money player

Now that Fei Baoshu has retired and all the profits have been squeezed out of her, Xian Yaowen will rarely seek her out for business matters anymore, and the number of times he will favor her will decrease significantly. It is quite necessary to give her a consolation prize.

That night, Xian Yaowen abandoned his health regimen and worked diligently on Fei Baoshu until she begged for mercy.

In the morning, six forty-five.

Sin Yiu-man was already seated in Luk Yu Tea House, slowly sipping a pot of ripe Pu'er tea while holding a newspaper whose ink smell had not yet dissipated in his hand.

6:52.

When Bao Yugang arrived, he assumed he had arrived earlier than Xian Yaowen, but just to be on the safe side, he decided to take a look around, just in case Xian Yaowen arrived first.

His caution led him to notice that Sin Yiu-man was sitting at a table with the most blind spots. He also saw the teapot and the nearly empty teacup on the table. Sin had arrived earlier than him and had already drunk a cup of tea.

He stepped forward and said in the most sincere tone, "Mr. Xian, I'm sorry I'm late."

Sin Yiu-man put away the newspaper, looked up at Pao Yuk-kong, and said, “Mr. Pao, you are not late. I am early. Please have a seat.”

Bao Yugang sat down next to Xian Yaowen. "Mr. Xian, have you ordered?"

Sin Yiu-man picked up the teapot and poured tea for Pao Yuk-kong. “Mr. Pao, there’s no rush to order. We were complete strangers before, but you’ve extended an invitation to me at this inopportune time. You must have something important to discuss with me.”

Good food shouldn't be missed. Instead of eating with a heavy heart, let's finish our conversation first and then order. Perhaps we'll be lucky enough to enjoy the most delicious dim sum meal of the day.

After pouring the tea, Sin Yiu-man gestured for the tea to be served.

Bao Yugang picked up his teacup. "Mr. Xian, I apologize for disturbing you yesterday."

"It's alright, please have some tea."

Sin Yiu-man took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and gave Pao Yuk-kong a respectful look.

Seeing this, Bao Yugang knew that Xian Yaowen was waiting for him to speak, so he composed himself and said, "Mr. Xian, do you know the current international shipping market?"

"Where did Mr. Bao previously hold a high position, expanding the family business?"

Bao Yugang's long-winded speech, which was about to burst forth, instantly fell silent. Xian Yaowen's unconventional approach forced him to respond accordingly. "When I was young, I worked as a shop assistant in my father's shoe and hat shop in Hankou. After adulthood, I worked in the bank. First, I entered the Hengyang office of the Central Trust Bureau, and later I became the deputy manager of the Hengyang branch of the Industrial and Mining Bank."

In the year of the victory against Japan, I was sent to Shanghai to participate in the takeover of the Imperial Bank's assets. Later, the Imperial Bank was transformed into the Shanghai City Bank, where I served as the business department manager. Two years later, I was promoted to deputy general manager, a position I held until I resigned and came to Hong Kong in 1949.

"So, Mr. Bao is a veteran in the financial industry. Why didn't he seek a job at a bank after arriving in Hong Kong?"

“Most banks in Hong Kong are British-owned, and it would be difficult for me to get a job there given my background. Most money shops are run by people from Guangdong and Fujian, and I, a native of Ningbo, would not be trusted.”

"Why don't you start your own money exchange?"

"I don't have that ability."

Sin Yiu-man nodded. "Mr. Bao, do you know Zhou Wenjin?"

"The owner of Wanbang, the famous Hong Kong shipping magnate." Bao Yugang's words were tinged with longing.

"Mr. Bao wants to enter the shipping industry?"

"Yes."

"You want me to invest?"

"correct."

Xian Yaowen picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said unhurriedly, "You asked me if I am familiar with the current international shipping market. That's a big question, and I'm afraid I won't answer it well. So I'll answer you in a more subtle way."

The name Wanbang was suggested by Brother Wenjin, the funding came from me, and I was the one who proactively approached Brother Wenjin to discuss cooperation.

