Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

Hong Kong, Central, Four Seasons Hotel Ballroom.

The light from the crystal chandelier poured down, illuminating the well-dressed, elegant financial elites below the stage.

The Asian roadshow for Little Prodigy's upcoming IPO in the US, held in Hong Kong, is at a crucial stage. Mu Qizhong, standing under the spotlight with a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead, is earnestly describing Little Prodigy's grand vision and the broad prospects of Century Core.

He was far less calm inside than he appeared on the surface.

Despite Lu Yang's guarantee and Shenzhen Investment Holdings' endorsement, from the moment he stepped into the territory of Hong Kong, the shadow of the Li family, an invisible mountain, always loomed over him.

He glanced at the audience, trying to distinguish which were indifferent spectators sent by the Li family to "show their support" and which were genuinely interested potential investors.

While the atmosphere at the meeting wasn't exactly dull, it fell far short of his expectations in terms of enthusiasm.

He cursed inwardly, "These Hong Kong bastards are still being manipulated by the Li family after all..."

Just as Mu Qizhong was about to release one last bombshell data point and make a final push, the heavy side door of the banquet hall was silently pushed open.

A group of people walked in with steady steps. The leader was a middle-aged man with a refined demeanor. He was Chen Fangzhou, the current president of "Hong Kong Securities," the flagship securities firm under the Li family, and Li Ka-shing's right-hand man.

Mu Qizhong's heart sank, and the knuckles of his fingers gripping the microphone turned white.

"Here it comes... So you finally couldn't resist stirring things up?"

He forced himself to remain calm, preparing for possible difficulties or awkward silences.

However, to everyone's surprise, Chen Fangzhou did not go to the reserved VIP seats, but went straight to the registration area.

He picked up a pen, signed his name on the subscription intention form with a flourish, then nodded slightly to the slightly surprised Mou Qizhong and said loudly, "Mr. Mou, excellent! Hong Kong Securities is optimistic about the future of Little Prodigy, and especially agrees with Century Chip's localization strategy. We have decided to subscribe for US$5000 million of the shares in this IPO."

This is a considerable sum.

According to the financing plan that Lu Yang devised for Little Prodigy, and with the advice of Goldman Sachs, which is more familiar with the Wall Street model, Little Prodigy's IPO is expected to release 18% of its shares, raising no less than 900 million US dollars to meet the company's development needs.

Because it is below 20%, it is still considered a standard listing and financing plan. Balancing financing, dilution, and liquidity is the choice of the vast majority of listed companies.

However, it offers significantly higher security than the 12% of a conservative IPO financing plan.

There are more shares available in the market.

If an individual or organization maliciously acquires shares of a listed company from the secondary market, it could potentially pose a very dangerous threat to the founding team's control over the company.

However, the figure is 18%.

This is a number that Lu Yang can accept. If it's too little, the funds he can raise through the IPO will inevitably be much less. If it's too much, once it exceeds the safety threshold, it will indeed impact his control over the little prodigy behind the scenes.

At least for a short time.

Before the end of the century.

Since online video playback formats have not yet taken off, and the trend of internet cafes that allow people to play games, watch movies, and guide young people's viewing habits has not yet emerged, VCD/DVD remains the mainstream video playback format in the market, so it is impossible for him to completely give up.

To put it bluntly, the little prodigy will remain a cash cow for Lu Yang for a long time to come.

The $5000 million is equivalent to 5.5% of the total share capital of the child prodigy that is being marketed to institutions during the IPO roadshow, which is close to 1/18.

It doesn't seem like there are many.

However, in reality, since the main venue for this IPO is in North America, on Manhattan Wall Street, the main underwriters will also focus on selecting some powerful brokerage firms on Wall Street.

The branch venues and roadshow segments left for Mu Qizhong's side, including planning in Hong Kong and Singapore, only involved the newly prepared $200 million worth of stock. Unless the North American trip goes poorly, the company might not be able to readjust its strategy.

The focus of underwriter selection has shifted.

According to Mu Qizhong, Xiao Jun received a warm welcome as soon as he got off the plane in North America with the help of Mr. Hong from Goldman Sachs. When he arrived on Wall Street, the entire Wall Street was almost in a frenzy. They desperately needed this kind of technology company from the mysterious Eastern continent. Coupled with seemingly solid and impressive company financial statements, it was definitely a unique choice for telling a story. Investors would definitely wave their money and buy it.

Was that kid bragging?
Mu Qizhong didn't know, but he knew that this time his Hong Kong and Singapore roadshow trip could be done easily and without any pressure.

