money player

"Changtong, come over later."

"Sister and brother-in-law are in for a treat. I brought a few bottles of Italian sparkling wine."

"Asti?"

"No, Prosecco, a sparkling wine made from Glera grapes using the large tank method. It's not very well-known now, but it's very cost-effective and can replace champagne. I believe it will be popular in the future."

Fei Baoqi chuckled and said, "From your tone, it seems like you are bragging about your own things."

"Sister, you are right. I am planning to invest in Prosecco. There is a small town called Conegliano in the Veneto region of Italy. The Glera grown there is the most suitable for making Prosecco. I plan to let Shuying go there to buy a grape plantation and build a winery of my own in the near future."

Xian Yaowen glanced at Fei Baoshu and said, "The vineyard there is on a mountain with nice scenery. We can build a villa on the mountain and name it Baowu. We can live there for a few days in our spare time and treat it as a vacation."

When Fei Baoshu was looking affectionate, Fei Baoqi taunted him, "I can't stand you guys, always showing off your affection in front of me. Yaowen, do you think Changtong and I are suitable for investing in Prosecco?"

“Sister, wineries are asset-heavy, long-term, and low-liquidity industries. It is almost impossible to make huge profits. From an investment perspective, I invested in wineries to assist other industries.

For example, the secret brand I am running is high-end, and its press conference was held in the Palace of Versailles. In the future, other events will also be held in higher-end places.

For me, Prosecco is just a practice, allowing myself and my team to understand wine. Once I have enough knowledge about wine, my next step will be to consider acquiring a well-known winery, such as Romanee-Conti.

Brands and wineries often hold cross-border collaborative activities, such as providing top customers with a "private winery dinner + limited edition underwear" package, or inviting VIPs to a tasting session after a fashion show.

A winery is a secret offline social space used to maintain customer relationships and strengthen customer loyalty to the brand. Therefore, I don’t really care about the profitability of a winery, I only care about the style that comes with high visibility.”

Xian Yaowen only talked about the marketing significance, but did not mention the other meanings of investing in a winery - asset hedging and long-term appreciation, tax optimization and wealth inheritance, industry integration and monopoly premium.

Needless to say, these meanings don't mean much to Fei Baoqi and his wife.

“Is investing in Prosecco not profitable?”

Xian Yaowen waved his hand, "It's not that we don't make money, it's just that it's not cost-effective. If you want to make money, there are other better options. If you want to invest your spare money to make money, we can talk about it in detail another day. I will design an investment plan for you."

Fei Baoqi smiled and said, "Okay, it's time for Changtong and I to consider saving some money for retirement and coffins."

Xian Yaowen patted Fei Baoshu's arm and said, "Prosecco tastes better if it's chilled. I'll go get the wine chilled, and you and Sister can continue chatting."

"Ah."

When Xian Yaowen left for a distance, Fei Baoqi said to Fei Baoshu, "Baoshu, Yaowen is an excellent brother-in-law."

"The master is very good."

Xian Yaowen entered the house and took out two buckets of ice from the freezer, mixed one bucket with ice water, took out two bottles of Prosecco, put one bottle into the ice bucket that had not been mixed with water, immersed four tall tulip scented glasses with the cups facing down in the ice water, tested the temperature of the ice water with his fingers, and then carried the two ice buckets and a bottle of Prosecco to the pavilion.

After instructing Fei Baoshu on the key points of ice wine, he went back to the house to wash up.

When we got to the pavilion, it was already half past five. Chen Changtong was there, tasting wine with the two girls. When he saw Xian Yaowen, he said, "Yaowen, can I have a moment with you?"

The two of them came to another corner of the garden, and Chen Changtong got straight to the point, "I have a loan that I want to refinance under your name."

"How many."

"2000."

"How much is the interest?"

"It's nominally 3.5%, but you don't actually have to pay interest."

"Brother-in-law, I'm asking how much interest the real lender has to bear."

“35% annual interest.”

"final?"

"finally."

"If the lender is unable to repay the debt when it's due, I will be the one to bear the debt, right?"

Chen Changtong pondered for a moment, "This loan is not very risky, but it involves a lot of people."

"2000 million is not a small amount for me."

"You can apply for another 2000 million interest-free loan."

Xian Yaowen shook his head. "The risks and rewards are still not proportional. Brother-in-law, I just want to ask one question: Is this matter important to you?"

Chen Changtong was silent for a long time, then nodded, "The relevant personnel are all important figures in the financial system."

"Every step of the operation must comply with the regulations."

"It's for compliance that we need you to show up." Chen Changtong showed a subtle smile on his face.

"Brother-in-law, my money didn't come from the wind."

"Yao Wen, relax, the risk is really not that great."