Mr. Bao, are you satisfied with this answer?

Sin Yiu-man's words had a huge impact on Pao Yuk-kong. He was both surprised and delighted. "Mr. Sin is the boss of Wan Bang?"

"The boss is Brother Wenjin; I'm just a shareholder who doesn't really get involved."

"So, Mr. Xian has long been optimistic about the shipping industry?"

"Brother Wenjin comes from a family with a long history of scholarship. His grandfather started out on ships and was a graduate of St. John's University. He worked as a clerk in a bank, an assistant in a foreign firm, and started from the bottom in his family's freight company."

After arriving in Hong Kong, he rented cargo ships to run shipping businesses, traveling between Hong Kong, Shandong, and Japan, risking his life and navigating through minefields.

Brother Wenjin possesses courage, insight, strategy, and luck, which enabled him to stand out from my list of candidates.

Sin Yiu-man stared into Pao Yuk-kong's eyes. "Investment is no problem. A major investor has entrusted me with a large sum of money, and I'm just worried about where to put it. I have a million, and I also have ten million. It's just a matter of how you, Mr. Pao, a landlubber, will convince me."

Alternatively, Mr. Bao, we could change our approach and talk about banks.

Faced with Sin Yiu-man's fierce offensive, Pao Yuk-kong was not flustered. He was only happy to have found the right person. Sin Yiu-man understood shipping and had huge amounts of money. If he could persuade him, his shipping business could set sail.

“Mr. Xian, I do not have shipping experience, but I believe that my more than ten years of experience in the banking industry will be of great help in running a shipping business.”

"Appreciate further details."

"The current main business model of the shipping industry is chartering, which transports goods to a certain place according to the needs of cargo owners, and then settles the freight based on the voyage. The advantage of doing this is that the freight income is high and the profit is immediate. With the current prosperity of the shipping industry, one can earn one-sixth or even one-fifth of the cost of the ship in one voyage."

My idea is different. My plan is to raise funds to buy an old ship, purchase it, and then lease it to a regular, reputable, and financially reliable tenant for a period of six months, a year, or even longer.

In this way, they could obtain bank loans based on the charter agreement, and then purchase more ships to expand their fleet.

Where do we find tenants?

“Japan,” Bao Yugang said confidently, “because of the Korean War, Japan’s economy is recovering very quickly, and transportation will soon be unable to meet the needs of the factories.”

"Has Mr. Bao ever been to Japan?"

I have never been there.

Xian Yaowen said calmly, "Mr. Bao is on good terms with the top executives of which major bank, so confident that he can definitely get a loan?"

“I will have the tenant issue a letter of credit. With a letter of credit, the bank has no reason not to lend.”

“Let me tell you a story,” Sin Yiu-man said slowly. “My first substantial income was earned in London. At the time, I didn’t have much money and had never been to London before. I just saw a business opportunity in the newspaper and decided to take the risk.”

The opportunity was fleeting and urgent. There was no time to go by boat, so I had to take a plane. However, direct flights to London were too expensive for me, so I could only buy a ticket to Paris, which was cheaper, almost ten times cheaper.

The reason the plane ticket to Paris was cheap was because it didn't include hotel accommodations along the way; I had to find my own. My money was tied up in my business, so I couldn't afford to spend it. In the dead of winter, I had to spend the night huddled in a corner, eating the dry rations I'd brought from Hong Kong when I was hungry, and asking kind strangers for tap water when I was thirsty.

Bao Yugang listened attentively.

"I endured all the way to Paris, not daring to delay, and found a truck driver to negotiate a price to hitch a ride to Normandy. Who knew that the driver would have malicious intentions halfway there? He not only robbed me of all the money I had, but also beat me up and dumped me on the side of the road, just because I didn't have enough money."

Sin Yiu-man chuckled and said, "I have money on me, but the driver didn't find any. Mr. Bao, guess where I hid the money?"