Having the approval of local securities firms is of course the best. Even without the approval and support of securities firms in these two places, the underwriting of 200 million US dollars can still be handed over to those crazy people on Wall Street. Anyway, didn't Xiao Jun say: No problem?

The results backfired.

As expected, the Li family, who were the troublemakers, disruptors, and saboteurs behind the scenes, actually became the first major securities firm to stand up and support Mu Qizhong today, making a bold statement on the spot that they would invest 5000 million yuan.

This art style is off!
Your Li family has always been supporting rival companies like Xianke Electronics, Subor, and Lianxiang, and even established an Asian Audio-Visual Fund to encourage them to join and compete with us. And this is all we get?!
I don't understand!!!
For a moment, Mu Qizhong's mind went blank; he couldn't figure out what the Li family was up to.

but it does not matter.

The saying goes, "You can't hit a smiling face." When someone is eager to give you money, he counts all his pockets and has no reason to refuse. Making money is nothing to be ashamed of. Even if competitors cooperate temporarily, so what?
"Dad, are you getting senile?"

"You know perfectly well that your son has a grudge against these three people. Those three... almost took my life back then. How could you still let Manager Chen go and support them?"

Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay, Li Family Mansion.

Like Mu Qizhong, Li Zekai, the "Little Superman," was completely baffled by the matter. He stormed into the villa with a furious expression, then hurried upstairs to find Li Zekai in the study, where he was waiting for him, drinking tea and appreciating chrysanthemums, having already anticipated his return.

"You're such a grown man, yet you're so careless. Don't you know how to knock before you go?"

"Can't you learn from your brother?"

“I’m not dead yet, nor am I senile. Subscribing to $5000 million worth of shares in the prodigy’s company was your brother’s suggestion, and it was also my decision…”

Li Ka-shing put down his teacup.

He glanced at his youngest son, who had stormed into the study with a furious expression, and a cold snort suddenly escaped his old face: "For the past year or so, you've been following up on the Asian Audio-Visual Fund spearheaded by our Li family in mainland China. Logically, you should be very familiar with the VCD market landscape there. This company, Little Prodigy, has withstood the encirclement and suppression of multiple companies with investments from our Li family, and has continued to dominate the spotlight, with its market size increasing rather than decreasing. This is enough to prove its potential..."

Upon hearing this, Li Zekai's expression changed, and he glared fiercely at his brother Li Zeju, who had acted as if he didn't exist since he entered.

There's no need to guess; it must have been the other party's doing.

It's happened again. Why does it have to be like this every time?
"You don't need to see your brother."

Faced with his youngest son's unruly behavior, Li Ka-shing slammed down his teacup. "Your brother is also trying to make more money for the company. The IPO process and market subscription data of the little prodigy he provided to me are very impressive. There is enough data to support the claim that their listing will be a complete success and the stock price will soar in a short period of time. Whether or not our Li family has subscribed, it doesn't matter; it won't change the outcome."

Since that's the case, it doesn't matter whether the Li family is there or not. Why can't the Li family be the underwriter? You should know that if everything goes smoothly, the profits here will be in the hundreds of millions..."

Merchants are profit-driven, and as a pure businessman, there is no reason for him to give up such a lucrative opportunity.

“Dad, you’ve forgotten that they are our competitors. Doing this will only discourage our partners.”

Li Zekai was unwilling to give up and was still trying to persuade his father.

The old man's actions were short-sighted and showed a complete disregard for his hard work over the past year in mainland China.

"Brother Kai."

His older brother had no choice but to speak up at this point.

Li Zeju, with a gentlemanly expression, said, "In business, there are no permanent enemies. As long as we can make money, even if someone was an enemy yesterday, we can be friends today."

As for your claim that it has alienated your mainland allies, that's even more laughable. Our Li family is so powerful that it's an honor for them to even consider investing in us. And if they weren't so disappointing, failing to grow and become a major player before the little prodigy's IPO, why would I have suggested my father spend money to fawn over them?!

She launched a series of counterattacks, refuting her younger brother's arguments point by point.

Li Ka-shing smiled, clearly pleased with his eldest son's response to his youngest son.

Li Zekai's face turned pale and then red, and he felt a tightness in his chest, wanting to gasp for breath. All his efforts over the past year, putting aside his own business in Hong Kong and devoting himself wholeheartedly to the family business, had only earned him a sentence from his own brother: "You're all useless, that's why I fawn over the other side. If you were so capable, you wouldn't have ended up like this!"