"Notify me when you need me to come forward."

"it is good."

Dinner was just an ordinary family dinner, and the topics discussed were normal ones among relatives.

After eating and drinking, they went to Yongle Theater to support Gu Zhengqiu.

This time I really went to listen to the opera. I didn’t sit in the front two rows, but in the back seats.

The play was still "The Drunken Concubine". Xian Yaowen did not force himself to like Peking Opera. It was an old play in a new way, so he had to focus on accompanying the audience.

Fortunately, they were willing to show their support today. After listening to half of the show, as soon as Gu Zhengqiu got off the stage, the four of them went backstage.

The backstage was a bit cramped. The supporting actors, extras, and flag bearers did not have their own dressing rooms. They had to put on makeup and change clothes in the aisle. The props took up some space, and the inspectors had to move props back and forth from time to time. Everyone could only keep an eye out to avoid each other.

The four people entered the backstage and ran into a man holding a tray of food and hurriedly walked in, shouting "Make way, make way" all the way. When he entered the backstage, he heard another person urging him, "Hurry up, be quick."

Fei Baoqi, who was walking in front, said to the front: "Hey, Master Zhang, has the midnight snack just arrived?"

"Mrs. Chen, you are singing when you are hungry and blowing when you are full. I am afraid you are starving."

"What do you want to eat today, Boss Gu?"

"I found an authentic Shanghai sponge cake shop on Wenzhou Road. These past few days, Boss Gu has been asking for it every day and he never gets tired of it, hehehe."

Fei Baoqi raised her orchid finger and half sang and half said: "You miss home, right? Let's go in and see her."

"Okay, okay, please come inside, please come inside."

Fei Baoqi took the lead, and three people followed into a room.

The room was spacious and decorated like a boudoir. Gu Zhengqiu, who had already removed her makeup, sat in front of the dressing table, holding a small plate in her hand and eating pastries with a fork.

Seeing a group of people, she put down the plate and said with a smile: "Why are you here?"

"Come and see you." Fei Baoqi walked forward and glanced at the pastries on the plate. "Is this what we're having for dinner?"

"To sing opera, you have to be hungry. Eat some sponge cakes to fill your stomach. Then go out and eat something."

As he spoke, Gu Zhengqiu turned to look at the dressing table, picked up the cigarette box on the table and glanced at the opening, then glanced at the inside of the cigarette box from the side, and then put the cigarette box back on the table. His eyes swept across Fei Baoqi's face, then glanced at Chen Changtong, and finally stopped at Xian Yaowen's face.

"Mr. Xian, do you have any cigarettes?"

Without waiting for Xian Yaowen to make any move, Xie Tingyun took out a pack of Lucky Balls and handed it to him.

Xie Tingyun didn't smoke originally, but now he does. Being a bodyguard is not easy. He has to stay alert all the time in the boring day after day. It is a great enjoyment to have a cigarette to relieve fatigue when he can relax.

Xian Yaowen took the cigarette and started thinking about Xie Tingyun's retirement again. He would let Xie Tingyun retire by the end of the year at the latest to ensure his own safety and protect her physical health.

He walked forward with the cigarette and handed it to Gu Zhengqiu.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Gu Zhengqiu chuckled and was about to get a cigarette when the "Master Zhang" he had just met outside came in and said to Gu Zhengqiu with a grim expression, "Boss Gu, the young master has sent a car."

Hearing this, the smile on Gu Zhengqiu's face froze, then immediately relaxed again, and he said to everyone, "Don't be embarrassed, I have to go to a social event, I've made a mistake today, next time I'll treat everyone to some old wine to make amends!"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

It was easy to guess who the young master was, but no one started a conversation about this character. The five of them left the backstage together. Gu Zhengqiu went outside the theater, and the four of them returned to their seats and watched the entire show before leaving.

I didn't take a car home, I just walked all the way.

After walking a few steps, Fei Baoshu suddenly said, "Gu Zhengqiu is Mei Lanfang's apprentice. Influenced by Mei Lanfang, he pays great attention to maintaining his voice and originally didn't smoke."

"Ah."

"It seems that she is not interested in that young master."

"Women's minds are hard to figure out. They may be boring one minute, but interesting the next."

"It's hard to figure out." Fei Baoshu knew that there was no point in talking about this topic any more, so he changed the subject and said, "Master, you said on the phone that you brought someone here. Who is it?"

"You may know her, Tang Yiying."

Fei Baoshu frowned, "Why did you bring her here?"

Xian Yaowen smiled faintly, "Do you have any grudge against her?"

"I have nothing to do with her, but she and Shucheng's foster father had an unclear relationship in the past."

"There is nothing unclear about it. It is very clear that the two of them took away the property of Prince Chun's mansion together and resold the cultural relics overseas together."

