After thinking it through, Li Wendi's frown slowly relaxed. "Is there any way to investigate the financial situation of Mingcheng Real Estate Company?"

"I'll find a way to investigate." Zhang Wentao was not very confident. The previous investigations were only possible because the other party was not strong. However, Mingcheng Real Estate Company's strength was almost catching up with China Entertainment Properties Company, and the accounts were really complicated.

Li Wendi nodded and asked about other things, "How is the investigation of Luckin Real Estate going?"

Luckin Coffee is a small company and it is not a difficult task for Zhang Wentao.

“Luckin Coffee is a good company, but it’s a little small. Even if we acquire it, it won’t be of much help to the company.” Zhang Wentao handed the Luckin Coffee documents to Li Wendi. He thought that the boss wanted to acquire the company.

Li Wendi did not respond to Zhang Wentao's question immediately, but read the document carefully until he found some problems and then asked Zhang Wentao.

“Is this amount a bad debt?”

“Yes! The debtor has already fled Hong Kong, and Luckin Coffee cannot find anyone to repay the debt. The debtor has family members, but they simply cannot afford to repay,” Zhang Wentao replied.

"No wonder Luckin Coffee is having difficulties. It has so many bad debts." Li Wendi put the document aside, looking unhappy. Luckin Coffee did have some problems, which were not difficult to deal with, but he still wanted to see if there was anything more suitable for Zhang Yan. After all, Li Wendi didn't want to see his brother fall into the trap.

“In fact, these bad debts are unimportant. It would be difficult to take over Luckin Coffee if it didn’t have the bad debts. The asset value of this company is still quite good, but it lacks a sum of money for turnover. Once the local market recovers, the market value of Luckin Coffee will skyrocket.” Zhang Wentao analyzed with a smile.

“Yeah!” Li Wendi nodded. What Zhang Wentao said was right. It would be difficult to acquire Luckin Coffee if its situation was too good. Although Luckin Coffee did not have any high-quality properties, its asset value was not bad and its potential was already quite good.

The most important thing is that the millions of dollars can keep Luckin Coffee going until the local market picks up.

"It's not us who want to acquire Luckin Coffee, but Zhang Yan." Li Wendi said lightly, making no sense.

Zhang Wentao was stunned for a moment, and in his heart he slandered, "Isn't the boss too good to Zhang Yan? He is just feeding food into Zhang Yan's mouth."

"Boss, you are so nice to Zhang Sheng." Zhang Wentao said flatteringly.

"You are all old servants who helped me build my empire. I dare not say that your net worth will exceed 80 million, but by the s, it is certain that your net worth will exceed million." Li Wendi painted another big pie for Zhang Wentao, making Zhang Wentao work happily.

Of course, the pie that Li Wendi painted is very likely to be fulfilled, because Zhang Wentao is now worth over one million. As long as the company continues to expand, the new shares that Zhang Wentao can get will be worth more than tens of millions.

"Thank you, boss!" Zhang Wentao knew that these words were just empty promises, but he was still very happy because Li Wendi rarely failed to deliver on his promises. In addition, Li Wendi's net worth had already exceeded 100 million yuan, so it seemed that it was not difficult for him to help his subordinates raise their net worth to the 10 million level. After Zhang Wentao left the office, Li Wendi called Zhang Yan and told him to start working on the acquisition of Luckin Real Estate.

After hanging up the phone, Li Wendi put aside the affairs of Luckin Real Estate Company and devoted himself to the research of Mingcheng Real Estate Company. He wanted to get this piece of fat meat at a very low cost and see if he could acquire a small high-quality real estate company afterwards, so as to expand the scale of Changxin Real Estate Company to the extreme.

Office of the Qinian Newspaper

Li Wendi was reading a comic book, which was the new issue of "Pirate King", which had already been published to volume 100. He found three friends to go on an adventure.

This comic incorporates some of Li Wendi's new ideas, so it feels a little different when reading it, at least different from his previous life.

He Qijun was filled with joy, because the comics were already on track and becoming more and more popular. Their profits were now almost catching up with those two magazines, and the comics could also bring in other derivative income.

So, He Qijun came up with the idea of ​​opening another comic book. After all, no one would complain about high profits.

"I want to bring the comic book "Naruto" to the market, and at the same time form a new team to enhance the newspaper's influence in the comics industry. What do you think?" He Qijun sat next to Li Wendi and asked seriously.

Li Wendi looked at He Qijun, thought for a moment, and said, "Okay, I'll ask the toy company to open a theme store for these two comics to help promote Naruto."

Hearing this, He Qijun showed a trace of hesitation, "Can we hand over the toy company to the Qi Nian Newspaper to run? The toy company can grow stronger with the blessing of comics, and maybe it can give back to us in the future."