Bao Yugang immediately guessed where it was, but kept silent because it was considered impolite.

“Yes, you guessed it, it’s in there.” Sin Yiu-man sighed and said, “I didn’t have any family connections or anyone to help me. I had to fight my way up with my life. It hasn’t been easy.”

That's why I'm quite cautious in my actions. Mr. Bao has never been to Japan, yet he dares to assert that Japan has a chance; that's too arbitrary.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, I was a junior intelligence officer. I studied at a school controlled by the Japanese and got to know many Japanese teachers and soldiers. I heard a lot of information about Japan from them.

Last year, after reading the newspaper, I thought there was an opportunity in Japan, so I decided to go there. Before setting off, I collected all the information I could find about Japan. After reading it, I went to Japan and gained a comprehensive understanding of its current situation.

I went there three times before I dared to invest my first sum of money in Japan.

Sin Yiu-man chuckled lightly, “Mr. Bao says there’s no reason why banks won’t lend money, but I can find at least ten reasons. Let’s make an assumption: if Mr. Bao and I don’t get along, Mr. Bao won’t be able to get a large loan from any bank in Hong Kong.”

Bao Yugang's expression turned slightly unpleasant.

“The long-term leasing model that Mr. Bao mentioned is not a new concept. Mr. Daniel Ludwig of the United States did this in the 1930s. Moreover, his method was more advanced. He only paid a deposit to the shipyard, then started looking for tenants, and then used the charter contract as collateral to get a loan from the bank to pay the remaining balance of the shipbuilding.”

Xian Yaowen picked up his teacup and said indifferently, "Mr. Bao's idea may be a groundbreaking strategy to a local tycoon, but it's only good enough to answer a clerk's interview question. If Mr. Bao's idea ends here, I think we should talk about banks instead."

Bao Yugang's face turned a deep shade of liver. Xian Yaowen's words were logical and well-founded, leaving him utterly ashamed. It turned out that the strategy he had carefully considered for so long was something Xian Yaowen could come up with effortlessly.

Moreover, he felt that he had become like Zhao Kuo, only good at theoretical discussions.

He was stunned for a while, then stood up and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xian Yaowen, "Thank you for your teachings, Mr. Xian. I apologize for disturbing you, Yu Gang."

Xian Yaowen chuckled and said, "Mr. Bao, are you planning to back down?"

"My ideas are too immature, and I am ashamed to waste Mr. Xian's time any longer."

Sin Yiu-man stood up, pressed Pao Yuk-kong back into his chair, picked up the teapot, and poured him some more hot tea.

“Mr. Bao, in business, ideas are certainly important, but execution is even more important. Having an idea doesn’t necessarily mean you can do it.” Xian Yaowen sat back down and picked up his teacup. “How many businesses in this world are truly new? Some businesses have been done thousands of years ago, so we can learn from history. But why are there so few that have succeeded?”

Sin Yiu-man took a sip of tea, put down his teacup, opened the briefcase beside him, took out a pre-issued HSBC bank draft, and placed it in front of Pao Yu-kang. “18888 yuan, an auspicious number. This was originally a gift for Mr. Pao, but now I’m changing it to my travel expenses for Mr. Pao to go to Japan to see for himself. We’ll talk about investment when we get back.”

"This……"

Bao Yugang was shocked and somewhat confused. What exactly was Xian Yaowen doing?
Sin Yiu-man chuckled, “Luck is also very important in business. As I said before, I was just wondering where to invest a large sum of money when Mr. Bao appeared. The timing was just right.”

Mr. Bao found the right person at the right time and said the right thing. He is a man of great fortune. For this reason alone, I am willing to invest hundreds of thousands in Mr. Bao.

Are you free tomorrow night?

"available."

"I'm having barbecue at my house tomorrow night, and I'll introduce Mr. Bao to some senior executives from HSBC."

……

During the morning tea, Bao Yugang's mood fluctuated like a rollercoaster. After leaving Lu Yu Tea House, he immediately rushed back and recounted the entire meeting to his father.