Yes, is this because I'm not good enough, so is this a way of completely negating all my efforts?
He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and glanced at his brother before looking at the old man. "Dad, I'm just asking you, don't you care about my life?"

The implication is that when he was kidnapped, he was convinced that Xiao Jun, Lu Yang, and Mou Qizhong, these mainlanders, were behind it all.

Whether it's true or not is not important.

Right now, this is the only way to turn a business matter into a personal one and perhaps persuade the old man to change his mind.

Otherwise, he would have no face to go to the mainland again. Being stabbed in the back by his own brother, he might as well give up the chairmanship of the Asian Film and Television Foundation, which was spearheaded by the Li family.

To avoid being ridiculed.

Li Ka-shing looked at his second son with a deep gaze, a hint of disappointment and helplessness in his eyes. "You still don't understand. Fine, hand over the position of chairman of the Asian Film and Television Foundation. You've been busy for over a year; it's time for a rest. From now on, your eldest brother will be in charge of this area. Since you don't like dealing with enemies and don't understand the principle of 'harmony brings wealth' that we businessmen should uphold, it's better to come back than to let you go out and cause trouble and make enemies. In this small corner of Hong Kong, at least the Li family still has a say, and there are profitable businesses everywhere..."

Li Zekai's face turned pale upon hearing this.

Giving up voluntarily is one thing, and having your father personally tell you to take away your rights is another.

It seems that no matter how hard I try, I will never gain my father's approval. The Li family belongs to my eldest brother, and he will not allow me to interfere in the Li family's business.

It's ridiculous that he thought that as long as he worked hard enough and performed well enough, his father would eventually recognize him and leave him a share of the family business that he had worked so hard to build over the years, instead of the entire family business being packaged up and inherited by his eldest brother alone.

As one of the four major local families in Hong Kong, the other three families are not like the Li family. Although they also select an outstanding successor to take over the chairmanship of the family business to ensure the family can be passed on in a stable way, the shares of the company are distributed to the founder's descendants in a certain proportion according to their closeness to the family...

why?
Am I not Dad's biological son?!
He simply couldn't understand why his father, who had been in business for decades, would be so ruthless in choosing an heir, showing no regard for family ties and leaving him, the second son, no chance whatsoever.

Every time he tried to perform well, finally gaining a foothold in the family business and wanting to have a fair competition with his older brother, he would immediately face his father's ruthless suppression.

That's it.

There's nothing left to hold on to, so it's better to let go sooner rather than later, forget about his privileged background, and focus all his energy on building his own Li Zekai empire.

Two of the four major families in Hong Kong are the Li family, so why can't there be a third Li family?!

The old man was able to spend 30 years building Cheung Kong Holdings, establishing its position as one of the four major families in Hong Kong, earning him the nickname "Superman Li," and now he is also referred to as "Little Superman" by the media. Why can't he spend another 30 years building a second Cheung Kong Holdings of his own?

At that moment, Li Zekai finally understood.

Lu Yang, however, was oblivious. Still preoccupied with women, he left Mu Qizhong alone at the company roadshow at the Four Seasons Hotel, ostensibly to give Mu Qizhong the chance to shine.

With Xu Siqi, who was three months pregnant and had passed the first trimester, they first strolled around the major shopping malls in Hong Kong and did some shopping. Surprisingly, they didn't take her to the luxury mansion in Repulse Bay halfway up Victoria Peak, but instead went directly to the airport and chartered a plane to Singapore.

He ultimately decided to leave the port city to Du Lingling. Although this Sister Du had not yet set a date for resigning from her public office, since he had already promised her and was prepared to do his best to help her build a career in the port city, he could not go back on his word.

Lu Yang also asked Xu Siqi if she wanted to stay overseas after giving birth to the child, to manage his business there, or if she wanted to start her own business. He assured her that he would do everything in his power to help her.

Unfortunately, she was a petite woman and had no such intention.

She did talk about her plans after giving birth.

She plans to take her child back to China to attend kindergarten after the child is born and a little older, so that the child won't become a "banana" (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) while abroad. She plans to lie and say that she was married abroad to a Chinese man, but they got divorced, and now she has decided to return to China to develop her career.

"Hmph, don't even think about getting rid of me. I'll still be clinging to you. You can't look down on me because I've had a child and I'm a divorced woman, hehe... I'll even be your secretary."

She had quite the bright future in mind, and she was thinking very far ahead, showing no concern whatsoever for it. (End of Chapter)