Hong Kong: Rise of the Kings.

Chapter 911 0899 [A tiger in the family, eagle eyes and wolf eyes]

"Master, the second young master has returned from outside, and breakfast is ready, waiting for you to come over and eat." Uncle En, the old servant of the Li family, spoke to Li Xiaohe, who was sitting in the backyard, wearing a black silk Tang suit, carving puppets by hand, with a smile on his face.

Li Xiaohe, a slender and capable 67-year-old, put down the carving knife, and Uncle En beside him had just handed him a towel.

Li Xiaohe wiped the sweat off his face, looked at the unfinished work in front of him and said to Uncle En beside him: "I really like Gu Long's "The Sentimental Swordsman", especially the carving skills of Li Xunhuan!"

Uncle En laughed: "That's a martial arts novel, don't take it seriously. Even if Li Xun Huan came back to life, how can he be as good as your craftsmanship, Mr. Li?"

Li Xiaohe smiled, "Don't flatter me! At my age, I'm no longer interested in worldly affairs. I occasionally read those martial arts novels to satisfy my curiosity. It is said that carving can cultivate one's sentiments, and it can also give an old man like me, who has nothing to do, something to rely on."

"Master, how can you be old? In my eyes, you will always be eighteen years old."

"Haha, you, what you said is so true, but I just like to hear it! If I am eighteen years old, then you are only sixteen years old, right?"

"You're right. I'm two years younger than you, Master. I was beaten by the Master for stealing rice cakes. If you hadn't saved me, I would have been kicked out of the Li family." Uncle En said with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "Although I was silly at that time, I felt very fulfilled. A piece of rice cake could make me happy for a long time. I would rather break my legs than steal one."

"Haha, you steal rice cakes, and I steal perfumes and jades. Back then, you took me to nightclubs, and you found different dancers for me every time. I was always wearing different perfumes, and my father almost broke my legs."

"I'm just being grateful to you. You saved me, so of course I have to consider you first when I have something to gain from you!"

"You, you want to go out and have fun, but you don't have any money in your pocket, right? You're taking advantage of me, and I always have to buy the full price for you."

"Hehe." Uncle En smiled, his eyes showing a hint of cunning that only young people have, "Master, you are still very perceptive and know everything."

"I know nothing! I have been deceived by you for so many years. Who did that little peach red love back then?"

"Of course it's you, Master. You are talented, rich, and handsome!"

"Bullshit! I finally found out that Xiao Taohong and you were childhood sweethearts. You were childhood sweethearts before you entered our Li family, but you didn't expect that she would end up falling into prostitution..."

Uncle En's expression darkened for a moment, "It's just a trick of fate. No one could have predicted it."

"Since you and her are childhood sweethearts, why did you give it to me?"

"Because you like it, Master." Uncle En said firmly, "As long as it's something you like, I will help you do it!"

"You would even give me the woman you love, would you do that?"

"Yes!"

Li Xiaohe looked at Uncle En deeply and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this. After all, it's all in the past. Tell the front desk that I'll change my clothes and come right over."

Uncle En smiled and looked at the puppet that Li Xiaohe had not yet finished carving. Obviously, it was an image of a woman, and it seemed familiar. Who else could it be but Xiao Taohong?
"The master is also a love-struck man!" Uncle En sighed inwardly, "Xiao Taohong has been dead for so long, but he still misses her. For a prostitute to receive such deep love from him, it is worth dying for."

Uncle En once again confirmed that what he did before was right. He felt that it was the right thing for him to give up Xiao Taohong and give her to Li Xiaohe. Even though Xiao Taohong died of depression in the end, Uncle En did not regret it.

After all, there was a man who loved her.

No, two men loved her.

If she knew about this in the underworld, she would be smiling in her grave.

Watching Uncle En leave, Li Xiaohe took the puppet again and gently stroked it as if he was stroking a woman's hair.

"You left and left me behind. Why bother? I am old now. The only way I can remember you is to carve a statue for you, like Li Xunhuan, for the rest of my life."

After saying this, Li Xiaohe started coughing violently. In the flickering candlelight, his thin figure looked like Li Xunhuan in "The Sentimental Swordsman".

……

When Li Xiaohe walked into the restaurant, his casual Tang suit had been changed into a well-tailored suit. There was no trace of the relaxed expression he had when he was doing wood carving in the backyard on his face. Only a serious expression remained. He glanced at his family members who were sitting in the restaurant waiting for him. Everyone had hurriedly stood up and took the initiative to say, "Master, you are here!"

"Sit down." Li Xiaohe walked to the main seat at the dining table and glanced at everyone again.