After listening, Bao's father remained silent for a long time. "Indeed, a great reputation is well-deserved. Little Bao'an has produced such a brilliant and intelligent person. Yu Gang, if you want to go into shipping, then go for it. I won't stop you."

"Thank you, Father."

Sin Yiu-man left Luk Yu Tea House and arrived at the foot of Lotus Hill in Pat Heung, Yuen Long.

After driving for a little over a mile along a private road, they arrived at the entrance of a quiet villa. Qi Weiwen leaned against a pillar of the gate, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Xian Yaowen got out of the car, walked over, and hugged Qi Weiwen. "Sir, have you been waiting for a long time?"

"You're just being presumptuous." Qi Weiwen rolled her eyes at Xian Yaowen. "There are alarm devices at several intersections. I knew as soon as you came in."

"Okay, go inside and change your clothes. We'll go up the mountain to find lunch."

Qi Weiwen stroked Xian Yaowen's suit collar and said, "Don't rush lunch. I haven't tasted meat in months. Don't do anything until you've fed me."

Xian Yaowen touched Qi Weiwen's cheek, "Let the flirtatiousness linger a little longer, let the emotions build up a bit more, and tonight I guarantee you'll feel like you're floating on air."

Qi Weiwen suddenly produced a pistol, the muzzle of which was pressed directly against Xian Yaowen's groin. He said mockingly, "France, Britain, America, Taiwan, you little foreign devil, you've never been idle. If you're a spineless coward tonight, once I get pregnant, you can forget about having that thing."

“I hate it when people point a gun at my head. This isn’t something you can just call me daddy. You just wait, if I don’t let you see Boss Dai, I’ll change my name.”

"I'll wait and see." Qi Weiwen put away his gun and pulled aside the lecherous hand on his waist. "We've already placed eyes and ears at Li Zhiqing's doorstep."

"This woman is unusual; she's very good at assessing situations. We absolutely cannot let anything happen to her."

"Li Zhiqing has made a good deal. A mere $600 million, and it's not a gift. Let the little foreign devil protect her with all his heart."

“After all, I’ve been around Lin Guisheng for many years, influenced by her every move.” Xian Yaowen pointed to the oleanders in the garden. “The flowers are really beautiful. You didn’t bury a corpse in the ground, did you?”

"Several thousand bodies were buried."

"A crab?"

"if not."

"You're quite the expert at growing flowers."

"No one is as good as you; the flowers in the garden and the wildflowers are all so beautiful."

"You can use the phrase 'a hundred flowers bloom'."

Qi Weiwen rolled her eyes. "Qi Fang is a good name. We'll name our child that."

"Regardless of gender?"

"No need to distinguish, this name can be used by both men and women."

"what ever."

Qi Weiwen led Xian Yaowen into the room. The decor was simple, with a coffee table in the center and two "7"-shaped sofas arranged to form a long "回" shape. Apart from that, there was no other furniture.

The four walls were clean and tidy, with no paintings or calligraphy hanging on them. The ceiling was also simple, with a circle of fluorescent lights around the coffee table, interspersed with a dozen or so small spotlights. Once the lights were turned on, they should be able to illuminate the entire living room, so that even finding a needle in the dark would be no problem.

"Won't it be too monotonous?"

"It's better to keep it simple; you can't hide anything there," Qi Weiwen said casually.

"Is the bedroom like this too?"

"You'll know if you go and take a look."

When he pushed open the bedroom door, Sin Yiu-man was almost speechless with surprise. The bedroom was both very large and very small. Apart from a few square meters of space left for the double doors to turn around, the rest of the space was occupied by the bed, which was 160 square feet in size.

"Where did you find this thousand-craft canopy bed?"

"I bought it from a Yangzhou merchant." Qi Weiwen stroked the pillar. "The original owner was apparently a wealthy salt merchant from Yangzhou during the Jiajing era. You little foreign devil, do you think I'm qualified to sleep in this bed?"