"Hmm~" Fei Baoshu said unwillingly: "Master, do you know what I am talking about? Are you and Tang Yiying?"

"You guessed right and you guessed wrong."

Xian Yaowen went to a nearby stall and ordered a bowl of rice ice cream. He fed Fei Baoshu a spoonful and ate a spoonful himself. "Tang Yiying and I did sleep together, but it was just out of curiosity. Do you remember what I told you when we were bathing in Paris?"

"A fifty-year-old woman?"

Xian Yaowen nodded, "Yes, Tang Yiying is about the same age. She is also a well-known woman who can give me room for imagination."

"But I heard that Tang Yiying's character is not very good."

"I have already felt this a little bit. Tang Yiying doesn't speak much truth, but it doesn't matter. She has seen a lot of cultural relics since she was a child and has good identification skills. I brought her to Taipei to add a helper to you, and I also want her to stand on the stage."

Fei Baoshu was surprised and said, "Master, Jingshuzhai's business has just started, and you want me to retreat behind the scenes?"

"You know, the main reason I asked you to do the antique business was to facilitate the purchase of stocks. The $11 worth of stocks sent to New York have been re-registered, of which $6 was used for cash, and the value has almost increased by 17 times. When all the money is received, it should be just over $102 million, but not more than $103 million.

If you continue to hold 5, the valuation is about 120 million, and you have also received dividends from previous years, a total of 12.4.

That is to say, $11 turned into $234.4 million. In less than a month, you made a gross profit of $223.4 million, and roughly a net profit of $215 million. You accounted for 64.5%, which is $367.55, or HK$ million.

Xian Yaowen fed Fei Baoshu another mouthful, "Compared with this profit, the antique business can only pale in comparison. The profit margin may be higher, but the cycle is too long. The time of hoarding is enough for me to transfer the profit from stocks tens of thousands of times.

Now is the golden age to make money. The probability of successful investment is very high. As long as you diversify your investments, it is impossible to lose all your money in a single investment failure. No matter how you calculate it, the profits will be higher than those from the antique business.

Let Tang Yiying take the lead and gradually give her shares. You should take your mind off antiques and focus on stocks, but don't stand in the front and let others buy them. No matter how much discount they get on the face value, you should always give them an extra 10% of the face value."

"Should we hurry up and collect them?"

"Ah."

"Has the news leaked?"

"Not yet, and it's hard to say in the future. No one can guarantee that people in Taipei don't have acquaintances in New York. The stock numbers of the stocks sold in Shanghai that year were all recorded. Now that they are back in New York, the news can't be concealed at all. It won't be difficult to find out if you're interested."

Fei Baoshu nodded and said, "I'll make an appointment with Chen Lulu and Madam Lan to play cards tomorrow and tell them about it."

"And that big client, hurry up and tell her how much stock she has."

"I think it will be soon. She called home the day before yesterday and asked me how much US dollars I had. I didn't have much US dollars in Taipei, but I had a lot in the United States and Hong Kong. I could transfer the money to the designated account at any time."

"What's the other party's reaction?"

"No reaction, just a few polite words and then hung up."

"Then I guess there will be some action soon. I brought $15 this time, and 27 large yellow croakers. I'll keep $5, and the rest will be given to you as capital."

"Ah."

"Also, I owe you your dividends first. I used all the money to buy stocks. I will give you the first $64.5 and the rest within a year, and it will be calculated as your annual interest of 10%."

Fei Baoshu smiled and said, "Master, you still want to pay me interest?"

Xian Yaowen said solemnly: "You deserve it."

Through the stock mortgage and stock purchase game played by George H.W. Bush at Brown Brothers Harriman Bank, his stock value has snowballed to $14 million.

Although there is no repayment pressure in the short term, he needs to keep a margin to cover his position at all times. After all, stocks fluctuate, and he doesn't want George H.W. Bush to call him and ask him to increase the collateral when the value of the collateral is insufficient.

Because of this, he had very little US dollars on hand to use flexibly. The deposit of 125 million US dollars was earned by Cai Zhiyong for him. The rest of the money could not even make up the 50 US dollars.

He has a lot of debts, and if he sneezes, his creditors will probably be terrified.

In general, he was short of US dollars, but had more Hong Kong dollars. From the sale of Thirteen Yao for 500 million, the sale of Jinji Commercial Bank for 300 million, the sale of China Garment for 1600 million, to the 300 million dividend from the hot sales of hula hoops, he spent less than 1000 million in total and still had 1800 million in his hands.

But he has distinguished between corporate assets and personal assets from the very beginning, and has now begun to separate funds from various locations. The funds belong to where they were obtained, and will not flow freely just because they all belong to him personally.