A wife, two concubines, three sons, and two daughters, a total of eight people.

The dining table was large, but only slightly spacious. After all, there were nine people including him. If the two grandsons and one granddaughter were counted, there would be a total of twelve people.

In the Li family, women are accessories and have no say, especially in the family business. They have always been forbidden to speak and their domain is limited to housework.

Li Xiaohe handed over all the housework to these women and let them busy themselves with intrigue. This way they would have something to do and would not be greedy and interfere in the family business.

The eldest son, Li Zhaoyuan, wore thick glasses, had thin cheeks and a pale face, had a middle-parted hairstyle, and wore a long gown. He looked a little weak and coughed from time to time.

The second son, Li Zhaoheng, was in high spirits, with arrogant eyes. When he looked at Li Xiaohe, he seemed respectful and polite, but in fact he had the look of an eagle and a wolf.

The third son, Li Zhaozhen, has a fair complexion and a pair of wandering peach blossom eyes. He dresses fashionably. Although he wears a suit, he wears a colorful scarf. His hair is shiny and oily. You can smell the scent of Paris perfume on him from a long distance away. He is a completely dandy boy with an greasy face and powdered hair.

Sister Lan, a spinster, ordered the food to be served. Although it was breakfast, the food on the table was very rich, including Hong Kong-style French toast, fried noodles with soy sauce, macaroni with ham, pineapple buns, porridge and fried dough sticks.

"Father, this is the latest stock quote of our Li's Real Estate. Please have a look!" Seeing his father sitting down and eating porridge, the eldest son couldn't wait to put a thick stack of information that he had prepared long ago in front of Li Xiaohe: "Now it is March 1975. The share price of Li's Real Estate has risen from 3 Hong Kong dollars per share before December last year to 12 Hong Kong dollars per share. According to my analysis during this period, 0.78% of Li's Real Estate shares were traded in the stock market during this period, and the transaction amount was about 0.83 million to 3 million Hong Kong dollars."

Li Zhaoyuan looked delighted when he said these words. As the eldest son of the Li family, he had always coveted the position of family head. Unfortunately, he was weak and not as capable as his second brother Li Zhaoheng. He was very distressed about this and tried every means to show his talents in front of his father and gain recognition.

This is a good opportunity. The stock of Li's Real Estate, which he manages, has finally risen, which is a great thing.

Li Xiaohe picked up the stack of documents and flipped through them expressionlessly, asking, "Besides the shares of Li's Real Estate?"

"The stocks of British companies such as Wheelock, Tramways, Wharf Holdings and so on also had different increases." Li Zhaoyuan said to his father Li Xiaohe.

Li Xiaohe closed the information and looked at Li Zhaoyuan: "Since those stocks have all increased, why do you feel so excited about the slight increase in Li's Real Estate's stock?"

"Uh, this-"

"Is it because you are in charge of Li's Real Estate, and it belongs to you, that you are happy?"

"Father, it's not like that. Let me explain..." Li Zhaoyuan wanted to defend himself.

Li Xiaohe looked at him with sharp eyes.

Li Zhaoyuan shut up immediately.

"Remember, whether it's Li's Real Estate, Wheelock, Wharf, etc., they are all our Li family's assets! It's not just what belongs to you, it's yours! As the eldest son of the family, you should look further ahead and know how to consider the overall situation, instead of focusing on your own little piece of land. That's short-sighted!"

Li Zhaoyuan was speechless after being blamed. After a long while, he lowered his head and said, "Yes, father."

Li Zhaoheng and Li Zhaozhen had different expressions.

Li Zhaozhen was gloating. He thought that his elder brother was overestimating his own abilities and always wanted to be in the limelight, but he always made a fool of himself. Li Zhaoheng's expression was calm and composed, as if he didn't take Li Zhaoyuan's actions seriously from beginning to end. To put it more bluntly, he didn't regard this stupid elder brother as a competitor at all.

His calmness was full of contempt.

Li Xiaohe took a sip of coffee and looked at his youngest son, Li Zhaozhen: "You are smiling happily, can you tell me what happy things are happening and share them with everyone?"

"Ahem, father, I--" Li Zhaozhen quickly restrained his smile, covered his mouth and pretended to cough, "I just thought of something else, it's not worth mentioning."

"Not worth mentioning? Then what about the Li's Car Dealership you manage? I heard that its profits have been declining recently. Can you tell me the reason? Is it because of your poor management, or is it because everyone doesn't like riding in cars anymore and has switched to walking for fitness?"

"Haha!" The eldest brother Li Zhaoyuan couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh. This is called retribution. Let's see how you make a fool of yourself.