Xian Yaowen hugged Qi Weiwen and said, "Of course you are qualified. It's just bad luck. In the past five hundred years, who knows how many people have died on this bed? There may be no fewer than ten couples who have been hacked to death for adultery, incest, or having affairs with their husbands' younger brothers."

Qi Weiwen glared at Xian Yaowen, "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth."

"In ancient times, these were the kinds of trivial matters that happened in large, secluded mansions. Take Lin Daiyu and Jia Yucun, for example; they might have had an affair."

"Shut up." Qi Weiwen glared at Xian Yaowen again and closed the door. "I know you have half barbarian blood in your veins and don't know how to appreciate things. This is the second bedroom. The master bedroom is next door."

Qi Weiwen led Xian Yaowen to the master bedroom next door. It was a normal bedroom with a bed, bedside table, dressing table, and wardrobe, still in a simple style.

Qi Weiwen went to the wardrobe, opened the door, took out a hunting outfit and threw it on the bed. "You didn't leave your size, so I picked this out for you based on my estimation."

"You can't go wrong with the one you picked."

After changing into hunting clothes, the two went to the armory.

Qi Weiwen entered the dark room and placed a box in front of Xian Yaowen.

Xian Yaowen opened the box and took out a pile of gun parts wrapped in kraft paper. Under Qi Weiwen's watchful eye, he quickly assembled the parts into a Type 51 hunting rifle.

The 51-barreled hunter is based on the SKS, but with the bayonet removed. It can be fitted with a tactical rail, and the muzzle can be equipped with a suppressor and flash hider.

The barrel was shortened from 521 mm to 397 mm, and the stock was flexible and versatile, including a one-piece wooden stock, a steel stock that folds to both sides, and an aluminum alloy stock that folds downward.

It can be fitted with a scope, has a standard magazine capacity of 5 rounds, and also has 10-round and 20-round magazines. The barrel is interchangeable and it fires 7.62, 9mm, and .22 caliber bullets.

Compared to the crudely made prototype, the 51-barrel Hunter was meticulously crafted by the best gunsmiths, with an optimized short-stroke piston gas system to reduce muzzle climb during burst fire. Paired with high-quality ammunition, it can be used as a precision rifle.

The Type 51 hunting rifle in Sin Yiu-man's hand is a .22 caliber, mainly used for hunting small animals. After loading the gun, he raised it to take aim and then began to calibrate it.

"Little foreign devil, who taught you how to shoot?"

Xian Yaowen raised his head and looked at Qi Weiwen. "I don't want to lie, and it's not convenient for me to say. You'd better not ask."

"It's quite mysterious."

Ever since learning that the Armadillo Squad members' marksmanship was taught by Sin Yiu-man, Chi Wei-wen had become curious about where Sin Yiu-man learned his marksmanship. Today, she seized the opportunity to ask him, but since Sin Yiu-man didn't want to answer, she didn't ask.

She took out a CGB-crafted Continental pistol, removed the magazine, disassembled the gun, and carefully wiped it with a cleaning cloth.

After checking the gun, Sin Yiu-man took out a box of .22 caliber bullets from the ammunition box, poured them onto the box, and carefully picked them out one by one.

Qi Weiwen wiped the pistol clean, took a Type 99 rifle from the gun rack, and said while disassembling the barrel, "This is my old buddy that has been with me for many years. It was almost confiscated when I was crossing the border back then."

Xian Yaowen glanced at it and asked, "How many Japanese soldiers did you kill with it?"

"Not many, only seven, the lowest rank is captain, the highest rank is colonel."

"Not even a major general was caught?"

Qi Weiwen complained, "Can you think before you speak? I'm not part of the action team. I don't get the chance to assassinate a major general."

Xian Yaowen chuckled, "I only knew you were a superior officer, how would I know which team you were in? Speaking of which, you weren't very secretive back then, how come you weren't caught by the Japanese?"

Qi Weiwen smiled and said, "What is false may be true, and what is true may be false. What you see may not be the truth."