He Qijun is very clear that this is an industrial chain, and the lack of any link will mean a loss for the newspaper. If the industrial chain is complete, she believes that Qinian Newspaper can become a company like Ming Pao Group and Sing Tao Group.

Now it was Li Wendi's turn to be in a dilemma. The toy company was not the most valuable or promising enterprise in his hands. Now He Qijun asked for it again. The Qinian Newspaper was one of his industries. He did not manage the toy company much and left it to others. So why couldn't he give it to He Qijun, his future partner?

"What? Am I not suitable for managing a toy company?" He Qijun continued to ask.

Li Wendi smiled and said, "I didn't say it's inappropriate, I'm just worried that you're too busy. If you like, I can transfer the toy company to the name of the Qi Nian Newspaper."

"Okay, then we'll go and handle the formalities in a few days." He Qijun said disrespectfully. Although she could see that Li Wendi was not very willing, she felt that some things needed to be snatched and demanded, otherwise who knows which vixen would get them for free.

In He Qijun's opinion, she may not care about Li Wendi's philandering, but she must have more and more assets and industries in her hands so that if there is a property dispute decades later, she and her children will not be at the mercy of others.

This is also the survival rule of the wealthy family taught to her by her grandfather He Zefeng. You cannot rely on others, because if you rely on the mountain, the mountain will fall. Only yourself will not abandon yourself.

Li Wendi "has never eaten pork, but has seen pigs running". In her previous life, she had seen too many fights between wealthy families in Hong Kong TV dramas, and she understood that He Qijun was trying to find a sense of security for herself.

As for whether He Qijun would betray him, Li Wendi was not worried at all, because He Qijun was a smart person and knew that the consequences of these things were not something she could bear, including the He family would be implicated, and he did not completely trust He Qijun.

"Okay! I'll make a plan for you based on those arrangements so that you can run the toy company well." Li Wendi said with a wry smile.

Since you are going to give it as a gift, you might as well be generous and do it nicely.

A few days later
The Qinian Newspaper received news that many imitations of "Pirate King" appeared on the market, such as "Bandit King", which caused the Qinian Newspaper's profits from comics to drop sharply.

Li Wendi's face turned pale. Although the copyright of "Pirate King" was registered, it was legal for others to imitate it. However, this imitator was a bit shameless and even imitated the plot.

Huang Yulang! ?

Li Wendi felt the name was familiar, as if he had seen it in his previous life, but he could no longer remember the story behind the name. He knew that a name that seemed familiar to him must have some outstanding features, otherwise he would not have remembered it.

"This Yulang International Company is a bit shameless." Li Wendi said in a deep voice.

He Qijun was also very angry. "I have already asked a lawyer. We cannot sue Yulang International for the time being. The most hateful thing is that this guy can always copy our comics very quickly."

Li Wendi has no way to deal with Yulang International for the time being. In fact, the most effective way is to ask the Black Society to take action. As long as they teach Huang Yulang a lesson, everything will go smoothly. However, Li Wendi thinks that there is no need to get involved in such a small matter. What if Huang Yulang takes the opportunity to discredit Qinian Newspaper and Li Wendi himself? It seems that the loss outweighs the gain.

No matter whether it is reasonable or not, as long as it is tainted by corruption, everything will actually tilt. After all, society is very sympathetic to the weak.

“Let’s not worry about it for now. It’s not like our products haven’t been copied by others before. It’s easy to destroy Yulang International, but it will affect the development plan of Qinian Newspaper.” Li Wendi was still reluctant to affect the overall situation for a comic book.

Although saying this, Li Wendi kept thinking about how to deal with Yulang International Company. If the outside world was given the illusion that he could not deal with Yulang International Company, the reputation in the industry that Qinian Newspaper had worked so hard to build would be affected.

What made Li Wendi even more angry was that a jewelry store in North Point was robbed. Although the loss was less than 30, all the decorations inside the store were destroyed, as if it was a malicious revenge.

The losses will naturally be compensated by the insurance company, but Li Wendi finds it hard to swallow this. Does he, Li Wendi, have no respect for himself?

"Wendy, these people are so bold. They dare to rob your store even though they know it's your store." Zhang Yan's face was a little red and his voice was loud.

"Maybe it's directed at me." Li Wendi calmed down, but his voice was deep.

"You mean it was done by an enemy?" Zhang Yan paused and said, "Do you have a candidate?"

Li Wendi shook his head. "No, they stole hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of goods, so they naturally need to find a buyer to take over. Please help me find out, and by the way, send out a notice saying that Junfu Jewelry Company is offering a reward of 8 yuan for the arrest of this gang of criminals. Anyone with information can be rewarded in cash, ranging from 1 to 5 yuan."

Zhang Yan nodded. He knew that Li Wendi was wealthy and didn't care about such a small amount of money. He just wanted to save face.

(End of this chapter)