There will be costs in transferring funds across borders through formal channels, and he does not want clean funds to become dirty, so he can only reduce the transfer of funds as much as possible and solve the problem locally where funds are needed.

Therefore, Xian Yaowen of Hong Kong was very wealthy and could easily invest the newly acquired 230 million US dollars in Brazil, but Adam of the United States was very poor and had to seek financing from Fei Baoshu.

Fei Baoshu took Xian Yaowen's hand and said, "Master, there is no need to be so formal between us."

Xian Yaowen used the bowl to nudge Fei Baoshu's nose, "Do you want to eat more?"

Fei Baoshu shook his head. "No, I can't eat too much cold food at night."

"Oh, I'll have two more bites. I can't waste it."

After taking two more bites, Xian Yaowen returned the bowl to the stall owner, and the two of them walked home slowly, arm in arm.

The next day.

2 p.m.

Xian Yaowen and Wu Huoshi conducted final negotiations in the office of Huaguang Garment.

Previously, Lin Baocheng and Wu Huoshi had reached a consensus: Wu Huoshi took out Miaoli's Xinguang Weaving Factory and Hsinchu Dyeing and Weaving Factory, plus NT$100 million in cash, with a total valuation of NT$500 million, to invest in Huaguang Garment, which was established by Zhonghua Garment with an investment of NT$200 million.

The technology and market valuation of China Garment is NT$550 million, plus NT$200 million in cash, totaling NT$750 million, accounting for 60% of the shares, and Wu Huoshi holds 40% of the shares.

After the negotiation, Wu Huoshi signed the letter of intent and said, "Boss Xian, Manager Lin is very capable. I hope he will be the general manager of Huaguang Garment."

Xian Yaowen closed the file and chuckled, "Boss Wu, I know Manager Lin is very capable, so he holds an important position in the headquarters of China Garment. Letting him be the general manager of Huaguang Garment is not a promotion, and I like to recruit a local to be the general manager."

"Boss Xian, do you have anyone you like?"

Xian Yaowen waved his hand and said, "The chairman of China Garment is Lin Xingliang. He has to make the final decision on personnel appointments. Although I am a major shareholder, I only have the right to make suggestions, not to interfere in other people's affairs."

Wu Huoshi smiled bitterly and said, "Boss Xian, why do I feel like I've been tricked? I wanted to cooperate with Boss Xian, so I made concessions on the factory's valuation. But now you're telling me that you don't care about China Garment?"

"Boss Wu, you misunderstood. It's not that I don't care about things, but I don't care about specific things. I propose the strategic development direction, and Aliang and Manager Lin and a group of senior executives will implement it.

For example, if we want to cooperate with you, Boss Wu, I will make the final decision, and then Manager Lin will discuss the details with you. If the result is good, I will give Manager Lin the reward he deserves. "

"Boss Xian only cares about people, not things?"

Xian Yaowen nodded slightly, "You can understand it this way. My business is very diverse, with many stalls of different sizes. It is impossible for me to focus only on China Garment.

Without being modest, I can accurately grasp the general direction of the industry, and know which direction China Garment should go and what China Garment should be like at a certain stage. But how to take each specific step is not something I should worry about. "

Xian Yaowen pointed at Lin Baocheng and said, "It is the responsibility of Manager Lin and Aliang to walk. They have been in the front line of the garment industry and understand the subtle dynamics of the industry better than I do. If I tell them how to walk, it would be like an amateur instructing an expert, which would only make me laugh."

"What Boss Xian said does make sense, but..." Wu Huoshi was silent for a moment, then continued, "But, it was because of you, Boss Xian, that I wanted to cooperate with you in the first place."

"Boss Wu, we all know what you mean. I am the major shareholder of China Garment. I get the most from profits and I also lose the most from losses. There is no doubt that I have reservations about China Garment."

Wu Huoshi smiled faintly and said, "I feel relieved now that Boss Xian said that. Let's go to the pub tonight. The ladies there are obsessed with Boss Xian."

"Boss Wu, we are already partners, so I won't hide some things from you. In fact, I am not interested in that kind of occasion. If it's not because I have to go for social events, I rarely go to that kind of place.

At night, let's go to a restaurant and have a few drinks, then go to a teahouse and sit down. It's quiet and peaceful, and we won't feel dizzy when we separate. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Hahaha." Wu Huoshi laughed, "That's great. I don't have much interest in that kind of place. I wouldn't look for women in that kind of place if I wanted to play with them."

"Ha, great minds think alike. I just got a girlfriend not long ago, a girl from the High School Affiliated to the Normal College. I'll introduce her to Boss Wu someday."

Wu Huoshi said with a joking smile: "Boss Xian is still the one who knows how to have fun." (End of this chapter)