"That's true. You don't have a single knife or gunshot wound on your body. Your ability to protect yourself is top-notch."

Qi Weiwen said sadly, "For every person who lives, someone else must die."

Seeing that Qi Weiwen's expression was not right, Xian Yaowen said humorously, "Thank you, sir, for not treating me as a pawn back then."

"Once Pearl Harbor was attacked, everyone knew that the War of Resistance would eventually come to a victory. You little guy are the future spark, and the mission to die will be your turn last."

Xian Yaowen patted Qi Weiwen's hand, "The past is gone, let's not talk about that. What kind of prey can we hunt on Lotus Mountain?"

“Apart from mallards, all birds can be hunted this season. Recently, there has been a pest control campaign in Bao’an, and many large animals have been moving here, including tigers.”

"It's unlikely that there are tigers. The last time I heard a reliable report of a tiger attacking someone was ten years ago. I even doubt whether there are still tigers in Bao'an now."

"Definitely. I encountered one on my way to Dongguan in 44."

"You took a mountain path?"

"Ah."

"Let's try our luck."

With the May 1st rifle slung over his shoulder, Xian Yaowen went to the gun rack and took out a Japanese-made air rifle and a 10-round .22 caliber revolver. It was a modified version created by CGB by combining several models of revolvers. For the sake of airtightness, the bullets were concealed and retracted into the cartridge case, making it very expensive to manufacture.

After getting their gear ready, Sin Yiu-man and his companion passed through the back door of the villa and stepped onto a narrow mountain path.

The path, leveled by hand, is a compacted dirt road inlaid with cobblestones. On both sides, trickles of water flow, not forming a continuous line, but creating a drop every few meters, with the water cascading down from the higher places, making a pleasant gurgling sound.

The only drawback is that the stream walls and bottom are too smooth, lacking a natural feel.

I stopped and looked down; the stream flowed to the villa and then stopped, its destination unknown.

Where does the stream flow to?

"The main hall in front of the house".

Is the water in the garden running water?

Qi Weiwen tossed her hair. "Water in the imperial court gathers energy and benefits one's career."

"You're quite thoughtful."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xian Yaowen took the air rifle off his back, loaded it, and compressed the air in one smooth motion. He then raised his hand and fired at the tree branch to his left. With a soft thud, a turtledove fell stiffly to the ground.

Sin Yiu-man walked over and picked up the dove. He looked around at the trees and found many birds perched on the branches. He raised his air rifle above his head and waved it a few times, but few birds paid him any attention, and none flew away.

He returned to Qi Weiwen's side and said, "The birds here aren't afraid of guns. I guess not many people used to hunt here, and their parents didn't warn them how terrible guns are."

Upon hearing this, Qi Weiwen glanced at a tree branch, took the gun off his back, turned around, cocked the gun, and suddenly fired.

boom!
Half a dove fell down, while the other birds on the branches flapped their wings and flew away.

Qi Weiwen slung the gun over his shoulder, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, and said smugly, "Looks like they're still afraid of guns."

With the air rifle slung over his shoulder and the 51-bar rifle in his hand, Xian Yaowen pulled the trigger three times in succession at the half-dove on the ground. The dove disappeared, leaving feathers and blood scattered on the ground.

He pulled back the bolt, and a bullet flew out. Xian Yaowen caught it between two fingers, blew on it lightly, and said, "It says it's not afraid."

Qi Weiwen rolled his eyes, slung the rifle back over his shoulder, and walked uphill without a word.

Sin Yiu-man followed.

The two chatted along the way, occasionally aiming their guns at doves. They shot down seven or eight, rendering their rifles useless.

Upon reaching the mountaintop, they spotted a red muntjac in the distance. The two stopped, making no sound, and quietly watched as the muntjac, having eaten its fill of tender leaves, slowly departed.

Qi Weiwen's eyes gleamed. "How many months pregnant do you think its belly is?"

"It looks like it's been more than four months."