Li Zhaozhen was embarrassed when he heard his father ask this question, "It's like this, the drivers asked me for a pay raise. My father said that those who are capable should do more work. If it weren't for our Li family's support, they would all be starving. Now they dare to threaten me, of course I won't agree, so they went on a collective strike. Many cars are unmanned, and business is bad!"

After listening to his third son's words, Li Xiaohe snorted coldly: "You remember what I said very well, but I also said that those who are capable should work harder, and the more they work, the more they get. The support of the people is the key to success or failure! Why has our Li family come this far? It's not because we are so powerful, but because many people rely on us for food. We should remember this saying: giving others a bite to eat can give ourselves a way to survive!"

"The drivers are on strike. Why? Because they can't get enough to eat! Other car dealerships have already increased their wages by 10%, but ours remains the same! Where did you get the money I gave you for a raise? A full 1.3 million yuan?"

Li Xiaohe looked at his son fiercely.

Li Zhaozhen shuddered violently under his father's gaze, and was so scared that he almost fell off the chair. He hurriedly said, "Father, this is what happened. Not long ago, I saw someone investing in the catering business, so I became a partner with him. Who knew--"

“Who knows what?”

"Who knew he was such a big liar, he actually donated money and ran away!" Li Zhaozhen had to tell the truth, "I have called the police now, the police are looking for him--"

Li Xiaohe smiled: "He is your friend?"

"Yes."

"Where did you meet?"

"Big, big rich man."

"How long have you known each other?"

"That three..."

"Three months?"

"Three days."

"You've only known each other for three days and you dare to hand over more than one million to the other person and invest in the catering industry with him?" Li Xiaohe smiled, and there was murderous intent in his smile.

Li Zhaozhen was trembling with fear, and his lips were not smooth: "Well... I thought he was a good person!"

"What do you think? Haha, you are my son, but you are so naive and romantic. What do you think? Do you think that you can do whatever you want just because you are my son, and it doesn't matter if you embezzle public funds?"

"No, father, listen to me--"

"Shut up!" Li Xiaohe scolded, "I don't want to hear your excuses anymore! From today on, you will stay at home and reflect on your mistakes. As for the car dealership business, let others take care of it for the time being."

"Ah? Father, you can't do this. You know, I put a lot of effort into the car dealership..."

"I told you to shut up!"

Everyone shivered violently and the temperature around them dropped sharply.

Li Xiaohe's wife, Li Lu, quickly gave her youngest son a look, and Li Zhaozhen quickly shut up, not daring to argue with his father anymore.

Although Li Xiaohe said that he would delegate power to them and that he was happy to be free and easy, everyone knew that Li Xiaohe had always been the emperor of the family. His words were the golden rule and no one dared to disobey, let alone resist.

After dealing with his youngest son, Li Zhaozhen, Li Xiaohe then turned his attention to his second son, Li Zhaoheng, who was the most like him: "Tell me, what are you doing recently?"

Li Zhaoheng saw his eldest and third brothers make a fool of themselves in front of him, but he looked calm and not proud at all. When he saw his father speaking, he replied respectfully, "Father, I'm thinking about acquiring the 1,000 acres of land in Tsuen Wan recently!"

"But what about the industrial land where Du Yongxiao is building a car factory?" Li Xiaohe said indifferently.

"Yes!" Li Zhaoheng was not surprised at all that his father was well-informed about the news.

"I know what you said, how do I get it?"

"Alliance?"

"What's the meaning?"

"I teamed up with Li Jiacheng of Cheung Kong Holdings."

"What about horizontal?"

"I contacted the bigwigs of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to criticize Du Yongxiao."

"reason?"

"Traitor!" Li Zhaoheng said, "He colluded with the Japanese to open a car factory and exploited the Chinese people. He deserves death!"

Li Xiaohe laughed: "It was quite a big fuss."

"You taught me that to achieve the goal, I must do whatever it takes!"

"Okay!" Li Xiaohe took a deep look at his ambitious son who looked most like him, then pointed at the delicious soup on the table and said to Li Zhaoheng, "Drink the soup!"

It’s reward and recognition.

"Thank you, father! Please have some too!"

The father and son treated each other with respect and drank soup with each other.

The eldest son Li Zhaoyuan and the younger son Li Zhaozhen looked at each other and knew that they had no share in the soup.

Looking at the second brother Li Zhaoheng, their eyes were filled with jealousy.

"I heard that Du Yongxiao is no ordinary man. Second brother, if you want to defeat him, don't shoot yourself in the foot!"

The two cursed inwardly.

(End of this chapter)