Qi Weiwen touched his lower abdomen. "Is this a good omen?"

"Why do you suddenly have such a strong desire to have children?" Xian Yaowen hugged Qi Weiwen.

"I don't know, it just happened suddenly."

"Have you been in contact with infants recently?"

"No."

"That's probably your body sending you a signal. Take some time to go to the local hospital for a checkup."

"The one in Kowloon Walled City?"

"Whichever else could it be?"

“Who wants to go to a hospital for venereal diseases?” Qi Weiwen spat.

"You have no idea how many research projects Elizabeth has undertaken, all supported by the profits from treating genital diseases."

"What are you researching?"

"For example, polio is infantile paralysis, and another example is the establishment of a renewable rhino reserve in Myanmar."

"Are you making Angong Niuhuang Wan?"

Xian Yaowen pinched Qi Weiwen's chin, "You reacted pretty quickly."

"Nonsense, the most famous medicine made from rhinoceros horn powder is Angong Niuhuang Wan."

Xian Yaowen chuckled, “Angong Niuhuang Wan has been over-produced and there’s no profit in it. We should study the prescription carefully and see if we can add or subtract a few ingredients to enhance its efficacy. Then we can make it more like a Western medicine, give it a catchy name, and sell it to the public at an exorbitant price.”

"You're just being unethical."

"What does this have to do with morality? You have no idea how much investment is required in the early stages of drug development, and the probability of it going down the drain is extremely high. You can throw millions of dollars into it and end up with nothing at all."

"Really?"

“Of course.” Xian Yaowen nodded. “To save costs, I want you to train a special group of corporate spies, specifically responsible for stealing research data from scientific research institutions. Hmm, that’s what you call utterly unethical.”

Qi Weiwen smiled and said, "I don't think so."

"That's good. Everything is difficult at the beginning, and drug development is no exception. If we can stand on the shoulders of giants at the beginning, we can save most of the costs and speed up the development process."

"Why not wait until the research and development is successful before stealing it?"

“Successful research and development is like having your name engraved on it. Taking it back will not only be useless, but will also completely tear off the mask of friendship.”

"Oh."

Have the water samples from the source of the stream been tested?

"It's been tested and is much cleaner than tap water. The villa uses stream water and drinks groundwater. We've drilled three wells, all of which are indoors."

"We need to conserve groundwater; pumping out too much can easily lead to ground subsidence."

"No, if you dig five meters underground, you'll find granite; the geological structure is very stable."

"Ah."

After finishing their conversation, the two walked around the hilltop, using binoculars to observe the animals on the mountain, while talking about their scheme to find someone to play the ghost.

In Hong Kong, you can buy a piece of hilly land, but buying an entire mountain is almost impossible. Lotus Hill cannot become the private property of Qi Fang Garden. To prevent too many people from going up the mountain, the only option is to turn it into an ominous place, scaring people away from coming.

After discussion, Qi Weiwen decided that when it rains, he would have someone fly a kite on the mountaintop. If it could fly, on a day with thunder and lightning, they could fly a ghost kite on the mountaintop. With lightning flashing and a dozen ghosts floating in the air, it would surely scare many villagers nearby.

They wandered around the mountain in the morning, had lunch and took a nap. When the sun wasn't so strong, the two of them went down to the fields with hoes on their backs.

Qi Fang Garden covers an area of ​​8 square feet, with the garden and building area being just over 2 square feet. The remaining area can be cultivated into a vegetable garden, an orchard, and a lotus pond can be dug to plant lotus flowers and water chestnuts, raise some red carp, and raise a few pairs of mandarin ducks to roost here in winter. Once you have one, you can have two. In time, the lotus pond can be renamed the Mandarin Duck Pond, and the artistic conception will suddenly become clear.

Xian Yaowen described his idea for the Mandarin Duck Pond, but Qi Weiwen scoffed, saying that birds are only meant to be admired from afar; keeping them close would only result in noise and bird droppings, and people would get tired of it after a while. Xian Yaowen thought about it and agreed, so he stopped mentioning it and focused on wielding his hoe.

Qi Weiwen didn't know how to do farm work, so he tried wielding a hoe a few times before giving up and instead became part of the cultural troupe, chatting and encouraging others.

"When I get old, I'll stay here and tend to these few acres of land. Every evening, I'll sit at the gate of the courtyard, waiting for the little foreign devils who are out fooling around to come back, and for my children to come back for the holidays. My wife and I will be there with our seven or eight grandchildren, one group after another."

"One team, one team, how many children are you planning to have?"

"Four or five."

Sin Yiu-man scoffed, “Raising children isn’t just about feeding them so they don’t starve. To raise them well requires a lot of effort. Two children can take half your life, and four or five will send you straight to the King of Hell.”

"I have seen families with more than a dozen children, all of whom have become successful."

"How many examples like this can you find in the whole world?"

"Don't you believe you're special?" Qi Weiwen took off the towel from his neck and wiped Xian Yaowen's sweat.

Xian Yaowen stood the hoe upright and placed his hands on the handle. "If I can believe that a dozen children can be raised to be successful, can I also believe that a child can be successful even if he is not raised?"

"Just throw them out and let them fend for themselves. Decades later, the top dog will be the President of the United States, the second-largest will be the Soviet Union... uh, that's the idea. They'll come here to claim their ancestry, kneel down with a thud, and one will say, 'Father and Mother, these are the one hundred atomic bombs I'm giving you,' and the other will say, 'I'm giving you two hundred. We'll detonate them all on New Year's Eve this year and make a big fuss.'"

Qi Weiwen chuckled and said, "You're just being unreasonable."

"You're being too naive. Parents who have more than a dozen children don't have pure motives. Even if the children don't take care of them in their old age or even if each of them were to kill them with a hoe, God wouldn't punish the children."

That's a bit extreme.

Sin Yiu-man said calmly, "At least 70-80% of parents in the world are unaware of how stupid they are. Even if they are lucky enough to give birth to a genius, they are willing to believe that their child is the smartest person in the world, but they will never believe that their child is smarter than themselves."

Parents always maintain a sense of superiority in front of their children. In essence, they see children as no different from cats and dogs. "I raised them, so they should listen to me and live the way I want them to."

Even parents who work themselves to the bone for their children, even to the point of exhaustion, are the same; they just want their children to live the life they deem good. But how much vision do you think parents who have to work themselves to the bone can have?

"Uh……"

Qi Weiwen felt that Xian Yaowen's words were wrong, but having never been a mother, she didn't know how to refute them for a moment. After a long silence, she said, "Have you ever been a father?"

"I had more than a dozen children in my past life, and I'll be having my first child soon in this life."

"A dozen or so, are your motives pure?"

Sin Yiu-man grinned and said, "She was born to six or seven mothers."

Qi Weiwen rolled his eyes at Xian Yaowen, "Six or seven in your past life, and you've gotten even more in this one, haven't you?"

"I've been much more honest in this life. I've only had six or seven children, while those who haven't had any have at least five or six thousand..."

Before Xian Yaowen could finish speaking, Qi Weiwen pounced on him, saying, "I'll give you five or six thousand, I'll give you your sixth concubine... you little foreign devil, don't run away if you dare."

Xian Yaowen, who came running over in a flash, said with a smile, "I'm going back to my room to get a drink of water."

The two laughed and joked, and half an afternoon passed, but Sin Yiu-man hadn't cleared a single row of land.

Despite the lack of efficiency, the two were quite happy.

As night falls, light up the "Wen" lanterns in the garden, bathe in the sounds of insects and frogs, and savor the delicacies cooked by Qi Weiwen—roasted pigeon with a strong charcoal flavor, blackened tomato and egg stir-fry, pale white stir-fried shredded meat, and many more.

Basically, even dogs wouldn't eat it, but Sin Yiu-man did. (End of Chapter)